16 Battle of mind

Mael was on his way to the so-called queen's lair, walking calmly in his illuminated path.

'The sound of my footsteps are audible, for the noise of ghouls are faint. All I could do is equip my primary weapon because these monsters are tricky when they're in their lair and are stronger when grouped. I need to prepare since they might surround me. With their fast regeneration and tough hide, it will be difficult. The [Limit breaker] is one option but should be the last, only when things got worse, so I need to be adequately fast to evade them. At the same time, I decapitate them, even though normal slashes are only a waste of strength, decapitation is their weakness, so I had to,' he thought.

Tak! tak! tak!

The ghouls were getting louder as he threaded his path, and with the light, he was carrying, the incoming enemies were easily detectable. The ghouls were getting nearer and nearer. He gripped his dagger tightly and prepared for the upcoming battle; the sound of his breathing got louder along with the noise of monsters.

Roaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggg!

Mael heard their roars and growls, finding out that they were approaching in his front.

Raaaaaaaagggghhhh!

And screams came from behind him as well, causing his body hairs to stand up as he turned around.

"I'm surrounded!" he exclaimed.

Tagatak! tagatagatak!

The footsteps of the approaching ghouls echoed throughout the hollow cave, so he made his fighting stance. The monsters darted to him, but he could only see from a fifty-meter radius of the floating lantern's extended range.

Rak!

One of the ghouls jumped at him. He made a horizontal slash at the neck while moving sideways, and by the time he evaded, another one leaped at him. It was about to bite him- fortunately, Mael blocked with his chains-wrapped hands and pierced it with a stab on its forehead.

Shak!

Resounded the piercing curve dagger that buried on its head before pulling the dagger afterward. Mael slashed the ghouls that were jumping over him; they rapidly evaded him. His cuts were shallow due to the enemies' quick attacks, and the ghouls kept on regenerating their wounds in a matter of seconds.

Mael felt quite stunned about it since all he can do was cut them with shallow wounds due to their hardy flesh. 'Hmm, cuts?' he wondered for a second.

"Aha! Eureka!" he said, kicking a ghoul that flew from its force. He gathered [Force], while kicking more of them and unleashed it.

"Ha!" Mael shouted as he released the [Force] he have gathered. All incoming ghouls were thrown-off and rolled away from him.

'I only have three seconds before they stand up, so I need to think fast before they do. Dealing normal damage is hard but something that can deal damage per second is the answer.' he thought, grabbing a bottle in the potion belt and uncapped it before pouring it into his curve daggers. "Hah! Poison!" he grinned mischievously.

The monsters were getting up as they prepared for another wave. "Come at me, dimwits!" he yelled, and roars echoed in the tunnels before the monsters launched an attack. "I will make sure you die slowly this time. You tire me out instantly, so I will make you pay with a slow death. I need to use my fastest speed for all of you."

'I need to take the offense this time. I will aggressively cut you all with these daggers.' Mael added.

Sometime in the past, his father taught him the manner of cutting an enemy in rapid motions. "Mael, the technique to do this rapid cuts is to synchronize your two hands like whirling water. Be careful not to collide your right with your left. Then, attack with speed and power," Lord Melvin said while patting his head.

"Yes, dad. I've instilled it in my mind," he replied.

Mael grinned as he remembered his father and closed his eyes to focus on his limits.

'I never thought that I would remember dad's teachings in these moments. I am pleased by his techniques. Thank you, dad. My memories are inadequate to make me this strong now.' Mael thought, then opened his eyes.

Oraaaaaaaaaa!!! Slash! Slash! Slash!

The three ghouls were slashed instantly; then he sliced the upcoming ones as well.

"One. Two. And Three!" he counted; the ghouls he slashed were knocked down.

"It's called Rabid Viper poison. Its effects were to paralyze the enemy after three seconds, make them pass out after ten, then kill them slowly in a matter of an hour. I brewed it perfectly, so its effects were on its most potent. Now, now, enjoy my sadistic love!" he yelled.

