Robin pivoted. He pulled back one of his daggers and kept the other one pressing against the block they were caught up in. Arden drew back. Robin stepped forward, striking out to hit her. She weaved out of the way. Much dodging and ducking ensued after that until Arden made a not so fatal error.
She tripped, which was good because she didn’t get sliced in the stomach, but bad because she was on the ground. Robin stomped on her wrist. Arden kept her grip on the dagger, refusing to let it go.
“Everything ends here,” he said.
Arden groaned. She switched into her spiny lynx Disguise. The abrupt change in her size threw Robin off of her. She rolled out, got back to her feet, and let out a roar. The dagger laid on the ground beside her.
Meanwhile, Minette continued to draw Jennifer’s ire. She “teleported” around the room. Jennifer took shots at her. Whenever her electro-blasts managed to hit Minette’s Projection, Minette pretended to be hurt. Keeping up the illusion was a breeze for her.
Arden lowered her head and charged with all her might into Robin. He dove out of the way, landing right on a hidden tile. Arden hadn’t planned for that, but hey, sometimes things worked perfectly in favor.
A net fell from the ceiling.
Robin used his vaulting technique to flip away, his daggers bursting through the netting. Arden tackled him. She brought him back to the ground. He wiggled out from under her. A repeat of his vaulting technique landed him on top of Arden’s back. A boot-load of pressure to the back of her neck, and he made her chin smash into the ground.
Minette “teleported” in front of their going-ons. Robin fell off of Arden in fright. Minette disappeared, going back to distracting Jennifer. Taking advantage of his foible, Arden body-slammed the bastard. He cried out in pain. She attempted to do it a second time. She got into position and was ready to smash him, but Jennifer had a different idea.
Jennifer’s electro-blast caught Arden bad. The blast threw Arden. Her spiny lynx form landed in a heap. Robin stalked towards her, his daggers at the ready to slice lines across her throat.
Click!
Robin jumped to the side to avoid the incoming spear.
Click!
He dodged the next one, as well.
Jennifer didn’t. Too busy with Minette’s Projection, she entirely missed the projectile flying over to her at fast speed. The second spear became well acquainted with Jennifer’s middle, to an overbearing point. It made itself too comfortable within the core of her chest. Green Influence lit up beneath the cattens who were defending Minette’s orb. At Minette’s command, they rushed over to fight Jennifer.
The mage’s movements were strained, which was understandable seeing how she was dealing with a spear bigly invading her personal bubble. She lifted her staff, pointing it towards the feline beasts.
Arden cast a Hallucination of more spears heading Jennifer’s way. In the heat of the moment, Jennifer forgot about the possibility that they could be fake. She fired an electro-wave at them to destroy them, only to discover that, yes, they were Hallucinations.
Spurred on by Minette’s Influence and their love of killing adventurers, the cattens leaped onto Jennifer.
The spear skewering through her landed first. Her body sliding like raw meat on a slippery skewer, Jennifer switched on her electro-shield. The cattens yowled, backing off to avoid getting shocked.
Arden couldn’t watch more of what was happening. Robin came back over to fight her. She switched into her human Disguise, then made a run for her fallen dagger. She slid, kicking up all kinds of dirt and grime off of the ground. Robin chased after her. When she slid, he slid, too, and they both crashed into one another.
Getting stabbed repeatedly in the arms and shoulders after that was positively lovely. What was lovelier was when Arden managed to pick up the dropped dagger and stab it into Robin’s chest. It broke past leather, arriving into Robin’s flesh like a sword and sheath.
They disengaged from their entanglement.
“Robin, help! I’m—”
Who knew what the rest of Jennifer’s sentence would’ve been? For all Arden knew, that blank could’ve been filled with “totally screwed and about to die.” She did just that after uttering her broken-off last words. She became a golden skull and a pile of loot.
In her struggle, Jennifer managed to kill one of their cattens. The final one was black and bruised from its efforts. Minette’s Influence couldn’t get it to move. Instead, it flopped over, its tongue sticking out.
