Chapter 213 Dungeon Spire— Eleventh Floor

The intimidating aura emanating from the eleventh floor was certainly incomparable to the previous floors. As soon as Tatsuki entered the floor, he felt as if someone or something was choking him. The intense energy enveloping the place, coupled with the bloodthirst that lingered is enough to make anyone kneel.

"Calm Mind," Tatsuki whispered, activating one of the many superpowers he plundered. It allows him to calmly assess the situation and heightens his senses to superhuman levels. With this, he'd be able to act accordingly no matter the situation.

With his heightened senses, Plunder's eyes could see through the thick smoke and aura that emerged from the middle of the room. It had the form of a human, and yet its energy didn't resemble human at all. Its elongated appendages were sharp on its tip, and it seemed to be breathing raggedly— its exhales could be heard from one end of the floor to the other.

"What's that?" Light Angel went beside Plunder. He enveloped himself in his light superpower so the aura won't dull his senses.

"It's a... I don't know." Plunder replied. He couldn't make heads or tails of the creature. "Still, there's only one of it on this floor so we can approximate its power level."

"It looks like a humanoid. It's powerful, I can sense it." Death Angel continued. "It might take at least all of us working together in order to take it down."

"Just one bite and that scrawny-looking humanoid are done for. Leave it to me." Technomarine pressed his fists together, signaling to the others that he was ready to charge whenever.

"No, don't be reckless, Techno," Splatoon advised, finally stepping foot into the room along with the rest of the team. "We have to be cautious at all times. There's still ninety rooms left for us to clear."

"All right, everyone, follow my lead." Plunder stepped forward. "I want the casters on the backlines and our strength types in front. The five of us in the Top Ten will take the lead. The healers will be behind the casters, ready at any time."

"Yes, leader!" Everyone simultaneously saluted.

"Now, I can't emphasize this too much but, we have to conserve our energy as much as we can. Let's try clearing the first fifty floors today!"

"Ou!"

The morale was still at an all-time high as Tatsuki and Technomarine charged forward, their bodies lowered so they could brace themselves for any attack that might blow them off their feet.

"Superspeed, Regeneration, Superstrength, Force Absorption," Plunder started listing a couple of superpowers that he activated while charging at the unknown monster. He couldn't let his guard down, and that's why he activated every superpower he thought he'd need.

"I'll flank him," Technomarine said, transforming into a sea snake, slithering his way around the monster.

Shiiiing~!

The sound of a sword being drawn out of its scabbard resounded in the room as the monster awakened.

One moment it was in the middle of the room, unmoving, the next moment it was gone.

Fwoosh.

"Geh, it's fast!" Plunder exclaimed.

Before he could react, the creature reappeared in front of him, delivering a slash with its right arm. Fortunately, Plunder had time to activate another borrowed superpower, Hardening.

Ting!

The slash connected, but Plunder wasn't damaged at all. "You're fast, but are you faster than me?" Tatsuki grinned, activating the superpowers Flicker and Hyperspeed at the same time.

Technomarine, who was blindly charging at the monster, started his retreat after he realized the difference in their power level. Meanwhile, Plunder pressed on with the offensive, flickering and running at insane speeds as he tried to corner the monster.

"Life Angel, let's support our leader," Death Angel muttered to his brother, the two of them extending their hands while they prepared an area of effect skill.

With dark matter and light energy combined, the Life and Death Angel managed to nullify one another's attacks, causing the area to be clear of mist and clouds. With this, Plunder would have a better gauge of where the creature was since the surroundings were finally devoid of disruptive clouds.

"Hahha, look at him go, now that's the number one in action," Technomarine uttered.

Now that they got a good look of the creature, they could tell that it was from out of this world. It had the head of a sheep, and yet its body was humanoid in shape. It wore a brown cloak that fluttered about every time it moved, and its bloodthirstiness made the atmosphere heavier than usual.

Even with that intimidating presence though, Plunder was going head to head with it, going even faster and faster, surpassing his limits in order to defeat the monster. The match was far from over and Plunder was expending more energy than usual...

... and yet, he was smiling. His grin displayed his enjoyment as the fight dragged on. 'What a formidable opponent! It's been a long time since I've had this much fun!' Plunder exclaimed inwardly.

It wasn't just Plunder who was getting faster and faster, even the sheep-head monster was getting faster. The fight was already too much for everyone's eyes and it still intensified to the point that both Plunder and the monster were mere blurs that occurred here and there.

"Uwah, that's fast," Splatoon couldn't help but mutter.

Out of everyone in the room, only Dark Angel and Light Angel could keep up with the fight.

"Take this!" Plunder gritted his teeth, throwing a punch at the monster.

The punch was faster than a blink and yet the monster managed to lean its head sideways to avoid it, all the while returning the attack with two slashes. Tatsuki leaped out of the way, twisted himself, and delivered a roundhouse kick that landed right at the diaphragm of the monster, sending it skittering a couple of meters away, ultimately hitting the walls on the other side of the room.

A groan was heard, followed by a thud as the sheep-head monster went limp.

"You're fast, but I'm faster." Plunder said, clenching his fist as he caught his breath.