Thrusting his sword into a winged abomination's neck, Silas quickly side-stepped, narrowly avoiding a devastating blow from one of the giant creatures.
Silas drew mana from his spellheart, spreading it throughout his body and into the runic symbol that was engraved on his hand, and then invoked the second spell, [Crimson Fang]. Suddenly, three crimson swords engulfed in flames appeared behind him.
Silas raised his hand, and all three swords rushed forward, piercing the giant's hide and leaving behind a smell of scorched flesh before dissipating.
"Aria!" Silas screamed, searching the ruins of the dungeon for his older sister. There, he spotted a slender figure battling a dusk hound; her long auburn hair was covered in soot and ash, but her gaze was full of determination.
Brandishing her spear, Aria dashed forward, gracefully avoiding attacks and deflecting the rest with her spear. Silas had never really paid attention to the way his sister fought.
It was like an elegant dance each move was calm and precise, but he could tell that she wouldn't be able to dodge the dusk hound's attacks for much longer.
After all, they had been in the dungeon for five hours now, she would need to rest sooner or later. That was when Aria abandoned her defensive style and adopted a much more aggressive one.
She suddenly thrust her spear forward, impaling the monster and catching it off guard.
Using that to her advantage, she sent mana into her runic symbol and invoked the first spell [Tempest Crest]. She raised her hand, and crescent-shaped wind blades flew out.
The wind blades cut through the air in a silent arc, slicing into the monster's wounded body, ending its life in a flash.
Without stopping to catch her breath, Aria kicked the dusk hound's body off her spear and engaged the next abomination.
Silas wished he could observe his sister's fighting style some more, but by then, he was already being rushed by countless ruins guardians.
"They just never stop coming, do they?" Silas tightened his grip on his Tachi and invoked the third spell [Burning Sigil]. Throughout the time, Silas and his party had been exploring the dungeon.
Silas would circulate mana from his spellheart and expel it leaving its signature all around the ruins.
His sister thought that he was just being cautious, but it was all in wait for this moment. All around Silas, the places he marked began to glow.
The image of a burning crown appears on them, burning brighter and brighter until BOOM. They all exploded, leaving chunks of the surrounding monsters everywhere.
Aria was caught off guard by the sudden explosion.
"That idiot," Aria thought as she lost her footing, which allowed one of the remaining creatures to rush forward and land a slash across her chest.
It wasn't very deep, but it caused her to falter, allowing the fatigue from battle to set in.
The dungeon raid was almost over; most of the remaining creatures were either damaged by Silas's Spell or unable to move due to having lost one or more limbs from the explosion.
The same could be said for Aria's party; the core members were still alive, but some of the hired mages had perished in battle.
But Aria had no time to worry about that because the abomination who slashed her earlier was already drawing near, so she had no choice but to raise her spear and fight.
That was until something streaked by impaling the wyvern in its left eye causing it to let out a bloodcurdling shriek.
Suddenly, dozens of jagged stone spikes burst from beneath the creature, impaling it instantly.
"Begone."
The woman's steady voice echoed nearby as dust swirled around her boots.
Aria turned around to see Liora Fenrir lowering her bow and taking a shallow breath.
Liora was one of the newest mages in their party, an earth mage who had only recently unlocked her third spell.
The main reason Liora had even tagged along to begin with even though she was wary at first, was so that she could absorb the mana from the creature's spellhearts, clearing it of its impurities and refining it so that she could strengthen her own.
And she could also receive a pretty hefty paycheck, considering that she just saved her employer's life.
"I told you to watch yourself, Aria."
"I didn't need your help, Liora. I could've easily handled that on my own."
"Oh yeah? So... enlighten me. How on earth did you get hurt if you could've easily handled it?
"Blame Silas," Aria said nonchalantly while shrugging her shoulders.
"Oh yes, let's blame your injuries on your little brother."
Aria ignored Liora's last remark and calmly aimed her spear towards a towering monster that was aiming to attack Silas from his blind spot.
Her mana condensed into a single point. The runic symbol on the back of her hand until it was shimmering greatly. She then invoked her second spell using what remained of her mana.
[Cloud Piercer].
A thin line of distorted air shot across the ruins. Moments later, the distant creature collapsed as a hole appeared through its skull.
The creature's massive body crashed against the shattered stone, sending dust and broken debris rolling across the ruins.
Silas froze for a moment before glancing back at Aria.
Even from a distance, he could tell she was exhausted. Her breathing had become uneven, and the hand gripping her spear trembled slightly from mana depletion. Yet her expression remained as calm as ever, as if piercing through a monster's skull from hundreds of feet away was nothing more than routine.
"Still showing off…" Silas muttered under his breath.
Unfortunately, the dungeon had no intention of giving them time to rest.
A low rumble shook the ruins.
The broken pillars surrounding the battlefield began to crack apart as black mist seeped from the ground itself. The remaining ruins guardians abruptly stopped moving. Their hollow eyes flickered crimson before all of them turned toward the center of the chamber.
"No…" Liora whispered, her expression paling. "The core guardian is waking up."
The stone floor exploded upward.
An enormous arm covered in ancient armor burst from beneath the ruins, followed by a towering figure nearly three times the size of the other abominations. Chains wrapped around its body rattled violently as two burning crimson eyes opened beneath its cracked helmet.
The pressure alone forced several exhausted mages to their knees.
Silas felt his chest tighten.
The guardian raised a colossal blade before bringing it down.