Chương 27: To Trojan

Ch. 27: To Trojan

"I'm running out of steam, Kay." Billy held tightly to Kayla as they took a right at the corner. The snake charged at the, breaking the stone hallway they were in. Billy did not look back, would not look back, or he would lose his gumption. Kayla watched as the snake etched closer to them.

"There are like… markings on it," Kayla said as she studied the snake.

"We need to move out of the way soon."

"I know," Kayla said, "If I was a higher level, I could spawn wings. Where the hell are the exits!? It's all just hallways!" Billy huffed as he said, "I think the residents… put this in place… in case the snake got out. I don't think we have an exit anymore." Billy turned the corner on the hallway around the sand temple for the fourth time. Kayla noticed the scratches on the walls and ceilings that were undoubtedly the snake's scales.

Billy was right, the residents had likely boarded the hallway exits as part of the escape protocol. They were in an endless hallway with no way out.

"Can we go up?," Billy asked, pointing, "This thing's going to wear us down eventually."

"Up's not likely. Even if we found a way, it would snatch us before we could. You see that next turn? You're going to ram the wall. Then… you're going to be the bait. You got it?"

"Easy." Kayla readjusted in his arms, placing her foot on his chest. She bounced off of him, jetting further along and then speeding to the wall. That shift in momentum dropped Billy's speed and he felt the lick of the snake's tongue on his calf. Billy yelped as he dashed forward. Kayla smashed the wall with her hammer. The hammer she had could amplify the vibrations of her smashes, adding power to her hit and even causing disruptions for some projectiles. This effect helped loosen the tiled stones even more.

Kayla lifted her hammer, watching as her teammate approached with fear in his eyes. The Slay Queen smashed the wall once more. Cracks ruptured in the stone. Kayla picked up the pace, smashing the wall again and again. The wall spit stone blocks. The blazing sun poured in, filling the dank hallway with spokes of light.

"That'll do!" Billy cried. Kayla ducked behind the corner. Billy angled his horns at the wall and burst through it like a star quarterback ripping the team banner before a big game. The snake's tunnel vision caused it to ignore Kayla. It continued its chase for Billy into the desert landscape. The velocity and size felt like Kayla was trapped as a train passed next to her. She lifted her hammer and slammed it against the snake's body.

"You can level up!?" I asked. What is a sentient item if not a monster?

"Dang, guess so. Feel better?" I asked. Much better.

"Great. Now feed me some mana." The once depleted mana bar quickly filled to the brim. It was a healthy green again with the number 100% printed boldly over it. Anubis shot toward me. I jumped over her and created a stream of cloudstep that acted as a slide. My feet kicked her back and she slashed my calf with her claws. I flipped over and landed on my feet. Anubis created two void fists with her hands and jumped on top of me. I created two clouds around my fists and we locked arms.

The continuous generating clouds filled up the void, acting as a standstill. I placed my foot on her belly and tossed her upwards into the air. Anubis channeled her void fists to pull her back down, kicking me in the face and slamming me into the ground. The void in her fists flittered, likely running out of charge temporarily. She grabbed my ankle and slammed me against the ground. I conjured cloudform from the foot she was holding on to. The stream of solid clouds overwhelmed her.

It pushed her backward and I was able to turn around and knock her in the face. She jumped backward, barely saving herself from falling. Anubis stood with some distance, panting.

"You're getting tired," I said, "I just got my second wind." Anubis reached for a charm she had on the side of her belt. She gripped it, almost nervously. Rubbing her finger as if she was deciding something.

"What's the issue?" I asked, "You getting scared?" Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"I don't feel these benign emotions you humans are fraught with."

"You will." Anubis didn't want to lose any ground. She burst three void balls toward me. I tossed three cloud balls at her. The two forces collided. The void balls absorbed the clouds and dissipated. Before I had time to think, Anubis zipped through and slashed with her claws. I pulled myself back, narrowly avoiding the claws. The demoness created void balls and swiped at me. I grabbed her wrists and pulled them apart. I called out my command, "Firebreath." God, the look of panic in her eyes.

To make a demon lord this scared. I think the joy made my flames a little brighter. She leapt and punted my chest with her two feet, releasing from my grip. Didn't matter. I still had the fire brewing. Anubis grabbed at the pouch around her belt. Holding it But then she released it, stuck her hand out and called out her hidden move." Ultimate Move: Vast Nothingness." The fire struck at her but she got smaller and smaller and smaller until she was a mere dot.

