The fall seemed to last several meters. Alaric tried to control his body in the air, but before he could find a suitable position, he felt something approaching from behind. An enormous Earth Golem, about three meters tall, appeared in the middle of the fall and delivered a brutal blow.
Alaric managed to protect part of his body with his spear, but the impact still sent him flying, making him land on a narrow platform. He soon realized that water was continuously flowing through the area, covering a large part of the surface.
"Damn... they started like this already."
Alaric tried to stand up, but the water around his feet began making small crackling sounds. Before he could understand what was happening, someone violently pulled him upward. Kael grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the platform just as a lightning discharge crossed the water, making the entire surface electrified.
"I thought I could eliminate one."
The voice came from the other side of that enormous place.
A boy was standing on one of the suspended platforms, with an arrogant smile on his face. Alaric raised his eyes and realized that both he and Kael were in the air, apparently without any support. For a moment, he did not understand how that was possible, until he looked down and saw Kael standing on a golden sword floating beneath his feet.
"So it was the princess..."
Several other golden swords appeared above the boy and began falling toward him. The young man raised one hand, and a barrier of lightning appeared in front of his body. The swords struck the shield one after another, making the protection tremble, but they could not pierce it.
"I told you that you need to be careful, Kalleb."
"Tsk... bossy as always."
A second person appeared beside Kalleb. The resemblance between the two was obvious. They had practically the same face, the same type of hair, and a very similar body structure. From what Alaric could tell, they were twin brothers.
The two began concentrating mana at the same time.
Alaric realized that they were about to launch some kind of combined attack, but he did not have time to discover what it would be. Kai advanced through the air and raised his arms with his sword.
"Rising Tide!"
An enormous amount of water appeared beneath the two brothers and exploded upward, hitting them directly. Kalleb and his brother were forced to retreat, interrupting the technique before they could complete it.
Kai landed on a nearby platform and looked around.
"This trap was made beautifully, but it's confusing. There didn't seem to be another floor."
"Hey, fairy."
Kael looked at the small creature that continued flying near them.
"If there's another floor, that means there's a hidden boss, right?"
The fairy nodded.
"That's exactly where the hidden boss is."
The answer made Kael look at the space below them with even more interest.
The place was much larger than anyone had imagined. There was no visible floor; only several suspended platforms and walls scattered throughout the space. In various places, water fell from the ceiling like enormous waterfalls, crossing the environment and disappearing into the darkness below.
"There are actually two hidden bosses around here."
"That means the same thing must have happened to the others."
Before they could discuss it further, the two brothers stepped onto a platform partially covered by water.
The mechanism was activated, and all the platforms began rotating.
Alaric had to drive his spear into the ground so he would not lose his balance, while Kai jumped onto another platform. Then, an enormous hole opened in the upper platform.
Something moved inside.
An aquatic serpent with crystal-blue scales emerged from the opening. Its enormous body twisted between the suspended platforms. As soon as it stuck its head out, it opened its mouth and launched a powerful jet of water directly at Kael and Elowyn.
Kael widened his eyes.
"Princess Elowyn!"
"I know."
The golden swords floating around Elowyn immediately moved. One of them passed by her, and Kai caught it in the air, using it as support while the jet of water crossed the platform.
The impact was so powerful that it completely split the structure where they were.
Alaric took advantage of the moment when the serpent exposed its head. He spun his spear and concentrated a large amount of water at the tip.
"Water Magic: Piercing Spear!"
The spear was fired at great speed.
The projectile struck the serpent's head directly, but instead of piercing its skull, it only opened a superficial wound and broke apart against its scales.
Alaric widened his eyes.
"Damn... it's more resistant than I thought."
The serpent immediately responded. Its tail crossed the space and came toward Alaric. He managed to duck at the last moment, feeling the wind caused by the movement pass over his head.
At the same time, Kai was busy with the Earth Golem.
The creature advanced and tried to crush him with one of its arms. Kai blocked the blow with his sword, but the force of the impact pushed him several meters backward. The Golem raised its other arm and attacked again.
Kai waited until the last moment.
"Crescent Slash!"
He spun his body and redirected the blow, making the force of the attack itself work against the Golem. The blade cut deeply into its stone arm and severed part of the limb.
On the other side, Kael was struck by a lightning discharge.
"Kael!"
The attack sent him flying. His body crossed the space between two platforms before hitting a third one, where he rolled several times until he managed to stop.
Kalleb took advantage of the opportunity and began approaching.
Kael slowly stood up. Instead of showing anger, however, his eyes seemed amused.
"Tell me... are you stronger than your brother?"
Kalleb frowned.
"I don't know why you're asking that, but... I'm not. Even though I hate admitting it."
Kael tilted his head slightly.
"Then you're useless."
Kalleb was confused for a moment, and that was enough for the red-eyed boy in front of him to make a surprise move.
A water spear suddenly appeared beneath his feet and pierced through his foot.
"Argh!"
Kalleb immediately retreated, holding his leg while trying to regain his balance. Kael had already jumped off the platform, using a water spear created beneath his own feet as support.
He passed by Elowyn.
"Hey, princess. I'll leave this guy to you."
"What?"
Kael did not even wait for the answer.
He continued advancing and reached Kai. Before he could ask anything, Kael grabbed his body and pushed him toward the platform where Alaric was fighting the serpent.
Kai landed near Alaric, but managed to regain his balance before falling.
"You're crazy."
Despite the complaint, he quickly realized the reason for that action.
