While Áine patched me up, I had to quickly scoop up my insides and shove them back in. It hurt like hell, but it saved my familiar mana, which was sorely needed.

Orlun and Rello swept the room while Aleena and Sereza stood guard over Eodyne. She was asleep, but none of us knew if she had a special kind of resistance to sedatives.

And if a monster attacked? They'd be there to defend her while she lay vulnerable on the floor.

"Cyrus. I've seen you get messed up pretty bad already, but are you good?" Sereza called out from where she stood.

I raised my hand and gave her the middle finger. "Yes."

"I don't know what that means, but I'm pretty sure I get it!"

"Is the room clear?"

"Clear, sir!" Orlun shouted.

I tried not to move and withheld my sigh as Áine mentally glared at me from where she had her hands on my insides, healing the hole in my chest.

As she did that, I looked up and stared into Sturmrorex's eyes. He stared into mine with bright blue that crackled with light.

"Master..." he began.

I shook my head. "No. Don't start. You did amazing."

"But I-"

"No. I mean it. You saved my life and prevented a lot more. Seriously. Learn to take praise when it's well deserved. I get hurt; it happens all the time. That won't change either. You did good. Thank you."

He withered under my lecture, but I reached a finger out and booped his nose.

"I understand..."

"Good. I'll trust you for now and forever. And in the future? When you're big enough to part the heavens with a single roar? I'll accept your apology then, and only if it's appropriate."

That cheered him up, and he slithered around my head and lightly touched his nose to mine.

It took over a dozen minutes for Áine to stabilize me enough that I could stand. I let her continue to heal me on my shoulder while I used my foot to flip my spear into my hand.

As I approached Eodyne, I searched for mana in the area, but nothing was left outside except the remnants of electricity near the corners and wind scattered around the room.

"We can check for a parasite or mental effect while she's asleep. But just in case, be prepared to subdue her. I don't want to go through that again."

"Yes, sir!" Aleena replied.

Sereza simply got into position and held several knives in each hand.

Áine hopped down and landed on her neck while Sturmrorex hovered near her head.

They weren't taking any chances.

She activated her healing skill and rested my own on her neck and head while lightly digging my claws into her skin. I searched and pulled for the foreign mana but had to step away when there was none.

"I don't think she's under any sort of effect. Maybe it was dispelled once we knocked her out?" I said after opening my eyes.

Sereza lowered her hands. "Do we wake her then? I can extract the poison."

Don't make me regret this, Eodyne.

"Yeah, let's do it. If she attacks again, we knock her out. If she becomes mobile, we're fucked."

The guards surrounded Eodyne on all sides while I guarded the front. Sereza leaned down and held out her fang, using her claws to cut a thin line next to her shoulder. From there, dark-yellow ooze began to seep out, and she pulled her hand back, dragging the ooze as she did.

I gave Áine the go-ahead, and she sent quick bursts of mana into her skull, letting it seep into her brain. As she sent a third wave into her body, she jumped back and flew to my shoulder, grabbing my hair as leverage.

Eodyne's breathing started slow, and then I felt the air in the room swirl toward her. For a moment, I let the mana crash into the crystal covering my arms, but it calmed as the air stilled.

"Mmnngh..." Eodyne moaned.

"Hey, Eodyne. Are we good, or will we need to restrain you again?"

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

She stopped and slowly lifted her head off the floor. When she met my eyes, I waved, as did my familiars.

"Cyrus? Wait... no. Is this another trick?"

"No. I'm real; so are the others."

"How do I trust you?"

"We could've killed you. We didn't, obviously. And close your eyes, do you feel that?" I asked. Áine sent another pulse into her head, and she visibly relaxed underneath her touch. "Good. There's only one her. Believe me now?"

"I do... fuck. Cyrus. I'm so sorry."

She raised her head and met my eyes. Hers were dark storm clouds that raged inside the swirling grey irises. Eodyne genuinely looked disturbed, but I shrugged.

"It's whatever. Just another day as an adventurer, eh?"

"Cyrus..."

"Listen, not you, too. Just get up. We need to find the others, and you need to explain why you thought we were fakes."

The others backed off, and she quickly examined herself and all the tears in her needed hoodie. The magic had already stitched one of the tears together, repairing itself.

I looked down and saw the same was true for my clothes, especially where the shrapnel had torn away some of the material.

Already paying for itself.

Eodyne jumped up and stretched before turning to face me. "After you disappeared, we were all teleported into this place. At first, I found Isaac, but then he tried to stab me. I was cautious and found Igas, but when I activated my skill, the thing tried to cut me down. It seems like the creatures learned it wouldn't work using our team, so it began using the faces of my family."

She spoke the last words with a cold anger that bled through her speech. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and sensed the gathering mana around us.

