Gathering Wives with a System Chapter 505 Taming A Mini Boss, Emily's Cold Wrath

Emily POV

Emily stared at the captain of the Mistborn team.

The corpse of the Mini Boss floated within Serisa's mist body, partially obscured by the swirling currents around her. Dense mana seeped from the deceased creature, mingling with the pressure radiating from Serisa herself.

Yet, Emily's focus remained elsewhere.

Alice was still engaged in combat.

While Emily had faith in Alice's capabilities, it didn't quell her apprehension. Alice could likely hold the Mistborn team at bay for several more minutes, perhaps even longer if she exerted herself significantly. However, this only amplified Emily's anxiety. Alice had a history of disregarding her own safety in pursuit of her objectives.

Emily, in contrast, cared deeply. She loathed witnessing those close to her suffer injuries.

"Return the corpse," Emily requested.

"I wouldn't have come here to seize it if I intended to give it back," Serisa replied. Her voice retained a calm, refreshing quality despite the palpable tension in the atmosphere.

"Please return the corpse, or I will be compelled to harm you," Emily reiterated. Her tone remained courteous, but an underlying impatience was becoming increasingly evident. "I need to assist Alice swiftly, which means I cannot hold back during this engagement. If you persist in resisting, you risk injury."

"An Adept presumes to threaten me?" Serisa let out a soft chuckle.

Even as she laughed, the mana within her churned violently. Emily could discern that Serisa was preparing a potent ability.

"I have already issued a warning," Emily responded.

Mana surged outward from Emily's form. Instantly, the three Blazing Pterodactyls reappeared in the sky, flanking the Crimson Sky Wyrm. Flames emanated from their wings, while lightning crackled menacingly through the overhead clouds.

Without further exchange, Serisa's body disintegrated.

The human-shaped mist dissipated as her entire being transformed into a colossal cyclone. Wind howled across the battlefield as the spinning tempest surged away, carrying the Mini Boss's corpse aloft.

"Block her path," Emily commanded.

The Blazing Pterodactyls opened their beaks, unleashing torrents of searing fire downwards. Concurrently, the Crimson Sky Wyrm conjured bolts of azure lightning from the heavens.

The combined assaults struck the ground ahead of Serisa, igniting immense barriers of flame and lightning that effectively sealed her escape route.

However, Serisa's intention was not to flee.

The cyclone abruptly altered its trajectory, hurtling directly towards Emily.

Her objective was clear. While Emily's summons were formidable, Emily herself was still merely an Adept. If Serisa could vanquish the summoner, the tide of battle would decisively turn in her favor.

The earth trembled violently.

Stoneward, the Abyssal Mammoth, charged forward, its immense bulk colliding with the cyclone. Yet, the impact proved largely ineffective. The swirling vortex seamlessly flowed around the mammoth, continuing its relentless advance at full velocity.

Emily remained composed.

Another summon materialized beside her.

The Catastrophe, Iron Armor Rhino.

Serisa registered surprise.

She was already aware that Emily had subdued the beast, thanks to the system notification that had appeared during the Lord Quest. Nevertheless, witnessing the creature firsthand was an entirely different matter. The sheer pressure emanating from the Iron Armor Rhino was sufficient to destabilize the surrounding mana.

Serisa struggled to comprehend the situation.

A single Catastrophe summon was already extraordinary for an Adept-ranked awakener. Yet, Emily commanded multiple monsters whose combat prowess rivaled that of Overlords, including two Catastrophes.

There had to be some concealed disadvantage associated with such an ability.

No Adept should possess such immense power.

What Serisa failed to realize was that this level of ability was perfectly natural for Emily.

She was the sole heir of Netherworld.

Apart from Isaac, who had acquired his bloodline through a method that practically bypassed the System, Emily alone bore the true bloodline.

Her mother, who wielded the same power, had once established an Empire that commanded respect even from Dragons and Celestial Kitsune.

The Iron Armor Rhino slowly lowered its head, its horn beginning to glow a menacing blood-red. A deafening roar erupted from its maw as it charged forward like an unstoppable, living fortress.

The incandescent horn plunged directly into the heart of the cyclone.

The swirling mist was violently ripped asunder.

Serisa was forcibly ejected back into her original form. The Mini Boss's corpse slipped free, tumbling onto the ground nearby.

But Serisa reacted with immediate precision.

Compressed wind blades shot towards Emily the instant her body reformed.

The timing was impeccable.

Emily could not evade the assault in time. Her summons were too distant to intervene. Serisa had intentionally absorbed the Rhino's attack to create this precise opening.

The blades sliced through Emily's body.

Serisa's eyes widened instantly. The sensation of damage felt fundamentally wrong.

"Damn it. It's an illusion—"

Before she could complete her utterance, thunderous power descended from the sky.

