Chapter 960: Chapter 737: The Scattered Companions
At the same time, Finn’s team also encountered a predicament.
While Reiger’s group clashed with Reveis, Fulini, Alcana, Bajie, and even the bull-type Immortal Spirit’s avatar, engaging in a fierce battle, Finn’s team too ran into enemies.
It occurred in a similarly spacious square space.
There, Finn and his companions ran into Valleta.
If Reiger’s group faced the obstruction of the Istar Clan and Kali Clan, which collaborated with the underground forces, then Finn’s group confronted the underground forces composed of remnants of the dark faction, underground destroyers, and the Polluted Immortal Spirit.
Valleta Gred was the current leader, or rather the survivor, of the dark faction’s remnants.
Fifteen years ago, after the Zeus Clan and Hera Clan failed to defeat the one-eyed black dragon, Orario entered a dark period, giving rise to the dark faction that wreaked havoc under the Evil God’s instigation, plunging the city into chaos and causing turmoil across the labyrinth city and beyond, with bloodshed and slaughter everywhere.
Back then, Valleta was already one of the representative figures of the dark faction and a major executive among them.
This individual participated in countless schemes to harm the city and its citizens and has harmed numerous innocent adventurers from various clans, causing many clans to decline or even disappear altogether, directly linked to this person.
Therefore, for those hostile to the dark faction and opposing them, Valleta was undoubtedly a target that must be eliminated, a leader of the darkness.
In such a circumstance, five years ago, a war against the dark faction was initiated, led by the guild and participated in by nearly all the core factions in Orario.
In that battle, Orario’s dark period was ended, with many of the dark faction’s leaders led by Valleta successively being exterminated. None, including Olivias, survived.
However, Valleta actually survived.
Unlike Olivias, who was nearly truly dead and survived only by the gift of the Polluted Immortal Spirit, becoming a monster, Valleta faked her death.
The one Valleta hated most was Finn.
The reason was simple.
In that extermination battle against the dark faction five years ago, the Loki Familia not only participated but was the main force.
Regardless of Valleta and others’ actions to fake their deaths, Finn led the charge against all suspected dark faction hideouts, not only exterminate the main members but also successfully sent back many called "Evil Gods" of the dark faction to Heaven with the help of various clans’ main gods.
Because of this battle, the power balance between the dark faction and the city faction shifted dramatically towards the city, giving the latter an overwhelming advantage and finally securing victory.
In other words, from the perspective of the dark faction remnants, Finn was the culprit responsible for their downfall, and naturally, there was no reason not to hate him.
Valleta thus deeply loathed Finn, wishing nothing more than to tear him apart.
So, she appeared in front of Finn’s team and led the dark faction’s remnants in a Death Soldier assault.
Valleta was Lv.5.
By rights, she alone shouldn’t pose a threat to Finn’s group.
With the presence of Lv.7 Finn and Grace, Lv.6 Bert fighting beside them, and Lv.5 Raul and Angel accompanying, a mere Lv.5 leading remnants of the dark faction posed no threat.
Unfortunately, the dark faction might not have much, but their deceitful tactics were endless.
The self-detonation attacks initiated by Death Soldiers with fire stones strapped on their bodies left even Finn and the others scrambling.
Colorful monsters pouring out from the cracked walls, floors, and ceilings attacked non-stop, making corrosive liquid and vine tentacle attacks whirl around the battlefield.
As Finn and his group dealt with these assaults, they realized something was amiss halfway through.
The more they dealt with Death Soldiers and monsters, the heavier their bodies felt.
Hidden among Death Soldiers were assassins wielding dark weapons, and members wounded by them couldn’t heal their injuries, with their physical condition plummeting.
As a result, unknowingly, Finn and others found themselves surrounded by enemies and pressed into a corner.
Finn noticed the problem at a glance.
"Curse weapons and abnormal magic?"
The leader of the Little People saw through the truth.
Those dark weapons were special armaments infused with curses, a profession diametrically opposed to casters, called Curse Mages, who could produce these things.
These special armaments were taboo and collectively referred to as cursed weapons, extremely rare among special armaments due to their peculiar nature.
Magic swords allow their users to freely cast magic, while curse gears enable their users to freely cast curses.
The curse gears held by the assassins appearing here were imbued with a curse that made wounds unable to be healed, a deadly curse.
Those injured by these curse gears could not heal their injuries, whether using Spiritual Medicine or receiving Recovery Magic treatment.
And in this spacious square space, Valleta had set a status abnormality magic.
It was the only magic Valleta could use, named [Killing Stealing].
[Killing Stealing] was both a Barrier Magic and an abnormal magic, its effect reducing abilities within its range.
