Cetanthro guts filled the hallway, suspended in the water. Owin stepped through the archway with the trident raised. The water tasted of blood, slipping into his mouth with each breath.

“Katalin?” Owin called.

The tiles rumbled. Owin turned as the room behind him was suddenly bathed in light. A circle of luminous light shone on Graliel’s corpse, reflecting off the cathkabel’s stark white skin. Graliel shuddered, then lifted into the water as the corpse was pulled toward the source of the light.

There would be a day Owin returned to conquer the dungeon. That was a good time to worry about whatever was happening with Graliel and the quest he had failed. It wasn’t worth finding out now when he was meant to be protecting Katalin and Ernie.

Owin sprinted through the gore and jumped down the stairs. He moved slowly through the water, descending onto the golden tiles gently. Katalin leaned against an archway leading back to the center of Ligala Lepis. Blood leaked like mist from her arm.

“Katalin,” Owin said.

“You beat him? Nice.” She pushed herself off the column with a grunt. “The rest of Ligala Lepis apparently got the message.”

“Where’s Ernie?”

“Looting.”

Owin peeked through the archway where another mass of gore floated in the water. They had killed so many cetanthro. Owin couldn’t even imagine fighting that many.

“I failed my job. You had to fight on your own.”

“It worked out fine. Our grenades can handle this sort of thing when we’re ready for it.”

Ernie appeared through the red, gut-filled water. Bits of guts clung to his hair, and his own blood leaked from his nose, constantly draining into the water.

“Are you okay?” Owin asked.

“I’m fine. I didn’t take Explosion Ward like Katalin did when we reached level 20.” Ernie ran the back of his hand across his nose, spilling more blood into the water. “You owe us.”

“Tell me what I need to do. I don’t want to mess up.”

Katalin punched Owin’s arm. “Get us through the fourth floor and we’re good. We got two jobs with you anyway, remember, Ern?”

“I’m out of percussions, Kat. It’s expensive to replace all that.”

“Was this all from your grenades?” Owin asked.

Ernie looked around like he was just seeing the gore for the first time. “Well, yeah. Katalin would kill us all with her pipe bombs.”

She held one of her pipe bombs and tossed it in her hand with a grin on her face. Again.

“What’s so dangerous about your pipes?” Owin asked. Ernie was so concerned about her using them while he was freely throwing grenades. Other than the container, Owin couldn’t see a difference. They were both alchemical grenades.

“It’s a secret recipe,” Katalin said. “That, and I’ve been using Destabilize since we left Atrevaar.”

“Stop,” Ernie said, his eyes going wide. “You’re still destabilizing it?”

Katalin grinned.

“I don’t know what any of these abilities do,” Owin said.

“Destabilize is a spell most alchemists get early. It’s only Power 2,” Katalin said.

“It makes the mixture more dangerous with each use. Use it too much and . . .” Ernie mimicked an explosion with his hands.

“Or, you use it all the time but timed precisely to create the perfect bomb.” Katalin pulled another pipe from her backpack. “This one was destabilizing for weeks.”

Owin hurried through the archway to stand beside Ernie. “Everytime you’re holding that, you’re making it more dangerous?”

Katalin nodded.

“She’s insane. I’m sorry,” Ernie said.

She tossed the pipe and caught it. “What are we waiting for? We failed the quest. What’s left in this fish bowl?”

“Nothing. Let’s get back up to the floor,” Owin said. “I need to grab my hammer, then we can get to the third floor.”

“You’re collecting too many weapons,” Ernie said.

“I know. Sorry.”

“Nah, I’ll hold the trident when you need a free hand,” Katalin said. “It looks cool.”

“Thanks.” Owin pushed through the cetanthro guts to the stairs. Ernie stopped by a few more corpses or pieces of corpses to grab some things. Most of what he grabbed looked like eyeballs, but he also picked up some scales and bones.

Owin wasn’t going to understand alchemy anytime soon. Some corpses were useless, others were like mini treasure troves. It didn’t make any sense.

“How strong is Baby Head?” Owin asked over his shoulder.

“Probably easier than the cathkabel,” Ernie said.

“Did you eat some of it?” Katalin asked.

“It raised my wisdom by 14 points.”

“Disgusting,” Ernie said. “But also fascinating. What color is their blood? I know that’s a rare ingredient, though I assume it’s difficult to collect in the water.”

“It was silver like the Thunderstrike Maul.”

Katalin laughed at that. Owin hopped off the last steps to land near the entrance to Ligala Lepis. He abruptly stopped upon seeing a figure, blurry in the distance, picking up the Thunderstrike Maul.

“Someone is here,” Owin said. He took off without waiting for the alchemists. The golden city flew past. Archway after archway became a blur as Owin darted through the water and burst out of Ligala Lepis.

The Void Nexus hero from before stood on the bridge leading back to the tunnel. His strip of hair was like a fin down the center of his head, slowly moving in the water. The black headband had been tightened around his head, sitting right on top of his eyebrows. The golden light of Ligala Lepis shone off his almost white eyes as he drew a knife from the sheath at his waist.

