?


    -----


    "Huh?!" Ernest stepped back, surprised that three more powerful humans had arrived. "Disgraceful, not only did you bring your familiar to this fight but even the rest of your allies, I thought you had the heart of a knight, but you''re nothing but a witch…"


    yne slowly stood back up as she confronted Ernest''s words with her friends.


    "I never said I was a knight to begin with…." She said angrily. "You and your stupid code of a knight will die today. I won''t even spare your soul."


    "She''s angry, alright…" Rita nodded, deciding to not mess around with yne right now.


    "So this is another Death General?" Mark asked.


    "Yeah." yne sighed. "He''s guarding the Gate leading to the Dungeon where my daughter and everyone else is trapped…"


    "Well, he''s missing his armor." Lily said. "How hard could it be-"


    FLAAASH!


    As if to respond to Lily''s question, the Death Knight appeared right at the left side of Lily, rapidly swinging his huge ck sword.


    CLAAANK!


    However, the sword only hit a huge wall made of stone that Lily summoned in that very second, buying enough time for everyone to step back.


    "He''s super-fast for his size!" Rita panicked.


    "Most likely because he lost his armor…" Mark said. "But he''s wearing armor… Made of phantoms?"


    "It is his second armor; it somehow is boosting his speed beyond what he could before. He was rather slow before!" yne said.


    "That''s right. Sadly for you lot, knowing this won''t change your fate."


    Ernest emerged right above everyone, his sword descending from above like a huge pir of stone, overflowing with darkness.


    CRAAAASSSH! RUMBLE!


    The floor beneath crumbled, generating countless cracks. Several underground pipes exploded, letting out water. However, what greeted Ernest''s de was another, a sword made of dragon mes, Mark''s knife.


    "Another wannabe swordsman?!" Laughed Ernest, swinging his de once more as he unleashed a terrific wave of Nether Energy. "Begone from my SIGHT!"


    SLAAAAASSH!


    "Wannabe swordsman?!" Laughed Mark, smiling fiercely as his eyes glowed bright red. "Nah, I''m just a fire mage. [Quadruple sh]! [True Red Dragon mes]!"


    Mark swung his de-form knife only once, but four shes of true red dragon mes emerged at once, impacting against Ernest''s powerful attack and generating several zing explosions at once!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Ngh?!" The Death Knight noticed as his phantasmal aura started to flicker, the dragon mes consuming part of its powers and weakening it. "You''re not bad…! But this is not near as enough! [Death Knight de Arts]: [Nether Sword Ki Aura]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    The huge skeleton suddenly conjured ten des made of phantom and sword ki at once, which rotated around him as if he could control their very movements with utmost precision.


    "He can do that?!" Rita panicked.


    "You''ve pushed me this far; it wouldn''t be right for me to not go all-out now!" Ernest roared, rushing towards Mark as he fired the swords towards him and everyone else.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Rita and Lily managed to evade some of them while their shields intercepted a few as they ran in circles, meanwhile, Mark was the most overwhelmed as he had to tank six of them at once while swinging his zing sword.


    CLANK! CLANK! CLAAANK!


    "Dammit!" Mark gritted his teeth as one of the swords pierced his chest, suddenly beginning to glow! "Ungh?! Argh!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "NO!" yne screamed, barely making it close to Mark before the sword piercing his chest exploded!


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "Haha… He was strong, but too foolish." Ernest slowly walked towards Mark to see his dismembered body. "Now- huh?!"


    Only to realize that Mark was barely alive, his body having been divided in two as he turned his physique into zing wood, the explosion sting arge piece of his detached body where the sword was stuck, yne quickly helped him regrow what was missing.


    "Wicked Yggdrasil and their tricks!" Ernest roared angrily, about to attack once more only to find yne''s roots wrapping around his legs, while shadow tentacles appeared from his shadows and restrained him, Rita and ckie working in tandem. "Urgh?!"


    "[Life and Light Chains of Restraint]!" yne roared, conjuring the leftover spirits she had around her into chains wrapping around his arms, forcing the Death Knight into submission!


    CLANK! CLANK!


    "AAARRGHHH…! LET GO OF ME!" The skeleton roared, trying to force his way out of his restraints! And it was working, as his strength managed to destroy a few tentacles and even shatter some of the chains.


    "Now!" Mark roared.


    "Alright!" Rita nodded.


    "Let''s do this!" yne led them.


    "Okay!" Lily nodded nervously.


    Their powered-up dragon weapons all absorbed their Mana, while Ernest tried to free himself, he saw four enormous sts of magic and dragon power reaching him, his empty ck eyes filled with utter fear as the phantom mes within flickered.


    "[Yggdragon''s Life mes]!"


    "[Red Dragon Queen''s Breath]!"


    "[Blue Dragon King''s Bullet Cannon]!"


    "[Draconic Mother Earth''s Wrath]!"


    Their elemental powers spiraled together, forming into a gigantic roaring dragon made of life and nature, mes, darkness, and stone, as it opened its jaws, engulfing the Death Knightpletely!


    "MY LORD…!"


    BOOOOOOOMMMMM…!


    A huge magical explosion of colors spread out around the surroundings, Lily hurriedly generating walls made of stone to protect the civilians stupidly watching what was happening, the people raised their eyes into the sky, seeing the colorful smoke appear up there.


    "U-Ungh…" Ernest was still somehow there, but as a pile of bones, his Magic Crystal Core covered in cracks, crumbling down into pieces. "Milord Thanatos… I…!"


    "Shut up. I wont even give you the chance to say goodbye." yne appeared before him.


    CRASH!


    Before he could even speak anymore, yne crushed his skull and his Magic Crystal Core into pieces, without letting him do anything else… She was furious. ckie suddenly appeared behind her, as if to answer her emotions, the adorable ck cat swallowed Ernest''s soul viciously.


    "It''s done…" Mark sighed in relief.


    "Not yet, we''ve still got that whole dungeon to do!" Rita said. "Let''s hurry!"


    "Yeah!" Lily nodded.


    "You''re right… Not only Elena but Elisa, Anna, and even Monica and the other ssmates!" Mark said. "yne, let''s go!"


    "Let''s go!" yne nodded, without any time to lose, she stored whatever was left of Ernest inside her Inventory while running back into the ruined school building.


    -----