Chapter 35: Ritual

"That fucking bastard." I cursed in pure anger and shot to my feet, turning my eyes to face the Minotaur. We had to take it down and go after her. I dashed in the direction of the Minotaur with the axe in my hand, and when I got close, it swung at me. I slid under it, my knees grazing the rough floor that I was on, but I gritted my teeth and refused to yield.

I swung the axe upward, but not for the head, rather the clearest place that was available to land the attack. My axe dug in between its legs.

The Minotaur let out a gut-wrenching scream and collapsed backwards, blood gushing out nonstop.

"Lia, end this."

Lia moved the moment I spoke, and she crossed the distance between her and the Minotaur in a second. Flame erupted from her fist, but then compressed down to cover her entire body up until her elbows. The flames proceeded to push back with massive propulsion that drove her hands down like a hammer.

It slammed into the face of the Minotaur and shattered his skull on impact, killing it right there. We all stood there, breathing heavily.

"Regan took Leah," I said. Their eyes snapped to me and then to where she was meant to be standing, and they discovered as well that she was no longer there.

The looks on their faces immediately changed.

"What are we going to do?" Lia asked.

"What else? She is a part of our party. We search for her," I stated. They both nodded.

He dashed in the direction that we had come from because that was the only route that could have been taken.

We rushed through there, eyes darting around until Mira spotted something on the floor. A drop of blood. She sniffed it and then, like some sort of spasm, she shook her head and looked at me.

"She was dragged through here, follow me."

She rushed ahead, and we followed behind, running as fast as our feet could carry us. In that moment, I began to think about the many things this bastard could be doing to her right now and how my lack of attention had put her in this place.

I had bad feelings about this dude from the first day, and now that had come to bite me in the back. I may not be the type of guy to care for someone, but I would protect those I carried under me because the only person that carried the right to use them was me.

As we moved, we came up on a lot of goblins blocking the route. They were feasting on the remains of a human that lay on the floor, their fangs and teeth digging into him and eating.

They turned their heads to look at us in that moment, and they rushed our way.

Lia shot to the front. She threw both her hands forward, and I watched her take a deep breath before a massive stream of flames poured out of her hands, shooting over a few meters in front and engulfing the goblins, burning them into crisps as their screams filled the air.

One thing was clear about her. She had more control over massive bursts of flames than compressed ones like me. It was a good difference, to be honest, having what we both specialized in.

We passed through there without issue, Mira still carrying the scent as we moved. She took a few turns that deviated from where we had come from, and finally, we landed in a massive chamber.

And right there, we saw Regan standing. He grabbed Leah by her hair even as she struggled to move. She kept kicking her feet and crying out.

When her eyes landed on me, it looked like she had seen an angel, hope returned.

At the center of the chamber was a raised platform that looked very much like an altar.

Regan looked at me and clicked his tongue.

"I did not expect you to find me so fast, tch. I underestimated the skill of your group," he said.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"What do you think? I am gaining power," he said to me and then pulled her by the hair so I could see her face better.

"Did you really think I was stuck on the first floor like all you weak rats? No, never. I was here because I wanted something that you can only gain on the first floor under certain conditions.

This altar right there holds the key to becoming immortal. Haha, crazy, right? To think they would put something that great on the first floor. That’s the reason why it has been overlooked because everyone believed that it was worthless.

I, on the other hand, spent my days researching and finding out, seeking to know exactly what this altar did, and when I found out, I became obsessed with it, with the power of immortality. I would become a god on earth and rise to become something no one can stop.

And all I had to do was offer the virgin of twelve ladies, hahaha, the younger the better."

He licked his lips in a way that made me feel uncomfortable.

"It took years of watching and observation to know which ladies were right for it, because if I made even a single mistake, yeah, it would become the end of my endeavor, and I would suffer a great backlash.

I was on the last one, and I had been struggling to find the right one inside the dungeon, and you brought her to me, the little young career girl.

Hahahah.

Now you will watch as I ascend to godhood."

He grabbed her and pulled her closer, pulling a knife from his waist, but before he could use it, Mira unleashed a massive bolt of lightning that slammed into the hand. It completely ripped it off.

It flew in the air and hit the ground with a loud thud.