“Do you know what actually lies past that doorway?” Kerolast asked as they approached the large doors.

Rieren knew quite well. “My master said that an Ooze lies within. It will not be an easy dungeon guardian to defeat.”

“An Ooze, is it?”

Mercion sounded a little disgusted. Rieren couldn’t blame him. Slimes were bad enough. Oozes were even worse since they tended to grow to enormous proportions and came with more dangerous abilities to boot. These could vary, but she knew the specific ones the one they would face possessed.

Unless, like with the obstacle with the floating columns, the dungeon had changed that too. Rieren wasn’t even sure if that kind of change was possible.

“My lords,” Rieren said as they stopped before the doors. “Will you deign to tell me what it is you exactly seek here? I can assure you that there is no Abyss Rent within the dungeon’s main chamber.”

“Well, we cannot close Abyss Rents even if there had been one,” Mercion said. Rieren neglected to inform him that they could be cultivated away, though after jumping through a few hoops. “However, if we can reach the Dungeon Core, that might make it unnecessary.”

“Ah, I see.” So, they intended to secure the Dungeon Core to prevent it from creating any Abyss Rents in the first place. Rieren could understand that. Not that such a goal would be easy by any means. “But why you alone? Why have you not brought more of your clan members and other cultivators to assist you in this endeavour?”

Mercion didn’t immediately reply to that. Perhaps Rieren had overstepped her bounds and asked something personal and important. Perhaps the only thing preventing him from reacting angrily was the fact that he owed Rieren his life.

“It is because our clans can spare none,” Kerolast finally said.

Mercion stared at him, but he didn’t contradict the words or admonish his companion for speaking.

Rieren stared. Clans. Hmm. “Is there some debacle occurring in the Shaatterlands, then?”

“The Stannerig and the Ordorian clans have conjoined together via matrimony. Union between Archnoble clans isn’t unheard of, of course, but typically, if the head scion of a clan is marrying into another, they tend to relinquish their claim to the position of clan leader. That… has not happened this time.”

Rieren could sense how much effort Kerolast was expending to keep his voice neutral. “And I assume you are from the Stannerig clan, my lord?” She directed the question at Kerolast.

“Correct. Mercion is from the Ordorian, while I am from the Stannerig. We were sent together to display that we could work together and cooperate when needed.” His mustache curled as he smiled sardonically. “Following our dear Emperor’s orders, and yet he is still angry with us.”

Rieren nodded. She was starting to understand the conflict that was driving both of these men here.

Last she had heard, the eastern Archnobles—the Stannerig and the Ordorian clans—had decided against following the Emperor’s directive of cooperation. Well, initially, at least. This had caused quite the friction with the imperial court.

Of course, in the middle of an apocalypse, the Emperor couldn’t simply send his overbearing might to subjugate two Archnoble clans and bring them under his heel. They were all too busy dealing with the monsters invading their doorsteps. But the Emperor had cut off from sending any aid and forced the clans to fend for themselves.

It seemed the clans had eventually decided to work together via this marriage the men had mentioned. She wondered what sort of political mess both clans were in now. That sudden change in stance couldn’t have come about easily.

Whatever the case, it seemed that since cooperation had been ensured according to the Forborne Emperor’s orders, they could apply for aid. But Kerolast’s words suggested the Elderlands’ ruler hadn’t seen fit to render the two Archnoble clans any assistance yet, perhaps seeking to continue their punishment.

That didn’t sound like the Emperor Rieren had known. But then, the Forborne Emperor Rieren had known wouldn’t have allowed his court to become infiltrated with the gods’ influence in the first place.

She frowned. The capital was waiting for her, but she had no idea what in the world she was going to find there.

“Please Rieren,” Mercion said, trying for an embracing smile. “Do not let worry for us mar your pretty face. We will conquer this dungeon and prevent the Dungeon Core from letting any more Abyss Rents from birthing in its tunnels.”

Rieren stared at him. When was the last time someone had called her pretty? Bastard was going to make her actually feel bad for what she intended next.

“Then let us proceed,” she said. “I will keep the main guardian occupied. You must use that opportunity to find the Dungeon Core. I cannot guarantee how long I can keep its attention, so please hurry.”

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Mercion thumped one fist against his chest and palmed the hilt of a mace with the other. “You can count on me and Kerolast.”

“Mercion, you must stop speaking for me,” Kerolast said with slight exasperation. “But yes, leave the Dungeon Core to us. We will secure it in no time.”

Rieren nodded. Then she pushed open the doors into the dungeon’s main chamber.

The interior was exactly as Rieren remembered. Just as big, just as airy, and just as filled with a grey, slimy substance. As she recalled, the roof of the chamber had collapsed in spots, letting in the dying light of the later afternoon into the chamber. What remained of the ceiling was unstable, something Rieren had used to great effect in her last battle here.

There was only one major difference—the chamber had threads. Silky, silver strands decorated the walls and the roof, draping the room like horrid tapestry.

It seemed the Gravemark Puppeteer’s influence truly was here.

In truth, for all Rieren knew, this could be the handiwork of a different Puppeteer, not the A-Grade one she had defeated but failed to kill within Lionshard dungeon. Somehow, she doubted that was the case. After all, that monster had been crowing about just how far its influence had stretched.

