2.31.

"AahH?!!" Evelyn tripped from the slanting bridge.

"Hold on!" Shiro grabbed hold of her and prevented her from falling off.

Linzy didn't need any command and simply flickered around.

Feeling his heart sinking at the familiar meeting, Sequencee finally got a glimpse of this creature. Though it wasn't the same one he and his mom met in the past, the monstrous strength remained ludicrous as ever.

Just as there was a big gap between C-rank and B-rank, the gap between an A-rank and S-rank was also exceedingly greater.

S-rank lesser leviathan. Unlike the regular leviathans that live in the Taboo Oceans, these leviathans lived in the limited sea of the underground cave systems.

But make no mistake. The sheer size of this thing was enough to gobble up an entire building and have a stomach to spare for a few thousand screaming human corpses.

The majesty of serpents stretched upright, resisting the red falling comets as if it were nothing. The descending hell flame boulders would bounce off the thick anti magical barrier which coated all over its pristine white scales. Landing into the pool explosions of steam created fog which only worsened visibility.

Sequencee clicked his tongue and ran in retreat with the others.

KSHHAAA!!

Its majestic golden eye narrowed to a slit as a nauseating hiss boomed throughout the cave. The middle portion of the bridge finally crumbled to destruction.

"What the fuck is that thing!!" Risa's scream went unheard as a powerful light condensed in the fog.

Sequencee grabbed his SOS crystal and used it as a catalyst. The crystal not only serves as an emergency beacon to notify others of their location, it creates a strong bubble which would act as a barrier against the attacks of monsters in the dungeon should anything happen. The typical use of it was to activate it inside the tunnel to segregate the place into two parts so the students could run towards the opposite direction to flee. Even if they were pincered at both sides, the fact that they had 5 SOS crystals would at least help them survive for two to four hours.

He over-infused mana into the activation port and expanded the reach to initiate its defense mechanism– technically overriding the system.

More than a dozen white barriers straightened out into something like a glass shield layered to a painfully opaque white. He also added reflective property and antimagic onto each sheet in hopes that it would help deflect some of that energy. As an additional measure he created a crack in space, and between him and the crack was a bulward of reinforced ice and earth which layered tens of meters thick.

If the others weren't here, he would've simply jumped out of the way as most do, rendering its attack useless. The lack of flexibility was what made this attack weak, which was made up by the destructive power of it when it hit. Trying to defend against it was suicidal, most wouldn't dare. But he had no choice, There was a great chance allowing the attack to blow up them, including their escape route.

The world seemed to whisper death as a white light pierced the atmosphere.

Sequencee turned and focused everything he had to defend against this attack.

Half the pressurized ray was gobbled up by the spatial crack, but by an overload destabilization, it led to the crumbling of the first line and explosion. The momentum remaining pierced and shattered through the ice and rock like paper. Coming into contact with the safety barrier, it shattered half of the numbers in the first second and ate through the rest in the next. Before Sequencee could come up with countermeasures, the ground below him exploded.

It wasn't a direct hit, nevertheless, the shockwave sent everyone flying. Besides Sequencee, the team was given a small boost to the rocky ledge near the exit while.

Being the one closest to the site of impact, Sequencee was flung to the wall to the corner of the cavern and caved in.

His spine broke, he tasted iron and spurted a mouthful of blood. The lesser leviathan stuck out its tongue innocently. It looked at him as if he were some pitiful creature.

"Sequencee!!" Evelyn yelled in horror.

His body peeled off the wall and fell– a splash was created as his body dropped into the water.

Evelyn, out of frenzy, wanted to jump in to save him but Shiro held onto her tight. Linzy and Risa risked their chances of escape and bolted towards where he fell.

The leviathan stared calmly, as if it were curious of what was to come. It didn't think that they would be much of a threat, nor did it think that they would be enough to feed its belly. Either way, these humans caused it much more trouble than expected.

Reaching the edge, Risa panicked, causing Linzy to panic too. She, upon realizing how they wouldn't have any means of climbing back up even if they managed to bring him up to the surface froze in place. More frightening was how this pool of water was the leviathan's domain.

Neither of them were mages. They didn't have crazy parkour skills nor great swimming ability. Jumping down was literally suicide.

A moment of hesitancy; the paradox of conscience– Sequencee would've liked it if they had just run to the exit instead.

Alas, the leviathan finally shifted its attention to the other humans– Shiro.

It hissed once more, causing a wave of nausea to judder their minds.

It opened its mouth once more.

"RUN!!"

One word.

Risa and Linzy's figure vanished, Shiro dragged Evelyn into the dark.

A white light bloomed with the two girls barely squeezing into the breach as the shockwave sent them flying up a few stairs. The impact rattled their minds– Shiro holding Evelyn tight to cushion her from the impact.

Rubble tumbled down, darkness settled.

