It had been half an hour after the death of my men that we held a quick funeral service, giving the remaining members of the raid at least some time to find the chance to say their goodbyes and prayers. All of the men and women made their way over to the ruined armors, which the water mages had spent minutes washing and polishing, trying to make them look a little better for those in grief. It had been a grim task, to say the least, but one they dutifully performed. Only the sheer lack of blood and gore was something the two of them had needed some time to get used to, both being used to seeing their patients in sometimes horrifying conditions.
Other than prayers being said out aloud by our combined voice, and stories being told about the deceased's lives, the funeral service couldn't possibly be more different from any I had held before. The strange flash of light stealing the remains away was just the first of many changes, as it left us with nothing to bury. The four flowers that had seemingly taken the position of their bodies were another change. It was rather common for the families of the deceased to gather flowers for their loved ones, but how could we even decide to treat these ones, who were neither picked by ourselves nor normal flowers at all?
Deluc had little to say about them other than that they were, like seemingly every single plant in this twice-cursed place, blessed by the goddess that had chosen this dungeon to be her personal tool and weapon. As for what this blessing did to the flower, I couldn't even hope to guess. The only thing I knew was that it at least was harmless, allowing us to leave it to the families of the fallen men who could decide themselves what to do with them. It would at least give them back something.
I sighed as I took a last look at the scene surrounding me. Even with the metal having regained most of its shininess, it was easy to see just how devastating this single opening attack had been, as not only was there a still smoking crater to be seen and a wide path of ash leading towards it but also a pile of signed shreds nearby which was all that remained of the paladin's gambeson. The rest of the thick fabric had been reduced to even more black ash, telling a grim tale about what happened to the men who had once worn them for protection and comfort.
Only the weapons and shields of the men were still usable, having withstood the intense heat with little damage. It was poor taste at best to use the equipment of our fallen comrades, but with several men having lost theirs in the struggle against the monster’s leader, we had little choice in the matter. Maxwell was the first of them all who had made his way down the sinkhole, gathering everything that was left intact for us to use. Without thinking twice, the man replaced his sword and shield with one once worn by his comrade, seemingly eager to use it for revenge.
He was by no means alone with that thought, which was a fact both Marisa and Alfred were forced to realize. Although the two of them spent a few minutes doing their parts in helping the raid get back to their feet, they were always watching the dungeon’s avatar’s every move while doing so. Going by all the voices surrounding me, it was only right for them to fear the anger and hatred of those surrounding them, as not every single one of the men and women was ready to accept the dungeon’s very nature just like that.
The girl in question was every bit as vulnerable as the owners of the hate-filled eyes watching her, feeling both pain and suffering just as anyone else would. This fact could easily be seen by the tears rolling down her face and the audible sobbing coming from her side. As a dungeon avatar, one could easily torture and kill her as well should they not fear her patron goddess, only to repeat the process over and over again as she would reappear in the dungeon’s core room no matter what one decided to do to her. Only her monsters, traps, and bosses, superior monsters with a large array of special abilities, could prevent this grim scenario from happening if that was the case. And at her current level, it was very unlikely the girl had access to either of the strongest layers of protection. This left only one option should they try to capture her: a dungeon break.
Naturally, this much was a nightmare to deal with, as it would not only force all the living monsters of the dungeon to flee into its surroundings where they would only cause needless death and havoc but would also reduce the god’s possession to basically nothing, with it only creating a new entrance after weeks, months or possibly years. For this dungeon to not only have caused a dungeon break that still affects Abervale to this day but also having both dug a new, giant room and a tunnel connecting it to the outside all within weeks was unheard of. And this wasn’t even considering the prayer site and the lava monster we had fought.
Sadly, I could not ask the girl about the history of her dungeon, as she was quickly escorted away by her two protectors, seemingly deeper into the mountain where they thought it was much safer for her to be. It would likely take them a while to realize she was by no means safe there, as the raid would surely reach her sooner or later. If anything, waiting at the entrance would be a much better choice, as that would give the men and women plenty of time to calm down again after their successful delve.
With the dungeon avatar gone, the loot and flowers gathered and all the still usable equipment reclaimed, nothing was stopping us from continuing our exploration. And soon enough, we were on our way again, with two new faces now guarding the mind mage in their fallen comrades’ stead. A single glance was enough to tell they weren’t the least happy about being chosen for this task, especially with Deluc claiming there were still monsters left in the room, but I simply ordered them to do their duty, not having much choice in the matter either.
I took it upon myself to watch the mountain slope for danger with the help of the water mages, who rather enjoyed being in the middle of the raid group, where they not only had the easiest access to those in need of their magic but were also protected on all sides by a wall of men and shields.
A few minutes after setting off, this formation was tested for the first time, as a sudden bark rallied a group of monsters to attack the group. Five of them made their way out of the lake, waving their watery tails behind their backs as they did so, with five more beasts appearing from holes in the ground everywhere surrounding us, the latter of the two groups sending shivers down my spine - five of the earth monsters had appeared.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
“Run them down,” I couldn’t help but scream.
The men did exactly that, charging at the monsters with their swords and shields ready. A barrage of magic was now unleashed onto the elemental creatures, leaving them struggling to dodge them all. Before long, more and more of the spells hit, causing a large cloud of dust to hide the silhouettes of the monsters. It was this very cloud that now worked in their favor, as three surviving beasts quickly dashed out of its protection, easily bypassing the lines of shields that had tried to intercept them.
