CHAPTER 223(Boss Gauntlet -I-)

Please read the author's notes.

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CHAPTER START---

---Floor 107, The Crystal Palace...

Three weeks after beginning their latest expedition The Trifecta are still walking through the magnificent Crystal Palace.

Walls of clear crystals with rivers of kaleidoscopic energy flowing behind them. The floor and ceiling are identical to the walls in every way, constantly exuding light within the dungeon.

The flowing colourful energy separated from the adventurers by the indestructible crystals, completely unphased by Yang's immense strength and Welf's Void Flames.

All the energy was flowing deeper into the dungeon, as if guiding the adventurers toward what they sought.

This strange section of the dungeon only began one floor ago, and barely any monsters exist within. Those they found are few and far between. Undead skeletons for the most part with the occasional young dragon.

"Stop," Thalie raises her hand and brings the group to a halt. All now wearing their full armor, they stand on guard waiting for her to continue. "Something is watching us..."

Welf looks around confused, "uh...this entire hallway is empty, is it invisible?"

"If it was my Seismic Sense wouldn't catch it, these crystals don't allow me to send magic through them," Yang explains.

"No...not here, there," Thalie points to the wall on their right.

"In the wall?" Yang asks.

"No, I can't explain it but it feels like I'm being watched, and my Primal Awareness lets me pinpoint exactly where the source is...its that way, almost a mile away," she says.

"Exactly a mile?" Yang asks curiously. Both his friends turn to him.

"Is that bad?" Welf asks. "Usually when you ask follow-up questions it's bad...Elder Dragon?"

"No, Elder Dragons are smart...ish, but they're still animals. This is more like an undead, maybe a Lich," Yang shrugs.

"Of course," Welf groans. "I miss when Goliath was the scariest thing I had to fight."

"Can you lead us to it?" Yang asks Thalie.

"Yeah, it's creepy. like he's constantly staring at me without even blinking. But what's the plan when we get there?"

"I don't know what kind of spells we'll have to deal with so focus on playing defense for a bit until we see what it can do. It'll probably raise undead soldiers, fire usually works good against liches," Yang says.

"Well, we've got plenty of that," Welf chuckles at the thought. "Let's get going..."

Thalie rushes off in a sprint, just slow enough for Welf to keep up. Wanting to track the source of this eerie feeling before the monster stops gazing at them.

While Welf had to focus on running Yang was at a casual jog, focusing on not overtaking the others.

Eventually making it to the end of a particularly narrow and short hallway they see the energy flowing through the crystals leading them forward. Making a sharp right and entering what Thalie presumes to be the boss room.

"Everyone ready?" Yang asks as they stop before the room.

Receiving nods from both his allies he leads them around the corner. Taking the final few steps he reaches forward and summons his weapon. The Elementalist Switch-Axe manifests in his hand and he rests it on his shoulder whilst marching onward.

"It's above," Thalie says before they enter the arena.

Withing the circular room of the same crystal material. Rivers of energy flowing to an exit on the other side. Two hundred feet wide from end to end with a ceiling just as high, a massive crystal cylinder.

And floating above, looking down on them like a twisted, evil chandelier.

"A fucking Death Tyrant..." Yang mutters in disbelief. "Scatter!" he immediately commands, the words sent from his visor into their helmets just as the monster begins moving lower to the floor.

Looking up as they spread out, they all see the porcelain white skull floating above. As large as a car with one eye socket. Only the skeletal frame with sharp teeth in its mouth. One glowing red crystal where the eyeball should be and five smaller glowing eyes rotating around the monster, constantly looking around the room at the adventurers.

"Yang?" Welf asks, concern clear in his voice.

"Dodge the beams!" Yang commands.

Not a moment later three of the floating eyes begin firing out beams of different colors. While they were busy dodging these attacks the two remaining eyes began constructing skeletal soldiers from nothing and dropping them onto the battlefield below.

"Plan?" Thalie asks as two of the growing swarm of soldiers immediately rush her with bare, boney, hands.

"Fight the soldiers and dodge the beams till I can make an opening, I need to see all the colors to know what they do," Yang says as he swings his weapon. The massive Greataxe cleaves through two of the skeletal soldiers and stops halfway through the third. "Wha-" Yang is forced to withdraw his weapon as the third soldier lunges at him. He reacts instantly, knocking it across the room with a kick to the chest.

