by John Nest
"Same here," chimed in Hazard. "It's just an endless wave of monster after another."
One by one, the other leaders all gave out a similar update.
Sierra did not want to rely on their Transmogrified forms. The main purpose of this Quest was to get the relic, but the other one was for their Mercenaries to prove themselves. She stared farther down into her passageway. Squinting her eyes, she noticed a faint red and blue lights moving at the end of it.
"Can anyone else see the red and blue lights at the end of their tunnels?" she asked over the conference.
"Yes!" bellowed her fellow leaders in confirmation.
"Alright, leave your men behind. Let them continue fighting the respawning swarms," ordered Sierra. "If we leave these pests alone and push forward, we could be mobbed and be blocked in."
Everyone of the tunnel leaders gave out their affirmative responses.
"Take a maximum of two healers with you, and maybe five to ten Mercenaries," she quickly added.
Sierra then called one of the Avendre Commanders near her and gave him his new mission.
Following her own command, Sierra dashed out and left her division to fend off the mobbing mud golems. She took only one Druid, a Shaman, and five Avendre with her.
Smashing the mud golems to the side with her ferule, Sierra and her selected companions ignored the monsters as they raced onward.
Yet, after passing the seven-hundred meter marker, she instantly noticed their absence. The mud golems ceased to come out of the tunnels.
"Everyone, run faster!" encourage Sierra, as she led them towards the red and blue lights.
The tunnel exited to an immense cavern, with a sole stupendous creature at its center. She reflexively extended her arms and ferule, stopping her comrades from moving forward.
The monster towered over four meters. Its face was covered by a root-like beard, and its hands and legs were similar to that of a rotten trunk. Its skin was that of a drenched bark, dripping with sap. Its deep-socketed red eyes glowed eerily, the same red lights that Sierra spotted from the far off distance earlier. On its head were a pair of stag moose antlers, which protruded out from the side.
Right beside the monster, was a shining blue sword, glistening with overflowing power. Yet, a light-blue barrier enclosed upon it.
'That must be the relic,' guessed Sierra, as she focused her eyes on the weapon.
Slowly, the chunky monster turned around to face the other Vigilantez who arrived at the scene. Only Mamelon, Virer, and Courant had reached the extensive cavern.
"You, Four, have done well to reach me," suddenly said the heavyset monster, enunciating each word clearly.
'It's Intelligent,' surmised Sierra. She was already worried that her Overgrowth ability would not work on the monster with roots for a beard, but her concern doubled knowing it could speak.
"Was it you who gave the order to keep my subordinates occupied?" the monster of the cavern turned to ask Mamelon. "No! It was not you," it said, as it answered its own question.
However, before it could say anything else, Virer unleashed a flurry of fire-lances at the monster. Its life bar and name were revealed, Leshak (1,499,000/1,500,000 HP).
The Flame Knight's fiery attack fizzled against Leshak's drenched bark-like skin.
"Feisty, aren't we," said Leshak. "But no, you're not the one as well," it said. A wet root suddenly came out from the ground, sending Virer flying to the cavern wall.
THWACK
A hard sound of Virer splatting on the wall echoed throughout the cavernous chamber. Leshak aimed four sharp roots at the downed Flame Knight, but Sierra hurriedly used her own Overgrowth ability and set up her own wall of roots.
"Yes!" exclaimed Leshak, turning only its face around and stared at Sierra. "You're the one I'm after."
Sierra cringed at the sight of Leshak's twisted head all the way to its back, but she felt her hair stand on end when she saw the thick brown-fur cape covering its behind. Several skeletons protruded out of it.
"But I'll save you for last," Leshak said to Sierra.
Suddenly, running towards Mamelon, Leshak caught the Aqua Knight off guard. It grabbed her with its massive root-like hands and plunged her to the ground.
Half of Mamelon's body disappeared as Leshak squashed her with its arms.
Sierra illuminated her ferule to get a better view of where Mamelon was, as she did not want to accidentally hit her friend.
On the other hand, Virer unleashed another round of his fire-lances at Leshak's back.
The cavern monster responded by letting out a thick fog, blocking their view of itself and Mamelon.
"Virer, stop! You might hit Mamelon," cried out Courant, who was patiently waiting for an opening.
The Flame Knight held back his attack, but still pointed his flaming lance at the smog.
Then, Mamelon emerged out of it.
"Mamelon, are you alright?" asked Virer, as the Flame Knight rushed to her side. The Shamans who were with him, quickly healed her.
The Aqua Knight silently nodded. She tried to speak up, but seconds later, another figure came out from the mist.
Again, it was Mamelon, completely wearing the same equipment as the one who had stepped out earlier.
"Wait! Who is the real Mamelon?" asked Virer, backing away from the Mamelon who stood next to him. With trembling hands, he pointed his flaming lance at her.
