2nd Floor — The Undead Castle III

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The Undead Castle must have been a lavish noble palace in its prime. Between the dust and the cobwebs, Leandro saw hints of luxury and extravagance. Portraits. A chandelier that was banking on one side, threatening to fall. And a faded red carpet leading to a grandiose staircase. 

The air was stale, cold, and damp. 

Eileen kept her bow firmly aimed at every possible corner, her keen eyes sniped towards the barest flick of a shadow. She had to make each arrow count; she couldn't be wasteful.

"This is creepy as fuck." Soren commented, holding his daggers in a reverse grip. "What is this, a haunted house?" 

"Just shut up and stay on a-alert!" Griffin grunted, stammering a bit. 

Hah, looks like he was as nervous as Soren. 

Eileen smiled despite the tense situation. She veered her eyes towards their de-facto captain—at this point everyone had unconsciously assigned that role to him. 

Leandro leisurely proceeded forward, everyone moving in a formation around him. Their shoes clacked in the eerie silence of the castle. 

The stairs groaned loud enough that Eileen nearly released an arrow by accident. 

Leandro glanced at her, causing her to blush in embarrassment. 

How did he even notice? 

She shook her head, steading her hands. 

As soon as they reached the top of the stairs, the eerie stillness was broken by the rattling of bones. From the shadows, a horde of skeletons jumped out. Unlike the ones outside, those were clad in armor, each of them wielding a weapon. 

Eileen nocked an arrow. It whistled through the air and struck an undead in its skull, splintering it. Leandro took the vanguard, moving so fast she could hardly believe a human could be so agile and swift. His sword shattered three skeletons in one decisive flick of the wrist. 

She was momentarily stunned, then she remembered where she was and continued firing arrow after arrow, whittling them down. 

Everyone was engaged in a heated battle. Griffin was vicious with his spear swings, while Christopher kept a cold head, taking down one enemy after the other with graceful, sweeping motions. 

Wei Chen went in close, the end of his Jian crashing through skeletons with inhuman momentum. Soren was by Leandro's side, covering his back. After the previous battles, they had all gotten used to battling hordes of undead. 

Benjamin, Soren, and Eileen had their roles covered. Wei Chen provided melee support. Griffin focused on engaging large groups. And Leandro simply cleaved a path forward. Their teamwork might have been awkward at first, but they were quick on the uptake, and smoothly got into the groove of things. 

Five skeletons were bisected simultaneously, giving Soren and Wei Chen some breathing room. 

Eileen blinked at the sudden, intense movements of Leandro—that just felt superhuman. Whereas Griffin was like a gorilla on a rampage, Leandro was graceful and deadly, and with just as much strength. 

She gasped as a skeleton made it past everyone, charging at her. Her hand instinctively let go of the bowstring. The arrow sunk into a skeleton's head, silencing it. 

She nimbly spun around on her heels, kicking another undead that got past her group towards Leandro. 

The handsome brown-haired man caught the creature in an arm-lock, briefly pausing the wild tornado of movements that was the battle, and twisted its head clean off. He threw the dislodged skull at another skeleton that was getting too close to Christopher. 

Within minutes, the battle was done. 

"Anyone injured?" Leandro asked. 

"Just a bit winded." Soren chuckled dryly. 

Griffin cracked his neck. "I can still go a few rounds." 

"We're fine as well." Wei Chen said, speaking for Christoper as well, who was panting. 

Leandro's eyes, at last, rested on Eileen. She nodded firmly at him, a coat of sweat glistening on her skin. "I'm good, but I'm running low on arrows." 

"Use them sparingly. If you can't engage in melee, stay in the center of the group and keep an eye out for anything unusual." 

"Understood!" 

After sweeping one last cursory look at them, Leandro strode deeper into the castle. 

『You are a strange bunch. Come forward if you wish to claim the floor!』 

Suddenly, a voice boomed in the large corridor. 

Everyone froze in fear. A rush of cold wind blew through the hallway. Eileen felt a gasp hitch in her throat, her hands trembling. That voice—it was dry, hollow, haunting, like the rattling of dead leaves in the wind. 

"We're coming, there's no need to yell." Leandro said, lazily. "Seriously, the undead should not speak." 

Eileen looked at him, slack-jawed. 

At the same time, his words brought them back from their temporary fear. 

