After eating breakfast, everyone head back to the dorm.
However, Aziel decided not to go back yet and went into a dungeon.
"Damian, something's been bugging my mind since yesterday. Please watch over Rocky and Jake for now, I'm gonna check something out. Tell them that I'll be back before dinner."
"Kid, whatever you're planning to do, be more extra careful. We don't know what's going to happen in the future and the gods might already had their eyes on us."
Aziel nodded before leaving the group without bringing anything.
Activating his magical core, Aziel conceals his presence and run towards the dungeon where they came before.
Aziel manage to dash through the entrance without the guards noticing.
"I'm sure there are still more clues about the betrayal of the gods left inside this dungeon."
As he reach the part of the dungeon where there are three paths, Aziel decided to go to the left side first.
"This path is more isolated than the middle one. I don't see any beast roaming around here."
Aziel reach the deepest part of the dungeon and saw another monolith.
"Bingo! Just as I thought!"
He immediately shrunk the monolith and grab it before heading to the other pathway.
However, as he was running through the last pathway, he felt nervous all of a sudden.
Aziel hesitates for a moment but eventually he decided to continue as he shrugged off his worries.
When he reach the deepest part of the dungeon, he saw beasts kneeling down in front of the monolith.
Jumping above the kneeling beasts, Aziel reach the monolith. However, when he was about to touch the monolith, a figure came out from behind the stone.
"So you discovered the hidden memoire inside this cave young one."
The figure spoke with a very deep voice, and every word that comes from its mouth sends shivers down Aziel's spine.
"The owner calls me Grim, and I am the guardian of the stones."
Grim walk towards Aziel with a menacing eyes.
Grim looks like a centaur but has a pure black horn pointing out in his head, and instead of sword, he was holding a scythe. Standing taller than a nuckelavee, and had a greater built than them.
"You are the first person to dare steal the owner's property. I purposely let people come inside this dungeon without harming them, and I let them hunt the beasts here as well. As long as they do not steal the stones they will be fine. But you!"
Grim screech in anger.
"You dare steal not just one stone, but you came back to grab the other two!? Insolent!"
Grim swings his scythe towards Aziel.
Luckily, Aziel manage to jump in time to avoid the attack.
The attack travels in a fast speed and hit the nuckelavee beasts inside the dungeon.
Aziel saw that the ones who got hit by the attack was sliced in half and died instantly.
Aziel's thought was all over the place as he was trying to figure a way out of his current situation.
"You move like a fly! A very annoying fly!"
Grim dashed behind Aziel and attack with his scythe again.
Aziel made a stone shield behind his back and covered himself with another barrier. However, the moment the attack landed on his stone shield, it penetrates all the way to the barrier and broke it.
He manage to sway to the side a little but the attack slashed through his leg and cuts it.
In the process, Aziel was thrown to the ground beside the monolith and his blood was gushing off from his left leg.
"Urgh! How can I get away from this situation?"
Aziel cast his healing spell to heal his leg and noticed the monolith beside him.
Grim walks toward Aziel swinging his scythe.
"If you're thinking of getting out from this dungeon, you're making a mistake. You'll get out from here but the only way out is death, and I will personally send you to the afterlife!"
Aziel made the same bullet-like spearhead that kills a nuckelavee in one strike, and shoots it to Grim in a very rapid speed. However, when the bullet-like stone hit Grim in the head and made a hole in it, the hole immediately heals and Grim became stronger.
"Wha…"
Aziel stuttered as he couldn't believe that his magic didn't work.
"I, Grim, was granted the ability to turn every magic damage into strength. So, if you want to defeat me with your pity magic, then you better just die already, and stop wasting my time!"
Aziel shrunk the monolith and immediately grab it.
Due to his anger, Grim screams and dashed forward.
Swinging his weapon, Grim made multiple slashes towards Aziel, and followed after.
Aziel manage to avoid all the slashes but couldn't evade Grim's blow that hit Aziel in his guts.
Puking blood from his mouth, Aziel crashed into the dungeon wall that sends tremor all over the cave.
"Can you fill that? It's coming from inside the dungeon."
Art Mugley – one of the guards notify his comrade.
"Quick, report this to the capital immediately, and call for back up! Tell them that the dungeon is shaking and something's happening inside of it!"
He added, as he run inside the cave.
"Hey! Art! Wait!"
Abod Lewis – the other guard – calls out his partner, but Art had vanished immediately.
