Reborn As An Evolving Monster

Chapter 18 The Third Guardian

?'I really thought I was about to lose Kira...'

Mark walked towards the dead Calamity.

'You should probably take Tor's place...'

He stood right in front of the Monster's unmoving body.

'Or maybe I should fuse you with Kalès...'

Before Mark knew it, he was devouring the dead Monster.

[You have gained 9000 Evolution Points.]

'That was a good meal. Mm. Show me the available Evolutions now.'

[You can Evolve into:

1) Great Abyssal Smilodon.

]

'That's just great. After devouring a strong Monster like this one, not only do I NOT get more options, I actually get LESS.'

The group continued walking deeper inside the tunnel.

After walking for five minutes, they arrived at a wall.

'A dead-end...'

They returned to the main tunnel and continued walking.

They didn't find any Monsters.

A bit later, they found the huge doors that separated them from the Boss Room.

'Mm.'

In front of those doors stood two Monsters.

'What are those?'

[Minotaur Guards. [C-] Rank Monsters.]

'Guards? Of the doors? That's new... Anyways, [C-] Rank, huh? Probably stronger than Higher Minotaurs but weaker than that Calamity Of Minos...'

Their fur was reddish and they were a bit taller than Kira.

'These guys shouldn't be too hard to deal with. As long as they don't have a Magic Skill similar to that guy's... Light and Kira, you two take care of the one on the left. Kalès, we take care of the other one. Kira and Kalès, you're the close-range fighters.'

The duos dealt with the Monsters perfectly.

'Guess I'll revive them now...'

The two Guards stood up.

Mark stared at the huge doors before walking away from them.

...

The group came back hours and hours later.

The two Guards had been fused with two Higher Minotaurs each.

'That Calamity Monster didn't come back. Too bad. Any new Skills or Body Modifications?'

[None.]

'So I can either evolve into that Smilodon or fight like this... Can I use my Bone Manipulation to attach a left arm or something?'

[That would be impossible.]

[Your Bone Manipulation can only manipulate bones from dead Monsters.]

[Attaching a dead Monster's bone to yours would not be possible.]

'Guessed as much. I levelled up a lot but... Tsk. I hope I have enough bones.'

On Kira were four pouches.

Kalès and the two Minotaur Guards were holding two pouches each.

All of them were full of bones.

'Alright. As soon as we enter, you guys throw those bones. Mm... I guess I should name you two.'

Mark looked at the Minotaur Guards.

One of the Guards had evolved into a "Unique Four-Armed Abyssal Higher Minotaur".

He was named El.

The other one had evolved into a "Great Abyssal Higher Minotaur".

He was more than 25 meters tall and named Tor.

'Now that there are six of us, I guess we can go for it.'

El and Tor were armed with long spears and had armor made with Higher Minotaur bones.

The group entered the Boss Room.

Inside, they found three Monsters.

One was sitting on a throne.

The other two were standing by its side.

The standing Monsters were Minotaur Guards. Just like the ones Mark had found outside the Boss Room.

The sitting Monster seemed to be the Eighth Floor's Guardian.

'Really...?'

The Guardian raised its gaze towards the group.

The room was darker than anywhere else on the Eighth Floor.

Still, they were noticed right away.

But that wasn't what surprised Mark.

The Minotaur Monsters kept getting taller and taller on the Eight Floor.

And yet, the Guardian seemed to be just as tall as he was.

Its fur was golden.

'The guy is sitting, so it's hard to tell. But this Guardian can't be much taller than me...'

The pouches that his Underlings brought in were thrown on the ground.

Mark did not give any orders.

The Guardian's vertical pupils were staring at him.

It made Mark's blood boil.

'So you won't make the first move, huh? Alright, then!'

A black javelin appeared in Mark's hand while some of the bones his Underlings had brought in were reassembled to make two spears.

'For now, focus on the Guards.'

The black javelin was shot at the Guardian.

The two spears, at the Guards. Just like Kira's Lightning Bolts and Kalès' Fire Balls.

The Guardian raised its arm towards the incoming Corrupting Javelin.

A barrier of golden energy appeared.

The javelin hit the barrier and turned into liquid.

The barrier was splashed, but not one drop fell on the Guardian's body.

On the other hand, both Guards were impaled by the spears and the Underlings' Magic Skills finished them off.

'Alright! Let's do this!'

The Guardian slowly rose from its throne.

It extended its arm towards the group.

A second later, a stream of burning flames was shot towards them.

