Reincarnated as the Villainess’s Unlucky Bodyguard

Chapter 146 The Guardians Awaken

"Then we figure it out," Daena said, her voice steady despite the unease in her expression. "But we do it together. No one acts alone."

The moment those words left her lips, the air shifted. The pulsing glow of the runes flickered, dimming for the briefest moment before reigniting with a violent surge of energy. The shadowy figures standing around them began to stir.

A low, resonant hum echoed through the cavern, the stone beneath their feet trembling as if something ancient and powerful was finally waking up.

"...Well," Ananara muttered, his glowing form shifting uncomfortably. "That's never a good sign."

The figures, once statuesque and unmoving, now turned toward them in eerie unison. Their glowing eyes flared brighter, and one by one, they began stepping forward. Their forms solidified as they moved, shifting from ephemeral shadows into something more tangible.

Liria tightened her grip on her sword, her mismatched eyes darting between the approaching creatures. Now that they were clearer, she could see their unnatural features—each had elongated limbs wrapped in tattered black armor, their bodies exuding a faint, swirling mist. Their faces were obscured, only the piercing glow of their eyes visible beneath the dark hoods covering their heads.

"I knew it," Ananara snapped. "Of course they were waiting to kill us. It's always some cryptic 'prove yourself' nonsense before the murder starts!"

"Less talking, more fighting," Liria muttered, stepping forward. The heat of her magic pulsed beneath her skin, eager to be unleashed.

One of the figures lunged.

Liria barely had time to react as a long, jagged blade sliced through the air toward her. She twisted, narrowly avoiding the strike, and countered with a swift arc of her Shadowflare Blade. Black flames erupted along the length of her sword as it clashed against the enemy's weapon, sending a shockwave of dark energy rippling through the chamber.

The force of the impact sent Liria skidding backward. The figure she had struck barely flinched, its blade still raised.

"They're sturdy," she growled.

"You just hit like a noodle," Ananara taunted from behind her.

"Oh, shut up."

Another figure darted toward Daena, its movements unnervingly smooth. She met its attack with her own blade, the clash of metal ringing through the cavern. Sparks flew as she forced the creature back with a powerful kick, sending it staggering.

"They don't feel pain," Daena noted. "They're not alive in the way normal monsters are."

"They're guardians," Enara called out, dodging a swing from another creature. Her violet eyes flickered as she analyzed their movements. "They're not here to fight. They're here to test."

"Test what?!" Liria snapped, blocking another strike. The force behind the blow made her arms ache.

"Our strength," Enara said grimly, slashing at the nearest opponent. "Our will."

As if in response, the runes on the walls pulsed once more, their glow intensifying. The guardians' movements grew faster, their attacks more precise. It was as if they were adapting.

Liria grit her teeth. If they kept escalating, this fight was only going to get harder.

She ducked under a blade, retaliating with an Ember Swipe. The burst of fire struck the guardian in the chest, but instead of stumbling back, the flames were absorbed into its form. The creature's eyes flared brighter, and in the next instant, it lashed out with its own burst of fire.

Liria barely dodged in time.

"Oh, come on!" she groaned. "They can copy our magic?!"

"Apparently," Enara muttered, frustration clear in her voice. She had just attempted a spell of her own, only to see the guardian mirror her attack and send it back at her with equal force.

Daena cursed under her breath. "This is going to be a problem."

Ananara, hovering above them all, was unusually silent for a moment before he finally said, "You know, if I had lungs, I'd be sighing in extreme disappointment right now."

"No one cares," Liria snapped.

"No, no, let me just process the level of idiocy at play here." Ananara's glow flickered with exaggerated exasperation. "You're fighting magic-absorbing, attack-copying nightmare wraiths in an enclosed death chamber. Do you see the issue here?"

"I see it," Liria said through clenched teeth. She narrowly avoided another slash. "But unless you have an actual solution instead of useless commentary, shut up."

Ananara huffed. "Fine, I'll be helpful." He hovered higher, his form flickering erratically as he observed the battle. "They're fast, but not instant. When they copy something, there's a delay. You hit them too fast for them to react, and they can't mimic it."

Liria's eyes narrowed. A delay?

