Honey’s sweaty palms grip the ribbed leather that encases the hilts of her heavy blades. The thick, one sided blades curve slightly inward, with the upper half thicker and weighted. The weight on the end of the swords allow Honey to cut through meat and bone like a seamstress might cut a stray string. Snip. The heavy tips make the swords awkward to swing and the momentum hard to control. At least, for a normal person, but Honey is no normal person. Honey is kin to one of the most ferocious beast to ever roam the planet in her old world. A Honey Badger.
Honey’s natural abilities separate her from most, in terms of fighting capability. Her honed killing instinct was instilled in her by her childhood adventures as an enslaved gladiator in the deserts of her home world. She had murdered her way to freedom and glory, before she became awakened to her reality as a fictional character. Soon after being awakened, she was summoned to this world. Since then, she only added to the pile of corpses that lay in her wake. Those foolish enough to stand in her way are lucky if they are buried with their corpse intact. Or buried at all.
Honey’s palm sweat, not from fear or nervousness, but from the undulating excitement that pulses beneath the surface of her skin, barely contained. This little expedition with Snowflake has been an absolute bore. At level 36, Honey can crush this place by herself, easily. Too easily. As Mordai, would say, “It’s not fun unless it gets a bit rough.” Such fun had been lacking earlier in the trip. Thankfully Snowflake somehow angered the entire Dungeon. The rough and fun times start now.
The bohemian white minotaur, almost three times her size, is the one Honey wants to tear apart first. She bends her knees, arms outspread, heavy blades in hand. Time slows for her as she dedicates her entire being to her next series of actions. Muscle memory from countless slaughters take over, pushing her forward on light and graceful feet. After three steps, her momentum builds and she prepares to launch herself. Before she can, a bundle of black feathers and white fur latches on to the minotaur’s upper body. Wolven jaws snap at his throat, sharp claws seek to disembowel him, and an absurdly long tail wraps around his waist.
Honey stutter steps midstride, shocked by the sight. Nevasca’s tail clenches around the minotaur’s waist, just like it had around Honey’s axe handle not so long ago. Snowflake’s familiar rides the dismembered upper half of the minotaur to the ground. It’s legs fall in a different direction, spilling blood and guts like a gruesome fountain.
Although surprised, Honey didn’t survive this long by hesitating in a fight. Her target killed, she adapts. With spins and twirls she sends limbs flying in all directions. Fountains of blood erupt in her wake as she mows down the creatures blocking the entrance to the maze. Weapons, claws, and magic bounce off her steel like skin, a gift from the honey badgers she calls kin.
“Quickly!” she calls to the group she is leading. “We have to get to the tenth floor before the Floor Master make’s its move! These creatures are probably just to stall us!”
She rushes into the maze, trying her best to recall where all the traps are, as well as which direction to go to get out as fast as possible. Nevasca bounds along beside her, large leaps eating up space. The strange beast seems to share a similar mindset to Honey.
‘I finally get to let loose and kill some shit,’ they think, in slightly different, but oddly similar ways.
A few steps behind the bloodthirsty beast duo, trails Snowflake and Ra’hel.
Bringing up the rear, on the lookout for ambushes, are Quinn and Mordai. The raucous of their passing does not distract from their thoughts of survival. All of them have entered the fight or flight mode, but they’ve chosen a little bit of both. Fight and flight, per se. Well, all of them except one.
Ra’hel has more pressing issues on her mind. She is hungry. Those goblins had finished digesting not too long ago and now it is time to feed again. Preferably weak, struggling prey. As snakes are apt to do, Ra’hel likes to eat her meals alive. The meat stays fresher, longer that way. Besides, she likes the way it tickles when they struggle inside her stomach.