With their claws ready and maws wide open, the monsters made their way to the mages that had given them so much trouble. It was only when the few men and women not frozen stiff decided to toss another wave of magic at the attackers that those came to a sudden stop, easily crumbling to dust after having been hit by several colorful spells each. Soon, there were only glowing magic crystals left.
The water elementals that were still standing at the lake’s shore hesitated, before tossing several giant balls of water at the raid, forcing us to dodge them all. When the bombardment of rather weak water magic finally ended, the monsters in question were long gone, having used their last attacks to hide their escape.
The lake still had waves running over its surface, indicating that several beasts had just made their way back into their watery homes, but other than that, everything was almost deadly silent.
I could only smile at the monsters’ defeat as I was already urging the men and women to continue with the delve, wanting to use the boosted morale to our advantage. With the so-called king of the mountain dealt with, there seemed to be little the remaining monsters could still toss at us. The water ones who seemed to be the dungeon’s healers were simply too afraid to face us once the more courageous frontline of earth beasts was dealt with by our mages, and even their own magicians in the shape of the fire elementals were easily dispatched all things considered, their attacks simply lacking the accuracy to inflict real damage and death, especially against those of us wearing proper armor.
All in all, we faced another two attacks of the very same group of water beasts that had slipped our grasps before, each wave featuring a new group of five earth monsters.
Our opponents were learning with each single face-off. Their second attempt to bring us down already had them trying to single out one of the paladins holding the front, causing the poor soul to both be buried under bodies and viciously attacked from all sides while countless growls and yelps filled the raid with terror. The vicious attack only stopped when the mages concentrated their fire on the whole group, paladin and monsters alike, simply hoping their opponent’s earthen bodies would give in before the man’s armor would. And somehow, doing just that worked out, leaving all of the earth monsters dead and the paladin barely clutching onto his life.
The water mages on our side were quick to bring the man back to his feet, although he looked both exhausted, angry, and disheveled now with most of his hair having been burned away by his own brother’s arms.
By their third and final attempt, the monsters chose to instead overrun our line of defense by using an endless barrage of snake-like magic spells that rushed after the fighters and healed them over and over again as they made their way toward the core of our formation, where the most vulnerable members were already running for their dear lives.
For the second time today, the raid was in a state of pure and utter chaos, severely limiting our teamwork and fighting prowess. Only the men I had personally trained for many years were regaining their wits within seconds, allowing them to rush to the mage's aid.
Within seconds, the paladins were already going at it using their shields, swords, kicks, and even fists in a desperate attempt to stop the one-sided assault, with both sides of the battle constantly being showered with supportive magic. I quickly rushed to help, ramming my shield into one of the beast’s sides myself before stabbing my sword into its earthen body over and over again, using it like an oversized dagger. It was only when the monster gave in with a last whimper that I breathed in a sigh of relief before attacking it one last time, finally ending its struggle and letting its body crumble into a pile of dirt, one that already had a valuable crystal waiting for us.
I was already reaching out for the treasure when I thought better of it, instead searching for the next opponent to fight, only to find my surroundings in total ghostly silence, with only the constant splashing of water magic to be heard. One of the water magicians was on her knees, wailing and crying as she emptied all of her mana to help the men who had been attacked.
A single glance was enough to tell me her struggle was in vain, the man’s eyes having long grown devoid of life. This time, there was no flash of light, no burned armor or cursed flower given to us by the dungeon; there was nothing but pure grief and barely containable anger that filled not only me but could be seen in every single face surrounding me.
It took me several long moments before I could finally force myself to walk over to the healer, placing my hand on her shoulder and shaking her to get her attention, before ending her efforts with a single movement of my head. Her cries immediately grew louder, drowning the whole raid into despair.
Minutes passed as the woman released her frustration and tears, only to then suddenly reach into the late fire mage’s pockets. Her shaking hand soon revealed two of the magic crystals the man had poached from the fire elemental’s remains.
Without hesitation, the woman slammed the two crystals together, blinding us all with a flash of blazing hot, red light. I could feel the hairs on my skin being singed away as two artificial, deep red suns were hurled high into the air, visible even through my closed eyelids.
Not even a second later, two ear-numbing explosions threw me to the ground, leaving me gasping for air even with the protection of my enchanted armor and the Iron Skin spell still active.
My ears still rang with a high-pitched sound when I could finally open my eyes again. Everywhere surrounding me I found men and women on the ground, fighting against the pain caused by the explosion and struggling to come to their senses. The healer who had caused all of this mess was lying on her back right next to me, her hands barely more than charcoal.
Despite both having maimed herself and having killed every prospect of her ever becoming an adventurer again, the woman had a smile on her face, one that easily sent shivers down my back. When she then even began laughing despite her obvious pain, I couldn’t help but take a few steps back and away from her.
The target of her anger, a part of the lake surrounding the volcano island, now was both clouded with a thick veil of steam and had its water boiling, easily ending the lives of the remaining monsters as several blue crystals spread on the shore quickly revealed. The beasts hadn’t had a snowball’s chance in hell defending themselves against the attack.
“This is madness.”