"Damn that person!"
Abod calls the Capital through his bracelet and explain everything.
"Please hurry up!"
Abod didn't went after Art since someone needs to guard the entrance before the backup arrives.
Art immediately reach the triple passageway, he could sense the magical powers coming from third path.
Without hesitations, Art dashed through the passage.
However, unbeknownst to him that a beast that hasn't been seen by a mortal eye before was fighting (or beating) a human.
Art reach the deepest part of the dungeon, and he saw a silhouette of a person behind a smoke of dusts.
The person's clothes were tattered and his body was full of cuts.
Art was about to run to aid the person when he saw the beast from the other side.
A massively huge human-like beast with a body of a stallion holding a scythe.
Art could see how strong the beast is, and thought that even the whole magic department couldn't defeat the beast without losing their limbs.
"Give back what you stole! What exactly are you trying to accomplish here!"
The beast talked and it's every word sends a huge blow of ominous energy around the dungeon room.
Art falls to the ground as he couldn't feel his knees from the fear.
It was the first time Art had witness something like this.
Because of his fear, Art couldn't do anything but feel sorry for the person. However, the person that he was about to help stood from the ground, his body that was full of cuts from earlier now looks brand new.
Aziel felt Art's presence that puts him in a tight spot because Grim could use Art as hostage, and he couldn't gamble his identity and his safety.
Aziel made an earth face mask that can hide the top half of his face, and puts it before Art could see his face.
"What am I trying to accomplish here? Two things!"
Aziel slowly walks towards Grim.
"First is the Truth."
"And the second one?"
Grim asked Aziel as they reach the right distance from each other.
Aziel was removing the rings and glove from both his hands.
"It is to put my strength to test."
Aziel spoke after he finished removing everything, and his real magic powers comes out.
The entire Kingdom could feel it, and Art who was nearby, collapsed with his mouth foaming.
Grim was not afraid though, in fact he was practically celebrating.
"Go on! Try your powers on me!"
In Grim's mind, the magic damage he has to suffer from Aziel could make him even stronger, and could finally make him stand beside the gods shoulder to shoulder.
"Don't mind if I do!"
Aziel focused all his energy and combined all the magic abilities he had learned so far and made a huge ball of energy from it.
"BIG BANG!"
Aziel said with a chilling eerie voice.
The energy shoots out from his hands towards Grim.
"WAHAHAHA! Go on! Make me even stronger!"
Grim laughed hysterically, but his celebration was cut short when he felt that his body couldn't sustain all the magic damage, and it starts to breaks.
"WHAT?? NO. NO. NO! I AM GRIM, DESTINED TO BE ONE OF THE GODS! I COULDN'T BE KILLED BY A MERE MORTAL! NOOO!"
Grim staggered backwards, his back knees gave up and his front legs followed. Swinging his scythe, Grim made countless wind scythes that travel to all direction.
"I AM NOT GOING DOWN ALONE!"
The wind scythes cuts through everything, so Aziel made sure to avoid every single one of them but then he saw Art who's still unconscious.
"Damn it!"
Aziel wears his rings and glove back, and dashed to pick Art before leaving Grim.
"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"
Grim screamed as he felt the pain rushing through his entire body.
"It's nice knowing you Grim."
Aziel looked at Grim with a sad eyes.
"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!!"
Grim's entire body inflates and shone brightly as it began to explode.
Aziel couldn't get far from the explosion and was hit by it. Luckily he still got a little bit of energy left, and cast a barrier that shields him and Art.
The entire dungeon collapsed to the ground and Abod with the backups couldn't get in as they were thrown by the explosion as well.
"Ar… ART!"
Abod screamed the name of his partner at the top of his lungs.
The whole dungeon becomes a smoke of dust and Abod thinks it's impossible for someone to survive that explosion, when suddenly he saw something flew from the dungeon and crashed to the field nearby.
Everyone ran towards the field to see what had flew from the dungeon.
"Art. Please be Art. Please be Art."
Abod prayed.
His eyes sparked when he saw that the one crashed to the field was his partner.
"ART! Please medic treat him quick!"
Abod look behind to order the medics when he saw another figure flew out from the dungeon, but it wasn't going towards them, in fact it flew towards the capital and vanished immediately.
He wants to get to the bottom of the incident and calls the soldiers at the capital immediately.
"Something flew from the collapsed dungeon and headed your way! Be prepared as it didn't look human at all!"
-End of Chapter-