She smiles at that thought, glancing over at the human running along beside her. His life force had gotten stronger since she first met him, but it is still weaker than hers, signifying him as ideal prey. Ra’hel could, of course, kill prey stronger than her, but it is more fun to kill weak things. Ambush predators such as herself have a reputation for killing stronger creatures, but just because she can, doesn’t mean Ra’hel likes to. As if him being weaker isn’t temptation enough, power emanates from his blood whenever it spills. It tastes tantalizing in the air and she can only dream of what it would taste like on her lips.
Ra’hel shoots him a lustful gaze. She is well aware how her looks affect human men and has every intention of ‘seducing’ Snowflake. Even though he no longer looks quite human… To her it doesn’t matter. Meat is meat.
Before she feasted on those stringy goblins, Ra’hel had fully intended on eating Snowflake. She still does, but an opportunity hasn’t presented itself. He is always protected by at least one other party member, but she does not mind. Her snake heritage is that of a patient ambush hunter. Once she has her eyes on the prize, the only thing left to do is wait.
Spikes of stone rip from the ground, impaling the occasional attacking creature as the group proceeds through the maze, Ra’hel’s handiwork. She isn’t quite sure why the others seems so desperate. Being attacked by creatures is nothing new in this Dungeon. Finding something or someone delicious to eat is a much more pressing concern. The group didn't get very long to rest after the last boss kill, and Ra'hel is grumpy about it. She is tired, hungry and she doesn't understand what all the rush is about.
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These thoughts on her mind, she is surprised when the floor drops out from under her. To be exact, a giant slab of the floor rotates as she crosses it with the human. The slab slams shut behind them with a loud bang. She falls for what feels like an eternity, but was probably only 20 feet. Ra’hel recovers from the shock of the fall and coils into a defense bundle. She takes stock of her surroundings, a dim chamber leading into a tunnel. Not a trap meant to kill, but a trap meant to detour.
Relaxing her body, which was wound beneath her like a spring, she explores the chamber. Nothing much is here. It seems to be a staging area to go into the tunnel after the fall. A peek in the tunnel shows nothing to be concerned with. The air tastes of monsters, but the scent isn’t fresh. Most likely the enemies stationed down here are currently attacking her comrades up above. No enemies with one approach that is easily defendable? An ideal time to take a break. Ra’hel summons a wall of stone to block the tunnel entrance, preparing to relax a bit before exploring. Maybe a nap to stave off some of the hunger?
She is down here all alone- wait. She flicks her tongue out to smell the air. She turns left and right, tasting in every direction, searching for a scent. Her lips spread into a huge grin, as if she has some hilarious secret no one else knows.
She is down in this chamber, all alone with the human. His familiar is nowhere to be found. His friends are gone. No Angel or Beast to protect him. The little crown of flames dances on his head as he rolls over with a groan. He stands on shaky legs, looking around with a stunned expression.
Her human body close to the ground, Ra’hel slithers over before he can fully recover from the fall. She twirls around him, patting him down with her hands. Feeling him up, she gets rid of any weapons she finds. A spear, shield, and dagger. Despite the fall he had lost none of them, until now.
‘No one will what happened down here,’ she reasons. ‘If I say he died in a trap or was eaten by a monster, no one will know the difference. Besides, that last one would even be true!’
“Looks like you’re all in one piece,” she giggles, her snake tail pinning his arms against his sides. A hand reaches down his pants as she looks him directly in the eyes and sways back and forth, working a little magic.
“Looks like you’re even in working order down there,” she winks, covering his lips with a finger from her free hand to stop his protests. “Just relax, Snowflake. I’ve wanted to get you alone for a long time so we could do this. I find you irresistible.”
After a couple seconds of working her magic, he goes limp in her grasp, lulled into complacency with a little hypnotism and a few words. Well, mostly limp. Ra’hel slithers around Snowflake, pressing her chest against his upper back. Her tongue dances on his neck, tasting his sweet scent.