Robin’s thrown dagger landing in its forehead finished the catten off.
“You’re next,” he said.
“Damn, how many of those do you have in your Inventory?” Arden asked.
“Enough to kill you with.”
“If you can get through me,” Minette said, her voice booming louder than ever in the space of the Dungeon Heart room.
A bundled scroll appeared in Robin’s free hand. Arden rose to stop whatever he was about to do, but soon found out that her legs had gotten badly damaged during their brawl. They couldn’t sustain her weight any longer. Her health points weren’t looking very good. Perhaps it was her adrenaline that made her not notice it.
“Dodge this!” he yelled.
With all the swiftness and dexterity his roguish hands could muster, Robin tossed the scroll. Minette “teleported” out of its way with a practiced ease. Her dealings with Jennifer had made her a “teleportation” expert in short order.
What didn’t dodge the scroll, however, was her orb body. The paper swelled before combusting into a brilliant explosion. Minette’s Projection flew across the room as if it had been caught in the blast. Arden’s ears rang.
[WARNING!
Dungeon Heart has taken damage! 1000 out of 1500 health points remaining.]
“There’s more where that came from,” Robin said. “I hope you bought some defenses for yourself. If you didn’t, you’re screwed.”
“Who’s left?” Arden asked, her words only for Minette to hear. “Send everyone you have.”
“New cattens. The last of our shinies,” Minette said, also speaking privately. Her words came in chunks, terse statements between her swallows of air. “They’re almost here.”
Arden returned to her pixie form, switching out of her Disguise. She flew as fast as she could towards Robin, her flight pattern erratic. That was partially due to strategy and partially due to the fact that her wings were damaged. His hands stretched out for her, seeking to snatch her up.
She dove to dodge him, then made a sharp turn to get around to his back. Robin spun around. The air from his spin rocked Arden. She rode the wind for a moment, taking advantage of it to give her some much-needed rest on her descent.
Robin thrashed his arms about. Arden continued to fly south. She made it to his knees just as he started to shake his legs. Arden circled around them to the back, then blasted forward to knock into it. His knee bent, a strangled cry ripping out of his throat. He stumbled.
Minette’s Projection loomed over the rogue.
Arden traveled upwards, planning a strike to the back of Robin’s head.
Robin slammed his body backward before she could make it. Her dizziness forced her to misjudge the distance she needed to reach to get out of his path. He was like a tree and she was the hapless victim, crushed beneath it.
Minette made a show of smashing them over the head, but backed off and “teleported” so as to not break the illusion.
Condescension rather than fear appeared on Robin’s face. “A boss who never attacks. Isn’t that strange? You’re nothing more than a Hallucination, aren’t you? This is funny. The tricks never end in this dungeon.”
“I’m real,” she insisted.
“If that was true, you would’ve killed me yourself. Whatever game you’ve been playing here, it’s over. You’re trash forevermore.”
“Why can’t you leave us alone? Dungeons and adventurers, they can coexist. They’re supposed to!”
“What kind of liberal b
ullshit is that?” Robin reached behind his back and peeled Arden off of him. “No, what we’re supposed to do is destroy you. A world without dungeons like yours is a happier place for everyone. I’ll kill you, revive my guild members, and then go on to kill the rest of Bellstrang’s dungeons.”
“Who hurt you?”
Robin laughed. “You can fling all the barbs you want at me. It’s over, dungeon. It’s been nice chatting with you, but I’ve got stuff to do after this. Game over.”
“Think again!” Switched into her human Disguise, Arden sprang up and grabbed Robin from behind. She hooked her arms underneath his armpits, her hands clasped behind his head to disable him.
Her Last Chance special was a beautiful thing. Arden was back in the fight.
Robin bent to throw her off.
“Look out! Scroll!” Minette screamed.
