Chapter 167: High Level Dungeon (Part 4)

"Damn it, hold still, you human shit!" Snapped a Demon, slashing and striking at me with his claws, but I easily evaded all his attacks.As I sensed a presence springing up a few meters behind me, I met the Demon’s gaze with a smirk, before swiftly ducking as a blast of Negative Energy came shooting in from behind me.

The Demon’s eyes widened in alarm before crying out in pain as the blast struck him, stumbling back before snarling furiously, trickles of blood running down his face and chest before his injuries rapidly healed and closed up.

"Hey, watch where you’re attacking, you-...!" He began, before trailing off as I swiftly lunged at him.

I ducked as he slashed at my head with his claws, before unfurling a fierce uppercut as he began to open his jaws and charge up black energy in his mouth, his teeth slamming against each other as I forced his mouth shut.

As his teeth cracked upon impact, he snarled before starting to swinging his claws down at me, before gasping sharply as I plunged my blade straight into the middle of his throat, giving the blade a sharp twist.

As he gritted his teeth and shakily began to reach for my arm, he abruptly went limp as I tore his head off with Ravage, having slipped it behind him before he could even notice it.

As his body went limp, I grabbed his arms and spun around, raising it in front of myself and using his corpse as a shield as a couple of rapid Negative Energy blasts zipped in towards me, striking the corpse and battering it with intense impacts.

"Alright, <Command: Get Over Here>," I chanted, the other Demon stiffening before flying towards me, trembling as she strained to try and break free of the effect of Command.

I took a swift step forward as she flew in within my reach, before plunging my blade straight through the middle of her forehead, piercing her brain and killing her as I pulled the blade back out with a sharp twist, blood pouring out of the jagged hole in her forehead as she collapsed onto her knees and fell over, hitting the ground with a thud.

While Demons can regenerate, they have three vital spots. Their heads, hearts and Core.

While they can heal minor damage to their brains and hearts, any serious damage to those organs is fatal to them, decapitation kills them too.

Their Cores are their biggest weakness, as is the case with all Monsters, they can’t survive without their Cores.

"Impressive, you’re handling yourself well. Each type of Demon is considered to be the most dangerous species of their respective Threat Levels due to their intelligence, but you’ve had no trouble against any of the groups of Demons we’ve been encountering," Remarked Kelsey, as she approached me.

"Yeah, they’re definitely more of a challenge than other High Level Monsters since they’re smart enough to work together and coordinate their attacks.

But that feels reluctant, their teamwork and coordination is pretty simple and straightforward, they end up getting in each other’s way and accidentally friendly-fire every so often, especially the more desperate they get," I replied with a nod, as I extracted the Cores of the ones I’d killed and consumed their corpses.

"Hm...your fighting style looks very instinctive at first glance, but you’re pretty observant and analytical too, aren’t you?"

"Well, I had to be back when I was still pretty weak, and it became a habit, I guess," I mused with a shrug.

"That’s definitely a good habit to have," Chimed in Aria with a smile, as the others came walking over too.

"On another note, while the raid has gotten tougher since the fortieth floor, it’s still been pretty smooth sailing," Remarked Kelsey warily.

Yeah, we’re upto the sixty-fifth floor now, and while the Demons have been much more of a challenge than the Lesser Demons, they haven’t given us any serious trouble.

The mid and back lines have been a lot more involved though.

Lesser Demons can’t fire those dark projectiles, Negative Energy, but since Demons can, Keira and the Ice Mage have been using their Magic to defend against the ranged attacks, as well as counterattack and scatter the Monsters.

The Healer’s gotten a bit more to do too, nothing more serious that minor nicks and scratches, but she definitely seems happier than she’s getting to use her Magic at all.

Damien’s been casting a few enchantment buffs on us too, particularly once the number of Demons on each floor began to increase.

"Just five more floors before the Boss Room, right?" Inquired the Detector.

"Yeah, and based on the pattern this Dungeon has followed so far, we’ll likely encounter groups of ten to fifteen Demons in the remaining floors, and then a Greater Demon in the Boss Room.

It’s certainly a bit of a deviation from the standard patterns, but it’s not unheard of. We may have just gotten lucky and this is simply an easier High Level Dungeon than usual," Responded Keira.

"It’s possible, but we can’t rule out the possibility that something might go wrong. And depending on what happens, we might have to retreat," Remarked Kelsey prudently.

If the Dungeon Boss turns out to be a Calamity Level Monster, we might not be able to handle it.

For Calamity Level Dungeons, you need a minimum of five Aces including at least two X-Aces, that’s just how dangerous Calamity Level Monsters are.

But the last time a Calamity Level Monster appeared was over twenty-five years ago, so-...nope, don’t wanna jinx it.

If I haven’t already.

"Maybe we should take a break? It’s the final stretch, we should avoid rushing," Suggested Aria objectively.

"Yes, good thinking. Let’s take a moment to rest up and then push through the rest of the Dungeon," Nodded Kelsey in agreement.

I’m getting a bad feeling about this. It’d certainly be nice if all this is is an unusually easier Dungeon, but that feels way too convenient.

Here’s hoping it’s just all my head.

<Is that not another jinx?>

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