Welcome to the dungeon, we got fun and games
We got everything you want, honey, we know the names
They hid it well, likely to keep the villagers from picking up on their unease, but Echidna, Claudette, and Risty all seemed genuinely shocked at their 'success'.
There were scrapes, bruises, and clothing more torn than not. But not one of the kidnapped women had been assaulted by a pack of monsters that generally kidnapped women for that exact purpose.
It was clear that the hob he'd brought down with seconds to spare had clearly been going off script by following its nature.
And though they focused more on calming the freed women, while he stood guard, Yuuji could tell that his companions had all come to the same conclusion.
Their problems had only just begun.
Every woman was accounted for- none of those kidnapped had been separated during their time in captivity.
To a one, their dignity had been left bruised, but against all odds, intact.
Claudette could scarcely believe they had been so fortunate. In truth, she had resolved herself for a mission of vengeance and not rescue.
She had… somehow not been too late to be of use.
She had resolved herself to face the consequences of failing the village, and yet-
"P-pardon me, Lady General, Ma'am?" It was the comely dark-haired woman that Yuuji had saved.
The one who kept glancing his way with dreamy eyes, where the others regarded him with apprehension.
Yuuji's 'intervention' against the hob had been rather savage, after all.
Gloriously cathartic, but savage.
"Yes, what is it?" Claudette asked softly, leaning forward slightly to minimize how imposingly she loomed over the more delicately proportioned woman.
"Did y-you happen to see Miss Marigold back at the village? She wasn't taken with us, Ma'am, but she was out in the fields when… when it happened." The woman said. "You'd know her if you'd seen her, Ma'am, hair like spun gold in a big long braid!"
That did seem rather distinctive, and Claudette crossed her arms as she went through a mental checklist of those she'd seen.
"No, I do not believe I did." That meant precious little on its own, but she also hadn't heard of anyone escaping the fields, when the raid occurred.
"Her groom-to-be should have been looking for her, then-" her hands clamped over her mouth, as if to pull the words back in as her eyes went wide and her skin went pale.
But the damage was done, and Claudette could see it on the faces of the villagers as it dawned on them exactly why Miss Marigold's intended wasn't searching for her.
"... I'm s-sorry…" the crestfallen woman murmured, hugging herself.
"So we're gonna find your last missing cutie, right?" Risty bulled into the conversation. "How we gonna play this, Boss?"
"'Boss'?" Claudette repeated, nonplussed.
"You're paying me but I'm not a soldier, what else am I gonna call ya?" Risty grinned. "... You are paying me, right? Think we forgot that part of the negotiations."
Claudette blinked once and decided to ignore the topic, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes as Risty snickered. She didn't fail to notice, however, that the focus of the village women had been diverted towards the bombastic redhead, and away from their grief.
Risty's smile softened briefly, hinting at the good intentions behind the somewhat forcible distraction.
Seizing upon the lull in the conversation, Claudette raised her voice slightly. "We'll need to escort these ladies out, while progressing further in to ensure none have been left behind. Echidna," the elf languidly turned her head, but remained leaning against the cave wall, "escort these women to safety- the militia should have set up a perimeter by now, so you may leave them there if that is the case. I presume you will be able to catch up with us safely alone?"
"Easiest job I've taken this week," the wild elf smirked. She wasn't alone either, though Keltan was busy being inanimate in case any of the girls were afraid of snakes. She usually didn't care about that, but they'd had a rough few days so she supposed she could play nice.
"You gonna miss me too much if I dip out for a bit?" She blew Yuuji a kiss as she asked their silent point guard.
"I'll live," Yuuji deadpanned. "I'll try not to have too much fun without you."
"That's what I like to hear, Hot Stuff."
Steps silent even though it was high-heel on stone, Echidna slid over to his side, gluing her body to his as she embraced him. Cupping his cheek with a gentle hand as Yuuji's arms loosely wrapped her waist, Echidna gave him a quick goodbye kiss.
