Chapter 55

Party Seven had already started retreating down the stairwell, fleeing the endless stream of wyverns pouring through the hole in the wall. Party Four, with no other choice, hurried after them. The space was far too narrow, and there were simply too many wyverns to fight. They needed a bigger area.

“Isn’t there somewhere wide enough to fight them?!”

The leader of Party Seven shouted. Party Four’s leader quickly came up with an answer.

“The first chamber we entered! It’s huge. Go down another half-turn and head for the door straight ahead!”

Party Seven’s leader nodded sharply and quickened his pace. When they spotted the door, he threw it open in a rush—

“Heeek—!”

But what he saw inside tore a shrill scream from his throat. The room was a wreck: every window shattered, and through those broken frames had swarmed dozens upon dozens of wyverns. The ceiling, the floor, the window ledges—every inch was crawling with them.

Red eyes gleamed in the gloom, and the leader of Party Seven slammed the door shut so hard it seemed like it would rip off the hinges. A moment later, Party Four arrived behind them.

“What are you doing?! Open it, quick!”

Their leader shoved forward and grabbed the handle, but Party Seven’s leader snapped, “Don’t open it, don’t!” He tore the man’s hand away and braced himself against the door.

“Why?! Why not?!”

Party Four’s leader demanded in panic. Party Seven’s leader darted his eyes around, then signaled his members to move. As they rushed back down the stairs, he shouted over his shoulder:

“It’s already full of wyverns in there!”

“What?!”

“We have to go down! We can still find a way out to the outside!”

Party Four’s leader glanced between the sealed door and Party Seven, then quickly followed them down.

They hadn’t even rounded half a turn of the spiral when… KA-BOOM! …a thunderous crash shook the entire stairwell. Something had smashed its way through, the sound deafening in the confined space.

Like puppets with their strings cut, everyone froze. In dead silence, they all tilted their heads upward. First came the rattling flap of wings, then the scraping of claws, then a monstrous roar. Shadows stretched across the stairwell walls before the creatures themselves even appeared.

“Down! Go down!”

Party Four’s leader screamed. Panic broke all at once, and both parties shrieked as they bolted down the spiral staircase as fast as their legs would carry them.

The cacophony behind them grew louder, amplifying the terror that drove them forward. Compared to the agile party members, the wyverns’ massive, heavy bodies tangled against one another in the narrow stairs, slowing their descent.

That small advantage was enough. Bursting out from the stairwell, the survivors tumbled across the ground, rolling and stumbling until they managed to regain their balance. Without wasting a breath, they sprinted straight through the rear garden.

Barren ground stretched wide around them, dry fountains scattered here and there between wild, overgrown weeds.

Even as they ran in a frenzy, the leaders of Party Four and Party Seven scanned their surroundings. Across the rear garden, another fortress came into view. It seemed to be an inner stronghold, connected to the second-floor colonnade of the main castle they’d just escaped. The rear garden itself was enormous. Here, at least, they might stand a chance against the wyverns—and if things went south, they could retreat into the inner fortress.

Pushing through the overgrown weeds that tangled around their feet, Party Seven’s leader spotted a large fountain. He shouted to Party Four’s leader:

“Let’s use that fountain as cover and fight them there!”

Everyone’s eyes shot to the fountain. After a moment, they all nodded. With a clear target in sight, they sprinted harder. But just as they drew close, a heavy whooshing sound came from behind, something massive hurtling through the air.

Startled, they turned to see what it was—but before they could react, a wyvern smashed headlong into the fountain. The explosion of stone shattered the structure to pieces, debris flying in all directions as the wyvern crashed to the ground in the rubble.

Screams and shouts erupted. Players scattered to avoid the flying debris and the writhing beast, their formation collapsing in an instant. They looked at each other in panic, their strategy torn apart before it even began.

“Raise a barrier!”

Someone from Party Four shouted frantically, hefting their shield. A translucent wall of light formed above them in the shape of a massive shield, and the nearby players scrambled beneath it.

Other shield-bearers quickly followed suit, summoning barriers of their own. It wasn’t just because of the call—it was because the wyverns were descending in a swarm, clearly visible as they darkened the sky like a cloud of wasps.

The moment the barriers went up, the wyverns slammed down on them like a living avalanche.

“Urgh!”

The shield-bearers’ arms and knees buckled under the sheer force. Those lacking strength or stamina collapsed, their barriers shattering. The players beneath them scattered, only to be struck down almost immediately by the wyverns’ relentless assault.

Under the few stable barriers, players counterattacked desperately. But wyvern scales were thick, their defenses unyielding. For every beast that fell, more poured in, endless and crushing. Frustration turned to despair.

