Dungeon of Niflheim

403 Chapter 403: Ronsos

The scales between both sides flipped the moment the Ronsos arrived. These dozen or so monsters dashed and leaped from ghost to ghost, rending them apart and burning their ghostly forms with cold flame chakra. Even the D-rank reapers weren’t spared.

Once subjected to the flames their bodies would sizzle and burn away rapidly depleting their energy reserves. They couldn’t even harm the Ronsos either.

Though they were made out of flesh and blood and susceptible to their ethereal weapons, death magic and curses the Ronsos would cover their bodies in cold flames blocking their scythes and eliminating their death magic. Hell even when an ethereal managed to pierce their bodies the cold flames would work internally, swiftly eliminating the curse energy that wreaked so much havoc on the other dungeon monsters.

These Ronsos were truly the antithesis of the ghosts. They were now the ones at an elemental disadvantage .

The second wraith that had killed so many and led the ghosts in battle against the yuki-onnas and the frost troll lieutenant stared straight at the Ronso leader, fury in its eyes.

The other Ronsos wisely avoided the wraith instead targeting the rest of the ghosts. Such an opponent had already been hallmarked by their leader.

Each of these dozen or so Ronsos were entry level C-rank monsters, veritable powerhouses in their own right and more than enough to go toe to toe with the wraith given their elemental advantages but....leaders really should fight other leaders. So without even being ordered these powerful C-ranks acquiesced to the whims of their leader without a single one complaining. Their trust and reverence towards him being unshakeable.

Though each of them were unique monsters personally designed and created by their lord, their leader was the first and the only one who received a name. With a name being granted the Ronso leader was far stronger than his regular kin, a peak C-rank monster even more powerful than Findlay.

The Ronso leader stared back at the wraith before raising his halberd and walking slowly forward, each step filled with power. His aura was far more developed than that of Findlay’s almost complete. Simply walking forward he exuded a heavy and frigid pressure, cold flame wisps danced around his body accentuating his powerful frame.

.....

“My lord gave me the name Khuno and ordered me to end this battle. Your partner was the first to fall to my power and you shall be the second.” Khuno twirled his halberd at speed, generating a powerful breeze. The wraith that fought against the ice revenant had grown silent as the ice flame pillar finished purifying its ghostly form, leaving behind ectoplasm as well as a special crystal.

“Where that one died from my magic you shall instead fall by my halberd. The weapon granted to me upon my naming ceremony....you should feel honoured wraith.” Khuno stopped twirling his halberd and pointing the tip at the wraith’s face before lighting the blade edges in cold flames.

He needed to display all his strength in this first battle, his lord was watching after all.

The wraith’s ghost body flickered as though trembling in fear. The cold flames covering Khuno’s halberd were devasting to a creature such as it. A single touch could end up costing it a limb or worse.

Right now its fear instincts were battling against the frenzied state induced by the stampede that urged it to run wild and devour everything in sight.

“Tsk! Pathetic.” Khuno clicked his tongue, his expression filled with scorn. This wraith had killed so many of his comrades, destroying their souls without a single ounce of hesitation yet from a single display of his cold flame it was now balking in fear. The sight irritated him to no end.

“I was hoping for some kind of grand battle to take place in celebration of my lord’s achievement haaaaaaa.” Khuno sighed and looked around. The ghosts that had caused his comrades so much trouble were being swiftly dealt with by his kin. The dozen of them dashed through the trees burning up ghost after ghost like they were on a simple stroll. Even the reapers held very little threat to them. Their initial excitement like his thus quickly evaporated.

Wild smiles no longer adorned their faces and the glint in their eyes had darkened. This was just a simple clean up job instead of a battle, there was no need to drag out something so dull.

Khuno redirected his gaze to the still flickering wraith, he was disappointed.

His disappointed expression vanished as fast as it appeared, he still had a job to do, and his lord was watching.

