Chapter 104 – Floor 9: Part 25
Lucas smacked his lips in satisfaction. The mana and Aether of the pilfered card coursed through his vein, empowering him further. ‘Brigand’ was the perfect Discipline for him, and he silently thanked the gods for granting the option when he levelled up.
He had been a thief when he lived outside of the Tower until he was caught and spent twenty years in prison for a robbery that went wrong. Lucas had only been out for a few days when the Tower arrived, granting him a new lease on life. And, more importantly, new opportunities.
“You know, I’ve been looking forward to this. These Locals are too weak, they break too easily.” Lucas cracked his knuckles while staring lustfully at the beautiful Drafter.
He had his eye on here since they had arrived, her and Aster both. He would have put Carlie and Corinna on his ‘to do’ list as well, but the sisters were too strong for him.
But Alivia was here now, and Mercy had told him he could do whatever he wanted.
The way she looked at him with disgust was intoxicating. It was the challenge that made it worthwhile. These locals whimpered and whined, cried and begged for leniency. It became annoying, and it only grew worse once he got started.
But the defiance that a Player had, that carried them through Floor after Floor of torture and hellish environments was better than a thousand local women. Lucas shuddered in anticipation of the conquest, of Alivia’s eventual surrender.
It made entering the Tower the best decision he had ever made in his life.
Alivia took a step back from the Brigand, flicking through her deck nervously. She hadn’t expected him to eat a card! What kind of monster was she dealing with? That card had cost her a fortune in Aether, and he devoured it like it was nothing.
She had a few stronger ones in her deck, but pulling them out was the problem. A weakness of her Discipline, aside from the minuscule amount of stat increases in brought, was the inability to select the cards she used in combat.
Alivia could only pray that something would work.
“I’ve had thousands of women since I’ve been here, but they all lacked that…fire, that you and other Players have. They didn’t struggle at all. I missed that.” Lucas taunted her as he approached, picking up his axe from the ground as he did so.
“You’re going to die. You all are. You should let me have some fun before the end. If you think I’m bad, you haven’t seen what Mercy can do.” Lucas gestured to his right, where Mercy was facing Joseph in the distance.
The Illusionist wasn’t doing well at all from the quick glance Alivia could spare. Mercy was toying with him, dashing in close and slashing at him with her nails that had grown into long claws. Her face was twisted with hatred, and Alivia could see small horns protruding from her forehead, a sign of the Fiendish blood that tainted her veins.
Alivia ignored what was happening over there, focusing on her own fight. She couldn’t help anyone until Lucas was dealt with.
“Maybe you’ll enjoy it? I can be tender if I want to be. But if you fight me, I’ll make it unpleasant.” Lucas narrowed his eyes, his bearded face turning sinister and evil. He almost seemed eager for her to fight him, and his gaze raked across her body wantonly.
“Or maybe you are hung up on someone else? Is it Mathew? That punk is on his last legs. Although, I’m surprised he had a bit of fight left in him. Osmund will take that out of him.” Lucas said, drawing her attention to the fire surrounding Mathew and blocking him from sight.
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Aster had already gone to help him, leaving Alivia to delay Lucas while she did so. Mathew and Aster could already be dead for all she knew, the heat from the inferno the Blood Sorcerer summoned had driven everyone away, cutting off Alivia and Lucas.
But she had faith that Mathew would overcome this. He was the Enduring, after all, a title he had earned on the Seventh Floor when so many other people had died. Hell, he was the one that helped bring down Samuel the Apostle!
‘He has to be alive.’ Alivia thought.
Lucas watched Alivia stare at the flames, and rage filled him. The Tower had granted him the ability to take anything he wanted, and rather than focus on him and the threats he was stating, the Drafter was gazing at someone else.
It was just like how it was outside the Tower, all those years before. Nothing changed, and it filled him with a fury that turned his vision red.
“Fine, we’ll do it the hard way!” Lucas bellowed. He ran toward her, his right hand outstretched while his left gripped the axe tightly. His weight caused the earth to shake with every step. Not even the muddy ground could slow his advance.
“Please.” Alivia whispered her prayer to the gods of the Tower as she drew her card. Her fingers shook so much that she could barely grip the card that she pulled from the deck.
Her prayer had been answered, and the image on the face of the card made her smile in delight. It was of a stick figure surrounded by black lines, snaring it in their grasp.
“Yes! Stygian Tenaculum!” Alivia shouted, the power within her flowing into the card in her hand. She tossed it in front of her, where it disappeared in a puff of dark smoke.
Lucas could feel something off with the ground beneath his feet. His boots were sinking deeper into the mud like he was walking into a quagmire. Slowing, he frowned when the dark ground turned pitch black, and small, ebony tentacles began to squirm up from the earth and wrap around his ankles.
“Enough of the tricks!” Lucas shouted, swiping at the ground with his axe to separate the black tentacles from his legs. His axe buried into the earth, cutting them in half, but they reformed instantly. In a moment, more appeared, and they were growing larger.
The ground burst apart, and tentacles as large as Lucas’s body rose all around him. They waved hypnotically for a second before whipping toward him and wrapping around his torso. Lucas dropped his axe as they tightened their grip.
“Take that, Asshole!” Alivia yelled in amusement. The large, fat man was completely engulfed in the black tentacles, and he couldn’t move an inch. They would last as long as her mana did, and she had stores of it.
With Lucas out of the fight, she could help Mathew and Aster. She was about to take a step toward the billowing inferno of magical flames when she heard a yell of rage erupt from the captured Brigand. The wrapping of black tentacles bulged, and Alivia could feel her mana plummet as Lucas struggled to escape.
The Brigand’s hands emerged from the cocoon, gripping the edges to pry them apart. Alivia could only watch as his face appeared, a cocky grin in place as he saw her.
“Miss me?” Lucas growled. He ripped the tentacles from the ground and, without pausing, raised them to his mouth and bit down on it. Tearing through them with his teeth, he chewed and swallowed a mouthful of the magical spell.
“But that was one of my strongest cards.” Alivia whispered in disbelief. Even if Lucas had been able to escape the spell, the speed at which he did it surprised her. An icy feeling spread through her body from her stomach, and she backed away in terror as Lucas balled up the remaining tentacles and swallowed them.
She could feel his power growing, enhancing his physical abilities as he devoured her card’s magic.
“Now, where were we?” Lucas snarled. He picked up his axe and resumed his relentless march forward. Alivia, backing away, stumbled on something unseen on the ground and feel onto her back as the large, fat man loomed over her.
“We’re going to have some fun, and don’t expect it to end quickly.” Lucas threatened. Reaching down, he wrapped his hand around her delicate neck and lifted her off the ground with ease. The Drafter struggled to reach her cards, but Lucas shook her roughly, and her deck fell onto the ground.
“Now, now, none of that. You need to learn to obey, and I’m going to enjoy teaching you. First, I’m going to-” Lucas was cut off as a piercing white light split the smoke and haze the fire had created. A silver lance struck him in the arm, biting deep into his flesh before passing on.
Cursing, Lucas dropped Alivia and turned toward the source of the attack. The flames that Osmund had summoned were gone, and in its place was Aster. Her silver armour glittered in the light, and she reached her hand out, where her lance promptly flew back into her grip.
“Well, you’re tougher than I thought. I’m going to look forward to this.” Lucas growled, his lips splitting into a wide grin as he raised his axe and charged the Lancer. Alivia, on the verge of unconsciousness from the rough treatment by the Brigand, desperately tried to reach her cards, but her hand refused to obey.