Digitize: Rebirth of the Silver Death God

An unknown amount of time passed, and the air within the Labyrinth of Horrors only grew darker. As Nero, Elly, Ivy, and the others proceeded onwards, they each had stern looks as no matter how far they traveled, there were no signs of change around them, almost as if the previous werewolves was no more than an illusion.

Nero's cold looking red pupils scanned the hazy maze, looking at the ground and fields; they flickered in a strange ray as when he used his Reaper's Eyes innate skill, he found that two bright wolf shaped soul lights were shining a reasonable distance behind them.

Looking at them carefully, Nero found that though the lights were shining brilliantly, there were signs of dimness, as if they were losing their lifeforce.

'Hmm, these two souls are a notch above even that werewolf from before. They are likely the other guardians for this zone... since that's so, then I can only assume that the beast ahead of us is the final guardian.'

After thinking such thoughts, Nero's eyes narrowed when he looked ahead of his group, staring at the wolf soul, which was two times larger than the others. Yet, what was even more alarming was that this very creature's soul was currently standing behind another, tinier but a sinister-looking soul.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves; we might have company ahead of us,"

Nero said with a grim tone as his eyes turned sharper as he firmly held onto his scythe handle.

'Oh crap, not again, when will we be done with this place!'

Elly thought to herself as she gritted her teeth in dissatisfaction; she didn't like this kind of spooky atmosphere in the slightest.

Mikan's face turned dark while Ivy had cautiously held her whip in an alert manner, but unlike him, Lily, who walked nearby, had a flicker of interest; she was curious about what kind of beast they would encounter next.

Nero didn't pay much attention to everyone's thoughts; he only focused on the scene ahead of them, clouded by a haze which only his eyes could perceive.

'This might be more troublesome than I thought, but I guess this wouldn't make it much of an interest, now would it?'

When Nero said this, his eyes showed traces of interest as his lips curved into a confident smile; even despite seeing the two entities than no one else could perceive, he felt that it wasn't enough to halt their steps.

"Of course not..."

Adult Nero said with even stronger confidence as if answering his younger self. Nero felt even more confident hearing those words, but what he didn't know was that after speaking, his older self shifted his eyes towards an area behind the soul lights that carried a powerful presence only he could sense.

'They can't, but as for that monster in the dark, even I'm uncertain of this raid, I have no idea how a change like this could occur during a dungeon owned by the system, and most importantly, I can feel the effects of the ring dwindling with each passing breath.'

Adult Nero thought to himself, his eyes shifted from the space behind the soul lights, towards the sky, as if he could see through all shrouding the world, gazing at the sinister blood-colored moon and dim Universe Ring that loomed above the world.

A stern look appeared on his face as he spoke in a voice only he could hear, "How troubling...'"

While everyone had their own thoughts, it didn't take long for the group to arrive at their destination. Here was a section that seemed like a transition from grassland to the interior of a castle.

The ground moved from soil and grass to that of worn concrete with moss that led to a massive arched entrance towards a new section of the Palace of Horrors. Looking on its surface, one would notice two wall-mounted candle holders of a skull-shaped design, each of their candles burning in a gloomy light.

It was a rather peculiar scene, but it wasn't what drew Nero and the others' attention. The moment they entered this zone, the haze faded, revealing all of the scene, showing a giant black werewolf that crouched before a sinister and ugly-looking hunched-back lifeform held onto a skull's staff.

The werewolf had crimson markings on its body, along with ticker and sturdy chains that bounded its neck collar; as if it sensed them, it lifted its head from its meek state, turning fierce as it growled at the party, causing saliva to drip from its mouth onto the ground.

Awooo! With a resonant howl, a cruel breath scattered about the area, pushing away even more of the haze. Currently, the werewolf became shrouded by a thick magic power that caused even the ground beneath its feet to crack with fissures.

As if he was unphased, Crooked stared at everyone with a cruel smile, his two different sized eyes glowing as they showed a trace of excitement and tease.

The moment Nero saw Crooked, his eyes turned solemn as he felt that menacing energies from within him, he thought to himself, 'He's the leader, he's as strong as I anticipated.'

When Nero concluded his thoughts, he glanced at Elly and the others who were staring at the scene with shock and sternness before he spoke to them via a mental message.

"I'll hold off that disgusting fellow; you guys have to do what you can to take down that wolf in the remainder of the time, then come help me."

"What? Nero, are you crazy? Are you sure you can pin him down yourself?" Elly asked back with a touch of concern on her face.

Ivy, Mikan, and Lily also gave Nero an odd look, but it was clear that the enemies had startled them; they all felt the oppressive energies coming from them.

Nero twirled his scythe and held it at an angle with its edge facing Crooked as he replied with a sharp glint in his eyes, "I'll do what I have to..."

When Elly and the others heard his words, they looked at him deeply; seeing his manner, they knew that they couldn't change his mind, and more importantly, even if they wanted to, the menace before them would certainly give them no chance.

As if proving their thoughts right, a sinister laugh sounded across the area as Crooked looked at them with a smile and spoke as if beckoning the start of a gloomy