Sinner System-Chapter 502: Final Dungeon - First Floor (Part 1)

"Wait. I just sensed some presences up ahead, more than fifty. And I’m pretty sure they’re Sonic Bats, or one of the evolved forms. I felt a slight disruption in my Echolocation Skill, they’re using the same ability," Cleo informed us, as we made our way through the first floor of the Final Dungeon.

This cavernous terrain, while an open area, was pretty bumpy and uneven, with a lot of inclines and small hills.

"Alright, Ciel, you’re up. Let loose as soon as they come into sight," I remarked, before we followed after her as she excitedly bounded ahead.

"Hope this means we’re going in the right direction," Spoke up Aria warily.

"Yeah, given how vast this space is, it’d take ages to cover everu inch of it. And unlike the Dungeons, we don’t have a clear path to follow, so there’s no telling which way we need to go," Added Jaden, looking restless.

"Maybe we should split up to cover more ground? That could-...," Began Aarav.

"Absolutely not."

"That’s a terrible idea, splitting up never ends well."

"It’s just way too risky."

"Alright, I get it, it was just a suggestion," Muttered Aarav, before turning his attention ahead as a large pack of Monsters came into sight, a mix of Sonic Bats and Supersonic Bats.

"Nice, looks like I’ve got plenty of targets," Smirked Ciel, stepping forward.

"Hold on, shall I cast a buff to boost your Magic?" Inquired Jax, as she cracked her knuckles, a sense of anticipation around her.

"Nah, I don’t need any buffs against these numbers. Alright, here I go! [Explosion Spear Scattershot]!" Exclaimed Ciel gleefully, unleashing a fierce volley of rapid, narrow explosive projectiles, a deafening chain of explosions ringing out as she blasted the Monsters out of the air.

Sprays of blood and chunks of flesh flew out around the blasts, splattering across the ground as she blasted the Monsters to pieces, wiping them out in a matter of seconds.

A few managed to evade her explosions, zipping out to either side. Ira and Acedia stepped forward, firing off flurries of lightning bolts and Ether blasts, rapidly shooting down the handful of Monsters that evaded Ciel’s explosive attacks.

"Wow, her Magic is even more destructive than I had heard, she wiped them out in no time," Remarked Jaden with an intrigued look on his face, as Ciel wrapped it up.

"That was over way too quick. Come on, let’s keep going and find more!" She called back impatiently. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"There’s no need to look too far, I sense more about sixty meters that way, and it’s a group that’s much bigger than this one was. It’s hard to tell the exact number, but somewhere between eighty and ninety, I think," Cleo informed me, before I relayed it to the others.

The group of Monsters she’s sensing aren’t in the same direction we’d been heading in before reaching this first group, they’re a bit across to the left.

But with no real leads, our only option is to keep heading in the direction of the Monsters, and hope that eventually leads us to the Sentinel on this floor.

The Dungeons always have rules...even in ones with deviations from the standard patterns, they’re never totally random, there’s always some underlying logic or pattern to the activity in the Dungeons.

There’s no telling if it’s the same with this Final Dungeon, but even if it is just grasping at straws, we don’t really have any other options.

Anyway, as we headed in the direction that Cleo had sensed more Monsters in, it wasn’t long before they came into sight, a large swarm of them, this group including a handful of Hypersonic Bats too.

As we drew closer, Jaden swiftly stepped forward as the Monsters unleashed devastating sonic screeches in unison, chanting...

"[Telekinetic Dome]!"

A barrier formed around our party, blocking out the intensely ringing waves of sound, right as a deep red glow blanketed us, as a tremendous mass of swirling explosive energy formed above Ciel, a gleeful chuckle escaping her lips.

"Heh, I don’t have to hold back in here! [Explosion NOVA]!!!" She roared, Jaden deactivating his telekinetic barrier as she hurled the massive, swirling sphere of explosive energy forward, barreling towards the pack of Monsters with immense speed.

"You might wanna put up a wall in front of us," Rex urged Jaden, right as an ear-splitting, deafening boom echoed out.

Jaden quickly raised a telekinetic wall in front of us as a devastating shockwave erupted out, fierce gusts of wind bursting across the area as the ground split open, deep cracks rapidly spreading out and widening as clouds of dust burst out through the cracks.

The entire area was shaking and rumbling violently, bits of dust raining down from the ceiling.

Chunks of rock flew out all around the massive explosion, several peppering Jaden’s telekinetic wall and pinging off, the explosion carving out a wide crater across the ground.

The rumbling began to settle as the explosion petered out, no sign of the large swarm of Monsters anywhere in sight, nothing but the crater left in the wake of the explosion.

"O-Oh, that felt so...so good! I’ve never gotten to fire off an explosion that powerful at living targets before!" Grinned Ciel, a bright gleam in her eyes.

"Huh, the crater isn’t as deep as I thought it’d be. Check it out, it looks like there’s a smooth floor below the layer of rocky ground," Remarked Aria, as she walked over to the edge of the crater and peered down.

"You’re right, you’d expect a crater to have a curve, but the bottom is completely flat," Added Jaden in fascination.

"It must be made of the same indestructible material that the Dungeons on the outside are made of, it’s like the terrain was simply installed over it," I chimed in, before adding as I glanced at Ciel, "You good on Mana?"

"Mhm, still got plenty left in the tank, I can keep going like this for a while," She replied with a thumbs up.

"Okay, then, let’s keep going. There’s no telling how much more ground we have to cover, so we should keep moving."