“I’ll make this quick.” After that statement Khuno dashed forward with his glaive at incredible speed. Those with poor strength and or eyesight could only see the afterimages of his path.

The wraith wailed out as though to fill its ethereal body with courage.

[———–] it activated one of its scythe skills summoning black tendrils that quickly dyed its scythe black and corporal. The same move used against the ice revenant.

Khuno however didn’t respond with a skill of his own, he had no need to.

He appeared before the wraith in a flash, his halberd already cutting through the air, the silver cold flames sharpening and coagulated into a cover for the halberd. Khuno had much better control over his flames compared to the other Ronsos. He could manipulate its shape.

Though it would still inherently be flames he could condense it, sharpen it and even compound it, allowing for a much greater effect.

The once wavy and wispy flames were now formed into a dense, narrow strip along the halberd’s edge. Thanks to this a beautiful blue beam of light was left in the halberd’s wake as it sliced through the air, a magical sight that caused Frost to smile with pride.

Schwing!

Khuno’s cold flame enhanced halberd cut through the black scythe like it was butter. The scythe was split in two with a mirror like finish before the two smooth edges erupted in sliver flames. Khuno’s cold flames acted similar to the curse energy inhabiting the scythe, spreading on contact.

The wraith was thus forced to let go of its scythe lest the flames attack to its body.

“Waaaaaaaiiiiiiiilllllllll!!!!!!” Pushed back and now unarmed the wraith wailed even louder before attacking with magic.

“[———–]” With a non-understandable language (for the living) the wraith chanted an aria for a 3rd circle spell, [blood cocoon]. Unlike regular magic, death magic required certain tangible materials to be used at full strength.

A blood red magic crest appeared beneath Khuno. It attracted the blood littering the forest floor and held within the nearby corpses. Khuno simply stopped in place, allowing the spell to take effect, a cocky yet pitiful look present on his face as he did.

He and the wraith were terribly matched. There was nothing that the wraith could throw at him that he couldn’t handle. Allowing his opponent a false sense of victory/triumph would allow him to show off the difference between them and hopefully please his lord.

Blood quickly pooled beneath Khuno before suddenly leaping upwards entrapping his massive frame in a cylindrical cocoon of blood. The cocoon wriggled and swayed creating for a rather disgusting image.

The wraith seemed to be invigorated at its own success, a terrifying smile adorned its face, and a frightening cackle escaped its lips before it put its hands together to chant another aria, this time for an attack spell.

“[———–]” this time the magic crests were black in colour. Five of them appeared around the blood cocoon, north, east, south, west and above.

Black swords pushed their way through the magic crests and pointed directly at the blood cocoon holding Khuno. The wraith used a fairly powerful death magic spell called [death blade]. A single cut from just one of these swords is enough to kill a D-rank monster, the curse energy contained within these blades vastly surpasses the amount held in the wraith’s dyed scythe. This was in fact the monster’s strongest attack, equivalent to the ice revenant’s [rending of the ice king].

The air around the black swords twisted and gave off a stifling aura that caused those in the vicinity to tremble and feel a cold shiver down their spines. It was the scent of death.

Nanna and Loki who were watching the situation unfold couldn’t help but audibly gulp and look towards Frost, worried about the result of such an attack.

Frost who had dark circles under his eyes and was completely exhausted after hours of mind taxing work replied with a toothy grin. His head was nestled on Maya’s lap, and she was massaging his temples as they watched the dungeon screen.

“Khuno won’t be troubled by something at that level, I can promise you that hehehehe.” Frost though pretty much incapable of moving his body laughed out loud, his eyes radiating intense pride and confidence.

Khuno and the Ronsos were the culmination of his hard work, they wouldn’t be stumped by some ghost or any other monsters the mid stages could throw at them. They were strong.

Maya smiled as she listened to Frost praise his creation, her gaze fixating on the Ronsos displayed on the screen. She was judging them, evaluating their worth as a new monster species.