Mikella rubbed her temples, trying to ease the tension and nerves that were trying to devour her whole and make her useless.
Unfortunately, no amount of rubbing would help her. The constant idea that a simple zombie could infect her and turn her like in those horror movies wasn’t exactly great for comfort.
She kept recalling that simple zombie that was about to bite her right before Zeke picked up the pace and blocked it. If he hadn’t done that, if he hadn’t followed her stupid complaint of over-relying on his barriers, she would’ve fallen the same way.
No amount of stats could’ve helped her either. Not even Cloud, the almighty Journeyman mage himself could fix the duelist that had his head lopped off unceremoniously by the bastard Zacharia.
Then again, who could’ve done that? Even when Zeke was the target, her legs stood frozen in fear. She didn’t even think about approaching the thing, let alone saving Zeke from being a zombie himself.
She felt regret, anguish, guilt, and shame all over her soul. Regret for not trying harder, anguish for Bryann who died, guilt for complaining to Zeke, and shame for actually thinking she could survive the way she was.
“Hey, you okay?”
Zeke’s voice entered her ears as she looked back at him. While she was having a mini-panic attack, Zeke didn’t look any better. The fact that he asked her, even with his face looking pale from the fear and panic, cold sweat pouring from his temple–it was obvious that the question should be for himself rather than her.
So why is she being consoled? She hated the fact alone that Zeke was more worried about her than himself right now.
“I’m fine,” She snapped back, her tone clipped. She immediately regretted it, her face softening. “Sorry… I’m really fine. Just…”
She couldn’t really do much about it. In the end, everyone was on guard. They were currently walking through the platform, reaching room to room and trying to find the center of the tower, or at least trying to go down according to their experiences.
Unfortunately the tower likes to fuck with them in more ways than one. Each time they enter a doorway that seems to be going down, they find a platform going up instead. Everytime they make a change, they seem to be turned around. It was a maze that seemed to go on and on, and unlike in a tower, it was really difficult to tell where one goes.
The platforms were similar, the chains were rattling constantly so it messed with their senses, and the fact that they could spot a zombie or two here and there made them react and kill it instantly. One simple surprise attack and they could be turned instantly.
It was proven that Undeath, a particularly nasty aspect of Mana, was different from the usual death-aspect, another aspect similar to that. While the death aspect is considered the natural Mana, opposite to the life aspect Mana–Undeath Mana was worse. It contains a malicious type of mana, and like a disease, it spreads.
It works like poison, and can easily corrode someone instantly. While death aspected Mana can turn one into a zombie, usually they have to be dead first in order to turn. That was also another reason why cremation is a popular way of giving folks their final rites. Undeath, however, can infect anyone, alive or dead, and turn them into a zombie.
While there were ways to circumvent it, the way Cloud looked on in horror meant that this undeath Mana was stronger than most. If anyone under Journeyman caught this, it wouldn’t be surprising to instantly turn into an undead. Those with higher stats have a better chance of staving off the effects, and Cloud did have the necessary components to help clear it by using one of his rarer magic skills.
But Bryann, the first to turn, had lower stats compared to a normal Expert staged user. And the process to clear the undeath was longer than it took for Bryann to turn into a zombie. The undeath was too strong, and the reason why Zacharia ended his life before anymore could turn.
“I know,” Zeke said, finishing her leftover words. “Trust me, I know. Did I ever tell you that horror movies make me queasy?”
“I think you mentioned it once or twice,” Mikella put on a strained smile. She was forcing herself to be jovial, and it was obvious.
Zeke smiled back, just as bit as strained as hers was, but then released it into a thin line. “It’s scary, but… I swear I’ll look out for you. You don’t have to go out there if you don’t want to. We can figure something out.”
For a moment, she thought that Zeke was undermining her confidence, putting her down. As a man, it’s obvious to look out for a woman, as she can’t handle herself.
She thought foolishly like that for a moment. It was obvious. She was at the front line, forced to fight. She doesn’t have any ranged attacks to use.
So fighting while inside his barrier is a better choice. It was all to avoid getting bitten by the zombies and getting turned. When she realized that, she also realized something worse.
Her class. It was affecting her despite not using any skills. She knew she was lucky enough not to lose herself through battle, but now that her senses were put on edge, her nerves frayed like crazy, her inner competitive nature was showing.
