They were already on floor 3, and Xavier brought out his sword; no matter how hard this was, they still had the advantage in numbers.
*BOOM!"
A loud boom reverberated in the entire floor, and the four of them turned their heads forward toward where the sound came from.
The dwarf held a hammer while Sylve had already brought out her staff, the Harpy also had a small staff as she took to the air slowly.
Xavier could see something coming towards them, and soon it was in sight, a large snake, unlike anything he had seen before.
The snake slithered closer, its massive body covered in dark, metallic scales that gleamed under the dungeon's light.
Each movement sent a low, grinding sound through the air, like metal scraping against stone. Its eyes glowed a deep crimson, unblinking and cold.
Xavier tightened his grip on his sword. This thing wasn't just big—it was built like a fortress. The scales looked as strong as steel, and he knew his sword wouldn't be able to penetrate it.
The only weakness he could see was the mouth just like the one he faced inside the dungeon. But getting close enough to strike would be a challenge since it was just too big.
The snake reared up, its jaw opening slightly to reveal rows of long, needle-like fangs. A deep, rumbling hiss escaped its throat, making the air vibrate.
"Oh no, that's the iron fang snake" The Harpy spoke.
"You recognize it; good, how do we stop it?" Sylve asked.
"Its body is harder than steel and resistant to magic; the only way to stop it is to burn it from the inside through its mouth, but one wrong move and you're dead; it also spits venom, which disintegrates the skin." The Harpy spoke.
"That's a lot for a single snake, so we just need to target its mouth, and how do we do that? We can't fly," Sylve spoke.
"That's the problem, but iron fangs don't travel alone because of one thing, they don't attack different opponents at once, they only focus on one opponent at a time so they move in groups"
"That's strange for a snake to move in...oh no!!" Sylve exclaimed as more slithering sounds were heard, and soon, three more snakes joined the first one.
Xavier clenched his jaw as the three additional iron fang snakes slithered into view. Their metallic scales gleamed, and their crimson eyes locked onto the group. The air felt heavier with their presence.
"This just got worse," he muttered.
The Harpy hovered slightly higher. "They'll each pick one target and won't switch. That's the only reason they travel in groups."
"Meaning we can't confuse them or make them attack each other," Sylve said, gripping her staff. "So we're stuck fighting them head-on?"
"Yes," the Harpy replied. "Their only real weakness is their mouths, but we need fire to burn them from the inside; other spells would work, but the fire would work the fastest; you can use fire, right?"
"I can't use flame spells, but I have something better" Sylve answered.
"I can use flame but it's not powerful enough to burn through the snake, and when the flame is used the snake goes berserk and attacks anything in its path before dying"
The dwarf tightened his grip on his hammer. "Then we need a plan to make them open up without getting melted by their venom mind you, how are we going to do that"
Xavier exhaled, eyeing the massive creatures. "Then let's figure that out fast before they decide to strike, I have a flame spell"
"I also have something to use; all that's left to go avoid dying," the dwarf spoke.
The snakes raised their heads up and began charging forward. It seemed they had always picked out their targets. They charged forward.
The group immediately separated themselves so as not to get in each other's way, leaving Xavier there.
Xavier braced himself as one of the iron fang locked onto him and lunged forward.
It moved fast, too fast for something so big; the closer it got, the more Xavier realized how big it really was.
He barely managed to roll aside as its fangs snapped shut, the sound echoing through the dungeon like steel striking stone. The ground shook from the force of its strike.
He jumped back to his feet, gripping his sword tightly.
Even if he landed a hit, it wouldn't do much against that armored body. He needed to get to its mouth, but the snake wasn't going to make that easy.
The ironfang hissed, its crimson eyes glowing as it coiled back, preparing another strike. Xavier knew he had to keep moving. Standing still was a death sentence.
The moment it lunged again, he sidestepped, swinging his sword at its eye; the snake's eyes were also a weak spot, but he missed by a tiny bit.
The blade clashed against the metallic scales just beneath, sending painful vibrations through his arm, and dealt no damage.
The snake reared back, then spat.
Xavier barely managed to twist away as a stream of venom shot past him, hitting the ground. The stone sizzled and melted instantly. If that touched him, he was dead.
"Shit," he muttered as he dashed away.
He needed a way to make it open its mouth. Fire was the only way to kill it and he had the means, but first, he had to survive long enough to find an opening.
The snake chased after Xavier and struck again, faster this time. Xavier ducked, but the tip of its fangs grazed his shoulder.
A sharp pain shot through him, but he couldn't stop now.
He rolled forward, getting just beneath its head. In that split second, he thrust his sword upward, aiming for the soft flesh inside its mouth.
The snake snapped its jaws shut before he could land the hit.
Xavier barely managed to pull his sword away in time. If he had been a second slower, he would have lost his weapon—or worse, his arm.
The ironfang hissed again, its tail whipping around. Xavier saw it, but it was too late; the only thing he could do was coat his body with Mana.
*CRACK!*
The force of the impact sent him flying. He crashed into the ground, pain shooting through his back.
His vision blurred for a second, but he forced himself to roll aside as the snake slammed down where he had landed.
He managed to move away panting heavily just from one strike that might have broken some of his ribs.