It wasn’t easy to restrain herself when Rieren followed Amalyse and Kervantes into the pit that contained the growing cacophony. She sucked in a quick and harsh breath. Things were quite a gigantic mess here.
She had thought that Kervantes had led them into another room of the dungeon, one significantly larger than any she had encountered in her previous life. But it was beginning to dawn on her that it wasn’t the case. The room wasn’t really large. It was simply a chamber formed by the collapse of the mountain on top of whatever room it had formerly been.
Because it wasn’t just a section of Lionshard mountain that had fallen here. No, the Anachron that used to reside at mountain’s peak had crashed in as well.
Its body was even more enormous than Rieren had thought. That was likely the biggest reason how such a gigantic room had been hollowed out here. Its corpse rested at the bottom of the lava-filled pit several dozen paces below where they stood, more lava and debris raining in from above.
“What are they trying to do?” Amalyse asked, pointing at the numerous Abyssals crowding the dead Anachron’s body.
Rieren peered at the scene. It struck her again just how big it was. Most of the Abyssals on the Anachron’s corpse were Blightmane Lykans, each several times Rieren’s height. But each was merely the size of a finger compared to the dead Anachron. There were some other large Abyssals there, though the distance was too great for Rieren to recognize them.
“Harvesting it, I imagine,” Kervantes said. “Food. Essence. Possibly its Beast Core as well.”
Amalyse shot him a look. “Anachrons have Beast Cores too? I thought it was only Abyssals and Aetherians. And regular Spirit Beasts too, of course.”
“They’re all monsters. Beasts, if you will. All beasts have Beast Cores.”
Rieren could confirm. She would have found one from Mountain had she been able to loot its corpse. “Which direction do we go? I cannot see—”
She stopped. Rieren had been looking around, pushing the image of the dead Anachron from her mind. But now she had caught sight of the answer to her question.
Farther off, near the other end of the huge chamber, several Abyssals were guarding some people-shaped bodies. The distance made it hard to tell, of course—especially since they seemed to be wrapped by strange grey wires—but Rieren could sense them channelling. At least one of them was trying to use Essence.
And the only people who could do so were the people they were searching for.
“That’s them, right?” Amalyse had spotted the same thing Rieren had. “Has to be.”
“Your companions?” Kervantes asked. “They don’t look much like you, if I can be honest.”
“They’ve been captured,” Rieren said. “We need to free them from the clutches of the Abyssals.”
“Agreed. That will finally get rid of the need for me to keep guiding you.”
“We need to approach and get a better look at the guards. I do not recognize some of those monsters.”
Rieren tried observing the Abyssals again, but it didn’t work. The monsters were too far away. They would have to get closer.
“Come,” Kervantes said.
They followed the automaton. The enormous room hadn’t been hollowed out evenly. That left many ledges circling around the central pit of varying lengths, heights, and widths, but each large enough for them to traverse without difficulty.
There were enough platforms that the Abyssals, numerous though they were, couldn’t guard them all. As such, they had congregated at the locations they would be needed most. That meant the corpse of the Anachron—to retrieve its Beast Core before the lava consumed everything—and one of the largest rocky platforms where they guarded their captives.
They had to lower their profiles as they approached, making sure none of them channelled any Essence. Of course, once they reached a certain level of proximity, the Abyssals would sense them anyway.
“This is as far as we can safely approach,” Kervantes said.
Rieren nodded. They were too far to act, but they had reached close enough to observe better. She could certainly make out the unknown monsters now.
Not that she felt that was a good thing.
The creatures were hulking humanoids standing nearly as tall as the Blightmanes and carrying weapons that looked like a large axeblade set on a sword. Their chests were hollowed out to leave nothing but a dark maw surrounded by jagged ribs that poked out in a circular pattern like teeth.
“You know what they are?” Amalyse asked.
“Shadeborn Omnivores,” Rieren said.
“Omnivores? Who names these things?”
“Ask the system.”
Kervantes took a seat on the hard ground. “How do you intend to proceed?”
Rieren glanced at him with a frown. “You do not intend to assist?”
“This is your battle, not mine. I was to guide you here. Even if I wished to help you, the dungeon still holds power over me. I cannot take any direct hand in any action that goes against our… guests.”