“Unbelievable…” Kerolast muttered as he saw what awaited them in the middle of the chamber.

Rieren couldn’t blame his surprise. She had been taken aback by the Greater Ooze’s size when she had first reached this location in her last life. Even now, she couldn’t help but be impressed at how big that thing could get.

It was easily big enough to bridge the chams they had crossed with the aid of the floating columns, and easily capable of replacing all the columns with its own gelatinous mass while it was at it. In other words, the Greater Ooze was not going to be easy to deal with by any means.

“Are you sure you can take on that thing?” Kerolast asked.

“Go,” Rieren said. “I will handle it, as I did the Blightmane.”

That reminder was enough for the men to get going.

Of course, the Ooze wasn’t about to let them get past so easily. As Mercion and Kerolast ran away, it reared high, readying to land itself square upon them.

Not on Rieren’s watch. She summoned her Doman even as she charged the Ooze, turning much of the water into boiling, roiling steam. Quick slashes of her sword with Tidal Summons active sent boiling waves crashing towards the Ooze.

The first contact of her burning steam against the slimy flank of the large monster made it stop short in its attempt to reach her companions. Rieren rushed forward, sending more of her Domain crashing against the dungeon guardian. The Ooze made an oversized arm out of a quarter of its body, then slammed it towards her, but she dodged easily with Fray Passage.

Now that Rieren was close, she could spread her Domain’s influence far enough to nearly encircle the slimy monster with steam. With the corrosive effect that overheated water had on the Ooze’s body, it was kept well at bay.

Until it summoned a new trick Rieren hadn’t seen before.

The ground started to crack. She had enough presence of mind to throw herself back with Fray Passage as rocks burst out. At first, Rieren wondered if it was some sort of gravitational or psychokinetic ability, but then she spotted the threads of slime connecting the rocks.

Ah, the cursed Ooze had burrowed underground to throw up rocks. And here she had thought these things had no brains.

The rocks might have missed her, but that didn’t stymie the Ooze. Instead of trying to chuck them at Rieren, it pulled up more of the broken stone from the floor and started constructing a strange, rocky armour.

Rieren’s eyes widened. That armour was acting against her steam.

Well, that wasn’t going to stop her. While the rocks might protect the Ooze against her attacks, Rieren was in turn protected from brushing against its slimy body. Touching the Ooze would have terrible effects, especially if the contact was prolonged. This was ultimately to her benefit, especially since Rieren could now use the ooze’s own enormous body against it.

Of course, first she had to evade its blows. It threw another punch at her. This time, its slimy fist was encased in rocks, as though the blow before wouldn’t have been bad enough.

Rieren burst past the point of impact with a quick Fray Passage. When she was close enough, she leaped straight at the monster. The rocky carapace it had constructed for itself gave her several platforms to which she could leap. It took only a few heartbeats before she was close enough to the roof.

Then she jumped straight up. It didn’t matter that the Ooze was trying to reach her with its oversized, newly made arms. Rieren was already beyond it. Her leap had taken her right to the top of the chamber’s roof.

For just a second, Rieren breathed in the fresh air. After being stuffed in the musty, slimy dungeon for hours upon hours on end, this freedom burned through her spirit.

It also exposed her like a beacon for anyone who might be observing the events in this little slime dungeon.

The Ooze’s continuing rampage alerted her that it was likely attempting to switch targets to her companions. That was a mistake. It shouldn’t have ignored her. Rieren made good use of the opportunity she was granted by summoning her Domain again. This time, she let the water rage, let the waves build up to the overwhelming crescendo of a sea squall.

The power and weight behind all the water she had drawn up finally made the ceiling start to crack and crumble. With her recent advancements, she was able to summon more water and its stormy power was more intense than before as well.

Rieren jumped high as the roof began collapsing inwards. The Ooze never saw it coming. Its enormous size meant it hadn’t moved far. There was never any doubt that it could be caught by the collapsing roof chunks. They crashed into and broke its flimsy armour, then bored holes through its squishy body.

Holes where Rieren had directed her water to fall as well. It was then that she applied some more Essence to turn all the water to steam.

The Ooze’s defeated shriek accompanied her fall back towards the chamber. Rieren splashed down onto the dungeon’s broken floor without trouble. The Ooze was falling apart thanks to her burning steam, but Rieren decided to end it directly.

Aiming for the centre of its body, Rieren sent another Tidal-Summons-powered wave crashing into the wound she had carved with the falling roof and her subsequent Domain. As soon as her wave made contact with the Ooze’s interior, another quick conversion to steam finally landed the killing blow upon the dungeon guardian.

Well, that had been simple enough. All that past knowledge was coming in quite handy.

Rieren turned her attention to her companions. They had done well to ignore her battle with the Ooze and had found themselves at the end of the chamber. No doubt they were doing their best to extract the Dungeon Core, or at least ensure that it would not be a threat to them in the future.

She might have joined them in the endeavour, but this was the moment the last stage of her plan was about to come into play.

Batcat meowed quietly.

“Yes, cat,” Rieren said. “I am aware. Let us end this.”