The Mamelon next to Virer opened her mouth and tried to speak up, but no sound came out. She strongly pointed to herself, as if trying to signify that she was the real Mamelon.
However, the second Mamelon did the exact thing. She turned to Sierra and Courant raising her hands, as if showing that she was on their side.
"Mamelon, you need to speak up!" exclaimed Sierra. "Tell us who's really you!"
But none of the Mamelons could comply. They continued with their pantomime. Both trying hard to convince them that they were the real one.
The second Mamelon slowly walked over to Courant and lifted her armor's full-faced mask. Her angelic face and blond hair were revealed for everyone to see.
The first Mamelon hurriedly did the same and showed her face to Virer. Both of the Mamelons had the same features.
"What kind of monster can completely copy someone?" asked Virer out loud. "Even Mamelon's body proportions are right!"
"It must have used some kind of Silence curse on Mamelon, preventing her from talking," said Courant from across the cavern.
"I agree," said Sierra, slowly moving in closer to the Mamelon next to the Electro Knight. Her men were poised to attack as they followed behind.
Then, the second Mamelon who was now standing next to Courant, suddenly punched him in the face. The monster pummeled Courant to the ground, draining his life bar to 70%.
Before Sierra and her comrades could react, the disguised Leshak created another mist. Hiding both it and the Electro Knight from Sierra's view.
Thinking on her feet, Sierra signaled Mamelon and Virer to surround the mist. A total of fifteen Avendre Mercenaries, five Druids, and six Shamans were ready to engage in battle.
As they expected, two Electro Knights with the same life bars stepped out from the fog.
"Attack them both!" ordered Sierra.
One of the Courants raised his arms and took on a defensive stance. He desperately shook his head, as he tried to tell them that he was not Leshak, but not a peep came out.
On the other hand, the other Courant reacted by swinging his arm at the nearest Avendre. Fortunately, the Mercenary hurriedly jumped backwards, barely escaping Leshak's clutches.
"There! That's Leshak!" she shouted, pointing at the aggressive Electro Knight. "Avendre, ranged attacks!"
The Mercenaries threw their broad swords at Leshak, revealing that their weapons' handles were attached to long, sturdy ropes. Their swords embedded into the monster disguised as Courant, and it slowly reverted back to its own hideous body.
Sierra then turned to her fellow Druids. "Incr
ease the light on your ferules! Dry up Leshak's saps."
While the Druids followed their instructions, Sierra used her Contrition ability on Leshak, which made the monster susceptible to more damage. She then buffed Virer with Archon's Blessing, doubling the damage of his next attack.
"Virer, wait for my signal," said Sierra.
While waiting for Virer's attack, Mamelon and Courant lunged their elemental lances at the entangled Leshak and kept attacking from a safe distance.
The Mercenaries did little damage to the gigantic tree-like monster, but they did manage to restrict its movement.
Leshak tried to grab one of the Avendre, but was quickly pulled back on the opposite direction by the Mercenaries' rope-broad-sword.
Trapped, Leshak let out another fog, but this time it quickly faded. Instead of seeing a monster skewered by broadswords and bounded by ropes, they saw a bleeding Mamelon in its place.
"Don't let it go, Men! That's not me!" yelled the real Mamelon.
"You know what's really scary about this place?" asked a bounded-up Leshak while in Mamelon's form. "I'll show you anyway, even if you didn't ask!"
"Underlings to me!" yelled the transforming monster.
Sierra, and her comrades vigilantly watched the tunnels' exit. Seconds turned into a full minute, but still no one came out.
"They must be stuck or something," said Leshak. "Or maybe, they didn't hear me?
"Most of them are hard of hearing," defensively said Leshak. "Let me try this one more," added the monster quickly. "Underlings, to me!"
Then, they heard dozens of footsteps running out from all of the passageways.
"Bwakakakaka! Here they come now!" proclaimed Leshak.
A gasping Hazard was the first one to come out.
"The Poison slimes suddenly started charging," began Hazard. "Luckily the Druids and the Shamans Healing abilities have kept the monsters at— What's that thing?" he stopped mid-sentence as he pointed at Leshak.
Shortly after, Vrai, Ardu, Phen, and Rear appeared out of their own tunnels.
"You!" angrily shouted Leshak, pointing his root-like fingers at Sierra. "You and your men just got lucky! If you only ordered a full on attack, you would have been swarmed by—."
Sierra did not allow the monster to finish, as she called out to Virer. "Do it now!"
Virer leapt up and unleashed the largest fire-lance he could muster. It was twice his body size and plummeted straight towards the entangled Leshak.
BTOOM
"Arrgh!" screamed Leshak in pain. The monster's tree saps had dried out, turning it to a flammable substance.
Tugging hard on their ropes, the Avendre Mercenaries quickly pulled out their broad swords.