“Fat load of help you were,” Amalyse muttered.
“You might as well say it out loud. My hearing is far stronger than yours.”
Amalyse didn’t look the slightest bit abashed.
“No matter,” Rieren said. She observed the arrangement of the Abyssals for a moment. “I think I know how to end them.”
She didn’t need long to plan with Amalyse. Kervantes listened without any input, though he did provide little suggestions now and then. Rieren was happy to take them under consideration. Eventually, once their planning was done, Rieren and Amalyse headed out.
Though, before they got going, Rieren pulled Batcat off her head. “Keep Batcat safe for me.”
The kitten protested vociferously with several hisses but calmed down when it landed on Kervantes’s outstretched palm. It tapped the ceramic with its tiny claws. When it found Rieren wasn’t about to budge on her decision, it finally settled down.
“Do not let it escape,” Rieren said.
“Oh?” Kervantes stared down at the cat. “Is it a flighty kitten? I was under the impression you were a better owner.”
“That is not what I mean. Batcat… has a propensity to join battles that are far beyond its small form. I wish to prevent it from needlessly throwing itself into danger.”
“Ah, I see. Then fear not. If it gets uppity, I shall keep it distracted.”
The idea was stranger than Rieren wanted to admit. This was no normal cat and no normal caretaker. She was leaving a Spirit Beast in the care of a dungeon guardian, both of whom were rather eccentric. Rieren decided to not think overmuch about it.
She had some Abyssals to kill.
Their approach was slow and careful at the start. The closer Rieren and Amalyse got to the Abyssals before revealing their presence, the better they could execute their plan.
“Here, use some of this,” Rieren said.
“What is that?” Amalyse asked, accepting the fistful of Deathpulse Confetti from Rieren.
“It will help you gather Essence while fighting if you rub it over your weapon.”
Amalyse looked down skeptically at her staff. “Well, you’re supposed to be doing most of the fighting.” They had planned their approach such that Rieren would take care of most of the monsters, giving Amalyse the opening she needed to rescue their captured comrades. “But I’ll try it anyway. Thanks.”
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Rieren nodded, then continued rubbing some more of the confetti across her Receptor sword. There were far too many monsters. Not obtaining their Essence would be detrimental, especially since advancing in the Awakened realm took a great deal more Essence than the Adherent realm had.
Of course, it didn’t take long for the monsters to sense them.
The Blightmanes let loose rumbling shrieks that bounced off the chamber’s walls. They started loping towards Rieren and Amalyse, the smaller Armistice Enforcers following close behind. The Shadeborn Omnivore was farther behind, and slower, seemingly reluctant to leave its captives completely unguarded.
Thankfully, there was still some time before the monsters reached them. The chamber was rather large.
“Is your leg truly alright?” Rieren asked.
Amalyse nodded. “The healing your perk did was excellent. I don’t think it’s fully healed yet, but definitely good enough for a fight.”
Rieren decided to trust her assessment. Amalyse knew enough that bullishly trying to join a battle while injured would be the opposite of helping.
“Why do you think they’re simply keeping them there?” she asked, nodding at the captives.
They had gotten close enough to easily tell that the Abyssals really were holding some of the Sect members in captivity. Rieren thought she recognized Serace and Folend among the people there. Most were unconscious, though Serace was doggedly staying awake as he tried to channel Essence. Whatever he was attempting wasn’t working.
“The webs tell the story, I think,” Rieren said. “The Gravemark Puppeteer wants them alive for some reason. I imagine they will move to where it is once they have acquired whatever it is they seek from the dead Anachron.”
“If it can leave behind webs that can suppress Essence use to that degree, then it must be really powerful.”
Rieren grunted. There was more she would have liked to say, to speculate even, but it would have to wait. The monsters had reached them.
“Ready, Amalyse?” Rieren shouted.
She nodded tightly, brandishing her staff. A red crystal bubbled into being at its tip, shattering a second later to form a large greatsword rising off the tip of her staff.
Rieren ducked as Amalyse swung it backwards to charge her swing. Just as the vicious monsters arrived inside her range, Amalyse slashed in a large, horizontal arc. Her red blade slammed into the majority of the Abyssals.
