Smoke billowed from the open bulkhead, gathering on the ceiling.

They were all so focused on the opening that they almost missed the actual attack. Beck and Cora turned in opposite directions at the same time, each facing an imp that had just coalesced from the smoke. The rapid disappearance of the smoke was the only cue they got, and the things were already charging for an attack.

Embers glowed from within their open maws, only for one to be extinguished by an ice bullet that pierced through the back of its throat. It burst into a rather large cloud of smoke, obscuring the area it had occupied as well as a couple yards around it. The other was able to push the swirling cloud of black and orange out towards them, but it quickly reversed and shrouded the imp in darkness.

You have slain a Minor Smoke Elemental Demonspawn!

Neither Mason nor Kenna had even begun to turn when the remaining smoke condensed into the shape of a woman about Beck’s height, though little aside from her shape was discernible. A vaguely feminine voice emanated from the figure, her arm outstretched to the remaining imp. “Who dares to intrude on our budding kingdom? Thy bones will be but fuel for our ascent.”

The imp that had been obscured fly unwillingly into her waiting grasp, at which point it’s very being seemed to dissolve, flowing into the thing that looked like a woman. It didn’t even have time to scream. A deep inhale issued from the creature, followed by a pleasure-filled exhale. By the end of it, she had grown half a foot, standing eye to eye with Mason.

"Yeah, I ain't havin' that." Three ice bullets ripped through the smoke, leaving holes almost twice as large as the projectiles themselves. As those holes closed, Kenna and Cora both closed in. Kenna swung her pick through the midsection of the creature, while Cora swept the knees. Still, none of it had any effect. As the two women retreated a few steps, Ms. Smoky simply laughed, reforming her body in a matter of seconds. In lieu of more witty banter, she waved a hand and sent a dense cloud of smoke towards their group.

Then Mason charged. He gave no warning, just braced his shoulder against his shield, took a deep breath, and ran forward. It took them all by surprise, smoke woman included. While Cora had set to work minimizing the smoke's effect on their group, Mason made contact with the enemy, causing her to burst into a cloud of smoke. Again, she started to reform, but the gnome arrived just in time. A spell construct burst to life around the spike end of her polearm, assembled so quickly that Beck barely had time to register what it was before the hammer end was sent sailing through the air, further dispersing the hostile cloud. A deafening crack echoed through the room and down every hall, leaving everyone clutching their ears until they recovered.

While they were still recovering, Beck caught a glimpse of a trail of smoke pushing through where the window met the wall. Then, they were alone. After a few minutes of waiting, the creature didn't return, so their group took the time to search the room for anything useful.

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Fundido, soon to be progenitor of a new race of demons, was having a wonderful day. Everything was going exactly to plan. They had found a chamber with two metal humanoids that had been purpose built to act as vessels for angels. As if that wasn't enough good fortune, the earth from the floor in that room was perfect for making his newest little golems. The demonic essence in the Creator Cube always twisted them a little, but they served their purpose. The day of the eclipse and his ascension was fast approaching. His new race of demons would be born. The mud would be the key to that. The only issue was that he was completely unable to consume any of the water-aligned golems he could create. Fortunately, he had a plan already in place.

The sworn gnomes were much more to his liking than his creations' current form. The things were entirely too similar to the goblins they had created during the war, though he hadn't seen any of either since the war. Working from memory would've been fine, but he would much prefer to have some reference material on hand. Soon, the mother of Aldmoria's new race of demons would take shape.

He was working on the fourth and last of his mud golems before moving on to his next project when he felt his mate approaching. If he still had a face, he would have frowned. He hadn't summoned her yet. He shifted the Cube to the side of his throne, making just enough room for his smoky creation to coalesce before him. Immediately, he took in her state. Wounded, but not badly. And a bit larger than she had been. He raised his head, prompting her to speak.

"My love, we have intruders. I underestimated them. They were able to wound me."

Concerning. But, that only meant that he would need to move up his timetable. He extended a hand to his mate. "I will ensure they are dealt with. Now, come, join me." She nodded, and took his hand. The grate that made up his face swung open, and he shoved her in head first, drinking in her existence. The influx of mana and essence was enough to burst a seam between his torso and arm, which dribbled a small stream of magma from the opening. A haze began to trail from the openings of his head, gathering into a small cloud of smoke just above his crown.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

What kind of guard dog ran away at the first sign of trouble? She truly had been unfit. No matter. Her replacement was just one more matter to be expedited. First things first, though.

