“This looks like it leads up,” I commented while Etienne struggled to zip up his leather jacket. The thing had always been fidgety, and an impromptu trip in the water that filled up the cavern’s floor had not helped.
“If you’re right about the dungeon core, then we should be looking for a way down instead.” He replied, after finally getting the zipper to work.
I handed him the flashlight and he entered the narrow hallway first. I gave the large, dark, flooded cavern one last glance, as I automatically fixed the cuffs and collar of my jacket before following suite.
We didn’t have to walk for long before an ethereal red ribbon, accompanied by a tingly sensation in my eye told me to duck. I pulled Etienne backwards, just as the ceiling opened up above us, and dozens of arms reached down. We laid on the floor, watching the thing fail to grab us in frightened silence, before it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. With it, the path back to the cavern vanished as well.
“Come on, let’s keep moving,” Etienne got up, taking my hand and nudging me along.
“I think we should follow it,” I raised my eyes to the crack that hadn’t quite closed up above us. “I have a feeling- ” days ago I might not have finished this sentence, not wanting to let Etienne on Cain’s origins, but I knew that shoe was going to drop sooner or later, so I continued, “Cain has found it, and has been stalling it. That’s why it has been taking those breaks between attacks, and why it stopped the chase earlier.”
Etienne nodded, at least partially believing me.
“How would he do that?”
“I told you, he’s a high ranker too.” I gave Etienne a friendly punch in the shoulder. “You should ask him yourself.” I added with a more serious tone. “Plus, he likes you more than me anyway, he made me buy the two of you matching giraffe scarves.”
Etienne chortled. Before helping me up through the passageway in the roof,
“Yeah, he mentioned that,” He continued, as he lept up, pushing himself off one of the walls, and catching my hand once inside the crack.
We climbed quickly and in silence, our high dexterity stats showing, as we avoided sharp rock and the occasional hand that the dungeon kept throwing at me. We knew we were in the right place when dim light illuminated the crawlspace, quickly followed by two system notifications:
Effects of Beelzebul's touch negated.
Reaction time/3
Jacob’s truth:
See the unseen, negate ongoing mind effects
Accept
Decline
“I’m pretty sure that’s one of Cain’s skills,” I informed Etienne as I accepted. The chances of the dungeon giving us a buff were close to none either way.
“I figured.” He nodded in response.
It was a matter of seconds before we got to the top of the vertical passage. It opened onto the floor of a dining room. Mouldy green and yellow wallpaper was peeling off the walls, replaces with moss and bioluminescent mushrooms. A chandelier over two meter in width had tipped and fallen most of the way down to the floor. Some of its intricate glass droplets had shattered on impact, while other hung a meter or so above ground, from a tilted series of decaying gold rings.
Two beasts, one bright red the other a dirty brown were battling in a corner, unaware of our arrival.
I silently indicated which one was Cain, and Etienne told me to move to the left of the chandelier while he got out and sneaked to the right. I did as I was told. We exchanged one last nod before he sent a bolt of electricity into the monster.
It yelped in pain, jolting backwards, giving me just enough time to put myself between it and Cain.
o̴̞̒h̴͚̖̘͖̻͂̋̈́̿̕ ̴̲̬̟͕͍̺̼̅̐i̵̼͊́ ̸̩̜͍͗͂̈͛͌̃̐͛͘͜͠ć̷̩͖̹͙̤͙̖͌̅̉̍̑̓̅̿͜ͅȁ̶̧̪̺̫͈ǹ̵͍͓̥̟̹͐̈́̀͐̆'̴̩͍̼̹͚̝͐́̈́̉͝t̶̪̘̜́̉͒̓ ̶̛͎͕͇͉̤̩͈̪̂̈́̓̽̓̓̏͆e̸̺̤̖̼͋̀̏͂̀̏v̵̩͈̒̑̓̏̀̅͂ę̵̧͎̩̳̻̌͂̾̃͆̑̀̕͝n̶̛̯͔͕̊͋̒͊̓̐̈́͝ ̵̲̓̆̔̀̇͠͝h̵̨̧̟͖̘̖̊̿̒͂̌̕ã̷̬̏͐̅̈́v̷̢͓͇̠̦͇̰̣̦̓̽̉̉̈́ē̵̛͈̞̲̥̭̱̬̈́̉̀̽̅̀̑ ̶̨͇͉̝̫͖̼͍̊̽̏ţ̷̧̤̩͖͖̲̹͋̂̓̕h̴̯̼̫̟̬̀̇͘i̷̺͒͒͑͗̀s̴̞̼̯̖̘̅̑ ̷͈͉͇̤͔̳͓͕̻͋͋̏̒͋͐̈́̈́͜o̴̩̥̘͉̱̖̦̮̝͍̽n̷̥͎̝̗̪̲̳̜̄̄̊͆̉̀͜e̶̢̛̤̟͔̔͛̈́̊?̷̡̩͍͌̿͌͋̇̏̚
It took a few steps back, tilting its head.