Seeing the soldier now knocked over to the other end of the room get back up as if nothing happened, the missing arm that he cut, and the broken ribs he crushed, not bothering it at all, the monster immediately sprints back to him.

'These minions are way stronger than all but the floor bosses we fought before...this is gonna be a problem,' Yang realizes, seeing Welf with Mosoka and Hikari out. The longsword was in full Buster-Sword Flame Construct form while Hikari was extended into a Flame Construct Rapier.

Without issue Welf cuts down the minions as if they were just any other monster, having all skills either focused on making his fire stronger or equipment better had its advantages after all, in terms of offensive potency he was second to none.

Thalie was having no issue with the minions as well, just like Welf, her weapon grows with her, an advantage Yang doesn't have. Clad in a layer of golden magic above her golden armor she smashes through monsters as if they were nothing.

'I guess I'm the only one slacking,' Yang says as he stops pulling his punches.

Leaping backward he sends a wave of magic into his weapon, the Great-Axe transforms into a glowing purple-blue greatsword, crackling and sparking the purple lighting and blue fire.

With another slash he easily cleaves half a dozen skeletal soldiers in two, shattered bones scattering across the floor as more and more rush toward them.

"Green!" Thalie's voice yells out through his visor. Yang's head snaps over to see her avoiding a green bream of energy from above, fired from one of the three floating eyeballs that aren't currently making minions. As it passes over the skeletal soldiers it turns them into fine grey dust.

"Disintegration!" Yang calls out. "Pulls apart organic matter at the smallest level, it takes longer the stronger you are but don't let it touch you, and it goes through armor and cover!"

"Purple!" Welf's panicked shout draws Yang's attention. He sees the man backing away as a purple beam is fired from one of the remaining two eyes at him, slowly following him around the battlefield.

"That's Life Transference, it steals your health to repair itself!"

"What's the third?" Thalie asks as she notices the Death Tyrant descending within a hundred feet of the battlefield, staring down at them.

"Can be one of ten," Yang says. "One is a death beam but none are good, don't let any hit you. Oh, and we're about to lose our magic."

"WHAT!" Welf cries out, not wanting to fight these things without his magic.

"The big eye in the middle stops magic and healing directly in front of it for about a hundred feet, but it has to keep staring in your direction," Yang says as his weapon suddenly stops glowing and shifts back into the base Great-Axe form.

Thalie's golden glow surrounding her weapon and armor stops, she immediately leaps away to make some distance between her and the enemies.

The Flame Constructs on both Welf's swords disappear as he's left with their base forms. "Fuck!" he backs up to regain his composure as he's now fighting with blunt Mosoka and a parrying dagger in Ikari.

"Plan?" Thalie asks as she smashes a few more skeletons.

"Everyone pick a side, it can't look at all of us with the main eye that way, whoever gets magic just takes out those smaller eyes first!" Yang commands.

They all immediately turn around and rush to opposite ends of the room. The Death Tyrant is forced to make a hard choice.

Suppress the magic of the man with two incredible magical weapons? The lady with golden offense magic on her weapon and defensive magic on her body? Or the man with the one massive weapon?

Luckily for the Death Tyrant, it can feel the magical capacity in someone, and if it were a lesser monster it could have mistaken Yang for being boundless.

It keeps its Anti-Energy Cone locked onto him while lashing out with both beams.

Yang grits his teeth and stands his ground as he yells out, unable to use the communication link in their armor because of the Anit-Energy Cone. "I'll keep it still just crush the eyes!" Yang commands as he continues fighting in place, allowing both beams to stay on him.

Feeling his body being slowly torn apart atom by atom he looks up to see the Death Tyrant glaring at him with multiple eyes. All while purple energy is being torn away from him and flowing toward the monster.

So distracted by a perceived victory, it gives him all its focus. The one weakness of this monster is, if it loses focus and gives in to arrogance.

As Yang fights off the horde rushing toward him he feels his muscles slowly burning and being pulled apart. Suddenly, it stops.

Up above a golden spear pierced the disintegration blasting eyeballs.