Mael chuckled as he saw that the poison took effect and continued slashing them. He evaded and slashed one ghoul after another while the ones that were getting near were kicked away. His rapid slashes continued, but his floating lantern barely able to cope up with his speed. He made sure that he can only cut one and never cut twice a single ghoul.

"Sleep, my little ones! Taste the poison I've prepared for you. You will sleep and never rise again. Your breathing will stop, and feel excruciating pain in a coma. Splendid poison, isn't it?"  The ghouls stopped and looked at each other.

"Well, I know you won't understand me. So let me talk with my blades."

Raaaaaa!!!

Mael slashed them without mercy and destroyed them utterly. "So, you all like it?"

Half an hour later, all the ghouls lied on the floor, whining about the pain the poison has caused, and he stood with his lantern on the piling bodies. "Let's proceed to the next place, let's go floating lantern," he said to his companion that couldn't reply anything. Which, for Mael, was okay to be able to talk to something for some time.

'The cave has good views. It will be a great tourist spot if there are no ghouls in here. It will attract the viewers' attention if advertised right, but turning it into a tourist spot is not even worth mentioning. Its outside is creepy and depressing. The dungeon is just like the other world, considering the moon is different from Lumia's. It is bigger and has no spots on its surface. Well, I'll venture deeper into this cave; maybe I will find what I am looking for.'

Mael traveled again, and the path he was walking at got wider. He then exited the tunnel and arrived at the right place. 'The queen's chamber!' he exclaimed in his mind as he saw a wide dome that was littered with bones and dead bodies.

He couldn't see the extent of the ceiling because of his lantern's limit. He scanned the surroundings and luckily, nothing was in there but piles of bones and dead bodies.

'Damn! Am I too late? Please be alive! I will lose one servant if I fail this mission!'

He starts to find the missing girl and had no clues as to what she's wearing.

'Damn! That old man didn't even tell me what she looked like. I also forgot to ask about it!' he cursed in his mind.

'Well, it's not my fault if I found a different one. He will be devastated if I brought him the wrong one. Looking at his expression will be quite a sight.'

He began to search desperately when he saw a girl in a red dress. He saw that she had shallow claw marks on her hands and was breathing faintly. The problem was, half of her body was stuck from piled bodies.

'Hang in there, girl. You're going home soon!' he exclaimed in his mind.

He pulled the bodies that were piling over her. 'These bodies are heavy! Ngk! Pull harder, self! Pull harder! You can do it! Cheer yourself, Mael. No one is here to help you!' Mael did his best to pull.

'Here it is, slowly pulls her out without damaging her body and wallah! Pulling success!' He successfully pulled her out in a matter of a minute. He lifted her head and assisted her to drink a health potion. She surprisingly gulped it down due to her thirst.

"Hello, can you hear me?" Mael asked.

The girl opened up her eyes and then blinked three times.

"Are you okay?"

The girl was silent and didn't reply to him.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!"

The girl screamed, and Mael felt alarmed, turning around as fast as possible, shocked by what she was staring at. There was something big glaring at them from the dark ceiling with a grim face and large jaws. Big enough to shake them as it landed on the floor.

Boom!

"Ghoul Mother!!!"

"Run!!!"

Mael shouted, and the girl immediately ran towards the exit. Mael grabbed his daggers to throw them at the ghoul mother, but she smashed his floating lantern, blinding Mael. It was total darkness everywhere.

Shuk!

The dagger was thrown and continued its flight towards the ghoul mother. It successfully landed on her since Mael heard it pierced its hides. But the downside was Mael lost his sight in the process. He pulled his chains, wrapping them in his hands, and closed his eyes because it was useless, using his ears instead.

'Feel the breathing, the distance, the footsteps,' he thought, focusing.

'Twenty meters away, three o'clock,' he estimated and pinpointed the location and the distance between him and the enemy. Mael listened to her breathing, then launched attacks in her direction.

