A terrifying red-eyed creature of ice, holding a black sword, charged into the eleven people standing before him.
Most of the adventurer slaves were trembling with fear like terrified chickens. Henry's knees were shaking with both fear and the cold the ice man's arrival had instilled. Only Someryn wasn't trembling. The young man wasn't sure if the white-haired slave wasn't afraid, or if he was simply masking his fear well.
In any case, he knew he was in as much trouble now as the rest of them.
When he looked at Kael, he saw how tense he was, just like his companions. They were trying not to show their fear of the Elemental Devourer.
The Elemental Devourer, seeing everyone terrified by his presence, only laughed with a mocking smile. As he took another confident step toward them, all the adventurers flinched and tensed even more. This amused the ice man again.
"Ha ha! I see you're not so brave when the real threat confronts you. Many adventurers have been here before you. At least they were more cautious and knew whose mana nest they were entering... That still doesn't change the fact that I killed them," he said, licking his lips with a long tongue like Venom's.
After a moment of hesitation, Kael finally managed to control his fear as best he could and took two steps forward, surprising the Elemental Devourer.
"Hmm? Very interesting. Even from a distance, I could smell your pathetic fear, yet you approach me. Why?"
"Excuse me, sir. My name is Kae Caldven, and I am the leader of these people behind me."
"Ahaaa... I see. Well, my name is Titan. So, Kael Caldven: why did you and your subordinates come here?"
"Mr. Titan, please listen. Um, there's a good reason for this..."
"Kael... I'm not interested in excuses. If I need an excuse, I'll beat it out of you."
Kael held his breath, almost choking with fear. The Titan turned his attention to Brina, pointing at her.
"Hey, human woman!" he called to her. "Of all the people here, you have the strongest scent of mana. Tell me: Are there any other mages up there who are at least 100 times more powerful than you?"
Brina nodded, her expression stoic.
"Damn! The art of magic is still so powerful," the surprised Titan said, scratching his head. "I thought that after so many wars, all races would have lost their more powerful magicians and that only weaklings like you would remain."
Brina didn't even flinch at the Elemental Devourer's remark. Instead of listening to his ramblings, she pulled her wand from her pocket and hid it behind her back.
She looked at Kael, whose face was dripping with cold sweat. She nodded, to which Kael agreed and circled forward, shielding Brina with his back.
"Dear Sir Titan," he said in a solemn, noble voice, holding his head high, not avoiding the Elemental Devourer's terrifying red eyes. "We sincerely apologize to you for trespassing on your territory without your permission..."
"He continued..." The Titan narrowed his eyes.
"We just wanted to mine a few mana crystals to make some money. You have to eat something, right?"
"What makes you think I'd care?" he asked, irritation etched on his icy face.
Kael swallowed.
"Because... because ugh." His thoughts raced, trying to come up with a convincing argument, but nothing came to mind.
"*Sigh* Listen, boy. I can feel how many mana crystals you've taken. It's like food to me. Right now, you're taking my food with you, which would have kept me alive for months. What would you do if some miserable worm took the food from your plate? Hmm?"
"..."
Kael had no answer to that question. Desperate, he glanced back at Brina, who nodded.
Kael quickly and nimbly moved out of her way.
"TERRA ACUS!!!" the Sorceress screamed, and dozens of arrowheads leaped from the ground, flying like projectiles towards the Titan.
Before the first bolt reached its target, the Titan smiled. It didn't try to flee or anything, just stood there, unfazed and amused.
All the missiles struck the Elemental Devourer, creating a huge cloud of dust.
The adventurers and slaves began to cough. Kael tried to see if Brina had struck the monster with her earthbending spell.
The dust cleared, and everyone stiffened. The Titan stood before them, not a scratch on its body.
"Impossible." Brina's eyes widened, unable to believe it.
The Titan merely yawned loudly, covering its mouth.
"*Yawn* Nice try," he said as he watched the adventurers, despite their fear, form a defensive formation.
Gill stood at the front with his enormous shield. Kael, Gared, and Markus stood right behind him, weapons drawn. Brina stood at the very back, looking for another spell at any moment.
[This is bad! This is really fucking bad!] Henry screamed in his mind, gritting his teeth. [If these guys don't kill this thing, we're all dead!]
Henry began to look around. If the hunters were truly going to lose, it meant he had to find something to help him survive.
Since the elemental devourer had blocked the exit with a thick wall of ice, Henry had to find another way out.
Looking around the walls, Henryk noticed something. His eyes widened. There was what looked like a breach in the cave wall. This breach could actually be a tunnel leading to another exit.
Henryk quickly analyzed his options. He should head for this possible, but uncertain, exit as quickly as possible, leaving the Titan to its fate.
Observing the battlefield between the hunters and the Titan, he decided to wait for a better moment. After all, this breach could be a dead end, and he didn't want some ice man killing him in the dark.
True, dying here wasn't good either, but Henryk still had a chance to escape by other means, and he wanted to take advantage of it.
Although he didn't fully believe it himself, he hoped the hunters would defeat this mad ice monster. He preferred to try to escape them outside rather than try to outrun this monster.
As he silently considered his options, he didn't notice Someryn watching him.
The white-haired slave didn't expect to survive, but he hoped the other slaves would. He was honestly tired of living as a slave and sincerely doubted he'd die as anyone else.
"Gods." He grimaced, looking at the adventurers and the Elemental Devourer. "I hope something better than this hell awaits me after death."