She shook her head. “Yeah… yeah. Thanks. I’ll… I’ll figure something out.”
Zeke nodded once, then looked forward. He kept staring all over the place, making sure to pick out whatever way to ensure safety for the others. That’s what he was doing, nothing else.
Damn it, I can’t lose myself in a place like this… Mikella chided herself. Who cares about independence if I get turned into a bloody mess?
Zacharia’s cold eyes aiming at her deceased form with his giant sword was somehow worse than turning itself. To be treated like that after spending so much time training herself was… deplorable and depressing.
Eventually, the situation took a turn for the worse. They arrived in another room, and this time the scenery changed to that of a wide circular room, surrounded by nothing but black stone walls and some reddish hue showing faint traces of blood all over.
Of course there were platforms, but rather than chains, there were something else. Something that flitted in the distance. The chains were gone, but Mikella’s eyes could tell something was flapping.
Creatures that seemingly flew straight out of hell, giant creatures made up of wings and a small torso were flying and flapping all over the place, acting like birds stuck within a warehouse.
They were horrid to look at. Thankfully they didn’t show any human like appearances, but their skin was fleshy, almost normal skinned but their forms were that of what she believed to be imps.
Undead Imp, Level 43
Of course they had to be undead, and of course they were high level.
“Zeke, dome, now!”
Val shouted, getting Zeke to surround themselves into a dome. Despite the feeling of security returning back, her nerves were fried as she picked up her sword.
She really should’ve picked up a ranged weapon or something. Maybe even a magic spell or something. In the end, she prepared herself as the giant imps straight from the underworld fell in.
They arced around the ceiling of the room, and gave glancing blows on the dome using some ranged magic attack that looked similar to the Air Blade spell Zeke used before. The other soldiers followed suit, using the small opening Zeke made to strike back. With one soldier down, they were more than nervous, but they kept fighting precisely to the letter of the leaders. They weren’t holding back on leading them around, since they already lost two soldiers on the way.
In the end, she charged through the opening, counter to Zeke’s wishes. She just didn’t want to stay around and let fear control her. Taking aim at one of the flying creatures, she activated Heavenly Strike.
Fear was still there, gnawing at her. But she wanted to survive. And to do that, she had to fight.
Once the imp flowed just beyond her reach, she activated Dragon Descent and jumped up high, slamming her sword straight into the imp’s torso.
It tore through and blood flowed from it. She then used the momentum to kick the imp back mid-flight and landed straight down on the platform, returning to the safety of the dome before two other imps went after her, only to get stuck outside the dome and hit with magic spells by the casters.
“Mikella, that was dangerous!” Zeke complained, almost growling at her.
“I had no choice!” She shouted, gripping her sword. “Either that or I’m useless!”
Thankfully, Zeke knew the purpose, but he certainly didn’t like it. He instead just growled again, summoning another barrier to protect Myra from getting attacked from the back while outside, then swiftly returning back to the dome.
“This is getting nowhere,” Cloud said, his hands carrying the staff with the strange bands cluttering and also casting a spell. He was casting a small ball of burning light that separated into small orbs which then flew out from the protection of the barrier.
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The orbs managed to hit each imp with ease, taking them out one by one.
“We need to escape, find a route away from them,” He shouted.
“No! The undead would catch up to us by the back. We need to take them one by one!”
Zacharia shouted as he roared and swung his giant sword across. A powerful burst of air flew through and struck various imps at once. She didn’t know what skill he used, but she wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t skill but just a massive amount of stats that could pull it off.
“There’s too many!” Cloud shouted back, once again using his very controlled fire orb spell that showered across the air around them. Small explosions made the dome around them seem to flash with a yellowish white hue. “We’ll run out of steam by then!”
“Then fight harder!”
Zacharia said, getting Cloud himself to growl. Apparently the mages were getting a lot of stress as Mikella noticed Philip not showing much oomph for his work even with his new staff.
Basically, Cloud, Philip, Lisa, and even Zeke were doing their best to attack and defend the physical combatants as much as they could. Still, it didn’t help as the numbers seem to increase, and they have no clue on whether the imps could turn them or not.
It was becoming a shit show of nerves and panic each time a zombie showed up near them. At least there was some good fortune to be had as these imps aren’t so dangerous to the point of being none other than being flying nuisances.
