When Jonathan realized he couldn’t reason with Lisa he looked ready to throw caution aside and attack the man directly. Sam and Mark were ready to step in if need be, but to their surprise, he never pounced.
Much to Oscar's displeasure, Jonathan took a breath, turned on his heel, and marched back in the direction they came.
With a start, Sam grabbed Mark's hand and pulled him after Jonathan. Mark treaded backward to get a last glance and saw Oscar staring after Jonathan with an unreadable expression. It changed, however, when the insufferable man noticed Mark peering at him. The self-satisfied grin and wink that followed forced Mark to turn away.
Just before they reached their team, Sam's hand gently landed on Jonathan's shoulder, her grip firm yet reassuring. She leaned in, her voice a hushed acknowledgment.
“Good job back there.”
Jonathan didn’t turn back, or even pause, but his response was filled with resolve.
“I can’t let him keep controlling me like that. I don’t know what he’s here for, but I’m not playing into it. Let him come, when he does, I’ll deal with him. Permanently.”
Jonathan’s Aura rose to punctuate his words. Mark could feel how much work he had put in the last couple of days because it had even more weight to it than he remembered.
Chloe saw them arrive back and Mark noticed how pale she was. Instinct demanded Mark go check on her, but when he asked what was wrong she brushed him off.
“Don’t worry I have everything under control, I just overused my Mana a bit is all.”
Mark took that as a sign to test out a half-strength [Invigorate], Chloe’s form jolted upright, and her previous plaid complexion flushed with a healthy glow.
“Now, relax, don’t go pushing yourself more, that spell will only make you feel like you have more in the tank. Don’t overstretch yourself, when we are this close to combat.”
Chloe nodded rapidly and then reined it in, glancing towards Oscar who was sitting on the tuck once more.
“So that's the face that’s caused us so much trouble.”
Mark looked at Chloe as her gaze remained fixed on the man.
“Any idea what he’s here for?” Mark asked her quietly.
Chloe made a pained grimace.
“No, that man is as unpredictable as a thunderstorm. I don’t even think he knows what he’s going to do. But at least he’s on the other end of the place.”
Mark noted a strange tone in her voice but couldn’t place it.
She was right of course. Lisa had placed the Loyaists as far as feasibly possible from them to avoid any further interaction. On top of that, she sent a messenger to inform them that Oscar would not be part of team three and wouldn’t even be entering the dungeon.
Mark found solace in the fact that he wouldn’t get blindsided while down there, but it did make him wonder what was going on.
All the while the afternoon dragged on, getting colder as the clouds thickened into dark grey cotton. The whole first group had already delved into the depths and at least half the second group was gone by the time it was their turn.
Gathering everyone took some time but soon they moved into the marching procession that was slowly filtering down into the earth. Being as it was not wide, people entered four at a time. Terry and Bonnie found them near the front and fell in step with Sam, Henry frowning while chasing after them.
“Sup, boys and girls, ready to slay some beasties?!” Terry said excitedly as he bumped up against Jonathan’s shoulder.
As vexed as Jonathan was, his grunt still carried a sense of anticipation.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Lisa told me to explain that from here on, our heavy hitters are going to start stepping in. Word is everything’s going according to plan down there. Our task is to clear the stronger ones if they show their faces.”
Bonnie had already fallen into comfortable conversation with Sam and the line shrunk at a rapid pace.
They arrived at the dungeon’s entrance for a second time in the last week or so. Memories of what was down there taunted Mark like whisps of smoke, constricting his body.
Steeling himself, Mark took one last look around, the space was significantly emptier than a couple of hours ago. Lisa was still moving through the space and organizing things, but even her team was gathering at the back of the line now.
The towers around the entrance were now manned and every second wall was beginning to go up while inscriptionists began to surround them.
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Mark spotted Lieutenant Nole, who was speaking to Oscar. Even from here, Mark could tell from his body language he was pissed, pointing at the truck.
Mark had to wonder what would make NAS give up so much potential territory, but to be honest, he didn’t care. As long as they could clear the dungeon, whatever help they were willing to offer was good by Mark.
His attention moved to the chilly air around them when it warmed a couple of degrees as they crossed over the threshold.
The system gave Mark the same prompt it had before upon entering the dungeon, only now its rating had dropped by one.
Daphne matched Mark's pace as they descended the stone staircase. Arriving at the bottom was a very different experience than last time. Mechanical lights had been hauled into the large space, acting to push back the gloom. Supplies and equipment littered the area, free for the taking. Which people did, moving through the space to either retrieve something or dive back into the main passageway.
It was then that Mark noticed the lack of Corruption licking at his heels and he spotted the large group of the church's people sitting together in prayer off to the side.
