CHAPTER 28: CHRYSALIS

The wraiths attacked in a frenzy, forcing Wade back.

He fought with all he had, making sure not to let them get within reach. His sword worked over time, shattering them into pieces.

Minutes later, the tide finally slowed, coming to a stop. All the wraiths were finally dead.

Ding!

[Congratulations! You have slain: Mirror Wraith(x37)]

"You okay?" Rowan walked towards Wade, eyeing the rip in his trousers, where the wraith had gotten him previously.

"Yeah." Wade smiled. "Thanks again for the potion."

Rowan had been the one to hand him the healing potion. It was too expensive for Wade to have added to his debt. This was one of the products the guild actually wanted their adventurers to pay for before taking.

"Don’t mention it." Rowan grinned, moving away.

And so, they moved among the piles of glass shards on the floor, gathering the loot and keeping them in their inventory.

Wade took a moment to survey the chapel. Several of the pews had been destroyed in the battle, but they had fulfilled their purpose.

The mirrors on the walls of the hall were now empty, each one reflecting only the chapel. They’d taken care of all the second ring wraiths.

Within a few minutes, they were done, with all loot secured. They went through their final checks before another wave of energy swept through the chapel.

The third ring had dropped.

They quickly arranged themselves into formation, weapons at the ready.

They stood there for a few minutes in uneasy silence, none of them sighting even a hint of a single wraith.

Sebastian looked around, his expression uneasy, before he finally spoke. "It seems we have run into a bit of a snag."

"The script has changed, hasn’t it?" Rowan asked.

"Yes." Sebastian straightened. "It seems like they want us to come meet them."

"Fuck."

Wade said nothing, watching as Sebastian began thinking about what to do. Ingrid kept her eyes out just in case this was a trap, an arrow nocked in her bow.

"We can’t get out of here until we defeat the boss monster." Sebastian finally said. "We have no choice. Let’s go."

With their captain taking the lead, they made their way to the door of the chapel. He placed his hand on it, trying to push it open, but the door didn’t budge.

With a nod at Ingrid to cover him, he holstered his axe on his back, placed both hands on the door and pushed. The door stayed closed.

He straightened, looking around the room, before his eyes landed on the side door the priest had used to enter the chapel during the scenario.

"The dungeon wants us to take that route." He pulled his axe back into his hands and led the way, the party moving through the pews till they got there.

They stood a few metres away from the door, with Sebastian and Rowan immediately switching places in the formation.

Now at the front, Rowan shot a beam of light from his staff into the door, shattering it into splinters.

The room beyond was empty and shrouded with darkness. Moving forward cautiously, they walked into the room.

The room was rather small, holding a staircase leading downwards. At the end of the staircase were beams of light.

Slowly, they made their way down the stairs before arriving at a short hallway. Sitting comfortably on both sides of the walls were lit torches, their fires lighting up the hallway.

"Stay tight." Rowan said softly, making his way forward.

As if in reaction to his words, a notification appeared before them all.

[Scenario Activated!]

[Chrysalis]

The door at the end of the hallway was suddenly flung open, screams filling the air.

The illusory cult members ran out of the hall beyond in a stampede, some falling to the floor and being trampled by others.

As they surged towards the party, Rowan fitted a beam of light into the crowd, the light hitting wraiths that had been hiding inside the illusion, sending them flying back into the room beyond.

"Contact!" He yelled.

"Move!" Sebastian’s voice filled the hallway and they raced through the hallway, bursting into the hall.

As they emerged into the hall, they stumbled, the floor catching them off guard.

The hall was completely filled with standing mirrors, and was shaped like a bowl, sloping downwards and at the bottom was what looked like a pool of water.

The illusory people kept screaming, rushing out, and now that he was in the hall proper, Wade could see what was happening.

Some of the cult members were on the floor, their bodies seizing as they transformed, becoming wraiths. But they were not the only source of wraiths. Other wraiths were climbing out of the pool of water in the middle of the room.

Rowan began firing his beams, taking out the wraiths as they began loping towards them.

However, the wraiths began splitting into two, doubling their numbers. When one died, the other kept coming.

Ingrid joined in, firing arrows after arrows into the fray, taking out as many wraith as she could.

It didn’t take much time before the wave of wraiths were just too much for Rowan and Ingrid to hold on their own. They stepped back, allowing Sebastian and Wade to step forward and intercept the beasts.

Wade walked forward, his teeth bared as he swung his sword, parrying what he could, and dodging the rest.

These wraiths were even stronger than the ones from the previous ring. They could reflect attacks and could also duplicate themselves.

Thankfully, their duplicity was a one time thing. After duplicating themselves once, they can’t do it again.

After almost a minute of fighting, Wade finally killed his face wraith, the glass shards skittering off the floor. These were much tougher opponents to fight.

And so, he lost himself in the rhythm of it all. His body moved, sweat dripping down his brow as he fought for his life.

He’d only been given one potion. If he was injured again, he’d have to rely on one of the others getting to him in time and using their healing potion on him.

Time passed, and the wave finally slowed, the wraiths growing cautious. The party pressed against each other, back to back, taking the time to regain their breath.

"It looks like they’re waiting for something." Rowan panted, wiping the sweat off his brow with his forearm.

The wraith circled among the mirrors, keeping their distance. Then, some of the mirrors in the hall rippled, and four figures stepped out of them.

The figures were human shaped, their skins the same mirror-like surface as the rest of the wraiths.

"What the hell?" Rowan muttered.

The figures bubbled, their form lengthening and shaping itself, until they finally settled into a coherent form, each one taking the appearance of each party member.

Wade’s jaw dropped as he saw the wraith equivalent of himself. It was tall, lean, and had the same white hair as him, but the difference was the eyes.

Instead of eyes, the figures had blue orbs sitting on their faces.

’Observe.’

Four identical screens appeared before Wade, all of them bearing the same message.

[Name: Reflection]

[Class: Boss]