COI C91
The quiet echoes where the fight between the elf and the dead body are one sided, needlessly beaten it to oblivion. The monster to end keeps itself alive. The elf secretly known this monster during his life and his brothers and sisters give him the opportunity to meet with it again, thus, the elf reigned down this treacherous poor soul for it get until now. The wisps had cleanse through the roots, against the demon and against the dust, it’s done well through elven wits.
Now hearing the echoes that no humanesque could hear, the fight of the other monstrosity through their dungeons. He already trapped the monster where he stands with limited choices to break it or destroy it. Sealing it is always the responds of this undying creature, either there is a way or not, he stood there cruelly wipes off the returning flesh of this monster. Its eyes grown back, strips it off, mouth shut, mercifully let it heals poorly, lastly its innards with dust inside its body, smashes it through to the wall as crystals shatter and fall.
Patience is its key but not to those who are with him. The gods whisper to him slowly and disparaging his thoughts from his god’s judgement. He did not listen and only bear in mind that the powers he has of now are the scarce elven magic that was lost long ago. Clear his mind, ending the voices of the gods, the elf’s nightly wind magic comes forth to the monster. The soul bound in two, the original and the long string attached to the emptiness. It threaded through the unknown as it only kept pulling the other soul to act.
He says “You and many become like this, a man who has no gods to follow nor believe there is. I am still bewildered how you can’t get free from its clutches. The gobin’s spirits laugh at you and the religious rune relics of the rusics protect their kin from harm tell fallen stories of your own people. Now you, from all the gods who dared to save their creation from this world, I look at you once again since the beginning of your damnation. Whose god did make you like this?”
The dead body fell unconscious after he said to it. Later wakes up again as it persists of its unnerving nightmare, the adventurers from before had done what they did to this undying creature. Time after time, it won’t die through their own ultimate and other absolute spells. That many spells covered into it had drawn itself flesh and spread through its infested roots. He confronts it and cleanse off the mana it consumed, it was damaging the entire place and almost took the control almost all the dead remains here. They must learn how to face demons’ creation like this, better yet, able to control over the demon’s power.
The thought of his head brought a strong message coming from the gods. A sharp bright light dazed his vision, while held the monster firmly. It says,
“You know who they are and your brothers dare not entered the place. Righteous called to your Ehan’Ra, who was the first step foot in the city. The elven god is there helping the foundation not to fall to the corruption as it is abused to transport all over the region. The presence is judged and the secrets covered in rumors and faults. Judge through them all as all must go back home where selective few returns. The last blockade . . . The true problem”
The elf returns back to his senses where he still surrounded through the nightly winds. It is courteous for him to delay much of it is and the monster barely moved during his paused. The leavers from what he heard from the citizens were called, they might know it already. The noise he hears finally stops across the distance where the spirits were entered his presence. The message had been sent. They are ready to bring it to them. Exception for Puma, the sly sealed doll acting a bit personal from he sees the spirit’s shamanism.
The monster fights back, but he quickly repels with the gust of wind. Same as the beginning, it is weak without the mana it consumed and the dust it breathes out of its foul attacks. He hears the doll chanting louder or the gods led it to get louder. The magic circle appeared beneath his feet. Where he stands, the monster absorbs it and the roots grow back on its body. He slowly let it recover as he focuses on its mind and couldn’t let it speak nothing but horror mourns.
Silfa watches around the doll on the magic circle in a ceremonial tribal dance. Many spirits less form of goblins but images of upright small beasts around it. Familiar toy designs made from their city, not knowing why but assume it contact directly where those creatures were. Anime characters in plushies, dolls, or even figurines at best but all of them are beasts in a matter. One closer look as she gazes at the yellow duck swaying its short tail slowly and its big wide dot eyes with no clue how it expressed itself. She awkwardly smirks by seeing it once again.
Haw and Ironno stood there and watch the rituals coming through. The roots are returning around them as it steadily withered away with holes popping out. The echoes from the other side of the tunnels reach them
“There’s another way here?”
“It leads to one of the holes”
The sounds are clearly coming from there. Ironno moves close to the holes, bringing Haw to it.
“We’ll be the one to stop them”
“As Ironno said before, we will see each other or not inside the saferooms. Don’t forget . . .”
Ironno strikes his pick axe to the wall with scrolls stamped. In one swing, the holes collapse leaving them trap inside.
