Author Note:
Heya, it's the end of August. It means, Rise of the Dungeon is (almost) 1 year old. Happy anniversary folks, thank you for reading my work so far. Hopefully we'll stay together in the incoming years too, either in this novel or a different ones ^^
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“Report! The enemies have managed to set a foothold on the left-wing wall and keep pushing back our line. Lieutenant Lyo requesting for reinforcements!”
“I will go.”
“Take fifty men with you, Executive Pipo. And… can we borrow your mages as well, Master Dayo?”
The small, fox-eared senior, nodded. He then turned to the younger people behind him who were wearing similar purple robes just like his own, with an emblem of two crossing staffs above a round shield on the chest. “Leleina, Mundo. With them, you go,” he ordered.
A woman and a man in their late twenties bowed and brought their staffs, separating themselves to join Pipo. Immediately after that, the three were seen climbing down the stairs, leaving the platform of the command center behind.
“We’re truly grateful that Magic Association decided to help us,” the woman, who previously had told Pipo to bring fifty men, remarked with a humble smile.
“Lady Xiandra… Mention it, do not. Citizen of [Firzoa], we too are.”
“Of cours--”
“Urgent report!!” a new, dashing in, messenger interrupted. “The entire enemy army has begun to move. Moreover… they, uh, they’re bringing a new force.”
“What force? How many?”
A woman tapped Xiandra’s shoulder and pointed her index to the northern sky, above the enemy’s headquarters, noting the unusual sight to her peer Executive.
“That’s… You can’t be serious… A dragon? For real?!”
“Look carefully, someone is actually riding on it. Oh, it’s landing...”
“Good Lord. Seriously? How is this fair?”
“At least now we know why they haven’t moved until today. What do we do?”
…
“It’ll be difficult to take down the dragon with our limited manpower. But, if we can kill the man who was riding the dragon, they may lose their control over the beast. We’ll bet on it. Executive Ugi, Executive Izzavine, we’ll go together. Master Dayo, can you lend your best mages to us? Captain Thraq, I’ll leave the command center to you, is that okay?”
“Are you kidding me, Adventurer Xiandra? A dragon is attacking MY town, and you want me to just sit and watch from afar? No, I’ll go too.”
“But--”
“No buts, it’s my decision.”
“Stay here then, I will.”
“Master Dayo…?”
“Support from here, I can. While managing the command center at the same time. Will go with you, Vivias, Nozora, and Prem. Our best mages available.”
“Report! An enemy unit has managed to sneak behind the right-wing guards unbeknownst to us. Lieutenant Wali and his men are still fighting, but they won’t hold for long.”
“Report! The enemy is in position to attack the west wall, we don’t have enough men to defend it. And another enemy group continues marching south.”
“Report! An enemy commander has appeared at the north main gate and slain Vice-captain Yarr who stood guard there. We’ve yet to identify this commander. Awaiting your orders.”
*Slam!*
Out of frustration, Xiandra hit the table in front of her. “What about the east wall? And the dragon and its rider?” she asked.
“No report from east wall yet, Ma’am. And the dragon isn’t moving from behind the enemy lines,” a guard, who was being tasked as a watcher, replied.
“It should be safe. The east wall is thrice higher compared to the other walls, and the near forest location isn’t suitable for moving a big army,” Izzavine said. “You still want to attack the dragon rider as of now? I don't advise it, we’ll lose too many forces just trying to break through. Let’s face what is in front of us first.”
“... Very well.”
“Good. Master Dayo, can you transfer us to the reported locations?”
Shaking his head, Dayo said, “Too bad. Has not seen since the start of the conflict, the one capable with
“Then, we just have to do it the usual way. I and Ugi will take care of the north main gate and the north wall right-wing, but what about the west and the south walls?”
“I’ll think of something, you just go,” Xiandra replied, massaging her forehead. “Take as many reserves as you see fit, but leave enough for another emergency.”
Nodding in sync, Izzavine and the rabbit-eared Ugi left. At the same time, Dayo gave a sign with his head and four mages followed, leaving only four mages including Dayo himself at the place.
There was a moment of silence, where parchments being blown by the wind could be heard.
“From the start, we knew defending [Firzoa] with us alone is impossible, with or without a dragon making an appearance,” Captain Thraq of [Firzoa] town guards, a robust man wearing a majestic armor set, spoke. “At least, we managed to evacuate all the civilians. However, rather than becoming lambs waiting to be slaughtered here, I prefer to head out the walls and die honorably.”
