I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 215: Into the Mist

"Wait, what?" Maeve asks in disbelief. "Lying on the floor? Like scattered? Unconscious? And the haelions don’t attack them?"

Theo sighs. "I didn’t have time to really look around. This is just my preliminary observation. There aren’t many haelions. Or possibly no haelion at all except one. There are people lying unconscious on the dungeon floor. It strengthens my initial scan that the number of haelions is low, and I’m leaning toward there being only one haelion. The King."

Looking at their stunned faces, Theo adds, "Like I said, this is no ordinary mutated dungeon."

"Okay. Next, we need to make sure that all of you know exactly what you need to do once we’re inside."

He continues, more firmly, "Let me repeat. Arthur, you burn everything in sight. Keep the fire about two feet above the ground. Liam, use your water shield to make sure no one gets burned. Julian, help Liam with your earth. I don’t think Liam can shield all seventy-three people at once."

He turns to Maeve. "I need you to help them by activating Aegis shield on as many people as you can."

"Wait," Arthur cuts in.

"Are you telling me that all seventy-three people are on the ground where we can see them? They’re in the same location and not scattered throughout the dungeon? We don’t need to search for them?"

"From my initial scan, yes," Theo answers. "I grabbed the three officers because they were the closest to the gate. Lieutenant Cole wasn’t far from them. There were another three or four people nearby as well, but I couldn’t get them all out. My personal mana was running out. I didn’t expect it to drain that fast."

Arthur nods slowly, absorbing the information and trying to picture the dungeon in his head.

Julian and Liam are thinking as well.

This is a first for them. The first time they have ever needed this much preparation before entering a dungeon. It makes them cautious and serious, with no room for jokes.

Liam suddenly looks up. Something doesn’t add up.

"What are you going to be doing, Thea?"

Everyone has a role, but Theo hasn’t said what his is.

Theo looks at him, grim. "I’m going to try to purify the green mist into regular mana so that you can use it. Otherwise, relying only on your personal mana, you won’t last long. I also need to make sure none of the green mist enters your brains and messes with your minds."

His job is the hardest by far.

Everyone knows it.

And there’s nothing they can do about it, because no one else can do it but Theo.

"Can you really do it, Thea?" Julian asks, deeply concerned, voicing what the others are thinking as well.

Theo smiles reassuringly. "Don’t worry. I can."

They look at each other. And nod.

Arthur finally says, "Shall we?"

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Five minutes later, Rhaenas stand in front of the gate for the second time. This time, they are ready.

Captain Chambers stands with them. He doesn’t fully understand what is happening, but he understands the severity of it. These five people are willingly entering a dungeon that has already proven itself to be deadly. And one of them has already gone inside once before.

Respect.

Captain Chambers can’t help but feel respect for Thea Montrose. She knows exactly how dangerous this dungeon is, yet she still chooses to enter it again.

He stands straight and salute them.

"Rhaenas! Goodspeed!"

The rest of the officers on site, who’ve been watching them, salute too.

’Goodspeed’ salutations are echoing through the site.

Rhaenas returns the salutation and enters the gate.

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The moment Rhaenas enters the dungeon, Theo immediately casts Light magic, mind shield to everyone including himself.

Simultaneously, he begins to purify the green mist.

The other four are startled seeing the dungeon.

They can’t see anything beyond 4 meters. It’s covered with thick green mist. Even with Theo’s Mind Shield, it still feels suffocating.

And their movements are sluggish, not because their minds are corrupted, but because the thick green mist also limited their physical movements.

Arthur looks down, scanning for lying people.

The other three are doing the same.

"I’m going to start burning. So, it’s easier for Thea to purify it. You three, help me protect the people." Arthur says.

They nod.

Arthur takes a deep breath, he summons his fire. Thea already told him that fire for burning and fire for purifying, are two different types of fires. Purifying fire is more difficult, requires more mana and concentration.

A reddish orange fire flares to life in Arthur’s hands. He concentrates, compressing it, forcing the color to fade. Slowly, the flames turn paler, shifting toward white. Purifying fire.

He has to rely entirely on his own mana to sustain it, and it is far from easy. Normally, he lets dungeon mana fuel his flames, letting them run rampant without restraint. He has never had to manage his own reserves this carefully before. Not like this.

Liam and Julian are struggling as well, though in different ways. Liam must maintain a water shield that protects the unconscious bodies without suffocating them. Allowing people to breathe while encased in water requires extreme control. One mistake, and he would drown the very people he is trying to save.

Julian’s task is no less demanding. His earth magic must be precise. He needs to see where the victims are at all times. One wrong movement, and he would crush them beneath stone and soil.

Maeve is no exception. She is not as adept with Aegis as the others, which means she has to concentrate harder, reinforcing and recasting shields as people are moved.

Arthur’s fire continues to pale. The reddish orange fades further, becoming almost white. Almost.

He exhales sharply. He knows this is his limit.

He pushes the fire forward anyway.

The moment the whitish flame approaches the green mist, the mist reacts. Like smoke caught in a sudden gust of wind, it recoils, twisting away, actively avoiding the fire. It does not want to be burned. It does not want to be purified.

"Damn," Julian mutters.

Arthur frowns and pours more intent into his flames, making them larger, denser. He moves faster this time, chasing the mist instead of letting it escape.

This time, he succeeds.

The instant the fire touches the green mist, a shrill screech erupts through the dungeon, sharp and unnatural, as if the mist itself is alive. It writhes, trying to pull away, but Arthur does not let it. His fire pursues it relentlessly, burning through the corrupted haze.

Liam and Julian follow close behind, locating the unconscious bodies and shielding them as they go. Maeve moves quickly, dragging people toward safer ground and reinforcing their defenses.

Behind them all, Theo works continuously, purifying the green mist and feeding the cleansed mana into Arthur’s flames.

Rhaenas moves as one.

Together.