“Dang it, we need those guys to make the saferoom here”
“We already have one to the dungeon halls”
“HEY! HERE IT COMES”
The monster is being summoned through the flashes of light like lightning, the spirits are restless. The chanting, the doll carried Silfa’s toy size buckler. Treating like it a mask what it always done, it swings around and around where the flashes of lightning bring a powerful, thunderous, but short boom sound. The elf and the monster appeared and the head cut off. The doll leaps forward and catches the head. The spirits leaps to it and channeling around the head.
“PUMA!”
Acting like a game it won something nice as it celebrates around, the gang of spirits tried their hardest where the roots grow out from its neck wildly as its tendrils try to get their mana. The adventurers, including Silfa, see a horrifying display as if they are crazy bunch. However. the roots are approaching the spirits, the elf breaks their awing gaze.
“ENOUGH!”
A strong voice pierced through their senses as they quicky seeing it coming to them. They dodge it and see the roots are all going after the doll.
The elf still grabs the body and immediately shakes off the remaining roots stuck into it. He throws it at the adventurer where its temporary lifeless body as they grab it and rush inside the 8th dungeon. Silfa senses her doll’s presence, the rituals it had and provided from her was not enough. Its pitiful body and with the definitely strong toy buckler. Alone with the other spirits, all are not belonged which master here or their own. Through her UI and sees what the doll can do.
The doll with its gang of spirits from Isekai City, all huddled up around each other and look at the magic/ritual circle. The ritual permits its power, the demonic presence from its head caused it further to strengthen in a far greater reach. The temptation of unlawful natural order to bring it here as it must show how capable it is. The doll routinely dances around only through its feet, tapping or drumming on the ground, and jumps with its little leg along with its gang in short height then throws the head to the ground. Everyone stares at it in disappointment.
Silfa almost bursts out laughing for how bizarre how they are acting, while the adventurers notice her grinning but quickly change as they are looking at the back.
“Move faster, the colored air is coming back!”
Silfa turns around the brown red cloud returns, she never faced it in this dungeon before but the people with her shows their concern drastically focus on running now. Altair is at the gateway seeing the air is coming back, he pulls out his magic scroll and place it at the entrance. Controlling his magic to enhance further with it, now unleash a wall before them as they enter.
The adventurers immediately stops but the others inside pulled them quickly as they slow down. Silfa notice it and dashes forward. They made it in, and the wall blocks the horrible cloud from entering. The demonic presence starts seeping in but it contacted its mana and proceed to solidify into solid. It is eye opening and surprised as they even taken a picture of it. One of the adventurers stop her where the ground uproots with its roots.
“Easy now, you could hide the saferoom when you made it halfway”
“There is no need to, we are here and we won’t going to miss when we sealed it”
The wall solidifies into an obsidian or black like wall. The same metallic color they face accidentally inside the city guild’s sphere.
“This wall has the same color with that other monster we saw”
“. . .?”
“We are calling too much of those monsters as ‘monsters’ for a while now. When will we have to name it at least?”
“If you want to jog your memory, it is that metal four-legged spider with a huge human head”
“Oh fuck! I forgot that thing ever exist”
“Exist?! We can’t even face it under a minute with its abilities”
“That’s enough, when will be the next plan starts?”
Silfa answered “Soon, if my doll acting like a goblin, then stay away from the entrance. Slow and steady weren’t much to discipline that thick headed chief”
“You tried to discipline a former goblin chief?”
“Hey! My younger sister thought it would work”
“It did, didn’t it?”
“Then take a look what I have in my UI”
Sifla shows a screen where the doll is still looking at the skull. Kicking and poking to their leisure of idiocy, it wasn’t enough for the adventurers see the improvement of her personal UI shared and at the same time worried why the monster is not up yet.
One of the spirits move closer to the skull, a bunny doll . . ., and it casts it rituals on the skull. It woken up and its mana abruptly drained. The adventurers who carried the body suddenly moves as they were scared and accidentally throw it to the side. The body releases colorful magic where their spirits materialized and grip on the body, the remaining mana it stored is stealing away in a flash (yoink*). With the last presence of its magic it has, the body being wrapped around with ritual binds. They carefully watch it as they are watching through Silfa’s UI.
Meanwhile, the ritual circle is continuing to build up the judgement of their presence. The bunny doll able to use its evil magic, while the others lie and wait for the monster to return. The elf hid to the sides as he clears the area from the roots gathered around them. The spirits start again like any goblin spirit would do, mocking at the soul trap in its undying head. It’s unconscious existence with its sealed mouth. Hearing the laughter that sounds so familiar and traumatizing to the least. The beheaded skull forced to wake up without its body.