Mark was impressed they had covered all areas of the mission, he had managed to cleanse most of the Corruption out of his system but he would take any breather he could get. Patrica was still behind them with her main circle of followers, probably conserving her strength for deeper in.
Pressing forward at a moderate pace allowed them to better grasp the situation. Fighters from all factions lined the walls, exploring outward into the tunnels. Near critical hubs of movement, blockades had been set up to prevent the amassing of the Corrupted. Side tunnels were meticulously explored and cleared. The corrupted reacted, attempting to defend their nest, but it was their turn to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, if anything, the amount of power on display here was overkill.
Mark could only liken it to documentaries where scientists poured liquid cement into ant colonies to excavate their shape. Currently, they were like a flood of cement, streaming into every pathway and chamber, eliminating anything in their path.
Walking down the corridors and tunnels they advanced at an even pace, not seeing a single living Corrupted. Granted there were plenty of corpses as evidence, pushed up into corners or cleared away into unused tunnels. It wasn’t until a good way in that they even saw their first melee. One of the side tunnels exploded inward and a mass of writhing Naga attempted to break the frontline to Mark's left.
The thing was, with so many people within reach the response from their side shook the framework of the passage.
Mark reacted with several [Force bolts], and Sam sent tendrils of sharp darkness at them. Jonathan arrived at the same time as Chloe, and that was just their side's response. Henry, Felix, Terry, and Bonnie all launched attacks of their own.
Suffice it to say, the small Naga uprising was quelled within seconds of it starting.
Except for that incident, their teams progressed without any further hindrance. It was only when they had arrived in extremely familiar territory did Mark realized they were coming up to the hole they had encountered previously. Realizing that they had just bypassed all the arduous hours of travel in one easy trek Mark started to feel good about this plan.
When they laid eyes on the hole they arrived in another staging area. The difference was in the numbers from the Church of Brilliance. All along the pathways, they had seen the odd member in prayer, but here, they had surrounded the hole and were funneling large quantities of power into a joint spell. The room needed no additional light, as a byproduct of the spell seemed to send light drifting down the passage.
Even the ichor clinging to the walls, or reaching reaching beyond the next lever had melted away.
Tyler and Shameez had been ahead of their group, so that meant they were already down there.
Mark eyed the opening warily, as though it would collapse at any moment. He knew that with the Church here in full force, being cut off again was unlikely, but Mark couldn't help the wrongness and caution that this place had instilled in him.
Nathan was near another group, but when he spotted them he began to make his way over.
“Good, you’re here. I need you guys down there to bolster our numbers. You’ll have to go slow at first but as you saw, past the first chamber, the area starts widening out considerably. The next team will hit thirty minutes after you. Injured that are too far gone should withdraw. we’ll work to get everyone out safely to the surface when conditions allow.”
They all agreed and began to convene on the opening, Mark could see light down there. So it was safe to assume there was another camp down there, but when Mark dropped off the edge he could feel the Corruption making a sharp jump in levels.
If it was previously at a zero, then as he descended now, Mark felt it jump right up to a level two area. As bad as that sounded, an orange zone was worlds better than what they had to deal with last time.
The first room was fairly large but not big enough to hold three hundred people, not to mention the stream of others that would follow shortly.
Luckily the room was mostly empty, other than a couple dozen injured who were resting and recuperating, as well as the Church's people.
Forming into a jumbled line they moved into the next tunnel, with Jonathan and Daphne at the vanguard.
They all tensed as they moved into the next chamber. This was the very same one they’d had to retreat from last time. An intense battle had taken place here, Mark even thought he saw the corpses of the Hydras they had encountered last time. Unable to survive the sheer number of people they had brought down here.
Similar to the previous room, it was empty except for a good number of injured, as well as a unit of able-bodied fighters. Protecting and clearing a path through the room for future teams to travel down, like theirs.
Tired eyes watched them arrive and leave through the other end of the chamber.
Breaking out into the third chamber they found the frontline. Mark was astonished by the size and length of the room, he couldn't tell where the long corridor-like chamber ended, as it bent left, trailing out of sight.
Easily accommodating their numbers with its low low ceilings, draped in Corruption. Fleshy pods the size of basketballs hung from the roof, lit up by numerous torches.
There was a gradual slope descending out of sight and fighters needed to remove the slurry of ichor and slime along the ground, or risk taking a dive on the world's worst slip-and-slide.
The passage reminded Mark of a trachea, its maw above having swallowed them, and now they were on their way down into the belly of the earth.
With a cursory glance, Mark spotted Tyler, Jade, and Shameez up ahead with numerous combatants under them, fighting as one advancing line. Their two factions had both brought around five hundred fighters each. They had lost some of that number, but they still repelled the dying waves of teeth and claws.
Filtering into the room, the other two factions noticed their approach and made room for them. Jonathan signaled their advance, and they rotated into the frontline.