… Quick by her standards, which meant that there was hardly any tongue involved on either side.
The exhibitionist in her momentarily appeased, Echidna broke away with a teasing caress and a wink (to Claudette, who blushed first), and put her hands on her hips, looking at the village girls.
"Alright ladies, listen up," Echidna began in a calm but clear tone. "I want you to pair up and follow behind me two by two- anything happens and I'll handle it, but you'll breathe easier having a familiar face to watch your back, right? Follow my instructions to the letter, stay as quiet as you can without doing anything silly like holding your breath while we walk, and you'll be feeling the sun on your skin before the hour's up. Any questions?"
The village women were obviously still afraid, but the wild elf's confident manner of speech hinted at the vast experience she had at her disposal, and the prospect of seeing the light of day was enough to make them take those first few steps.
Claudette, Yuuji, and Risty left first, forming a perimeter of sorts to block the uninvestigated side of the hallway, two facing away while the other watched the leaving group for as long as possible.
Once they were out of earshot, Risty spoke.
"I actually did have a question for her," the bandit admitted with a dubious expression. "Where'd that funny belt-thong thingie of hers go, and when did it get replaced by that itty-bitty little skirt?"
At some point when they'd been in the room, Echidna's lower body-wear had been replaced by a strip of cloth tied off on one hip, providing enough coverage to pass as a small pareo skirt, or maybe just a loincloth with a side-tie.
Yuuji had been more curious about what was underneath that little bit of moss green cloth (which was nothing, he'd learned by hand), but since he'd been the one to watch the group leave, he'd noticed Keltan slithering along as a hidden rearguard.
The women were in good hands, even if one of their protectors didn't have hands at all.
… Regardless of how things turned out from then on, it was a little comforting to know that they hadn't been entirely too late to help anyone.
"You worried about your mentor?" Risty asked, somewhat casually.
"No." Yuuji's answer was immediate and without emotion, leaving Risty to pause in her tracks for a moment.
"You must trust her a lot, huh?"
"Enough to know that she's never confident without good reason."
"Seemed like she's always confident, though?"
"With good reason." The immediate deadpan reply prompted a low, amused laugh from the redhead.
Claudette, taking point with Thunderclap resting against her shoulder, allowed herself a soft smile while the expression couldn't be seen.
She truly had not considered it when she accepted the bandit's aid, but Risty's friendly and gregarious nature had proved a welcome addition. Almost equal to the added battle-strength for their impromptu rescue party.
Flexible thinking was an important quality for a general to have, if she wished to avoid needless casualties.
Perhaps if she kept her wits about her, she could ensure that the needless casualties of this current 'campaign' were behind them.
Scarcely a quarter of an hour passed before she was left wondering if that wish of hers was overly ambitious.
The first real encounter they had after finding the captured women began abruptly, and ended almost as suddenly.
From down a long corridor, they came across a shorter side corridor that narrowed into an open doorway, seeming to lead into a much wider space.
It was common sense that open spaces in dungeons had some level of significance, so down the corridor they went, sticking close to the wall and keeping their senses trained forwards.
And then a little patrol of goblins herded by a single orc rounded the corner, bringing the two groups immediately face to face.
The orc had enough time to spur its minions on before a thrown morningstar caved in its tusked face, but the little greenskins who attempted to capitalize on Risty's weaponless state didn't have time to regret their mistake.
A sound not unlike a gong being rung resounded as a leaping goblin found itself swatted out of the air by a solid metal buckler, and the one who had charged low died the second it discovered it had charged too low. A lot of Risty's impressive height was leg, and so she'd simply lifted one limb and stomped the little brute into the stone.
Claudette had taken to the greater number of attackers like a scythe to wheat, and Yuuji had hung back, the hallway not having the space necessary for the trio to fight side-by-side.
