Escaping the Ambush

As Leviathan lunged with monstrous ferocity, Amukelo's instincts kicked in with split-second precision. He dodged the initial attack, rolling to the side as the dark behemoth's claws tore through the air where he had just stood. Quickly regaining his footing, Amukelo assessed their dire situation. The paths around them crumbled and fell away, leaving only the entrance they had used to enter this fraught battleground.

"Eliss! You know what to do," Amukelo shouted over the chaos, his voice a beacon of command amidst the tumult. Eliss, her focus unyielding, began to weave her magic with intense concentration. Her hands moved in complex gestures, summoning a formidable swarm of magical creatures. As they materialized, she directed this army of conjurations towards Leviathan in a desperate bid to overwhelm him.

Leviathan, fueled by rage at their persistent escapes, responded with a terrifying roar. Dark energy surged around its massive form, an aura of pure malevolence that pulsed with destructive power. With a sweep of its arms, it unleashed a wave of dark energy that obliterated the swarm of summons in a single, devastating blow.

Not wasting a moment, Amukelo seized the opportunity to counterattack. "Eliss! Now!" he cried out as he gathered all his strength and mana into a formidable space-tearing slash. The air split, a visible tear in the very fabric of the dungeon, aimed with deadly precision at Leviathan.

Eliss, hearing Amukelo's cue, sprinted towards the entrance they had come through, her robes billowing behind her as she ran for safety. Leviathan, infuriated by their tenacity and refusal to succumb, roared, "I'm not letting you out!" It then summoned a massive orb of dark mana, hurtling it towards the exit in an attempt to seal their only route of escape permanently.

Amukelo, his focus razor-sharp, extended his aura dramatically. As the dark mana bomb neared, he manipulated the space around it, creating a tear that sliced the orb in half. The divided energies dissipated harmlessly to either side of the passage, their destructive potential nullified by his quick thinking.

However, Leviathan was quick to capitalize on Amukelo's momentary vulnerability. With a swift motion, it swung its regenerated, bladed tail, a deadly arc aimed directly at him. Eliss tried to help him by summoning many defensive spells, but Leviathans tail went through them as if they were thin glass walls. Amukelo managed to raise his swords in a desperate block, but the force of the impact was overwhelming. He was thrown backward with brutal force, hurtling towards the dungeon wall.

Quick to react, Eliss cast a spell that conjured a tall, stone pillar in the path of Amukelo's flight. Acting like a trampoline, the pillar redirected his momentum. Amukelo, using every ounce of his agility and training, launched himself from the pillar, soaring towards the entrance where Eliss had just disappeared.

Inside the passage, Eliss waited anxiously, casting multiple layers of protective spells around the entrance, trying to fortify it against Leviathan's relentless assault. As Amukelo landed beside her, his breaths heavy and his body battered, they shared a brief glance—one that conveyed both relief at their narrow escape and the grim determination that they would need to continue fighting.

Together, they retreated into the passage, the sounds of Leviathan's enraged roars echoing behind them sending destructive attacks at the entrance they just went through. They were bruised and weary but alive, their spirits bolstered by the small victories within the fight and the unyielding bond that sustained them through each trial. As they moved deeper into the relative safety of the level, their minds were already turning to the next challenge, prepared to face whatever dangers awaited with a resilience that had been forged in the very heart of darkness.

Leviathan's fury knew no bounds as he watched Amukelo and Eliss disappear into the collapsing entrance. His roars echoed through the caverns, a primal scream of anger and frustration. "YOU COWARDS!!! GET BACK!! I WILL MURDER YOU!! NOTHING WILL BE LEFT OF YOU!!" he bellowed, his voice reverberating off the stone walls. He unleashed a barrage of ranged attacks, dark energy bolts that slammed into the collapsing rubble, each impact a testament to his wrath. But despite his immense power, the entrance sealed shut, cutting off his assault and leaving him to stew in his rage alone in the darkened chamber.

Meanwhile, Amukelo and Eliss hurried away from the danger, the sounds of Leviathan's anger fading behind them. Amukelo grimaced with each step; a deep cut on his side from Leviathan's tail blade was a painful reminder of their perilous encounter. Although his armor had absorbed much of the blow, saving his life, the wound was serious. Eliss quickly administered their last healing potion and cast a healing spell. The potion soothed the pain and the spell accelerated the healing, closing the wound and stopping the bleeding. However, the injury remained tender, a sharp pain flaring with every movement.

"We need to move," Amukelo insisted, his voice strained but determined. "We have to stop Oxius before they get to another entrance, otherwise, we might not be that lucky again."

Eliss, concerned yet resolute, nodded in agreement but couldn't hide her worry. "But what about your wound?" she asked, her eyes scanning the makeshift bandage for any sign of bleeding.

Amukelo reassured her, "Considering the time we need to cross level forty-five, and the fact that you are not injured, I should be able to get back to full effectiveness by that time." His confidence was partly to comfort her and partly to steel himself against the pain.

With that, they pressed on. Amukelo leaned slightly on Eliss for support as they walked, but when it came to combat, he insisted on fighting independently. Their progress through level forty-five was cautious yet steady. Amukelo's condition meant they could not afford the relentless pace they had maintained in previous levels, but neither of them was willing to slow down more than necessary.

As they navigated the dungeon, the echoes of their battles with Leviathan and the looming threat of Oxius weighed heavily on their minds. Amukelo, despite the injury, fought with a grim determination, each strike against the dungeon's denizens fueled by a mix of pain and resolve. Eliss, on the other hand, was at full strength, barring the exhaustion that tugged at her limbs due to the continuous strain and lack of rest.