Chapter 263: Chapter 263 Kill.
It happened a moment ago when Soma entered the boss room on the twentieth floor. The interior was vast and had a cave-like structure, but there was not a single soul in sight inside it.
Soma walked further inside, summoning his gauntlet and sharpening his senses, preparing for what was coming.
The moment he stepped foot in the middle, the ground shook, and the surrounding ground around him began to elevate.
The rock began to form one by one, becoming a regular golem. However, the sheer quantities that were spawned were relatively high.
He counted there were more than thirty inside, and there was a golem towering above another at fifteen meters height; its body was made of black metal, and it shook the ground every time it made a move.
This time, Soma wants to test his new power. He wants to know how far he can go with his current normal self in conquering this dungeon; basically, it is to test his limits. How far can he go with his current self after merging with the devil?
Despite being overwhelmed, Soma stands alone calmly in the middle of the golem circles. Then, as soon as the ground shook, his figure rushed in swiftly.
In front of him, there was a golem that retracted its hand and was ready to deliver its blow, but its movement was slow in Soma's eyes, so he bypassed him and kicked the ground before delivering a thrust with his right fist directly onto its chest.
A boom resonated, and the golem's chest crushed into bits. Its body crumbles before leaving a green mana core.
[You gained Exp!]
"Next…!".
From that moment, it became a one-sided battle where Soma, with his tiny body and swift movement, destroyed each chest of the regular golem, dismissing its number.
It didn't take long for him to kill all thirty of them, and in less than a minute, all regular golems had already turned into mana core.
"There is only you, huh".
The metal golem seemed furious, looking at its comrade who had fallen easily; it slammed both hands to the ground and rushed toward Soma.
On the other hand, Soma exhaled the breath he was holding and prepared his stance; slowly, he retracted his fist backward while his left hand moved forward. The metal golem also raised its fist and thrust it toward Soma.
A huge shiny shadow enveloped his figure, and Soma inhaled deeply before clenching his right hand tightly.
"Ha!".
As if to encourage himself by shouting, Soma thrust his right fist and clashed with the metal golem fist. A clang echoed inside the space and created shockwaves that blasted away all of the mana core scattered across the ground.
The ground beneath Soma's feet got gouged with crack, proof of the destructive might of a Rank-A monster. However, Soma could maintain his stance and posture straight. He put more strength in his fist, and their fist rebounded.
"That's hard!".
It seemed he underestimated his opponent. The earlier exchange numbed his right hand, and he could not move it an inch. But he is happy with the outcome.
Another shadow appeared in his sight, which Soma dodged by climbing its huge limb and running toward its chest. His movement was swift, and within a moment, he lunged to its chest. Using only his left fist, Soma ignited the mana inside his body to gather around its left fist.
His gauntlets crackled in joy after receiving mana; they let out hurling bolts that stung the golem's body, which was made from metal.
"Its over!".
A single thrust that he needed to blast away its hard structure. The golem's chest got dented inside, and its body started to crumble, leaving a red mana core in front of him.
[The boss floor defeated opening the stairs]
Within the innermost room, the wall started to hollow; it left a huge maw with a dark corridor that would lead him under, but this was not his purpose for coming here.
"I wonder if the guy took the bait?".
Soma recently got himself involved with someone suspicious. Ever since he received enlightenment, his senses have become sharper. From afar, he feels a pair of eyes observing him.
It could be just his imagination because Violet, who is also an expert in this matter, couldn't detect its presence. But when he took out the emerald necklace, he felt that the stare was becoming more intense and directed straight to the item.
Soma felt bad for making his girls become the bait, but the person who observed him seemed hesitant with his presence. So, he tried this method.
"Sorry girls, I will make up for this mistake!".
After he had finished collecting the mana core, Soma checked to see if there was some mana core that he had missed. But it seems he managed to clean them. He clenched his right hand and found no problem with his feelings.
"I think it's about time!".
He went back toward the door and put his palm on it.
[Are you going back to the previous floor?]
[Yes or No]
"Yes!".
The huge door in front of him starts to twitch, and it lets out a rumbling sound that shakes the ground. Slowly, the door opened, and within the revealed gap, a black smoke emerged, making Soma knit his brows in wonder.