Arden twisted, shifting her weight to ruin Robin’s aim. The scroll flew to the entrance of the Dungeon Heart room. It missed Minette’s orb, but, sadly, the same couldn’t be said of their reinforcements who arrived in the doorway. The catten squad exploded along with the last dredges of Arden’s dwindling hope.
“I told you this was over!” Robin threw Arden. She landed close by. He stepped on her stomach. “I bet you regret making a fool out of me now. Someone who fights with such dishonor doesn’t deserve to live.”
“Like you’re that honorable. You’re throwing bomb scrolls everywhere. How fair of a fight is that?”
“Do you really want to go tit for tat on that? Think of all the things you’ve done to my people.”
“I’m a pixie. It’s in my nature.” Arden grasped Robin’s boot, then switched into her catten Disguise. He claws hooking into his boot, she flipped him onto his back and off of her.
Breathing labored, he kicked back up to a stand. Arden chomped her jaws over his leg, then ran as fast as she could to drag him within the halo of goop that surrounded Minette’s orb. Just as she hoped, Robin vaulted to get out of her grasp and landed in a thick smear of the stuff. He struggled to get any grounding while Arden rushed to tackle him.
Minette’s Projection flashed on and off in front of Robin’s face. He swung his arm to brush her away, his limb phasing through her. He squeezed his eyes shut, his feet still slipping. It didn’t help that the intensity of the lighting kicked up several notches as Minette disoriented him.
“Just a little bit longer,” Minette’s voice echoed in Arden’s head. “This isn’t over yet. I’ve got a plan.”
As much as Arden wanted to kick a fit and ask Minette how that could be possible, she didn’t. A greater feeling rose inside of her.
It caused Arden to say, “Got it. Do whatever you have to do. I trust you.”
Robin lost his footing once more. Arden took a flying leap. She landed on top of him. Her efforts were rewarded with multiple stabs to her body. Each one tore a chunk out of her health. Through their mutual struggling, Arden got in a couple of bites, but it wasn’t enough.
She switched into her pixie form, aware that if it wasn’t for the mana boost she was getting from being in the Dungeon Heart room she wouldn’t be able to use this many spells in sucession. Her abrupt change in size caused Robin to miss. Leaking blood from the numerous holes in her body, Arden flew upwards. Her mind began to drain of thought. Her touch with reality smeared.
Green momentarily filtered through her vision. Minette’s Influence coaxing her, Arden’s heart warmed. Comfort and trust lit up within her as she listened to Minette’s unspoken command. Minette suggested she transform into a workercat. When she did, she landed on top of Robin.
A scroll appeared in his hand.
Minette’s Projection swirled around them like a revolving black curtain.
Robin shoved Arden off of him. In her dimming haze, she finally noticed how beaten-up he looked. He must’ve been hanging onto threads himself. When was the last time he’d had one of his red potions?
When was the last time anything happened? Arden found it harder and harder to keep track of what was going on. The Bleed damage was taking its toll on her.
Minette’s Influence powered on again. It overwhelmed her. Although her body was becoming nothing more than a shell at that point, she moved according to the encouragement she sensed from her dungeon. Again, she pounced on top of the rogue. She rolled onto his arm, the one attached to the hand clutching the bomb scroll.
He wiggled his other arm out from under her. Dagger in hand, he raised it to hit her for what he probably hoped was the final time.
The “curtain” that was Minette’s revolving Projection lifted. A circle of workercats replaced it. They stood steadfast and strong. As peons, they were compelled to defend their Dungeon Heart. There was no fear within their eyes.
“Tricksters to the very end. More Hallucinations,” Robin said, spitting a mouthful of spit. “You don’t know how to lose.”
Arden felt her body switching out of her Disguise and flying off on its own accord.
“No, we don’t,” Minette said.
“This is for Talon!” His hand now free, Robin threw the bomb scroll.
It bounced off of the chest of the nearest workercat. There was hardly any time for him to panic before the paper began to swell. Robin attempted to make up a fast break for it, but the workercat crowd fell on top of him. He was trapped, buried beneath the workercats.
The scroll exploded.