They don't do anything other than slicing everyone with air magic, and so far none of them exhibited the fearsome undeath fog that Cloud told them beforehand. Apparently, anyone caught in the fog would instantly turn.
Her head snapped backward after almost getting her neck sliced by a random Air Blade. Upon closer inspection, the imp that shot the spell had such soulless white eyes that even without irises, they looked as though they were staring at her in contempt.
“Get back in!” Zeke shouted, getting her to realize that she’s been outside for longer than normal. Having no issue with trying to survive, she did so, running back towards the open side of the dome.
That’s when she noticed it. One of the imps that was flying by suddenly cut into a u-turn mid flight, then headed straight into the dome.
“Damn it!” Zeke shouted, his eyes growing wide. “One of them got in!”
“Let me handle that!”
Piker shouted, immediately summoning an ice spike from thin air in his hand and launched it at the imp. But despite his precision, something strange was wrong with it.
It flew erattically, almost as if it was suffering a seizure. The ice spike clearly missed, but the imp kept batting against the dome as it flew around. It proved disturbing as it flew left and right, actually missing some of the attacks done by the residents within the dome.
Then that very same imp glowed bright, its entire body being engulfed in a show of orange tinge.
“W-What the…?” Maxie shouted, gaping at the sight.
“Damn it, it’s gonna explode!”
Mikella couldn’t understand what was happening. It was going so fast that she didn’t realize what someone said before it happened.
The damn crazy zombie imp that was flying like a lunatic exploded right within the dome. The force of it nearly covered the entire dome, catching everyone within it.
The dome couldn’t handle the blast from the inside as it shattered into pieces. The shards of the magic wall, along with their security, dissipated into nothing. The shards of the broken barrier just flew, as though time itself slowed in her mind.
The only thing she could think of was one thing–Zeke was inside. He was directly inside with no barriers. She could only hope that he was so focused on his own survival that he broke the dome apart himself to do so.
But she ran towards him, unable to relent. Even as the imps suddenly became invigorated at the chance of going after the soldiers, all she cared about is bringing Zeke out of there.
Her survival mode kept her mind working despite the stress and destruction she saw.
Her heart slammed against her chest as she rushed in and swung her sword horizontally, taking out every imp that got in her way. She didn’t care about her form or precision, just slamming the blade against the imps just to keep them out of the way.
Within the wreckage, clearly, the imp that exploded was nowhere to be seen. Its rotting corpse just laying there, staying as a corpse. But she put that thought to the side as she searched for everyone inside.
The soldiers looked like they were just smacked real hard against their heads, their eyes looking blurry and dizzy as wounds from the explosion were apparent. It looked like an explosion of force, nothing fire related. Almost like a sonic bomb if anything.
There was definite grime from the parts of the body that exploded, splattering them all over. Some looked like they had just been blown outwards, probably right towards the dome. The only thing they got from it is possible concussion and are in need of a serious bath.
Is that the reason why? It wasn’t the explosion or even Zeke losing his focus, it was the sheer force of everyone inside the dome being launched outward, causing the destruction of the dome itself.
Thankfully, it wasn’t as though everyone was out for the count. The leaders for instance were hard at work, taking out the numerous imps that were trying to go after the already downed soldiers. Down, but thankfully not killed.
She put those aside and searched for Zeke, which quite frankly was only making her worry more as for some reason, she couldn’t find him.
Her mind wirled as no sign of Zeke was seen. Just as she looked ready to nearly explode in anger, a hand pulled her shoulder aside and noticed that Myra was pulling her to a certain direction.
“Mikky!” She shouted. “They’re taking Zeke!”
Her mind broke down at those words. She focused her sight on Myra, as if she just said something unbelievable.
“What?”
“They’re. Taking. Zeke!” Myra explained fully while Mikella’s mind was just slowly working. “Look!”
She looked over to where Myra was pointing at, and she couldn't believe it despite her words bearing true.
A couple of imps were actually carrying Zeke off into the air, the downed Zeke that had his eyes closed. He wasn’t able to focus as the explosion took him out.
They were taking Zeke away. They were actually taking him away like some damsel in distress.
“Zeke!”
Her screech echoed out as all the soldiers realized what was happening. The leaders looked in shock as Zeke was literally getting carried off into the air. The soldiers with magical attacks immediately went after the imp, but hesitated.
