I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 234: And It Begins

Theo feels the vibration through the dungeon floor.

It is subtle at first. A faint tremor beneath his cheek where it presses against the ground. Then it grows.

He draws in a sharp breath, but his lungs are still compromised. The air catches halfway down his throat and he chokes violently. His body convulses so hard that it breaks Maeve’s concentration.

"Thea?"

Arthur and Julian both snap their attention toward them at the same time.

Theo tries to shake his head, meaning to tell Maeve he is fine. He completely forgets that Maeve is still holding his fingers.

"I’m okay," he says through telepathy. "The King is coming. Be careful!"

Maeve gasps and immediately relays the warning.

Arthur nods once, sharp and decisive. "We’ll take care of it. Just concentrate on healing her."

He and Julian shift back into position instantly, eyes scanning the thick green mist.

"Jules, make an earth dome around them. A thick one. We need to buy Thea time," Arthur orders.

Julian nods and drops to one knee, palms slamming against the ground. The dungeon floor rumbles as layers of packed earth begin rising.

"Don’t forget to make holes so they can breathe, Jules," Arthur adds without taking his eyes off the mist.

"Yeah, I know," Julian mutters, teeth clenched in focus as he carefully shapes the dome around Thea, Maeve, and Liam.

The earth rises higher. Denser. He reinforces the outer layer twice, then three times. Small air channels spiral through the structure, narrow but sufficient.

While Julian builds, Arthur expands his senses using magic.

He does it cautiously. He refuses to waste mana. He knows the fight that is coming will demand everything.

He stretches his awareness outward.

Nothing.

Am I too weak... or is the King hiding?

His jaw tightens.

Then—

There.

An ominous presence.

Heavy. Vast. Watching.

Arthur whips his entire body toward it.

Through the mist, a giant silhouette takes form.

Julian notices at the same time and jerks his head in that direction.

"What the hell is that? It’s huge!"

Arthur lifts his left hand. A sword formed from blazing fire appears instantly. He takes a battle stance.

Julian finishes sealing the dome and immediately pulls out his new and improved heartstone rifle. He braces it against his shoulder and takes aim at the approaching shadow.

Arthur swallows.

The silhouette grows clearer.

"It looks like a spider, Art," Julian says after adjusting his scope. "Thea hates spiders."

"Yeah," Arthur replies quietly. "That might be why she lost the fight."

His fingers tighten around the flame sword.

Suddenly the green mist swirls violently.

A flash of light cuts through the haze.

A sharp swish splits the air.

Boom.

A green mist arrow slams into Arthur’s flame sword. His fire flares instinctively, catching the arrow and burning it midair.

Julian opens fire.

Heartstone bullets tear through the mist in rapid succession. The King dodges several of them with alarming agility.

"For something that big, it’s fast!" Julian shouts as he rolls sideways into a better firing angle. "You can’t fight it with just a sword!"

"Yeah, I know!"

Arthur disperses the single blade and conjures dozens more.

Fifty blazing fire swords form in the air around him, hovering like a deadly halo.

With a sharp motion of his hand, he sends them forward.

They streak through the mist.

Several connect.

The King screeches in pain as fire swords and heartstone bullets tear into its massive body. The sound is shrill and furious, echoing through the dungeon.

It twists, dodges, lunges sideways.

Even wounded, it is terrifyingly nimble.

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Alex stands just outside the earth dome.

His jaw hangs open as he watches Arthur and Julian fight.

"What is going on?!" he mutters in disbelief. "They can do magic too? What is this?"

His eyes widen in awe.

He moves whenever Arthur moves. He winces whenever the King takes a hit. He shifts left, then right, unconsciously mirroring the battlefield.

When the King screeches, he makes a sound under his breath as if he can feel it.

He even runs a little closer to the King, craning his neck to see whether the fire swords actually pierced deep enough.

He looks like a referee in a chaotic match, running back and forth trying to follow the players.

"Gosh! If only I could fight too!" he groans. "Theo said I have magic. That means I could do something like this!"

He throws his hands up in frustration.

"Oh man! Why did I die?!"

The King dodges another volley.

"Oh! It’s dodging! It’s fast!"

Arthur’s swords curve midair and strike from a different angle.

Alex’s eyes shine.

"Oh ho ho! Amazing, Arthur! You’re even faster!"

He almost forgets for a moment that he is holding back a tide of green mist with sheer will.

Almost.

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Theo can hear the fighting clearly now. Not just the sound of impact and screeching, but the tremors traveling through the dungeon floor. Each vibration crawls up his spine and settles in his bones.

He knows he cannot hurry Maeve and Liam. They are already pushing themselves to the limit. He can feel Maeve’s mana draining through their connection. He can sense Liam’s effort in the steady surge of water magic.

They are doing everything they can.

But it is not enough.

He must heal faster.

Arthur and Julian cannot defeat the King.

This is not Theo underestimating them. It is not pride speaking. It is calculation. Cold and precise.

This Haelion King is strong.

In a split second decision, Theo begins channeling his own purified mana into the healing process. Instead of only storing it, he redirects it inward, reinforcing Maeve’s Light and Liam’s Water. The pain spikes as nerves reconnect and torn flesh pulls itself together.

He can hear Arthur’s grunt. Julian’s sharp curse.

Their mana is depleting.

The mist is in the way.

And the King is not slowing down.

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"What the fuck!" Julian curses, voice cracking from strain.

"I know I hit it! Why can it still move like it has no injuries?!" he shouts, frustration bleeding into disbelief.

Arthur leaps backward as one of the massive legs slams into the ground where he stood moments ago. Dirt and fragments of stone explode upward. He rolls to the side, barely clearing its reach.

He comes up on one knee, panting.

"Look, Jules," he calls out, eyes narrowing through the haze. "The green mist is healing it."

"What?!" Julian shouts.

Arthur slashes his flaming sword through a streak of mist, watching it recoil before curling back toward the King’s body.

"Ugh!" Julian growls in frustration.

He slings the rifle over his shoulder and thrusts both hands downward.

The ground rumbles.

Massive earth spears erupt upward from beneath the King, stabbing through its underbelly. The creature screeches in fury and pain. It did not see the attack coming from below.

"Got you now!" Julian roars, punching upward to drive the spears deeper.

Arthur does not waste the opening.

Dozens of flying fire swords materialize around him. He sends them forward in a blazing storm. They stab into the King’s body and detonate into white-hot bursts, searing through chitin and flesh.

The Haelion King lets out a shriek so sharp it vibrates in their skulls.

"Yeah! We did it!" Julian yells, adrenaline flooding his veins.

Arthur is still panting, chest rising and falling hard. He does not celebrate. His grip tightens around the hilt of his sword.

Deep inside, he knows.

It cannot be this easy.

If it were, Thea would not have fallen.

And he is right.

The flames begin to die down.

The earth spears crack.

Fragments crumble.

Through the thinning smoke and mist, the King moves again.

The green mist swirls violently around its wounds, knitting them closed in grotesque, unnatural waves.

"Damn it!" Julian shouts, yanking his rifle free again and aiming without hesitation.

Arthur inhales slowly and summons his flying fire swords once more.

Ready.

For Round Two.