Chapter 69

Chapter 69

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The Sixth Floor, The Dungeon, Medea Island

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Auora Isirtine stared at the broken form of the Fifth Floor Guardian. It had taken them so long to get here. Even after they'd been informed of the Guardian's location and how to access the arena... there were so few of them remaining.

After Blace, Titon and Dorin had been kidnapped, killed, and used in the dungeon's monstrous experiments... The party hadn't fractured immediately, but it had fractured. Lina was only the first to leave. Now.... only four of them remained. Auora, Xerat, Hallmark, and Chana. Hallmark was the epitome of a knight. Shining, enchanted plate glistened in the light as he bent over and picked up the broken lens, and cracked core.

"That was easy." He commented, putting them in a pouch. "Let's get going. The sooner we get past the Sixth, the better."

"Too easy," Auora stated with a frown. "After so long... It was too easy." The other two said nothing, but she knew their silence was agreement.

"Whatever," Hallmark said with a wave. "It's done. Get out your cloaks. They cost a pretty penny but should be plenty worth the expense."

They nodded and pulled their enchanted cloaks from their own bottomless pouches. Each was a deep red, bordered by orange. They'd chosen the colors in the hope they could help blend into the Sixth's environment.

After they traversed the long, descending tunnel and gotten their first view of the floor...

"The descriptions don't do it justice." Xerat said, in awe. "Brimstone and hellfire indeed." They stood there in silence for a moment.

"Chana. Do you have the map?" Hallmark asked, turning to face her. Auora turned to look at their party's leader, confused. Map? What Map?

"Of course," She replied, rolling her eyes. "Like I would lose it." She pulled the scroll from her pouch and lay it out on the black stone. "Okay. Here's where we are, at the entrance. They've mapped all of the western, southern and northern areas. Nothing important there, but they've marked three 'safer' places to rest for the night. They've also marked a... village?"

"Whoa whoa whoa. Hold on. You stole this map from the Guild?" Auora interjected, appalled. Chana snorted.

"It was easy," She bragged. "Snuck in there one evening when she was out on a walk with that assistant of hers. They went up to the overlook, which meant the woman was all-but-blind to the goings-on of the guild. No better chance. I'll make a copy after we get back and put the original somewhere in her office. They'll just think they misplaced it."

Auora shook her head in disbelief as Chana went back to analyzing the map.

"Anyway. Village. I don't know how closely you guys have been listening to the local gossip, but assume you've heard of their opinion of the monsters here?" Chana asked, receiving nods.

"Insanity, is what it is," Hallmark claimed with a disgusted look. "They're monsters. Animals that have been granted power through mana. I will admit that some of them can be very smart. You don't get to the bottom of the Deepwood without acknowledging the intelligence of the wolves. But this isn't the fortieth floor of the Deepwood Dungeon." He scoffed. "And even then, they were just smart animals. Pack tactics and knowing how to leverage their size and strength. I doubt the monsters here are any smarter."

"Alright then," Chana drawled. "If you're done? The only place left to explore is over here, the east-north-east. The furthest point from the entrance. Not a big surprise, but given the Fifth I'm sure the locals are just trying to be thorough. Makes it easy on us, at least." She squinted at the map for a few more seconds before rolling it up. "Lets go."

The trip down from the middle of the cliff was precarious. It seemed like every other step, their footing would just crumble away. The first time was a surprise, every time afterwards just an annoyance. By the time they got to the bottom, Auora was glad for the cloaks. She could see the heat rising off the lakes of molten lava, and even the smaller rivers that ran through the plains.

They moved directly to the unexplored area, and as they approached, Auora saw something she just had to comment on.

"I think they weren't just exploring every other area to be thorough..." She trailed off. There was a dramatic-looking triangular fissure in the wall. It was half as tall as the cliff itself, and from the looks of the guards, there was a reason the edges of the crack looked melted and shaped.

"Manabeings." Hallmark hissed, suddenly looking absolutely pissed. "Of all the things that could be here, of course, it's them."

"Keep it down!" Auora whisper-yelled at the knight. "Do you want them to hear us?" The man took a few heaving breaths, each smaller than the last, as he regained his control.

"There are only two of them, " Xerat commented. "Shouldn't be too hard to get past."

