Dungeon Predator (WN)

Several footprints had been left behind in the snow. They were created by men wearing armor etched with a black ring underneath thick leather clothes.

The black ring was the Goddess of Death's symbol! They were the Church of Death's paladins, who'd come to the continent in search of Mayanes Krishan.

"It's over there." The blue eyed paladin, Bray, pointed at the snow covered mountain amidst a flurry of snow.

It wasn't that big, but he could see a cave about halfway up the mountain, which appeared like the gaping maw of a demon.

The other paladins nodded their heads.

"We were ordered not to enter the cave, and to remain on standby near the mountain, so that's what we're going to do," Bray said. He had the authority to command them when Muhawk wasn't present. "Krishan may attempt to escape, so split into groups of three or four and form a perimeter around the mountain."

"Yes, sir!"

"Get a move on!"

The 99 paladins, Bray included, scattered across the snowy fields. A short while later, a bunch of flowers sprouted from the snowy field.

Flowers growing when it's this cold? Moreover, the flower petals and stems were completely white.

Pop!

All of a sudden, seeds that resembled dandelion puffs popped out.

Whoosh!

Wind blew from the mountain, threatening to send the seeds flying. But something extraordinary happened. The seeds flew towards the mountain, pushing through the intense winds!

Obviously, they weren't normal flowers. They were surveillance plants. Krishan had placed them all around the snow covered mountain!

The surveillance plants had done their job. They let their master know that she had unwelcome guests.

* * *

Within the cave, Krishan lay sideways above the flower in full bloom.

"Huh?" She opened her palm. A white seed softly landed inside of it. It was a seed sent by the surveillance plant.

Krishan instantly went through what it had seen. She narrowed her eyes and began emitting an intense killing intent.

"The goddess's servants!" Krishan suddenly stood up. "Sseup, I'll drain you all dry!" She smacked her lips.

She planned on draining the paladins of their life force, which would fully heal her left wing and left pinky.

Krishan took a step forward. However, she didn't take another step. She remained still, locked in thought.

'Is that all of them?' Krishan soon shook her head. 'No, it can't be. They can't overcome my immortality. Even so, they came here to keep me from escaping. Which means...'

They were waiting for someone. But who?

Then, Krishan's eyes glowed red.

"It's him!"

The man who'd humiliated her!

Grr!

Krishan's face contorted with rage and she gritted her teeth.

How dare a mere human, one that'd transformed into a lowly beast at that, rip off her left arm and her precious left wing. Moreover, he had forced her to shamefully run away.

Just thinking about him made her swell with rage hotter than even lava itself. She was so angry that she almost rushed out there without thinking.

However, she couldn't afford to leave the cave and unleash her fury upon the paladins. Because a small part of her was afraid.

"Ahem." Krishan bit her lip.

She clearly remembered what happened last time. Kang Oh had completely annihilated Mayanes Diabol, a fellow immortal, and she had been in danger of being killed herself.

'I don't want to die!' The fear of death instantly cooled her anger, like a snowball sliding down a hill.

As the wielder of Demon Sword Ubist, Kang Oh was capable of killing her. He had also humiliated her, which made him the target of her revenge. At the same time, she couldn't forget the fear that he'd planted in her heart!

Krishan sat on the flower once more, and then opened and closed her left hand. She wasn't at her best right now.

Moreover, she didn't have enough life force to use the God of Creation's power, which would allow her to create monsters, travel through space, etc. In other words, using divine power was out of her reach right now.

What if she fought Kang Oh in her current state? She couldn't even beat him when she was at her best, so what chance did she have now? Back then, she had plenty of life force, so she was able to use the God of Creation's power without limit. Moreover, her immortality wouldn't keep her safe from Kang Oh.

Krishan thought things over, and her face eventually brightened. It wasn't the best option, but it was the second best thing.

"I have no choice." Krishan's eyes gleamed, and she clenched her fist.

* * *

Kang Oh's party arrived in Santana, and then immediately headed for Yuki-Onna's Paradise.

"Giddy-yap!"

They rode on horseback at top speed, so they quickly reached their destination.

Muhawk looked for the men he'd send here in advance. Kang Oh's party and Cyndia followed him.

"Sir Muhawk!" The blue eyed paladin, Bray, came over.

"What's the situation?" Muhawk asked.

"We established a perimeter around the mountain, but Krishan came out of the cave and attacked us."

The paladins had clearly done battle. Based on their expressions, the battle hadn't gone well.

"Were there a lot of casualties?" Muhawk asked.

"She got twelve of us."

"Mm."

"She looked like she was trying to escape, so we stopped her, but the cost was great." Bray bit his lip. He recalled the faces of all his comrades that sacrificed themselves to stop her.

"Did Krishan get away?" Cyndia asked.

"No. We just barely stopped her from escaping, forcing her to return to the cave," Bray immediately said.

"Did you say Krishan attempted to escape?" Kang Oh asked.

"That's right."

"That's strange. She can cut through space and travel to another location, but she left the cave and tried escaping?"