Anyone within the barrier, without the caster’s permission, would have their strength and actions forcibly reduced, decreasing once with every action taken, with considerable effect.
As long as they stayed within the barrier of this magic, whether the target was one person, ten people, or a hundred people, their abilities would decrease with every action, causing Finn and the others to feel increasingly burdened as the battle continued.
Due to the endless need to deal with the self-destructive attacks of the Death Soldiers and the multicolored monsters, Finn and the others could not stop and continued to battle within the barrier of ’Killing Stealing’.
So, by the time they came to their senses, Finn and Grace’s abilities had already dwindled to the equivalent of Lv.5, with Bert and the others dropping even further to Lv.4 and below.
The situation suddenly took a turn for the worse, and Finn and the others were forced into a predicament.
Just as Finn resolved to launch an attack with Grace against Valleta to dispose of the caster of this Barrier Magic, that bizarre person appeared.
Thanatos and Valleta referred to him as Ye’en.
This was the same Masked Man who had previously appeared in the food storage on the 24th floor, lurking in the shadows, constantly keeping a watchful eye on Reiger, who vaguely felt a sense of threat coming from him.
Although the Masked Man was a freak, he adhered to the orders of the Destroyer of Cities (Enyo).
In this battleground, Valleta and the self-destructive attacking Death Soldiers were remnants of the dark faction, the multicolored monsters were tentacles of the Polluted Immortal Spirit, and this bizarre person named Ye’en was a subordinate of the Destroyer of Cities (Enyo), representing the final faction of the underground forces.
His (Her) strength level was therefore— Lv.7.
If it wasn’t for this level of power, he (she) wouldn’t have posed a threat to Reiger when in the Lv.5 state, nor would he (she) have caused Reveis and Olivias to retreat before him (her).
His (Her) intervention almost instantly defeated the severely weakened Finn and Grace.
Thus, Finn and the others were pushed from a predicament to a dire situation, ultimately forced to retreat and escape from this space.
"Don’t even think about escaping, Finn!"
Valleta naturally wouldn’t stand idly by as her nemesis fled, and without a second thought, she led the Death Soldiers, assassins, and multicolored monsters in pursuit.
Ye’en quietly vanished, whereabouts unknown.
At this time, Ais also led Rephia and the others to escape from the super-hard metal passage that had exploded, just like Finn and the others, fighting a fleeing battle against the omnipresent multicolored monsters.
"That’s right, that’s how it should develop under normal circumstances."
Witnessing this scene, Thanatos, who had been startled by Reiger’s performance, finally breathed a sigh of relief, even Ishtar’s expression improved significantly.
"Just force them directly into a dire situation like this."
Such frivolous words from Thanatos prompted Toka to manipulate the podium, continuously creating traps within the artificial labyrinth.
Sometimes, the hardest metal doors would fall, blocking the path.
Sometimes, the floor would suddenly open, spewing flames or ice.
Sometimes, it was poison...
Sometimes, it was arrows...
The artificial labyrinth Knossos revealed its demonic nature, constantly creating obstacles for the members of the Loki Familia.
In doing so, Finn and the others, along with Ais and the others, truly seemed pushed to the brink, repeatedly escaping death. If not for Reiger’s Magic still protecting them, and with Finn and Grace having already reached Lv.7, they would have already fallen.
In the original script, Finn and Ais nearly perished here, and Grace and the others were also on the brink of total annihilation. Compared to this outcome, things were undoubtedly much better now.
Then—
"Boom!"
In the ruins turned into a sea of fire, as the wind entwined around the young Swordsman dissipated and was replaced by fiercely burning flames, the battle could already be declared to have reached its finale.
"Breath of the Sun: Thirteenth Form..."
The surging flames continued to grow and burn incessantly, eventually culminating into a black blade that remained sheathed, absorbed by the blade’s edge.
"Secret Technique: Blossom!"
A blazing sun blossomed in the sky above the sea of fire.
A swift fire strike erupted here.
When the blazing sun transformed into a strike, sweeping across the entire battlefield, the flames constantly burning in the remnants seemed to have been severed.
The sea of fire was split in two, extinguished in an instant, yet the air temperature sharply rose, ascending to a remarkable height.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh——!"
The bull-shaped Immortal Spirit clone screamed in agony within the sea of fire divided by a single strike, its massive body severed into two parts by the swift fire strike.
"Boom!"
When the magic stone in the mouth of the Immortal Spirit clone shattered, the gigantic bull finally turned to ashes, disappearing without a trace.
"Click..."
Standing atop the ruins, the young boy slowly sheathed his blade, not giving even a glance toward the Immortal Spirit clone vanishing into ashes behind him.
Immediately, the boy dashed out of the ruins, speeding towards the location of his companions.