[Chapter 280. The Floor Guardian]

The Giant Basilisk crashed onto the ground, creating a localized shockwave. Carmen and Vanessa were thrown off balance, stumbling as the earth lurched beneath them. Vanessa struggled to maintain her concentration, her hands trembling as she tried to stabilize the complex pattern of energy swirling above her head. The violent motion disrupted her focus, causing the intricate spell matrix to dissolve into motes of fading light that scattered like dying embers in the wind. The magic dissipated, a wasted opportunity that brought a frustrated grimace to Vanessa's features.

Sarah moved with supernatural speed and precision, her form blurring as she activated her rift ability without a word. She stepped through a tear in space, the void folding around her like a cloak of darkness before she disappeared completely. A heartbeat later, she materialized directly on the massive creature's back, appearing so suddenly that she seemed to be part of the Basilisk's own shadow. In one fluid motion that spoke of countless hours of practice, she drove both her daggers down into the beast's thick, armored hide. The Mycelial Fang sank deep with a wet, tearing sound that was nearly lost in the cacophony of battle.

The steel found of her basic dagger found purchase between the armored plates, her enhanced strength allowing her to penetrate defenses that would have deflected lesser weapons. She held on tightly as the Basilisk thrashed in response, its muscles bunching and coiling beneath her like living steel cables. The creature's movements became frantic and unpredictable, its roars of pain and rage filling the chamber as it attempted to dislodge the persistent pest on its back.

Lana cried out at the same moment, her voice cutting through the din with a determined edge. She activated her skill to draw the boss's attention, the spell manifesting as a surge of gravitic energy that radiated outward from her position. The invisible force connected with the Basilisk's senses, overriding its natural instincts and forcing its focus to shift to her as the primary threat.

As the creature thrashed from the daggers in its back, it spun around with terrifying speed, its momentum carrying it in a wide arc that scattered loose debris and kicked up clouds of dust. Its long spiked tail—thick as a tree trunk and lined with jagged protrusions of bone-like material—crashed into Lana's shield with a deafening clang that echoed through the chamber like the striking of a great bell. The impact was tremendous, the force traveling up Lana's arm and through her entire body. However, her shield, bolstered by her activated skill, absorbed most of the kinetic force. The defensive magic flared with brilliant light as it converted the destructive energy into harmless heat. The remaining force that penetrated her defenses felt like little more than a light shove, pushing her back just a few centimeters despite the catastrophic impact.

While Lana absorbed the devastating blow, Vanessa had already recovered her composure and prepared her next attack. Her fingers traced glowing patterns in the air that coalesced into two new arcane bolts, their energy crackling with contained power. With sharp, decisive gestures, she unleashed both projectiles toward the Basilisk's thickly armored side. The bolts of pure magical energy flew true, striking the exact locations where Sarah had weakened the creature's defenses moments before by running her daggers up its length. The blades had scored deep grooves in the Basilisk's natural armor, creating stress points that now became catastrophic failure zones.

The impact of the arcane bolts was immediate and devastating, the concentrated magical force punching through the compromised sections with explosive results. A large piece of the creature's natural armor, twice the size of a door, broke off its body. It came away with a sound like cracking rock mixed with tearing leather, falling to the soft ground with a heavy thud that kicked up another cloud of dust. The exposed flesh beneath was glistening and raw, weeping dark blood that ran down the remaining armor to pool on the floor.

The Basilisk reared up with a guttural roar that shook the very roots of the chamber, its massive body arching backward in an attempt to dislodge Sarah. The movement was so sudden and violent that she lost her grip for a heartbeat, her body sliding precariously along the creature's armored spine before she managed to anchor herself with one dagger plunged deep into a gap between plates. As the beast came crashing back down with the force of a small avalanche, its legs striking the ground simultaneously, the chamber convulsed once more. The seismic impact sent Vanessa stumbling backward, shattering her concentration just as she was forming a new spell matrix, the intricate magic dissolving into harmless motes of light. The air crackled with residual energy as she fought to maintain her footing on the suddenly treacherous ground.

Before the women could fully recover, the Basilisk's spiked tail swept through the air with terrifying speed, the bone-like protrusions gleaming in the dim light. Lana, still bracing herself, raised her shield instinctively, but this time the attack was too quick, too unexpected. The massive appendage connected with her shield with a thunderous impact. Lana flew backward through the air, her armored form tumbling uncontrollably.

She crashed into Carmen with bone-jarring force. The smaller woman was thrown completely off balance, and they both collapsed in a heap of clanging metal and pained grunts. Lana's momentum carried her further, sending her careening into one of the petrified roots that jutted from the cavern wall. The sickening sound of metal striking ancient wood cracked through the chamber as Carmen struggled to rise from where she had fallen.

From her vantage point high above on a thick root, Iris watched with narrowed eyes, her Zweihänder held loosely but ready. Her muscles coiled beneath her dark armor, every fiber prepared to launch herself into the fray at a moment's notice. Her tail swished behind her in slow, deliberate arcs, betraying an inner tension despite her outward calm. She calculated trajectories and assessed weaknesses, already anticipating how she would intervene should the situation deteriorate further.

