Seraphine's face hardened with determination. She planted her feet and started using more mana than Greg had ever seen her use before. The temperature dropped so quickly that frost formed on their armor. The air itself started to freeze.

"Ice Magic: Absolute Zero Cascade!"

The spell came out of Seraphine like a giant wave of cold. Everything in its way, including monsters, buildings, and the huge guardian blocking the stairs, froze solid. The wave of absolute zero cut a clear path through the horde, leaving behind frozen statues of creatures that were in the middle of attacking.

Seraphine fell down, completely exhausted. Bork caught her before she hit the ground.

"Go!" she said in a gasp. "I'll be okay! Just go!"

They ran, with Greg and Bork carrying Seraphine between them and Felix and Mira bringing up the rear. The frozen path was deteriorating quickly, as Greg could already see cracks forming while Elias's control attempted to regain dominance over the frozen monsters.

They got to the stairs to level seven just as the ice started to break. A thousand monsters roared behind them, promising death if they stopped moving.

...

Kael ran through level seven's twisted hallways, and his bound hands made every turn dangerous. He could hear his pursuers getting closer behind him. Dark magic had made the woman with scars and her friend swifter than any human should be.

His thoughts were racing. He couldn't run away from them forever, and even if he could, where would he go?

It would take hours to clear the mess he had made, which meant Elias was stuck on the other side. But Kael was also stuck here with two of his most dangerous killers.

A plan came together, one that was desperate and probably suicidal, but better than getting caught. Kael skidded to a stop in a big room he remembered from when they had first been forced down here.

There were old weapon racks on the walls, and there were swords and spears that were rusty from the civilization that built this place. Most of them were useless because they were too rusty to work.

But not all of them. He picked up a sword and almost dropped it because his hands were tied. He was able to wedge the blade between his wrists, and he worked on the ropes that were tying him up by moving them back and forth in a way that cut into his skin. Everything was slippery because of the blood, but he was strong because he was desperate.

The rope broke right when his pursuers came into the room. "Well, well," the woman with scars said as she wiped blood from her broken nose.

"Look at that. The rat does have teeth."

"More than teeth," Kael said, lifting the rusty sword.

It was only a little better than a club, but it was something. "Okay then. Let's get the job done."

They circled him like predators playing with their prey. Kael knew he couldn't win because he was up against two fighters who used dark magic. However, he could force them to exert more effort in their attack, allowing him to buy more time.

The male fighter lunged first, and Kael barely stopped the attack. The force of it made his arms shake, which made him remember how weak he was. But he didn't back down, instead, he hit the man in the knee.

The fighter fell after the hit. Not much, but enough to show that Kael from the Crimson Falcon was still dangerous, even though he was weaker.

The woman with scars said, "That's impressive."

"But in the end, useless."

They came at him all at once, and Kael fought like a man on fire. He used every trick, every dirty trick, and every desperate move he had learned over the years of adventuring.

He was bleeding, tired, and pushed past what was reasonable. But he was still fighting.

A sword cut deeply across his shoulder. Another one on his thigh. He started to lose his vision because he was losing blood.

He kept fighting, though, because giving up would have made his sacrifice pointless. Then the room shook, and a voice that sounded familiar came from the stairs.

"Where are they!?" The voice of Greg was heard, he finally made it to level seven.

Kael lost everything because of the distraction. The sword of the male fighter stabbed through his side, and the sword of the scarred woman stabbed through his back. He dropped to his knees, still holding the swords.

"Kael!" Marina's scream came from deep inside the tunnels. She had heard Greg and the fighting too.

The collapse finally cleared, and Elias's voice came from a different direction. "Well, this is helpful. Everyone is coming together for the end."

Elias walked into the room, saw the ranger who was dying, and smiled. "Still in the fight? How boring."

"Let me help you with that."

He pushed his dark blade through Kael's chest, and it pulsed. The ranger's body shook once, then stopped moving.

"NO!" Marina's scream was full of pain.

Elias pulled his sword out and kicked Kael's body to the side without thinking. "One down. Let's see how many more I can add to the list."

He turned to look where Greg's voice had come from, and his smile got bigger. "Come on, Greyson!"

"Let's see if your peace can help anyone else!"

...

Greg burst into the room and saw Kael's body right away. It was broken and bloody, like trash. The ranger's eyes were open, but he couldn't see. He was still holding on to that rusty sword, having fought to the end.

Greg's heart broke. All the anger, sadness, and rage he had been holding back came out. He reached for his belt, where the weapon he had promised to use only as a last resort was stored.

Bork said quietly, "Boss," when he saw the look on Greg's face.

But Elias was already gone. He had gone deeper into level eight with Marina and the others. Only his two fighters were left, and they were grinning at the damage they had done.

The woman with scars said, "Your friend died well. For what it's worth."

Greg's voice sounded cold and dead. "Get out of my way."

"Or what? Are you going to make us a wonderful farming tool?"

Without an answer, Greg pulled out his hammer just to smack the ground until it made a huge crater under her, and then it trapped her there. The woman was shocked, knowing all of that was happening too fast, and when she tried to get out, the crater kept expanding deeper.

"What are you doing!? Let me out!!!"

Greg put back his hammer and then knew that Elias still had control over the level seven monsters, which started to pour into the chamber. There were hundreds of them, enough to bury Greg's group and then his family, who were standing behind him and waiting for orders. And he made a choice.

"Seraphine, take a break here." Greg starts to give orders.

"Felix, Mira, keep her safe."

"Bork, with me."

"Boss?" Bork picked up his sledgehammer.

"We're done with this."

Greg's farming tools started to shine, but not with the soft light of usefulness. It was something stronger.

Something had been building since he saw the bodies on level five, since he found Kael's broken body, and since he realized what Elias had done to Marina.

Someone who had reached their limit employed the tools of peace.

It took ten minutes to successfully navigate through level seven. Not by careful planning or clever tactics, but by sheer brute force. Greg and Bork moved through the monsters like a storm, breaking everything in their way with their tools. No more disabling, no more mercy.

Greg didn't think twice when they got to the stairs to level eight. He went down into the dark, where three of Elias's party members were waiting for him as a rear guard.

"Well," one of them said. "It seems like the blacksmith is finally serious."

Greg didn't say anything. He just walked forward, and the tools got even brighter. The real fight was about to start.

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