26 SCORPION
"Heh~, it's been a while since I last fought one of your kind. Then again they were of much smaller stature than you...."
What stood before him was another damn scorpion, only this time the beast was shockingly larger than the Behemoth.
BZZZZZZZT!
Ivan transmuted a wall to block the incoming acid-filled needles.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
As soon as he discerned there wouldn't be anymore needles shot at him, he dove out of cover and imbued his boots with mana. Sparks flew with each step he took as the ground beneath him rose in elevation, then to dodge the incoming needles he threw a canteen into the air and disguised himself in a cloud of smoke.
Taking advantage of the Scorpion's confusion he burrowed into the ground and arose right beneath where it was standing. He emptied his remaining canteens on the floor before laying his hand into the fastly evaporating puddle.
BZZZZZZT!
The familiar sound of electricity coursing filled his ears, only this time the water shot out of the ground and formed large spikes of ice that pierced into the Scorpion's body.
"RAAAAAAAAUUUGG!!!' The Scorpion screamed out in pain as it used it's large 4 scissor claws to break away at the ice. Ivan used this opportunity to run up to one of it's eight legs and activate his transmutation.
POP!
The appendage exploded into a mess of blood and steam as the Scorpion lost it's balance.
After having done many battles with monsters that have an exterior enveloped in exoskeleton Ivan found it possible to transmute the appendages least guarded, that being the joints. As having an exoskeleton in those areas would only hinder its movement.
Ivan leisurely walked up to the severed leg before touching it with his right arm, soon after a spear made of blood appeared in his hands. He transmuted another footstool into the air before performing a plunge from above into one of the Scorpion's eyes.
BANG! BANG!
Hearing explosions erupt from the location he left Yue, Ivan lifted his head and stared in her direction.
A small shaped hole was left in the wall he had transmuted to keep her safe, and out of that hole stumbled a lithe figure standing at about 140cm in height, with her messy golden blonde hair that reached her waist and red blood eyes Ivan immediately recognized her as Yue.
She lifted her right palm as she supported her trembling arm with the other before performing another attack, this time directed at the Scorpion that had adapted to having lost a leg.
BANG!
Another bang resounded through the cave as the yellow ball of mana enveloped the Scorpion in a cloud of smoke.
Then, she fell over with a smile on her face, as if satisfied with her contributions.
'Magic without a magic circle!' Ivan exclaimed to himself.
"RAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!!!"
Her content smile was immediately disrupted as the roar of the Scorpion reached her ears, and oh boy did it sound pissed!
The Scorpion, having seen it's primary target bucked off Ivan in his momentary stupor and launched a volley of needles at the defenseless Yue.
Ivan landed swiftly on his feet and made a dash for Yue, tracing his hand on the floor as he ran to transmute a wall that would defend her against the attack.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
His defense was a success as he scooped her up off the floor and slinger her over his back. Feeling her breaths tickle his neck, he immediately reprimanded her for her actions.
"What part of 'I'll be back soon' did you not understand. You're in no condition to fight the thing that was literally put here to kill you in case you got out. Ah, what a headache."
Ivan dodged the needles launched in his direction as he made sure to keep his balance, otherwise the little passenger on his back might just fall off.
Feeling her tap his shoulder, Ivan transmuted a wall before looking back at her. It was the same stoic look he had seen since he first met her, and yet this time he got a different feeling from it.
"Ivan, you made me your assistant right? Please believe in me!" And then without another moment of hesitation, her eyes gleamed red before she showed off her characteristically sharp fangs, and then—
CHOMP!
"*suuu* *suuuus*" Ivan ignored the faint sounds of slurping as he replayed her words in his mind.
"'Assistant' huh.... That's right! I have an assistant again!" Stopping all movement, Ivan's eyes burned with a fervent desire he hasn't felt in the last 50 floors.
And with that fervent desire, transmuted right through the wall he was hiding behind and made a mad dash towards the Scorpion, spear of blood in hand.
"UOOOOOOOOH!" Ivan yelled loudly as he charged forwards, ignoring the needles and only dodging when they were about to hit vital parts.
STAB! STAB! STAB!
Some needles bounced off his armor, others only punctured non vital areas.
The Scorpion, surprised by the sudden outburst, took a step back, but this single step caused enough damage to its pride that it roared fiercely in turn and ran to meet Ivan's charge head on.
CLANK!
Bone and Ice collided as the two figures refused to budge any further.
"Ivan, I'm ready!" Seeing the perfect opportunity, Yue paused from sucking Ivan's blood and propped herself on his shoulders.
The room got significantly hotter as even Ivan was beginning to sweat, Yue raised one hand into the air as a giant ball of blue flame levitated slightly above her figure.
"Azure Blaze."
Then, as if obeying her command, the ball of fire fell along with her hand and collided into the body of the Scorpion.
KABOOOM!
