The Author's Viewpoint-Chapter 70 - Lady of Ruin

How was Tave supposed to explain all the possible scenarios that could unfold inside the boss room? He had spent hours thinking through every detail, every angle. Long before they even arrived.

In truth, Tave had laid it all out for them beforehand. The conditions inside the chamber, the likely traps, the psychological games, and the threat disguised as a choice. He had told them everything. Except for the answer. He gave them just enough. Just enough to force them to think, to piece it together themselves. That was the only way they’d be ready.

Thankfully, Elias had picked up on it. And Oriana, sharp as ever, filled in the missing gaps. Surprisingly, even Orion, despite his usual reckless attitude, played his part perfectly.

During planning, Orion had scoffed at the whole strategy, waving it off with his usual bravado. "It’s only a monster. Just smash the damn thing. Who needs strategy when you’ve got a sword?"

But in the end... They all played their roles perfectly.

Each of them had acted terrified, confused, even hostile. They let the panic unfold naturally, let the group look fractured and vulnerable. They let the demon behind the voice believe it was winning. Believe it was in control.

Because the real objective wasn’t to survive the countdown. It was to make absolutely sure no one entered the glowing circle. No matter what.

Meanwhile, behind the chaos, they communicated with code. Subtle gestures, small signals they had rehearsed. Timed to the moment when the statues came in close. That was the window. When the statues broke formation and drew near, they entered their vulnerable state, exposed and unprotected.

But there was one rule: they had to destroy every statue at the exact same time. If even one remained, the power of the fallen would transfer to the survivor, making it nearly unstoppable.

And now, here they were.

All eight of them stood, spread across the chamber in perfect formation. The circle untouched. The statues were reduced to rubble.

They had executed the plan flawlessly.

A roar unlike anything before tore through the chamber. A guttural, ear-splitting scream, not just of pain... but of pure, seething rage.

The ground shook violently, cracks splintering across the stone floor as if the very cave itself was rebelling. Then, from the shattered earth, a surge of red and black energy erupted, swirling like a storm. The corrupted twisted upward, dark and alive, until it began to take shape.

From within the writhing storm of energy, a figure emerged.

A demoness.

She stepped forward with elegance twisted by fury. Long, black hair flowed like shadow, and crimson eyes glowed with seething hatred. Horns curved from her temples like warped crowns, and her massive, jagged wings unfurled behind her—dark, veined with red, and sharp at the edges.

"You insolent insects!" she screamed, her crimson eyes blazing. "You dare ruin my design? You think you’ve triumphed here?"

She took a step forward. The ground beneath her feet crumbled into blackened stone.

"I gave you a choice! I offered you a path to survival, and you mocked it. Mocked me! You disrespected the ancient rite!"

"You call this strategy?" she spat. "You call this bravery? No... it’s arrogance! And for that, you will suffer."

She pointed at each of them, slowly, her clawed fingers trembling with raw power.

"You," she snarled at Orion, "the brute who thinks might is the answer to everything. I’ll shatter your bones and watch your fire die."

Her gaze swept to Elias. "And you! You may have figured out my game... but you’ve only bought yourself a slower death."

Then her eyes locked on Tave.

"And you... Do you think you’ve escaped fate? Do you truly believe you’ve won?"

She lifted her arms high, and the energy swirled faster, forming a vortex of burning red above her.

"You have opened the door to something far worse. This world will remember your names, only as the fools who defied me and cursed everything they touched!"

"You should have chosen sacrifice! You should have obeyed!"

Her voice cracked with fury, descending into a roar that wasn’t even human anymore.

"I am Maevira! Lady of Ruin, Bound of the Ninth Flame! I curse your path forward!"

She slammed her claws into the earth. Red lightning exploded outward, and the chamber was drowned in an unnatural crimson glow.

"You will carry my mark. Until your dying breath... and beyond."

From every corner of the chamber, cracks split open once more. Veins of dark energy pulsing beneath the stone. Red and black mist oozed out, and from the depths, skeletal hands clawed their way into the light.

Dozens of figures began to rise. Skeletal warriors wrapped in shadow, crawling out of the ground with hollow eyes glowing blood-red. Their bones creaked with unnatural movement, and black smoke twisted around their limbs like chains.

The demoness remained in the center, her wings arched like a storm behind her. Her fury hadn’t subsided. It had grown into a seething, relentless blaze.

"You still resist?" she snarled. "I’ll bury you in bones and screams! Your corpses will serve beneath my heel!"

Orion let out a sharp breath, stepping forward with a smirk. "So, she thinks throwing more weaklings at us is gonna change anything?"

Elias gave a dry, calm chuckle beside him. "So... are we allowed to fight back now?"

Tave didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

The rest of the team began to shift, shoulders squaring, weapons sliding into hands, elemental energy flaring across their bodies. They were ready.

The skeleton warriors were coming fast now, dozens of them. Their weapons raised and mouths open in silent, eternal screams.

"You’ll all kneel!" the demoness shrieked. "I’ll burn your hope, break your spirits, and grind your names into ash!"

"You’ve defied me once. But not again! This time, you will beg for death!"

At the center of the growing chaos, Tave allowed himself a faint, knowing smile. With a single hand, he began forming rapid, fluid hand seals.

The moment his fingers snapped into place, the rest of the team moved in unison.

The skeleton warriors surged toward them from every direction, their bony limbs swinging corrupted blades, shrieking in unnatural silence.

But fortunately... someone from the eight had broken through to Gaia Master just before they entered this cave.

Which meant this battle... wouldn’t be nearly as difficult as the demoness hoped.

Orion’s body was already engulfed in flames. His entire form blazing, as though he were no longer made of flesh and blood, but fire itself. With a roar, he launched himself forward, slicing his sword in wide arcs.

Each slash left trails of searing light. And from the heat, a massive phoenix of flame burst into existence, soaring around the team like a fiery guardian. It shrieked once, majestic, furious. Before diving, its wings sweep across the battlefield, incinerating the skeletal warriors that charged at them.

Tave followed up instantly, throwing a flurry of small red objects into the air. They scattered like petals, each one a crimson flower. They exploded in bursts of thick, rolling mist. The fog spread fast, enveloping the battlefield in a dense, scarlet haze.

Then... water surged through the mist. The air around them condensed, droplets twisting unnaturally until they spiraled into blades of ice. Shard after shard crystallized midair, glinting in the red light before launching forward like missiles.

And then the team moved. Every one of them a blur, blades drawn, spells ignited, power unleashed.

They didn’t hesitate. They dove into the heart of the enemy, meeting the wave of skeletons head-on with precision and fury.

This battle. This curse, this madness. It ended today!