hotmtlnovel Chapter 146 The Guardians Awaken
Chapter 146 The Guardians Awaken
"Then we figure it out," Daena said, her voice steady despite the unease in her expression. "But we do it together. No one acts alone."
The moment those words left her lips, the air shifted. The pulsing glow of the runes flickered, dimming for the briefest moment before reigniting with a violent surge of energy. The shadowy figures standing around them began to stir.
A low, resonant hum echoed through the cavern, the stone beneath their feet trembling as if something ancient and powerful was finally waking up.
"...Well," Ananara muttered, his glowing form shifting uncomfortably. "That's never a good sign."
The figures, once statuesque and unmoving, now turned toward them in eerie unison. Their glowing eyes flared brighter, and one by one, they began stepping forward. Their forms solidified as they moved, shifting from ephemeral shadows into something more tangible.
Liria tightened her grip on her sword, her mismatched eyes darting between the approaching creatures. Now that they were clearer, she could see their unnatural features—each had elongated limbs wrapped in tattered black armor, their bodies exuding a faint, swirling mist. Their faces were obscured, only the piercing glow of their eyes visible beneath the dark hoods covering their heads.
"I knew it," Ananara snapped. "Of course they were waiting to kill us. It's always some cryptic 'prove yourself' nonsense before the murder starts!"@@@@
"Less talking, more fighting," Liria muttered, stepping forward. The heat of her magic pulsed beneath her skin, eager to be unleashed.
One of the figures lunged.
Liria barely had time to react as a long, jagged blade sliced through the air toward her. She twisted, narrowly avoiding the strike, and countered with a swift arc of her Shadowflare Blade. Black flames erupted along the length of her sword as it clashed against the enemy's weapon, sending a shockwave of dark energy rippling through the chamber.
The force of the impact sent Liria skidding backward. The figure she had struck barely flinched, its blade still raised.
"They're sturdy," she growled.
"You just hit like a noodle," Ananara taunted from behind her.
"Oh, shut up."
Another figure darted toward Daena, its movements unnervingly smooth. She met its attack with her own blade, the clash of metal ringing through the cavern. Sparks flew as she forced the creature back with a powerful kick, sending it staggering.
"They don't feel pain," Daena noted. "They're not alive in the way normal monsters are."
"They're guardians," Enara called out, dodging a swing from another creature. Her violet eyes flickered as she analyzed their movements. "They're not here to fight. They're here to test."
"Test what?!" Liria snapped, blocking another strike. The force behind the blow made her arms ache.
"Our strength," Enara said grimly, slashing at the nearest opponent. "Our will."
As if in response, the runes on the walls pulsed once more, their glow intensifying. The guardians' movements grew faster, their attacks more precise. It was as if they were adapting.
Liria grit her teeth. If they kept escalating, this fight was only going to get harder.
She ducked under a blade, retaliating with an Ember Swipe. The burst of fire struck the guardian in the chest, but instead of stumbling back, the flames were absorbed into its form. The creature's eyes flared brighter, and in the next instant, it lashed out with its own burst of fire.
Liria barely dodged in time.
"Oh, come on!" she groaned. "They can copy our magic?!"
"Apparently," Enara muttered, frustration clear in her voice. She had just attempted a spell of her own, only to see the guardian mirror her attack and send it back at her with equal force.
Daena cursed under her breath. "This is going to be a problem."
Before she could react, something massive struck her from behind, sending her crashing into the stone floor with bone-rattling force.
"LIRIA!" Enara shouted.
Dazed, Liria pushed herself up, coughing. Above her, the largest guardian she had ever seen emerged from the darkness. Its form was massive, nearly reaching the cavern ceiling, its armor cracked and jagged as if forged from the void itself.
Its glowing eyes locked onto her.
And then it roared.
The roar shook the cavern, a deep, bone-rattling sound that made Liria's ears ring. Dust and loose stones crumbled from the ceiling, the entire chamber trembling under the sheer force of the sound. The massive guardian's glowing red eyes burned into her, its towering form crackling with unstable energy.
Liria pushed herself up, gritting her teeth as pain flared in her ribs. That thing had hit her like a runaway carriage. She barely had time to register the new enemy before it moved again—faster than something that size had any right to.
"Move!" Ananara's voice shrieked in her mind.
Liria barely managed to roll to the side as the massive guardian's sword came crashing down, carving a deep trench into the stone where she had just been. The shockwave sent her tumbling across the floor.
"What the hell is that thing?!" she snapped, pushing herself back onto her feet.
"Bigger problem than before," Enara said grimly, her own stance shifting as she prepared for another attack. "It's not like the others."
Daena's expression was unreadable as she studied the monstrous figure. "That thing isn't just a guardian." Her grip on her sword tightened. "It's the warden."
Liria's mismatched eyes flicked toward the creature again, her system already pulling up its stats.
[Warden of the Abyss]
Level: ???
Health: 20,000/20,000
Abilities: Unknown
"...Oh, that's just great," she muttered internally. The system, ever so helpful, gave her absolutely nothing useful beyond big number, very bad.
"I don't suppose we can not fight it?" Liria tried.
The Warden answered by lunging straight at her, its massive sword a blur of motion.
She barely had time to react before Daena intercepted, blocking the blow with a heavy clash of steel. The force of it sent her skidding back, but she didn't falter. "No choice," Daena grunted. "We take it down."
Liria exhaled sharply. Of course. No easy way out.
Her hands tightened around the hilt of her Shadowflare Blade as black fire flickered to life around it. "Then we do this fast," she said, eyes blazing. "Before it adapts like the others."
Enara stepped up beside her, her own dark energy crackling at her fingertips. "Agreed."
The Warden lifted its sword again, its glowing eyes locking onto them. The runes on its armor pulsed with raw power, as if the dungeon itself was pouring everything it had into this last challenge.
Liria took a deep breath, steadying herself.
"Alright then," she thought, her blood thrumming with adrenaline. "Let's end this."