“Don’t rush to welcome death, Captain. There’s still hope,” Xiandra disagreed.
Thraq laughed. “Hope? What hope? The town is lost no matter what, what’s left is taking as many enemies as possible with us.”
“You heard the earlier report too, that our guildmaster is likely here. Please wait until we could confirm. Hey, is there any news from Executive Oki or Thianna yet?”
“Not yet, Ma’am,” one of Fantastica adventurers replied.
“Sorry, I’m not trying to offend, but even if your guildmaster is here, what can a single man do in this situation?” Thraq doubted.
“I don’t know. But if someone can make a miracle, I believe it’s him.”
“Such trust… However, time is something we don’t have, I’m afraid. I’ll be heading out now. Follow me, men!”
“Report! A new adventurer group has pushed back the enemy at the north main gate and froze the enemy commander solid. We’ve secured the location, and the gate itself has been reinforced with ice.”
“Oh? Finally some good news.”
“Report!” Another messenger rushed in. “The enemies at the north wall right-wing are fighting among themselves for unknown reason. We’re reclaiming the wall back!”
“Huh…?”
“Miracles DO happen,” Xiandra grinned.
“What’s going on?”
“Not sure about the former. Did they identify themselves?” Xiandra asked the messenger.
“Yes, Ma’am. It’s a large group, they said they’re survivors of your guild headquarters.”
“Survivors, you said? Did they tell what happened?”
“My apologies, we didn’t ask that much.”
“Hmm, we need to dig this further. Later,” she muttered, then turned to Thraq. “Anyway, the latter was probably the doing of Executive Yuvila the Bewitching Witch, one of our guild’s most powerful mages. Glad she finally decided to join this battle, she is an eccentric fellow. Well, most strong mages are. Isn’t that right, Master Dayo?”
Dayo replied with a grunt.
“I see… We still have the west and south walls’ problems, though. Shall we go there?” Thraq asked.
“... Yeah,” Xiandra nodded.
“Re- report!” a guard almost fell as he climbed up the stairs in a hurry. “An unbelievable sight! The enemies that were marching south and were attacking the west wall have been wiped out by a gale. Fantastica’s guildmaster is confirmed to be on the spot.”
“Lady Xiandra!” a watcher called. “The dragon is moving, it’s heading towards the west wall!”
Xiandra’s face tightened, she reached one of the two swords that rested on the table and gripped the scabbard hard. “They’re targeting the guildmaster,” she concluded. “You there, Greg, make sure every Executive in town receives information as follows. Guildmaster Dava is in [Firzoa] and currently a dragon is targeting him. I, Captain Thraq, and mages of Magic Association will assist, but we can use any help they’re able to spare.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” the man she called responded. Greg quickly organized several more people to spread the news.
“Let’s go hunting now, Captain.”
Thraq nodded. “I’ll be waiting downstairs,” he said, walking down the platform to where his men were waiting with horses.
“Master Dayo, I’m leaving the command center in your hands. Nozora, Vivias, and Prem, I’m counting on you.”
With that remark, Xiandra jumped, skipping several stairs at once, and landed beside her own black horse, which she patted a few times before hopping on. Right on her trail were the three mages of Magic Association.
Soon, two dozen riders led by Thraq and Xiandra raced across the town to the western districts. The moment they were closing on their destination, a sound of explosions and things being crushed became clearer, often followed by debris that flew their way. Although the buildings hindered most of their vision, Xiandra and her group could easily make out the silhouette of the three-storey sized beast in rampage.
“Listen, Men! We’ll use the horses’ speeds to confuse the dragon and drag the rider down in the meantime. Don’t act like a noob, avoid drawing the dragon’s attention more than necessary!”
““Yes, Sir!””
“Remember, you’re the proud protectors of [Firzoa]!”
““Yes, Sir!””
“FOR [[ALISHINE]]!!”
““OOOOOHHHH!!””
Upon entering a plaza, they saw the dragon swinging its mighty tail horizontally, swiping whatever got in the way. Including a red haired man in robe, who jumped back to barely escape the deadly attack. However, with a speed that didn’t match its size, the dragon’s claw swung forward and threw the man to the ground hard. One of the forelegs then stepped on him, pressing with its weight.
“Guildmaster!” Xiandra shouted.
“Tch, Archers!”