“Are you alright?” I whispered to Cain.
He hissed back at me, not a grain of recognition in his wolf eyes.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I muttered, raising Namura up in a guard.
t̶̡̡͖͕̖̹̀͆̄̎͝ǫ̴̢̳͕̞͕̻̲̪͚͐̄̋͛͛͛̈́͒̎ ̴̛͈̹̱̦͉̿̐̇̒̒̑̕̚͠t̵̨̖̯̯̺͍̃͗̎́̏͘h̵̰̫͙̻̟̦̰̣̔͐̒͒͝e̷͎̗̹̋̐̐͒̇̃̽̉͌ ̶̢͖̯̝͓̞͔͋̊̈̎̀̚͘̚͝l̴̝͍̹̠̥̊͛͛̆͊̊̾̆a̷̧̗̩̥̤͙̳̔͆͊̃͋͜͝ş̴̗̭͕̟̭̬̄͊̑̀̑̚͘͝ţ̴͔͚̦͈̭͉̏̒͆̄͛̓̈̋̕ ̵̢͙̻̥͎̓͛́̄̈́͆̈́̋̂h̷̨͕̻̘̀̅̚ử̷̜̝̬̣̪̙̋̆̃̈́m̸̟̱̱͉̼̩̜̥͙͓̽̐̔͘͝a̵̡̺̼̩̘̥̬̲̜̘͛̑ņ̴͙̭͋,̵̪̥̫̊ ̵̙̙͙̰̪͋͊̐̀̑̾̊̕o̶̤͓̫̘̎̆ȓ̴͖̻̼͝ ̷̞̜̹̦̒͐͛͗̌̃̒̈͜͝͝t̵̬͎͚̿͐̽̊͗͜ó̵̫̮͚͈̾ ̵̨̪̯̟̜̥͖̌͂̉̓ţ̶͓̩̭̖̽͂̀̌͌ḩ̸̢̞̘̗̱̲̦͑͋̐̂͠ȩ̸͔͍͍̣͈̖͈̖̳̄ ̷̼̑͛́̃͆̚͝͝l̸̡̲̱͚͇̖͑̌̀͆̑̃͌̿̾͊ā̴̱̰̗̰͕̓͑̓ş̸̧̢̬̘͔̗̤̱͌̄̎͝t̴̟̹̫̬̮̙̳͍̙̹̾̀̅ ̷̢̣͓̘̗̙͛́̊͗͂̉̿̇͜m̵̟͋̿̿̈́̕ő̵̧̗̻͔̖̭͕̮̦̆̀̅̂͝͠n̶̡̲̲͉̖͍̰̊̆̓͜š̴͓̱͉̭̪̪̉͑̋̌̕̚t̵̜̯̥̞̼̪͌̑̅̏́̚̕͜͜ę̸̹̉̓͘r̷̡̨̹͉̫̻͇̮̲͂̄̇̓͆̈́̀̍
It promised. Its non-distinct quadrupedal monster form swallowed itself, and spat out three humanoids. They shared a single mouth, until it shattered, leaving each of them with a crystal between their teeth, as they each swallowed it, their shapes becoming more defined.
The first was a tan woman with an intricate headdress of bones and dead leaves. Her military-style jacket was outfitted with the unmistakable logo of the Church of Corinth.
The second was that same dark-skinned woman that had disarmed Etienne earlier, and the third was a broad and tall light-skinned man. His dark-blond hair was pulled back, and he wore a black and blue four-piece suit.
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Cain growled at the older woman, and would have lept at her if not for Etienne’s hand gently landing on its head in a reassuring pat.
“I think that one’s yours.” He pointed to the man.
The man smiled in response, lifting his hands up.
The ground fractured into dozens of large platforms, as everything but the chandelier suddenly seemed to stop obeying the laws of gravity.
