Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

'Damn, I command you to let me out!' In the end, Ed resorted to the use of his command sub-skill. The anti-skeleton who received this had no choice but to follow the order now.

Yet, for some reason, it didn't budge.

'This damn command skill' Ed was angered but apart from walking over to the skeleton and giving him a solid headbutt, there was not much else he could possibly do to convince the skeleton otherwise.

The command sub-skill had two limitations. One was that Ed had to first absorb the consciousnesses for them to be considered his troops, and the other was that only good soldiers followed orders. The anti-skeletons had the choice to be bad soldiers. They could renege so to say.

As Ed was reaching the limits of his thinking, he finally came up with a plan. It was also at this moment that the dome shook madly. It didn't just shake either, it crumbled.

'What!?' Ed could see thorny vines which had apparently surrounded them start to squeeze it into bits and pieces.

Surprisingly, the thorny vines were then set ablaze. The flames were not regular however, they were a mix of black and red. They oozed death. Ed instinctively turned around only to see the lich Gwydion still holding on to life. There was also a sinister glint in the way Gwydion observed its surroundings.

Ed found the situation he found himself to be both bizarre and ideal. Before the anti-skeleton next to him tried to fix things up, Ed stopped him with a leer.

'Who says I can't use mana with a busted core?' The answer was nobody, Ed's most overpowered asset was his wealth!

Ed brought out two crystals both of which were materialized under his feet. Still touching the earthen crystal, Ed ignored the flames that fell with dead vines and manipulated the earth.

The crystal underneath his feet was promptly exhausted as he formed a ball and inserted something special into it. This continued for only a short while. Ed had barely managed to gather up three of the balls before the knights of the company were upon them.

'Damn!' The dome which was barely holding up thanks to the burnt vines was cleanly split into an opening by one of the knights.

Right then and there, the spear of Gold shot at the knight who easily deflected the strike. Gold was thrown aside onto a larger group of knights.

Ed no longer hesitated and though lamenting, wasted what was only a one-time strategy. The three balls of the earth were launched using an earth crystal. Each ball was launched towards three specific places.

In front of him. Gold was in need of help, this ball could help. The other was like artillery thrown towards the mages above the head of the knights. Finally, the last was towards the trajectory of an arrow. The archer was aiming for Gwydion who was at the moment a key asset for Ed's goal.

The three balls went out and the front one was the first to show its function. 

After having a ball of earth launched towards him, the knight that had deflected Gold instinctively intercepted the strike without fear. His broadsword cleaved it in half…!

The knight and his sword were thrown backward by a booming fiery explosion. Inside of the ball of the earth was of course a fire crystal.

The arrow which had been darting towards Gwydion was the next to hit its mark. Unlike the rays of light that Ed had faced, these arrows were more slow and bearable. That was perfect for Ed.

The ball of earth intercepted the arrow above the heads of the knights. It blew up like a molotov cocktail raining fire on the ones below. Ed didn't have the leisure to make any arrays but making sure that a crystal exploded a certain way was no problem. All he needed to do was puncture the crystal with the earth in certain places.

The ones thrown towards the mages was perhaps the least successful. For one, skilled mages could sense mana via either spell or simply through a special talent or equipment. Two, they were already being protected by all sorts of barriers. 

Nevertheless, those three balls of earth signified something greater than themselves. It painted Ed as a target once more.

Balin for example always held the intention to eliminate Ed. Still, with the threat of Gwydion seeming more pressing it seemed wise to take care of him first. Gwydion was now an enemy but he used to be a comrade. In Balin's eyes, it was a good idea to put him out of his misery.

"Mages! Barrage!" Balin yelled and pointed at what was left of the dome which he was now behind.

The anti-skeletons noticed this and were quickly made unsettled. Unfortunately, against the overwhelming number of knights, it was impossible to do much.

Nine, eight, seven, they were dwindling like flies. It was only natural. The anti-skeletons had depleted their mana to help fend off the first volley of attacks.