Then the dot disappeared behind a dune, then multiple dunes, then my back hit the level's edge. I closed my mouth, quelling the spell. I was at the end of the level, behind the mouth of the pit and far, far away from the sand temple. I looked behind me, beyond the level's edge was an entire horizon of sand. I get it. She increased the 'nothingness' between us. Effectively pushing me away. How far could she have pushed me if I hadn't come up against the level's edge? I was winning. That's why she sent me away.

But my plan had been to kill her quickly so I could work on the snake next. As of now, Kayla and Billy were in danger. I placed my foot on the level's edge, and kicked off, racing back to the sand temple. While the snake whipped its tail at Billy, he jumped over it and struck the body with Franz' axe. The axe bounced off, completely negated by the scales.

"Invulnerable to piercing! That means my knuckles won't work either!"

"Any other weapons!?" Cried Kayla"Yeah, I've got the original brass knuckles," Billy slipped off his magic weapons and slammed his fists into the core's scales.

"Aaahhh!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kayla yelled. The core whipped Billy with its tail. Billy would have been flung if not for grabbing onto the tail.

"Hold on!" Kayla slammed her hammer against the side of the snake monster. The snake rattled its tail to shake Billy off, but became distracted by Kayla.

"Kayla!" Billy yelled. Kayla rolled and jumped, slamming her hammer against the snake's rib cage. She used the magic of the hammer to create a vibrational shock wave. This caused a spike in the snake's heart, stunning its circadian rhythm. Before Kayla could do anything else, the snake recovered and hit Kayla, using Billy on his tail as a club. They both rolled down a hill of sand.

"Damn," Kayla said, "Only I can do damage on it right now, we could win this but… it's not looking good."

"It's the scales. Its scales are invulnerable, not the eyes. Not the tongue. And not the inside. It's official, I'm Trojaning."

"Ugh!" Kayla said, "you love to Trojan! You always Trojan!"

"This time I really gotta Trojan!" Billy said as he ran in front of the snake and said, "Hey! Over here! Eat me. Yeah, you. Eat me! I'm delicious aren't I?" The snake stared at Billy. Its body moved in slow, almost melodic bobbing from side to side, as if it was trying to decide what to do with Billy. Billy took off his shirt and bounced his pecs to entice the snake. The snake struck at Billy. Its fang entered his shoulder. Billy let out a small grunt of pain.

"Billy!" Kayla screamed. Billy kept his hand up, "It's okay! It's how they eat. It'll swallow me right now." The snake tossed Billy into the air, he turned and dove, sliding into the snake's open gullet as he put his brass knuckles on. The snake closed its maw and turned its attention back to Kayla. It once again poised itself, bobbing left to right as it got closer to striking Kayla. Kayla had her hammer up, intensely focused on the snake's head. Once it strikes, I'll leapt and smash its head in.

But then Kayla noticed the figure beyond the snake's head. On the balcony. A black figure, in the shape of a dog on two legs in a white flowing dress. It can't be, Kayla thought. Anubis began forming a ball in her hand. Too small for Kayla to see, but growing bigger with the more energy Anubis put into it. Anubis faced in the direction of the tar pit's mouth. The fang entered Kayla's shoulder just as it did Billy. Kayla had been distracted. Her body seared with pain.

The snake lifted her and tossed her in the air just like it did Billy.

"We can't BOTH be trojaned!" She screamed. Kayla stuck her hammer out and as she entered the mouth, banged on the snake's uvula. The snake felt sick, having eaten three times today and not once had it chewed its food. It spewed the contents of its guts onto the sand floor. Out of its guts came Kayla, the snake's first meal, and a jumble of broken stone pieces. Kayla rolled on the sand and got up, "Billy! Billy, I'm sorry. You're going to have to go back!"

"I can't believe that worked," A voice that Kayla had not heard for a few hours rang in her ears.

"F-Franz?" Franz walked toward her, his knife in his hands. Kicking a stone piece in his way. Kayla could not see it, but on Franz' screen read these words: Kill own party members (2/4)"Hey, Kayla. I think it's about time I came clean about the real reason I'm here."