Lost and forced in a condition to be nothing with a head, the laughing spirits come across its spiritual soul endlessly hearing it nonstop. The demonic presence is weighing on the poor soul to the point to repeat the reason why it tried so hard to obtain the item he had before, then being looted from the adventurers. Now it is starting, the strain on itself to bring the demonic magic as it dreadfully released. The spirits in presence, colored differently with its shamanistic rituals. Coming closer as they playing football, and treating the head like a ball. No sanity will play this now that the puppet continued to be treated with humiliation.
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The air comes close with its stench that they barely have a scent on its nose. The elf however covered his mouth where tainted air already spreading around the area. No time for him to stay long as he quickly clears away letting the roots to grow on the ritual circle. The bunny doll, the duck doll, and the doll itself standing side by side where the other spirits place the head before it gains its own body from the roots. Crawling or rooting through where the monster needed it, one close reach from the roots as one of them runs forward.
The roots are blocking its way as it hops, the other leaping, while looking at it then touching its head and staring it from the top saying
“Duck?”
With immense confusion with its face. Absolute nonsense, but the spirits are enjoying it of their pathetic bodies. The roots are attacking the spirits and they return fighting what the body has. Their rituals are not enough but the ritual circle is building up their spells and anything forbidden to drawn to this world. One of the spirits spread their words through its shut and non-movable mouth.
“(Rinju!) Laugh* look at the fool trying to get us”
“(Dyanmah) Run! Laugh*”
“(Duck?) Get that thing before we are all not going to see the boss, eh?”
“(Ekek) The spirits are riling. The poor mouth bag couldn’t even cry out loud”
“(Puma) I’m getting bored of these weak rituals I have here. The shield is the only thing I can hit with it”
“(Dyanmah) No boss, kick it, made it angry for easy sealing”
“(Random noise) Yeah. Noise made good seals good”
“(More strange noise) Chattering teeth beyond the spirits’ world”
The roots begin to move as it swings its thick stem at the bunny doll. It pushes back leaving the doll slamming to the wall. The bunny doll recover, bounces back and sees the duck on the ground looking at the monster. The bunny doll quickly lands on the ground with its shamanistic magic then grabs the duck. it Spins around with the duck as it tries to dodge the roots gathering around the ritual circle, as it was spinning, the curse applied on it and the roots fearfully backs away.
The stubborn bunny kept spinning to no end, leaving the duck remained focus not acting itself being dizzy but it sure looks persistent. It throws the duck forward to the skull. The doll blocks its attacks, the duck grabs the doll by surprised, and the two moves forward to the skull. The duck sliding on the ground and carries the doll on its head, the remaining momentum push them further, tripping some roots on the way, but immediately comes back running.
The skull gathers the roots around it. The curse laid on the bunny doll causing fear the roots to move away. The noise keeps going on its head where the spirits continue to throw it into a haunting laughter, continue to hear as the spirits haunt with madness. The skull releases so much demonic magic as it being drained immediately to the ritual circle. It looks down and see the two charging forward. The spirits are slowly gathered around with their small body frames and its juvenile approached.
The duck throws the doll at it, a sudden attack from the skull with its demonic magic. The skull turns into a snake with its root body, strikes forward only to headbutt the duck on its way. The duck was pushed away to the wall and raised its hand on the bunny doll. The duck leans its head to the side telling the other dolls what it is doing. Then it looks at the ritual circle as it is already being filled with curses from the demonic magic. The bunny doll and the spirits are channeling their rituals to the duck. Giving it the power to use what it learned from the city, the duck stands up and readies its arm as it is aiming at the monster.
The puma doll faces the snake skull valiantly with only with its buckler, they are surrounding the skull with great tenacity to curse its magic appearing to the ritual circle. The cheers among the spirits getting louder and the chants sang getting more uplifting to each other. The mindless skull used more demonic energy as its conscience acted wildly with its mind sealed. The puma doll leaps forward slowly as the snake skull strikes it in the air. The buckler blocks it and continues to leap slowly. The skull stops moving when it hits the doll, and rituals are now affecting its body. The spirits’ laughter grows to no end, endlessly to the point that they easy trap it.
The doll’s slow leap made everything look humiliating for the skull. It angered frustration switches under the full control of the demon. Its demonic eyes see what happened trying to know what happened or why did the puppet lose control. It was too late. The duck uses an Isekai citizen’s ultimate. Raises its paw, wings, or what’s it called as it punches forward. A hand palm appeared with the bright color of the sun. Destroying its path that it judges through, the duck with that dumb look, it uses the power of the citizens in such a mix representation of its expression, blank look with gods-like powers.
