To explain the situation, it would be best, to be frank. While I do understand the importance of my task, I simply can't keep my mind focused. The rush that came with it is long gone. No adrenaline to keep me hyper.

This bloody old husk is nothing but constant disadvantages. Nothing is great about it! It's just a complete downgrade from my younger body. I really need to ask Metis for that favor soon...

I think about all this, while steadily floating between the natural stone-spires of the third floor. This area of the third floor had an unusual amount of them, making navigation much harder than it needed to be. That was most likely the reason that the Anchor decided to hide here.

While it was impossible to find out exactly where the Anchor was, with clever use of Mana-sight, you could easily get the general location. With this, I could theoretically triangulate the Anchors position. In practice, though, things were a bit harder. Instead of being able to go straight, I had to curve every time I moved. Those stone-spires were the reason I never flew indoors. Too big of a chance to hit something on accident.

But, I had to. It was either me getting a couple of bruises, or my students potentially dying.

I don't get paid enough for this shit.

At least, I was getting closer. Couldn't be more than a couple hundred meters away. And it seemed that the target was even on the outskirts of this maze of stone-pillars! This would be easier than I thought! Well, if my technique actually worked, and I wasn't just targeting some random bird.

Getting closer to the target, I began hearing… something being squeezed? It sounded like some piece of meat was being slowly crushed by a constant force. Disgusting.

And the sounds were getting closer, much faster than I anticipated.

This was definitely not the Anchor.

But, then, what was it? A roaming boss, maybe?

Then, as I turned an especially large stone-spire, I saw it.

Not he. Not she. IT.

It was disgusting.

While it was definitely alive, its flesh looked dead and rotting, with pieces of it falling off with each step it took. While being bipedal, it had no head. Where its neck should have been, many small fingers grew on the side, with each of them constantly twitching, wiggling around each other. In the middle was a thick, jagged tongue, sticking right up into the air.

Eyeballs grew everywhere. Every single limb had at least ten of them. Its was those eyeballs that let me know that it had noticed me and my glowing, purple flames hanging around in the air.

“Well”, the unholy piece of flesh said, with a voice that sounded like a death growl. “What a displeasing appetizer you are. Well, it doesn't really-“

Before that ungodly creation finishes its sentence, I blast it with a concentrated piece of purple-flame shaped like a phoenix.

I hoped that this would bring a swift end to that abomination.

It did not.

Instead, the monster without a head laughed, its upper body expanding and compressing with each laugh. It was vomit-inducing to look at.

“The pile of bones wants to be feisty? LETS!”

The things amplified voice, caused the surrounding area to shake violently. This thing was a little more powerful than expected.

The small rocks lying on the ground fly up into the air, and hurl themselves at me.

Not wanting a thousand small holes to appear in my already collapsing body, I hurriedly fly out of the way.

That doesn't deter the rocks, though.

They simply stop in the air for a second, before changing direction, directly coming towards me again, forcing me to fly another direction, and so on.

While this happens, I release a larger burst of purple fire, concentrated on the stomach of the creature, but instead of hitting the abomination, it curves charging towards me, and forces me to cancel the spell.

Around both me and the monster, a hollow sphere of stone begins growing. This was obviously an effort by the monster to restrict my movement.

Instantaneously releasing a massive amount of my Mana, purple flame spews out of me, filling the whole sphere with fire. The unholy creation is fine though, a barrier having been created around it, but that would last long, with those cracks growing.

The ungodly monster sees my efforts, and it too expends a good chunk of its mana. The stone the hollow sphere was made of instantly turns into liquid, and charges straight at me.

In retaliation, I up the flames´ temperature around me by nearly a hundredfold, with the fire now being able to easily melt Wolfram!

The stone never even gets close.

By now, the amount of Mana I've got ready to use is nearly halved in size.

But, I'm not the only one growing weaker. Its barrier had shrunk, with it barely covering the things body. Gotta act quick.

Yet again, I send a concentrated burst of fire at the things body. It tries to dodge to the side, but I successfully hit it in the shoulder, the barrier doing nothing to help. With its remaining arm, it hits the stone floor. While it didn't have any effects in the first moment or two, the next it was definitely felt.

It was as if the floor had turned into a black hole, with a massive force pulling me towards it. My mana reserves were crashing, with the amount I needed to stay afloat. Maybe, I should-

A rock hits me on the side, rocketing me towards a stone-spire. As I fell towards the ground, it was a miracle I stayed conscious… or was it?

Seeing me lying like a dead animal, the beast moved towards me in quick strides, its body tongue moving around its whole body in anticipation.

“Just a minute and yours will be mine.”

Like that, the trap had been set. The Purple Phoenix had never disappeared. It had been waiting. Striking from above with immense speed, the monster screeched in immense pain, as it was hit.

It fled, like the coward it was.

I chuckled.

Nobody fucks with Phil Swiftflame.