When they stepped into the final boss room, the air was thick and hot. The terrain looked like the inside of a volcano, with thin lines of red lava flowing through the cracks in the ground.
"Hell?"
Scarface muttered, thinking it quite matched the description of the underworld according to Greek mythology.
Calmly, Leon began to walk forward, the others slightly behind him. Daddy Ye raised his reformed shield in caution, feeling that the lack of monsters was dangerous.
After glancing around for a while, Leon stopped. He cracked his neck, then spoke flatly.
"No need to be tense. We won't be facing a horde of monsters."
He had already made his conclusion after studying the dungeon for a while. The monsters they had fought so far, had been strong but few. This showed that it was a high-level dungeon, unlike the previous one.
"Are you sure?" Ice asked, her usually cold face showing worry. She didn't want to be caught off guard by a surprise attack.
"When have I never been sure?"
Leon glared at her with an annoyed look. That woman was just being paranoid and irritating.
"Although we wouldn't be facing a horde of monsters, we'll be facing one that requires utmost focus."
The graveness in his tone didn't escape their notice, making them tense again. Unknown to them, Leon was aware that not all dungeons had a pack as the final boss. Sometimes, it was just a staggering number of monsters or a single terrifying creature.
Today, their luck was just so-so to enter a dungeon with a terrifying monster as its final boss.
Rumble~
The ground trembled beneath their feet, sending bursts of lava in the air.
"It's here."
Just as Leon predicted, a single creature emerged from the deepest part of the room. Its presence was heavy and suffocating. Every step sent tremors through the ground. Standing on four feet, the creature was better described as the three-headed guard beast of the underworld.
"Cerberus."
Scarface immediately recognized the monster. Unlike him, Leon didn't really care much about the Greek mythology and thus didn't know its name. Even then, knowing its name was no help. It was just a form of acknowledgement.
"Get ready."
Leon's tone changed, including the air around him. His claws sharpened and his fangs lengthened, a sign of his transformation.
Facing a creature with such an overwhelming presence, Leon chose to go all out from the beginning.
Seeing their boss's choice, the others had no intention of holding back. Facing a creature of unknown strength, the humans chose to attack first.
Whoosh~!
Leon closed in the gap swiftly, then raised his claws. The motion was smooth and natural, with practiced ease. Naturally, Cerberus wouldn't just wait for him to deliver his attack. It raised its own claws in retaliation.
Clang! Boom!
The cavern shook from the class as both figures stumbled back, their strength almost equal. Looking at his trembling arms, Leon silently admitted that the creature was a bit stronger.
Still, he didn't give up and instead, stared at it with glowing eyes. Ever since he had become a Second Level being, he hadn't been able to fully test his strength. Even the Undead King had quickly succumbed before him. However, facing the guardian of the underworld, Leon felt excited.
His expression never changed, though. "Avoid its jaws and attack the body. I'll take care of the heads."
Even though he was excited to battle such a strong monster, he wouldn't refuse help from his subordinates.
The remaining ten divided themselves into two and spread out, fanning the monster from both sides.
Seeing Leon charge at the monster again, they also attacked. Daddy Ye poured all his strength into his arms and hit the monster's thick hide with his axe. Unfortunately, the monster's hide was strong and only suffered a minor cut.
Behind him, Old Pipe slammed his hammer into the back of the stuck hammer, letting the blade dig deeper into the hide.
Roar~!
Being attacked by several people, the monster was naturally enraged. It swiped its claws at the two men in anger. Instantly, Daddy Ye raised his shield which took the brunt of the attack. He and the old man were sent flying while the shield dented.
Fortunately, Cerberus couldn't chase after them because the others were also attacking. Although their attacks didn't leave serious injuries, it allowed Leon to deliver staggering ones.
'This is the effort of cohesion.'
Leon noted as he punched the left jaw of the monster, sending that head crashing into the other heads. He flipped over a retaliatory swipe, landing safely out of the monster's range.
From behind, Anna's whipsword constricted around its tail, pulling it back. This made Little Tiger avoid death since the monster's claws would have cleaved through his neck.
Dashing forward, Leon rejoined the battle against the final boss where everyone did their best to attack the monster while defending against its attacks.
Knowing that they couldn't deal significant damage to it, the other evolved made moves to distract the monster while Leon dealt damages to it.
Suddenly, Leon's expression changed and he shouted. "Get back!"
Although they were surprised, they quickly complied and moved back. The monster curled, then lashed out with unmatched fury, its eyes red from berserk rage.
Leon glanced at Ice, who was still within the monster's range, with a frown. If she didn't move out immediately, she might die. Unfortunately, her leg was injured in the fight, slowing her speed.
'Ugh. This'll definitely hurt.'
Inwardly complaining, Leon charged at her and knocked her to the ground with his body covering hers.
The monster's attack came as soon as they landed. Dozens of red slashes appeared in the air and struck over fifty feet around the monster.
The others were relieved to be outside its range, seeing the deep marks carved along the ground. Unfortunately, Leon and Amelia were within its range. Leon took the brunt of the attack, though. His armor was shredded and deep gashes marred his back, legs and neck. The injuries immediately pooled hot blood from the young man as he grunted once.
"Leon!"
"Brother!"
"Boss!"
The shouts of the others rang in his ears, but he barely heard them. Instead, his body was wrecked with agony.
'I knew it'll hurt. But this pain is…'
Even with his detached mind, the pain was numbing. The attack had been infused with lava, making the cuts sting and burn. Still, he didn't have time to whine. The monster was still alive.
Raising himself from the startled Ice who suffered little to no cuts, Leon glared at the monster, killing intent in his eyes.