The skull paused to the moment where the palm touches it. The slow leaping doll made lands on the skull, where the demonic energy is starting to wane, it raises its buckler to where the monster is resisting the ultimate power. It’s insulting matter how the head being defeated by a concealed doll. The puma doll taps it with its buckler momentarily pushing it back from the palm. It raises its buckler, adding with its troublesome laughs. It slams it down then both of them being pushed from the duck’s hand palm attack. The impact went straight to the 8th dungeon like a speeding bullet.
Breaking though the wall made from Altair and then to the secret room. All of the demonic magics are gone from that ultimate. Everyone sees the monster flying over them as they rush to close the secret room.
“No kidding, Silfa’s doll managed to bring it here”
“SHUT UP! Sealed that motherfucker or we will be the one fighting here”
“THE BODY, get the body here NOW!”
The doll flies over them, the monster recovered so fast as the body reconnects with the skull.
“SHIT!”
They close the door with everyone helping together. Everyone gathers around trying to seal it to the best of their abilities.
The mindless monster tries to escape. The door almost opened after the first ram. They continue to close it where they look around where the roots might surprise them. The mages and the healers are looking around where the roots at, all of it being succumb from the ultimate as it fell and burn to ashes. They joined them to close the door as the monster keeps ramming on it. The fast-moving adventurers used their speeds to counter ram the monster, others used structural supports with their spells, and hitting the gaps. The door finally shuts and waves of wisps coming their way and helped them sealed it.
The door kept being slammed for a short time, the fight was almost over and the last remaining strength they have as they feel the exhaustion of the demon’s presence. The elf comes forth and raises his hand at the corner of the door. Blocking the stone hinges to move while the others install the crystallized dust on the door to make a lock barrier. Now it is done, and they moved backward as they sit down. They look at their exposure level as it is still low, realizing they are controlling their mana quite well giving themselves a sigh in relief.
Exhaustion broke through their every breathe, others drink their stamina potion for the first time and feels their energy returning.
“Energy drinks, I never believe it comes back after relying on our mana”
“Phew* You said it, I’m glad they made the alternatives, and now it comes back better than ever”
“Wait, it came back before the incident”
“There is though in Fuku City, like I said before, . . . Breathe* . . . it is an alternative drink. I don’t know anything beside the brand on hand with them”
The adventurers check on the doll as it lying on the ground lifeless. They were shocked as if it was dead.
“Silfa! Your doll is . . .”
Silfa goes to look at it and picks it up then send it to her inventory without any shed of emotion as it is obvious, the adventurer said to them
“It’s a spirit, I don’t think she could be worried”
Silfa shakes her head as she was in awe mentally but confused to how her doll was defeated by something “Don’t underestimate what you see my doll being defeated. This is the same doll who was a horde chief, fighting against a monster with limited rituals I gave it, and still managed to fight it with the help from us”
“Right, so that magic circle was for. Still, I hope you can discipline the damn thing. It acts like a child as they fight”
Ruby steps in to their group. “I’m just glad none of us died thanks to that elf and the Enders. By the way, where are they?”
“Those two blocked another tunnel made by the monsters. I wouldn’t be worry about them, they’re professional and nothing much about them getting killed over it”
“About the elf, hey! Gemina, have about your new level-up?” Ruby spokes out to Gemina who is near at the opposite side of the secret room. She keeps her guard up with the others watching the door sealed.
“Let’s talk about this later”
“I know that it was too soon, but I really want to know what kind of spirit you actually been using”
The hunter is next with the elf talking about the topic he wants to know. He was a bit confused during their conversation. The elf continues to seal it through the elven magic drawn from the nightly wind. The hunter comes back to his group raises his hand to Gemina.
“I got some nice information about him. Let’s head back to the saferoom just in case”
Everyone returns back to the saferoom, but they were stop for a bit and found another one hidden under the hallway floor. A trap door, a nice place to hide to and it was Silfa who found it. Another one that is close by in the tunnels, Ironno had done really impressive to for making this one into a fortification. The hunter sits down where other lay themselves on the floor where they have a saferoom with wide open spaces. First, he gives what he kept himself at mind.
“Anyway, you’ve should be wondering about the cloud, right?”
The adventurers had witness it before and they were surprised that they were taken out fast.
“Still tired, but you’re right. We’re listening”
The hunter heard the elf about the detail about demonic energy. The elf left them behind, leaving with the wisps to guard them as they rest.
