Chapter 33: Even More Satisfying_No More Respawns

As the group covered the last few dozen meters to the end of the floor, they all noticed how the red light was pulsating just barely. At regular intervals, like a heartbeat, it would intensify slightly.

Allen swiftly walked around the remaining rock formations blocking his path. He found himself in the final open space before the exit to the next floor. What he saw made him pause. At first, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at, but it did have a nametag, so it was something. He focused on the creature and its nametag revealed itself in his mind.

Name: Gloom Bulwark

Lesser Undead Amalgam – Monster – Level 67

The monster was a more of a mound of twisted, grey flesh than a single creature. It stuck to the wall at the end of the cavern like a fungal growth. However, its main body was a grotesque fusion of shade ghouls and other monsters, all melded together seamlessly. Thick fleshy tendrils spread out from its central mass and attached to the walls of the cavern like a spider web. Black ooze streamed out from tears in its flesh caused by the tormented squirming of the individual bodies. Then, behind a thinly stretched section of skin at its center, an organ pulsed rhythmically as crimson light shone out of it.

Allen couldn’t see the door anywhere, so he immediately assumed it was blocked behind the creature. He glanced back as Ty walked up beside him, followed closely by the rest of the group.

The Defender instantly flinched when the Bulwark came into view. “Aw, what the fuck is that?” he said, squinting.

“Have you never seen an Undead Amalgam before?” Amelia asked, gazing at the Bulwark with passive interest.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Well, um,” Amelia continued, “It’s held together by the core… sort of. Destroying that should destabilize it,” she said and pointed at the glowing organ at the Bulwark’s center.

“Yeah, I figured,” Ty remarked. Then he glanced over at Allen. “Just stab it or something, I dunno bruh.”

“I have a minute and thirty seconds before my Strike skill is charged,” Allen said, blankly staring at the monster.

Ty grunted affirmatively before he went to lean back on the rocks behind him. During the minute and a half, not much conversation was shared. Allen and Camila were both under the effect of a skill that made them anti-social to an extent, although in completely different ways. Amelia and Christopher didn’t really talk much, both content to stand idly or close their eyes.

Ty attempted to chat with Kenneth, but the Mage only replied with the minimal response each time, usually single sentences or words. If that dynamic irritated Ty, he didn’t show it.

“Its almost impressive how much pity he can have,” Allen thought, pushing himself off a stalagmite when his skill reached full charge.

The others noticed him moving and got into position. For the three supporters, that involved backing up. In Ty’s case, he had to physically drag Camila away from the Bulwark since she didn’t respond to words. It was already enough that she hadn’t attacked the monster on sight, so nobody was complaining.

Allen reformed his mask and glove with Mana Shroud. He switched his knife to a reverse grip and covered it in the same effect. He stood with a straight path towards the monster directly ahead of him.

The Bulwark’s core was nearly three meters above the ground, but Allen knew he could easily reach it with a running start. He wasn’t sure if his attack would be enough to destroy the core though. It almost definitely wouldn’t kill the Bulwark outright; its level was just too high.

Allen settled his feet on the stone floor, then he sprinted at the monster without a moment of hesitation. Just before he reached the fleshy creature, he launched himself into the air and tucked his legs in. Rather than stab downwards with his knife, he kept it centered at his chest with the palm of his other hand steadying the pommel.

The Assassin flew straight into the Bulwark’s core with the full momentum of his running jump. Strike discharged at the same time that his knife pierced through the tough, chitinous outer layer of the monster’s core. Then Assassinate activated as well, more than doubling the damage, and causing the glowing organ to explode like a watermelon shot by rifle.

“Hmm,” Allen hummed to himself as he kicked off the wall of flesh and into a skillful backflip. “I wasn’t expecting Assassinate to work, I guess it’s just really dumb.”

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“Yo!” Ty shouted, “It ain’t dead.”

Allen glanced up at the same moment that the monster collectively screeched from all of its many heads. With its core destroyed, it began thrashing around and pulling at the fleshy webbing that attached it to the wall.

With a snarl, Camila lunged at the mound of flesh before it had even broken itself free. It shrieked cacophonously while its many body parts pulled it in opposing directions. It was completely unable to coordinate itself when the Berserker began smashing into it with her morning star.

After four hits, the monster’s flesh began to bubble and writhe unnaturally. Allen had already backed off towards the rest of the group and could clearly see that it was probably going to explode. Ty saw it too and rushed towards Camila as she continued smashing the Bulwark into the ground.

“Hey! Get away from it!” he shouted.

Camila couldn’t hear anything with Rage in full effect. Instead, Ty grabbed her from behind and put his shield between the monster and the two of them. Allen watched as a cloud of black gas and gore blew off the Bulwark in the same instant.

The cloud enveloped Ty and Camila and just barely reached him. Allen instinctively covered his mouth, but the gas still left a slight burning sensation on his skin where it was uncovered by his miasma.

You have been poisoned with Dark Blight

Effects: -10 SP/s – Canceled HP rgn – -10 PER for 30s

“Oof, they need to get out of there,” Allen thought. There was a certain anxiety from the situation that he recognized at the back of his head, but Dead Calm just wouldn’t let it surface. He simply turned around to face the others that had escaped the gas. “It’s poison,” he said.

Christopher’s expression darkened. Ty and Camila hadn’t emerged yet, and the Bulwark’s shrieks could still be heard. The professor reacted quickly by raising a glowing hand. Miasma formed at his fingertips before expanding massively and flowing off at the cloud of gas in a cone shape.

The invoked miasma was enough to push away the gas despite not being entirely solid. The magic revealed Ty hunched over with a hand to his face while Camila hung limply over his shoulder. It seemed like the Defender had tried to carry her out, but the poison was too much to bear.

“It’s probably worse if breathed in,” Amelia commented.

The Healer looked like she wanted to help the two, but the Bulwark was still alive. Allen noticed that it still had one head left, while the majority of its body was crushed and bleeding out. He raised his knife and sprinted at the monster. It was still leaking gas, so he held his breath as he moved to pounce on the remaining head.

The mound of amorphous grey flesh stirred. An arm lashed out at Allen, but he ducked under it. Then the monster threw its entire mass at him. He leapt up on the Bulwark’s body as it tumbled towards him. Then, twisting midair, he lodged his knife underneath the jawbone of its only remaining head.

Using the knife as a handle, Allen pulled himself onto the monster, ignoring the spikes and barbs that pierced him. He jammed his knife as far into the monster’s neck as it would go and pulled up with all his strength. A moment passed as the vile, rotten flesh in the monsters only remaining neck began to tear. Many clawed arms flailed at him and he managed to dodge most of them out of his peripheral vision. The ones that he couldn't entirely avoid, he just took.

Finally, Allen managed to pull the Bulwark’s head off, getting flung off the monster in the process. He landed hard on the stone floor with the head clutched near his chest.

Allen’s whole body was in pain as he laid still on the stone. He would have been screaming if it weren’t for his training, the adrenaline filling his veins, and the chilling yet comforting presence of Dead Calm. Absently, he discarded the Bulwark’s head when Amelia’s face appeared over him and the warmth of her healing flowed into him.

Even more satisfying, however, were the messages that appeared in his mind just after.

Your group has defeated 41x Shade Ghoul – Level 51 - 56

Your contribution: 77% Damage