With Thraq’s command, a series of twangs from bows’ strings filled the air. None of the arrows missed their big target, albeit being harmless to the creature. Nevertheless, they managed to steal its attention.
“Formation number twelve!” Thraq called.
The riders spread, circling the dragon and its rider with what looked like a random movement from a glance. Archers kept harrassing from a safe distance on their mounts, and once in awhile a melee or two would come near enough to use their weapons. None of these efforts were able to inflict damage, or to even leave a scratch, against the hard scales. All they did were inviting a curious and amused look from the big lizard and the man on it.
Nonetheless, using the time they were distracted, Dava raised a pillar of earth to push the claw up, making room for escape. Realizing what their captive was about to do, the dragon pressed down once again, destroying the pillar like it was nothing. Still, Dava was faster. He managed to get away, although his barrier was torn and the claw left a serious wound on his leg.
“Mages!” Thraq called before the dragon could give a pursue.
Immediately, two fireballs and a wind blade shot forward. Yet, the man on the dragon raised a hand and those spells were dispelled before him.
“Magic won’t work on him,” Dava, who was standing with a support of his own magic, said with a clear voice. “Mages should back off, you’ll only- Everyone, watch out!!”
At the time, the dragon was pulling its neck backwards and inhaling deeply in preparation to release the infamous
*Clank!*
Her sword met the rider’s spear.
“Where are you aiming, woman?”
The next second was filled with an exchange of blows between the two, until Xiandra fell from the dragon’s body with several shallow cuts. In contrast, her twin swords couldn’t pass the thin yet tough form-fitting armor of the man, which covered everything from top to toe except the face. She flipped herself in mid-air and landed with grace. Still, she failed what she had been trying to achieve, and the dragon released the devastating attack.
The temperature increased as the flame that could easily melt metals shot. Not long after, it collided with a barrier which Dava had erected, causing a powerful blast in every direction except where the barrier was, leveling literally everything. Other than Dava and several lucky town guards who had been standing behind the barrier, only Xiandra and Thraq managed to stay conscious and, with great effort, get back to their feet.
Not waiting any longer, when even the dusts had yet to settle, the dragon rider already launched himself high above. Then, with the help of gravity, struck down to where Dava was catching his breath. The guildmaster's barrier shattered the moment it came in contact with the attacker’s weapon, rendering the mage defenseless with his spear.
Now with a deep wound from the strike to his chest, the red haired adventurer mustered all his power to get himself away as fast as possible. The spear wielder didn’t let him, though. His palm opened facing Dava and suddenly all the wind supporting the mage vanished, dropping the Fantastica’s supreme leader with a loud thud to the ground. Smirking triumphantly, his spear seeked more of his flesh.
*Clank!*
This time, it was Xiandra’s turn to block.
“You again?” the man glared, pushing Xiandra away. He took a glance towards the dragon and found Thraq and the remaining [Firzoa] town guards keeping it company. Or rather, they were sacrificing themselves to let the woman in front of him catch up.
“Your spear mastery, and the unique shape of your helmet and armor made of stainless material. You’re a dragon knight, are you not?” Xiandra asked.
The man smirked. “What if I am?”
“Funny. I heard you folks are strong crazies who hunt dragons for lunch. Since when did you turn into pet keepers?”
“Ha ha ha, you know how to joke, wWoman. Tiamut is not a pet, he’s my partner.”
“Heh? You even named your pet?”
“*Cough*. Be careful, he isn’t a normal *Cough* *Cough* dragon knight. He--”
“I’m aware, Guildmaster. Not only does he ride a dragon, he can nullify magic too, doesn’t he? It’s been a long time since I last saw you being so useless in a fight.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” the dragon knight said with a smile. “Strip a mage from his magic, in nine out of ten times, an everyday farmer would outmatch him. The stronger the mage is, the more dependent he is on magic, and the more he will suffer from losing it.”
“How do you do that, nullifying magic?”
The dragon knight’s smile became broader. “Against the arrogant [[Alishine]] that always boasts for having the best mages around, there’s no better suited method, don’t you agree? Even the man praised as the strongest mage is no match for me.
“Well, that said, I still praise him. He’s supposed to be very tired after fighting Ethoria for days. Yet, he can hold this well against my partner. Not bad at all, very fitting for his strongest title. But it won’t last. Now, if you know what’s better for you, move, woman. Don’t get in my way.”
“... Why’re you doing this? Don’t you have shame? [[Alishine]] has helped [[Dragora]] in many occasions. What’s with this betrayal?”
