The others weren’t the only ones fighting for their survival.

The failed Alchemist was also feeling the heat of the battle as he kept on using his bronze Cauldron as both a weapon and shield, while supporting both Kaeloris and Sylveris.

Sweat was dripping from his face and this was not because of the heat from Vaelorin’s flames. Instead, it was because of the pressure that had begun to mount as he fought...

"I swear if I survive this..." He shouted while swinging his Cauldron wildly. "...I am never leaving the cave again!"

He was about to complain more when another reptilian monstrosity suddenly lunged toward him...

Veyrath’s heart almost stopped in his chest as he shouted. "WHY ME!"

His response was a snarl as the creature’s claws descended with deadly intent...

CLANG!

The Cauldron blocked barely in time as the impact nearly shattered veyrath’s arms.

But before he could recover, another tentacle wrapped around the Cauldron itself and the monstrosity yanked violently...

"WAIT WAIT WAIT..."

Veyrath was dragged screaming across the fleshly ground before shouting at the top of his voice.

"HELP ME! SOMEBODY!"

The failed Alchemist’s voice resounded across the cavern like the wailing of a mistress in distress...

Fortunately, Kaeloris reacted immediately before Veyrath could be devoured by the creature.

The failed Gnost unfurled his scroll once more and then activated an Essence Rune "Law Script."

Runes glowed across the surface of the scroll as he wrote the word "Bind!"

The word glowed with supernatural influence and instantly, the air around the monstrosity distorted...

An invisible force wrapped around it’s limbs, slowing it’s movements long enough for the failed Alchemist to wrench himself free from it’s hold...

"YOU BEAUTIFUL SCHOLAR!" Veyrath cried dramatically while scrambling backward.

Had they not been in the midst of a battle, Veyrath would have loved to kiss Kaeloris on his face repeatedly... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The failed Gnost adjusted his glasses shakily and warned. "I-it would only hold for a brief moment!".

And true to his words, the creature shattered the invisible restraints just seconds later.

But those few seconds of it being restrained was enough for Regaleon to intervene...

The Forgotten Knight surged through the battlefield like a golden storm.

His Halberd spun beautifully through the air, silver blade humming with lethal force as he activated "Silver Sheen."

The monstrosity turned it’s attention toward him and attacked directly, while ignoring it’s original targets...

Tentacles exploded outward simultaneously from six directions towards the silver-haired Knight.

Regaleon’s steps did not slow; instead, his Halberd blurred and then...

SHING! SHING!! SHING!!!

Three tentacles were severed instantly while the remaining appendages smashed against his Armour violently...

BOOOM!

The impact shook the Knight. Yet instead if being pushed backward, his armour glowed brighter as eh activated "Bulwark Flesh."

Crimson-gold lines pulsed across the Armour surface as the force from the monster was absorbed.

The monstrosity roared and charged physically this time, and instead of retreating, Regaleon’s Halberd swept upward in a brutal arc...

SHING!

The blade cleaved deep into the creature’s shoulder, nearly severing the entire arm as black blood erupted afterward...

SHRIIIK!

The monstrosity shrieked in pain but Regaleon wasn’t having none of it as he pressed further...

He twisted the Halberd violently before kicking the creature backwards with enough force to crack the stone beneath it’s feet...

The Forgotten Knight’s presence became heavier, sharper and predatory as he activated "Conqueror’s Momentum."

The battle continued as the group dealt with the nightmares strategically...

Vaelorin had paired up with Caelestra as they combined forces to fight against a winged monstrosity.

With his flames and her "Coin Legion", they managed to keep the creature at bay...

Kaeloris paired with Veyrath to fight against another winged monstrosity.

Kaeloris disrupted it’s aerial attacks with his Essence Rune "Law Script" while Veyrath disrupted it’s maneuvers with his Essence Rune "Root Dominion."

Together, they were able to fight against the monster while protecting Sylveris who stood behind the duo...

Aureleah fought alone against a reptilian nightmare. One could say she was almost having an easy time as she fought against it from the shadows.

This time, the creature couldn’t detect her because of her Essence Rune "Presence Erasure" which enabled her to be almost invisible as she assaulted the creature with another Rune "Mark of Darkness."

Valmyr was also holding his own against a reptilian nightmare as he combined "Mountain Stand" for defense and "Cataclysmic Strike" for offense.

This made him put pressure on the monstrosity which began to retreat steadily under his relentless assault...

