Chapter 505: Escaping The Dungeon

His eyes stayed closed, his entire concentration directed toward the mental connection with his wife.

The dungeon gave them more than enough room to fight. The cavern was enormous, built to accommodate several fully grown dragons at once, but the battle was gradually tearing even that vast space apart.

Magic crashed into the surrounding walls. Sections of stone fractured under missed attacks, and chunks of rock regularly broke from the ceiling and came crashing down.

The team constantly accounted for the falling debris alongside the dragons themselves, destroying or deflecting anything that threatened Nathan.

Purple lightning coated his fist as Ethan drove him directly into one of the adult dragons, slamming it into the creature’s eye.

The impact ruptured through the eye and sent the dragon’s head crashing against the ground with a roar of agony.

Even then, the creature wasn’t dead; none of them were actually easy to kill.

Every adult dragon guarding the dungeon possessed strength comparable to fighters within the grand class level.

Taking even one of them down required more than a single powerful attack.

Right then a flash of yellow lightning appeared high above the battlefield.

And almost everyone noticed it at once.

It was Xygias hovering above them.

The magical presence radiating from the Lightning Dragon was on an entirely different level from the dungeon guards.

As an Elder Dragon, there were a few like him who reached that stage to stand in hierarchy only second to the Dragon Emperor.

Even the Provincial Demon Lords could not be casually compared to them.

Xygias looked down upon the intruders with open disgust.

Then his body transformed.

His humanoid frame expanded violently, becoming larger with every passing instant until a gigantic ivory-scaled dragon occupied the air above the cavern. Yellow hair ran along portions of his body, while brilliant arcs of golden lightning crawled continuously across his scales.

The surrounding dragons immediately began creating distance as Xygias opened his jaws tk reveal the yellow lightning energy building within his throat.

Then he fired that colossal torrent of lightning upon the battlefield.

However, before it reached them, another shadow separated from Isabella’s darkness.

Abaddon shot upward.

The Fallen Angel appeared directly beneath the incoming attack and raised his right hand, commanding darkness to surge above him, rapidly spreading into an large black barrier.

BOOOOM!

The lightning breath crashed against it and the entire barrier trembled.

Cracks of yellow electricity tore across its surface while Abaddon’s arm shook under the pressure, but the darkness held.

"My Lady!" Abaddon shouted over the deafening collision. "You need to leave!"

Until now, the angel deliberately kept himself out of the battle.

Their infiltration already concentrated too many powerful magical presences within one place. Adding another being of Abaddon’s level would only make their presence more noticeable within the palace.

But once an Elder Dragon appeared and attacked Isabella directly, remaining concealed was no longer an option.

Morgana turned sharply toward Bella.

"You heard him!" she snapped. "When will this fucking madness end? We need to leave!"

This time, Bella didn’t argue.

She was standing beside Morgana, staring at Abaddon struggling against the torrent of lightning before turning toward Ethan.

There was reluctance in her expression but Ethan understood it immediately.

Bella was the reason Morgana allowed Nathan these last few minutes in the first place. She wanted Irene rescued as much as any of them, but the situation changed.

An Elder Dragon was already here and more could follow.

Ethan stared at her for a second before giving a nod in agreement.

That was enough signal.

In that instant, darkness exploded outward from Isabella and raced across the dungeon floor in every direction, spreading beneath allies around the vicinity.

Those standing on the ground sank into it almost instantly, while enormous hands of darkness rose toward those fighting in the air, wrapping around them and dragging them down.

Morgana was already opening their escape route.

The grotesque black hand extended from her palm once again, casting Portal Magic as a green circle formed before it. Space distorted, and the portal rapidly expanded beside her.

One after another, Isabella pulled the team into her darkness, even Eorlagar as well.

Nathan still sat in the same position with his eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to everything happening around him.

Ethan looked toward him. He knew Nathan was still speaking to Irene.

For a brief moment, Ethan hesitated. But then another violent tremor passed through Abaddon’s barrier overhead.

There was no more time.

Ethan stretched out his hand, and gravity seized Nathan, ripping him from the ground and pulling him rapidly across the cavern toward Ethan.

Nathan’s eyes opened in surprise just as Ethan caught him.

In his transformed state, Ethan stood over seven feet tall, his enlarged hand easily securing Nathan as Isabella’s darkness surged beneath them.

Both disappeared into it.

Once everyone else was safely inside, Isabella’s own body dissolved into darkness.

The entire mass rushed across the floor toward Morgana before flowing into her shadow, carrying the others with it.

Morgana stepped backward through the portal.

Abaddon was the only one left. Above him, the barrier finally began giving way.

But when the Fallen Angel glanced down to see that everyone was gone, he released his hold.

The black barrier collapsed, and Xygias s lightning tore through it—but Abaddon’s body dispersed at the same instant, exploding into a mass of black shadows.

The lightning passed through empty space, dealing no damage to the Angel of Shadows.

His shadows raced across the dungeon and plunged through the shrinking portal an instant before it closed.

The green gateway disappeared.

And just like that, the intruders were gone.

——-

A/N:

Hey guys, what’s up?

Settling down has been very difficult, I must admit, although I finally got a place to stay today. My rent is pretty fucking expensive, but I really have no other choice.

There are still a few things happening this week, including me starting classes for my master’s program and generally trying to get everything sorted out.

I guess all of this is just to ask for your patience. I know I’m due for a mass release, and I know you guys have been waiting for it, but trust me when I say it has not been easy.

It has not been fucking easy.

I’m trying to get everything settled so I can properly get back into things. Just bear with me a little longer, guys.