Spells and skills detonated in chaos everywhere. Even the shield-bearers were at their limit. At last, abandoning all thought of fighting back, they made the only choice left: to run for the safety of the inner fortress.

The wyvern that had fallen from the ceiling was far larger than any of them had expected. Aslan’s party, thrown into panic, bolted from the hall and into the opposite corridor. The pounding of six frantic footsteps echoed harshly as they fled.

Once they ran, the wyvern steadied itself and gave chase. In the narrow corridor, it flapped its massive wings, claws scraping the walls, its body slamming into the ceiling. The passage shook violently, cracks spiderwebbing across the structure. It looked ready to collapse at any moment.

Eyes darting to the floor, the walls, the ceiling—everywhere—they sprinted with dread gnawing at their heels.

“This place is gonna collapse on us, isn’t it?!”

Aslan shouted at Theo, panic twisting his face. Seeing the party leader in such a state made Theo bristle in irritation—what kind of leader lost his head like that? But then a chilling, metallic screech, like steel dragged across stone, slithered past his ears and shot ahead of them.

It wasn’t just him. Everyone whipped their heads around in alarm. The oppressive dread thickened. And then, with the very next step they took, an ear-splitting crash erupted right in front of them.

“Uwaaah!”

“Gahhh!”

Everyone clutched their ears and screamed. The noise hit them head-on, sending them tumbling across the floor as if hurled into it. Groaning in pain, they writhed on the ground, their stamina draining fast. The sound hadn’t passed them by—it stayed, stagnant in the air, pressing down on them.

It was like being submerged underwater, ears muffled, only for the relentless noise to keep echoing inside that muted space. Before the ringing had even faded, the wyvern’s shriek tore over them from behind, doubling the agony.

Theo forced his eyes open through the pain, scanning quickly for the wyvern. He spotted it clawing up the corridor wall, talons raking long gouges as it climbed higher, before launching itself straight down at him.

He rolled onto his back and swung his staff. Manifested Sword Aura scattered through the air, slashing at the wyvern, but all it left were shallow cuts.

The beast’s massive talons loomed above him. There was no way to block it. Theo curled into himself, squeezing his eyes shut—then BOOM! A crushing impact slammed into the ground, debris and rubble exploding outward.

Chunks of stone and dust pelted Aslan, who was still curled on the ground covering his ears. The roar and following assault left him reeling, barely able to lift his head. By the time he did, a thick haze of dust had already risen all around them.

The edges of his vision glowed red. His health had dropped badly. Staggering to his feet, Aslan gulped down a potion and coughed through the acrid dust.

“Cough, cough—everyone okay?!”

His voice rasped as he stumbled forward, calling out to his party.

No answer came. His heart thudded harder, panic threatening to overwhelm him. He swept his arms through the dusty air, forcing it aside. Then, faintly, he heard a stifled breath and snapped his head toward it.

Through the haze, enormous wings unfurled. Aslan stumbled back instinctively, trying to put distance between himself and the monster. The wings spread wide, then beat furiously, whipping up violent gusts.

The wind cut so sharp he couldn’t even open his eyes properly. He shielded his face with his arms until, finally, he dared to look again. The dust had cleared, scattered completely by the storm of wings.

There, outlined in the fading cloud of glittering dust, the wyvern thrashed its wings. At its feet stood Theo and Blaine. An orb floated above Blaine’s shoulder, while his exposed arms glowed with blue sigils like tattooed runes outside the folds of his cloak.

The wyvern had been about to strike Theo, but Blaine had leapt in, casting a gravity spell.

Caught in the pull, the wyvern struggled, wings thrashing in defiance. The force of its resistance blew away the last of the dust, opening the battlefield. Aslan quickly checked the others. Though sprawled across the ground, they seemed alive.

Before relief could settle, the wyvern let out a long, furious bellow, bloodshot eyes locking onto Blaine, who still bound it. Pressure filled the air, thick and suffocating, but Blaine didn’t flinch. He triggered his Tier Action.

Lines of magic formed a rotating circle around the wyvern, unfolding into countless tiny universes. From them, meteors rained down, crashing onto the beast. It thrashed violently, but the spell held.

Then, above the wyvern’s head, five massive swords appeared, lightning crackling around them. They carved down in a pentagram, striking as one.

Blaine glanced back in shock—Theo and Aslan had both launched their own Tier Actions. Behind them, the other party members, finally regaining their footing, also began to unleash their powers one by one.

Six Tier Actions rained destruction onto the wyvern, pinning it in place. Yet even under the onslaught, the beast showed no signs of faltering. In the blinding storm of effects, its feral, gleaming eyes still shone with savage clarity.

Aslan’s brow furrowed slightly as he muttered,

“Damn… this feels like a first boss.”