The [[Dragora]]’s elite laughed out loud. “Helped? Yes, and thanks to that help we’ve paid a heavy toll. You’re a devil in disguise, you used the so-called-help to lead us into a debt trap, then made us obey your bidding all the time. We aren’t your slaves, we should be both vassals of equal standing for [[Holy Malvice Empire]], damn it.”
“... And, do you think [[Quwwat]] will treat you any different?”
“... Maybe not, at least not completely. But as long as we hold control of [Firzoa], the center of magic study within the empire, our magic division would be stronger, both in quantity and quality. In addition, this area is rich, so it’s worth all the hardship. Even if that’s not enough, we’ll at least have avenged His Highness Prince Sorok by punishing you,” the man said, smirking. Then, as smile was wiped from his face, he said, “Okay, that’s enough. Question session is over, woman. Now move!”
“… Guildmaster, I’ll handle this. Please get away safely.”
“Under- *Cough* -stood, I’ll only be a burden if I stay,” Dava replied while wiping dry blood from his mouth. His wounds were already closed frozen, although, his face was pale from losing too much blood. “Live, Executive Xiandra. I’ll treat you a luxurious dinner once this battle is over,” he said and winked, despite knowing that Xiandra couldn’t see it from her position.
“Stop blabbering nonsense. Go!”
“Wow, wow, wow. Do you really think I’ll let you?”
With one jump, the spearman was already behind Dava, blocking his escape route. Xiandra reacted quickly by going in between the two men, though, giving Dava precious seconds he needed to move away. Sparks from the two warriors' clashing weapons occurred repeatedly.
“Why are you so persistence, woman? This town is as good as ours, and that man’s death is inevitable. What do you keep fighting for? Surrender, and I’ll spare you. With your prowess, you can easily secure a good position in our army if you ever decide to join us. Or, if you want to, I can arrange you to become my concubine. What do you say?”
“You talk too much. I, Xiandra of Adventurer Guild Fantastica, will shut your mouth forever,” she replied, her weapons not stopping for a second.
The dragon knight frowned. He finally stopped trying to get past Xiandra and, instead, made a distance between them. Xiandra watched the standing still man, keeping herself ready for whenever he tried to do anything.
“Heh, of course it won’t be that easy to persuade a woman who is both beautiful and strong,” he said, glancing to the dragon once again, which had just gulped, bringing the last opponent down its throat. “But you should’ve known your place, woman.”
He whistled, attracting the dragon's attention, and gave a sign, pointing to where Dava had gone. Understanding what its human partner was asking, Tiamut turned its gaze to the direction and sniffed the air, then began spreading its massive wings.
“What’re you doing?” This time Xiandra was the one who frowned. Restless as she was, she knew that there was nothing she could do to help her guildmaster.
“Xiandra, was it? I, Dragoon Lavi, third seat of [[Dragora]]’s Order of Dragon, will teach you what it means to challenge a dragon knight. ROAR!”
Caught unprepared to the sudden sound attack, Xiandra lost her balance. Blood flowed out from her ears and she was temporarily stunned. It wasn’t that long, but should have been more than enough to give her a fatal wound. Yet, even after she regained full control over her body, the attack wasn't coming.
“Wh- what’s that?” she couldn’t help but mutter in surprise upon realizing white things under her lying, facing down, enemy. It wasn’t hard for her to figure that, whatever the whites were, they had prevented her opponent from standing back.
To add to her surprise, a creature that obviously wasn't human suddenly appeared before the man. It pulled his helmet up and then stabbed his unprotected face. It tried to, at least, but Dragoon Lavi managed to free one of his hands enough to parry the attack, forcing the weapon to slide harmlessly off his gauntlet.
The next moment, the black creature jumped backwards with both hands below its pair of horns, covering the ears. At the same time, the dragon knight roared again. It was less severe for Xiandra this time, however. Partially because her hearing was deafened after the last attack, and the other part was because the roar was abruptly cut almost as soon as it had started, when Lavi let out a choked sound.
Xiandra couldn’t see clear what had happened as the creature’s back obscured her vision, but in the split second, the creature had spit poison into Lavi’s mouth. Which was why he had choked.
“Keek keek keek, I’m out of here,” the creature let out a clear sentence, causing Xiandra’s eyes to widen.
