Everyone stared at the monster in astonishment. After a few seconds, Sulfias came to her senses and ordered everyone to regroup. All the monsters that had been kneeling stood behind the large boss.

  —Inferior beings —said the creature, surprising everyone—. Step aside or die.

  —Can this being talk? —Aric wondered to himself—. Who are you? What do you want?

  The great boss looked at Aric and attacked him with one of its lancets. Aric quickly stepped back, but even so, the mere brush of the lancet wounded one of his legs.

  —I am "The First" —the creature replied—. There is no need for further conversation, as all of you will die.

  The First began its attack, launching strong and fast strikes with its lancets.

  Sulfias commanded the groups alongside Serpensq’i. The fight against the previous bosses had exhausted everyone, but they had no choice but to keep fighting. She asked the mages to cast a lightning spell.

  Lucien prepared to cast a large-scale spell along with the offensive mages from the reconnaissance corps. They all recited in unison:

  —Ex nubibus, sub tumultuosa tempestate, Vocamus potentiam, vis potentis caeli, Fulmen divinum, ignem caelestem, Et concordiam inter elementa, ut fiat voluntas nostra, Sub caelis tonitruis resonantibus, Et fulguris lucem radiantem. ?Dominus Fulminis!

  As the mages prepared their lightning spell, Serpensq’i healed Aric’s leg and cast a curse on him, granting him temporary immunity at the cost of receiving the rebound damage two hours later. With this, Aric was good as new and ready to face the boss. Lysandra also asked for the curse, to which Serpensq’i agreed.

  Valerian and Goribhia took the left flank; Lysandra and Aric took the right. Once everyone was in position, Lucien and the mages launched the offensive with the group spell “Lord of Thunder.” After casting it, Lucien and one of the other two mages kneeled, coughing. Sulfias quickly healed them and asked them to cast the spell again.

  Meanwhile, Goribhia launched herself into the attack with her greatsword, leaping fiercely toward the monster, while Valerian circled it, searching for a weak point.

  —O spiritus ventorum, benedictionem vestram mihi concedite, ut hostem meum qui ultra terram est attingam. ?Donum Caeli! —recited Aric, and instantly, he became much lighter, and two semi-transparent, glowing wings sprouted from his back.

  Lysandra didn’t fall behind and used her familiar power, dragon blood. Her face became sharper, and her body was covered in scales. Her eyes turned from blue to red, and her pupil became slit instead of round. A halo enveloped her body, and with one leap, she joined Aric. Together, they launched a strong attack on The First, who was stunned from the damage of “Lord of Thunder.”

  Valerian discovered a silver orb on its back, which he attacked with great force. The First groaned in pain and became enraged, but the blow was so powerful that it lost altitude and appeared clearly weakened.

  —Fall back! —Sulfias shouted—. Mages, cast the spell!

  —?Dominus Fulminis! —the mages shouted in unison with Lucien, who fell to the ground with a pale face.

  —Miss Sulfias, I am a water mage, I can’t keep casting spells from other elements, my body is rejecting the aether —he groaned, writhing in pain.

  Sulfias healed him quickly, but the pain didn’t fully go away.

  The First, who was taking a lot of damage, as Valerian continued to attack the orb until it fractured, revealing a white amalgamation, noticed that its vital point was exposed. The First screamed, pushing everyone away with a great wave of energy. It retreated to the bosses that were kneeling behind it and began devouring them one by one. They, trembling and unable to resist, didn’t even groan as they were consumed.

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  Realizing that The First was recovering, Sulfias wanted to end it all with an attack.

  —We will cast Fire Sword! —he shouted to the mages, who were exhausted and coughing up blood—. Quickly, begin reciting!

  Valerian quickly got up and ran toward the weak point of The First, which was regenerating slowly.

  —Follow me! —shouted Valerian—. We must finish him off now!

  Goribhia, Lysandra, and Aric got up and launched into the attack. Serpensq’i also lunged, taking the two-handed axe that Aric had left for safekeeping.

