Chapter 7 — The Elite Wave
Floor 44.
— It accelerates evolution. Riveria stared into the void where the goddess of shadows, Ciel, had recently disappeared. —Dungeon... doesn't wait anymore. He's building an army.
"Then we'll crush her." Gray said, for the first time without malice. His eyes were heavy but clear.
"Are you sure?" The Hulk looked at him.
"I was a weapon. Now I want to become a shield. Gray replied softly.
⸻
Two hours away…
The air suddenly turned black. The space was distorted, as if in heat. More than just monsters started bursting out of the walls.
"This is... something new." Ais raised her sword."They're not breathing. They don't move like they're alive.
There were four people standing in front of them.
1. Grimvagg is a humanoid monster with armor, molded into a steel suit. He moved like a machine and radiated anti-magic.
2. Lyrax is a creature without a face that uses reflections and copies the movements of fighters.
3. Fossen is a huge beast with a bone jaw, capable of absorbing damage and using it as an explosion.
4. "Silence" is a female monster who controls sound, causing hearts to freeze and hearing to disappear.
— This is the "Elite Wave". Riveria said. — Dungeon created an elite team to break our squad.
Finn drew his spear.
— By position. It's going to be a fight to the death.
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The battle has begun.
Ais was fighting Lyrax. But each of her attacks... was repeated by the enemy in the opposite direction, like a mirror image.
—He... reads the movements." Uses the same weapon as me.…
Nearby, Finn was fighting with Fossen.
— Every blow strengthens it. I can't use the power—he's giving it back!
Riveria tried to cast a spell, but "Silence" activated the skill: Sound Absorption. All the spells crumbled.
"That's impossible… We can't use magic, strength, or speed.…
Only Hulk and Grey stood against Grimwagg.
— Anti-magic. Power. Steel. It's a monster— like us. Gray whispered.
"The perfect killer for us." — the Hulk replied.
But... they didn't back down.
The Hulk has activated Rampage.
The body was covered with a green light.
Grey — revealed the skill he received from the goddess Ciel: Heart of Shadow.
"I don't obey her. I use the force to protect you.
He absorbed the anti-magic magic and redirected it into a sword.
"Together." Just like in the old days. "Stop it!" he shouted.
They crashed into Grimwagg.
The blows shook the floor. The monster fought back, but... couldn't handle it. Gray stabbed him in the side, and the Hulk hit him from above.
Grimvagg collapsed. The first one fell.
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Meanwhile…
Ais closed her eyes.
— If he copies… Then I must not move according to technique. But by instinct.
She let go of the style.
The movements became chaotic, abrupt, and non-standard. Lyrax couldn't copy.
— Space bar!
A blow, and the creature crumbled.
Finn also found a way: he stopped attacking directly, forcing Fossen to absorb too much energy — and he exploded from the inside.
Riveria activated a hidden artifact protected from "Silence". The spell struck, and lightning cleared the air.
⸻
All four fell. The earth was silent.
Loki's family name stood among the rubble, scarred but alive.
"He won't stop. Ais said.
— It was a reconnaissance mission. Check. The next blow will be worse.
The Hulk looked up through the stone, where the magic of the surface was barely felt.
"Then we'll be a wall." We won't let him get up.
Gray nodded.
"I'm with you." Until the end.
⸻
Later, by the campfire:
Loki was looking at the Hulk.
"You're even changing the sky above the dungeon, giant. I thought you were just going to be a force. But you became a flag.
He said nothing.
The flames were reflected in his eyes.
"I'm not a chain anymore. I am the hammer.