Chapter 14: Why Is There a Fire Demon Here?

Lin Jun, who had been following the adventurers from a distance, increasingly felt something was wrong.

Why does this path feel so familiar?

Isn't this the road to the Fire Demon's homeland?

Lin Jun knew very well that no battle had occurred at the location of the Fire Demon's nest; otherwise, the mushrooms he had arranged nearby would have detected the mana fluctuations.

Could it be that the Fire Demon left that time and never returned, missing them as they descended?

He had previously thought these people had come down via a route he didn't know about; after all, the Deep Region was unimaginably vast, with far more than one entrance, he just lacked the ability to explore it.

Since they are walking the path of the Fire Demon's nest, the question now arises—has the Fire Demon returned home?

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"Ha, finally I can breathe easy."

Having found the Duke's daughter, Gail's mood lifted; which adventurer wouldn't covet the reward of an entire city?

"Captain, you don't know how desperate I was when you said the direction changed on the 9th floor; I thought she had indeed fallen into the touch..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gail was kicked by Night Owl.

Seeing the pink Pujie held by Night Owl, he suddenly remembered Inanna was still here; his words just now had been a bit too careless.

"Ahem, ahem."

As always, it was the captain, Nova, who stepped in to change the subject.

"Ivan, are you confident you can dispel Young Lady Inanna's transformation spell?

Do we need to go up and find some professional curse-breakers?"

Ivan did not like hearing this: "Do you think I'm not even as good as those third-rate hacks?

It's just that a solidification potion was used after the transformation; do you think that can stump me?

It won't be harder than turning you all back from straw men during the Straw Man Abyss incident."

Nova only wanted to change the subject but had stepped on Ivan's landmine, so he could only let out an awkward laugh:

"I don't understand, I don't understand, as long as you're confident..."

Unknowingly, the group had already returned to the entrance connecting to the upper levels.

It was as hot as always here.

Night Owl, who was already intolerant of heat, felt even hotter now holding a Pujie.

But considering Young Lady Inanna was always a young lady, even transformed into a Pujie, it wasn't appropriate to let a man hold her casually.

Night Owl could only endure the heat, though her steps quickened slightly.

In contrast, Inanna in her arms had little reaction to the hot environment; after all, she had All Resistances LV6.

"Wait!"

The short voice of Archmage Ivan made Night Owl and the others stop in their tracks.

"The mana fluctuations are different."

【Scout Technique】

"Night Owl," the Archmage's voice was calm, "take the Young Lady and go."

Night Owl glanced at Ivan; although this old half-elf often went mad when addicted to magic, when sober he was the most experienced in the entire group.

Without hesitation, she carried Inanna into the elongated shadows of the group and darted into the passage at extreme speed.

The second after she vanished, the entire cavern began to tremble.

The magma pools on both sides suddenly churned like boiling blood; viscous golden-red magma bubbles exploded in succession, and thick sulfur smoke carried scorching waves, erupting outward.

Night Owl's departure made the hidden enemy realize it had been discovered; now it did not intend to let the remaining prey escape.

Accompanied by a non-human roar, a massive figure rose from the magma pool.

Its mountain-like upper body was composed of semi-solidified lava and scorched bones, with dark red rock shells wrapping its body and the molten core within like armor.

At the same time, numerous flame monsters, about a person's height and resembling miniature versions of it, leaped out from the surroundings, blocking the way.

Gulu—

The half-dragon man swallowed hard.

"Fire Demon... and also Lava Golems..."

"Be careful, it's level 64." Ivan, who had already used the Scout Technique, stated the Fire Demon's power.

There was no time for further exchange; the Fire Demon was already swinging its molten giant fist to smash down.

【Shield Domain】

Gail raised his shield, forming a massive shield phantom before him, and forcibly blocked the strike.

However, due to the level gap, he was not unscathed; fresh blood constantly seeped from within his arm guard.

【Revival】

【Life Potential】

Nova drew a sharp breath and cast two spells, healing and buffing, allowing Gail to barely maintain the Shield Domain.

With another roar, seeing it couldn't simply smash these bugs to death, the Fire Demon raised a giant wave from the magma pool beneath it.

Seeing the situation was dire, Ivan decisively inserted an A-grade Magic Crystal into his abdomen, while casting 【Clarity】 to maintain his sanity amidst the mana surge, although this would cause him immense pain.

Facing the LV64 Fire Demon, he dared not hold back; his first move was 300% of his full power.

【Ice Ring】

The embedded Magic Crystal provided a power boost far exceeding that of ordinary staves; the Ice Ring expanded outward from the three people as the center.

It froze the rocky ground and also froze those few Lava Golems, finally colliding with the molten giant wave and barely solidifying it.

"We... must run faster."

The immense pain stimulated every nerve in Ivan; he could not maintain this state for long.

Even with this explosive boost, his own magic could barely match the Balrog's regular power; if they dragged it out, they would surely die.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."

This Balrog had actually taken advantage of the group holding back the lava to move near the tunnel entrance, blocking the three of them.

Seeing this, Ivan also rarely swore:

"Damn it, if we survive this and get back, I'm going to apologize to Kemor. I laughed when she said Balrogs have high intelligence..."

"What do we do? Should we retreat?"

The half-dragon glanced at the tunnel they came from; retreating now should still be possible.

"No, hold on a bit longer."

Nova's tone was as if he had made a decision; Gar, who had worked with him for ten years, knew exactly what he was thinking.

"You want to use that? Even then, it might not be enough to deal with this Balrog!"

Ivan stayed silent on the side; after blocking another wave of molten lava, he was in too much pain to speak, saving his last strength for the next spell.

Nova offered no explanation, merely glancing at the half-dragon, who, as always, chose to trust his captain.

Nova pulled a small twig with two tender sprouts from his chest.

Lin Jun, watching from afar, immediately noticed this item that had a panel.

【Artifact: Heart of the Life-Seeking Tree (Fragment)】

Another artifact!

Magic surged into it, but it wasn't just magic.

Nova's life force was also heavily drained; his face visibly grew thinner.

After finally feeding the artifact, Nova pointed it at a corner of the Balrog's chest—where a tiny crack existed in the rock shell.

It was noticing this that gave him the courage to counterattack here.

A tender sprout flashed as green light, piercing the Balrog's armor and shattering the molten heart within its chest.

The Balrog, which had thought victory was in its grasp, suddenly suffered a fatal blow.

With its core shattered, it could no longer support its massive body; it fell by the edge of the lava pool, letting out one last weak whimper.

This creature, which had blocked Lin Jun for years and was the strongest monster he had ever seen, died so abruptly.

Feeling the fragment of the Sun Stone still radiating heat beneath the carapace.

So this is an artifact...

Everyone, if you find any bugs, let me know so I can fix them in time.

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(End of Chapter)