In what was beginning to feel like a repetitive occurrence, he found himself zeroing in on a fleeing straggler, and had just scooped up a bent club that looked aerodynamic enough for throwing.
The goblin shrieked and skidded to halt right at the doorway, and Yuuji exploded into action.
"Hit the floor!" He barked out sharply, tackling Risty who was right in the middle of everything.
Whether Risty's yelp was from the sudden impact, or the last living goblin exploding was hard to say, but a blur of gray went right through the monster, soaring down the hall as if fired from a cannon.
It revealed itself to be a rock about the size of a pumpkin when it hit the far wall and shattered, bits of flying rubble nearly bouncing its way to them.
Yuuji lifted himself onto all fours, over top the wide-eyed Risty, and asked "you alright?" It had been a bit of a rough tackle.
"Much more alright then if that rock had winged me, so thanks," the bandit said, recovering her good cheer rather quickly and giving a saucy grin. "Guess the cushioned landing wasn't a bad start to the gratitude, huh?"
She'd twisted towards him as they fell, which meant that Yuuji ended up face deep in her exposed cleavage when they hit the floor.
"Lucky pervert moments aren't too bad, honestly." Yuuji said as he stood up, shifting to the side before offering his hand, so that they remained out of view from the doorway.
"Never heard that phrase, but I like it," Risty laughed as she was pulled to her feet.
Serious once more, she pressed her back to the wall, looking across to where Claudette was on the other side.
The general breathed a sigh of relief when Risty gave her a thumbs up, though she did do a brief sweep of the two with her eyes.
Content that there were only a bit of scrapes and bruises to be found on that side of the tunnel, only then did Claudette divert her attention to her own wound.
Like an oversized sliver, a long shard of goblin bone protruded from Claudette's shapely thigh, just above where her long boots ended.
Grimacing, she leaned Thunderclap against the wall, gripping the shard in her fist and slowly beginning to exert pressure.
A gruff cough had her lifting her head, and she caught the roll of bandages Yuuji tossed her way with her free hand.
Giving a grateful nod, she unhesitantly plucked out the long sliver and tightly wrapped a length of linen around her leg.
Shifting her weight onto the wounded limb, Claudette was relieved to note that it was only somewhat painful to do so.
No cause for concern… beyond whatever now silent thing had hurled the rock to begin with, of course.
And Yuuji was already skirting the wall to investigate, which was appropriate but also concerning.
With far too much practice for someone his age, Yuuji made it to the threshold and peeked out quickly, moving with care but not fear.
"I don't think we need to keep our voices down," he called out softly.
Relaxing somewhat, the two women made their way carefully up along their respective walls to join him.
"Only seen pictures, but looks like they've got a troll chained up beside a rock pile."
Claudette's eyes widened slightly, and she mimicked Yuuji's earlier action in time with Risty, both taking a glance themselves.
A hulking, vaguely-humanoid shape on all fours, the thick knuckles of its fists supporting its weight at the end of shaggy arms longer than its legs. Beady red eyes gleamed with hate, past thick tusks that curved like scimitars from it fanged maw.
They wisely ducked out of sight as it scooped up another rock, and everyone flinched when it smashed into the other side of the wall Claudette was on, even though it wasn't all that close to her judging by the sound.
"Pisses me off to say it, but that's kinda clever!" Risty half-shouted. "It's like a catapult with fists!"
"Trolls are most dangerous when they charge," somewhat common knowledge that Claudette repeated for Yuuji's benefit, "and tend to do so at the slightest provocation. I suppose the chain is to keep it in position, though I would not count on that holding if the beast gets riled up enough."
Trolls were somewhat less suited to wielding weapons as ogres of similar size, but those boar-like tusks and the concentration of their bulk made the charging attack of a troll something akin to the largest of battering rams being propelled with speed rivaling a warhorse.
When used in wars in the distant past, it was said that a handful of the brutes could overpower the charge of an entire heavy cavalry formation, then tear those riders and mounts to pieces with their bare hands.