  They all ran toward The First, but it unleashed the shockwave again as it finished devouring the other bosses. Once it had swallowed them all, it turned toward its enemies, only to see in front of it a sphere of light, which exploded in various directions, impacting the labyrinth's structure and also injuring The First. The damage was greater than they expected, as part of the structure above it fell on top, causing it to lose altitude. In that moment, they began attacking the orb again, its weak point, but it had fully regenerated and new tissue was starting to form a protective layer around it. The monster regained its composure and attacked everyone. Only Valerian, the strongest of the group, managed to withstand the attack. The entire group fell into despair. Aric cursed his weakness and looked at his team. Lysandra, kneeling and supporting herself on her sword, stared at the monster. She got up and helped Goribhia to her feet. The monster continued its onslaught with colossal attacks, when suddenly a flash of light pierced the place, striking directly in its eye. Sulfias, who was quick enough to see it, turned to see who had cast the spell. Flying toward the monster, she managed to spot Ulric, the Prince of the High Dark Elves, one of the most powerful beings of the Continent of Naas.

  —I arrived as quickly as I could. You all held on well —he said loudly, with much gratitude.

  His white hair flowed in all directions, and his dark skin had flashes of light swirling around his face. His multicolored eyes focused on the monster, and he prepared his attack.

  —O magnum mysterium, qui nobis intellectum dedisti, qui te ipse intrinsece et extrinsece experiris, es initium et finis, qui mortem cum vita in infinitum connectis, omnes memorias custodis et omnes fabulas creas, o domine realitatis, concede mihi partem virtutis tuae ad malum mundi delendum, pro pace et prosperitate in hoc regno promittam. ?Domine Benevolentiae! —he shouted, and a purple sphere that absorbed the light appeared before him, spinning on its axis, and shot forward toward The First—. GET OUT OF THERE!

  Everyone backed away upon hearing Ulric's shout, and the sphere struck the monster directly. Only Valerian, who knew the weak point, stayed behind the monster. The impact of Lord of Benevolence also hit him, wounding him in the face, but he remained firm, and when the orb became visible again, he threw his sword, which pierced its defense.

  The First, which had been resisting Ulric’s attack, let out a cry of agony and stopped resisting, retreating toward the wall by the door. When it collided with it, a great explosion occurred. The force of the explosion made the entire team stagger. Once the dust settled, they saw The First, which was slowly fading. Its only eye was fixed on Aric; its mouth tried to say something, but its throat was destroyed. As it gasped for breath, Valerian wasted no time and finished destroying The First's orb. Upon destroying it, it vanished completely. This monster dropped a single item, despite having devoured several boss monsters: A leaf with ancient writing.

  Ulric took the leaf and couldn’t understand what it said. Serpensq’i approached upon seeing the item it had dropped and asked the prince to let him see it. Upon glancing at it briefly, he recognized some characters.

  —I know this writing —he said, surprised—. I can't fully understand it at a glance, but I could decipher the content in a couple of days.

  —You are a High Orc —Ulric assumed—. It’s very strange to meet a scholar of your level in a place like this.

  —That’s right, Your Majesty —he nodded—. My name is Serpensq’i.

  —What can you tell me about this text? —Ulric asked—. I imagine there’s something you can decipher right away.

  —Here, this character —Serpensq’i pointed—. I’m not sure, but I’ve seen something similar in some manuscripts from the era of the demon reign, before the Great War.

  —And what do you think it means? —Ulric pressed him.

  —This character means “The End” —he said somberly—, and this other one means “liberation” or something related to “breaking a chain.” And this character means “enchantment.” I don't have my reading tools here to provide more information, but if you give me a few more days, I could...

  —Don't worry —the prince interrupted—. With what you've told me, I already have enough information. Contact me when you’ve deciphered the entire text.

  Ulric handed Serpensq’i a “Communication Bracelet for Distance” and took off. He glanced briefly at Aric before flying away at high speed.

  After everyone involved had been healed, they gathered to decide their next move. Under the curse of Serpensq’i, Aric and Lysandra would receive the rebound of the accumulated damage from the fight against The First, so they were prepared to attend to them as soon as the curse dissipated. They agreed to return to the first floor and conduct a registry of the deceased in collaboration with the Naas Guild.