Chapter 209 Instance Dungeon (5)

However, despite getting the hint from Astaroth, it wasn't like the mermen would allow Ashton to casually walk up to the maiden. Not without dying first, at least. Sven was trying his best to clear the path in front of his master, but doing so without killing them was proving to be quite a herculean task.

Celeste would have been able to bind them using her Shadow Elementalist properties. But in order to do that, she would have to let go of the trolls first, which would have things a bit more difficult given the troll's regenerative abilities.

Despite being held hostage by Celeste's spell, the trolls were continuously regenerating their lost limbs, which the skeletons had to slice over and over to keep them down. As much as Ashton wanted to slice the maiden up using [Wind Blades], he couldn't do it.

The way the mermen were so eager to die by his hands, it went without saying that they would get in the way and end up dying by the blades instead.

That was the only reason why the fight had become troublesome for Ashton. Judging by the maiden's stat, Ashton could literally one-shot her, but for that, he needed to get close to her first.

"Damn it! Another wave of Mermen..."

Ashton had long since crossed the limits of annoyance. So much so, he wanted to kill the mermen and then take care of the maiden. Still, he managed to calm himself down and as he did, an idea found its way to him. If he only wanted to avoid them, he could have done so easily.

"Hehe... I can be such a dumb fool sometimes..."

[Only sometimes? Are you sure about that?]

"Maybe you are right. If a parasite like you invades someone's brain, it's obvious they'll turn retarded." Ashton retorted and once again summoned the power of winds to his aid.

He didn't know about it but having somewhat mastery over the winds gave him a lot of options to manipulate his surroundings. Although he couldn't use the wind as Camilla did to hover herself mid-air, he could still figure a way to do so. That is if he put his mind to doing it.

"Since simply pushing you fuckers won't work, I'll just push myself instead."

Saying so, he slammed his hands on the ground with all his might and was propelled into the air. He made it seem like it was his physical strength that pushed him upwards when actually, he had compressed the air around him making a small packet filled with air in each of his hands.

Thus, when he slammed his hands into the ground with all of his strength, the compressed bubble exploded, sending him flying towards the Maiden.

"I got you now!" he grinned, pulling out his claws, "Die now!"

The mermen immediately turned their attention towards the maiden. However, there was nothing they could do but watch in horror as her head was sliced away from the rest of her body. The maiden was no more. Ashton had won!

Or so he thought.

"Wait... why didn't I receive any exp after killing her?" Ashton turned around and to his horror... the maiden... was still alive and holding her head in her hands, "What the actual fuck is going on here?"

[I warned you this dungeon is irregular.]

"Irregular? My ass. This dungeon is busted. Wait a minute... oh my god... there's no way!"

Apart from that, Ashton saw one more thing... her face... she didn't have a face. No eyes, no mouth, no nose... nothing. Just the shape of the head. That's all she had for a 'head'.

He was confused. He killed her, and yet she was alive and well, sitting right in front of him. But terrifying things had just begun as a flesh sewn mouth soon opened up on the severed head. before anyone could comprehend anything, the bitch began shrieking loudly.

So much so, that even the undead summons were in 'pain'. Ashton fell to his knees, the sound was too unbearable for his ears. Covering them wasn't of any use either, as soon blood began pouring out of them soaking his clothes in his own blood.

However, he wasn't the only one affected by the shrieks. The mermen who were naturally sensitive to noises, couldn't hold out for much longer and died on the spot.

Even the trolls were no exception to that. None of them could start the sharp noise that ended up destroying their organs from the inside. And they literally puked their guts out before dying.

[Death heals the <Maiden of The Pond>. Total HP at 112.23%]

[The Maiden has successfully over-healed herself.]

[Requirements for the appearance of the secret dungeon boss have been made.]

[Phase two of the dungeon will begin now. Please wait patiently.]

Upon seeing their master in a vulnerable state, Celeste and Sven rushed in to protect him, while the skeletons charged toward the maiden. Celeste summoned a shadow barrier around Ashton to absorb the shrieking sounds made by the maiden, while Sven was on guard for potentially new enemies.

"Master are you alright?" Celeste inquired to which Ashton nodded.

"I'm fine. Thanks for the help." Ashton mumbled before wiping the blood off of his face, "But that bitch, she wouldn't be fine for long."

"Don't haste master. The woman is unpredictable and potentially immortal."

"Guess what? So am I."

Ashton was angry... very angry. It had been quite a while since someone had treated him like a punching bag. And he wasn't going to calm down till he fuck the bitch of a maiden over. After some struggle, he finally forced himself back to his feet as a notification appeared in front of his eyes.

[Maiden of the Pond has regained her true form and transformed into the Maiden of Afterlife.]

[The Secret boss has appeared on the field. Find a way to defeat this monster to clear the dungeon.]

[Failure to do so would result in a cataclysmic overflow, killing anything the maiden sets her eyes on.]

"Kill or be killed? About time this-"

Before Ashton could complete what he was saying, there was a loud explosion coming from the direction of the sealed cave. The king's cavalry had arrived.