Amalyse wasn’t exactly the strongest being in the vicinity, but her strength was nothing to scoff at. Her sword bashed all the monsters to the side, taking them by surprise as they were pushed towards the edge of the narrow platform they had charged onto.
Of course, the monsters were strong in their own right and numerous to boot. They were able to stop Amalyse’s sword before they were pushed off entirely.
That was where Rieren came in. She leaped at the middle of the sword. Her Body stat was high enough that her strength, combined with Amalyse’s, was more than enough to shove the surprised monsters off the edge of the rocky ledge. Several Blightmanes and Enforcers shrieked as they went plummeting into the lava far beneath.
Not all the monsters had been dealt with as easily, unfortunately. Several of the shorter E-Grade Abyssals had been able to dodge under Amalyse’s swing. Even a single Blightmane had squeezed itself into relative safety.
“Monkey’s snotty nose,” Amalyse said. “Things can’t ever be too easy, can they?”
Rieren pulled out her sword. “Well, it’s far easier than if we had blindly charged into them.”
Amalyse didn’t look satisfied at that, but her complaints were cut short when the surviving monsters attacked.
It wasn’t difficult at all to deal with the remaining Abyssals. When the Enforcers rushed Rieren, she was able to dodge most of them without even needing to use her skills. She only resorted to a single use of Fray Passage when she several of the E-Grade Abyssals tried to surround her.
All in all, it was an easy to swerve away from the unagile monsters and land fatal blows with her sword. Slashes took off limbs and heads, stabs caused blood to spurt from punctured guts and necks. The weaker Abyssals fell with ease.
Unlike the Armistice Enforcers, the Blightmane stayed back for the moment. Strange. They were normally some of the most aggressive kinds of monsters, charging into the fray before any other Abyssals. Was that the effect of the Puppeteer? Somehow, it must have been asserting its influence, even though Rieren didn’t see any sign of threads or webs nearby.
Apparently, done waiting, the Blightmane started charging before Rieren could take a single step towards. But it was brought up short when a red spear slammed into its head.
Aside from being fast and powerful, Blightmanes were some of the fastest Abyssals to boot. But they had one weakness, one spot where they could be taken down easily.
A spot Amalyse had just revealed for Rieren.
Her spear striking the monster’s head had forced it to rear backwards, which had caused its entire body to rise. That revealed its sole weak spot right at its lower belly. All Rieren had to do was use Fray Passage to close the distance, then use her sword in a powerful combination blow of a vertical and a horizontal slash.
The Blightmane cried out as blood spilled forward, followed immediately by the monster’s body crashing down. Rieren had evaded it quickly.
“That takes care of that,” Amalyse said. She was looking past Rieren as she approached. “Except for the big fellow over there.”
Rieren placed a hand on Amalyse as a reminder for her to stay back as she stepped forward. Her friend hadn’t faced Shadeborns in combat. Rieren, however, had. She knew the monster’s tricks.
The ground started shaking as the monster finally reached them. Rieren couldn’t tell if it was D-Grade or C-Grade. She doubted it had reached all the way to B-Grade. If that had been the case, she would have felt a greater sense of danger from the creature. No, Rieren was more than capable of taking it down.
Up close, the creature was even uglier than it had appeared at a distance. Its skin was the colour of congealed blood. The head was little more than misshapen blob of red flesh sitting atop its broad shoulders. Its arms were overlong, resembling the Armistice Enforcers’ apelike limbs, and though its legs were barrel-thick, they appeared strangely agile.
Rieren stepped forward to meet the monster before it could reach Amalyse’s vicinity. As she got close enough, she summoned her Domain.
Water materialized around her, the monster immediately splashing into the rising surf. Waves battered its thick legs. It was too tall for the natural waves of her Domain. No problem. She had Tidal Summon.
Rieren activated the technique, feeling the flow of water around her, trying to be one with it despite the circumstances. Her sword, still blessed by the Deathpulse Confetti, had drawn in a great deal of pure Essence, which she was channelling rapidly to give herself the boost she sought. But now, it was time to focus solely on taking down the creature.
The Shadeborn was the first to strike. It raised its weapon high and slammed it down with a speed that belied its size and girth.
