The titan arachnids finally arrived, descending upon the party like a tidal wave of fury, their legs snapping wildly as they attacked with relentless ferocity.
They didn't give the party a chance to regroup or make due of their exhausted strength.
"Charge!" Kanji called with fury, charging at the beasts at once.
Nuel's sword flashed in the dim light, striking true with each blow, but even his skill couldn't fully prepare him for the sheer force of the arachnids' assault that was yet to come.
The party clashed with the new wave of titan arachnids, their movements a blur of steel and magic.
Nuel's sword sliced through the shadows with his sword skill, Moonlight Requiem, shimmering with a soft glow and slicing through the arachnids with deadly precision.
Kael's flames danced across the battlefield in torrents, scorching the arachnids and leaving them reeling.
His ice bolts followed, freezing the monsters in place and giving the party openings to strike.
Aria's vines and thorns ensnared the arachnids, immobilizing them for the party to finish off.
Both were the forearm of the team, granting the party opening for a better finishing up.
Kanji's sword flashed with swift, calculated strikes, his movements a testament to his training as he took down more spiders. He really was a prodigy with his balanced attacks.
Thorne on the other hand continued at what he did best, trading blows with a massive arachnid with his shield absorbing the force of its attacks.
He roared in pain as an arachnid's fangs sank into his arm, but he shook off the attack, his massive strength sending the spider flying.
Suddenly, disaster struck. Another spider lunged from behind, its leg stabbing through Thorne's chest with a sickening crunch.
Thorne's eyes widened in shock as he stumbled forward, his massive frame crashing to the ground.
"Thorne!" Aria shouted as she took notice of the evil that had befallen Thorne.
But then, in the little moment she was distracted, the spider she was battling with hurled her against the wall, her body slamming into the stone wall with a sickening crunch.
Lila rushed to her side as she was closest to Aria, pouring her healing spells into the younger woman immediately.
"Aria, stay with me!" Lila urged, her voice strained with worry as she tried not to shed tears.
Kael stumbled back, his flames and ice faltering as an arachnid's leg struck him with brutal force. He gasped for breath, his eyes flashing with a mix of pain and regret.
"Kanji... these spiders... they're not normal," he gasped, coughing up blood.
Kanji's sword sliced through an arachnid, his movements still swift and precise, but on closer look, he appeared to be worn out but by bit as he pushed his sword against the leg of a titan, holding it up in the air.
"It seems they are being controlled by a powerful entity," Kanji said, his voice a strain of urgency and anger. "Perhaps... It's the dungeon boss."
Nuel looked up at his failing party, aside Kanji quivering below a raging monster with his sword, he was the only one standing.
Kael had not snapped out of his mind yet, he was still on his knees as if he had succumbed to defeat.
His breath came in ragged gasps, a different emotion etched on his face – a mix of fear and uncertainty that Nuel had never seen before.
Nuel couldn't help but notice Lila weaving her mana into spells to heal Aria with tears already flowing down her cupid face as she whispered some words softly, her voice extremely low and filled with sadness.
"Please, Aria, stay with me."
Thorne was lying still a couple of feet away from them and his last hope for revival was Lila who was still trying to bring Aria back.
Lila herself was getting exhausted as she had been pouring her mana to keep the party members fit for a long while without resting or getting some energy stones.
'What went wrong?' Nuel asked himself in his thoughts.
He gritted his teeth as he watched the vulnerability of the party members. More titans had begun to crawl towards them and soon enough, they would all be overpowered.
Nuel's eyes narrowed, his eyes closing up on the world, trying to maintain a balance. He closed the event happening in the dungeon out of his mind, allowing a serene feeling to wash over his soul.
He could hear the spiders closing up on him, the very center of attention in the dungeon as he was standing like a forsaken hero.
'Should I run for it? What was the point of coming into the instant dungeon then? All of this is my fault if Khaos and Victor Valtor were not pulling tricks, but I am still standing unshattered unlike the others.'
'But can I really save them all? The party members according to Khaos are prestigious prodigies that could make an A-rank name for themselves when together.'
'What was the point of having me tag along if they all could fall easily? Maybe that's it— or maybe not.'
'Damn it!' Nuel swore, his hands firing up with lightning as he opened his eyes.
His azure eyes shot open, blazing up with raw untamed energy, his rage intensifying as the spiders closed up on him. With a full swing, his sword sliced through the first wave of spiders with deadly precision.
The moment seemed to stop as the bodies of the titans littered the dungeon floor at Nuel's single strike.
[(Ding!)]
A flurry of notifications flashed at him.
[You have defeated a dungeon monster)]
[You have defeated a dungeon monster)]
[You have defeated a dungeon monster)]
[You have defeated a dungeon monster)]
[The player has leveled up!]
"Lila…" Aria called weakly, regaining consciousness. "Go, go to him now." She said,
Lila nodded and darted towards Thorne, her healing spells casting a warm glow over their battered bodies as she moved to the opposite side of the dungeon.
Kanji found hope with Nuel's flash attack. He leaped against a wall, using it as a push towards the spider that had stabbed Thorne, striking it down with precision.
Thorne, now recovering from his injury, gritted his teeth. "I'm fine," he growled, pushing himself to his feet. "Let's finish this."