novelblue
Chapter 87: The Trials of the Abyss
Chapter 87: The Trials of the Abyss
The weight of exhaustion pressed against their muscles, but there was no time to rest. The dungeon was relentless, each floor more treacherous than the last.
Seraphis adjusted the grip on her metal playing cards, their edges faintly glowing with residual energy from the previous battle. Elowen twirled her daggers, stretching out her arms, while Sylvaine steadied her breathing, gripping her staff.
Six more floors stood between them and their next reprieve.
The air thickened. The dungeon was changing.
They stepped forward.
Floor 18 – The Serpent’s Lair
The floor was unnaturally humid, and a thick mist rolled along the ground, obscuring their feet. The stench of decay clung to the air, a sharp contrast to the eerie silence.
A sound slithered through the mist—a deep, guttural hiss.
Seraphis narrowed her eyes as she caught movement in the fog. A tail. A massive one.
Then, without warning, the mist parted as something lunged from the shadows.
A colossal serpent, its scales black as night, its fangs dripping with violet venom.
Seraphis leaped back just in time as the serpent's jaws snapped shut where she had just stood.
Elowen struck first. She moved like a phantom, dodging the serpent’s whipping tail and sinking her dagger deep into its side. The beast shrieked, its body twisting violently.
Sylvaine chanted a spell, her fingers glowing with a golden aura before she unleashed a barrage of fireballs, each one exploding against the serpent’s massive body.
Seraphis moved next—her cards danced through the air, slicing against its thick hide. But the serpent was fast—too fast.
With a powerful coil, it lashed out, slamming Elowen into the stone wall.
Seraphis felt her pulse quicken. They had to finish this.
With a flick of her wrist, her metal cards shifted midair, combining into a single, razor-sharp lance. She hurled it forward.
The weapon pierced through the serpent’s skull.
A final hiss escaped its throat before its massive body collapsed into the mist.
One floor down.
Floor 19 – The Illusionary Prison
The moment they stepped onto the nineteenth floor, everything changed.
The stone walls dissolved into a black void, and suddenly, they were standing in a massive, open field beneath a blood-red sky.
Seraphis frowned. Something was wrong.
Then—laughter.
Figures emerged from the horizon. Not enemies, but people.
Seraphis’ past targets. Every single one.
Her heart pounded as she saw their faces twisted with rage, their voices screaming accusations.
Sylvaine and Elowen were experiencing the same torment—visions of their past failures, their regrets.
It was an illusion. A trap meant to break their minds.
Seraphis clenched her fists. No. She had lived too long in darkness to be fooled.
She closed her eyes, focused, and then—slashed through the illusion with a mental command.
The spell shattered like glass, revealing the true enemy—a hooded phantom, its fingers stretched out, weaving the deception.
Elowen reacted first, throwing a dagger straight into its forehead.
The phantom shrieked, its body unraveling into nothingness.
The illusion faded.
Another floor conquered.
Floor 20 – The Cursed Garden
The air smelled sweet—too sweet. The chamber was filled with vibrant flowers, their petals glowing in unnatural hues.
“Poison,” Sylvaine whispered.
The moment she spoke, the flowers came to life.
Thorned vines shot from the ground, lashing toward them like living whips.
Seraphis dodged, slashing at the vines with her metal cards. The severed plants oozed a black, foul-smelling liquid.
Elowen was already on the move, weaving through the vines with impossible agility, slicing the stems before they could regenerate.
Sylvaine raised her staff. A burst of wind magic ripped through the garden, tearing plants from their roots.
The dungeon screamed as its creations withered away.
Floor twenty belonged to them now.
Floor 21 – The Iron Juggernaut
A monstrous statue of iron and steel loomed over them.
Then it moved.
With thunderous steps, the Iron Juggernaut charged, its massive arms swinging like wrecking balls.
Seraphis barely dodged, feeling the shockwave of the attack rattle her bones.
“Weak spots—where?” Elowen shouted.
Seraphis scanned the towering enemy. Then she saw it—a glowing core in its chest.
“There!” she yelled.
Sylvaine launched a blazing spear at the core, but the Juggernaut’s arm blocked the attack effortlessly.
Seraphis cursed. It was protecting its weakness.
They needed to distract it.
Elowen rushed forward, darting between its legs, slicing at the joints.
Seraphis took her chance—her playing cards split into dozens of smaller blades, forming a storm around the core.
Then, with a single mental command—they struck.
The Iron Juggernaut roared, its body crumbling as its core was shattered.
Another victory.
Floor 22 – The Blood Hunters
They barely had time to breathe before the next floor ambushed them.
Silent killers in crimson armor.
The Blood Hunters moved like shadows, their daggers gleaming.
Elowen met one head-on, their blades clashing in a deadly dance.
Seraphis faced another, her cards blocking a dagger aimed for her throat.
Sylvaine unleashed a wave of force magic, sending two assassins crashing into the walls.
But these enemies were skilled. Too skilled.
The fight was brutal, blood staining the stone.
One assassin slipped past Sylvaine’s guard, blade aiming for her back—
Seraphis intercepted, her card severing his throat.
With a final push, they cut down the last of the hunters.
Their bodies vanished into black mist.
Floor 23 – The Howling Abyss
The final floor before their break.
The chamber was vast and open, a bridge stretching across an endless void.
And waiting for them—
A massive, four-legged beast with a skeletal face, its hollow eyes glowing with blue fire.
The Abyssal Warden.
It roared, the sound vibrating through their bones.
“Move!” Seraphis shouted.
The beast charged, its massive claws slamming down, shattering the bridge behind them.
Seraphis dodged left, her cards slicing into its legs. Elowen climbed onto its back, stabbing deep.
But the beast wasn’t slowing.
Sylvaine raised both hands—a massive, glowing sigil appeared.
“Now!”
The moment the sigil activated, a torrent of energy engulfed the beast.
It shrieked, its body disintegrating into nothingness.
They stood there, panting, bloodied, but victorious.
The next floors loomed ahead.
But for now…
They would rest.