Hero

Akos Szabora

Hunter

Void Nexus Hero Company

Level: 49

Strength: 173

Constitution: 160

Dexterity: 308

Intelligence: 157

Wisdom: 145

Charisma: 164

Stolen novel; please report.

Akos Szabora smirked as he flipped the knife over in his hand, catching it by the blade. “I figured we’d see you again. Lose your friends?”

Katalin and Ernie’s footsteps crunched in the sand behind Owin. He didn’t break eye contact with the other man who had grabbed the Thunderstrike Maul.

“Drop something?” Akos asked.

Hero

Harold Paschal

Berserker

Void Nexus Hero Company

Level: 48

Strength: 368

Constitution: 247

Dexterity: 181

Intelligence: 103

Wisdom: 99

Charisma: 80

Harold wore green and almost managed to blend in with the coated bricks forming the outside dome, apart from his red beard that was distinctly different from his long, braided brown hair. The berserker already held his own flanged mace in one hand and now held the Thunderstrike Maul in the other.

“That’s my hammer,” Owin said.

“Actually, it was sitting here.” Harold adjusted his stance, pushing his long skirt aside. The front was open and billowed in the water, revealing his bare upper thighs and barely-hidden crotch. His armored boots went up past his knees, then simply stopped.

“Put on some fucking pants,” Katalin said.

Harold’s one visible eyebrow raised. An eyepatch covered his other eye and didn’t budge at all, as if that half of his face couldn’t move.

Another hero stood behind Akos, closer to the tunnel. Owin didn’t recall seeing him before. He barely looked like a hero, not wearing any armor. He only carried a club and what looked like some type of horn.

“Give the hammer back and we’ll be out of your way,” Ernie said.

Akos poked his finger against the tip of his knife. “I don’t see it happening that way. I have a feeling Veph would pay handsomely for this goblin’s head.”

“Not an option. We work for Althowin Alegarra,” Ernie said.

Harold harrumphed. “Big fucking deal.”

“A 7 Shard Hero isn’t going to bother with people like us,” Akos said. He sauntered off the bridge, getting closer to Owin.

Akos was a hunter. His bow hung from his shoulder, as it wouldn’t do any good underwater. Owin had little experience with hunters. Back when he had traveled with Kidibose, he had seen a few melee abilities that slowed or bled enemies. Nikoletta’s hunter had also set a trap that had snared Owin. He was cautious of letting Akos get close. There was no doubt he would be dangerous with that knife.

“But she will bother with Vephthru Veriss if the Void Nexus queen pisses her off,” Ernie said.

Akos shrugged. “It was a good try at civility. I don’t give any shits about what happens with Veph. I’m here for the money, darling. Not the loyalty.”

“Back up,” Katalin whispered, tugging on Owin’s shirt.

“I need to get close to fight,” he whispered back.

“Too strong for you. Back up.” Katalin positioned herself directly in front of Owin.

Harold eyed them both as he slowly circled the group. The third Void Nexus hero remained in the back, fiddling with his instrument.

Ernie appeared beside Owin. The alchemist put his hand on Owin’s shoulder and tugged backward. “Trust Kat,” he whispered.

“Planning to run, are we?” Akos asked mockingly. “If only we weren’t in the Ocean. I would happily let you flee.” He reached back, flicking his bow. “But alas, we are in the water, leaving close range as my only true option.”

“We’re not running anywhere.” Katalin held both her pipe bombs. “Anyone takes another step and both of these blow.”

“She’s bluffing,” Harold said.

“Oh, I don’t think she is,” Akos said. “Look at the holy city.”

Even Owin turned to look back at Ligala Lepis. The cetanthro blood and guts had continued floating out of the city, spreading through the water until a red haze surrounded most of the second tier.

“They’re pipes, not bottles. I’ve seen grenades,” Harold said.

Katalin held out a pipe bomb, as if handing it to the berserker. “Do you want to take a look?”

Akos held up his hand, signaling for the berserker to stop. “Without their abilities, it’ll be unstable. Don’t touch that.”

“Actually . . .” Katalin tossed it in the air and caught it. “It’s already extremely unstable.” Her fingers that stuck out from her fingerless gloves turned red like molten iron. “Or maybe I should just Heat this a little?”

“Stop,” Akos said, taking a dramatic step back.

Katalin’s hand cooled back to its normal color. “Give the hammer back.”

“We’ll give you the hammer for the goblin. I have no quarrel with the two of you. I love alchemists. You have an important role, and I wouldn’t want to stop you from gathering ingredients. I’ll even escort you the rest of the way.”

“Kat,” Ernie said.

She turned, glaring at Ernie. “Don’t you fucking dare.”

“Okay,” Ernie said. He tugged harder on Owin’s shoulder. “Get behind me.”

“I’m here to protect you two!”

“Not from heroes. Protect us from the mobs, and we’ll give Chorsay a glowing review.” Ernie stepped in front of Owin and continued pushing him back. Harold was still trying to circle around, but he had slowed as Katalin kept glaring at him.