With Rieren’s speed enhanced by her Domain, it wasn’t a difficult matter to dodge away from the first hit. But the Shadeborn followed it up rather quickly. It dragged its heavy blade along the ground, sending water flying in every direction. This time, Rieren did need to use Fray Passage to get out of the way.
She had chosen the correct direction. The opening she found herself in allowed her to land a vicious slash from the back of the monster’s arm to its lower back.
The Shadeborn turned quickly, again displaying a speed that went against its size. Once more, it was bearing its blade down with another fast strike.
Rieren was already moving, however. The last few uses of Fray Passage was now making her wince with the aftereffect. It seemed her stats were already starting to outpace her cultivation again. She was being forced to take it slower. But she still needed to keep moving before the monster could think to reach her.
This also kept up her constant openings so that she could continue slashing and stabbing, leaving more and more wounds that bled dark-blue blood, contrasting its dark maroon skin and flesh. With Tidal Summon active, her sudden movements were letting loose lacerating waves at the creature, compounding the injuring effect.
Soon enough, the Shadeborn was a mass of blood and wounds. Apparently, it realized that it was being worn down. Once more, going against what its enormity suggested, the monster jumped back, landing over a dozen paces away from Rieren.
She only had a moment to be surprised before it launched the attack she had been anticipating.
The toothlike ribs jutting around the hollow in the Shadeborn’s chest started expanding. Less than a breath later, they burst outwards, propelled by fleshy sinew and appendages, resembling a gigantic lamprey’s mouth rushing in.
Rieren didn’t have time to wonder how it worked. Big as the Shadeborn was, the appendage bursting out of where its innards should have been was easily four times its size. All she could focus on was using Ground Truth to stop the mouth from swallowing her whole. Instead, her skill forced the protruding maw into the ground.
The Shadeborn gobbled several chunks of rocks, destabilizing their platform. Even worse, the monster was healing itself. Its ability to ingest anything with its bursting chest-mouth allowed it to consume nearly anything to produce immediate energy that could be used for a variety of purposes. Unfortunately, the purpose in the current scenario was healing.
But for a moment, only.
Its beady eyes widened as the wounds that had been closing up now reopened with great ferocity, blood bursting outwards in all directions. Rieren smiled.
Along with the great number of rocks the monster had forcefully dragged in, it had also taken in much of the water from her Domain. Water that had a good deal of Divine Essence, thanks to her channeling the water that came down from Lionshard mountain’s peak. Abyssals were weak to Divine Essence, so consuming it had the opposite effect of healing.
The monster’s chest-mouth ground out an agonized roar. It turned to the right, attempting to use the same ability at a different direction. But Rieren was already moving. The Shadeborn had troubled her long enough.
As the enormous snout burst out of the Abyssal’s maw to crash into the ground to her left, she used Fray Passage. The skill made the pains in her body flare up. Rieren bore it, arriving at the fleshy snout as soon as it made contact with the ground. When she got atop it, she was pulled in towards the Shadeborn.
The monster saw her coming. It attempted to raise its axeblade high enough to sever her in two, but Rieren activated Fray Passage again.
She shot over the monster’s shoulder and past its neck too fast for it to react. Her sword was held at the exact angle needed for the blade to slice right through where its neck should have been under that pudgy head. Regardless, her blow was fatal. The Abyssal’s chest-mouth screamed once more, but it fell to its side, blood pooling around its twitching body.
Rieren waited at a safe distance until the body stopped moving. She received no achievement for the kill, which suggested the monster was likely no higher than C-Grade. Though, the ease of its death suggested it was likely closer to D-Grade.
But either way, all the monstrous deaths had at least allowed her Receptor sword to pull in a great deal of Essence, which she was already channelling. There was also a decent amount of loot to be collected, so she would be able to obtain some Credits as well.
“I’ve got them,” Amalyse said from further off.
Rieren turned to see that she had reached the captives and was attempting to free them. It was taking a greater amount of time than she had thought it would. While she had kept the Shadeborn busy, Amalyse was to have freed the others so that they would be ready to leave as soon as the monster was dead.
Unfortunately, that didn’t appear to be the case. Especially since their little altercation had drawn the attention of the monsters far below.
Dozens of shrieks climbed up the sides of the enormous chamber. Rieren grimaced. It seemed they had even less time to rest than she had thought.