The cave was engulfed in a bright blue flash as the screams of the Scorpion grew more distant, feeling the ensuing heat, Ivan stood before Yue and transmuted a dome to shield them from the aftermath.
Inside this dome both Ivan and Yue stared into each other's eyes.
"Y'know Yue, even though that thing tried to kill us and all, don't you think it was a bit overkill to drop the sun on it? I mean, you were some vampire queen some 300 years ago, you didn't have anything else in your arsenal that would have sufficed?"
Ivan ignored the death stare she gave him as he mentioned the end of the vampire race he had read about a while ago. Well, it was more suitable to say that she was more annoyed with his suggestion about her age.
Her stoic expression broke for a moment as she puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
"Oh yeah, don't you think you should have mentioned the whole 'not needing a magic circle to use magic' thing to me sooner. I was quite surprised, y'know."
"I could say the same about you. How come you don't have to use a magic circle or a chant to use magic? And what's with the type of magic you were using, I've never seen anything like it before."
"Magic? Oh yeah, my transmutation. Hm~ You can think of it as a magic so basic it doesn't need a magic circle. Hahaha!"
Then again the transmutation circles engraved in his gear basically provided a substitute for all that.
"Anyways, Yue. How about we continue this chat after we confirm this thing is dead? I'm sure we can get to know each other after the fact."
Not buying Ivan's excuses, Yue only nodded before returning to her stoic expression.
BZZZZZT!
The dome opened with a width large enough for Ivan and Yue to sneak out the back. From here both Ivan and Yue made eye contact before silently delegating the other with the job of making sure their side was clear.
The abundance and quality of Ivan's blood had restored Yue enough to use the basic functions of her body. He assumed it had to do something with the crazy amounts of mana he had. Other than that maybe it was the weird vegetation he's been eating since he entered the dungeon.
They both returned their vision at each other before nodding at the same time, but this eft another question, if both sides were clear then where was the Scorpion?
RUMBLE RUMBLE
Ivan grabbed Yue by her waist before propelling them into the air by elevating the ground they were standing on.
He pointed downwards towards the bemuddled Yue before she understood his message. Then preparing another 'sun' she waited for the monster to rear its ugly head.
RUMBLE
"Now!"
On Ivan's call she swung her arm down at the crater that had suddenly appeared beneath them..
"Azure Blaze!"
The sun followed her arm as it collided with the Scorpion that had burrowed itself from beneath the ground.
".... raaaaaaauuuuggg—!" The Scorpion roared weakly before planting itself into the ground. In the eyes of Ivan and Yue, it was as good as dead.
They both stared at each other before flashing a wicked grin, Ivan presented the spear made of blood to Yue as they both held it together.
And with a yell from either side, they leaped off their elevated platform and plunged the spear directly into the head of the Scorpion.
"------!" The Scorpion let out one final yelp as iits consciousness drifted away.
And just like that, the guardian of the 150th floor forever vanished from the face of the earth.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Phew, I'm glad that worked out well in the end." Ivan readjusted his helmet as he pulled at the spear sticking out of the Scorpion's head.
He sighed at its condition before dropping it to the ground, another cool spear made of blood lost to his hard headed enemies.
Yue picked up the spear, interested in its composition before throwing an inquisitive gaze at Ivan.
"Oh, that. It's just the blood of the Scorpion transmuted into the form of a spear. Pretty cool huh…" Ivan gave off the most vague answer he could before rummaging through his backpack.
Pulling out a mantle exactly the same as the one Yue wore on her shoulders, he sighed in relief before throwing it over himself.
"So, let me get this straight, not only are you a vampire but you could perform magic without any circles or chants and you possess an extremely powerful regeneration ability that makes you effectively unkillable so long as you have mana?"
"Yes, that is indeed the case." Yue nodded curtly to his brief exposition of her powers. Ivan wasn't sure, but he felt an aura of smugness radiating from her expressionless face.
"As I said, my people were afraid of my power. So afraid in fact that they tried to kill me, in the end they realized the futility of it before locking me away down here in hopes that I someday died."
Ivan felt the atmosphere in the room increase several times before he realized a sigh of his own.
"Well that doesn't matter!" He pulled the spear out of her hands before directing it at her heart. "Vampire Queen or not, immortal or mortal, you are now my assistant!"
The spear in his hands evaporated into blood as his hand flashed with sparks.
And even without seeing his expression, Yue heard his voice soften as the next words came out of his mouth.
"And as my assistant, I can promise you we're going to get out of here. After all, there's too many experiments awaiting us out under the sun! We can't die here now, hahahahahaha!"
She stared in a daze as he held his hands to his hips, puffed out his chest, and with a hearty laugh, promised to take her to the surface.
Slowly that expressionless face of hers broke, as a small smile appeared instead.
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BEEP-BOOP
Hey guys Ardo here! I wanna wish you guys a great day/night! My eyes are currently burning and I want nothing more than to jump in my bed but I wanna thank you guys first for continuing to read my stuff. It really motivates me y'know.
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