The serpent attacked again.
An enormous water tail appeared behind Kai, trying to strike him from behind. Kai spun his body and used the movement itself to place himself behind Alaric, avoiding the attack by only a few centimeters.
Alaric extended his hand and grabbed his arm, preventing him from slipping off the platform.
"Thanks for the help, Kai."
"There's no need to thank me. You can thank Kael, who threw me here to help you."
Kai looked toward Kael for a moment.
"You know he only threw you here because he wanted to fight the strongest one, right?"
Alaric turned his eyes back toward the serpent.
Kael had simply chosen the opponent he considered more interesting and rearranged the battlefield in his own way.
Deep down, that seemed to suit him perfectly.
The two faced the serpent head-on. The creature gave them no time to think and suddenly charged forward, opening its enormous mouth as it leaped at them to devour them. Alaric and Kai reacted at the same time, each jumping in a different direction. The serpent's fangs passed between the two of them by a very small margin, and the impact of its head against the platform made the entire structure tremble.
Kai took advantage of the moment when the creature was exposed.
"Aquatic Crescent Slash!"
He combined his technique with Ocean Magic, making the water blade acquire much greater strength. The slash struck the side of the serpent and finally managed to pierce its crystalline skin, opening a deep wound.
Alaric did not waste the opportunity. He jumped onto the creature's body and began advancing along its back, delivering several consecutive thrusts with his spear. Each strike left a new hole in the serpent's skin, making it writhe violently. The creature violently shook its body, trying to throw him off, and Alaric had to jump away before he was thrown off with it.
He landed on another platform and immediately began preparing his magic again.
"Sea Prince's Spear!"
Alaric placed the spear in front of his body. The weapon began to change, its blade transforming into a rotating point that considerably increased its piercing power. At the same time, two large hands made of water appeared behind him and held the weapon together with him, as if reinforcing every movement.
Alaric gritted his teeth tightly, and the three hands advanced together, adding even more power.
The spear was thrust forward with all its strength, and an enormous vortex of water appeared around the weapon. The pressure destroyed part of the platform through which the attack passed and advanced directly toward the serpent.
The attack struck the creature's face, making its head jerk backward.
The spear pierced one of the areas near its eye, completely penetrating it. The serpent retreated, releasing a roar as its body writhed.
Alaric breathed heavily.
"Huff... damn. This attack is very difficult to perform."
"Watch out!"
Kai shouted, seemingly noticing something.
Alaric barely had time to react. The serpent's tail crossed the space and struck his stomach directly.
"Ugh!"
His body was sent flying and landed on another platform. The impact almost made him lose consciousness, but he managed to get back up before the creature could attack him again.
Kai ran toward him.
The serpent fired several cutting jets of water along the way, forcing Kai to constantly change direction. He dodged one, passed underneath another, and cut a third with his sword before finally reaching Alaric.
"Are you okay?"
Kai extended his hand. Alaric grabbed it and stood up. It was at that moment that Kai noticed something different.
The hood covering Alaric's face had disappeared during the attack.
His blue hair was completely exposed, as were his eyes of the same color.
Kai remained still for a few seconds.
"You're not the employer's son."
Alaric looked at his own face and then at the water below. His disguise had been discovered.
"Damn... my disguise."
He took a deep breath and adjusted his hair, but there was no time to worry about that. The serpent continued moving around the platforms, and any distraction could cost him his life.
For now, surviving was more important.
"Why did you come?"
Alaric looked at Kai.
"To recover my mother's core."
He had even brought the servant from his grandparents' house with him on that mission. He could not simply return home without the core. Perhaps, if he managed to recover it, his father would finally talk to him more and put his revenge aside for a while to take care of the family.
He also wanted revenge against that man, but he did not need to leave a son behind.
While Alaric and Kai continued fighting the serpent, in another part of the hidden area, a different battle was taking place.
The boy who used earth magic easily dodged a water spear and turned his gaze toward the young man in front of him, who remained a little quiet before looking upward as if he had heard something.
[You pretend well. You even told a little story.]
'I simply told a little about who I was when I was fifteen. And it wasn't a little story.'
Kael... or rather, Enrico, silently stared at his opponent.
His eyes began to glow for a moment before losing that supernatural appearance. To maintain that red color so naturally, he had simply deactivated all the abilities that could alter his eyes and focused on naturally changing their color.
In a way, he had not lied about his story.
Aside from the personality he was demonstrating at that moment, that really was how he felt back then.
The boy with earth magic in front of him advanced with a serious look on his face.
"You're strong, but—"
"Cláudio Vermon."
The man stopped.
"How do you know?"
The surprise was clearly visible on his face.
Enrico showed no reaction.
He had entered that dungeon for two reasons. The first was to obtain the system's reward for this arc. The second was to find that man.
"How do I know? Well, let's just say you're going to do a lot of shit in the future, so I'm making sure you'll disappear."
The answer was direct.
Enrico knew exactly who was standing before him and what would happen if he were left free. That boy would cause a disaster that would affect everyone at the Academy and would later become a vessel for an evil god.
That was precisely why Enrico had decided to act now.
He had even thought about bringing Yumeha to help him, but he preferred not to risk her suffering serious injuries. He still needed her help to complete his next plan, and he could not allow anything to happen to her in that situation.
Enrico took a step forward, and an even stronger red glow appeared in his eyes as he activated his Crimson Eyes with the ability active.
"So, shall we begin?"