"We're in a dungeon if you can't tell. I have a lot to explain... Usual shenanigans, so nothing too crazy."

I felt the glares from the others even as I ignored them to make my mask smile.

"Cyrus..."

"Right," I sighed. "So here's what happened after we entered that room."

------

I whistled to myself as Eodyne cursed up a storm. She didn't bother using the common language and spoke her native tongue.

Truth be told, it was pretty colorful.

It took her a hot minute, but she calmed down and only mildly looked like she wanted to strangle me.

"I'm ready. Let's find the others," she said.

With Eodyne with us, I had Sturmrorex join her shoulder. He wrapped himself around her torso, and at first, Eodyne spent time readjusting until they both worked it out. How he rested on her would do little to impede her range of motion or movement.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I am great! Her mana is delicious!" Sturmrorex roared back.

I smirked and noticed Eodyne had a strange look on her face. She hid it well; the tilt of her lips was subtle, and her eyes were about two shades lighter.

"Eodyne? What's up?"

She lowered her head and stroked Sturmrorex's scales, electricity dancing between her fingertips. "Many in my village would consider this a great honor. I am proud to add this story to my tale."

I smiled, and we continued down the hall. As far as Eodyne remembered it, it was empty for the next three turns; her decision to pick one direction and stick with it meant all we had to do was backtrack to where she woke up.

As she led us there, I would stop at the doors and wait for my perk to warn me. It stayed silent, so I kept my senses alert, constantly checking for hints of spatial energy.

It wasn't until the second hallway, and we passed the last set of rooms, that I felt a blip at the furthest corner. I had Sturmrorex lightly tug at Eodyne's neck and raised my spear.

Eodyne turned, and I motioned inside the room we just passed. She nodded and got into position, and began to activate her mana.

Rello and Orlun rushed into place while I struggled to find the blip.

As soon as I did, I felt the air brush my skin as something clashed with Orlun's blade, sending him back.

He held his ground, and a spike snapped up, puncturing into the hidden monster with a wet squelch. Speckled blue blood coated the temple floor and sizzled away as Eodyne unleashed her arrow.

The electricity zipped through the air and burrowed inside the exposed flesh from the spike. A blobby, four-limbed beast revealed itself as I pulled mana from the creature, and its body began to flicker into view.

Another rain of arrows bombarded the monster's head. It pulled its thick limb away from Orlun's sword, which quickly slashed upward with the reprieve. The limb hit the ground, separated from its owner, while the monster reeled back.

Its body broke the spike and shook violently, releasing a deep growl.

Eodyne was ruthless.

Arrow after arrow pelted the monster's head, a few zipping towards the hole in its chest. I smelled burnt hair and flesh, the cooking meat underneath the monster's flesh beginning to glow from the power rushing into it.

It stopped, paralyzed from the constant shocks, and then I noticed it.

As quickly as possible, I grabbed Sereza's arm and yanked her toward me, who yelped as we dived behind Rello.

As we crouched low behind the guardsman's back, Eodyne launched one last arrow that streaked violet as it flashed across the hall and right into the monster's eye.

I heard the eruption before I felt the air explode around us, blue blood fountaining across the ground. Orlun and Rello recoiled as their fronts were coated, and I saw that Eodyne had created a wind barrier around her and Aleena.

As our human shield began to wipe the blood off his face, I stood up and held out a hand for Sereza.

"Thanks," she said as she took it. "Quick thinking."

"No problem."

"Thanks, sir... for the warning," Rello groaned.

"Stay still," Eodyne commanded.

Orlun and Rello froze as a sharp mana pulse came from Eodyne's hands. A strong gale encompassed the two and whipped the blood away and back into the room, where it coated the far wall.

When she lowered her hands, they were clean and with freshly blown hair.

"Th-thanks..." Orlun stuttered.

I ignored the blinking guards and moved to the monster's corpse, still stuck to the wall.

With the invisibility gone, I could see its full form. It looked like a strange mix between a boar and a wolf. Four overly muscular arms ended in sharp claws while holding up a protruding belly with a limp furry tail at the end.

The head looked like a pig's while displaying a long tongue and sharp teeth. Grey skin stretched across a bumpy skull, easily larger than my own.

Its guts were spewed across the stone, and a massive hole had ripped up past its ribcage toward the base of the skull.

The meat and blood continued to sizzle as smoke rose from the wound.

For a moment, I considered looting it, but I lowered my hand and turned around.

Sereza raised an eyebrow and I shook my head.

"Not worth the mana cost. We already know it's a dungeon," I said.

"You looted the first one?" Eodyne asked.

"Yeah, gross organ in a jar again. I'll eat it after we're out."

The guards had a look of horror on their faces while Eodyne and Sereza both nodded.

"Good, just make sure Celenae gets a good sketch first. Preferably after we get it identified."