As a high-ranking adventurer, she had gone through many dungeons. Some of them were dens of demons. Thus, she could easily guess that the creature in front of her, an armored ratman with horns, was also a demon. What she didn’t expect was that the demon could speak. She knew they were sentient, but to hear one speak was the first for her.
Instinctively, she tried to get a better look at the demon in question, which was staring back at her. It grinned, baring its yellowish fangs, then began to fade from her vision. Her heart beat faster. The fact that a demon that had a stealth ability was roaming free within a town sent a shiver down her spine. Moreover, the said demon had managed to launch a sneak attack on a dragon knight out of all people.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Although she had been too surprised to react before, she raised her twin swords and readied herself now. Demons were the common enemy for most races and subjugating one should take top priority, regardless of peace or war time. It was common knowledge. Therefore, she expected Lavi would agree for a temporary truce.
Focusing all her senses, she tried to detect the demon’s presence. She got nothing, though. And then she lost all of her concentration when something exploded from afar, causing a quake that reached their location.
“Uhh.”
While trying to keep her stand by using the swords as support, she turned her gaze to the east, where the explosion had happened, and saw a figure floating in the air. With an enchanted vision, she caught a better glimpse of the figure roaring, before it dove in and disappeared behind the buildings. It had a snout, a long neck, wings, and a long tail. It was neither human nor faunus - the race of the animal-eared people. Another demon, she concluded.
Xiandra felt tired all of a sudden. The pain from her wounds, especially her ears, that she had been ignoring now flowed in. Not only being greatly outnumbered by their neighbor’s invading army, they had to deal with, at least, two demons in town too. Her spirit was low, until she remembered her guildmaster was also in the town.
At the moment, Lavi was engulfed in flames and the hot wave caught her attention. Xiandra knew it better than to expect the fires killing him, though. His armor, which had been designed to confront a dragon, would withstand such small flames. She even suspected the man had set the fire himself to get rid of the white, sticky, thread like things.
Mustering up a resolution, she took out a health recovery potion from her bag, which had been imbued with
The flames died down and as she had expected, the man named Lavi was fine. His body-fit armor didn’t even have a burn mark.
“...ou, … …ss d..mon. ARGH!”
Annoyed by how his own voice had turned out, Dragoon Lavi grabbed the only small bag hanging on his waist - which looked similar to Xiandra’s, opened it, and took out a bottle. It was different from the standard bottle of a health or mana recovery bottle, and the content was sparkling green instead of red or bluish white. He flicked the cap open with a pop and hurriedly poured the liquid to his throat.
Xiandra, recognizing the drink as a general antidote, decided to act. With all her wounds patched up, she swiftly executed a technique which had earned her the nickname Swallow of South.
Lavi avoided once, but the second slash cut clean his bottle in half and spilled out the remaining content. “Wh..t’re you ...ing?” he growled angrily while blocking the third and fourth slashes. “Demons are ...ere.” His voice had partially returned after the antidote soothe his throat, albeit didn’t heal him.
Xiandra ignored him and continued being offensive. Right, left, left, kick, right, up, kick, right, left, she attacked from every direction non-stop.
“I see… The reason those demons only attacked me and my partner is because they’re your allies? Allying yourself to demons and bringing them into town, have you lost your mind? Have you given up your humanity, you heretics?!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I know I need to kill you in order to save [Firzoa],” Xiandra replied as she continued attacking.
Back several minutes prior, when the dragon’s breath had just collided with Dava’s barrier and the Dragoon Lavi’s
“Keek, what do you think? Should we help the Red Wizard? If he died, we won't get our promised payment, right?”
“... Do what you want, but that dragon is mine!”
“Keek keek keek, the dragon? I never understand your humor. Haven’t you seen what he’s capable of?”
“Exactly! That breath’s destruction, that scales’ protection, I want those powers!”
“... Do you think you can win against it, keek?”
“I can recover, he can’t. I can absorb mana, he can’t. As long it’s not an instant kill, it’s a matter of time.”
“Keek keek keek. That, or you run out mana first.”
“I’ll be fine. You make sure the armored spear warrior won’t interfere while I kill the dragon. Bring him away. Or better, just kill him.”
“Keek! And why should I do that? For you?”
“Didn’t you say you want to help the Red Wizard? The spear warrior’s obviously targeting his life.”
“Fine, keek. I’ll give it a try. But only a try. I won’t expose myself more than necessary, I still haven’t done master’s order to capture their mages.”
“Hmph! Then you better hurry up.”