A moment later Thalie is up beside the Death Tyrant, a hundred feet off the ground with her hand reached out, close enough to wrap around the final mystery eyeball.

'If I can get rid of this Yang can act,' she thinks to herself. Knowing that this one mystery factor was the only thing forcing them to play defense, if it was something lethal they could make a plan, if it was harmless they could end this fight.

Looking up Yang sees her barrel into the eyeball and grab it in her palm, tearing it away from the Death Tyrant as she slams into the far wall and ricochets into the floor

But the moment before she grasped the eyeball, it turned to her. Releasing a beam of bright white light for barely an instant before she grabbed onto it.

Yang's eyes widen in realization, both worry, and joy. Worried for his friend, but happy that he could now end this fight.

Chaos blooms to life in intricate thick lines around his body, showing through his armor as he feels the physical boost in his body. Gritting his teeth he launches forward at the Death Tyrant.

BOOM!

The force of him slamming into the monster a hundred feet into the air knocks them both into the ceiling. The monster thrashes around and aims both its remaining eyes at Yang, not difficult considering he was on its face with both hands gripping the main eyeball like a basketball.

As he's crushing down the Anti-Energy Cone remains in effect, luckily Chaos isn't magic.

"Welf!" Yang shouts out. "Get to Thalie, that white beam is blindness-deafness!"

As all the remaining eyes fire at Yang, he feels his body slowly being drained of life as he crushes down with all his might, A flash of bright white energy steals his sense of sight and hearing. Trapping him in a lost void, thankful all he had to do is not let go of his target.

He grips down tighter and focuses everything on his Chaos Mark and strength.

"RAAAAAAAHHHHH!" his bellows were lost to him, unable to even hear himself screaming. Echoing across the battlefield as the Death Tyrant thrashes in pain, small cracks forming on its eyeball as he applies more and more force.

While Yang is dealing with the boss, Welf is rushing toward Thalie.

Finally arriving at the woman's location he expects to have to jump in with both flaming swords and pry monsters off her...for a moment his panic led him to forget she is the Divine Champion Of War.

As he cuts through the horde with Flame Construct swords he sees Thalie, blinded and deafened, but still fighting.

Taking a defensive stance she carefully and methodically parries any and all attacks while constantly repositioning herself.

Not her usual all-offense approach, this time focusing on using her Primal Awareness skill to keep the monsters at bay until her allies can clean up.

With her empty hands and magic active, she parries one of the skeletal soldiers' claw swipes and backhands him in the jaw. His entire head shatters as a few more try to tackle her.

Leaning forward she grabs one of the charging soldiers and spins him around before throwing him toward a large group of monsters.

'Guess she's fine...' Welf thinks to himself as he makes a wide sweep with Mosoka.

A massive torrent of fire consumes the entire battlefield, destroying the nearest soldiers and either hurting or pushing back the others.

Welf looks up to see both the small crystal eyeballs responsible for creating more soldiers retreated into the skull of the Death Tyrant, out of sight and safe from his attacks.

He can't help but smile and worry as he sees Yang stuck on the monster's face with his legs in the eye socket. Sitting with his legs hanging inside the monster as he reaches in to crush the eyeball, all while the Death Tyrant is thrashing like mad to get rid of him and focusing on him with the Life Transference beam.

As another wave of skeletons rushes toward them Welf makes a wide swing with his Buster-Sword Flame Construct on Mosoka, only for his flames to disappear mid-swing. The blunt black metal weapon slams into the monster with the strength of a level-6, too weak for these floors.

The bones chip and the monster tackles Welf, pushing him to the floor and clawing at his thankfully air-tight armor.

"FUCK!" Welf uses all his strength to kick a handful of skeletons that were trying to pile onto him away as his flames return. From his spot on the floor, he slams both his blades onto the ground and a pillar of swirling fire erupts directly on top of him.

With Yang and the Death Tyrant constantly moving around, ever so ofter the Anti-Energy Cone would fall onto Welf and Thalie, causing them to have their momentum thrown off just a bit.

Eventually, however, the battle came to an end, as Welf makes one last swing, before his blade can connect all the skeletons become dust.

"I'm back," Thalie's relieved voice speaks through all their helmets. "Whatever that thing did to my senses was hell," she groans, looking around to see piles of dust.