He hurriedly stepped outside the floor for his instinct skill to flare up continuously.
"What is this? It's smoking around here?".
With his sharpened sense and perception regarding mana that went up, Soma's crimson eyes gleamed for a moment before he faintly saw silhouettes covered by the thick smoke.
However, as he is about to take a step into the fray.
"Explode!".
An unfamiliar woman's cold and threatening voice brought Soma's attention to the smoke.
"Soma, take cover!".
"Holy barrier".
Soma heard Serafina and Lucy's voices coming from the opposite sides. Briefly,
He reflexively leaped back and entered the boss floor once more. A blinding light entered his sight before a loud thundering boom reverberated that shook his eardrum.
The residual smoke that entered the room, lit by the explosion, almost reached him. Luckily, he quickly kicked the ground on his feet and launched himself above. The blazing flame that burned the air intensely made the air dry and hot. Soma, with a sudden realization, hurriedly left the room when the door in front of him almost closed back.
Once outside, white smoke from the explosion blocked his view, but it suddenly went away when a gust of wind entered the fray.
As the smoke cleared up, Soma, hovering above the air, could see the place clearly. He witnessed his group, with Sera in the center covering Lucy, who gasped for breath, flanked by two large men in demon form.
On the opposite side, he saw a woman with a robe, noticed his appearance, and prepared a dark magic circle.
"Like I will let you!".
[Oni Strengthening Technique activated]
[Al stats will be enhanced 50%]
In a blink, Soma arrived in front of the woman who was still preparing her magic circle. With a single thrust from his fist, Soma destroyed the magic circle and struck the woman in the face.
Shattering glass and cracking bones echoed in the space, turning the atmosphere of the battle to silence.
The two males who flanked the girls saw the scene turn stiffened like a statue. Gradually, veins emerged from their red skin, and the aura around them changed to menacing, exerting pressure on the weaker members.
Violet, who saw the men lose their attention toward them, started to activate one of her skills: Stealth. Her presence disappears as if engulfed by the world while brandishing her dagger.
The two men who lost their rationality rushed to Soma simultaneously, but Soma, who saw their coming, knitted his brows and then swiftly dealt with them.
Soma stepped back, dodging the man's downward swing, and kicked him in the abdomen, sending the kick to Violet's side, who suddenly disappeared.
As for the other man, Soma crouched down, letting the sword slice nothing but thin air; from below, he kicked the man's knee, destroying its joint.
"Aaaak!".
The man let out a blood-curdling scream that shook Soma's eardrum, so he lowered his stance further and thrust his palm forward to the man's chest; a crack resonated in this space from the connected attack to the man's ribs. His body got blown away toward Hina and Xiao Lian's side.
"Take care of them!".
After talking like that, Soma began to focus his attention on the woman, but multiple magic circles appeared surrounding him. From them, a black chain began to emerge, restraining all of his limbs and body and taking away his freedom.
"Fool!".
"You are an idiot! Lightning Shock!".
From around Soma's body, crimson lightning burst apart wildly toward the surrounding area. Its brilliance red gave a chill to the female woman; it shattered the chain that binds him.
"Wha?!".
Within a single moment, a fist was looming in her sight before it crashed toward her nose, breaking it into pieces. Then, as if it was not enough, her back received a huge jolt after being slammed to the ground.
Her body was screaming in pain, and the searing heat in her face was unbearable, which made her want to scream but can't for her dizzy consciousness.
Because of the lightning that ran across Soma's skin, her body was electrocuted and paralyzed for a moment.
Soma lifted his fists and once again brought it down to her skull, ending her life.
[You gained Exp!]
Violet, who saw her chance, starts to creep out behind the man who keeps holding his chest, which is sunken after receiving Soma's kick. From behind, she swiftly pierced her dagger toward his brain, killing him in the place.
"Silver hair!".
"Mm".
Xiao Lian rushed ahead and gripped her spear tightly while pointing its blade downward. The demon man, who was still recuperating, saw a silver death lunge toward him from above before the tip of the blade pierced his heart, ending the battle swiftly.