Chapter 59: Battle of will.

Rigel got brought back to life and he grabbed the rapier that he couldn't swing during his encounter with Nauce. He watched Nauce come out of his coffin and said the same words every time he saw someone enter his tomb.

Rigel used Adrenaline Rush as soon as Nauce readied his stance. They both dashed forward and even with Adrenaline Rush, Rigel could barely see Nauce's movements. He dodged Nauce's left punch and right kick while at the same time swinging his rapier at Nauce's stomach.

He cut Nauce's stomach, but Nauce released some kind of liquid from the wound and healed it rapidly. He realized that he didn't need to waste his energy to hurt Nauce and focused on a single attack that could kill Nauce.

He didn't dare to block Nauce's attacks with his rapier because it might shatter and break into pieces. He dodged and somehow the sparks of lightning that he produced affected Nauce's movements. It felt like Nauce's body got paralyzed for a moment, and it gave Rigel a huge advantage.

"(3 minutes is all I have. I need to kill him before that...)" Rigel leaned his head to the right and barely dodged Nauce's fist which was covered with water. His ear and cheek got cut from the wind it produced.

In the first minute, Rigel observed how Nauce fought and moved his body. He also tried to get used to Nauce's speed so he could start looking for an opening. Although it was just a minute, it felt like time moved slowly while he was in an Adrenaline Rush state.

The second minute, Rigel realized that he wasn't the only one who observed his opponent's movement. He got hit once, and it was a block, breaking his left forearm. In that state, his healing ability was enhanced and made his body a lot stronger as well. He didn't get overwhelmed by the situation, and he was in a flight or fight situation where he had nothing to lose.

At the last minute, Rigel managed to counter Nauce's attacks by grabbing his hands or legs. He used Nauce's brute force and made Nauce lose control of his position and footing. He had been hiding his ability and used it at the last minute to take Nauce off guard and revealed that he could fight without a weapon as well.

When Rigel grabbed Nauce's left arm and pushed his back on Nauce's torso, he slammed Nauce to the ground. He transformed his hands into Lindworm's hands and cut off Nauce's left arm. He then charged his right hand with electricity that was powered by Anima. He stabbed right into Nauce's face and pulled Nauce's head off before Nauce could do anything.

Rigel didn't stop there and he had cast a white fireball in his left hand and put it right on Nauce's chest. He blew Nauce's body up while he was on top of Nauce. Since he had coated his body with Anima's energy, he could withstand the impact and was fine from the explosion.

He got thrown onto the wall, and he couldn't move his body at all once the Adrenaline Rush was over. He was in disbelief that he could win that fight, and he was fortunate that the 19th floor was a small room because if it was too big, he wouldn't be able to control the momentum of the fight.

He watched Nauce's body disintegrate and believed that Lysara'elmaris had taken his soul to her side. He was relieved that he didn't die because he didn't like the idea of his body being controlled by someone else. When he was about to stand up, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and he remembered there were people following him into the dungeon.

"(I can't move my body...)" Rigel glanced at the entrance. "(What should I do? They're strong and one of them had Dragon power)" He knew it the moment his Dragon's Sense resonated with the power of the person that had been following him.

"I can't believe it, no, I don't want to believe a Non-Player could clear the 19th floor..." Leid looked at the mess. "He's too dangerous to be kept alive. We need to kill him," he looked at Rigel as he unsheathed his great sword.

"You put your hand on him and you will lose your life. The Masquerade told us that it would be best if we capture him alive because she wants to see him," Madam said as she approached Rigel with daggers in her hands. "She can see memories. If she finds out you killed him and you lied to her, I'm going to be the happiest person in the tower," she warned.

Leid sighed as he sheathed his greatsword and walked toward Madam to look at the man who cleared the 19th floor on his own.

"What are you going to do now? Are we going to bring him to the surface?" Leid looked at Madam. "I'm not sure if the system can bring him back to the surface with us," he pointed out.

"Then try it. I'll stay here and see if it works or not," Madam responded and kept an eye on Rigel.

Leid grabbed Rigel's body and carried him on his back, and when Leid used the system to make him leave the dungeon, Rigel's body got left behind. It seemed the system only worked for Players, and now it was Rigel and Madam alone on the 19th floor.

"Pretending to be unconscious while you're releasing a killing intent, that's a mistake," Madam stared at Rigel as she swung his daggers, making a whooshing sound that was a bit intimidating.

Rigel opened his eyes and stared into Madam's eyes, realizing she possessed the Dragon's Power. He felt a familiarity with that power and remembered it was Hondo's power.

"That belongs to Hondo," Rigel pointed out as he tried to stand up.

Madam kicked Rigel to the wall with full power, making Rigel's body stick to the wall. She immediately stabbed her dagger deep into Rigel's left shoulder and put her right hand on his neck. Although she did all of that, Rigel didn't even let out a scream of pain.

"I might not be able to win against you in a normal fight..." Rigel could barely speak as Madam choked him so hard that his pipes were about to get crushed. "But do you know dragons have a hierarchy system?" He stared into Madam's eyes. "Yours and mine are like heaven and earth," he pointed out and released his Dragon's Aura as his eyes turned black and his pupils became Stryg's.

Madam's hands trembled and slowly but surely she lost her strength. She didn't know what was going on, and she never thought she would succumb to his presence.

"No matter how strong you are, the moment you have a Dragon's power within you, everything means nothing when it comes to this..." Rigel pulled out the dagger with everything he had and removed Madam's hand from his neck.

Rigel couldn't even stand up, and his hand trembled as he held the dagger. He climbed on top of Madam and when he was about to stab her, she grabbed his wrist. One was trying to survive and the other was trying to kill to survive.

He knew he couldn't push the dagger further, and so he transformed his left hand into Lindworm's hand. He stabbed Madam's right ribs and deep into her lungs so she would lose a bit of strength. But to his surprise, she didn't care about it and tried to push him away as she grunted in pain.

He made a mess of her inside by ripping and tearing them apart, and when Madam lost her strength, he pushed his dagger toward her heart. Before the tip of the dagger could pierce her chest, a greatsword cut off his right hand. A foot kicked his face and it made him lose consciousness.

Leid caught his breath because he ran as fast as he could to go back down. He saw Madam's guts coming out of her side and she was drenched in her own blood.

"It's going to be painful, so hold your breath," Leid said as he pushed the guts back inside her body. He heard Madam's loud scream, but he ignored it and stopped the bleeding. "You're going to be alright..." He looked at Madam with a worried expression.

(On the 41st floor)

The Lady was walking in the hallway, thinking about the report that Aria gave to her. She was convinced that Rigel was indeed the prophesied one, and she didn't care about what Rigel said because she needed him.

"My Lady..." Aria's voice trembled. "Rigel is captured..." He informed with his eyes closed, and his expression was filled with regret and guilt.

Aria didn't dare to lift his head to look at The Lady's face because he felt ashamed that he had failed his task.

"Bring my book and my staff..." The Lady said weakly. "We will take him away from them..." She said as she walked past Aria.