The final room of the dungeon was a circular room. It was lined with rows of serrated edges made from the same black gemstone they had seen at the dungeon’s entrance. There were rows upon rows of the sparkling dungeallis crystal, all the way to the ceilings roof, which was domelike and made the room feel even larger than it already was. There was only a single entrance, or exit, the wide doorway they’d entered from. Charlie looked on in awe at the massive space. He thought back to the large room in his own dungeon where he’d fought Lusafeen.

This room was easily two or three times that. He wondered if there was a reason for that added size, or if it was just a random act of nature.

Axel pointed at Samantha, Tirille, and Vicke and tilted his head to the left. He directed Roan and Geron to his right.

“What…happens now?” Vicke asked.

Samantha held a finger to her lips. Vicke swallowed, looking around.

In a fluid motion, Axel unsheathed his large katana. He let out a deep breath.

“I don’t see the core anywhere,” Roan said, scanning the room.

“It’s the guardian we need to be worried about,” Samantha said, an electric hex already forming at her side.

Charlie caught something shimmer against the rear wall. He realized it was the reflection of Samantha’s hex. He pointed a tiny finger at it.

“Hm?” Geron followed Charlie’s point and studied the wall. “There!” he called out. In unison, they all looked up at the false wall in the back of the room. Just in time for the distorted orangish brown silhouette of an enormous creature to step forward and peer at them through the mirror-like barrier.

Huge, dark eyes shot around the room, studying each of them. They finally fixated on Axel, and the creature released a booming, resonant roar that forced the party to cover their ears. Geron flinched, covering Charlie’s small ears with his large hands instead of protecting his own.

The creature punched against the barrier and left a wide crack in the strange material. It looked like an asymmetrical spider’s web. The cracks slowly expanded as the creature continued to pound on it. The punches grew in speed and ferocity.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Roan groaned. “Oh, I bet he hits hard as hell.”

Rock crashed as the creature’s fist finally penetrated the wall. It reached a large hand through and ripped large clumps of the shattered earthen material away to make room for itself.

Orb peeked out of the baby carrier. “Charlie…I don’t like this.”

Charlie reached down and grabbed Orb with both hands, covering him up to keep him safe. “That thing is scary, Orb.” He swallowed.

The creature was easily three times the size of Geron. Maybe larger. It was a vascular creature, with rippling veins that twisted at odd angles along its orange-brown, muscular flesh. Its eyes appeared to be made of a dark gem-stone material. Not unlike dungeallis crystal. It paused, turning to a particularly large hunk of the dungeon wall it had shattered, and tested its weight.

“Roan, you’re up,” Axel said.

“Heh, trying to get me killed this early in the fight?”

Axel looked at him, smirking. “If only it was that easy.”

The creature turned back, satisfied with its makeshift weapon, and faced them. It sucked in a deep breath, and then opened its jaw, roaring again. Flecks of spittle shooting from its grotesque mouth. Axel motioned to Roan.

“Archh.” The creature recoiled as a flung dagger embedded itself in the roof of the creature’s mouth. Its gaze turned to Roan, who’d thrown the weapon. Roan backed away from the others, isolating the creature’s focus.

The dungeon quaked as the creature broke off into a run, charging directly at Roan.

“Shit.” Roan turned and sprinted away from it.

Charlie bounced in his baby carrier with each step the creature took, lumbering forward after its prey.

Roan reached the dungeon’s wall, and carefully scrambled around the sharp edges of the first row of gemstone, trying to get off the ground. He’d sheathed one dagger and bit down on the blade of another, freeing up his hands for climbing.

Charlie wondered where Roan kept all these knives.

Roan was clearly an experienced climber, and he worked his way up the gemstone wall quickly. But he wasn’t moving quick enough.

The creature lifted its large rock log to flatten Roan.

A bolt of lightning crackled through the air and penetrated the creature’s side. The force caused it to lose its balance, and it crumpled. Falling and impaling itself on the sharp gemstone that lined the dungeon’s walls. It made a pained noise, shaking its head. Dungeallis crystal shattered, a large tuft of gemstone dust scattered into the air.

Axel raised his hands. “Everyone! Now!”

Axel and Tirille hurried forward to strike. Geron didn’t move. Roan finally made his way atop the first elevated row of the dungeon. He didn’t hesitate for a second. He ran toward the stunned creature.

Thew. Thew. Thew. Vicke let loose a hail of arrows, each aimed for the chest, where a human heart would normally be found. Charlie wondered if the anatomy of the creature was really that similar to a person's.

