DISCLAIMER: Hyperdimension Neptunia belongs to Compile Heart and Idea Factory.
Hi, how's everybody's doing?
Sigh. It seems like the god of luck is not on my side...
I really hope you enjoy.
Chapter 28
"We're here"
Putting the map into her pockets, IF looked at the ruins of a five story tower in front of her. It was really tall, and emits a dangerous aura, by just looking at it, the party gulped.
"There could be an even more dangerous monster than that snow white snake or camouflage rock golem." Compa muttered, tightly gripping her syringe. "We have to be careful everyone."
With a deep breath, the party open the entrance door, and get inside the tower.
Once they stepped inside, dozens of bat-like creature that hang on the ceiling of the first floor, flied towards them. widely Spreading their wings, and open their mouths to show their fangs.
They send multiple waves of ear-piercing sounds towards the party who quickly dodge to the side. The sound waves, hit the floor, leaving a large crack on it's surface.
Pulling out their handguns, Neptune and IF carefuly aimed at the bats that spiraled around on top of them. they managed to shoot and kill several of them, but the remaining bats are quite difficult to kill since they kept dodging their projectiles.
The remaining bats assembled, creating a formation that resemble a spear, then launch themselves towards the girls. Every time they shoot the bats in the front line, the ones in their back will replace it.
"Move!" As the bats getting nearer, Compa aimed her gigantic syringe towards them, a giant ball of energy are already formed at the tip of the needle.
Doing what they told, IF and Neptune rolled to the side, getting away from Compa's path of attack.
"Compa Love Heart!" Pushing the plunger, Compa shoot the heart-shaped energy balls towards the bats, who immediately flung up to avoid the attack. They weren't successful, as the heart shaped energy exploded and obliterate almost all of them.
The few surviving bats, quickly get taken care of by IF and Neptune.
"First floor, and we already get attacked? This dungeon really is bizarre." Neptune muttered, looking around at the corpse of her enemies that starting to get dematerialized.
"Let's go to the second floor. And please, be careful." IF said after she found the stairs that leads to the next floor.
The girls climbed the stairs, and arrived at the second floor. In there, the girls were presented with a quite unsettling sight.
Sitting a top of a mountain of bones while eating a chunk of meat, are a gigantic humanoid figure. It's body was covered in thick white fur, with only it's palms and feet that left uncovered, exposing the beast's black skin. The beast are also wearing gold, bracelets, armlets, anklets, shoulder pads, and a white mask.
The beast swallowed it's meal, then adjusting it's mask to cover their entire face again.
It was at this moment, the beast felt the presence of someone else inside the room. they turned their head to looked at the girls who was just staring at them.
Not satisfied with it's meal for today. The beast stands up, and picked up a giant club that rested besides them. Without any words, the beast charged at the girls.
"Be careful everyone." Compa reminded. firing several shots to the approaching beast. Only for all of the projectiles to get dissipated when the beast uses it's club to block the attacks.
The party jumped out of the way, when the beast raised it's club, and slam it to the ground, creating a massive shockwave that shook the room.
Taking her handgun, Neptune fires multiple fire elemented bullets to the giant. Only for the bullets to get blocked as well by the beast's club.
"We'll have to seperate that weapon from him or we'll never be able to hurt him." IF said, her hands are glowing red. "Demonic Inferno!"
IF pointed her glowing hand towards her enemy, small explosions erupted around the beast's feet. However, before the massive pillar of fire erupted from the ground, the beast jumped back a few meters away, successfully avoided the final strike.
"Tch, he dodge it." Pulling out her katars, IF choose to derectly fight her opponent this time. Coating her blades with energy, she rushed towards the giant.
On the other side. Neptune also did the same thing. Activating her mechanical sword, then rushed towards the beast.
The beast swing his club towards IF who quickly rolled the side to dodge it. She jumped to the air, and tried to slash the beast's mask. But the beast was quick enough to bring his club to block the attack.
On the other side, Neptune ran towards the beast, as she sees an opening, she jumped into the air and attempted to swing her sword to the beast's neck. But to her surprise, the beast raised his left hand, and blocked the attack by using his bracelets.
Jumping away, Neptune landed on the ground. She looks up and widened her eyes as she noticed something odd.
"He's not even looking at me!" she muttered in confusion.
Meanwhile, as IF kept throwing barrage of attacks, only for the beast to repel it. Compa who saw this as an opening, aimed her syringe towards the monster. "Compa Love Heart!"
As she shoot another heart-shaped energy attack towards the beast. The monster pushed IF a few meters away with his club, before jumped a good distance back to avoid the incoming attack from Compa, all the while without even looking at it.
"He's blocking all of our attacks without looking at it. Which only means..." Neptune inspected the beast's from head to toe.
And that is when she realized the beast's odd white mask. The white mask didn't have any eye sockets. The only holes it have is for nose to breath, mouth to speak and...
"I see." Neptune nodded in understandment. "He's blind. And for replacement, he has an extremely good hearing."
Taking out her gun, Neptune changed the fire bullets into lighting elemented bullets.
Aiming the gun to the monster. Neptune ran towards the beast and fired all of the bullets inside her gun.
Just as Neptune expected. The monster raised his left hand to block the incoming projectiles with his face still facing IF who was still throwing barrage of slashes, only for them to get blocked.
