'Mmm...'
The white-scaled Monster straightened and curled its back repeatedly.
'It's interesting, no matter how many times I look at her fight...' Mark thought to himself as he stared from above. 'She fights completely differently, but she can't explain it well...'
With great interest, he studied her movements.
'I can't quite do that right...' Mark scratched his head. 'Elisa always flows into her next move. I try to, but I usually have to stop before going to the next thing. She incorporates every move into the next one... She doesn't stop moving. Even when the enemy is defeated, she doesn't simply stop and turn around. Her upper body is always swaying. If not her entire upper body, then her arms carry the momentum.'
The white-scaled Monster sighed.
'It's almost hypnotic, the way she moves. No doubt that has to do with how she makes us forget about her presence. That's not -at all- how I do it...'
Mark thought about the different encounters he had gone through.
'She's a Natural, that's why she can't explain it. In this world, I imagine fighting is... Well, of course, it is. With Monsters and all. They must learn about fighting and moving well at a young age, probably?' He directed his gaze towards his hands as he bent his elbows. 'I'm as far as it gets in terms of being a Natural. Not only did I never fight before being Reborn here, but even before that, moving was...'
Mark shook his head.
'I just need to learn. Mm. The same way I learned by watching and copying the Monsters inside the Dungeon. Their movements, and their fighting...'
The white-scaled Monster suddenly felt its heart rate increase.
"So that's what it was..." Mark whispered as he brought a hand to his chin.
***
Raven, the Vampire Lord, could barely contain his laughter.
"Having trouble deciding who calls the shot now that he isn't here?" He sneered.
Levi's eyebrow twitched at the remark, but didn't let it show further.
"What are you doing? The Lord wouldn't want us to cooperate with him."
Light stared for a bit, before looking away.
"Don't ignore me. I won't let you go against-"
Levi's words were interrupted as the sound of unexpected footsteps resounded.
"You too...?" He muttered.
The Typhoon Wolf walked to the Demonic Dark Wolf's side and took a seat.
"Another one with nice eyes, huh?" Raven whispered.
The two Wolves, one with a dark pelt and the other with a white one, stared silently.
Grey broke that silence with a Woof and,
"Tsk." Levi clicked his tongue as he crossed his arms.
The Insect Monster, Fiery, lowered its body onto the ground after arriving at the Wolves' side.
"Three-to-one. Tough, tough." Raven chuckled.
"Four-to-one." The Fire Spirit corrected as he appeared to face Levi. "Want to talk about it?" He suggested.
The Devourer's Shield couldn't believe his eyes or ears.
"You want... To take his side??" Levi pointed at the Vampire Lord behind him.
The latter shrugged.
"We're not taking his side."
"Then what are you doing? How would you call this? It's treason-"
"Shut up for a second, will you?"
Levi immediately clenched his fists.
He was usually composed and collected no matter the situation.
But when the safety of his Lord was the topic... No.
When his loyalty to the Lord was being tested, there was no way for him to contain himself.
"I-"
"What's the goal here? In this Dungeon?" The Fire Spirit asked the one standing a couple of steps behind Levi before the latter could object.
Raven let his back slowly rest on the cave's wall.
"I've told you already. Getting you all stronger."
"Nothing beyond that?" The Fire Spirit questioned, suspicious.
"Beyond that? What ulterior motive would I have?" Raven chuckled. "The instant you left the Underling Necklace, your lives became mine. You know that, right?"
Levi's fists shook with anger as he stared at the ground below.
"Don't worry about it too much though. Crushing the Necklace itself would have done the job. Now, everyone on the same page?"n0VeluSb.c0m
The Underlings' eyes and those of the Fire Spirit stared at the one standing between them and Raven.
Levi's shaking ceased after a bit. He raised his gaze off the ground and,
"I need to get stronger..." He turned around to face Raven. "For the Lord."
"That's the plan." Raven said before gently pushing himself off the wall, turning to the side, and taking a couple of steps deeper into the cave.
The Underlings took a couple of seconds and stared at his back without moving.
Just when they were about to follow, Raven raised a finger.
"One. If you do something stupid, I won't help you. You might be Underlings, but I'm not about to babysit mindless Monsters. Got it?"
The Vampire Lord didn't wait for an answer.
"Two. The Dungeon is Ranked [C]. Every Monster here will be strong enough to kill you. Team up to take them down one by one. I'll make it so that you won't have to worry about the others. Except if your level turns out to be better than I expect."
Once again, Raven didn't wait.
"Three. If I feel like it, I'll ignore everything I just said. Think for yourself. Protect yourself, or one another, I don't care. Got it?"
This time, he waited for a bit.
"You mean-"
The Fire Spirit's words were interrupted as Raven raised his hands to the side and,
CLAP-
The sound produced by his hands coming together was enough to force the Underlings' eyes half shut.
A second later, the ground started shaking intensely.
"They're coming. Holy Knights' Graveyard is the Dungeon's Name. What do you think is approaching?"
"Holy Knights?" The Fire Spirit muttered. "Whatever those are...?"
"Dead ones. This is an underground Graveyard."
Raven turned around it and looked at the Underlings, his eyes filled with derision and mischief.
"Appropriate, isn't it?"
The Underlings positioned themselves in front of the Vampire Lord.
"Motivated, huh? Good. They're stronger than anything you've faced thus far."
The Vampire Lord took a couple of steps in the opposite direction.
"Make sure you survive." He chuckled and waved a hand. "I'll be watching here for a bit."
Raven nonchalantly took a seat on the ground and let his back rest against the wall.
'Who's dying first, I wonder?'
