"This king will not be changed by evil hands!" Artois exclaimed and, even as Terbanac could see the invisible force pulling at the warthog, he spun around himself, creating a cartoonish illusion of a whirlwind. The invisible force pulled back, and the whirlwind grew.

Even Terbanac had to move back to avoid the growing monstrosity, taking away precious space for his own oversized form.

Roaring, the whirlwind came to a halt, and instead of the mighty warthog, a gigactic, squishy octopus lay on the stone floor, its huge eyes staring at Terbanac with slight accusation.

"Even as you allow yourself to be changed, I remain steadfast," the octopus spoke in burps, its voice warping as if it was somehow underwater. "A new name demands a new form. I am Basos, adjudicator of your deepest crimes."

After proclaiming this, Basos spun up on his eight squishy arms and jumped. Twisting in the air, the gigantic creature somehow landed on the roof of the chamber. It's soft exterior wobbled and took on a similar color to the surroundings. As it faded in with the roof, it even seemed to melt together with material. Its massive body fused with the rocky roof, and what remained were only two large eyes, looking down on Terbanac from above.

"If this is the road you have chosen, you will not walk the Random Road for long."

Its words burped through the chamber, echoing as it faded into the roof.

"Enough about that boorish thing," said the voice of the cherub, "Terbanac, great dungeon boss, invaders have entered your great realm. You must do whatever you can to protect it, and defeat them. Also, you have to make it an interesting watch. Do you understand?"

Terbanac nodded, knowing he would have to appease this cherubic creature if he wanted to continue living, even if his guide would judge him harshly for it.

From the center of the room, a pedistal slowly rose out of the floor. Atop it, a basin of water projected a mirror-like image of the roof - and Basos' accusing eyes. Terbanac ignored the guide as he looked into the water surface, and saw the image ripple and change. Soon, the image of a merry band of adventurers instead became visible.

There were three of them, and all of them a cliché in their own right. There was the mighty barbarian warrior, with his bare chest marred with warpaint; the nimble rogue, whose face was obscured beneath a hood and mask; and a wizard, with ancient features and a tell-tale, pointy hat.

These are my prey, Terbanacle thought, feeling excitement rising from within. It was a strangely different sensation from his time as the mediocre Peter, or the terrified Feather. He felt powerful and masterful.

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He could do absolutely anything.

As the party entered into the corridors of the dungeon, Terbanacle began his reign of terror by sending a bunch of imps to test out the group. The little critters barely reached the adventurers knees, but they were many.

Jumping out of small crawlspaces in the rocky walls, the critters attacked from both sides at once. The warrior roared, gaining the attention of the imps, who jumped onto his bare-skin body and chewed away. Swinging his arms, he flung away the imps, wiping them off as one wiped away a disgusting insect.

The rogue flashed by, stabbing any and all within reach. The dark figure was like a shadow as it passed back and forth, stabbing and killing the impotent imps continuously.

Meanwhile, the wizard began mumbling. Sparks jumped from his outstretched fingers, as well as every time he stabbed the ground with his gnarled stick. The imps were completely defenseless against the electric attacks.

"This is only the beginning," Terbanac mumbled; his inner monologue escaping his mouth because of a growing case of demon-lord-syndrome.

The group survived and made it further down the corridor, where Terbanac had prepared traps of the most sinister kind. Just as the warrior was about to step onto the tile that what release a spike through his foot, the rogue stopped him.

With quick hands, the rogue disarmed the trap, then surveyed their surroundings.

"Hmph, you may have seen through it this time, but can you both fight and check for traps?" Terbanac was now speaking his words louder; a few gouts of flame still escaping from his maw with every breath.

Above, the eyes of Basos narrowed.

The group continued, entering a wider chamber that Terbanac had prepared. In here, imps would descend from the walls while traps were littered about. There were pit traps, mechanical spikes, fire traps, poison darts and so, so much more.

"This will be your doom!" Terbanacle was now fully shouting, flame roaring from deep within his throat.

The group entered, and the Rogue immediately cautioned them. Having dismantled and guided them around every obstacle until now, this Rogue quickly assessed the danger.

Carefully, he led them forwards. Once they were completely inside the chamber, Terbanacle shut the door behind them and let loose the imps.

Streaming down from the walls like a putrid stream, the critters descended upon the group with giggling delight. The Warrior roared and taunted them, forcing them to focus on his burly body while the Rogue spun around him, triggering traps and getting out of the way - all while stabbing anything moving that came too close.

The Wizard kept back, allowing the Warrior enough room to maneuver as he chanted his spells. Terbancle roared in delighted and masterful laughter. These small fools would die now.

At least that was the plan. This time, the Wizard let off no electric attacks, but just mumbled away, letting the Warrior and Rogue do all the work. When he had finally completed his chant, he threw up his arms, and finally unleashed his spell. Pillars of electric currents split the air, spinning violently as they triggered every trap, charred every imp, and chipped the walls, ceiling, and floor of the chamber.

Screaming in fury, Terbanacle had to watch as his masterplan was ruined.

"Very well, pitiful fools. I shall take care of you myself!" He said, arrogantly asserting his next step in a monologue. Meanwhile, the eyes above narrowed to slits.