Chapter 53: Serena, the Shapeshifter.

"I still can't believe you managed to defeat Esmael..." Aria said as he followed Rigel from behind.

"Why?" Rigel asked as he walked down the stairs because it would take 5 minutes to reach the next floor.

"Because, on the 17th floor, it's only the top 100 Players that have cleared it. I cleared the 17th floor as well, and I almost died back then. If we take that floor as a scale, that means you have surpassed millions of Players," Aria answered.

"No, I don't think so," Rigel responded as he shook his head. "I'm not as strong as you think," he added and he was serious about it.

Rigel knew that he cleared it because he died twice to be able to defeat Esmael. Not to mention, he had to sacrifice himself to achieve that. If he had to compare himself with the top 100 Players, he was nowhere near them even with the power he possessed. 

Aria looked at Rigel's back, and he had a bit of suspicion and curiosity on how Rigel could clear the 17th floor unscathed, without a single wound on his body. She had experienced it herself and knew how strong Esmael was. She wondered if Rigel had some kind of ability that he didn't show to anyone and the reason why he managed to survive this far on his own.

"Now that you mentioned it. How many players that have cleared the 18th floor?" Rigel looked at Aria over his shoulder.

"As far as I know, there are only 20 Players that have cleared the 18th floor. It went down to 7 Players that had cleared the 19th floor, and it went down to 1 Player that had cleared the 20th floor. The one that's currently at the top of the Player's leaderboard, Arsen," Aria answered and he sounded a bit angry when he mentioned Arsen's name.

"Have you met them?" Rigel asked again.

"No, I have never met the Executives and Arsen. I don't know what they're capable of, only stories and rumors. It was my first time meeting with Madam, and she was almost on par to me. I wouldn't know if I would be able to win against her in a duel," Aria answered.

Rigel hummed and put his foot on the last step of the stairs. He looked at the door in front of him and Serana would be the one that he was going to face this time. Serena was a Shapeshifter, and with Aria by his side, it was a great addition since Aria would know what power and abilities a Shapeshifter could do.

"Is there anything I need to know before fighting Serena?" Rigel asked as he put his hands on the door.

"Try to survive," Aria answered. "There's nothing you need to worry about but yourself. My ancestor, Serena, is famous for being unpredictable and invincible," she pointed out.

"I see, so if Esmael is lower than Serena, that means he or she is more dangerous. I guess we will find out if those titles are true," Rigel took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. "Are you ready?" he looked at Aria.

"Yes," Aria nodded.

Rigel and Aria entered the room and this time the whole floor was as big as a colosseum. The ceiling was high and there was nothing for them to cover themselves with. Aria was a bit anxious because of it since he knew what was going to happen soon.

"Here lies, Serena, the Peacemaker..." Rigel read the writings on the coffin. "A thousand of one..." He looked at the writings after the first one. "What does that mean?" He looked at Aria.

"It means Serena has a thousand forms in a single body. Serena can transform into a thousand things," Aria answered and noticed the cover of the coffin started to move. "I can explain it to you, but it would take a whole day until you understand Serena's power. All you need to know is that Serena can be anything and take the abilities they have," she added.

Rigel slowly walked away from the coffin, and that was when he saw a very tall man with a slender body in a white robe. He wore the same robe as Rigel, and the man had super long black hair that touched the ground. His fingers were thin and long, and not to mention how pale his skin was that it was close to gray.

"Those who disturb the peace shall pay for their lives," Serena said as he cracked the joints in his fingers. "May your death become a fair warning for others..." He added and suddenly his body turned into a giant with a muscular body that could easily snap any big monster's neck with his big hands.

Serena slammed his hands to the ground, creating an epicenter and making both Rigel and Aria lose their footings. If they didn't move, their bodies would be buried in the ground, so they had to keep moving and stay on the surface, but Rigel didn't need to do that.

Rigel manipulated the ground and reversed the impact back to Serena. He used earth magic with Anima and made Serena succumb to the ground. He hardened the ground so Serena couldn't free himself from the ground, but he forgot that Serena was a Shapeshifter who could easily change his size.

In the blink of an eye, the giant disappeared and made Serena's presence undetectable. Rigel and Aria looked around, but they couldn't find Serena anywhere until suddenly the ground they were standing on crumbled and a massive serpent with its giant mouth ready to swallow them from below.

Rigel and Aria managed to dodge it, but to Rigel's surprise, the tail of the serpent came out right behind him from the ground and hit his body. He was sent flying and hit a wall so far away, that his spine broke from that hit, making him unable to stand up.

He saw the serpent that its whole body could fill the entire floor, and suddenly it changed its body into a werewolf. Serena was fighting with Aria with that agile body of a werewolf whose claws could easily cut clean of everything.

Aria dodged all the attacks that couldn't be seen with the naked eye because of how fast they were. He couldn't find an opening or time to run away because he knew the moment he let his eyes off of Serena, he would be killed. He had no choice but to deal with it and hoped Rigel could come back to change the tide.

Aria used strings to take the rubble off the ground to distract Serena, but it didn't work. He grabbed his dagger which had been covered in the deadliest poison. But it was useless because a werewolf could easily regenerate the wound and get rid of the poison from its body.

Serena had understood every pattern of Aria and immediately closed the distance, putting Aria in an unfavorable position. When Serena was about to rip Aria's face, a spike came out right under him, piercing through his chest. Aria managed to escape, but Serena could easily destroy the spike and regenerate the big hole in his chest.

"Thanks for buying me some time to recover," Rigel stood up and stared at Serena, thinking about what he should do to defeat him. "How did he die?" He looked at Aria, hoping that he knew the answer.

"They killed her by using divinity power, the power of the Gods. But we are in the Sacred Dungeon, and it's said Esmael and the others aren't as strong as they used to be," Aria answered. "Back then, even with the help of the Gods, the Players couldn't kill her and only imprisoned her until she breathed her last breath," she added.

Rigel was in disbelief that Players could defeat her in the Sacred Dungeon, and it didn't matter if Serena or Esmael were weaker compared to in their prime. He realized how strong a Player could become, and if he wanted to erase them all, he knew at that moment that he needed to get even stronger.

"You got any plan?" Rigel looked at Aria.

"I do. Since it has come to this, I have no reason to hide it from you," Aria answered as he removed his mask. "I'll challenge him with the same ability," he pointed out and slowly transformed into a werewolf. Compared to Serena, Aria's form was smaller. "I'll distract him, and I hope you can do something," he looked at Rigel and then charged at Serena.

"I hope so..." Rigel used Stryg's eyes to see the weaknesses in Serena's body.