‘Delicious,’ she thinks, a shiver of anticipation running through her body. Her jaw unhinges, her canines elongate, venom dripping from their needle-like tips. Her fangs sink into his neck, paralysis poison pumps into his blood, her tail holds him tight as he struggles. The paralysis poison is just in case he tries to use magic during the feeding. She has been looking forward to this for a while and she would rather not get interrupted.
Blood pumps from the wound in his neck and it is much more delicious than she thought it would be. The blood revitalizes her, repairing the claw marks gouged in her scales from his struggling. Ra’hel flexes her coils, causing Snowflake’s bones to creak in a satisfying manner.
***
My blood boils, fighting the invasion of a foreign army. A stabbing pain shoots through my neck, waking me from my stupor. Something is wrapped around me tightly. I can’t move! Panic knocks on the door to my mind as I try to wriggle free, but to no avail. My mind is in a haze. What is happening?
The last thing I remember is Ra’hel’s eyes… So pretty… They were changing color in a strange way. Her voice was so comforting and the way she swayed… I just couldn’t say no. So many sensations were clouding my mind all at once.
The thing binding my limbs to by body gets tighter, ever so slowly. My bones creak and I’m afraid they’ll break. I have no leverage to push back with! I try to use the Source, but intruder my blood is fighting against is using up all of my Source allotment. I need to find out what is going on so I can make a plan!
My eyes are open, but I’m having a hard time understanding what I’m seeing. Everything is just so fuzzy… I think I’m somewhere with low light. Besides the pain in my neck, a softness is at my back, but the rest of my body is bound by something that isn’t really hard but is dry and has a slight give. The give feels like the one time Mordai had me feel his bicep. Hard, but elastic. Muscle? Am I bound in muscle?
I try to concentrate on the feeling running across my hand, thinking of muscle. What kind of muscle would be dry though? And have those little ridges practically everywhere. Those ridges feel so strange like scales or some-SCALES! Panic kicks down the fucking door to my mind and starts lighting shit on fire!
Oh shit. Oh No. Shit shit shit shit. Please. No. Shit. Let it be a dream again. I’m begging you. Is anyone up there?! Please, no. I don’t want to get eaten. I can’t do it. Please. Please.
My body kicks into high gear, adrenaline pumping. My eyes can finally process what I’m seeing, but I really wish they’re lying. Ra’hel is wrapped around me, her tail squeezing the life from my limbs. She must sense that I’m aware of what is happening now, because she twists her body to face me, her gloating eyes carefully watching my expression.
“What’s the matter big boy?” She coos, her mouth covered in my blood. “You’re finally going to be inside me. Didn’t you want this?”
I try to scream, but she crushes the air from my lungs. I can’t access the Source around me. The Source in my blood is fighting something. My Core is the only thing keeping me from being crushed right now. I have no way to fight back. I can’t move. I have no leverage to push back. Is this the end?!
“Don’t worry,” Ra’hel’s face gets closer to mine, our lips almost touching. “You’ll be alive for a long time. Who knows? Maybe you’ll feel everything that is happening as I digest you?”
Her bloody mouth presses against mine, stealing a morbid kiss. I try to bite her, but she pulls back before I can, my teeth produce a loud snap in the air. She laughs at my attempt.
“My turn,” she says, her jaw unhinging larger than I thought physically possible. She rises up, her grotesque mouth angled over my head. I can see part way down her gullet, the fire on my head lighting the way. She squeezes tighter, forcing my blood to my head. My vision swims, death looming ever nearer.
Unable to resist, I resign myself. I fought a good fight. Maybe not good, but I don’t think I could’ve done better. Nevasca carries a piece of my soul. I will live on within her, and she will avenge me. My poor sweet Nevasca will be all alone in this cruel world. I’m so sorry that I have to break my promise to her. I told her we’d always be together, but here I am. Leaving without her.
Tears well up in my eyes. That is my main regret. Leaving poor Nevasca behind. Maybe Charles will take care of her for me? That thought gives me some comfort.
Darkness clouds the sides of my vision, but I can still see Ra’hel’s maw closing over my head.