Sarah, still clinging to the Basilisk's back, seized the moment of distraction. Her daggers, already embedded in the beast's armor, began to glow with increasing intensity. With a surge of strength, she ripped the blades upward, the enchanted steel now slicing through the thick plating with an ease—like a hot knife through hardened butter. The creature roared in pain as Sarah ran along its spine, her movements agile and deadly despite the bucking motion of its massive body.

As she reached the base of its thick neck, she let herself slide down its length, her two blades carving deep gouges into its flesh and leaving parallel paths that wept dark blood. Just before she hit the ground, she fell backward into a rift of her own making, the tear in space folding around her like a cloak of midnight before she disappeared. In the next heartbeat, she rematerialized on the other side of the creature's neck and repeated the gruesome process, creating a network of bleeding wounds.

The Basilisk let out another deafening roar, this one tinged with desperation as it thrashed wildly. Then, with a sound like cracking timber, its massive legs began to buckle beneath its own weight. The creature staggered, its movements growing erratic as blood loss and shock took their toll. It took two faltering steps forward before its front legs gave out, sending its head crashing to the ground.

Thick pools of dark blood rapidly formed on the soft ground, the metallic scent filling the air as the life force drained from the enormous body. At that moment, Vanessa, having finally regained her footing and focus, unleashed an arcane bolt that shot across the chamber with lightning speed. The projectile slammed into the beast's exposed side, tearing through the soft flesh with explosive force and creating a gaping wound that revealed the pulsing organs beneath. This was followed immediately by a cascade of smaller motes of arcane energy that peppered the creature's body like deadly hail, accelerating the Basilisk's inevitable collapse.

Moments after the final bolt of energy struck, the corpse of the Giant Basilisk began to shimmer with an ethereal blue glow that intensified until the creature's form dissolved. Its massive body transformed into countless motes of light, each one like a tiny, floating star that drifted upward through the subterranean chamber. The motes swirled in hypnotic patterns, casting shifting shadows across the cavern walls before gradually fading into nothingness. Where the beast had fallen, a cluster of these lights began to coalesce, merging and solidifying until an ornate chest of dark, petrified wood, bound with metallic hinges, materialized on the ground.

Iris stepped out from behind a nearby root as if emerging from shadow itself, her movements fluid and silent despite the heavy armor she wore. Without hesitation or ceremony, she strode to the chest, her gauntleted fingers manipulating the locking mechanism. The lid opened with a soft creak to reveal the treasures within. Her movements were efficient as she transferred each item directly to her storage ring, the process taking mere seconds.

"You are just like him!" Lana called out, her voice strained as she pushed herself up from the dirt-covered ground. One hand pressed against her side where she had collided with the root, while the other supported her weight. Her silver-white armor was now thoroughly coated with the reddish-brown dust that permeated this floor, making her look almost bronze in the dim light.

Iris paused, her hand still inside the chest as she looked over her shoulder. Her head tilted slightly, a gesture that was almost feline in its contemplation. "What difference does it make who takes the loot? It all belongs to Searanox." The words were delivered without emotion, a simple statement of fact. She knew the truth of their situation—they could never earn enough coins or loot to repay him for the valuable equipment and position he had bestowed upon them.

"That's not the point. We worked hard to kill it," Vanessa interjected, stepping forward with her tome held tightly. Her voice held an edge of frustration that she couldn't quite conceal, the fire in her green eyes burning with indignation at being denied even the simple satisfaction of claiming their own victory spoils.

Iris stood to her full height, her silhouette cast against the dying embers of battle. "What you did was play around. There was no need to carve up half its body, or to break its natural armor plating. You should have gone for the head, destroyed its eyes... or crushed its skull." She turned away from them, her dismissal as absolute as the finality of death. "The fight took way too long. Finish them quickly next time and don't show off. Sarah, that goes especially for you. You could have gone for the kill right at the start instead of carving up its back and sides first."

"Well, no, I couldn't." Sarah stepped out of a rift that shimmered into existence right next to Iris, the tear in space sealing itself behind her with a soft whisper. "My daggers need time to accumulate enough sharpness." She gestured with the blades in question, their surfaces still bearing the dark stains of the Basilisk's blood.

Iris's hand moved with lightning speed, a blur of motion that ended with a sharp smack to Sarah's head. The sound of metal meeting metal echoed in the sudden silence. "Are you trying to tell me you could carve through the armor plates on its back, but not its neck, right from the start? Now get moving."

"Ouch..." Sarah cried out, rubbing her head with a theatrical wince that nevertheless couldn't hide the genuine pain from the force of the blow. She glared at Iris's retreating back with indignation.

They reached the three-sided pyramid that marked the entrance to the next floor, its green light casting an otherworldly glow across their dust-covered armor. As they stepped onto the base platform, Iris's hand flashed with a pale blue light that was visible even through her dark gauntlet.