25 Chapter Twenty-Five

"So, we're heading down to floor fifty, another safe zone, I assume."

I mused, getting a nod from Finn as we walked with Tiona, Tione, Riveria, Bete, and Ais as the first group.

"Indeed, though there is no town like the one on the eighteenth."

I glanced back at the front, not paying attention to the lack of monsters as my throwing knives floated around us, killing any monsters.

The walk would take a day and then some, and the second group would meet up on the eighteenth floor...

I could make it there in a few hours if I sprinted there, probably, depended on if the floors got longer the deeper we went.

The air of awkwardness lingered even as we walked, mostly because I was the extra in the group, the outsider, but I didn't mind, keeping silent was my specialty.

"Hey kid, what level are you?"

I glanced at Bete, humming for a moment before shrugging.

"Level three, about to level up to four."

He blinked, furrowed his eyebrows as if thinking, and then his eyes widened.

"Didn't you level up to two recently?"

I nodded, ignoring the look I got from Ais.

"That growth speed is... insane..."

I hummed in agreement. even as two Cobolds got stabbed in the chest.

"If you are about to level up, want to fight the Goliath? You can go back and catch up to us on the eighteenth after checking your status."

There was no need for that, as long as one of my shadows got their status checked, I would get the benefits too. And one was already deeper into the dungeon, killing more monsters.

I shrugged.

"I was planning on fighting the green dragon on the twenty-fourth floor, and fighting the Goliath for the fifth level up..."

Finn hummed and nodded, glancing at me thoughtfully.

"That's a good strategy, Bell, even a level three needs support from a group of other level threes and twos to beat the Goliath normally."

Ais tapped me on the shoulder and I turned my head to lock eyes with her, quirking an eyebrow curiously.

"How do you get strong so fast?"

Now, how would I get out of this? I stared at her for a moment before shrugging.

___

"So... This is Balor..."

I muttered, looking up at the giant torso of the monster that rose from the ground. In the huge empty room, with no cover, nothing to latch onto that left only one thing to do.

"Harbinger of the end, the white snow-"

Riveria started chanting and Gareth who was with us now, got into position in front of her, just as Balor read its head back.

Bete, Ais, and I dashed forward, Blaze flaring at my call.

"Bell!"

Bete shouted and I sent a burst of Blaze toward him, the fire being absorbed by his shin armor. Purple flames burst from my feet, boosting me into the air.

Balor threw his head forward, releasing a cloud of poison.

"Tempest!"

Air surrounded Ais, keeping the poison away from her. A spear embedded itself into the mouth of the snake-like head, plugging the opening of the hole where the poison came out of the giant monster.

I used élenchos on my two Kusarigama that connected to the gains and extended, even as the giant hand came my way to most likely squish me down like a bug.

A burst of flame boosted me higher and that possibility was prevented.

The blade of my kusarigama, bathed in purple flames dug into the skin of the monster, ripping into the flesh, leaving gashes as I moved further into the air.

As I passed the giant monster's shoulder, Bete passed me. My gain wrapped around his leg and I flung him down onto the monster's head.

The axe kick, boosted by my flames caused to monster to recoil in pain, and Ais flew in, her rapier poised to strike, and she did. Piercing through the elbow of the monster rex as it was regaining its bearings.

A shadow was created behind me, as I grabbed my clone's hand and threw him down, even as purple flame coated him too.

My chains latched onto Balor's collarbone and retracted, bringing me closer. Twirling my daggers, the purple flame intensified along the edges, elongating and creating a large enough edge to cut halfway through Balor's shoulder.

"Good Job, Bell!"

Finn shouted as he came in right after me, swinging his spear, coated in flame from the enchantment as he finished the job, cutting off the arm fully.

The giant monster roared in defiance, its head coming down on Finn, only to be hit away by Tione while Tiona cut out one of its eyes a second later, by throwing her double-bladed weapon.

"Bell!"

I wrapped my chain around Finn, the other one wrapping around Bete as I twisted and threw both of them into the air, straight at Balor's head.

Bete turned in the air as Finn landed on his foot and launched the Pallum further, allowing the blonde spearman to thrust his spear into the other eye.

"-Wynn Fimbulvetr!"

Riveria's shout was the signal as I grabbed the two closest to me with my chains, Tiona and Tione, and used Blaze to distance myself from the monster and Riveria's spell was cast.

The torso of the monster started freezing, starting from the bottom of the room, where his waist was still stuck in the ground, and quickly spreading to its torso, to its only remaining limb, and to a part of its neck.

Ais came in as soon as the neck was frozen, her wind swirling around her, making her even faster as the blade pierced the frozen skin of the monster, the wind throwing her forward as the contact was made, allowing her to break through.

Balor crumbled to dust, the frozen body dissapiering into nothing as a large magic stone landed on the ground.

I floated Tiona, Tione and myself down to the ground gently and unwrapped the chains from around them, just staring at the magic stone for a moment.

That was... Remarkebly easy...

"Man, that was tough!"

No it wasn't.