44 Chapter 44 ~ The Silent Predator of the Dungeon

[ ...! ]

The ground shook and the spikes hanging on top of the ceiling fell after another - making large and loud impacts as they crash to the ground.

Not a second later, smokes of dust hid everything that can be seen and fills the room, making the group anxious as the enemy they're anticipating to come is now hidden.

[ Nina! ]

[ Hai! ]

With Sarah's signal, Nina used one of her magic.

[ Wind Shield! ]

An invisible yet solid wind was unleashed from Nina. It throws and blows away the clouds of dust that surrounds them, giving them the chance to regain the view of the entire room that was just taken away from them.

One of Nina's support magic - Wind Shield.

Its original purpose was to shield herself and her allies. But with Vlad's creative thinking of how one can use magic in many ways, he was able to teach Nina some other use for it.

[ Prepare yourselves! ]

Again, Sarah gave the command as the quake that was shaking the ground disappeared and silence took over.

They guarded each other's backs to have eyes on all corners of the room. And as what she told them to do, she also prepared herself and gripped and the long sword she's equipped with.

[ ... ]

A cold sweat ran through her cheeks as she waited for the enemy to show itself.

( This enemy is clearly on a different level than the enemies we fought before...! )

Experiencing the intensity of the presence of the yet, unseen enemy, Sarah had reached this conclusion.

[ ... ]

Silence...

A minute had passed yet there was still no sign of an enemy coming. It was not just Sarah who was thinking there's something wrong; everyone in the group was not letting their guard down for a single moment - their eyes were all focused and their muscles are all tense.

[ Lumi! ]

[ I... It's still here... It's waiting for the chance to attack...! ] Lumi replied with fear written in her eyes.

Her instinct and very body are telling her to immediately run. But as she looks at her allies that are currently experiencing the same fear as she is, she was able to resist doing so.

[ Tsk! Don't break formation! ]

[ Sarah-san... It's here... It's close... I can smell it... I can feel its presence... ] again, Lumi trembles as she warns them.

Lumi felt on her skin that the enemy was just a swing of a sword close to them. It felt as if death is standing close to them.

*Hiss...

[ ...! ]

Sarah, Caiden, Nina, and Lumi were all focused on each corner of the room, particularly, in both the entrance and exit.

They did not expect in the least...

[ Above! ]

[ Shield! ]

Nina cast her strongest shield spell above them. A green and transparent, orb-like shield caved them and protected them from the large fangs that attacked them from above.

*BAM!!! Tch...

A total of six fangs longer and sharper than swords bit the shield that was cast. And only a second and it was able to penetrate it like a needle, and after that, it didn't take long for the shield to crack by itself.

[ Everyone! ]

There was no need to say it. Everyone already knows what they need to do.

*Crack...

...

*Crack...!

...

*Crack!!!

...

The group immediately jumped out of the shield the second it breaks into pieces... And the second they did, they were able to see the terrifying appearance of their expected enemy.

The mix of the king of snakes and a draconic hydra - the enemy has a long and large body; its edge was three heads growing apart from each other. Its skin was the same color as the ceiling; its only features that have different colors are its red-ruby eyes and its white-sharp fangs.

It was then they just realized -

It purposedly created the clouds of dust to hide away from their vision as it quietly and swiftly hangs itself on the ceiling.

And hide and waited for the right moment to attack.

\"The Perfect Hunter\"

The title fits its owner.

The 'Draconic Snake-Hydra' - was said to be the natural and perfect assassin in all of the known and existing monsters.

It was intelligent and it has all the abilities to adapt to all kinds of hunting methods.

[ Sa-Sarah-san...! We... We're done for! ]

Lumi - who knows most of all the predatory monsters in the wild was the most afraid in their group.

Her instinct is telling her that she would die. No, they all will.

A spit of its poison can melt iron.

Its fangs can penetrate the strongest armor.

Its large body can crash the bones of all living creatures.

Furthermore, it can hide its self physically with camouflage and it can also make itself undetectable to magic - if it tries again, it will be able to hide from them for the second time.

There was no way they could win.

All that was left for them to do was to run.

Yet in fear, all they were able to do was to stare at its terrifying appearance.

[ M-Master... ]

Lumi whispered the name of her master - her owner and the strongest person she knows.

She did so to believe that she would be saved. To hope that he would save her.

Yet this action only backfired as her voice only gathered the attention of the enemy.

[ ...! ]

She stares to the deep, red eyes of the enemy, afraid.

She felt like she was being sucked in.

*Hiss...

The enemy made its hissing sounds, Lumi on the other hand, only trembles in fear.

And before she knew it...

[ Lumi! ]

The enemy's fangs are ready to penetrate her body.

~~~

Her life flashes before her eyes -

The village she lived at - where she learned all the basic skills that serve as the foundation and base of her skills and knowledge.

The Prison that was in the form of the slave market - where she experienced hardships and abuse.

And there was also -

Probably the best experience she had in life...

The short yet fun and satisfying life she spent in her master's mansion.

In her mind, she saw all the food her master's bride, Ayla, had cooked for them; she saw the faces of all the slaves that were bought together with her, and she saw the face of her kind, beloved master she 'probably' wants to mate with.

But those memories all came to an end when the fangs of the enemies strucked and penetrated her body.