Kang Oh clearly remembered her slicing through space and showing up out of nowhere! He also remembered her doing that to escape too.

"She shouldn't be able to use a Spatial Leap," Cyndia answered.

"Why is that?" Kang Oh tilted his head.

"Traveling through space is a power that belongs to the gods. If a Mayanes wants to use a god's power, then they need life force. She, who hasn't even fully recovered yet, doesn't have enough life force to teleport across long distances."

"She has the spell, but she doesn't have enough mana to use it." Kang Oh nodded his head.

"Moreover, it's unlikely that she's managed to gather an abundance of life energy in such a harsh environment. At best, she's drained the monsters here. She would've used that life energy to heal her body. Thus, she won't be able to properly use the God of Creation's power."

Cyndia knew exactly what shape Krishan was in via the Storm Guild's information.

There was a reason the Goddess of Death had given her the task of helping Kang Oh destroy all of the Mayanes. There was no one better suited for the task.

"Ms. Cyndia, Krishan dragged twelve of us with her..." Bray said.

"She'll drain their life force," Cyndia said.

"Would that give her enough power to use a Spatial Leap?" Kang Oh asked.

"No, that shouldn't be enough..." Cyndia's expression suddenly changed. "We have to enter the cave now!" she yelled.

"What?"

"There was a guild that fought Krishan before us. The life force she gained from them, and the life force she's getting from the paladins may be enough for her to use a Spatial Leap!"

Kang Oh immediately rushed towards the cave. Eder and Sephiro, who'd fought alongside him for some time, followed after him.

"Sir Muhawk," Cyndia said.

"Gather all of the paladins and enter the cave," Muhawk immediately replied.

"Please keep half of them outside on standby. You never know what'll happen inside."

"Yes." Muhawk gave Bray the signal, and Bray and the other paladins began gathering their comrades.

Cyndia turned her body, and followed after Kang Oh as fast as she could.

'Please!'

She prayed that Krishan wouldn't be able to escape!

* * *

Did the goddess hear Cyndia's prayer?

Kang Oh was about to enter the cave, but thorny vines shot out of the darkness. It was a surprise attack!

"Sseup!"

His Hyper Intuition sent him a warning! Kang Oh's entire body felt cold, so he gritted his teeth and swung Demon Sword Ubist.

Slash!

Swish!

He swung diagonally, cleaving through the vines. But there was plenty more where that came from.

Whizz, whizz!

The vines stood erect like spears and aimed for Kang Oh's vitals.

"Arise!" Eder cast a spell.

Bone Wall!

Bone tangled together and formed a wall in front of Kang Oh.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Many vines stabbed Eder's Bone Wall. Despite that, the Bone Wall remained intact. The vines weren't the proper weapon to break down a wall.

"Hoo." Kang Oh took a deep breath.

Then, a powerful green blast came flying at him from within the cave.

Hammer of Arrogance!

Spears might not be proper, but a hammer sure was!

Boom!

It instantly broke through the wall, causing bone fragments to go flying everywhere.

"Ugh!" Kang Oh was caught in the explosion, and was flung back.

Tramp.

Her foot came out first, which was followed by the rest of her body.

She raised her right hand into the air. Then, the gathered energy transformed into a green spear.

"Die!" Krishan mercilessly threw the spear.

Spear of Arrogance!

The mighty green spear cleaved through the air, coming straight for Kang Oh.

"No thanks!" Kang Oh horizontally swung Ubist.

Tempest Tiger!

The golden tiger fiercely dashed forward, smashing right into the green spear. However, the Spear of Arrogance instantly pierced through the tiger! It was clearly the more powerful of the two.

"Damn it." Kang Oh jumped out of the way.

Boom!

The spear hit where he'd just been, resulting in an explosion. It left behind a large crater, as if a bomb had just gone off.

Krishan didn't stop there. She drew a circle with her left hand, causing vines to rise from the ground and wrap around Kang Oh.

Vine Prison!

That wasn't all. Krishan had already gathered a ton of energy in her right arm. It was clear who she'd soon be aiming that at.

"No!" Sephiro shot an arrow, unwilling to lose him.

Sun Piercing Arrow!

Ground Shaking Arrow!

Waryong, who wore a feather hat and leather clothes, spat out its strongest flames.

Fire Breath!

"Age!" Eder pointed his staff at her. An evil spirit flew straight at Krishan.

Aging Curse!

She was burnt and arrows pierced her body, but she didn't care. She didn't care about the glimmering black ghost either. Her jade eyes were focused on Kang Oh and Kang Oh only!

Hammer of Arrogance!

A giant blast of energy came at him like a tsunami.

"Tch!"

He couldn't dodge it. His body was completely wrapped in vines.

If that's the case...

"I'm breaking through!" His jet-black blade released immense darkness.

Everlasting Darkness!

Kang Oh and Krishan's attacks clashed in the space between them, resulting in an explosion!

Boom!

Their bloody battle with Krishan had begun in earnest!