Even the mighty Trench fell at the end. A sword cut at his ribs and another pierced his core. A knife made its way into its socket and soon its body was no more. It was crushed and burnt to ash by a magic swordsman.

Zephyr and his goblin crystal skeleton duo met the same fate long ago. Their brittle bodies were rendered useless after the first strike and completely eliminated by the second. 

Drench was similarly killed after giving the knights nothing more than a nice shower. The implication was more damaging than its attacks.

The only ones now standing were Pioneer, Brutus, Callow, Gold, Kenny Jr., and actually the nameless anti-skeleton also still lived.

Still, Ed didn't feel down. Throughout the entire chaos, souls did come. The most deaths came from the first knight to encounter the ball of earth.

After being blasted backward by the explosion he shot back into the crowd bullying Gold. This allowed Gold to strike precisely in between their armor and helmet to stab at their throat.

"Make way!" A mage captain yelled while holding back their cast spell.

All of the knights then moved aside leaving Gold atop a small group of dead knights. Gold turned to look at the mages and saw their target. It was obviously Ed.

Crystals started to manifest themselves underneath Ed's foot. They were all earthen crystals.

Ed wanted to create a wall. Reinforcing it would be simple and wouldn't require exact precision. It was all a matter of focusing and-

'F*ck!' Ed caught a glimpse of an arrow darting towards his direction. Compared to the ones he first faced this one seemed rather slow. He could not dodge it, however.

The arrow was unexpectedly then split in half. That wasn't the only thing that was split in half. Iron's armor and his arm were taken alongside it.

Ed could almost hear Iron's intentions through this selfless action alone.

'I'm sorry' That made Ed feel apologetic. The reason was simply that he wouldn't last much longer.

The wall of earth rose but it returned to the earth it came from without too much of a fuss. That was because Balin interfered. No, he wasn't the only one. All of the mages did too.

The reason why they hadn't before was due to the fact that the anti-skeletons were still present and could lend a hand but what now? Ed was alone.

It was at this point that Gwydion's eerie eyes served a purpose. The now limp lich pressed forward with unsteady steps. Its core was nearly empty, it looked like a burnt-out furnace.

That was because it had just cast a spell. The earlier black and red flames were nothing but a test. The real deal was here.

Gwydion's sockets flickered with eerie purple light before the flames in there rapidly expanded outwards like a beam. The purple flames turned darker and darker before being released as a weird firey smog.

"W- What is that?!" Some of the knights were in disbelief. Gwydion's persistence was too frightening! Not only did he survive the earlier trashing, but he also became stronger and more accustomed to his death magic.

"Volley!" Seeing the deathly haze approaching there wasn't much more of a reason to sit around. The volley of spells blasted towards the black haze like flames which continued to expand forward covering all there was to see.

Ed and the others who were inside of this black haze were… surprised.

[Soul Burning Flame]

A quick assessment provided Ed with the name and he was left even more confused. The flames seemed to do nothing to him and his anti-skeletons yet…

All of the spells that entered the black haze seemed to disappear into nothingness. Where it not for the way the fire flickered in response Ed wouldn't have been able to tell a difference.

As more spells rained into the haze, it started to slow its approach. The knights which had been nearby slowly retreated towards the mages and their barriers.

"Commander! What do we do now!" As the second volley was sent out, the flames of death seemed to hold no intention to die down.

Balin found it odd that there could be such a powerful spell. This made him realize something.

"Gwydion will die…" Balin tried his best to be approachable to all of his soldiers. To act as a father figure or someone worth looking up to. That took effort. To not know the ambitions of the relatively young Gwydion who had served for five years would be foolish.

Gwydion never intended to win the battle. He wanted to see what was beyond the peak he had reached. The true summit.

This was it. Or perhaps a glimpse of it. A flame capable of eating up all spells at the cost of a life.. His own life.