CHAPTER 38(STRANGE MIST)

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey guys,

I am writing to let you know that I've decided to wrap up the storyline about Chaos and his brother, and I will later explain how Damian the demigod was fragmented and other topics we have yet to explore in the story. I've enjoyed exploring this part of the story, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as well. I'm excited to move on to the next chapter of the story, and I hope you'll continue to follow along with me on this journey. Thank you for your support!

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[CRIMSON NOVA]

The ball began to glow a dark, ominous red, and the heat in the surroundings increased drastically.

BOOM!

The ball caught up to Chaos and exploded, lighting the area red for a few minutes. I looked at the enormous crater formed by the explosion, only to see a swirling mass of black liquid-like material gathering together to form a humanoid figure.

"What kind of cheat regeneration is this?" I thought to myself.

"That hurt," Chaos said. His face twisted into a wicked grin. "But even your strongest attack couldn't eliminate me."

"Who said that was my strongest?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

"It wasn't..." Chaos mumbled to himself, trailing off. "Ha, not like that really matters. I'm Chaos. It would take more than that to kill me. If you're going to rely on elemental or physical attacks, the only way you can defeat me is if you somehow gain the power of..."

His speech was abruptly halted as a hand pierced through his chest.

"O-order," he stammered, turning his head.

"Hello, brother. It's been so long since we last crossed paths," the attacker said, flashing a smile in my direction.

" Daniel"

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[DAMIAN'S PERSPECTIVE ]

After some minor registrations with the guild, we were allowed to head into the dungeon. The first five floors of the dungeon were quite easy. They were filled with the most popular dungeon monsters from isekai novels - goblins, slimes, and orcs. But this wasn't an isekai.

We swiftly dispatched all the monsters from the first floor until the tenth floor. I was beginning to wonder if this was the dungeon we worked so hard to get into. This place seemed too easy, at least that was what I thought until I reached the eleventh floor. The air around us had changed. The fog that existed on this floor seemed to accentuate the gloomy atmosphere.

"Damn, I can't see anything. Jenna, shouldn't you have a skill to see through this fog, being an apex predator and all?" I asked.

"Hmph, stop asking useless questions and do something useful for once," she snorted.

"Tsk. Be like Emma for once. She's never frustrating, and she's useful when she needs to be," I retorted.

Slowly but surely, disagreements began to arise within our group. Everyone began to find fault with each other and began arguing.

Sparks began to fly in our group. Everyone was ready to brawl it out, oblivious to the fact that we were being watched. In a dark, palace-themed room, a figure sat atop a throne made of bones. Its red eyes gleamed with delight.

"Go, my children," it said. " destroy the fools who dare to step in our abode"

As the creatures rushed out of the room, eager to devour their "prey," the tension in our group rose to a breaking point. No one noticed the danger that was approaching from the shadows.

"You dare to come back here, brat," the figure said. "I won't let you leave this time. You must pay for the humiliation you have caused me." Its red eyes seemed to glow brighter for a moment, before dimming again. Then, its figure was covered by the fog, as if it had never been there at all.

Jenna was currently rolling on the floor in pain. She had just thrown a spell at me without my permission, which went against the rules, and the punishment had kicked in.

"You dare to attack me?" I said, mockingly. "Have you forgotten the reason you're still able to be here?"

I created a spear out of ki and walked forward to punish her, when I was grabbed by Sophie.

"Administering grey heart elixir," she said.

Her palm opened, revealing a needle, which she pierced my shoulder with. Wait, what? I don't remember adding that function when I created her. Leaving that aside, after she had administered the elixir to me, my avatars and I returned to normal. She then went on to administer the elixir to the others. I wondered why she didn't have us drink it instead, and then I remembered the state we were in. I don't think we would have allowed her to do so.

" What was that?" I asked her

" The fog is....." she began explaining for close to ten minutes.

In a nutshell, the fog wasn't ordinary. It didn't have an official name, but most people had something they called it. Apparently, the fog had slight amounts of miasma within it. The amount wasn't harmful per se, but it had the effect of altering one's mental state. A short encounter with it causes people to get angry over any little thing. Staying in it for longer inflicts one's mind with paranoia, and spending more time in it causes one to lose concentration, causing spells to fail or backfire.

Lucky for us, Sophie had the antidote - the grey heart elixir. The elixir was mostly bought by people in important positions who experienced something that was causing a spike in their emotions. Depending on the person and the dosage, the elixir could either numb the emotions or completely block all emotions for the duration of its effect, earning it its name.

That being said, I didn't remember any of this being listed in the list of things to expect in the dungeon. Did we somehow trigger a hidden floor or something like that? There were only three places in this dimension where the fog could be found, and this dungeon definitely wasn't listed among them. I thought I'd need to question the guild. They should know something about this - it was probably one of those deeply hidden secrets only known to the higher echelons of society.

I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of growls, roars, and screeches rapidly approaching our location.

I smirked. "So you finally decided to appear."

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Author's Note:

Sorry for not posting any chapters yesterday. I was feeling sick again. I can handle hot temperatures easily, but once the temperature drops, I become susceptible to illnesses.