Oh, how I’d never been more grateful for my reincarnation situation. Cain dashed towards the woman, and I use the MP that I for once had to create a small mount of earth in front of him, as I dashed towards her.
Runes of Jericho
MP - 6
The woman’s frowned, taking the tiniest step back. It seemed the personalities of the dungeon were mixing with those of whoever it was imitating. She tilted her head to the side, and suddenly large eyes popped outside of the walls. Much like the mouth, they weren’t quite there, as if overlaid from a different dimension, but they followed me as I dodged a chink of floor flying towards me, and as I dodged out of the way of a whirlpool of tiles forming under me.
Mind Stop – Inefficient
m̵i̷n̷d̵ ̷s̷t̶o̵p̵ ̷-̴ ̵i̷n̶n̷e̵f̴i̶c̴i̷e̴n̸t̵
m̷̫̽ì̶̪n̴͘ͅḏ̵̊ ̶̒͜s̸͓̉t̶̩͑o̶̟̓p̸͉̚ ̸̣͊-̸͚͌ ̸̤̀i̶̠͠n̶̠͘n̷̞͠e̵̬͗f̵̠̏í̶̡č̷͉i̵̩̕e̸̕ͅn̷̦̑t̶̜̽
m̸͓͉̏̏̕i̵͚͗̓̂̇͝n̶̤̤̮͓͇̿d̸̜̝̗̫̣̿̽ ̵̭̻̥̖͓̒͐͊̔͋s̶̡͙͒̂͝ţ̴͉̋ó̸̤͚̩̍̒͜͠p̵̧̡̺̱͗͒̓ ̴͚̪͛̈́́͋͘ͅ-̵̬̺͙̎̑̏̿͐ ̷̝̝͈̳̫͛̈́î̶̫͙̮͎͒̂̅̈́ǹ̸̠̕n̷̤̎e̴̡̡̡̪͇̽̀͑̌f̶̜̗̋̆̇͂̕ì̶͇̞̾̀̄c̷͓͈͊͌̌͠ͅį̴̞͎̱̀̄̉̈ͅe̸̛̘͖̞͊̽̚n̷̢̮̐̔͑̀ţ̵̞̥̥̰̅̍̀̆̀
m̶̙̲̯̲̩̞͈̺͓͍͑́̅̇̃̔́̈́̋͜í̴̞̺̖̪̘͒͒́̕̕͜n̸̨̨͙̪̦̺͇̲̙̣͓͎̣͑͋̉́͂͋̈́̈́͝d̷̢͖̯̤͉͙̖̟͉̞̥̏̾͂͝ͅ ̴̻̄ś̶̛͖̤̩͇̤̱͉̭̰̗͈̻̳͖͕͋̀͛͒͒̔̀̃̀̓̚͜͝t̷̨̹̱̩̟͉̰͓͓͖̙̞͙̣̹̔̏̐͊͌͛ͅo̴̜̠͙͂p̸̥̤̖̙͍̯͙̗̤̺̣̱͐̍͜ ̶̜̲̪͔̹͉͇̦̽͊͗͌-̵̛̰̙̤̼͓̞̅̈́͋̋̋̓̕̚͝ ̴̛͍̗̺̥͍͍̻̠͙̞̼̦̭̳̓͂̄͑̓͝ͅi̶͕͍̙̪̭̹̙̗͈̱͙͍͂͂́̾͆̄͛͌̅̕͜ṉ̸̢̤̙́̈́̐̍̾̀͗̓̔̊͊͆͋͝͠n̶̩̘̺̠̄̉̀͒̾̆͝ͅę̸̪̠̟̠͙̤͙̼͈͎̜͈͔͎̒̔̈͆̿̈́͘f̴̤̝͓͈̤̲̙̘͚̜̮͓̞͙̪͓͑̓̀̕i̶̛̻̠̟̖͙̽̊͒̚c̸̡̡̰͕̯̫̪̱̠͔̺̗͂̀̑͛̆̄̽͋̌̚͜͝͝ͅi̴̩͙͖͍͚͈̭͈̤̬̰͖̜͒̎͘ȩ̸͎̗͇̠̟̟̀̉͋̉n̴̨̢͖͈͍̭̲͍̗͘ṫ̵̛͉̏́͌̀͆͋͌̚͝͝͝
I fell to the ground, clenching my head. It was spinning, and it was hurting, and when I shut my eyes I could still feel those eyeballs following me, watching me from inside my own eyelids. My blade burned in my hands, as I thought the urge to bring it up and gauge my eyes out so maybe then they would stop watching – stop watching – stop
Cain rammed into me, and the pain from a cracked rib suddenly became more tangible than the overwhelming fear of being watched. I wasn’t sure if he’d done it on purpose, or if he was still in some sort of frenzy, as he didn’t even give me a second glance before leaping at the younger woman.
