Darius and Gunner decided to act like they hadn't heard anything. They realized that by letting their beloved Elven Princess go out on her own, they might have exposed the innocent maiden to the darker parts of society.
Especially when she traveled with a group of crass mercenaries like Genie's. Whatever the case, the group teleported downward where they discarded their hazmat suits.
Their new location was the level where the Master bugs were located, which was around 80% deep into the underground. Everything above had already been cleared, and Miranda was currently expanding her range feverishly down below.
She had already reported to him that all the bugs on the surface had been culled. This was good news to Darius, as he was not interested in competing with the bugs from a frontal and rear point of attack.
When they arrived at the Master hives, it was unknown if the fleeing Beelzebub had warned them to be vigilant, but there was a veritable bug army waiting for them. All the bugs were mostly humanoid or at least, 80% similar to the Grandmaster versions.
The trio had the power to beat them of course, but the issue was that with such huge numbers, it would turn into a protracted battle. Seeing no need to waste time, Darius cast the Insect Soul Curse on a Master-stage bug of each class.
The entire army staggered at once as the curse spread through their bugcloud, weakening them by 50% in every regard, which was a severe detriment. Gunner's eyes flashed at this time as he leaped forth using this opening.
He landed with a huge shockwave in the midst of the army, sending hundreds of bugs flying while the ones closest to him were crushed into a meaty pulp.
The half-giant roared crazily and began swinging his arms around, smashing and bashing any Master bug within range.
Many were not killed in a single hit as the stats gap was not so great, but all who had been hit were severely injured.
However, some clever and enterprising bugs teamed up to sneak upon Gunner and strike by biting off a chunk of his flesh.
They wanted to taste the goodness of his body and also cause him to bleed out slowly. Alas, the Master bugs that bit him only shrieked in pain as everyone within 500 meters could hear their teeth shatter like weak glass.
Gunner himself was still happily rampaging, not even aware of the attempt on his life. This shocked the bugs, realizing he was a tough target that they could not beat.
As such, they turned their eyes to the still calm Darius and Xela who were watching Gunner have fun with smiles.
When the duo noticed that they had drawn the attention of the Insects, Darius simply slammed the butt of his staff down and cast his trademark spell, Lightning Bolt.
He didn't bother to use AOE's in this case because they would not do comprehensive amounts of damage to their targets.
They were only really useful for clearing out hordes of weaklings. Darius kept spamming Lightning Bolt, zapping targets to ash in one strike thanks to how insane his magical power was currently.
Seeing this, the Master bugs rushed at him. At this time, Xela simply cast Divine Blessing on the three of them just in case, before adding on her Divine Ward which would increase their defense.
Seeing as the bugs were getting close, Xela leisurely cast Isolate Evil, which formed a barrier around herself and Darius that prevented all evil beings from entering. It was quite powerful as it was, so even when the bugs began to strike at it, it didn't chip in the least.
Darius continued blasting them one by one, turning each Insect his eye fell onto into ash. Xela just maintained the various wards and didn't bother to heal Gunner who hardly needed it at this point.
Rather, Xela began using her Telekinesis to strike some of the weaker bugs to death. They would be lifted up while struggling, then flung rapidly towards a wall, stalactite or stalagmite, either hurting them severely or reaping their lives.
Gunner didn't bother to use Earth Guardian, for if he did, he would likely bring this entire cave system down upon their heads.
Right now, he was grasping the body of a Devourer worm, which was three times his size.
Gunner's muscles bulged as he roared, lifting the monstrosity up as it thrashed in fear. Not stopping there, the half-giant jumped into the air and began spinning while holding the tail end of the worm.
Like a spinning top, it bludgeoned all the nearby bugs in its path, sending them flying then crashing into walls or each other.
Some were smashed to death directly while others were just severely battered by this spectacle, but it was a fact that Gunner alone had just about toppled a good half of the army in one move.
Gunner then released the worm he was holding, sending it flying so fast that it was a blur. It struck the wall and crushed itself into paste, its huge body going splat almost comically. At this time, another bug unwisely chose to bite Gunner's arm.
This time, as Gunner could see the bug that was stuck trying to sink its teeth into his titanium skin, it was not able to go scot-free. He lowered his eyes to glare at the offending bug, while the bug paused its biting and looked up to see Gunner's angry look.
Realizing at that moment that it had made a terrible mistake, the Master bug wanted to flee. However, before it could even detach its mandibles, Gunner opened his mouth wide and chomped off half its head.
He then spat out the juice and wiped his mouth slowly, sneering at the bug. "If you cannot survive being bitten, don't bite others."
He then tossed the limp body away, then burst forth with thunderous steps to wrestle with a giant Master beetle that looked similar to Heracron. The two locked arms and began pushing each other back and forth.
However, Gunner quickly got the upper hand and ripped its two arms off, then gave it a solid kick in the torso that sent it crashing into more of its compatriots that were rushing over.
Darius rubbed his chin and continued zapping the various bugs that were still rushing at them. "Hm, I haven't actually exercised my spear skills in a long time. This should be a good enough chance to show off my skill."
Xela, who was tossing some bugs about with her mind, was shocked by this. "You can use the spear?"
Darius then gazed at her with surprise, then slapped his forehead. "That's right, I have only been using magic ever since I got you because I wanted to focus on our roles. The last time I used a spear was back when we were escaping the Plains of Death."
Darius chuckled. "Well then Xela, you have a treat before your eyes. You get to see something that very few alive have, except Gunner."
Darius slowly took an item from a Bag of Holding in which he kept in his Inventory. It was a long golden spear that radiated pure might and majesty, something that even made Xela's heart tremble as she gazed upon it.
When she checked its details, which Darius allowed her to, she even gasped.
[Dragon Ancestor's Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 1)
Durability: 100,000/100,000
Quality: Perfect
Damage: 3,500-7,500
Description: A one-of-a-kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonlance, Holy Gold, a little bit of Mithril, God's Steel, and Soul Essence. During its creating, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon's power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]
The spear seemed to roar with Draconic might the moment Darius touched it, and its golden body glowed with a palpable aura similar to Gunner's Earth's Guardian, however, this one was red in color.
Darius smiled widely. "Sorry for keeping you under wraps until now. There just weren't any foes worthy of your power, but these little morsels should be able to feed you somewhat, no?"
Swinging the spear lightly, Darius disappeared from within the ward Xela had created, appearing behind a Master Insect that was about to strike the ward. With a solid thrust that was fast enough to break the sound barrier, Darius pierced through the Onsect's head.
It was a one-strike kill, something that was exceedingly hard to achieve under the Supreme System's mechanics without a huge gap in powers between two parties.
Before the Insects around this one could even react, Darius disappeared from their midst once more. When he re-appeared, he was a few steps away.
All Insects that had stood in a straight line from where Darius began and where he ended froze in place, before their bodies burst in showers of blood as holes appeared all over them.
Darius just wiped the tip of his spear slowly, smiling softly.