And, most perniciously of all-
"Trolls regenerate, right?" Yuuji asked. "Claudette, could that lightning of yours cauterize the wounds enough to keep it down?" According to Alleyne, the methods of keeping it down were fire, decapitation, or destroying the brain… and given that even Claudette or Risty would be hard-pressed to pull off the latter two, the 'cauterize' angle seemed their best bet.
"It would not be the first time I've slain a troll," the general nodded. "It is getting to it that is the problem. If its aim is half as good as its throwing arm I'll never make it that distance, and deflecting the blow would likely render my arms useless."
"Kind of impressive enough on its own you could deflect that to begin with," Risty quipped drily. "Same deal for me though, my shield might hold but the bones supporting it probably not so much if we get closer."
"So close the distance without getting hit and draw its attention," Yuuji summarized. "Right, simple enough." As he said that, he began to quickly limber up in the way he would if preparing for a hundred meter dash, though thankfully the distance was maybe a quarter of that.
And he was being stared at for some reason, he didn't think his warmup was all that interesting, but-
"... No way, you can't be planning to run out there!" Risty blurted out in a panic, Claudette looking just as alarmed but slower to find her words.
"Do I look like an idiot?"
"Nah, 'course not-"
"I'm going to hit it in the face with a rock, Claudette is going to screw with its shitty vision, and then I'm gonna run out there." Only an idiot wouldn't stack the deck when his life was at stake.
"... Huh?" Risty gaped at him, trying to process how he'd just added extra steps to what was clearly a 'yes, I am running out there'.
"... Pray tell, what do you mean by… 'screwing with' its vision?" Claudette asked slowly.
"Now hang on a sec," Risty began, only to be cut off by the heavy stare of dark eyes.
"Appreciate it, but do we really have time to find a way around, if there even is one?" Yuuji asked blandly.
Risty and Claudette were both worrying over him more than he'd like, and he was honestly kind of fed up with it. But, he was also aware that feeling that way showed what was wrong with him more than anything else, and he wasn't exactly ungrateful, deep down.
They were both good people.
"... Shit, fine." Risty grumbled. "But you better move that tight ass of yours, otherwise I'm running it over on the way in. You might have a good point, but no chance in hell I'm letting you square up to a troll all on your own!"
If Claudette had her way, he wouldn't even have the time to 'square up with it' at all.
Predictably, the troll threw a rock at Yuuji the moment he stepped out, bellowing eagerly.
It was fun watching the meat splatter.
The two women felt their hearts lurch as Yuuji made no attempt to dodge, but he'd see what they hadn't- the rock was going a good fifteen feet wide from the doorway.
Gave him more time to fire back, which he did.
It wasn't quite David and Goliath, but it felt pretty damn close when a sling-stone the size of a golf ball smashed into the tip of the troll's thick nose. A sound that was more like a scream than a bellow tore from the brute's maw as it began to thrash around noisily, not unlike a bucking bull.
Yuuji discarded his sling and smoothly ducked into a sprinter's crouch as the sun rose behind him- or rather, Thunderclap's light reflected off the mirror-like surface of Risty's buckler.
It only caught a single eye of the troll, but that eye was more than sensitive enough to light to further disorient the hulking monster.
Yuuji took off like a shot, dashing low and quiet like a wild cat on the hunt.
He had almost made it to the troll when it glared their way with fury, and with no cover, naturally it zeroed in on him.
Incensed by its irritant being almost in reach, the all but useless mind of the troll forgot entirely its supply of ammunition, in favor of attempting to swipe Yuuji in half with its thick, hooked claws.
This time it was less of a heart lurch and more of a 'heart forgetting what it's for' as Claudette and Risty watched, but Yuuji vaulted over the low sweeping limb without so much as breaking stride, twisting as he jumped just as the troll had twisted with the swing.
