-----
Dhuja was relaxing over her throne while drinking some fine wine.
She had decided to simply not meddle with the new Rank 5 Magus and his team of Rank 4… She was better on lying low ad slowly amass riches and materials for her own cultivation.
She was already close to Rank 5, and only needed perhaps another year until finally reaching the upper leagues… After that, she would keep pushing through until reaching Rank 6! And even more, the legendary Rank 7, where it was said that a Magus could acquire a Pseudo-Divinity!
She was an ambitious woman indeed, although in the last years there hasn't been anyone that has reached Rank 7, and such a Rank was seen as something of legends, only common in the Ancient Eras of Terra where cultivators roamed everywhere and constantly fought for supremacy.
In this Peaceful Era, Cultivation has not become something so crucial, especially as Aristocratic Societies emerged and the sects of old were long gone, now the rich held power, the ones that held the most land and produced the most food, while there were Adventurers that actively protected these useless people despite their strength, and were content with having a loaf of bread a day…
Due to this, it has been, perhaps thousands of years since the last Rank 7 Magus emerged, who has probably long died. Although the acquisition of a Pseudo-Divinity given great strength to a Magus, they still had lifespans unlike Gods and died eventually… leaving behind their legacy in the hidden Inheritances, which Dhuja had come across in her childhood.
Dhuja had not been only left with great riches and spells, but also with the knowledge, techniques, and alchemy recipes necessary to create special potions that could increase her cultivation quickly by the Poison Empress, the ancient Rank 6 Poison Attribute Magus that once terrorized the deserts of Terra.
She was given the recipes and the techniques, she simply needed to gather the materials and she would soon enough become Rank 6 and even reach Rank 7, the Rank that not even the Poison Empress reached…
But everything came down today, all that effort, everything.
The one she had foolishly through didn't notice her spies came here for a little checkup.
Frank slaughtered the guards around her manor without her not even realizing it, and then rushed into her manor, left even more subordinates slaughtering her soldiers, and then flew towards the underground, almost breaking apart her entire and precious Manor, reaching the depths of this dungeon-like subterranean facility and in less than a minute, he killed everyone down here that tried to stop him with the help of his wife.
She had very little time to prepare after she realized that they had come here for her, and had barely summoned the Poison Attribute Beasts she had tame with the special Taming Spell that the Poison Empress left as a Grimoire for her to use.
Dhuja began to tremble as she heard the massacre outside, gnashing her teeth, she felt both angered, frustrated, and fearful!
She could clearly sense the Rank 5 Aura… She immediately thought that it could be Akron who had finally decided to get rid of her or something… but to her surprise, this aura seemed… even more terrifying.
It was like a never-ending abyss she couldn't even fathom decipher!
She quickly slithered towards her backroom as she grabbed tightly into a blue-colored crystal…!
BOOM!
However, a moment before she could use it, Frank and Gwendolyn destroyed the door she had enhanced with magic so it could completely seal her inside the room.
Two figures emerged wearing black clothes, both of them emanating a menacing aura of death and searing flames.
"Rank 5… and Rank 4… Peak Stage?! Ungh…!" Dhuja groaned, as she glanced at the figures in front of her.
"Dhuja, right? We have come to take down your organization. This city is ours," said Gwendolyn as her eyes gleamed with dominance.
"Eh? You stole my line…" said Frank.
"E-Eh? Did you want to say the same? Sorry dear…" sighed Gwendolyn.
"Well, it was just a line, it's fine, you sounded very domineering nonetheless," said Frank.
"D-Don't praise me like that in front of the enemy, you're going to make me lose my cool!" said Gwendolyn while blushing.
Dhuja glanced at the two with a bit of disbelief.
"(Are they so stupid to talk so casually like that? Idiots!) While you talk I will get going, I won't let you kill me! Never! Take over the city or whatever, I can always start over!" laughed Dhuja, as she commanded her giant Poison Attribute Beasts of Rank 4 Peak Stage to rush towards Frank and Gwendolyn.
"I guess you guys can come to have some fun, these monsters seem half-decent," said Frank, as an opening within space opened and a few figures jumped out of it, startling Dhuja!
"W-What? Spatial Magic?! (No… this amazing magical proficiency… what is he even?!)"
Dhuja began to wonder what Frank was even, as his amazing proficiency and use of magic seemed to be right outside of this world as if he were not even a mortal…
She moment after Frank opened the crack in space, several figures jumped out of it.
Three Minotaur were the first thing Dhuja saw, the burly and muscular race that is often thought to be just fooled with barely any magic talent, perhaps in the past, there were some experts of the Minotaur race, but now they were often seen as muscle heads.
However, all three of them exuded the aura of Rank 4 Upper Stage, all of them being of the Wind Attribute too!
"This could work as some warm-up, I suppose. But nothing too fancy though," said a beautiful, tall, and muscular Minotaur young woman, who shamelessly showed most of her body as she only wore some leather bikini over her body alongside a few armor pieces, her skin was as tough as steel anyways, so she didn't particularly feel any need to wear armor and it often got into the way of her flashy attacks.
"I don't think Orb's Dungeon has Peak Stage Rank 4 Monsters… Maybe they can give more EXP?" asked a beautiful and young Minotaur girl, with an often-rare slim figure in a minotaur, a beautiful and adorable face, and tight ninja-like clothes, while wielding two large knives, which she used in combination with her wind magic to decimate her enemies and slice them into countless pieces.
"Maybe. Though nothing beats the EXP we can get from Abyssal Horrors or Horror Spawn Armies," said a muscular and young minotaur man, he seemed as muscular and tall as an adult, but his bull face still seemed young and not quite as intimidating, although he was growing horns, they were still small, he carried an enormous axe, perhaps only smaller to his mother's one, although he packed an even greater strength within those muscles.
"GRROOOWL!"
The Rank 4 Monsters, which were over 10 and of all shapes and sizes rushed against the Minotaur trio, as they raised their claws and fangs, while some charged deadly magic that monsters knew naturally. Every monster would always know a single spell, which was often their strongest attack!
A large, purple-colored bear with enormous demonic horns and purple flames growing on his back, a Poisonous Flame Bear Tyrant rushed towards the trio of Minotaurs, as the three covered their bodies with emerald wind and flew towards it!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Like three flashes of emerald colors, they showered the bear in slicing attacks, as blood splattered all over the place!
"GRAAOOOOOHH…!"
Boom!
The Monster, a terrifying Rank 4 Peak Stage beast… was finished with three attacks!
-----