Realm Wars

In their fourteenth dungeon, Ryu and Rosa found themselves inside a large hangar of some sort. It was huge with fifty spans of columns on every side, and it was packed with experts and mercenaries. It was empty with no indication nor clue on what to do, unlike the previous dungeons.

On each side of the walls were large roll-up doors, and Ryu had a bad feeling when he smelled something like rot and decay. It was overpowering, and he bet the others smelled it too, even if they were not beasts.

The stench was enough to make their eyes water and their throat to gag.

"Fifi," Rosa called. She sensed that something wasn't right with the silence. Her fine hairs were standing on the edge, and whatever was out there beyond the doors was not something she wished to see. 

Fifi was added protection incased something unexpected happened.

"What are we going to do here?"

"Aren't there any some sort of clue in here?"

Buzzes and murmurs rumbled in the hangar as the minutes ticked away. 

Rosa flicked her staff but found that she couldn't perform any spells or skills. It was the same restriction as the previous dungeon, and her face turned pale. 

The power of a God's domain was really something else. A mere mortal like her couldn't even do anything. 

It was not just Rosa who felt that way. All the experts who relied solely on their spells and skills had dark faces.

"Fifi, could you summon your lightning?" Rosa asked, and her heart dropped in the pit of her stomach when Fifi looked at her like she was about to cry.

"Useless thing," Rosa hissed and ushered Fifi back into her bottle. Without her lighting, Fifi was as good as a decoration or a big lump of shine to light their path. She still had many items she acquired to protect herself, but she didn't know how long it'd last. 

"What now?" Ryu was worried. Without Rosa's spells and skills, she was good as nothing but an average human. Was it Tethy's way of showing her dominance to everyone? Reminding them that they were nothing more than insignificant existence in the face of a God? 

Rosa didn't react, and for the first time, Ryu saw the trouble brewing on her face. To make matters worse, this was their 14th dungeon, so it was bound to be dangerous than the others.

"Get ready halfbreed. I might have to depend on you to get through this." 

Ryu wanted to make a bargain with Rosa to return Ferris if they made it successfully out of here. But he chose to press his lips tight at the sweat on her face. It must have taken a great deal of effort for her to say those words. Especially since he was just a halfbreed that she didn't take into consideration.

But now, everything changed. Without her spells, her life was dependent on him, and Rosa was glad that Ryu was with her for the first time. She never expected it to, but the halfbreed was much useful than she thought. 

Without even manipulating mana, his strength and speed were on par or even greater than most nearing Rank-S. Rosa took a peek at Ryu. His side view profile was indeed eyes catching, especially with his youthful face and lean physique. He was indeed a feast for the eyes. 

If only he weren't a halfbreed. 

"What?" Ryu asked when he caught Rosa staring at him.

Ryu's amber eyes made Rosa's heart skip a beat. She didn't know why she was affected by his charms now, but she looked away and coughed between her fist. 

"Nothing." Rosa hid her flustered face behind a scowl. This was not the time to develop feelings just because of some kind of a damsel in distress syndrome.

Ryu was about to ask Rosa why she was acting strange but failed when the doors rustled open.

CrReEaAkK. . .

Everyone stood on alert, and as the doors bundle up, the tension rose. No one blinked, and no one gasped. Even what stood before them were hordes of undead. Zombies with rotting flesh, dripping with body fluids and blood. 

Almost some passed out from the sight and smell alone, while their faces couldn't be painted.

They were trapped in the sea of endless undead, and no matter how far their sight could reach, there was no end to them.

"Rosa. We have to make a run for it!" Ryu growled at the woman beside him, who was so stunned that she turned into a statue. 

They had to push their way through the hordes of zombies and look for the exit before they were overwhelmed with the undead numbers.

Rosa visibly trembled, and her teeth rattled with her fear.

"Rosa?" Ryu called, panicked in his voice when the undead ran towards them, and screams of terror and chaos erupted in the area.

With just their weapons in hand, the others managed to fend off the zombies, but some weren't as lucky as they were overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of the zombies. It only took seconds for the undead to take a chunk of their flesh, and their bodies convulsed before their eyes rolled to the back of their heads, and they, too, turned into flesh-eating zombies.

Ryu saw all this happen, and his heart hammered hard against his chest. He slapped Rosa on the cheek and growled, "Snapped out of it!"

Rosa's face skewed to the other side before clarity went back to her eyes, and she swung a fist at Ryu, which the latter caught with ease.

"Don't get cocky halfbreed." Rosa gnashed her teeth. The slap kinda' hurt, but it was enough to jog her brain awake.

"This isn't the time. You can slap me later. But first, we have to get out of here!" Ryu said before a growl so loud rumbled in his throat. This momentarily stunned the approaching hordes of zombies, and with one strike, he swiped them with his claws, clearing an area around them.

But the torn bodies of the zombies just continued to crawl their way towards them before Rosa stomped a heel on the zombie's head. "Aim for their heads, halfbreed. And keep them away while I think of a plan."

Rosa didn't have to tell him twice. With the other fighting behind them, Ryu just had to worry about their front and sides while Rosa stayed a safe distance behind him.