With a bronze fist, he reached down and crushed a pipe. Before long, one of the repair suits came clanking up to do its duty, only to be grabbed and melted, assimilated much like his golems. His metal shell grew, adding half again to his height. Now, he stood as tall as the Giants-blood, though a portion of his body that had previously been taken up by magma was left occupied only by smoke. As much as he would have loved to revel in the increase to his power, he still had the intruders to deal with.

As his shell reclined, he called up the memories from his most recent meal. It shed a bit of light on how they had managed to hurt her, but even still, only one had actually managed a decent blow with an air-based spell. She still should have been able to manage them. Only further proof of her inadequacy. Still, the intruders were different from any race he had ever encountered. Three of them, at least. The armor made it hard to determine the race of that of the fourth. Even so, one might easily mistake them for a party of humans, a gnome, and a giantblood if not for their hair and eyes. The male seemed perfectly normal for a human, barring the seaweed-like hair, but the gnome literally had a cloud for hair, and the big one's hair and eyes glowed orange and gold, respectively.

Despite their eccentricities, the two females were quite appealing, despite their heavy musculature. A lither version of a combination of their frames would suit his new mate well. With that thought, he sent a token force of an assortment of his golems to slow the quartet. He couldn't let them move about freely, even if it did cost a small amount of potential power.

He pulled the Creator Cube towards himself once more as a group of icicles detached itself from the ceiling behind him. His very first golem, Helada, still bore the unfortunate resemblance as everything that came from the Cube. But not for long. "Is it time, Sire? I ascend with you?" Its voice was grating, even with his lack of ears. Another change that he would have to make.

Still, he would bear it, for his ultimate creation. "Yes, dear. It is almost time." He finished the mud golem he had been making, leaving it just shy of complete; it had no intelligence. He would only need this one for its body. The grate opened once more, and he leaned over the cube, expelling all of the silver metal he had absorbed from the machines. The Cube accepted the material, but this time, he was not creating golems.

The mask was formed first. Eyes to match what would be his, a small nose, and full lips on a narrow mouth, ending in a sharp chin. Next were the arms, and then the legs. The Cube spat out all but the mask to the side, hollow metal clattering as it fell to the ground. "Now."

His ice golem climbed onto the Cube at the same time that he grabbed the creature of mud by the neck. The cube opened to swallow both, and he set to work. The mud golem was formed into a torso, while Helada's body was split into fourths and its face removed, replaced with the mask. The fourths were fashioned into appropriately sized limbs, with the remaining mass being spread over the torso to ensure stability. Once the overall form was settled, he still had the mass left from the sheered-off face, which he used to fashion elvish ears and a layer of hollow ice beads to resemble hair.

It spat her out onto the pile of limbs, but instead of colliding, she simply floated. It didn't take long for her to right herself, at which point she drifted to a clear portion of the floor to kneel before him. He couldn't help but admire his handiwork. She was simply beautiful, even in such a weak state. Her voice came without accompanying mouth movements, only the ringing of her crystalline body. "Thank you, Sire. I will make the most of the gift I have been given." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand, at which she floated away.

There was only one thing left to do, now.

Smoke Elemental Demonspawn consumed

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The whole place was a maze. It had seemed simple enough to reach the ground floor, but they were already an hour in and barely halfway down. Granted, they had been going slowly to make sure they didn't miss something important. While that had seemed like a good idea at the time, they hadn't found a single useful thing since before the steam imps. What they had found was a half dozen different types of imp behind the door that Kenna just opened.

The first words out of Beck's mouth were "Close it!" followed closely by a couple of ice bullets directed at a magma imp. It screamed, and the place where the first shot hit turned to stone before the thing dropped from the air. The sound of a system message rang in his head at the same time as Kenna resealed the door.

You have slain a Minor Magma Elemental Demonspawn!

Six, five now. The sheer fact that he knew exactly how many there were after only a brief look was proof enough of the perception boost from Wisdom. What that didn't give them, however, was a way through that didn't involve anyone getting hurt. Or worse, killed. The things may have been fragile, but between the burns Mason had gotten before and the thing that ate one of the imps, he didn't want to take any chances. Problem was, they wouldn't get anywhere if they didn't.

Mason had already been hurt once. He couldn't let it happen again. Not to Kenna or Cora, either. He was the reason they were down there in the first place. So, he would take the heat.