Ryzar (II)

The magic around Ryzar continued to rise and break apart in dissonance. The Players and Snow relentlessly attacked, trying to keep the barrier from ultimately forming. There were a few times that they were able to break down the Ryzar as they simultaneously attacked, but before they could do any more damage, the barrier rose, blocking both their physical and magical attack.

"The barrier's up!" Rodney yelled, he was dancing around, trying to keep the leftover HilEyes from overwhelming him. "How much longer until the next drop?"

"I don't know, sir," one of the Players shouted beside him, covering his guild leader's back.

"We need to buy some time."

Snow understood what Rodney wanted. She knew that the roller coaster headed straight to its second circuit in the short amount of time that they had fought.

Already, Ryzar's gaze was quickly heading towards the rollercoaster that was zipping around him like a planet.

Ryzar squawked, opening its wings as once again flashing the eyes. Hundreds of GilEyes appeared from the shadows, entangling with the Players. The eyes on the wings slowly closed as it swung its long neck straight at the rollercoaster.

Its beak flashed downwards to wipe out the screaming players, who held up their hands in fear. Only a handful shouted magical attacks in the attempt to stall Ryzar, but it was quickly broken through.

A flash of light smeared across the sky, slamming into Ryzar's beak.

Smoke erupted around Ryzar's face, stunning him temporarily at the unexpected blow, even though it didn't do any harm.

"Over here, you bastard!" Snow yelled.

Bright, formless swords swirled around Snow like Gatling guns. Her hand waved around her as she kept throwing one after another to draw its attention away.

In a raged fury at Snow's annoying attempt, its gaze locked down onto her.

Ryzar's feathers bristled up. Its eyes slightly watering from the smoke, but it didn't stop. Its claws, raised up from the ground to stomp on her alive.

Snow ducked underneath, sprinting to get out from being crushed. Her magical swords of light, once again, shot forward, smashing into the side of the monster's head. She continued to loop around its leg, trying to get out of harm's way.

Ryzar's attention was dragged on by its beak, forgetting about the rollercoaster that went through a third time. The crackling sound of the barrier broke apart, telling everyone their success.

In excitement, Snow set off a storm of swords of light, smashing it into an aggressive attack.

Dairen skeleton minions surged around, pulling and climbing on Ryzar's leg. They stabbed and attacked, trying to destroy Ryzar from the bottom up, while Snow magical rain of swords took the hit from the top.

His magic ran rampant as he continued to summon up and replaced the fallen minions.

Even Rye, who was destroying the HilEyes from all around him, snapped his magical whip with a snap. Black magic seeped into the Ryzar's feathers, flaying it alive. He cackled and laughed.

The bombardment of attacks was powerful as Rye was pushing Ryzar back, close to the very edge of the roller coaster itself.

It was then that Snow jumped on Ryzar's leg and scaled up its feathery body. She made it onto its back and smashed her sword into its spine. With a vicious twist, she dug it in deeper. Swirls of magically lit swords appeared, slamming right behind her first attack. In a matter of seconds, Ryzar was looking similar to a porcupine.

With a painful squawk, Ryzar stumbled, falling onto the ground with a loud thump. With its last shuddering breath, Ryzar died.

A violent cheer erupted from the crowd.

The remaining HilEyes were quickly rounded up, allowing them to clean up leftover stragglers.

Snow, who was holding onto her sword, let go. She pulled out her sword and jumped off Ryzar's back. With a thump, she slid down and landed on her feet. A relieved expression bubbled out from her throat, canvassing her lips.

"Snoooowwww!" Red was yelling at the top of her lungs. She jumped on Snow.

In surprise, Snow automatically reached out to catch Red before she was bulldozed onto the ground.

"Red." Snow tried her best to calm her down, but before she could, others swarmed around her.

"Master!" Angie cried out. Even Angie, who was religiously healing the other Players in the background, rushed over in excitement.

"You little brat!" Tommy cried out, smacking Snow on her shoulder a few times.

Snow's head jilted back and forth, giving her slight pain.

"You did it!" Tommy laughed, throwing his head back.

"No, we did it," said Snow. "We wouldn't have been able to do this if it wasn't for all of you guys."