'Rapid slash! Chained dagger edition!' he attacked furiously and felt that she was taking the blows.

Wraaaaar!

She shrieked in pain, and her bloodlust for him heightened. She followed the direction of the chains and came thrashing all over.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Easy girl, we're both blinded here. How about you let me retreat, and I let you go away. Isn't that wonderful?"

Raaarrrr!!!

"I guess there is no helping it! Let me retreat for now." Mael said while escaping.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Mael was evading until he stumbled upon a corpse and tripped, landing on a body.

'Ouch, that hurt! What did I stumble upon?'  He crawled upon the floor; the ghoul mother was still trashing all over. He crawled and crawled and saw faint light to the exit. He crawled slowly then heard a scream.

"Aaaahhhhh!!!"

Mael felt alarmed when he realized who it was.

'Without a doubt, it was the girl I am trying to save! Darn! I will lose another servant if she dies! Well, that's it! Better live little girl!'

He immediately ran to the exit stealthily and saw the floating lantern next to the child. A ghoul held the child on the neck. A great dread struck Mael.

"Release her!!!" he yelled, but the ghoul wounded her neck and threw her away.

He gripped his dagger and slashed it furiously like never before in his life. He executed a stab in the belly with all his force then ripped the ghoul with all his might. He stabbed once more, but right now, he buried it on its neck, twisting it before he pulled. He stabbed it repeatedly, and the ghoul kept wailing until it died from the poison. He immediately scanned the wound in the girl's neck and pulled his last health potion. He trickled it to the damage, and luckily, the injury was shallow.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Banging sounds echoed in the tunnel, and his emotional feelings vanished.

"You! You will pay for everything that you've done in my land! My people! And my hometown!" he yelled as he launched to the Ghoul mother.

'With the poison already working, the ghoul mother is weakened, fighting for her last breath. Her life is on the last part of its flight.' Mael jumped at her, stabbing her eyes. He sliced his daggers upwards, and the ghoul mother screamed, showing him her throat. He got his chance to attack once more, so he jumped and slashed its throat. Its scream ended. Mael finished her off, and her body faded slowly. He noticed that it left a golden stone.

He took it, lifted it, narrowing his eyes as he surveyed it. Still, he couldn't figure out what it was. "A golden stone? I wonder what its use! Let me get it identified after I get home," Mael said, excited.

"What if it is a super rare stone that can summon divine beings or a stone that can revive the dead?" he said as he stored it in his backpack. The girl then moved and felt her neck.

"Am I dead?"

"No. Silly!" He said as he pinched her cheeks.

"Hey, who are you? Where's my dad?" she asked.

"Your dad is waiting outside. We have to hurry because he will be leaving soon!" Mael said as he remembered that the one-hour agreement was almost up.

"The dungeon is cleared! All the monsters are exterminated! Initiate closing of the dungeon!" The unknown voice resounded in the dungeon, and the ground was trembling.

"Let's hurry! The dungeon is closing!" Mael yelled as he piggy-backed her. Mael dashed, and the floating lantern followed them. They encompassed the forest and saw the gate.

"Are you excited to meet your father? We're going to meet him soon."

"Yeah!" she said as she began to cry.

'The Golden Valley has never faced this kind of danger. The enemies killed many. I am a lord who failed his people. I can't accept it in the slightest bit. I have to be stronger to achieve my goals. I don't know if what I have done is the best option, but I know I have done what I could. Some are killed mercilessly, but I am not there to help them. Yeah! I was a disappointment in my own eyes because I am not strong. Not strong enough to defend my people. It is useless to rant about it, and it wouldn't even help make the dead rise again. But I know what I will do now. I will master all job-class and rise above all. I am an assassin, and I am born to kill. My enemies and the enemies who opened the gate to my realm? I will kill them all!' Mael jumped to the gate and saw everyone.

"The young master is back! He's alive!" announced Maledic, and they all cheered together.