"Druids, use Starfire!" ordered Sierra, as she pointed her own ferule at the plant-like beast. The light emanating on top of her staff glowed even brighter. Then, a series of bright white-lights fired out from her ferule.
Leshak's scream resonated throughout the cavern. Desperate, it let out another fog, but Sierra and her men quickly backed away.
Only Leshak's flaming body was slightly seen through the smog.
"The monster can copy anyone it touches," warned Mamelon. "Avendre create a barricade while we continue our attacks."
Although it was not visible, Leshak still had a massive life bar.
Numerous starfires and elemental lances flew through the air as they targeted the flaming silhouette.
"Keep it up, Guys!" encouraged Mamelon.
After ten minutes of continuous ranged attacks, the flames inside the smog died out. Yet, they still continued their onslaught, as all of them knew they were still far from killing the monster.
"Mamelon, is there an Aero Knight on your side of the cavern?" called out Sierra, without once stopping her starfire attacks.
"Yeah, Jaseur arrived a couple of minutes ago," replied Mamelon. "He came togeher with Vrai."
"Jaseur, clear the smog!" ordered Sierra.
A strong spiral wind attack pierced through the smog, exposing a clear line of sight between them.
Peering into the opening, Sierra saw Leshak's lifeless body, but a troubling feeling instantly overcame her.
Sierra called the Aero Knight. "Jaseur, one more time!"
"Of course, I was just adjusting the distance of my wind-lance," replied Jaseur.
WISS WISS WISS WISS WISS
Several wind-lances pierced through the smog, and broke the visual obstacle apart. After it was cleared, the hollow shell of the giant with stag moose antlers and roots for a beard stood still in its place.
Slowly, the gathered Vigilantez stopped their ranged attacks.
Then, they heard Hazard shout for joy. "We did it! We did it! We've cleared the dungeon."
Sierra shook her head. Hazard had grown to be obedient, but his impulsive nature was still a problem. She cautiously walked towards Leshak's body in order to scrutinize it.
As the Zectians began to cheer with Hazard, Sierra realized that this shell was indeed not alive. However, she also noticed one crucial missing piece. There was no notification window of them killing the monster.
"Everyone, Leshak is still alive, this is just an empty shell!" shouted Sierra, as she quickly scanned through her men.
Mamelon then released a water-lance up in the air. "All of you attack with your abilities," she said. "I've noticed that Leshak isn't able to copy that."
At once, all of the Druids, Shamans, and Elemental Knights filled the cavern ceiling with their active abilities.
"Avendre stand down and lower your swords," said Sierra.
As they only had no special ability to show their true identity, the Avendre Mercenaries lowered their weapons.
"Avendre, state your name and the units you belong to," said Sierra, thinking that the silenced Avendre would confirm that one of them was Leshak.
"Commander Hazard, I belong to General Sierra's Unit," replied Hazard, as he led the series of Mercenaries calling out their names and units.
It took two minutes for all of the Avendre to call out their name, and all of them were able to do so. During this time, no attacks were done to Sierra and her men.
"Where's Leshak?" Mamelon asked Sierra.
"I don't know, but we better get the relic and get out of here," said Sierra. She looked down on one of the passageways, she saw that the men who they left behind were still fighting for their lives against the never ending respawning mob. "Before our members run out of mana and stamina," she quickly added, fearful for the welfare of their men.
Sierra walked over to the blue-sphere blocking the relic and touched it.
- You have been Teleported into a one on one battle against Leshak!
* * * * * *
Looking around, Sierra found herself floating inside a blue bubble. She could freely move towards any direction. Her illuminated ferule poised to unleash a flurry of starfires at a moment's notice.
"Relax, relax," said Leshak. The monster's voice came from above. Yet, the tree-like monster had changed its shape. It had transformed itself into a man, but its stag moose antlers remained protruding out of its head.
Sierra did not reply and flew straight towards the now smaller Leshak, charging with her ferule pointed at the monster.
BOOMP
An invisible forcefield suddenly stopped Sierra's advance.
"I told you that won't work," said Leshak. "This place let's us battle our Leadership ability, and maybe slightly increases the power of my underlings."
"Of course, with these odds, I don't think that I'll have any trouble defeating you," added Leshak.
Sierra took a neutral position and studied Leshak's expression.
"As you know, there are nine tunnels all leading to the relic," began Leshak. "The winner is the side who has more forces in all ten sections of this dungeon within the next hour."
"You're wondering why I told you the mechanics?" asked Leshak. "That's how confident I am that you won't beat me!" he said mockingly.
A map
of the tunnel suddenly appeared in front of her. There were several dots of red and green scattered on it, with color coordinated percentages in their respective areas. She recognized the green to be her allies, as there were a few of them at the cavern of the relic.