This was true. There was no way without the help of everyone, putting in the effort would have made this possible. She couldn't sweep away the mobs, ride the rollercoaster, and fight the monsters all at the same time. She was no god.

���Just take the compliment, sheesh." Tommy hit her on her back again.

Snow jolted forward, almost falling onto the ground if it wasn't for Dairen who had caught her.

She could smell his familiar scent, tingling in her nose. Her eyes cast up to see Dairen was giving her a warm smile as well as everyone else. Snow couldn't help but be infected with everyone's laughter as she too burst out with glee and relief.

It took a bit of time for her to get her body under control from her giggling. She realized that she was still in Dairen's arms. Her cheeks blushed pink, pulling herself away.

"Sorry about that," Snow coughed. She was unable to make contact with his eyes. If she stayed any longer in his arms, she would have probably stayed.

Mike ran over with Rodney trailing behind. He jumped on her, picking her up.

A squeal escaped Snow's lips. She was startled by Mike's brash actions, mostly because he came from behind.

"We did it!" Mike yelled in happiness, eventually, putting her down. "I can't believe it, we cleared the dungeon in less than two weeks! It's not like last time where we were stuck in the dungeon for over six months."

"Yes, we did." Snow agreed with him; her head felt a bit dizzy.

Being able to cut down the time was a huge relief, mostly because it told her that she and her group were getting stronger.

"We should collect these monster parts and head out," Snow replied, she wanted to take a rest.

"After we destroy the dungeon core."

As if on cue, the hedgehog appeared right above her. His cute little snout flared open and closed, sniffing at her for a few minutes. The green gem sparkled in its little paw, but before he could speak, Snow sword flashed in a heartbeat.

The hedgehog was instantly cut in half, leaving behind a black withered corpse as it fell onto the very ground. Only the green gem remained.

"That was ...a bit unexpected." Mike was stunned at Snow's unexpected actions. She looked at the small corpse and back at Snow, unable to figure out how she knew.

Snow ignored Mike's stare. She squatted down, her hand reaching towards the green gem. She could feel the radiating power, pulsating inside the precious gem. It was mind-numbing as the draw of energy was calling to her to take. Her mind felt heavy, unable to think straight.

Carefully, she reached out, ready to grab it in one go.

Suddenly, a puff of black smoke smashed into her very face, blinding her. She coughed and hacked up bile, unable to breathe. Her eyes puffed up and watered down her cheek.

"I'll take that," a familiar voice called out from the fog.

"Who?"

With a blast of dark energy, Snow was thrown up in the air but was pushed onto the ground. A sharp pain erupted through her back and traveled back up and down her body and tingled in her fingers. She groaned, pushing up on her arm. Her buzzing sound buzzed in her mind, giving her a slight headache.

"Well, if it isn't the princess," Levian mockingly spoke as it pierced her mind. "Oh wait, I should be calling you the Saintess, now. Correct?"

Snow snapped towards Levian's voice, surprised that he was here. She wondered how he was able to get past all those games by himself, making her wonder if there were any solo type games that she didn't know about. Another thought that invaded her mind was maybe he was working with the forces in bringing the dungeon to existence?

But, from the way he snatched the gems before her, she couldn't help but think he was a secret organization.

"Levian." Snow worded with a slight hiss. "What are you doing here?" She glared at him. Her right hand was itching towards her sword.

"Nothing much, just collect some useful ingredients for my experiment," Levian replied, laughing at Snow.

As much as she didn't want him to be here, she wanted to know why he had come to take away her prize. She was so close to taking away the tantalizing power that called upon her very soul.

For some reason, her mood was affected by it, becoming a bit sharper than she would like.

Quickly, her mind became a bit clearer, allowing her to control her raging emotions.

"What are you trying to accomplish? Why are you even really here?!" Snow was getting quite annoyed that he was teasing her. She despised Levian as he had an interest in Heather and didn't want this criminal anywhere near her friend.

"That is a question we all want to know." Levian gave her a cryptic answer. "But that is a story for another time."

Levian waved his hand to push away her question. He then bowed deeply and disappeared. Leaving Snow in disbelief.