A cold shiver ran down my spine, jolting me awake from my slumber. It was only late evening; I had rested for just a few hours, yet something felt off. So much so that I couldn't help but scan the surroundings for the source of my unease.

The three fire foxes that had slept beside me were wide awake and had risen. They must have felt it too. Even my newly summoned additions quickly came running to my side, ready to shield me from the unseen threat. It didn't take long for me to realize what was happening.

All the foxes seemed to be staring at the opposite end of the room, where I had dug the tunnel leading outside. Someone was here! Someone was invading the dungeon!

After a few minutes, I spotted three dark silhouettes in the tunnel that were slowly approaching the entrance to my chamber. It was only when the artificial sun illuminated their faces that I recognized them as the warrior duo and the elven archer who had been part of the priestess's group. Especially the dwarf's confident smirk and his friend's sharp-toothed grin were still etched into my memory.

The three men cautiously stepped onto my field before surveying the area. It took them a minute or two to look for traps or dangers before they finally realized they were not going to find anything but my foxes. Of course, the men knew these monsters were on my side, so they hesitantly drew their weapons, preparing for the impending battle.

My foxes clearly did not appreciate this. They growled at the potential attackers, trying to drive them away, but to no avail. Instead, the men stood still, observing my monsters and likely contemplating whether it was worth the risk.

In the end, they decided not to attack, likely because they knew nothing about the foxes to begin with. Instead, the dwarf addressed me directly, as if he had been prompted to do so.

"I see you've been playing house with a few dogs," he grumbled, "while your father is doing his best to find a way to get you back!"

"Father..."

"The old man hasn't been the same since you left," the dwarf continued. "He misses you."

I couldn't help but envision my father tirelessly working day and night, trying to free me from this dungeon. He would neglect his sleep and food again, as he often did. He had always been like that, only this strange obsession was never directed at me. He hardly touched the meals I cooked for him and never inquired about my well-being. If anything, his research seemed more important to him than his own family. To think that all of this could change in hours or days? How long had it been since we were separated? It felt like just a day!

"How long have I..."

"It's been almost two weeks since you disappeared!" the man answered my question. "It's time for you to come home, don't you think?"

A cold shiver ran down my spine. The thought that a whole week, let alone two had passed was, to say the least, terrifying. How long had I been asleep after meeting Cilia? Was it really that exhausting to talk to her? What would have happened if the men had found me before I woke up? Would the foxes have protected me, or would they have been able to breach my core and do whatever they wanted?

I shook my head, unable to answer any of these questions. However, the dwarf took this as my response and his confident smile faded almost immediately.

"You will leave this place today, one way or another," he threatened, gripping his sword tighter.

His words did not go unanswered. Without any signal from me, the foxes stepped forward, slowly circling the two men.

"You'll regret this, girl. I'll make sure of it!"

"Be a good girl and come here before someone gets hurt!" the lizardman demanded. "Your old man has prepared a nice collar for you."

"A collar..." I stammered.

All the blood seemed to drain from my body. The lizardman's voice alone was enough to tell me the kind of 'jewelry' he was referring to. There was no way my father would think of putting a slave collar on his own daughter, that was impossible!

Part of me already knew he was telling the truth. My father had tried to sacrifice me, bind my soul to the dungeon core, or whatever else his research required. What was a mere magical tool forced upon a daughter he wanted to discard anyway?

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Yet I couldn't simply accept it. The thought was too cruel, too vivid, to fully grasp, should I choose to believe it. It would turn my whole life into a lie! All those years I had tried to beg for his attention, while he researched a way to get rid of me?! How could that be true? It couldn't be, could it?

It took only a moment for my worst fears to come true. The lizardman pulled out a menacing dark silver collar from his pocket. Its surface was covered with dark red runes, the meaning of which I recognized almost immediately: they had spoken the truth.

"Now be a good girl and wear this for me, will you?"

“NOOO!!!”