Welf was standing not far away from her, taking off his helmet and putting away his weapons, wiping the sweat from his forehead and taking deep labored breaths. Fighting a small army of monsters that had higher physical base stats than himself wasn't exactly normal or possibly without his weapons, and even with them, he felt the strain.

Looking around they see Yang on his knees at the other side of the battlefield. A strange red crystal in his hand and a monster crystal broken to pieces in his other hand.

By the time Welf and Thalie walk over to him Yang is sitting on the floor, silently staring down at his hands, his shaking hands.

FOOM!

His mage armor ignites, bright blue flames consuming his body, the temperature higher than his base flame.

"Any reason you're putting effort into your fire? The monsters are gone," Thalie points out.

"Life Transference, Disintegration, and Anti-Energy...weakened me," Yang says between deep, labored breaths.

Reaching up he removes his helmet, and both his friends stare in shock at his state.

Hollow cheeks and sunken eyes, blood running down his nose. As if he forcibly lost a hundred pounds, an outfit of skin hung over a skeleton.

"Oh god," Welf can't help but exclaim.

"We should go back to the safe zone," Thalie suggests.

"No!" Yang stops and composes himself, withdrawing a case of Elixirs and some ration bars. "We're close, I can feel it, just a few more rooms. I can't stop now, please..."

Looking into his tired pained eyes both Thalie and Welf are conflicted on what they should do.

"Fine," Welf relents. "But after you look better than this...that thing really drained you."

"Yeah," Thalie drops down to sit opposite Yang. "And what was that thing anyway."

Welf drops down to sit beside his friends, also curious about what the last monster was.

"Hmmm," Yang tries to formulate his thoughts, downing another Elixir and taking a bite of a ration bar before he speaks. "Well, Beholders are these one-eyed monsters. The big eye does Anti-Magic Cone, little eyes on tentacles do other things, around ten other things. A Death Tyrant is what happens when a Beholder just decides to become an immortal undead lich. But I think the dungeon changed it to more fit the style it's going for. Giving a Death Tyrant the Death Beam would have ended us...the dungeon never makes things impossible to win, assuming you're at the proper level."

"Lethal but not impossible," Welf groans. "Good to know..."

As Yang focuses on his own body, he can feel himself getting better with each bite. With each second of his magic healing him, but the Life Transference beam has another effect. It temporarily lowers the maximum health of a person, and he could feel it on himself.

It would take him days to get back into top form, time he didn't have, so he simply stayed quiet and continued eating.

He had to get home, they were waiting for him...

---Hephaestus's Office, 3 Weeks Ago...

Sitting behind her desk Hephaestus finalizes a delivery contract. Asfi and Hermes were sitting opposite her waiting for the agreement to be made official so they can get to work. Hermes anxiously kneads the hem of his top.

Super high priority retrieval and delivery jobs for Hephaestus are usually handled by Thalie or Tsubaki respectfully.

This was a rare chance for his familia to make an absurd about of money for what would ideally be a simple and very confidential job.

"Alright," Hephaestus says as she slides him the contract. "Just sign and you can leave tomorrow to get started, I want this done as soon as possible."

"Of course my lovely Hephaestus-"

"Watch it," Hephaestus growls at Hermes and his poor attempt at flirting.

"Oh, right. I forgot you're spoken for."

"Just hurry up and get out of---"

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Hephaestus, Hermes, and Asfi all look toward the large double doors that make up the entrance to her office.

"Hephaestus!" Freya calls out as she barges into the room. Wearing long blue pants and Yang's hoodie over her top. "We need to talk."

Hephaestus gives her sister a bored look, gesturing to Asfi and Hermes. "I'm in a meeting, give me five minutes."

"Tch," Freya glares at both Hephaestus's guests. "Both of you wait outside, now."

"Yes my goddess," Asfi immediately bows with a strong blush on her cheeks. Her pupils were wide as she gazes at Freya longingly, none of which was missed by Hephaestus as the woman drags the scared silent Hermes outside.

If looks could kill Hermes would be sent back to heaven by the glare Freya shot him as she walks past them.

Hephaestus leans back into her chair as Freya stands at the other side of her desk. Leaning forward on her hands and looking down at the smith.

