Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sounds of rapid footsteps echo in the spiral staircase between the seventh and the eighth floor of the dungeon. A light magic spell reveals that those sounds are coming from a group of people.
A group of four individuals are hurriedly descending to the floor below in pursuit of a person that one of them has marked earlier. However, the mark has apparently disappeared a while ago and they are currently going to the last spot it has seen to check it out.
They are originally five in the group. One of them actually died when they fought the heavily nerfed Great Sorceress. He was the tank of the group. He directly took the attack that would hit one of them and died due to the sheer power of the Great Sorceress's spell.
Tap. Tap.
After minutes of nonstop running, they finally reach the eighth floor of the dungeon. The deepness correlates with the air temperature they are feeling. They are currently kilometers deep from the surface, and they are scorching heat that almost reaches the boiling point.
But they are trained for extreme terrains and possess high resistance to heat themselves. They can pretty much endure such heat for a long time.
Upon arrival on the eighth floor, the leader of the party, a black-haired rouge named Enves Telert, scans the dark hallway and finds a few lesser dragon corpses not so far from them. When he turns his gaze to the right, he senses some wetness and chill, implying the use of ice magic.
(Those dead dragons indicate that they were killed by her. She must be nearby.)
Enves deducts his speculation before turning his head to one of his colleagues.
"Where is her last location, Ingrid?"
"She's at the left a few hundred meters afar."
"She might be still there. Let's go."
At his lead, the four of them proceed running through the hallway. Not far from the entrance, Enves suddenly senses something huge and powerful a few hundred meters ahead, something he has never thought is possible. Sensing the danger, he then abruptly halts and spreads his arms out to signal the others.
"What's wrong, Enves?" Asks Purin Lagbay, the swordsman of the party.
"I feel a powerful monster on the way," Enves replies. "It's a large dragon, probably a greater dragon. It might be the reason why the Great Sorceress's mark has gone."
"If that thing actually takes out the Great Sorceress, our job is basically done."
"I think you're right, Ingrid." Enves agrees. "Let us just say that she got killed by a monster in the dungeon. There's no way someone could survive this deep alone. We are going back to the surface."
Everyone collectively nods their head in agreement on Enves's decision. In any case that the Great Sorceress survives, this floor has been too dangerous for the party to move forward, especially since they lost a member.
However, as they just begin running their way to the staircase, Enves senses that the dragon they want to avoid suddenly moves and is flying in their direction.
"?! Quick! It's coming at us!"
The party speeds up in response to his warning. They run as fast as they can but the dragon is still catching up. When they are about to reach the stairs, the dragon has fired an energy ball that easily outpaces them.
"Watch out!"
BOOM!
Enves makes them stop just in time and they are almost getting hit by the powerful attack of the dragon, which is aimed at the entry to the stairs. A powerful explosion occurs and a shockwave immediately follows the initial explosion that sends the party flying at least a dozen meters behind.
"Ugh!"
They let out painful grunts as their bodies violently land on the hard floor. As they are struggling to get up, a small quake resonates through the hallway. Looking at the source, they see the dragon has landed in front of the entrance, blocking their only way to escape.
"This dragon is quite powerful and smart enough to block our exit," while the dragon is charging its attack, Enves reminds everyone. "Be careful around it."
"Should we fight it?" Purin asks.
"We have to." Ingrid replies with a serious tone. "If you want to get out of here."
"She's right." The magic caster of the party, Misha Lokkins, voices her opinion. "But like Enves just said, this dragon is strong. It might look like a greater dragon, but its magic power is more than every dragon I have encountered. This is definitely not a normal greater dragon."
"Each one of us might be able to take down a dragon on our own," Enves adds. "I am even confident that I could handle a single greater dragon myself. But that doesn't matter right now. This is far greater than anything we have seen."
"A disaster-class threat..." Purin mumbles whose words in his breath. "Something that is capable of destroying a nation."
"It's attacking...! Move out!"
Boom.
In Enves's command, the members of the party quickly spread out and the energy ball only hits the floor. Shortly after, Misha deactivates her light magic and the surroundings instantly go dark.
Shatter. Shatter.
The sounds of breaking glass then follow up. Those things are actually elixirs for night vision that lasts for half an hour. Although not as clear as something they can see in daylight, the elixirs give them vision like that of a cloudless full moon night, more than enough for them to see the surroundings decently.
With them surrounding it, the dragon constantly moves its head around to take a glance at the humans. They are very coordinated, indicating that they have prepared for this moment.
The first one to attack is Ingrid, who has released the string of her heavy bow firing an arrow that is layers with buffs from a distance. The arrow flies faster than the speed of sound. With an enhancement that multiplies its momentum, its damage would be so devastating that it would instantly blow up a human body upon hitting. However, its target is not a human.
Clink.
With just a fast movement, the dragon manages to deflect the arrow by hitting it with the boney part of its wing, redirecting the arrow to the side. Even if the arrow hits the dragon's vitals or not, it is still a part of their plan and plan B has been executed.
After Ingrid's shoot, Misha begins bombarding the dragon with her magic, repeatedly and rapidly spamming advanced-tier magic spells, Icicle Lances and Rock Lances at the dragon. Those spells are not that powerful, but it does not require her to consume as much mana, which lets her cast them multiple times in a short time.
Whoosh.
In response to the incoming magical spears, the dragon fires its breath attack. With its bluish-white flames, the extreme temperatures instantly disintegrate those spells into smithereens.
While the dragon is distracted, Purin charges forward from the other side, quickly closes the gap between them. But before he can thrust his great selection to its belly, the dragon quickly whips its tail and hits Purin's flank hard.
"Ack!"
Purin is sent flying for at least fifty meters before rolling on the floor. His metal armor is severely dented. But even so, he still manages to rise up. Without minding the blood leaking from his mouth, Purin smiles. Holding tight on his sword, he is about to execute his awakened ability to the dragon.