The foxes immediately sprang into action, ready to protect me with their lives. I stumbled back, my legs trembling, watching the rapidly escalating fight in horror.

It only took a few moments for me to realize the men clearly had the upper hand. The dwarf's armor and the lizardman's thick scales easily deflected even the most brutal attacks from my earth foxes, let alone the spouts of water coming from my water ones. If anything, my monsters seemed to hurt themselves whenever they attempted to bite the heavily armored dwarf's legs and arms. Only in the few moments when they managed to grab one of the men's arms did my monsters stand a chance of inflicting bloody wounds.

Compared to the two warriors, the elven archer had far more trouble dealing with the onslaught of bites and magical projectiles, having brought barely more than leather armor himself. Of course, he tried to avoid the onslaught by dodging whenever he could, but there was only so much one could do when dozens of attacks were raining down on you. That was especially true since the elf’s arrows seemed to do nothing against the elemental bodies of the foxes, the attacks being a mere nuisance at best.

Before long, it was the fire foxes’ turn to join the battle. They were standing in the back, far away from the fight itself and especially the watery attacks of their companions, and soon were hurling attack after attack at the mess of bodies. Whenever they did so, balls of fire began circling around them, before speeding up, faster and faster, only to be slung toward the invaders soon after. Most of the attacks missed their targets by a large margin, but with so many more following after them, it was only a matter of time before some of them struck true.

A loud, anguished scream could be heard as the archer’s unprotected head went up in flames. The elf quickly dropped his weapon and began slapping himself, trying the utmost to put out the flames, but the fire foxes weren't done yet. Again and again, they summoned their balls of fire, spun them around, and launched them at their enemy. Before long, the elf went on his knees, coughing for air and pleading for help, but a vicious bite of one of my earth foxes cut off his voice. He went down almost immediately, a gashing wound in his throat.

Sadly, it was by no means the one-sided fight a part of me had hoped for. If anything, my foxes were much more vulnerable than the warriors. Their elemental bodies had little to nothing to offer against their weapons, especially not the hammer which seemed to go right through their vulnerable bodies. So whenever the invaders found an opening to attack, an ear-numbing yelp was their reward. I couldn’t help but look away and shrink together whenever I heard that noise.

The fight would easily be done by this point if it wasn’t for the fact that my water foxes kept my earth foxes on their feet, albeit barely so. Whenever one of their mates got hurt, the eyes of the semi-transparent foxes began glowing in bright light, followed by tails or snakes of water growing out of their bodies. The spells quickly crept their way towards the injured earth foxes’ bodies to then surround them in a bubble of blue and white. I could see the deep gashes in the foxes’ bodies healed within seconds. It even went so far as to heal the most gruesome attacks to some degree, barely keeping the foxes standing. If anything, water and earth seemed to have a deep-rooted synergy as the healers’ every spell seemed to turn the tanking monsters’ bodies more malleable, allowing them to absorb the attacks even better than they already could.

Before long, even the ominous-looking lava fox entered the fray. It simply tackled its victim, over and over again, leaving burning and smoking wounds whenever he did so. This was especially true for the lizardman, who had chosen to forgo real armor and instead trust his own body, believing the scales were enough for the job.

It was a mistake, one he would deeply regret, as a sudden bite from one of the earth foxes brought the man to his knees, allowing the lava fox to jump right at his victim’s face. The man clawed at it, trying to get it off with all his might, but there was no such luck. The lava fox kept clinging to its victim for a few seconds of agonizing, coughing screams, to then slowly go down with it. Smoking ash was to be seen where once had been the lizardman’s face. He had died the most cruel death possible.

The dwarf, now knowing he had no chance to still win the encounter, couldn’t help but hurl countless curses at me, all the while continuing his struggle. Only when the remaining foxes attacked together and wrested the dwarf's shield away did he realize this was not going to be his fight. In the next moment, the man had dropped his weapon, turned around, and ran towards the tunnel that had brought him here. I had won…