"What do you want Freya, I was in an important meeting," Hephaestus says.

"Why hasn't Yang called me?"

Hephaestus blinks a few times, completely confused. "Excuse me?"

"They've been gone for a week, they should be at one of the deep floor safe zones by now, why haven't I gotten a call. And his ring is in his inventory because mine won't connect."

"You know he doesn't have it out while fighting, it could break."

"Has Welf called you?" Freya asks with a smoldering glare, not angry at Hephaestus but at the situation itself.

"Nooo..."

"You're a bad liar. Is Yang alright?"

"He's fine, just very focused."

"Too focused for me?"

"I never said that."

"You implied it."

"No, I didn't."

"Whatever, just call them so I can talk to him," Freya says. Folding her arms under her chest and looking out the window, trying not to pout in front of Hephaestus.

"I'm not doing that," Hephaestus says.

"Because he doesn't want to talk to me?!"

"I never said that, but they could be in a fight right now, no distractions."

"But my ring only connects to his ring, yours connects to his hand, please," Freya openly pouts, trying to get some sympathy from her sister.

"No, Yang doesn't want any distractions," Hephaestus says coldly.

"No distractions?" Freya asks, now more confused. "He never had any problems with me calling him before, what makes this expedition so spe---" she falls silent as the realization hits her.

Seeing the thoughtful expression on Freya's face Hephaestus tries to sink into her chair and make herself smaller, realizing she's said too much.

"Hephaestus..." Freya's eyes are wide open and boring holes into the smith. "What do you know that I don't?"

"Uh, entire libraries' worth of things..."

"About his adventure, is it ending soon? What's going on? Yang wouldn't try to distance himself from me if it wasn't." Freya almost growls out, hands gripping the edge of the desk as if she were trying to break it.

"Freya you know I can't discuss that," Hephaestus says.

"Just tell me, I promise I won't do anything extreme," Freya says sweetly.

"We both know that's a lie. And no, that's familia business."

"Hmm, 'familia business,' the same thing I tell Yang when I don't want him asking important questions."

"Stay out of it Freya."

"I need to know, I can't let him just go and disappear. I'll do whatever it takes to keep him here!"

"Clearly," Hephaestus says in a disgusted tone. "Considering whatever little plot you manipulated Riveria into, there aren't any depths you won't go to. Still the most petty, cruel, vindictive bitch in heaven."

"That's none of your business, what goes on in our bed is between us," Freya says with narrowed eyes.

"He's in MY familia, it is my business. Especially since we both know how protective Loki is with her girls, especially Riveria and Ais."

"That's irrelevant, I just want to know what he's planning, tell me and I'll leave you be."

"No, get out," Hephaestus says.

"Fine...then I'll ask Tsubaki," Freya says in a cold tone.

Hephaestus immediately springs to her feet and slams her hands on the desk. "I am not some rat like Hermes, you charm my captain and there will be consequences!"

"Nothing can be worse than losing my Odr, it's worth the risk," Freya bites back.

"I'm the one who controls how his team levels up, you interfere with Tsubaki and I'll forbid Yang from being with y---"

SMACK!

Hephaestus's entire head turns to the right as she stumbles slightly, just barely catching herself before she tips over.

Raising a hand to her face she feels the stinging pain of Freya's hand on the side of her face. A bruise that would be showing for a few days if she doesn't use a potion on it.

She stares at Freya in surprise and horror, her sister actually struck her, she slapped her.

"You-"

Freya cuts her off, "if I didn't love you like a sister I'd burn everything and everyone you love to the ground for even saying that much, I'll figure this out on my own, you're clearly too selfish to help me."

Freya immediately turns on her heel and storms off, leaving a stunned Hephaestus holding her face and staring at her back.

Storming off into the hallway Freya walks past Hermes and Asfi, ignoring the hungry look the woman gave her as she signaled for Ottar to fall into step behind her.

She turns slightly and speaks to Ottar, "I need you to pay Riveria a visit tonight, I need her to start pulling her own weight in this agreement, she's my last hope..."

END CHAPTER---

When I designed this final Volume almost a full year ago, this was the only fight I didn't have a monster selected for...really hope this one was fun.