Villain With The Strongest System

The team encountered the first signs of danger when they approached a narrow land bridge, a perilous crossing with steep, seemingly bottomless drops on both sides.

This land bridge saved the team roughly 40 minutes of traveling and hence was a must for them to cross, despite the terrain being dangerous.

With the bridge being only wide enough for them to walk in a single file, it forced everyone to be especially careful with their footing, as below them, the jagged rocks and swirling mists promised certain death to any who fell.

As usual, Rocky led the way, his eyes scanning the path ahead, while Kronos and the others followed closely.

They moved silently, their senses heightened by the treacherous surroundings, as the wind whistled through the canyon, carrying with it the occasional distant roar of dragons, a constant reminder of the dangers that lurked on this floor.

As they neared the midpoint of the bridge, Kronos paused, narrowing his eyes at a strange disturbance near the earth just ahead, as he could swear that he saw the ground ahead shift subtly, as although it was almost imperceptible, it was somehow enough to catch his attention.

'Hmm….'

With his eyes trained on that exact spot, he kept moving without alerting anyone in case it was a false call, however, just as they crossed the narrow land bridge and Erin took one step over the edge, Kronos spotted movement at that exact spot once again.

"Something's not right," Kronos muttered, tightening his grip on his sword. "There's movement up ahead."

Rocky halted the group with a raised hand, his gaze following Kronos's. "Be ready," he instructed calmly, his tone laced with caution. "Kronos, draw it out."

Without hesitation, Kronos projected a powerful sword strike into the ground ahead, as the energy from his attack slammed into the earth, causing it to crack open. For a moment, there was silence, and then the ground erupted in a shower of dirt and rocks.

*SCREECH*

A monstrous creature burst forth from beneath the earth, revealing itself to be a hideous, million-legged centipede.

Its body was armored with hard, black scales, gleaming with a sinister sheen, while its countless legs scuttled menacingly, allowing it to move with terrifying speed.

The centipede's head was crowned with razor-sharp mandibles, snapping viciously as it lunged towards the group.

"Scatter!" Rocky commanded as he leapt back, his swords drawn and ready.

The team sprang into action. Kronos moved to the side, drawing the creature's attention with another sword projection that struck its armored side, causing a metallic clang to echo through the canyon.

The centipede hissed, its legs scrabbling on the rocky surface as it adjusted its course to attack him.

"Erin, buffs now!" Rocky shouted, as he darted in to slash at the centipede's legs, trying to slow it down.

Erin wasted no time, casting enhancement spells on Rocky and Kronos, increasing their speed and strength, while also cursing the centipede to weaken its defenses. "You're buffed! Buhara, get ready with the spell!"

Buhara nodded, already chanting, his hands glowing with the energy of the spell he was preparing. "Buhara will squash this bug!"

The centipede's segmented body twisted with unnatural flexibility as it lunged at Kronos, but he was ready. With a powerful swing, he sent another projection slicing through the air, striking the centipede's side and forcing it to recoil. It's hard scales absorbed most of the impact, but Kronos's attack left a visible crack.

"Holy shit my new sword is AWESOME! I'm legit not even using 15% of my strength behind these attacks and I'm still damaging this beast…. If I go all out, I can probably kill it in one blow" Kronos said, as instead of killing the beast with one blow as he should have, he seemed to be testing the waters with his new powers.

Taking advantage of the opening, Rocky closed in from the side, his dual swords flashing as he struck at the creature's legs.

*Hissss*

The centipede hissed in pain, losing its balance for a moment as several of its legs were severed. But it quickly regained its footing, its body undulating as it coiled around to face Rocky, mandibles snapping.

"Now, Buhara!" Rocky yelled, as he dodged an attack from the centipede, leaving the crack in its Armor exposed to Buhara who went for the killing blow.

[ Fire Vortex ]

Buhara cast the spell Fire Vortex, and the sheer force of the spell was so strong that it sent the creature reeling backward, while also simultaneously enveloping its entire body in flames.

*SCREECH*

The creature hissed in pain, allowing Rocky to lunge forward, his swords stabbing into the crack in the centipede's scales, as with a powerful twist, he drove his blades deeper, piercing through to the creature's core.

*PRIIII*

The centipede let out a final, ear-piercing screech as it convulsed, its body thrashing wildly. Then, with a shudder, it collapsed onto the ground, its million legs twitching before finally going still.

As the creature died, the team breathed a collective sigh of relief, taking a moment to catch their breath.

"That was too close," Erin muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "Everyone okay?"

Before anyone could respond, Kronos's eyes darted to the sky, noticing several dark shapes circling above them. His face hardened as he recognized the threat that they were facing.

"We're not done yet…. Look, Wyverns." Kronos said, as apparently, centipedes were the wyverns' favorite food and the team killing one while making all this noise had attracted a lot of them to their current location.

Rocky followed Kronos's gaze, his expression grim. "How many?"

"Three, maybe four," Kronos replied, his grip tightening on his sword, as sure enough, within a few seconds three wyverns swooped down from the sky, their leathery wings beating the air as they let out shrill screeches.

Wyverns, though smaller than the dragons that ruled this floor, were still formidable predators, with sharp talons and corrosive breath, however, as a team Rocky and company could still easily take on four or five of them at once.

"Erin, stay close! Buhara, prepare to counter their dive attacks…. If they only want the centipede and are not after us, just let them take its dead body, but if they attack us, show no mercy!" Rocky ordered, his voice steady despite the urgency of the situation, as he prepared the team to face this new threat.