It didn’t make sense. Why were they pushing him back so far? Owin could at least take on a berserker to get his hammer back. The level difference wasn’t too great. Owin was at least as strong as someone in the 30’s, which would put him significantly below Harold, but his goblin cunning helped make up a lot of difference. The Thunderstrike Maul was weak underwater anyway, and Owin couldn’t imagine the flanged mace being much better. Anything that caught water rather than slicing through it was too slow.

A pink light crashed onto Akos from above. It splashed onto the sand at his feet and dispersed, leaving behind a glowing pink outline on the hunter.

“Thank you, Ludovi,” Akos said.

The Void Nexus hero in the back, Ludovi, lowered his instrument. Owin hadn’t heard anything, but he assumed that was because of the water.

“Resist isn’t going to protect you from this,” Katalin said. “An entertainer buff will never be strong enough to stop one of these babies.”

“It’s a bluff,” Harold said again.

“I never have seen a grenade made from a pipe before,” Akos said. He took a step forward, which immediately made Katalin’s hand glow red. “Toss one to the side. Show us the damage.”

“Not gonna happen.” Her hand cooled again. “These are ready to pop. Stop moving.”

Akos took another step forward. “You don’t want to kill humans. You’re not even career heroes. We’re the same.”

“Actually, we’re not ass holes,” Ernie said.

Katalin snorted.

“You have to know the damage a goblin could do in the world. Citizens can’t protect themselves. If he decides he wants to be a mob again, who is going to stop him? Now is that time to kill the goblin and protect the public.”

“You really just want to swallow that bullshit?” Katalin asked.

Akos took another step forward. “Think about it, Katalin. You would forever be labeled a murderer. Right now in the heat of the moment, maybe that doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but it would haunt you forever. You would never forget the humans you killed.”

“How do you know I haven’t?”

Akos took another step closer. “You hesitated.”

“I can fight them,” Owin said.

“Absolutely not,” Ernie whispered. “Hunters are tricky and berserkers don’t go down, no matter how many times you jump at them.”

“I do more than jump at people.”

Ernie shushed him and pushed him farther back toward Ligala Lepis. The cetanthro blood had started to sink, slowly turning the water around them red.

The same pink buff crashed onto Harold as Ludovi used his instrument again. Owin knew next to nothing about entertainers. The one he had seen was the hobgoblin leader, who Owin had killed with a punch to the face. That hobgoblin never had any instruments or buffs.

“I hesitate to give you a chance to walk out of here.” Katalin squeezed both pipe bombs as her hands turned blue. Ice immediately coated the outside of both pipes. Her fingers switched to orange, which caused the pipes to shake gently.

“What is she doing?” Owin asked.

“She used Cool to freeze the outside of the bombs, and now is using Mix to stir the ingredients. That’s a safer way to strengthen a grenade than her usual Destabilize method. The freezing of the pipe will make the temperature change faster, resulting in a bigger explosion when she heats it again.”

“Are these spells?”

“Power 1, yeah.” Ernie shoved Owin back. “No matter what happens, do not get close to Katalin. Neither of us can survive that blast.”

“Can she?”

Ernie half shrugged. “I hope so.”

“What’s it going to be?” Katalin asked. “Your arrogance or your life?”

Pink light crashed down on Akos again as he took another step forward. “How about yours?” He pointed his free hand at Katalin’s feet, which spawned a physical bear trap. The metal teeth snapped shut, catching Katalin’s knee. She screamed and tried pulling her leg free, but it didn’t move.

“You fucking monster!”

Ernie turned and fully shoved Owin back.

“I can help!”

“Get in the city, you idiot!” Ernie was trying to flee as he pushed Owin.

They hadn’t been traveling together long, but Owin had never seen Ernie so scared. Harold took off at a sprint, straight at Owin and Ernie.

Katalin, unable to move, lifted both hands, holding the pipes high above her head. Her hands glowed red like fire. “See you in the Abyss, mother fuckers.”

Owin pressed himself against a column of Ligala Lepis, just inside the first set of archways. Ernie ran even farther inside, fully abandoning Owin.

Akos arrogantly pulled out another knife and approached Katalin, who had remained stationary with her hands bright red. Harold sprinted like lightning, faster than Owin knew berserkers could move.

A shockwave erupted out, immediately deafening Owin. A bubble formed around Katalin, quickly expanding until there was virtually no water in the immediate area. As soon as the water left, a second shockwave crashed into the golden column, sending cracks through the entire first tier of Ligala Lepis.

Owin had been crouching, peeking around the side, and caught a glimpse of the shockwave hitting Harold, who immediately turned to mist. The shockwave caught the Thunderstrike Maul and hurled it straight at Owin.

The hammer sunk deep into the column, sending cracks slithering out right before the second shockwave hit, shattering the column in a million pieces. Owin felt a blow to his chest that launched him back into the city. The water carried him, tumbling, deep inside. His health plummeted, flashing in the corner of his vision.