She watched closely as Daena swung her sword, forcing a guardian to block. The moment the attack connected, the runes on the creature's armor flickered—and then it retaliated.

It wasn't immediate.

"Attack faster than they can process," she said, realization hitting her.

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Enara's lips curled into a smirk. "Speed over power, then."

"Exactly."

Daena nodded. "Then we change our approach. Keep moving, don't give them time to react."

Liria inhaled sharply and tightened her grip on her sword. Her magic burned beneath her skin, waiting to be unleashed.

Time to put this theory to the test.

She surged forward.

Her movements were a blur as she struck the nearest guardian with a rapid flurry of slashes. Before it could react, she pivoted and struck again, her attacks relentless. The creature stumbled, its armor glowing erratically as it struggled to keep up.

It was working.

Enara joined in, her speed matching Liria's as she danced around another guardian, landing blow after blow before it could retaliate. Daena, ever the warrior, adapted quickly, using precise, rapid strikes to overwhelm her opponent.

For the first time, the guardians hesitated.

The runes along the walls pulsed more erratically now, as if the dungeon itself was adjusting to their strategy.

Ananara cackled. "Oh, now this is entertaining. They're glitching out!"

But just as they began to gain the upper hand, the cavern trembled violently. The glow of the runes shifted, turning from bright blue to a deep, ominous red. The guardians, instead of faltering, suddenly straightened—an unseen force restoring their composure.

Then, all at once, they vanished.

Silence.

Liria's breath came fast, her muscles tensed, her sword still raised. She glanced around, her senses on high alert. "Where did they—?"

A shadow loomed.

Before she could react, something massive struck her from behind, sending her crashing into the stone floor with bone-rattling force.

"LIRIA!" Enara shouted.

Dazed, Liria pushed herself up, coughing. Above her, the largest guardian she had ever seen emerged from the darkness. Its form was massive, nearly reaching the cavern ceiling, its armor cracked and jagged as if forged from the void itself.

Its glowing eyes locked onto her.

And then it roared.

The roar shook the cavern, a deep, bone-rattling sound that made Liria's ears ring. Dust and loose stones crumbled from the ceiling, the entire chamber trembling under the sheer force of the sound. The massive guardian's glowing red eyes burned into her, its towering form crackling with unstable energy.

Liria pushed herself up, gritting her teeth as pain flared in her ribs. That thing had hit her like a runaway carriage. She barely had time to register the new enemy before it moved again—faster than something that size had any right to.

"Move!" Ananara's voice shrieked in her mind.

Liria barely managed to roll to the side as the massive guardian's sword came crashing down, carving a deep trench into the stone where she had just been. The shockwave sent her tumbling across the floor.

"What the hell is that thing?!" she snapped, pushing herself back onto her feet.

"Bigger problem than before," Enara said grimly, her own stance shifting as she prepared for another attack. "It's not like the others."

Daena's expression was unreadable as she studied the monstrous figure. "That thing isn't just a guardian." Her grip on her sword tightened. "It's the warden."

Liria's mismatched eyes flicked toward the creature again, her system already pulling up its stats.

[Warden of the Abyss]

Level: ???

Health: 20,000/20,000

Abilities: Unknown

"…Oh, that's just great," she muttered internally. The system, ever so helpful, gave her absolutely nothing useful beyond big number, very bad.

"I don't suppose we can not fight it?" Liria tried.

The Warden answered by lunging straight at her, its massive sword a blur of motion.

She barely had time to react before Daena intercepted, blocking the blow with a heavy clash of steel. The force of it sent her skidding back, but she didn't falter. "No choice," Daena grunted. "We take it down."

Liria exhaled sharply. Of course. No easy way out.

Her hands tightened around the hilt of her Shadowflare Blade as black fire flickered to life around it. "Then we do this fast," she said, eyes blazing. "Before it adapts like the others."

Enara stepped up beside her, her own dark energy crackling at her fingertips. "Agreed."

The Warden lifted its sword again, its glowing eyes locking onto them. The runes on its armor pulsed with raw power, as if the dungeon itself was pouring everything it had into this last challenge.

Liria took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"Alright then," she thought, her blood thrumming with adrenaline. "Let's end this."