The monster tried to rouse itself, pushing against the earth with a hand and leaning forward. Roan finally reached it and started stabbing the creature at the base of its neck. The sound of metal clanging against something hard rang out over and over. “Skin's tough here!” Roan shouted. He lifted both knives into the air and brought them back down again. This time, they found purchase, slipping in an opening of the creature’s tough skin, just under its shoulder blades.

The creature’s eyes shot open, and it flailed its arms wildly.

Forced to abandon their attack, Axel and Tirille each jumped back, surprised by the creature’s sudden movement.

Unhampered, it made its way back to its feet.

It took Roan with it. “What the—” he said as he was lifted into the air. Dangling from the daggers that were still impaled in the creature’s neck. It tried, to no avail, to reach behind its back to grab Roan. When it realized the futility, it looked around, and its eyes fixated on Samantha.

“This next part is going to be a little scary, Charlie. But it’s all part of the plan,” Geron assured him.

"Wait, what’s he mean by that?" Charlie thought. Geron moved slowly, but confidently, until he was in between the creature and Samantha.

The creature broke into a run, directly for them. Each stomp of its feet reverberating around the dungeon.

“Charlie! We’re going to die!” Orb called out.

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Stomp.

Stomp.

Stomp.

Charlie shook his head. He wasn’t sure if it was for his benefit or Orb’s. His. He realized.

Geron readied himself. He let out a breath and pulled a fist back.

“Vicke, no!” Axel called out a moment before he shot.

Thew.

The arrow bounced off the creature’s shoulder. It turned to look at Vicke, who’d fired at it.

Axel cursed. He broke off in a sprint to try to get there in time. But he was too far. The creature ignored Geron and charged Vicke. Vicke was far too close, and far too terrified to get away in time.

His legs shook at the sudden attention.

Geron realized it too. He couldn’t make it in time, either. “No…” he said.

The monster reached him and lifted its massive club above its head. Roan ripped a dagger free and stabbed it back into the creature’s flesh to distract it. It ignored him. It had fresh prey in its sights and had given up on Roan for now.

Vicke didn’t move. It was like his legs were stuck to the ground. He swallowed.

There was a burst of movement just before the club smashed into the ground. Charlie covered his face, protecting himself from debris flung around the room.

When the dust cleared, he looked up to see Tirille lying over Vicke. She’d managed to push him out of the way at the last second. The creature’s weapon was now deeply embedded in the ground. It didn’t try to free it.

Instead, it used its hand, and this time Tirille wasn’t able to get out of the way in time before the fist met her body. At the last second, she threw up her arms to defend against the attack. She flew, ricocheting off the ground before skidding to a stop a dozen feet away. The creature looked down at Vicke, who had been narrowly out of the punch’s range. It reached for him and picked him up. Vicke struggled against the grip. The creature brought his face close to its mouth. Roan stabbed the creature over and over, to no avail.

But Tirille had bought Axel enough time. He’d closed the distance.

The creature’s arm fell to the dirt amidst a splatter of blood. Vicke freed himself from the still wrapped fingers and finally found the strength to get out of the creature’s reach. He ran straight for Tirille to check on her. Roan yanked one of his daggers free and jumped down, rolling away from the creature.

“She’s okay! A little banged up, but still breathing!” Vicke called out.

“Hah!” Geron grinned at the news. “Our turn, Charlie. Do me a favor and give me your best baby battle cry!” Geron said. Charlie gripped the baby carrier as Geron started running.

Charlie couldn’t explain it. Maybe it was the excitement. Maybe it was the surge of battle or the fact that Tirille was okay. Or maybe it was the speed with which Geron ran. But all of a sudden, he didn’t feel so afraid. He giggled. He giggled like a baby having the time of its life. Geron charged forward, shouting as he moved.

The creature turned its attention from Axel to the roaring Geron. Geron jumped a moment before they reached the monster. With one hand, he shielded Charlie. With the other, he brought down a powerful fist that met the creature’s face with so much force it caved inward.

A muffled, agonized scream erupted from the remains of the creature’s mouth. It clutched at its own face.

“Blue Hex Blade!” Axel shouted. The katana cut through the creature from behind. Geron stepped to the side as the blade shot through the air where he’d been standing a moment ago. The creature’s hands fell to the blade. It tried to wrap its fingers around it to pull it out. But screamed again when doing so cut into its flesh.

“Finish this,” Axel said. Stepping away from the creature.

“Emerald Hex Elemental.” Samantha swiped two fingers toward an electric hex. On the other side of it, a bolt of lightning erupted and rocketed toward Axel’s blade. His blade acted as a conductor, and the creature’s heart stopped as the electricity fried its innards.

“That was…awesome! It was like a freaking combo attack!” Orb said.