Lightning from the Crimson Sky Wyrm directly struck her location. Serisa attempted to evade, but the Wyrm's first eye activated.

[Suppression] was cast.

Her movement speed was instantly reduced by half.

The lightning bolt collided with her mist form, blasting her forcefully into the ground. The impact sent cracks spreading beneath her body, and agony coursed through her entire being.

Concurrently, the other summoned creatures maneuvered into formation around her.

The Crimson Sky Wyrm and the three Blazing Pterodactyls circled above, completely obscuring the sky. Stoneward stood firm like a defensive wall behind her, while Lume and Aeralis blocked her flanks. The Iron Armor Rhino slowly scraped the ground before her, its blood-red horn emitting a faint glow.

She was encircled by a total of eight monsters.

Each of these creatures possessed combat ability on par with an Overlord.

For the first time since the engagement commenced, Serisa ceased her movements.

Her gaze shifted towards the nearby corpse of the Mini Boss. She had attempted to damage it during the battle, but after losing her cyclone form, her destructive power was insufficient to quickly obliterate the remains.

The summoned beasts parted, creating an open path.

Emily advanced slowly.

Her feet hovered slightly above the ground as she moved, never quite touching the earth.

Averon followed a short distance behind her, his expression one of bewilderment. He had been eager to fight and defeat Serisa earlier. However, witnessing her utter defeat by an Adept-ranked awakener evoked a sense of pity even in him.

Emily halted directly before Serisa.

Her face remained devoid of emotion, cold and impassive.

Back in their home, Emily often appeared endearingly naive and harmless beside Isaac and Alice. In this moment, however, any trace of that gentleness had vanished. Standing amidst the surrounding monsters, she projected an aura of absolute power.

Serisa slowly raised wisps of mist, resembling trembling hands.

"I surrender," she uttered softly.

"You should have yielded much sooner," Emily responded. "Now, depart from this Dungeon, or else—"

Her sentence was cut short.

A colossal pillar of golden light suddenly erupted in the distance.

The beam shot skyward, resembling a second sun.

Simultaneously, notifications materialized before Emily, Averon, and Serisa.

[All three Mini Bosses have been defeated in First Area.]

[Boss Monster, Colossus Grazer, has been summoned.]

[Time Until disappearance of Boss Monster: 12 Hours]

Emily gazed at the floating notifications before slowly turning her head towards the distant pillar of light.

This beacon indicated the Boss Monster's location.

No one had managed to defeat it yet.

Given that this would be the initial clear, the rewards were expected to be extraordinary. These included special loot, coveted Titles, and potentially hidden advantages intrinsically linked to the Great Dungeon itself.

This was one of the primary motivations behind the Lords' initial rapid advance towards Isaac's City.

Everyone vied for the glory and benefits of the first clear.

Beside Emily, Serisa's mind raced with strategic calculations.

The feelings of frustration and humiliation from her defeat dissipated, replaced by renewed determination. Even if she forfeited the Mini Boss corpse, she could still regroup with the other teams and confront Emily at a later time.

For the present moment, her sole objective was to escape.

The instant all attention shifted towards the golden pillar and the system notifications, Serisa acted. Her form dissolved into mist, and she darted sideways at maximum velocity.

The summoned monsters reacted a fraction too late.

A surge of exhilaration coursed through Serisa. She had managed to escape—

"When do you plan on surrendering?"

Her entire body went rigid. The voice originated from directly in front of her.

The surrounding scenery flickered unnervingly for a fleeting second. Then, comprehension dawned.

She was still positioned in the exact same spot.

The summoned creatures still formed a circle around her, the golden pillar continued to shine in the distance, and the notifications remained suspended before her eyes precisely as they had been.

Nothing had changed at all.

'An illusion...?' she pondered. 'Since when?'

She hadn't even perceived when she became ensnared within it.

"Fine," Serisa finally conceded.

There was no longer any point in resisting. With the surrounding monsters and an illusionist hiding amongst them, escape was an impossibility.

Mana coalesced beside her, and a portal slowly materialized.

Serisa drifted towards it without uttering another word. Just before vanishing, she cast one final glance at Emily and the monsters encircling her. Then, the portal shimmered and closed behind her, her presence completely extinguished.

Emily softly exhaled after confirming Serisa's definitive departure.

"Well done, everyone," she said in a low voice. "And you as well, Lume. She likely would have escaped had it not been for your illusions."

"It is my solemn duty to serve you, my liege," Lume, the Abyssal Trickster, replied with a slight bow.

Emily inclined her head gently.

To conquer an Apex Overlord should have been a significant feat. Very few Champions, let alone Adepts, could even imagine surviving such a confrontation, much less completely dominating it.

Yet, Emily found herself with no time to dwell on this accomplishment.

Her overwhelming concern was for Alice.