“That cloud is a threat and that dead body we were facing is actually the collector of some specific entities, that would easily beaten us if we are not careful. It is still a threat but less dangerous. The elf didn’t say much after that, I’m guessing that cloud will appear someday. If any of us going inside that cloud, please record it for us”
Meanwhile, Silfa and the few others watch her UI on screen about the duck had done. They too also wondering about it, others expect it was that overflowing magic pushes the monster here. They read in goblin text
“The boyz able to mimic one of the humiskis so called ‘powerful move’. The demon’s mana converted into our ritual circle to use it, that power made me headz and more to break me small bitz (doll body)”
“Then it was an ultimate. Silfa, is there any more information about it?”
“Sorry, my doll didn’t know about it. That duck used it and none of us know who’s ultimate belongs to”
Gemina and Altair whispers as the rumored toy still reaches them “A duck managed to have that kind of ability. I assume to be one of those secret individuals”
“What can I expect for a duck to find someone’s power and replicate it?”
“Same goes with Puma. I could only say that they more useful when they are willing to help us”
“What if they are against us?”
“Against what?! Exactly, the tribes segregated to each other knowing well they are against us since the incident. If we overwhelmed them enough, they are sure to bring their magic equal to ours, disregarding how strong the host is”
Silfa summons her doll again, its body recovered and it looks around where the shield at. She then shows the buckler to the doll and it already grabs it from her hands.
“Puma” It shows relief, and nothing much for it to do but to stand around. Yet, the adventurers ask it
“Do you know where did that duck get that power?”
Silfa sees the adventurer talking to her doll “You think talking to a spirit will be that easy?”
“I can, it was kind of embarrassing but my spirit is capable to understand what I wanted to say”
He led out his spirit, the shadow spirit, then took his stuff from his inventory and formed into a full body gear. It looks down on the doll where the doll looks up. The doll squinted its eyes where the other has no face to have an expression through that man size armor. The two stared and none of them speak a word. They stop staring at each other and return to their master’s sides. The adventurer is giving source where the duck able to get that ultimate.
One after the other, everyone fell asleep where they soon realized it was the effects of the ultimate. Puma doll looks at the adventurers who showered from the hand palm ultimate. The ultimate had proven affective, they grow more tired as every one of them look around as they are inside the safe room. The drowsy eyes and relaxing stretches from their backs. They put their trust on the saferoom as they slept. The sound of the snooze joined the others with slight nap. The shadow spirit returns back to its master with barely kept his posture.
“Yawn* In Fuku City, I would have expected Yawn* it”
The hunter watches them fell one after the other, speaking to himself as he was reminded why they needed to go to the saferoom quick.
“The ultimate not only defeat the opponent also include draining away all of your energy. No mana could ever try to restore the body when the mind is already decided it. Who is that person that is capable to use it as an ultimate? That duck is something important for the police to know about”
He fell down where his eyes heavily lowering his eyelids, the hunter will be busy after this. After that, he will be focusing on his training after all this mess is ended.
The elf completes the concealment, where his brothers and sisters appeared behind him. All three of them look at him with his wisps all roaming around them.
“The hybrid magic with elven and neutral mana being used here. The gods raised their caution once more of their stolen blessing”
The elf focuses on the door where the drawings being made twice the effort from what they saw. Focusing on first the diabolical magic stolen, the duck had found the person who used it and use it the same way against the monster.
“I have seen it from one of the spirits. The same goblin spirit who was on our side . . .”
“Silides* That lost soul should be never meet with us or else to be part of the curse”
“The luck I had is a blessing, but indirectly contacting with that spirit will be limited. The duck will lose sanity when we come close. Oh, the irony of protection from their rituals and curses”
“Sister, are we going to ask them to get that spirit?”
“No, it is a personal action from our gods. We don’t need anything special but the thief is no threat to us”
The elf finished the concealment and said to them “Better go back where you are needed. The main essence of its magic is trapped inside that room”
The elves left leaving him to standby at the door. The insanity and the madness had brought the tortured soul into the spiral loops of its condemned life and failures. A terrible punishment that is worse than death. He loses his interest where he stands, the roots are coming here as the leak of its demonic mana already gathered to this place trying to pry open. The seal is complete, now the main target is the city defenses. The wisps surrounding him then teleported to where he is needed.
Meanwhile, Ironno and Haw already finish annihilating the monsters inside the holes. Both of them were not keen to see how less effective their way of tricks handling these mindless drones. Ironno complained
“Insects, live so short and fight with no instinct to live”
“For how long this ruin ever exist and those creatures had no specific behavior beside attacking us in waves”
“It reminds me of Rusic telling a story almost perfectly for once”
“If he was here, he will just complain” The two continue to move forward from Ironno’s scroll to find more monsters hid near the dungeons. Then they stop where its presence to be more dangerous when they move closer, this is the time they move back.