Charlie smiled. Looking at the monster’s corpse in awe. They’d worked as a team to bring a powerful monster down. If any of them had fought it alone, it would have defeated them. But by working together, they’d brought down a stronger opponent. He wondered which of them he would be in this situation. Roan, who’d jumped into action. Geron or Samantha, who used their power, physical in one case, and magical in the other, to bring the creature down. Or Axel, the one who they all looked to for leadership and guidance. The one they trusted to make the right call.

Which one he would be? Who did he most want to emulate?

Samantha relaxed and fell to the ground. She sat there, catching her breath.

Roan wiped the one dagger he’d reclaimed on his pant leg before sheathing it. Axel looked around. He frowned. “We need to find the core.”

Geron sighed. “We defeated the core guardian. It should be visible now.” His gaze fixed on the rear wall where the creature had emerged from. “Maybe it’s back there,” he said.

Charlie craned his neck but wasn’t able to see. There was a large alcove in the opening, and it wasn’t visible in its entirety from where they were.

“Let’s take a look. The sooner we find and destroy it, the better. I need a nap. And a drink. Honestly, I’m not sure in what order,” Roan said.

“Wait, you shouldn’t be up!” Vicke called out.

They all turned to look. Tirille was limping her way towards them.

Geron hurried up to her. “Tirille! What are you doing? You should rest. You took a pretty big hit back there.”

“I’m fine. I want to help.”

“Roan and I will look for the core. The rest of you will wait here,” Axel said, pulling his blade from the creature’s body. In one fluid motion, he shook the blood off and sheathed the sword. Roan joined him as they went to investigate the alcove.

Geron sat down, cross-legged, on the dungeon floor.

Vicke approached them. “Hey…uh, Tirille. Can I talk to you?” he asked.

She sighed. “Whatever it is, you can say it here.” She seemed annoyed.

Geron let his head fall back. Charlie wondered if he was really relaxing, or just pretending to zone out for Vicke’s benefit. Charlie, on the other hand, stared right at him, wondering what this was about. Vicke looked back at Charlie before letting out a breath.

“Fine. Okay. I just… I wanted to thank you…for saving me. I don’t know what happened, I just froze up. I couldn’t do anything. I was useless, and you got hurt because of me. I’m sorry. And…” His gaze fell. “I’m sorry that I’ve always been so mean to you. I know it’s wrong. You deserve to be a part of the guild just as much as I do. More, than I do if today proves anything. So, yeah, I’m sorry.” He waited for a just a second and then walked off when she didn’t say anything.

Geron opened an eye to peek at her. She didn’t notice.

She took a step toward Vicke before calling out to him. “It’s fine. And… you fought well. You won’t freeze up next time. Now that you’ve seen actual battle.” She flinched. “And I’m sorry too. I haven’t exactly tried to be easy to get along with either.”

Vicke managed a smile. “Thanks. I’m gonna check out the monster’s corpse some more. It’s the first core guardian I’ve seen. My little sister is going to ask me about it, and I don’t want to leave anything out!”

Tirille smiled. She nodded and took a seat near Geron.

“How mature of you,” Geron said.

Tirille rolled her eyes. “I thought you were pretending not to listen.”

“I’m the one they assigned to train you. It’s my job to listen.” Geron shrugged.

“Hey Parent, what’s a core guardian?” Charlie asked.

“A Core Guardian is the Dungeon’s last line of defense. In some cases, the Dungeon Core cannot be located until the Core Guardian is dispatched.”

“Wait, so do we have one of those?”

Orb scoffed. “That’s what you are!”

“I thought I was the dungeon,” Charlie said.

“Actually—”

“You’re both! Duh!” Orb said.

“Correction, if I may—”

Axel and Roan came running back into the room. “Get away from it!” Axel shouted.

The others stood. Geron called back. “What’s wrong?” he shouted.

“We couldn’t find the Core!” Roan said.

Parent’s words played over in his head.

“In some cases, the Dungeon Core cannot be located until the Core Guardian is dispatched.”

They couldn’t find the core.

“What?” Geron shook his head. He turned to look in the other direction. Vicke was looking directly at him, a confused expression on his face as well. He didn’t understand.

None of them had until it was too late.

The mutilated corpse of the Core Guardian rose so silently, Charlie had a hard time believing it was actually moving.

“Vicke!” Tirille shouted.

“Run!” Geron said at the same time.

Vicke turned around just in time to see the creature had risen. He scrambled away, trying to get distance. He unslung his bow from his shoulder and reached back with his other hand to grab an arrow.

He made it five feet before the creature swung its fist into his side.

Cleaving Vicke’s body in half at the waist.