If they hit the imps, won’t Zeke fall and die from the height alone?
Having no other choice, Mikella used all of her physical stats and kinetic energy to jump straight upwards.
“Mikky! Stop! You’re going to kill yourself!” Myra’s shout echoed, but Mikella couldn't listen.
She wouldn’t. Not when Zeke was literally getting kidnapped right in front of her eyes.
“Zeke!”
She used Dragon Descent to the maximum capacity. She pushed herself far enough to nearly reach Zeke and the two damn imps that would soon decorate her blade with their blood.
But she was suddenly pushed back–hard. Another, stronger imp of clearly high level landed and kicked her straight back towards the platform they were at.
She landed on the ground, crashing into it and creating a small hole within the platform. Her breath was expelled as blood left her mouth. She realized it by then.
The imps. They knew Zeke’s value and instead of just outright killing him, they just took him away.
And left the others behind to die.
She forced herself up again, losing a chunk of her stamina from the effort, but was suddenly surrounded by dozens of Imps. She growled, her eyes turning sharper as she launched Heavenly Strike after Heavenly Strike to take them out.
One imp down, then another, then another. She kept taking out each Imp as her madness grew within her. She could tell–it was growing stronger. It wanted to overpower the dungeon, reap the lives of all those who oppose her.
It should’ve been hard for her, being so low level. As she kept attacking the imps that were surrounding them, she received a notification that may, or may not, be good for her.
> Heavenly Strike Level Up! It is now Level 5.
>
> Decreased stamina and mana consumption.
> Increased damage.
“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
She screeched as she killed one imp after another. She kept killing, feeling that Zeke was going farther and farther away.
As the number of imps finally slowed down, Mikella kept looking for more imps to kill to try to reach Zeke, but her body relaxed as she breathed heavily.
She breathed as Myra placed a hand on her back.
“Mikky,” Myra spoke softly. “It’s done. But… Zeke is…”
She didn’t want to admit it. She won’t. She doesn’t plan on doing it.
But Myra was right. Zeke was taken, and whether he lived or died… she didn’t know.
“Everyone, gather your wits!” Val shouted. “One of our own is taken! We need to find him, quick!”
“Is there any point?” The spearman said, turning to where Zeke went off. “At this point, there’s no way he’d–”
“Don’t fucking say it.”
Mikella glared back at the man, causing him to flinch. She didn’t realize, but her eyes were glowing a sharp yellow, like a beast whose prey had escaped from her grasp.
Or her kin taken away.
“We’re finding Zeke,” Mikella ordered. “Even if I’ll do it myself.”
…..
“Damn these intruders are annoying.”
Alex grumbled as he paced across his lab, the shelves of bodies and parts making a stench more severe than every other place.
He was glaring at the special zombie he had created specifically for spying. By connecting their mana together and sending its twin over to the other side, Alex could peer through the zombie’s eyes via its twin, allowing him to see access to the other parts of the dungeon.
When he saw the intruders for the first time, he couldn’t believe the disparity between them. He has a vague sense of their strength, and only three of them were strong enough to be an issue. The rest, though, was just trash on two legs.
Though, he could tell that at least two of them were muted somehow, though he didn’t know why. The giant black guy with the two-handed sword was definitely scary to fight against.
But as long as he took care of the peons then headed straight towards the big bosses, everything should be fine, right?
Wrong. And that’s what got him in such a tizzy. There was one particularly annoying mage that made taking them out in a single go impossible. A damn mage that’s capable of erecting barriers left and right.
He knew he had to take care of him, and especially with his level being low, it was easy to take out, but he was always being surrounded by the peons and the leaders, protected.
“Nothing more annoying than stalling,” Alex groaned. That’s why he went with something desperate.
It expended a lot more mana than he expected, but he was able to take control of one of the imps that were surrounding him. Through his expertise, he was able to overcharge it with so much mana that it exploded right inside the dome. And the rest, as they say, was history.
Though the explosion did made it difficult for Alex to control the imps, and instead of outright killing him, they just took the barrier mage far away from the others.
Well, whether they kill him or take him away, it didn’t matter. As long as the annoying shield is gone, the rest would be easy pickings.
Yes… very easy pickings.
“Oh well…” Alex smirked. “Guess it’s time for a real show to start.”