The ragged breathing of the four individuals.

Ten seconds passed.

A weak light coalesced, illuminating the long stairway and.. from where they came had been completely sealed off by vitrified boulders.

Evelyn staggered towards the rock and began to dig at it with her magic– she couldn't.

Her mind was blank, desperation clouded her judgment. The only thing she knew was that Sequencee was hurt, she needed to heal him. Tears kept falling as she lamented her weakness. Her shaken state made it impossible for her to use earth magic properly.

"Evelyn.." Risa grabbed her hand, telling her to stop.

She directed her lifeless purple eyes towards her.

"Why..?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"..."

Risa didn't know how to reply.

Had they reacted earlier, Sequencee would've not needed to act as he did. The fact that he was the only defense they had was what forced him to become their shield.

It didn't matter that they were the hero, or that they had some super high strength stats– all that was useless if they couldn't defend themselves.

A demon lord sacrificing himself for the hero– how ironic.

"Damn it.." Shiro punched the wall.

"Big brother.."

"DAMN IT!!"

He smashed his fist over and over and over. Destroying his joints and muscles, creating a mess of blood on the wall.

He cried, his head against the wall. He wanted to smash his head too when Linzy grabbed him by the cheeks.

Her blood red eyes peered into his. The creepy stare she was showing him was made worse by the dim lighting.

"Miss Iona is in there."

"..."

"What.. did you say?" Evelyn's voice cracked.

"Miss Iona has been watching us," Linzy's puerile voice was like God's salvation.

"Miss.. Iona was there?"

"Master. She told us to go back. She'll protect him. She said," Linzy's voice trembled. She rarely requested anything by her own volition so she was afraid that Shiro would get angry at her.

"R-Right.." Shiro stuttered.

"Evelyn," Risa called out to the shaken princess, concerned.

"Shut up," Evelyn shook Risa's hand off her.

She grabbed the SOS crystal and infused mana into it, enough that it turned into a beacon without activating the shield function.

She picked up her staff and utilized the reserves stored within to accelerate the excavation. There was no way she was going to leave Sequencee, even if there was some powerful maid by his side. The exams could go to hell for all she cared.

Without anything left to say, Risa and Shiro could only watch her from behind.

Linzy, concerned about Shiro's bloody hand, gazed past the darkness.

'Miss Iona, good luck.'

===

'Hurts..'

It had been a long time since he strained himself to this point of empty pain. Reaching the bottom of his mana pool had now forced him to squeeze whatever remaining energy he had left from his broken body.

'How long..'

He knew he needed to keep himself in this state until his body regenerated back to its original condition. At the least, it would take an hour.

'Stay awake..'

The struggle was more of an internal one. The excruciating fatigue urged him to let go and fall into the depths of his consciousness. But he knew the moment he gave in, it would be his last.

'Help..'

His body contained inside an air bubble coated with [Illusion Magic: Universal Haze] continued to fall deeper into the depths of the water reservoir. By logic, it should've stopped at some point due to the equalization of density. But this notion proved false as the blue around him faded darker, and darker.

'Help me..'

As he fell, so did the temperature. A chilly feeling of familiar despair enveloped him. He was reminded of the past– how weak he was to be unable to protect his mother– the bloody heart held in the knight's hand–

The flame inside of him flickered. His reason for living, to fight.

'I'll kill you..'

This last shred of reason keeping him from his own end.

Hate– Revenge–

Kill all demons.

The self burning fuel that ran his engine.

["Btzz.. You.. Btzz.. Highnezz.. clear.. tzz.. will.. reach.. hang pztt.. on.."]

In complete darkness, the red necklace flashed dimly.

"Iona.."

Sequencee laughed at himself inwardly.

'Where did she come from?'

Pain came at each breath, the tingling sensation of his extremities as the neurons in his body began reconnecting.

'How is she going to reach me here?'

Sequencee knew well that he'll be tested for his limits.

Thump.

A wave of pain crashed through him. The firing of his regenerating neurones– his weak condition didn't even allow him to scream.

Thump.

"Ah–"

A weak voice leaked from his mouth, conveying the immense pain he was in. The darkness sank to an even blacker dark as his vision grew increasingly distant. His returning senses were also fading, as if mocking his attempts of life.

'Help..'

He tried to move his hands. He tried to use magic.

'I can't die yet.. help..'

He squinted his eyes as a tear streamed down his cheeks. Water began to leak into his air bubble, slowly soaking his clothes–

'Ah.. so this is it..'

Water had covered his ears entirely as it reached his foaming mouth. His body convulsed to the pain, heart rate rising, struggling to breathe..

'I'm sorry.. mom..'

He closed his eyes.

…

..

.

Slowly, as the magic gave way.. as his breathing slowed and all notion of time seemed to end..

– A pair of golden eyes unfurled in the depths of darkness.