The last but not the least was Regaleon himself.

After cutting off three of the monster’s tentacles, the Forgotten Knight increased his attacks while utilising "Silver Sheen" and "Bulwark Flesh" alongside "Conqueror’s Momentum."

This combination of Essence Runes made Regaleon dominate the nightmare completely...

Slowly but steadily, the group began to adjust to the rhythm of battle once again.

And once more... Something changed.

Regaleon had been keeping an eye on the battlefield since the beginning so he noticed it first...

Behind the monstrosities, the robed figure was moving once more as it raised both hands before muttering the same foreign language underneath it’s hood...

Though it was true that Vaelorin had destroyed the blood pool, it turns out that the pool wasn’t necessary for whatever spell or magic it was casting...

When it was done speaking, the remains of flesh, bones, and black blood that littered the ground started crawling once again...

But this time, it wasn’t towards the pool; it was towards the monsters...

Regaleon’s eyes narrowed instantly underneath his helmet. "Damn it..." He cursed.

Turns out that the figure was actually able to empower the nightmares directly without the pool as a medium.

Now, Regaleon finally understood something critical. Before, he had thought that destroying the pool was enough for them to disrupt the operations of the figure, but as it turns out, that wasn’t the case at all...

The true source of the nightmares wasn’t the pool nor the cocoons; it was the river figure itself.

It was not merely commanding them... It was empowering them.

His gaze shifted toward it immediately and then, he realized something he had overlooked since the battle began.

Throughout the battle, the figure had barely moved from it’s spot. Not even once did it shift it’s position; instead, it simply watched silently from the far side of the cavern while the monsters fought in it’s stead...

That attitude disturbed Regaleon deeply because if even what the figure created are this strong, then, how strong was it?

However, strong or not, since that figure was the mastermind behind all of this, then they had no choice but to bring it down sooner or later.

And Regaleon chose the latter.

Pushing the monstrosity backward, he slashed his Halberd sideways and cut off another tentacle...

Then, as the creature shrieked in pain, Regaleon was quick to charge towards the figure...

"Regaleon?!" Caelestra shouted in confusion as the Knight surged past the battling monstrosities...

The winged monstrosity battling both Kaeloris and Veyrath noticed him and moved to intercept.

It’s claws descended toward his head...

SHING!

The Halberd flashed once and the creature’s arm separated instantly.

Before it could let out a shriek of pain, roots burst out of the ground and pulled it down violently...

Regaleon moved past the creature and accelerated directly toward the robed figure...

It was only until he was within range that the figure finally reacted. It’s head tilted sharply toward him but before it could react...

Regaleon swung his Halberd without hesitation, carving a deadly arc through the air as it striked towards the figure’s neck.

And suddenly, the figure... Panicked!

It actually panicked...

A frightened shriek escaped it’s lips and that sound made Regaleon pause for the briefest moment.

The shriek was not monstrous or horrifying. It was surprisingly... Human. The tone was feminine and soft; like the whispers of a lover...

Then, a pale hand instinctively rose to deflect the Halberd...

CLANG!

And shockingly, the force nearly threw the figure backwards.

Regaleon’s golden eyes narrowed immediately. He had thought the figure was strong but this...

She was actually weak. Like truly weak, even than the Scaled Wights they fought before.

Then, realization struck his heart like lightning as he understood something instantly.

Perhaps, the true threat was not her personal strength; maybe it was her control over the Wights, cocoons and the cavern itself that made her seem untouchable.

The robed figure also seemed to realize her mistake immediately because the next second...

She turned and fled straight into a tunnel.

And as if she understood what Regaleon would do next, Aureleah called out to him. "Regaleon!"

But the failed Knight didn’t answer. His Halberd spun once within his grasp before he pursued without hesitation...

He sprinted directly into the tunnel after the fleeing robed figure as he wasn’t about to let off a potential threat...

Behind him, the others were left battling five nightmare creatures alone...

And above the battlefield, the playful youth finally stopped smiling entirely.

"Well..." He clicked his tongue; his emerald eyes narrowed as he watched Regaleon disappear into the darkness.

"That Knight really likes making reckless decisions."

Then slowly, his gaze shifted toward the remaining seven and the five monstrosities surrounding them.

"This is going to be tough for them." He muttered.

And for the first time since arriving in the cavern, even he looked slightly concerned for their survival.