"But don't you see?" Hallmark said, "They explain the shadow monsters! Those were shadow spirits, or fairies. And the guardian as well! I'd bet my fortune that it was a metal manabeing. It all makes sense!" He started pacing.nove(l)bi(n.)com

And until that day, Paragon would watch. Patiently. He was the final line of defense, and he would die before any human lay a single hand on his charge.

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The Sixth Floor, The Dungeon, Medea Island

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Totanam rose from the carved throne as the humans strode through the grand hall's entrance. These were not those humans the dungeon had been courting. These were the remnants of the powerful group that had broken on the Fifth. He'd heeded the warnings given, but he had to admit...

"I must admit, I didn't expect you. I had prepared for the other group, not one so... diminished." He broadcast. Less speaking into one's mind and more projecting his voice for any capable of listening to receive. At his words, two magma golems, three molten golems, and a single Potentium golem emerged from behind the pillars lining the hall's walls. The Magma Golems had taken to imitating their role model, Titan, and quickly grew to twelve feet tall. They were slow but far more difficult to damage meaningfully.

The Molten golems were a mixed bag. One followed Totanam's path, floating under its own power and directing metal tentacles. The other two assumed humanoid shapes and twisted their limbs into weapons.

Having left his taunts unanswered, the four guilders rushed the golems, weapons drawn long before they'd entered the throne room.

Totanam knew his followers were among the weaker of his court, but he hadn't expected them to be crushed as easily as they had been.

The largest human, the one clad in shining armor, moved with tremendous speed. A kind the others Totanam had fought lacked. As he swung his weapon, he infused it with mana, activating a myriad of enchantments. He briefly recognized the intents of increased weight, penetration, speed and reinforcement, though to a level of power he hadn't seen before.

The swing connected, bisecting the humanoid molten golem he'd charged. The sprite's core, which had been struck directly, was thrown from the body it had once inhabited and shattered on the stone floor. The sprite, suddenly and violently bereft of a body, froze in place. The armored human reached out with a glowing gauntlet and crushed the sprite in his grip.

Tatanam heard it cry out in agony, then go silent as it returned to their birth realm.

The smaller male lashed out with a lance of water, dousing the second humanoid golem. it screeched as its molten skin was cooled and turned brittle. A follow-up strike from the warhammer wielded by the robed female broke the golem into pieces. The sprite escaped into the floor rather than endure the same fate its fellow had.

The final human, the female clad in leather, loosed an enchanted arrow from a similarly enchanted bow. It crossed the room at great speed, and Totanam barely dodged it in time.

While he was distracted, the two Magma Golems teamed up on the armored human. The alternated strikes kept him moving and unable to strike back. Or at least, that's what they thought.

Rolling back from an overhead strike, he leapt from the ground and latched on to the offending golem. He showed the dexterity of a Capriccio, leaping from cranny to nook as he climbed to the golem's shoulder. He plunged his longsword into a crack in the golem's body. He scowled and jumped away when the golem reached back to swipe him off.

The other three hadn't been idle. They'd engaged Totanam and the other hovering molten golem. While the sprite had been dispatched with another lance of water and follow-up strike, the Boss himself was tougher than his subordinates.

His fires burned hotter, and the water used to strike him turned to steam on contact. That granted a cloud of cover he could see through, which he used while it was there. He extended whip-like tentacles that reached from the steam cloud, and cracked at super-sonic speeds against the water mage's chest.

The man was flung back at great speed, a cut in his leather armor blackened by the heat. He rolled on landing, and was on his feet in seconds, hissing in pain.

The cloud dispersed, and Totanam was consumed by dodging magical arrows, and keeping the robed female at a distance. The male quickly rejoined the battle, and Totanam had little time to think beyond the battle.

In the end, something had to change. That thing was the armored man taking down the magma golems, his sword cracking the cores of the golems, and their sprites fleeing into the ground as the bodies collapsed.

With all four against him... He stood no chance. Totanam made sure he escaped into the floor, even as the man reached out to grab him.

He had been defeated. Thankfully there was a stock of unoccupied bodies they could occupy, but that was a minor concern. Those four humans were strong, and Totanam was unsure how the Drake-kin would fare against them. Either way, there was no more time to prepare.

They would soon face their trial by fire, and he could only wish them luck.

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Max Porteous, 2023