"Three... two... one..." Neptune counted as the flying bullets are just a few meters away from the beast's hand.
"Now!" once the bullets made contact with the beast's bracelets. It immediately explode into a huge crack of lightning, accompanied by a large roar of thunder.
This attack successfully made the beast's flinced and unfocused. His unfocusness causing him to failed to block IF's incoming attack that aimed for his neck.
The beast lets out a roar after IF successfully slashed his neck. He dropped his club and fell to his kness.
And once IF landed on the ground, she wasted no time to turn around and aimed her hand towards the beast.
"La Delphinus!" Glowing white rune cirled atound him, followed by a pillar of light erupted from the ground, engulfing the beast in white light, obliterating him into ashes.
"Well that was a bit hard." IF muttered, brushing off the dust on her coat. She then saw the stair way to the third floor at the end of the room.
"Shall we continue?" she ask as the party regrouped. And the other two nodded.
The girls climbed the stairs that leads to the third floor. Once they get there, they greeted with a sight of a completely empty room, with the stairway to the forth floor located at the other end of the room.
"An empty room? Very suspicious. Be careful you two, there might be traps in here." IF warned before taking a single steps to the front.
Immediately, the tile that she stepped on, get pushed down. Triggering a chain of traps. First off, the wall behind the girls suddenly got closed, preventing them to go back. Second, dozens of dispenser came out of the left and right side of the room. And finally, a single arrow came out from one of the dispenser, flying passed Neptune, mere centimeters away from her head.
"RUN!" the party wasted no time to do what IF just said, as hundreds of arrows came out of every single dispenser on the wall.
"Whoa!" Neptune ducked down, barely avoided the arrow that passed atop of her head.
"Almost there!" the party are almost made it to the exit, but the door started to close down.
"Everyone, slide!" Grabbing Compa's hand, IF slidded pass the closing door, followed by Compa, and Neptune who managed to get in before the door closing in on her face.
"Well... Guess there's no turning back now." IF muttered, trying to calm her breath down.
"Why whould there be traps in here? I thought this place was abbandoned!" Compa protested.
"My best guess is, there's must be something someone wants to hide in here, so they placed these traps to protect it." IF explained, standing up.
"So you mean there's treasures in here?" Neptune asked, her eyes bright in excitement.
"Probably." IF replied.
"Oh yeah! Then I'm up to all challenge. Let's go guys. Let's be the first one to get that booty!" Neptune said before climbing the stairs to the forth floor.
Sighing, IF face-palmed herself. "What the heck did I just tell her about being careful?" she asked herself while Compa just smirked.
And so, the party continues onward to the tenth floor. Sucessfully overcoming every single monsters and traps in every floor of the ruined tower.
"Above you!" Neptune looks up, and saw several pterodactyl creatures are flying towards her. Their metal covered claws are wide open.
Taking out her hand gun and quickly changing the bullets, Neptune somersaulted backwards several times to avoid the incoming attacks. And once she was far enough from the enemies, she fired all the bullets of her gun, killing the flying monsters.
Looking to the left, she saw as IF deal the finishing blow to the Fenrir she has been dealing out with for the last minutes.
"Demonic Inferno!" With her fiery hand, IF summoned a pillar of fire that burned the Fenrir to crisp, killing all of the enemies on the ninth floor.
"There, all done." Brushing her hands together, IF watched as the door of the stairway that leads to the final floor opened.
"Guess, there's only one floor left. Are you two ready?" Neptune asked excitement in her voice.
"Well, as long as there's no traps or monsters waiting for us in there. I guess i'm ready." IF answered.
"Okay then, let's go."
The girls climbed the last staircases, and finally artived in the last room.
The room was smaller than all of the room bellow it. There's a long, worn out, and tattered red carpet that leads to a ruined throne that made out of stone at the end of the room. There's multiple windows on the walls, letting sunlight brightening the room. The room are filled with multiple chests, many of them are already open.
"I don't think this room has any traps in it." Compa muttered, getting a nod from her two companions.
"If this is the place, the Key Fragments might be inside one of these chests." Neptune looked at her friends. "Let's slit up, and regrouped once you done searching."
As Neptune said, the girls split up, and checked all of the chests inside the room. And once they felt they're done with their search, they regrouped.
"I didn't find the Key Fragment, or anything else useful. Didja guys find something?" Neptune asked, putting her hands on her sides.
"Nope, I find nothing." Compa answered.
"I do find some gold coins on the chests, other than that. I found nothing." IF answered.
Sighing, Neptune rubs her head. "Well, there goes our luck."
"I guess we have no other choice but to go back to town and ask Ms. Chamberlain again." Compa said, also sighing.
"Yeah." nodding, Neptune turned around and was about to leave when something, or someone , blocked her path.
"...Hold it."
To be Continued...
I am really really sorry for the very long delay.
In case you wondering why. My computer's screen was broken for some unknown reason when I open it, and since i write my story's script in it, I was forced to wait for it to get fixed which took a very long time.
I also have to study for the final examination the next week, and so I end up not updating the story for two months straight.
And lastly, I accidentaly cut my finger when i broke a bowl when I'm washing dishes.
Thankfully my computer is all fixed now, and I can continue writing.
Please forgive me for the wait. I promise I won't let something like this happen again.
(Sigh... why did this happen to me?)