Mark and his Underlings scattered around the stream.

The next instant, the Guardian positioned itself below Kira's body.

'So it started with the strongest one of us, huh? Too bad for you, that shell is...'

Punch-

Blood started dripping down on the Guardian's arm.

A hole in the previously indestructible shell was made oh-so easily.

Kira roared in pain as he activated his Magic Skill "Protective Thunder".

An electric aura covered his body and Lightning Bolt started shooting at random.

The Guardian jumped back but it was burnt by the attack nonetheless.

Barely burnt though.

Kalès sprinted towards it and swung his battle-ax.

The Boss Monster responded by extending its right arm towards the incoming attack.

The same golden barrier appeared once again.

Only this time, it broke like glass.

The battle-ax traveled towards the Guardian's open palm.

The Monster grabbed the weapon's blade with ease.

'This guy used that barrier to weaken Kalès' attack and momentum...'

The next instant, the Guardian's back was scratched.

'Good thing Light is here...'

The Monster clenched his fist.

The battle-ax's blade was crushed.

Mark noticed an opportunity.

'Dodge.'

Just before the Guardian could give a piercing punch, Kalès jumped back.

The Boss Monster's body was scratched many times.

Mark had used his "Bone Manipulation" to propel the battle-ax' broken and sharp pieces towards the Guardian.

'Only shallow cuts, huh?'

El and Tor arrived behind the enemy.

The two tried to stab it with their spears but the attacks were easily dodged.

While the Guardian was busy dodging the consecutive attacks, two successive Corrupting Javelins hit its back.

'They barely penetrated its skin. It's nothing more than scratches... But there are enough scratches for the poison to enter-'

The next instant, the Guardian turned around and launched itself towards Mark.

The latter used the dead Minotaur Guards' bones to make a sturdy shield in front of him.

He also used his "Stone Armor" Magic Skill.

Still, the Guardian's fist was powerful enough to penetrate both the shield and the Stone Armor.

Cracks appeared on Mark's bone armor, as he was thrown back with great strength.

[You have lost 50 Health Points.]

Claws from the Guardian's shadow slashed its legs and a destructive Lightning Bolt hit its back.

The Guardian, tired of going back and forth between the different enemies, decided that the next enemy to attack would be its sole target until that enemy's death.

Tor approached the Guardian with his spear.

The Boss Monster jumped away from the approaching Tor and extended its open palm.

Tor's body was burnt by a stream of flames.

'Throw it at him and run.'

Tor used the stream of flames as a smokescreen and threw his spear at the Boss Monster.

The Guardian noticed the attack at the last instant.

While it was directed at its neck, the Monster moved sideways.

The spear stabbed its left shoulder.

The Guardian pulled the spear outside of its body and broke it before running towards Tor.

From above it, a big paw landed on its body.

The Boss Monster's blood started boiling.

It used both its arms to hold the huge Chimera away, while Kira tried to put all of his weight on the Guardian.

Light and Mark did not miss the opportunity.

Light's fangs penetrated the Guardian's side while Mark's penetrated its neck.

Mark jumped away while shooting Corrupting Javelins at the Guardian's injured back.

Light slashed its body a couple of times and jumped away before it could push Kira away.

The Guardian pushed Kira away and used its stream of fire.

Kalès, who was unarmed since his weapon has been broken, slammed both his arms on the Guardian's injured left shoulder.

The golden-furred Monster hit Kalès' side with its elbow.

The latter immediately coughed up a bit of blood.

Just as the Guardian was about to give him an extremely powerful punch, a thunderbolt flew towards it.

The Boss Monster jumped back and looked in the direction the attack had come from.

It was Mark.

'His punches are no joke. Since he could make a hole in Kira's shell and injure him, a good punch might be more than enough to kill me. Maybe even Kalès...'

The half-burnt Tor and El ran towards the Guardian.

It was a suicide mission, but their roles were simple.

To stop the Guardian from moving for as long as possible.

Tor managed to grab the Guardian's arms, but that did not last for long.

[Your Underling has returned to the dead.]

'Nice!'

Tor's suicide mission gave time for El to grab the Boss Monster with his four arms.

Two of his arms grabbed each one of the Guardian's arms.

Mark shot all the thunderbolts that he could.

His goal was to limit the Guardian's movements as much as possible.

Of course, that did not stop Mark's other three Underlings from damaging the Guardian as much as they could, using their Fire Bomb, Piercing Thunder and Shadow Betrayal Magic Skills.