“Keek keek keek. See you later.”
The moment the last word left his mouth, one of the two beings, the ratsassin - a black furred ratman with a pair of bull horns and an armor set made of scales, turned invisible. The only indication he was moving away was the muffled sounds of his steps, but they too vanished as soon.
The other being, the dragonoid - an humanoid dragon with metal-armor like body, stayed still at his place for a while. He carefully observed his target, the dragon, looking for a good chance to attack. Then, he found it.
When the dragon took a flight, moving away from the spear warrior, he quickly stood up, jumped high, and spread his own wings. Flying full speed towards where the dragon headed, a contact was made with the unsuspecting creature. It reacted too late to avoid the incoming charge. And, while the beast losing its balance, the dragonoid continued with a heavy punch to the face and then with his own breath blast, sending his massive opponent to ground almost instantly.
The crashing impact was strong enough to cause a small quake and send rubles for kilometers. As if to announce his presence to the world, the dragonoid roared, then folded his wings and dove in like a comet. Sensing the danger and interpreting the roar as a challenge, the dragon quickly got up. It roared back, even louder and fiercer the dragonoid’s.
As the two beasts began to clash, the match between Dragoon Lavi and Adventurer Xiandra intensified. At first, Xiandra looked like she had the upperhand, being the one taking initiatives. But as the fight continued, the difference became more apparent.
No matter how many times she had attacked, she couldn’t pass through Lavi’s armor. Thereafter, her moves had become predictable, as she could only aim for the opened face of her opponent. Lavi wasn’t a rookie, he was a spearmaster. Making use of the shown weakness, he countered, pushing Xiandra back a step or two or giving her a new wound every time his spear moved.
Being in unfavorable situation, although her wounds quickly disappeared as she was still under the potion’s regeneration effect, Xiandra looked for alternatives. Her eyes moved wildly, looking for anything she could use, all while fleeing from Lavi’s spear. It had become a cat and mouse game rather than a proper fight.
“Do you think you can run for…ever… What’s that…?”
Lavi came to halt. At first, Xiandra thought it was a trap. However, she then had a goosebump herself. Following Lavi’s line of sight, she found the southern sky had darkened. The sun was blocked by a weird looking cloud, and that cloud was heading their way, fast.
As it approached, blood was drained from Xiandra’s face upon recognizing the cloud’s true form. She hold her breath and gripped her swords’ tilt harder. Watching was the only thing she could do when the swarm of thousands of bats and flying bugs flew above the town, most were too high for her to reach. Even though some bugs were reachable, she wasn’t sure if provoking them was the right thing to do in the situation.
And yet, the terror hasn’t stopped there. A rumble mixed with sporadic screeches and growls followed. This time, a horde consist of rats, fierce rats, cats, running reptiles, and many more overran the town streets.
“This is… a dungeon invasion,” she realized. “But how…? There shouldn’t be any dungeon nearby. Moreover, one that could overflow a big town like [Firzoa]. Except…”
Dungeon invasion, an occasion when a dungeon grew strong enough and invaded a nearby village or town. However, it was a rare event nowadays due to the number of adventurers. A dungeon would usually be conquered not long after it was first founded.
Of course there were always exceptions. Like the Mount Naar Dungeon which was deemed unconquerable until recently. Or, in cases of a guild claimed ownership of a dungeon and registered it to the Adventurer Admin Office, the said guild usually let the dungeon alive but kept its growth checked. Or, when an unknown dungeon slipped from attention until it caused a trouble to its surroundings, which more likely to happen in a less populated area.
“Shit!” she heard the man beside her cursed.
When she turned, Lavi was cracking a red crystal in his palm. She recognized the item, it was a materia - a fire materia to be exact, a stone made of condensed magic for a singular usage, that once booming among people with less magic talent like Xiandra herself. However, as time went on, materia was proven carrying a huge risk of hitting, even killing, its own user or nearby allies, thus abandoned by most.
A flame that burst out from the crack quickly engulfed Dragoon Lavi. Obviously the risk of hitting its own user was less dangerous for him, if that wasn’t his real purpose at all. Even though Xiandra was interested to continue watching, she turned away. The incoming dungeon creatures needed her immediate attention.
She slashed the nearest fierce rat, beheaded the reptile next to it, and stomped on a nearby gi-ant. In an instant, half a dozen fell to her sword. Repeating the process, it didn’t take long for the dead creatures to begin piling up.