Its shockwave knocked Arden further away. A wall broke her fall and from that, her life force was extinguished.
[ALERT!
You know who’s dead?
You!]
Chapter 24
“Arden.”
Arden coughed and gasped like someone emerging from a lake after drowning. Her vision swam, her head feeling like it was shaking despite her not moving at all. She stayed on the ground, not trusting her wings to carry her in the right direction. Her throat was incredibly dry as if it had been stripped of all of its moisture.
These cycles of death and rebirth felt like they were getting worse and worse.
“Arden,” Minette repeated.
“Yes?”
“It’s over. We won. Five skulls on the mantle like you wanted.” While Arden was sleeping/reviving, Minette had decorated the room with an impressive fireplace. On the mantle above it rested the adventurers’ skulls, and above that was a place for Robin’s flame-augmented daggers. “Those are yours, by the way. They’re waiting for you.”
“We did it!” Arden raised her hands overhead to do some cheer-dancing. She regretted it immediately. Her bones still ached, feeling like they were on fire. “No more dying for me ever again, please,” she groaned.
“Oh no.”
“What’s that ‘oh no’ about? I don’t think I have it in me to deal with any more ‘oh nos.’”
“I’m ‘oh no’ing at you saying that. Every time you say you don’t want to die anymore, something happens that makes it so you do have to die.” Minette laughed. “Is that the curse of being the Endless Terror?”
[ALERT!
A Messenger Imp has arrived. He will be teleporting to your Dungeon Heart room shortly.]
Arden rubbed her temples. “Just what we need, one of the most annoying creatures this side of Bellstrang. I’ve barely had a moment to breathe.”
“You’ve already had plenty of moments to breathe. You’ve been out for more than a day.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
A gaseous orange swirl appeared in the center of the Dungeon Heart room. A weasel-faced Messenger Imp emerged from the colorful mess. Hot pink suspenders held up his smart pair of slacks. The three strands of hair on top of his head were lovingly slicked back. His wide, pointy ears framed his off-green face.
The imp was shorter than a workercat and far skinnier, too. He displayed his jagged teeth in a disarming smile. “Delivery for you,” he said. “Allow me to perform the dance of delivery. No delivery is complete without a rousing round of dancing.”
Arden sighed. “Look, we just went through something harrowing. We’re tired. I can’t dance. She doesn’t have legs or arms. Neither of us can dance so you’ve gotta read the letter without any dancing from us.”
Minette’s orb turned into a mischievous yellow shade. “I could dance with you.”
“Don’t listen to her. Please, just read us the letter.”
“You have more than a few letters here.” The imp tapped his thumb against the thin stack. “Somebody named Lily, something from the Demon Lord himself, and a couple messages from your grandmother. She must miss you dearly.”
Arden raised an eyebrow, which took more effort than she cared to admit. “My grandmother? I don’t have a grandmother.”
“Aren’t you Arden the Forever Terrible?” he asked.
“No, you must have me confused,” she said.
“My apologies for the mix-up. The rest of the letters you recognize, though, don’t you?”
“The only one I want to read is the letter from the Demon Lord Oiseau. Give it here,” Arden said, holding out her hand.
“I would be remiss not to show all the other letters. It’s my duty!”
“I want to know who Lily is.” Minette’s color brightened.
“Nobody important,” Arden said.
“Is she your girlfriend? A secret crush? You’re blushing.”
Arden shook her head, puffing out her cheeks. “She’s a pixie that I used to know. She was obsessed with me. We’ll leave it at that. She even went by Lily the Infinite Horror for a while. We’re better off not knowing what she’s said to us. I don’t even know how she got our address, honestly. Stalking?”
The Messenger Imp shrugged his shoulders. “She probably looked you up in the Dungeon Directory. You never removed this place from public record. Any dungeon that wants to contact you can do so. Every dungeon is automatically added to it once they’re created and it’s up to them to remove themselves.”
“Take us off the list!” Arden demanded.
The Trash Tier Dungeon Page 27