Luckily, Mark's thunderbolts showed their effect as the Guardian's muscles started twitching.

El could hold it much more easily.

About 20 seconds later though, the Guardian pulled its arms with such strength that El lost his.

[Your Underling has returned to the dead.]

One good hit, was all it took to perforate the Underling's stomach.

'Shit...'

As Mark did nothing but shoot Thunderbolts and drink Mana Potions, the Guardian's muscles were still twitching due to the electricity permeating through its body.

A golden aura engulfed the Guardian's body, as it started walking towards Kira.

'Its movements are slow... We can do this!'

Mark focused on slowing the Monster down, while his Underlings damaged it.

'Looks like that aura or whatever acts as armor... But it doesn't stop 100% of the damage.'

The Guardian stopped advancing.

It turned its head towards Mark.

'Does it know I'm the-'

The next instant, it was right in front of him.

Before Mark could do a thing, he was launched away by a strong punch to the side.

[You have lost 350 Health Points.]

Mark's body rolled on the ground.

He threw up massive amounts of blood due to an attack had barely even seen.

His side was bleeding.

Some of Mark's ribs might have been broken by the attack.

'What the...'

The Guardian's body was still twitching.

Mark, who was on the ground, tried to crawl away from the approaching Monster.

'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck-'

His hand touched something.

Once again, the Guardian sprinted towards him at an extremely high speed.

'I just have to... Time it right-'

Kalès jumped in the way, determined to stop the incoming Boss Monster.

A shoulder tackle sent him away.

The Guardian continued its approach, as if Kalès had been no more than an ant standing in its way.

But once the Guardian was two meters away from Mark,

Pierce-

Mark had extended El's fallen spear towards the incoming Boss Monster.

The latter's speed was so high, that all it could do, was impale itself.

The spear went through the Guardian's chest.

The aura that protected its body seemed to shine less brightly.

Despite the spear through its chest, the Boss Monster took a step forward.

It did not care one bit about the weapon that was piercing deeper into its chest.

'Fuck... Fuck!'

The Guardian took a second step forward.

Bone Manipulation.

Three other spears pierced its body.

Due to the distance, punching wasn't an option.

The Guardian used its legs.

[You have lost 180 Health Points.]

'AGHH-'

A hellish kick had sent Mark flying.

His back hit the Boss Room's wall.

'Tough fucker... Sending me away... Is appreciated!'

The Guardian walked slowly towards its target.

'Now that those spears are already in, it's over!'

Bone Manipulation.

The spears that had already pierced the Guardian started changing.

They seemed to get shorter.

'Take this.'

The Boss Monster coughed up blood.

Mark barely managed to stand up.

Blood was going down both his nose and mouth.

'I win... Fucker.'

The next second, massive amounts of Mana left Mark's body.

Embedded deeply inside the Guardian's body, the spears, made using the bones of various Minotaur Monsters, grew thorns.

Unable to breathe, it coughed more of its own blood.

The Boss Monster fell to the ground.

Many of those thorns, had found their way to the fearsome Guardian's heart.

[You have defeated The Eight Floor's Guardian. 10.000Gold Coins and 20.000 Experience Points earned.]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have defeated a Guardian.]

[You have been awarded 3 Skill Points.]

[You can now access the Dungeon's Seventh Floor.]

' Hahaha. Changing the bones' shape once they're inside uses up way more Mana...' Mark thought.

He fell to the ground.

'This is a good weapon. An incredible weapon...'

Mark stared at the ceiling.

'Again. So close dying...'

A smile appeared on his face.

'But this time, I felt a bit more in control... I guess.'

Mark stood up a bit later.

'I won't make this one my Underling though. The limits of this form... Yeah. I can feel it already.'

Mark walked towards the unmoving Monster.

'Other Minotaurs were at least 10 times bigger than this one, and yet...'

Despite its smaller size, it was both stronger and faster.

An incredible foe.

Mark grabbed its arm.

Tear-

'It tastes good. Yeah. Strong Monsters taste good!' Mark thought as he devoured the Monster.

[You have gained 13.000 Evolution Points.]

[You have Devoured a Floor's Guardian.]

[Calculating appropriate reward....]

'Reward? Whatever. Show me those Evolutions now. Tell me there's something new-'

[You can Evolve into:

1) Great Abyssal Smilodon.

2) Royal Minotaur.

3) Great Abyssal Weretiger.

]

The reddish hairs all over his body stood up.

'Royal... Minotaur?'