Chương 22: [LD-1] 21. Fight for the Dungeon core II

XXI Fight for the Dungeon core II The white fang's gaze pierced through my own. I could almost see the foam build up in his mouth like it would for a rabid dog. My hand tightened on Cull.

'Fuck.' We couldn't handle a deranged Kiba right now. At all. What should we do?

'Should I run out of the room?' If we were lucky, he'd chase me and leave the others— Kiba's hair whipped side to side, and our eye contact broke. His fangs pushed past his upper lip and dug into his lower one. The pain, paradoxically, reduced the density of the haze. Without hesitating another second, he leapt back at the warlock. My gaze widened.

'He controlled himself? That's—' I slapped myself. Don't ask questions. Not now. We had to end this before he lost the battle against himself. Lily and I rushed to join the remainder of the warriors. Our mages who yet had mana fired at the warlock. The blasts did no damage, but they kept the warlock busy enough for us to close the gap. One warrior released a war cry. A burst of energy entered my soles and shot through my arms. Cull pulled back— The warlock sneered.

A thick wave of mana pulsed around its arms and thickened its shield. Cull's point punched through the surface of the barrier, but the rest of the blade got stuck on the way down. Kiba walloped and clawed like a drunken lad. In complete opposite fashion, Lily unleashed a series of timed and precise strikes that all hit the same spot on the barrier. Our efforts combined, and a web of cracks crawled along the warlock's shield. A deep furrow pressed onto its forehead.

"Oh, didn't like that, did you?" Lily yelled.

"I've got—" Light buzzed around her sword. The blade came down for the sixth strike.

"—one more!" She hit the exact same spot. The barrier shattered. All of us pounced on our target without stopping. The core was increasing the warlock's power far beyond our level, but the beast was still unskilled. There was a delay between every barrier that it shaped, and it could not stop all of us with a single shadowbolt.

"Check…mate!" I groaned, bringing Cull down on its face. … I should've kept my mouth shut. Before I could even tell what was happening, the back of my head slammed into a hard surface with enough force to black out my sight. When my vision returned, I realised I'd been thrown into the rear wall.

'What… is…' A crushing force kept the side of my head and chin glued to the wall. I couldn't move a single muscle in my neck. At the same time, the wave was burning through my cheeks, and the familiar taste of iron entered my mouth. What the fuck was happening?! My eyes moved with great difficulty and discovered I was still floating. The warlock, understanding the gravity of the situation, had pulled out all the stops.

It stood in the centre of the chamber beside the core, staff raised high while the gem pulsated like a beating heart. Waves of black fire gushed outwards from its position. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I resisted the urge to form a shield right away and forced my neck to move so I could see what had happened to the others. Lily was in a similar position against the wall right beside me.

Her eyes struggled to remain open, and parts of her student uniform combusted. Every single one of us was suffering the same fate, except for the ones hiding behind the rocks. But they could move just as little as we, lest the inferno burn them into nothingness. Out of all of us, Kiba had it the worst. The fur on his arm had caught aflame. He screamed his lungs out but couldn't do anything about it. Cull dematerialised. I stared the warlock down. Its black cloak fluttered in the updraft of its ability.

Its condescending smile waited loftily for all of us to burn alive. I raised my arm.

'If the core… is the source of its power…' The warlock was too busy sneering to notice the black hole opening behind it. Slithering out of the gate like a serpent, the tentacle wrapped around the core. The stone was being held aloft in the centre of the pillars. However, the force keeping it from being removed was quite weak. A solid tug was enough to rip it out of its socket. Flames died out the moment the core left its socket. A sigh was sucked out of every person in the room.

We collapsed to the floor, some more gracefully than others. I whipped back onto my feet like a spring. After noticing my tentacle, the warlock had, of course, fired a shadowbolt at the appendage. But its move was a lot weaker. It failed to carve through the arm before the tentacle whirled and loosed the object in its grip. Beams of light reflected off the core as it flew.

'Great throw,' I commended. Octo could've been a pitcher in a different life. Eyes going wide, the warlock followed the arc of the core through the air. I got into position before it could think of doing anything. Cull reappeared in my hands. I aimed, then swung Cull like a bat— Others may not think so looking at me, but I was never the last picked when we were playing baseball in P. E. I'd scored my fair number of home runs. —the crystal shattered on Cull's edge. Breath thundered out of my throat as it broke.

My knees buckled, but I remained standing and kept my gaze on the warlock, who seemed utterly stunlocked by how the situation had turned around in mere moments.

"We…did it…" someone whispered. Hearing the words reduced the strong taste of blood in my mouth. It rejuvenated the others as well, for they burst out in cheers.

"No—" I coughed and spit out a ball of blood.

"—not yet." There was no system notification to announce the dungeon's break. But worst of all, the warlock's jaw set, completing the square features of its face. Its staff rose again. Mana, raw power, pooled around the gem at the top. The light in the room brightened. Shadows pulled from every corner of the chamber and gathered behind the warlock into a humanoid shape taller than the beast itself. Now it was my eyes that went wide. Was that… was it summoning…

The entity did not wait for my understanding to come into this world. Darkness morphed a rounded and wide back. One many times wider than its waist. Two long arms stretched from the silhouette, and four ovals snapped open on the front and sides of its head.

'Dammit.' Shadows still shrouded most of the creature. But whatever it was had a mana signature as strong as that of the warlock. We weren't beating that. Not out of mana and tired as we were. The warlock realised that. Its lips stretched side-to-side once more—a hideous attempt at a smile that was an affront to any sentient creature that cared about its appearance. The warlock didn't care. It pointed its staff forward for the dark beast to advance. The tip was aimed at me, and the entity roared into motion.

This time, when my knees buckled, I barely stayed upright.

'Come on!' I yelled inside myself.

'Move—' An explosion cut out the rest of my thoughts.

'Huh?' The warlock's smile vanished, and its gaze hurled at the floor. A section of the ground beneath it had cracked like an eggshell. Both I and the warlock frowned. What in the world— My balance ceased to exist. Without any control of myself, my body tilted forwards…and brought me face-to-face with a gaping void.

'Ah,' I thought, 'that's what happened.' The core, though evidently not the dungeon core, was still linked to the warped realm. Using it wantonly, like the warlock did, had strained the environment. Then I'd ripped it out of its socket and destroyed it, further breaking the surrounding area. Mid-tumble, I spun around… and faced where Kiba and the others were still standing. I could see myself falling in the reflection in his eyes. Could see the gaping darkness swallow me inch by inch.

Then his visage, and that of everyone else, sped away from me. Butterflies scattered in my stomach. The words playing out in front of me whirled together with my body, allowing me to still read them. Do you want to enter the Third Floor? Recommended entry level: 15— Entry confirmed. Good luck, Neophyte.