Without a moment's delay, Emily deployed her Legendary-grade item, summoning the spirit of the Mini Boss. A warped, spectral form began to coalesce from the fallen adversary's remains, accompanied by fierce waves of mana washing over the entire area.

The spirit unleashed a guttural roar and immediately launched its assault.

However, this conflict concluded far more swiftly than the previous one.

With a contingent of eight summons, each possessing combat prowess comparable to an Overlord, and further amplified by Spirit Element enhancements, the Mini Boss spirit was subdued within mere minutes. After sufficiently weakening it, Emily succeeded in subjugating it.

The spirit immediately bowed its form in deference.

"Greetings, Master~" the Mini Boss chirped cheerfully, inclining its head.

Internally, however, it was in utter despair.

It absolutely loathed the idea of serving Emily. Refusal, though, meant facing further defeat, and the impossibility of death without her consent.

Recognizing the futility of resistance, it swiftly altered its demeanor, striving to display utmost loyalty and earn favor.

Emily offered a subtle nod before recalling the majority of her summons back into her Soul Space. Only the Crimson Sky Wyrm remained materialized.

She ascended into the air, settling gracefully onto the Wyrm's broad back, with Averon quickly following behind her.

The Catastrophe unfurled its colossal wings. A powerful downdraft erupted outward.

In mere moments, the Crimson Sky Wyrm traversed the battlefield, reaching the scene where Alice and the Mistborn squad were still locked in combat.

The instant Emily laid eyes on Alice, her expression became rigid.

Alice was drenched in blood.

One of her ocular organs was completely obliterated, and significant sections of the draconic scales adorning her body had been ripped away. Azure blood flowed incessantly from innumerable wounds, while her damaged wings barely sustained her flight.

Then, Emily's gaze fell upon the injury marring Alice's neck.

A gaping hole.

Precisely where the Reverse Scale should have been situated.

Emily's eyes turned vacant. A chilling wave of fear and fury washed over her.

'They damaged her Reverse Scale… They actually tried to inflict such grievous harm upon her.'

A terrifying aura of bloodlust radiated from her very being.

Below, Kael was still conversing nonchalantly with his subordinates.

"Tsk, I had hoped we might at least procure some dragon scales from this encounter, but it appears her transformation stage isn't quite advanced enough yet—"

His speech ceased abruptly.

Kael looked upwards, observing the colossal Crimson Sky Wyrm descending from the heavens, accompanied by the palpable, horrifying bloodlust emanating from Emily.

Even the surrounding Mistborn operatives instinctively stiffened.

[Emily…]

A profound sense of relief flooded Alice's consciousness as she registered Emily's arrival. Emily's presence signified her success; the Mini Boss had indeed been tamed.

The oppressive tension that had sustained Alice finally dissipated.

Her eyelids slowly drooped shut as her utterly depleted form plummeted from the sky.

"Catch her," Emily commanded softly.

The Crimson Sky Wyrm reacted with immediate alacrity. It carefully scooped Alice into its foreclaws before gently lowering her to the ground.

Emily descended, positioning herself beside the fallen warrior.

She silently assessed the extent of Alice's injuries.

The majority of the wounds were severe but treatable. Alice had expended an immense quantity of mana during the engagement, and the damage to her Reverse Scale severely hampered her mana regeneration.

Provided Alice received adequate rest to replenish her mana reserves, her inherent abilities would facilitate her self-healing.

Her life was not in peril.

Nevertheless, the killing intent radiating from Emily intensified further.

She gently grazed the compromised scales near Alice's neck before slowly turning her attention back towards the Mistborn contingent.

They were already seizing the momentary respite to recuperate.

From within her Soul Space, the recently subdued Mini Boss vocalized with feigned loyalty.

"Master! Those vile curscs injured Miss Alice! I implore you, summon me! I shall personally deliver their retribution!"

Emily gestured dismissively. All her summons reappeared simultaneously.

The Mistborn operatives froze upon witnessing the Mini Boss standing alongside Emily, accompanied now by the Iron Armor Rhino.

Utter shock coursed through their beings.

"Mistborn! Prioritize the Mini Boss! We absolutely cannot permit it to entrench itself and transform this entire locale into its—"

Kael, the Apex Overlord, was swiftly analyzing the Mini Boss's combat methodologies.

However, before he could complete his directive, the Crimson Sky Wyrm had already initiated its strike.

The immense Catastrophe plummeted directly into the Mistborn ranks like a falling celestial body. A cataclysmic explosion erupted across the battlefield as the very ground fractured beneath the immense impact.

Numerous Mistborn members were instantly flung aside by the sheer force of the blast.

Before Kael could even regain his footing, the fearsome Crimson Sky Wyrm seized him in its talons, rocketing skyward.

Simultaneously, the three Blazing Pterodactyls plunged from the heavens, unleashing torrents of searing fire upon the surviving members of the Mistborn group.