With a little effort I stood up finding myself at the bottom of the staircase I’d entered the level from and headed down to where the paths split off from the pantry and headed right this time.

The lack of reaction to killing myself for something so easily because of its convenience not even once playing on my mind as I walked.

I’d like to say I saw my next death coming, that it was my lack of ability and skill that suffered a misstep that got me killed.

But that just wasn’t true, all I knew was that my head was flying before I even had the time to notice my arms had been removed by a hellish putrid sword that melted through my flesh like a hot knife through butter.

The helmet of my slayer was the exact same as that dead knight on the throne before the entrance to this level.

When I woke up again at the bottom of the stairs I headed into the church room and sat on one of the remaining pews, releasing a sigh I let my thoughts turn to what had happened so far.

Dead silence consumed the stone ruins as I sat in thought.

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When I finally broke from my stupor I headed back to where I had died this time with a more cautious eye out for whatever had beheaded me.

Through the stone halls and beyond a door I found a knight standing in a room with a pair of axes in its hands, the armour it wore was the same as the dead knight in the chair. Pallid green toned steel and a helmet depicting a long nosed pointy eared creature, heavy breathing echoed from its slits as the knight's shoulders moved with each breath.

Behind the knight was a staircase that descended presumably to the next floor.

Taking a step forward the armour the knight wore grinded together as he shifted.

“You rats just keep crawling back no matter how many times you’re stomped.” A voice deeper than the planet's core echoed out of the helmet as he stepped forward and I found myself deflecting an axe before pushing forward attempting to knock him off balance.

“Grh! You’re all the same! You just want her Crown.” kicking back I dodged an axe sailing by where my throat had been.

‘Crown… like the glowing one in the murals?’ The question came to me as I managed to strike at the knight's side causing a pained grunt to sound from him.

He chopped at me with two separate attacks, I parried the first but found the second digging into my shoulder making me scream out in agony as he forced it down deeper into my collar before booting me in the chest sending me back into the wall.

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“Achk!” Saliva and blood fled my mouth as I impacted the stone bricks and only just managed to roll out of the way as a bloodied axe came down on me again.

Grunting as I forced myself upright and back on the attack trying to catch him before he struck me down again I cleaved at his legs catching his ankle with such a strong blow it dented the metal and made him stumble. Using the moment to recover and reset I moved back to the centre of the room so I wasn’t putting my back into a corner, waiting for his next attack I watched his movements trying my best to predict how he’d move.

“The Crown? Where is it?” I asked hoping the question would provoke him into showing an opening for me to capitalise on.

“Nowhere a pissant like you could find!” He growled, throwing himself forward with both axes coming down on me.

I ducked forward to his left, the same side with the dent in his leg and kicked at it.

Thunk

The heavy sound of the knight falling to one knee resounded as I grabbed at the ears of the helmet and pulled back on it as he swung wildly, with all the force I could I drove the broken sword into the gap in the helmets face I’d made.

“Grgble” A wet gurgling struggled out of the helmet and I found myself flung across the room by a huge show of strength.

Bouncing off the stone floor I scrambled upright again and looked back seeing the red river flowing down the front of his armour as he lurched forward dragging the injured leg as exhausted breaths lambasted the slits in the helmet.

“Urrrraaaggghhh!!!” The knight shouted in anguished fury as he shot forward, throwing one axe and then swinging the other in a last ditch attempt to swat me.

Jumping out of the way of the thrown axe as it clattered against the wall I managed to parry his next attack and drive my heel into his knee sending the joint inwards with a vile snap that filled the halls as he swore a bloody grunt before lashing out at my arm and grasping it in a death grip that crunched my wrist almost making me drop the sword as I went to pry his helmet open again and drive it down into his collar like I’d seen with the dead knight on the other floor.

“Grrrhhh” I struggled to fight against his vigour, strained and wounded as he was.

Thunk thunk

The sound of my fist connecting with his head was only just louder than the snap of my wrist in his hand making me scream.