My blade sliced through him. I had managed to cut him in two. The blade went through remarkably easy.

“To your right!”

I brought Alysia over just as a hammer slammed into her. The force was incredible, and it came from a side I didn’t expect, causing me to fly back. I had cut his afterimage?

“I may be old… but I’m still enough to take care of some selfish punk like you!” He chuckled.

His body appeared in front of me, and that pressure from before magnified many times. After moving, all of the dust that had been coating him had been left behind. His beard shown red, his skin was bright and pink, and he looked extremely lively. His armor shined a silver color, and it seemed to be made of something far better than the steel from the surface. His ax was similarly made of some miraculous alloy. As I was appraising him, he was looking me over as well.

“The blade of yours isn’t half bad. It’s nothing compared to a good Deep Dwarf blade, but it’s not bad for being able to receive a hit from Fjord here.”

“M-master… his strike… it hurt,” Alysia warned.

Typical strikes were fine for Alysia, but a strike that caused her pain was a strike I worried about. That was to say that this was a weapon that had the potential to seriously hurt her. Yet, I knew I couldn’t put her away and use a lesser blade. Nothing else I had would hold up to even a single strike from this guy’s hammer.

“What are you trying to accomplish?” I demanded. “I’m trying to help you.”

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“Hehe… that’s rich. Aren’t you the one to attack me? Well, I am using Provoke on you, so I can’t blame you.”

“Provoke…”

I knew what such an ability was, but I had never seen it used before. That was why I had attacked him so suddenly. That was a terrifying ability. I had the ability Fear which I had used once or twice, which was kind of the opposite of that. Would someone with enough skills be able to completely control someone else?

“Puppets…” I breathed.

His eyebrows raised. “Oh? You’ve noticed? My daughter used to love the plays I put on with puppets. I never thought that the dungeon would turn that into some undead creature that made puppets out of our deceased relatives.”

I shook my head. That’s not what I had meant. Rather, I had just remembered something from a long time ago. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I knew enough to know we were at a disadvantage, so I had to try it.

“You never answered my question.” I decided it was better to keep him talking. “What is your goal?”

“Since I am the last of the Deep Dwarves, I supposed there is no point holding my ground.” He waved his hand, and a glowing orb appeared in it. “This is what is left of my dungeon. I sealed the core away when it became too weak to keep the dungeon going. Now, it only maintains the wall that holds him back. I suppose I can absorb what mana is left, bring down the wall, and give him one final strike. Yes… go out in a blaze of glory. I like the sound of that.”

“You’re not the last Deep Dwarf. That’s why I came down here. To save one…” I explained as I moved into position, giving the zombie queen my orders.

“Your sweet words won’t sway me! You’re a corrupt soul twisted by dungeons. Attack me, and break yourself upon my hammer!”

“Ahhh!” I felt another pang of anger.

I lunged forward in another attack. He braced himself to receive a swipe. He wanted to swing his hammer and break Alysia. The thing he didn’t realize was that Alysia had her mind.

“Do it!” Alysia pulled to the side, dragging me with her.

Even if I was provoked, Alysia had some autonomy of her own. I came to the side, causing him a bit of surprise. As he turned to face me, he didn’t see another person slip in from behind. The zombie queen got her hands on him.

“Curse of the Zombie!”