Sinner System-Chapter 510: Final Dungeon - Second Floor (Part 3)

"Alright, we’re changing things up. You guys will handle all the Monsters besides the Sentinels from here on. Now that the possibility of the Aces having to fight the Sentinels is in play, we can’t afford for any of us to get worn out.

If keeping their distance from the Sentinels is enough to take them out of the equation of the roulette selection, we’ll reassess our strategy on the next floor," I said to the Apostles.

"<Understood, Master, we’ll take out the trash, you can count on us>," Stated Luxuria assuredly.

"<For once, I agree with the bimbo, Boss>," Added Invidia, earning a glare from Luxuria.

"<Come on, you two, this really isn’t the time>," Sighed Superbia in exasperation.

"<Hey, I didn’t even do anything, the beta male incel came at me totally unprovoked>!" Snapped Luxuria indignantly.

"<Quiet down, your yelling is exhausting>," Sighed Acedia wearily.

"<I believe what you’re doing is called adding fuel to the fire>," Chimed in Ira.

"Alright, guys, focus up. We’ll have all the time in the world to mess around if we survive this. Now, come on, time’s ticking, let’s move," I remarked as I clapped my hands loudly to get their attention.

"They sure are a lively bunch, huh?" Laughed Jaden, as we began heading forward, the Apostles leading the way.

"Yeah, maybe a bit too lively...which is ironic, considering that they’re technically not alive," I replied with a wry smile.

"I think it’s fine, their bickering kinda helped ease the tension a bit," Remarked Aria with a grin.

"I wonder what kind of Monsters are on this floor? That should give us an idea of what to expect of the Sentinel on this floor. There were bat Monsters on the first floor, and the Sentinel was the same, just in a higher evolved form," Chimed in Iseul.

"U-Um, I just sensed a whole bunch up ahead, more than seventy presences, just under ninety meters," Spoke up Cleo.

"Any idea what species?" Aarav asked her.

"H-Huh? No, I...I’m sorry, I-I can’t quite discern that yet," She shook her head awkwardly.

The Apostles put their guards up, slightly slowing their pace as they headed forward, the rest of us trailing close behind as we followed after them.

The Monsters soon came into sight, a large swarm of Giant Mantises and Scythe Mantises.

Ira, Acedia, Invidia and Luxuria were quick to spring into action, a fierce barrage of Ether, lightning and Negative Energy blasts shooting out with immense force and riddling the Monster swarm brutally, wiping out dozens of them in a matter of seconds.

Nearly all the Giant Mantises were reduced to piles of scattered body parts, a handful of Scythe Mantises had survived and scattered, some of them rushing in towards the Apostles.

Superbia shot forward as one of them began to close in, the Monster swinging its right scythe-arm across at her, which she blocked with the handle of her spear, before whipping the spear down with a sharp flick of her wrist, the blade striking the top of its head and slicing through its exoskeleton, splitting its head open and killing it.

A sharp screech rang out as another one got pierced through the side of the neck from behind, Invidia coming into sight, having used Stealth to sneak up on the Monster.

Luxuria zipped up and rapidly swooped down towards another one, Negative Energy swirling around her claws as she shot down and whipped her arm across, slicing through the Scythe Mantis’s neck and cleaving its head clean off its shoulders.

A deafening crash echoed out as Ai evaded a slash from one of the few remaining Scythe Mantises with a swift shuffle to her right, before turning across and driving her fist towards the Monster, slamming her fist against the side of its head with a sharp crunch.

The Monster got sent hurtling across, its body spinning through the air rapidly, before it collided against the wall, a dark green, gloopy liquid splattering out across the wall upon impact from the side of its head.

Ira and Acedia finished wiping out the remaining Monsters in this area with rapid, targeted blasts, the entire swarm eradicated in about a minute.

"Great work, guys. Let’s keep it going, we’re just getting started here," I called out, giving them a nod of approval.

"Maybe we should’ve done this from the start," Mused Jaden thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Nodded Iseul in agreement.

"Well, we only shifted our strategy out of necessity, but yeah, we probably should have at least considered this option," I replied, as we continued trekking through the second floor of this Final Dungeon.

"Hey, so, since this Personalis Arma thing has made me stronger, I’ve now got the highest Power Level after the Aces, right?" Inquired Ciel curiously.

"Yeah, that’s right. Why?" Aria asked her.

"I was thinking, wouldn’t that mean I’ll end up in front of one of the pillars by myself now, instead of Petrus?" She pointed out.

"We’re avoiding any of us Aces having to go up against a Sentinel, so that’s a moot point," Responded Rex with a frown.

He got a bit pale, don’t think he likes the idea of her potentially facing a Sentinel alone. I mean, fair enough.

"We don’t know for sure whether staying back will actually work, though," Chimed in Brid warily.

"Yes, we can’t rule out the possibility. If it turns out this isn’t a loophole we can exploit, we’re going to be in trouble," Added Petrus grimly.

Yeah, the unique rules of this Dungeon, there’s definitely a chance that we won’t be able to work around them.

That’s the whole reason I’m having the Apostles deal with the other Monsters, so that the Aces will be as close to their best as possible if and when they do end up having to fight a Sentinel.

To be blunt, if that does happen, well...they’ll almost certainly die. So, at the very least, I’ll try to give them the best possible chance of surviving, no matter how slim...