Chapter 276 - Fighting Udaeus
The moment Mahiro stepped into the canyon, the ground began to tremble.
At first, the vibrations were slight, barely noticeable, tingling the soles of their feet.
"It's coming," Riveria said in a low voice, her eyes fixed on the canyon.
Before she finished speaking, the shaking intensified, growing stronger with each passing moment.
"Same as always," Bete muttered.
The sneer on his face vanished, replaced by a serious expression as he stared ahead.
"Be careful," Finn warned solemnly.
In the center of the canyon, the ground suddenly bulged.
With a sharp sound, the rock wailed, and countless fissures split the surface, spreading like spiderwebs.
The cracks halted abruptly, and then a massive, dark figure—so large it defied belief—burst through the ground, towering into the distance.
Rocks and gravel cascaded from the figure as it emerged.
Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!
A beastly bellow echoed through the canyon, loud enough to rattle eardrums.
The dark figure loomed over the ground, roaring like a merciless tyrant.
There was no mistaking it—this was the Monster Rex.
The lone king of the labyrinth, reigning over the 37th floor: Udaeus.
It was an enormous skeleton, its bones black as if dipped in ink, exuding an ominous and dangerous aura that seemed to pull in anyone who gazed upon it.
Udaeus's lower body remained buried beneath the ground, but its upper half stretched ten meters high from the pelvis upward—a height alone enough to intimidate most adventurers.
Its spine curved slightly, countless vertebrae trembling as if alive.
The skull, ghostly and menacing, bore two massive horns.
Dark, hollow eye sockets housed flickering crimson fire.
At the center of its skeletal frame, guarded by thick ribs and sternum, gleamed a magic stone nearly three meters wide.
In the absence of organs, this radiant, deep purple crystal served as Udaeus's heart.
Shatter it, and the Monster Rex would return to the dungeon's embrace.
This was the nightmare of countless adventurers.
"Mahiro, be careful," Tiona said, her usual liveliness replaced by a grave tone.
Even Tiona, who held great confidence in Mahiro, refrained from bold claims like "You'll win."
Having faced Udaeus before, she knew its terror firsthand.
Mahiro studied the Udaeus and paused, momentarily taken aback.
A stationary opponent, rooted to the ground.
To him, it was little more than a sitting target.
Mahiro wasn't familiar with this monster or its attack patterns.
But an immobile foe, unless it boasted impenetrable defenses, was no challenge.
He could close the distance and end it swiftly.
Suddenly, most of his interest in Udeaus evaporated.
"Might as well finish this quickly," he thought.
"Then, while there's still time today, I can kill more monsters on the lower floors."
"Hey, what's the hold-up? Scared?" Bete taunted, seizing on Mahiro's hesitation.
Ais's regard for Mahiro had always sparked envy and resentment in him.
"If your strength matched your mouth, you'd be unstoppable," Mahiro shot back coldly.
Drawing his sword, he stepped forward.
The monster sensed his approach.
As Mahiro entered its attack range, Udaeus unleashed —
Roar!
Udaeus's bellow shook the air.
As Mahiro drew closer, one of its hands plunged into the ground and yanked upward.
In its grip appeared an object nearly five meters long—a sword.
"A sword?"
"How can Udaeus wield a sword?"
"We've never seen this before!"
The Loki Familia members gasped, stunned by the sight.
"Hah! First time fighting Udaeus, and he gets this?"
"Talk about luck—good or bad, who knows!" Bete cackled.
"An unexpected twist like this… Finn, should we intervene?" Gareth asked, his voice heavy with concern.
"Not yet. Let's observe," Finn replied, shaking his head.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground ruptured in rapid succession.
Where Mahiro tread, countless bone spikes erupted like spears, a jagged forest of blades surging from below.
They seemed to track his movements, striking from blind spots beneath his field of vision.
This was Udaeus's most troublesome attack.
Despite its immobility, Udaeus had felled countless adventurers and thwarted entire adventuring parties with these relentless, pinpoint bone spikes.
The spikes were an extension of Udaeus's lower body, buried deep in the ground.
Their range stretched nearly a hundred meters around the Monster Rex, making the entire area its battlefield.
Whether far or near, the spikes hounded any who dared approach.
"Sharp and tricky, but nothing compared to weaving through a monster horde," Mahiro said calmly.
He dodged the spikes with ease, his steps light and precise, advancing steadily.
To him, the bone spikes that plagued the Loki Familia were mere obstacles, no more threatening than wooden posts.
Mahiro moved as if he could predict each attack.
Every step he took landed just beyond the spikes' reach, allowing him to evade them effortlessly.
---
Read 20 Chapters In Advance:
patreon.com/heavenlydawn
---
(PS: Give power stones to this fanfiction for more chapters(500 stones = 5 chapter). Also, don't forget to leave a review and comment below.)