Despite that, none of creatures had retaliated, and it made her hesitated. Even after she completely stopped her movement, they really didn’t try to attack. Many of them were hissing and showing their fangs when they were passing by, but that was all.
Doubt crept her heart. Looking around, she found the opposite happened to the dragon knight. They were actively attacking the burning man, even though the flame alone could easily gave them a fatal wound.
Her brain couldn’t comprehend what was happening, but after considering every possibilities, she started to see the connection. If what Lavi had said was true, that the creatures were her allies, then, the only one she could think of capable of such feat was the Dungeon Master Arz. The young man had to have survived Maa’s raid somehow. Unlikely as it might be, it was the only answer she could come up with. His dungeon’s location and size were also match.
“Heh. Should I say, as expected of Executive Alveria’s childhood friend…? But, he still decided to help us after all what happened? Why…? Because Alveria? Or there are other things I don’t know yet?”
Xiandra found herself smiling. There were still things she wasn’t sure of, but decided to set the matters aside until later. She thought, if they were really allies, even if it temporarily, then she ought to make the best use of it. Channeling her mana to her swords, she chose a technique she had been preserving until now due to stamina consumption rate reason.
“Vlam, Vorst, heed my call. Awaken!” she chanted.
Her twin swords shook a bit and began to glow. One red and one blue, emitting a hot and cold aura respectively. She then kicked the ground and charged forward. With her blue sword, Vorst, she extinguished the large part of flame around Lavi.
He was surprised, but remained composed nevertheless. “I know it, you’re really a traitor of humanity!”
Xiandra ignored him and kept attacking, together with the monsters. However, Lavi proved to be the superior fighter. While most of the horde had gone, the remaining ones died at his spear one after another. Because Xiandra still couldn’t harm the flesh beneath the body-fit armor even with both of her swords being evoked, her target of choices were limited back to the face alone, allowing her movement to be predictable once again.
Yet, Lavi couldn’t simply attain his victory. What worse for him, his movement became duller every passing moment due to the ratsassin’s poison. The demon had directly spit it to his throat when he was least expecting, so he couldn’t help swallowing the hazardous liquid. Then, Xiandra had spilled his antidote, foiling his attempt to neutralize the effect. And he had been moving non-stop ever since, helping the poison to spread faster.
Thanks to his high constitution Lavi did manage to hold this far, but now, reaching his limit, he couldn’t finish his last opponent in front of him. Fortunately for him, Xiandra’s technique had also drained her, albeit not as bad. She had deactivated her swords back to normal once she deemed it wasn’t effective.
Thus, the prolonged fight between the two continued. Before they knew, the location had moved so far from where they had started at near the west wall to the center of town. Neither of them wished to back off and it turned stalemate.
“Hey, you. You’re from Fantastica, aren’t you?” a woman voice suddenly called.
Both Lavi and Xiandra didn’t dare to leave their opponent completely out of sight, but took a glance anyway. Whether it was an enemy or ally would make a big different, after all. What came to view were two women and four armored knights. Lavi didn’t recognize them, but Xiandra sure did, at least one of them.
“You are Big Sis Ehrisya, are you not? Shouldn’t you with the other civilians? What’re you doing here?”
“Oh dear, do you know me?” one of the women, the red haired one who looked older, replied. “Wait, I remember. You were that teenager, the youngest member of my brother’s old party. Your name is… Mm…”
“It’s Xiandra. So, what are you doing here, Big Sis?”
“Yes, Xiandra. I’m going to go to Arz’s dungeon, as per his agreement with my brother.”
“Arz’s dungeon? I see, Dungeon Master Arz is really al-”
“Watch out!”
Lavi had been having a hard time against Xiandra alone. If the number of enemy increased, then he would be doomed. Therefore, grabbing the chance when his opponent was distracted, he launched his
However, thanks to Ehrisya’s early warning, Xiandra was able to block the spear above her head in the last moment, albeit being sent to the side and hit a house’s wall as the impact. Lavi couldn’t follow with another attack, though, as the four newcomer knights already surrounded him.
At the moment, he realized the strangeness of his new opponents. Not only they had wings and slightly floated, their faces were also lack of features, as if carved by a rookie sculptor.
“Demons,” he whispered in realization.
“You shouldn’t have disturbed a talk between women, you know,” said the other woman, who had a golden tiara on her dark hair. She flicked her fingers and the surrounding knights charged forward.