She impaled him with a javelin of light though the stomach, but he shifted forms as she immobilised him, paws extending into clawed hands and wolf features merging with that of a fanged deer, as he bit her.
“No!” Etienne yelled form the other side of the room.
He’d been barley maging to dogde the rocks, crystals, and chunks of floor fying at him, and the gravitational well forming below him, and Cain’s attack gave Etienne’s opponent the edge. Rotting bricks came crushing on him, barley giving him enough time to shield his head.
Short voyage
MP - 10
I clenched my ribs with one hand, and second later I teleported next to him.
Dimensional instability warning.
Distance too short.
The eyes were watching and they were moving, becoming smaller, less tangible. I was certain that they were inside me now, and adrenaline, and Etienne catching his breath were the only things preventing me from long-voyage out of here.
“Did you see that?” I uttered. “The dimensional instability warning?”
“No? Cain, no!” He suddenly jolted up, and thankfully fell back down, his broken leg still not fully regenerated, as he saw Cain rip the woman’s head off before tearing into her chest.
I wasn’t sure if the glimmer I saw in between all the blood was the crystal that she’d swallowed earlier, or one of Cain’s fangs.
A boulder came flying at us, and with a hand gesture, I made the floor push Etienne aside.
Runes of Jericho
MP - 6
Kinda. By spawning the small mount of earth a bit to the side and under the floorboards, I got his to roll away, almost under the chandelier.
“Stay there!” I pleaded, as rushed back into the fight.
The eyes were inside me, they were slowing me down, and they were helping the woman and the man coordinate. I didn’t have enough MP for another short voyage, so I had to run through the disjointed floor while avoiding the man’s attacks. I slid under a floating chunk of floor, and then lept up, barley managing to grab onto another piece – the one the woman was on – that was floating up.
I tried to stab her in the neck, but she pulled out bone nunchakus out of nowhere, elegantly blocking my attack. The platform we were on tilted backwards, but quickly realigned itself. A quick glance down told me that Cain was now going face to face with the man.
A giant eye opened above us, and cried wet, decomposing, leaves onto the platform. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I aimed an upwards strike at her chest, which she blocked with ease. He movements were not fast enough to catch the stab in her gut that followed. She stumbled back, the uniform and the wound underneath it quickly closing back up.
I scratched at my eye as I caught my breath, before rushing towards her once more. I had to block two of her blows, one to the neck and the other one to the gut. She deviated my hit aimed at her shoulder, and blocked a stab aimed at her chest by crossing her weapons underneath my katana. I tried to push past, but the hilt of my sword got too hot and I had to leap back to take another breather, and switch hands.
Kill. You need to want the kill, child.
Suddenly a scream both terrifying and terrified filled the room. The platform cracked, and fell into place on the floor, right by Cain and the man. Both were bloodied, but the boy had been the one to scream. He’d been pinned down to the floor with thin, blade-like shards of crystal. He was oscillating between forms, trying to break free, but clearly only loosing luck in the process.
My hand blocked an attack from the woman, as I scratched at my other eye with my burned hand, unable to move. If I were to try and save him the eyes would tell the man and he’d kill him faster, but I couldn’t just stand here either. I need to help Cain.
I needed to help this child.
My body moved on its own, but not like before. I ducked under a swing of the woman’s weapons, then blocked them with a downwards guard, then crossed the distance she was trying to put between us and aimed for her heart.
Just like before, she blocked it easily, but this time I pushed through. My blade slid through her weapons and into her flesh.
MP +70
I heard the sound of a crystal shatter, but I didn’t wait for her corpse to collapse to the floor. I turns around, using my momentum to throw my blade at the man. He was already surrounded by electricity, and it was hard to tell if it was my sword, or Etienne’s shot that landed the final blow.
MP +20
A deafening shattering noise filled the room, followed by an equally deafening unnatural silence, but neither Etienne nor I were paying attention to it.
We rushed towards Cain. And he applied pressure to his wounds while I got rid of the crystals.
“I’m sorry,” Cain whispered once the sound returned, and a door appeared along one of the walls. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” He frantically repeated.
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