Chapter 503: The Dungeon

Nathan and Morgana—now with Eorlagar—were to pass through the portal while the others would stayed concealed within Isabella’s shadow until they were safely on the other side, at which point Isabella would release them at different positions around the area.

They had chosen this approach because none of them knew exactly what would be waiting for them when they arrived.

Nathan’s memory would bring the portal directly into Irene’s prison, but the dragons guarding her would undoubtedly see it forming.

If the entire team simply stepped through together, they risked emerging into an attack already aimed directly at the portal, leaving everyone clustered in one place the instant they arrived.

This reduced that risk.

Morgana and Eorlagar were among the strongest individuals present and could withstand an immediate confrontation.

Nathan, meanwhile, knew the prison and needed to lead them to the exact location where Irene was supposed to be.

Once they were through, Isabella would then spread her shadow across the dungeon and allow the others to emerge from different positions, giving them better vantage points from which to engage whatever resistance awaited them.

Nathan stepped through and Morgana followed closely behind him, with Eorlagar entering immediately after her.

—-

On the other side of the portal...

The dragons guarding the prison had already noticed the strange occurrence.

Several enormous heads turned toward the green portal that had suddenly appeared within the dungeon.

Several of them began to stir, their attention immediately drawn toward the portal.

Claws scraped against the ground, wings unfolded from scaled backs, while deep guttural sounds rolled from the throats of several dragons as they focused upon the unfamiliar magic.

Then the intruders emerged as the portal closed behind them.

Right then, the dragons attacked.

There was barely any hesitation between recognizing the intruders and responding to them.

Several opened their jaws at once, magical energy gathering within their throats before torrents of different magic elements erupted across the cavern.

There was fire, with streams of water and freezing torrents of ice. Other breaths joined them from different directions, several dragons possessing similar affinities while others unleashed entirely different elements.

Morgana stretched both hands to her sides and several magic circles appeared around them, each positioned several meters away and directly within the paths of the incoming attacks.

The dragon breaths crashed into them but rather than exploding against the circles, the elemental attacks disappeared straight through their surfaces.

A moment later, the attacks came straight back.

The attacks were redirected toward the creatures that had released them, forcing several dragons to take the brunt of their own attacks.

This was reflection magic; one of the many magic elements under her control.

One blast came from an angle Morgana hadn’t intercepted which allowed Eorlagar enter the fray.

The Beserker Demon Lord brought his gigantic axe up with both hands and caught the attack against its broad surface.

The impact thundered through the cavern, pushing against his massive frame as he planted himself firmly on the ground and held it there.

At the same time, darkness spilled outward from Morgana.

Isabella’s shadow separated from hers. And in the next instant, the dungeon erupted into chaos.

Every patch of darkness around the cavern suddenly became an entry point as Ethan and the others emerged from different shadows almost simultaneously.

Several of them were already fully transformed by the time they appeared.

They came from behind the dragons, beside them, above them—from angles none of the creatures had been watching while their attention remained fixed upon Morgana and the portal.

The first wave of attacks struck almost at once.

Heavy blows crashed against scales. Dragon heads were knocked aside in the middle of releasing their breaths, enormous bodies staggered under impacts coming from directions they hadn’t anticipated, and the coordinated assault temporarily broke the barrage that had been concentrated upon Morgana.

Although, none of it truly brought the dragons down. The opening attacks were mostly intended to stagger, displace, and interrupt them.

Within seconds of entering the dungeon, the confrontation had turned into a full battle.

Magic illuminated the cavern from several directions.

Enormous bodies moved between the surrounding stone formations as the dragons recovered from the initial surprise, while Ethan’s group rapidly spread throughout the area rather than allowing themselves to be surrounded.

Both Bernadette and Valerie could feel the difference in the environment.

Natural mana saturated the dungeon in extraordinary quantities, way more than what they had experienced in the Demon Continent.

But while everyone else dealt with the dragons, Nathan wasn’t fighting.

He stood upon the circular platform, staring ahead of him.

Something was wrong.

His gaze moved across the dungeon time and again.

This was the place. There could be no mistake about that.

He looked upward to see that the slab of rock that had subjected Irene to that crushing force for more than a decade was still suspended above the platform.

Then his eyes dropped toward the ground to see broken chains with a carved out section across where Irene should have been kneeling.

But Irene herself was gone.

Nathan’s eyes widened. "No..."

Another series of dragon breaths tore across the cavern.

Morgana turned sharply, magic circles forming around her once again. The attacks disappeared into them before being hurled back across the dungeon, forcing the dragons on the opposite side to defend themselves.

She glanced toward Nathan. "Where is she?"

Nathan didn’t answer immediately.

He was still looking around the platform as though Irene might somehow be somewhere he hadn’t noticed.

Morgana’s expression hardened. "Izzgur!" she called over the fighting. "Where is she?"

"She’s not here." He answered

Morgana stared at him. "What do you mean, she’s not here?"

"She’s supposed to be here!" Nathan snapped, looking toward the broken chains. "This is where they kept her."

Another attack struck one of Morgana’s barriers, sending a violent pulse of energy across its surface.

She barely looked at it while giving Nathan a reply, "But she isn’t here."

Nathan’s jaw tightened. "No."

"Then the plan has failed," Morgana said. "We leave."

Nathan immediately turned toward her. "No."

Morgana’s eyes narrowed. "We are already inside the Dragon Emperor’s palace, Izzgur. His dragons know we’re here, and the one person we came for is gone. We leave. Now."

"We can’t." Nathan shook his head. "I didn’t come this far just to turn around because they moved her. She’s somewhere in this palace."

Morgana stared at him as the battle continued raging around them.