Griffin regained his earlier gusto, Soren calmed down with a deep inhale, and the others all got their bearings back together. 

They quickly continued moving forward, albeit with much more caution.

Before long, a set of imposing doors came into sight, adorned in ancient script and wrought iron. "I don't think we're going to find a goblin inside... right?" Christopher's attempt at humor got a few awkward smiles out of it. 

"Prepare yourself." Leandro walked right up to the door and opened it—without resistance. Eileen nocked an arrow, ready to release it at a moment's notice. 

The darkness beyond the room was washed away by a long row of sconces lighting up one after the other, like a stack of dominos falling down. 

A huge skeleton lumbered on the other end of a rather gaudy, decrepit throne room. Its eyes were akin to burning rubies—a deep, hellish red. It wore what remained of regal garments on top of an armor. 

On its bony, slender hand, was a greatsword. 

『I am the guardian of this castle, Graveheart — The Undying Warden.』 

It said, in the same rattling, haunting tone. 

Leandro coolly walked into the boss room. 

Everyone followed him in with a more dignified manner than before. 

『Prepare to meet your demise!』 

"Leave the big guy to me." 

"But Leandro, there's only—" Eileen trailed off when the unmistakable clattering sound of bones shifting rang out. A black miasma poured out of Graveheart, like a shadow stretching under the sun. Skeletons spewed out of it in droves. 

The only saving grace, if it could be called such, was that among the seemingly infinite horde of skeletons, not all of them were properly armed. The majority looked like they hadn't had enough calcium when alive. 

It was doable. 

『I will smite you where you stand. Humans should not wander here. 』 

Graveheart uttered as a black halo formed under his feet.

A collective inhale took place when, not even a second later, Leandro rushed ahead and Griffin, Soren, Benjamin, Wei Chen, and Christopher engaged with the skeletons. Eileen nocked multiple arrows this time, accurately and promptly whittling down the wave of undead. 

Griffin easily skewered skeletons left and right while Wei Chen crashed skulls like they were no more than rice paper. Benjamin and Christopher fought more adherently to the definition of spear and spear-man, fighting with graceful yet ferocious motions, but it was clear that they lacked the finesse of true practitioners. 

...

Leandro hacked down a few skeletons in his way before he reached Graveheart. His eyes narrowed marginally at the powerful wave of miasma rushing at him, causing the undead underlings to blip into existence. 

He had to leave them to his team. Graveheart would keep spawning them until it was defeated. 'If I had enough aura, I could have finished this in an instant.' 

Now, Leandro had to find the right opportunity to unleash one of his sword forms. 

Graveheart swung his greatsword in an overhead arc. It was such a telegraphed move that Leandro found himself sidestepping the incoming rush of steel before it even reached its mid-way point. 

His sword clashed with Graveheart, emitting an ear-grating metallic screech. 

Leandro coiled his muscles and shoved it back, and Graveheart was quick to correct its footing before another attack came down on him. Their swords sung with each collision. The blades flaked off of each other in a shower of sparks. 

Graveheart growled as it charged once again. Leandro poised himself, sword held in front of him. The skeleton boss surprised him by pivoting on its armored foot and propping a roundhouse kick towards him. 

He ducked under it, using the momentum to perform a leg sweep. Graveheart was too much of a mobile target for it to work properly, but at least it was knocked slightly off balance. 

Its greatsword came crashing down, shattering the floor Leandro was just in. 

Amidst the flying debris, he pushed forward, his sword slashing in an upward, crescent motion across the skeleton's armored chest. The blade skated off of the metal, barely leaving a dent behind. 'That fucking armor.' Maybe if his sword was of better quality, he could have inflicted more damage. 

『You wretched human, I shall purge you from this land!』 

A wispy, crimson flame flickered in its empty eye sockets. 

Its body emanated miasma once again as dozens of undead rushed out of it at breakneck speed. With a broad, horizontal swing of his sword, a good chunk of the horde was crushed. However, that was only enough to create a path towards the boss. 

The rest of the skeletons steered clear of him to reinforce the undead army advancing on the Challengers. The sudden surge amped the difficulty. 

Leandro saw Christopher getting a hit in the back while Griffin got pushed back a few feet. Benjamin and Wei Chen were getting overwhelmed, even though they performed some really tight-knit movements in an attempt to watch each other's back. 