Lavi’s spear was faster, however, stabbing and slashing anything that came too close. In a mere seconds, parts of what used to be the knights were lying around him.
With a smirk, he mocked. “If that’s the best you can… What’re you smiling at? Don’t you see your comrades have died?”
The cloaked woman with tiara didn’t reply a word, but her confident smile made him wary. Then, something grabbed his leg. He looked down and found that it was one of the knights from before, with only half chest and one arm left. Although his armor was absorbing most of the damage, he could feel the strength behind the hand.
Stabbing the arm, he turned to the woman again. “If you think this kind of trick can- ooph-”
Another legless knight hit his back and attached itself, trying to hold his neck. Then another, this one was a headless body, reached and hold his other leg.
“Wha- What’s this?”
If Lavi had thought it calmly, he would understand that they posed no slightest threat for him. However, for the tired dragon knight who had never delved into a dungeon and wasn’t familiar with oddities which often accompanied dungeon creatures, the surprise was just too overwhelming. And exactly at the moment, when he unconsciously lowered his guard, the woman did act.
“Uh… my head… hurts…”
*Bang!*
“Fool,” the woman sneered, watching the lifeless man that now laying on the ground, several meters behind his standing position a second ago. Fresh blood was still flowing from the hole between his opened eyes. “If I were you, I would have covered my face too. …Or not,” she remarked and blew the remained smoke from one of the three barrels of her short spear.
“What happened? What did you do?” Xiandra, being helped to stand back by Ehrisya, threw questions in confuse.
Shrugging her shoulder, the other woman smiled and said, “Just a little trick I recently learned from my master.”
Ignoring the still confused adventurer, her cheek puffed and she threw up. Except, what came out from the mouth were several eggs. They quickly hatched, revealing small gi-ants from under the broken shells. Without a single word from the woman, the hatchlings already knew what to do. They went to recover the scattered body parts of the knights.
Seeing Xiandra knitting her brows, she giggled. “Allow me to introduce myself, Fantastica. I’m Queen, a demon who serves the Demon Lord Arz.”
“Don’t say it like that,” Ehrisya scolded. “It gives an ominous feeling.”
“But it’s the truth, Mother-in-law,” the demoness pouted.
“Wait,” Xiandra cut. “Mother-in-law? No, more importantly, if you’re a demon… presumably a queen gi-ant demon, then how do you look exactly like a human?”
Queen licked her lips. “My lord values his human appearance, so I choose this form to match him.”
“What? You can choose your form?”
“Oops, looks like I’ve talked too much,” Queen closed her mouth with a hand and laughed. “Oh right, I’m suppose to hand this to a Fantastica.” Saying so, she grabbed out a big pouch from under her cloak and threw it.
Xiandra readily caught the clinking pouch. Peeking a little, her eyes instantly turned wide. “Gold coins, and this many. What’s this for?”
“A compensation for your lost.”
“Compensation? Lost? What’s this about?”
“Annoying, go ask your guildmaster,” Queen said dismissively. Her attention was already switched to the pile of knight bodies under her feet. Crouching down, she selected the parts around nape where their cores were stored.
Xiandra was dumbfounded, agaping, as she watched the parts that Queen had touched regrew their missing limbs. Soon, the four knights were back to their feet. While the hatchlings gi-ants ate their old body parts, one of the knights went to recover Lavi’s lifeless body.
“I’m taking him as per the agreement between your guildmaster and my lord,” Queen announced, pointing the dead. “He’ll surely be happy with this present and praise me, fufufu…” she muttered, more to herself.
Turning to Ehrisya, she called, “Come now, Mother-in-law, let’s go. I’ll hold you.”
“Okay. Xiandra, dear, send my regards to Dava, alright?”
With Queen holding Ehrisya from behind and a knight put Lavi on its shoulder, they took off, heading southeast.
Xiandra looked around. The district she was standing was rather silent. The crunching sound of little gi-ants having their meal had finished and now replaced by the bug monsters’ crawling sound. They were heading northwards to join their brethrens in the north gate. Her gaze followed them, and then fixated at the smokes that rose high from there.
“Right, this isn’t time to dilly dally here. The battle is far from over.”
She put the coin pouch into her own bag, took another potion, and gulped the liquid inside. After tying the bag back to her belt and retrieving her fallen swords, she started to jog following the paved road. Under the last sunlight of the day - which would completely gone in minutes, Xiandra reinvigorated her will.