Eileen was dangerously low on arrows. She fired them only when one of their teammates was about to get mobbed on. 

'This is dragging on for too long...' 

Leandro let his Aura flow through his body. A silvery, almost imperceptible, mist covered him. His feet blurred, his vision tunneling as he darted towards Graveheart, sword swinging diagonally. This time, the damage accrued was comparatively higher than the previous one. 

The skeleton's armor visibly cracked, presenting a perfect opportunity for a follow-up. 

Unfortunately, Graveheart raised its greatsword diagonally in a protective motion, catching his attack, before it slugged Leandro with enough force to send him flying and crash right through multiple skeletons. He slowly skidded to a halt, kicking up a cloud of dust and bone fragments in his path. 

He coughed, heaving a deep, irritated sigh. 

It was hard to believe that he had gotten injured from that, but Leandro took the necessary moments of rest to get over the feeling of that heavy blow. He moved his shoulders, checking for any damage to his joints. Nothing. Perfect. 

『Worthless humans. Die! 』 

Graveheart rushed for him the exact moment Leandro got up and off of the ground. 

The wind pressure from the sheer force of its swing displaced a few stray skeletons. 

It might have the advantage in terms of strength, but Leandro was more agile, more experienced, more skilled. Nonetheless, his Aura, like Eileen's arrows, was quickly depleting. 

He had to finish this, and fast. 

Leandro's sword striked it in the same diagonal, crescent motion. This time, its armored body bore no physical signs of the clash, its greatsword taking the full brunt of the damage as a massive gash formed on its dulled, ancient steel. 

『Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! 』 

Leandro slugged Graveheart with enough force to send it sliding to the other end of the boss room, its feet screeching across the dusty terrain. His own sword had developed a not small hairline fracture across its polished steel. 'I definitely need a better sword.' 

『How dare you!』 

Behind him, the rest of the Challengers were losing ground as they were forced to huddle together against a wall. He made a dash for the recovering skeleton boss, feet pounding against the ruined bedrock of the chamber. A silvery, dim light was left in his wake. 

His sword sang. It slashed right across Graveheart, leaving a massive gash in the cracked armor.

『Graaaaaaaaagggg!』 

An angry roar ensued, shaking the room from top to bottom. 

『For humans such as you to taint this place, unforgivable, unforgivable!』 

Graveheart quickly recovered, its armor a cracked, unsightly mess now. Leandro casually dusted himself off from the brief, yet brutal moment Graveheart recovered. His sword was basically on its last breath. 

It would shatter if pushed a bit further. 

However, with his Aura levels recovered enough for one sword form—one lethal blow, the tides of the fight would definitely shift in their favor. All he needed was the perfect opening. 

Just one. 

Graveheart roared again; it was in its last throes. 

『Damn you, humans, die—! 』 

It charged with enough reckless fury to finish off Leandro in one blow. Its greatsword swept from bottom to top, then top to bottom, in a frenzied flurry that lacked finesse, but because of it, Leandro couldn't carelessly get too close. 

His eyes easily followed the monster's movements, evading with such a smooth ease that it was surprising he had yet to finish the skeleton off. His grip on his sword tightened, and he was prepared, his muscles coiled and ready to spring. 

Just one opening. Come on! 

Then, out of nowhere, an arrow came whizzing from the rear. Graveheart looked as surprised as Leandro. The arrow tip penetrated through its wild slashes, flying in a straightforward path towards Graveheart's skull. 

It couldn't pierce it, but it did knock him off, albeit slightly.

And, really, that was all Leandro could have asked for and more. With its armor hanging onto a last thread, and its uncoordinated body stumbling back, he pumped all the Aura he had onto his sword. 

The worn-out blade gleamed, as if reflecting off the moonlight. He needed that one precious second Eileen provided—that one damn second to properly execute the finishing move. 

With a nostalgic smile on his face, Leandro stomped on the ground, his glimmering sword splitting through the air with impetuous momentum. The blade hissed, a trail of white, wispy flame flickering across the edges.

The gravity in the room seemed to increase twofold. Everyone stopped in their tracks, regardless of which side they were fighting for.

Moonblade Style — 2nd form — Waxing Crescent. 

Eileen, that day, could have sworn she saw the moon descending.