At that distance he'd have to try to miss, and so the troll got a dagger in its good eye.
Then it had its back to them, rounding on the man in their party with berserk rage, and Claudette and Risty burst from cover as if launched from a bow.
The enchanted edge of Thunderclap bit deeply of a thick hamstring, just as a solid metal morningstar came arcing in towards the other leg- or rather, the other foot, as Risty smashed the troll's big toe, all but guaranteeing she had its complete attention.
Hollering loud, the troll pivoted, practically swinging its comparatively light lower body around to face the two warriors, head twisted to bring its tusks in a sweeping tear, forcing them to backstep or be ripped open.
But they'd been expecting as much from the troll, and in the moment its momentum stopped, Risty stepped in with her morningstar gripped in both hands, held low and to her side.
"HAAAAH!
The impact of that roaring uppercut sent a ripple through the air as it struck the troll beneath the chin. The crack of fangs was audible as its jaw was slammed shut, its head snapped up until its gaze was almost directed to the ceiling.
Then, a powerful thrust from Claudette shoved about two feet of sharp mithril into the same spot Risty had smashed.
With violet sparks dancing from its wielder's eyes, Thunderclap proved worthy of its reputation.
… The corpse that thundered to the floor a moment later was eyeless, leaking smoke from every orifice in its brutish skull.
Claudette exhaled softly, swinging her blade to wick away the noxious blood of the troll, turning her head to find that…
Yuuji wasn't looking their way, hands on his hips as he gazed upwards with the hint of a wry smile.
"Guess we were kind of noisy."
For the first time, Claudette and Risty looked up, and found a veritable maze of intersecting stone walkways, stacking higher and higher until well beyond what any of them could see.
And those walkways were far from empty.
"That's easily three times the amount of gobs and hobs we dealt with on the way here," Risty grinned as if it was someone else's problem.
That grin widened a little bit as out of the corner of her eye, she saw a composed smile grow across Claudette's lips.
"It would be a problem if all those creatures made their way down, and not just for us," the statuesque beauty nodded agreeably.
"Conveniently, that ramp over there seems to lead up," Yuuji pointed out.
"If they're gonna be our problem," Risty laughed, "let's be their problem first."
Moving as one, they took off to the ramp as the walkways above came alive like a wasp hive being roused, and when the gathered horde took up its battle cries, it was as if the whole dungeon was roaring with them.
The noise was deafening, yet somehow his voice carried still.
"Dungeons are never boring, huh?"
Even Claudette had to laugh a little at that.
A wide sweep of Thunderclap's flat sent a trio of arrows clattering uselessly away as Risty slipped past, shield lowered as she bull-rushed a charging hob, carrying it clean off its feet and scattering the little pack of goblins behind it, sending them tumbling off the sides of the walkway and to their deaths.
Yuuji, currently at the back, scooped up a discarded ax and spun on his heel, sending it hurtling through the air and into an orc skull, tripping up the monster behind it as it fell over the corpse.
Moving as one, the party easily leapt the six foot diagonal onto a higher bridge, Claudette making a larger leap in order to impale the orc foolish enough to impede her.
Almost instantly, a trio of hobs charged from the left opening, and a swarm of goblins came yammering in from the right.
"Yuuji, can you slow the goblins?" Claudette shouted out, already dashing left, towards where one ramp linked to a higher bridge.
"On it." Stepping forward, Yuuji focused his mana, and Howled.
The goblins scattered as the pulse of mana shoved aside the frontrunners, sending several tumbling to their deaths and leaving the ones behind that in an ungainly, shrieking tangle.
"Whoo! Not bad Kid, not bad at all!" Risty laughed as Yuuji caught up.
Not bad indeed, the Big Bad Wolf might have been on to something when he was blowing down houses with a huff and a puff.
Snapping a hand out to catch an arrow that was more likely to hit Claudette than himself, Yuuji found himself thinking that being the wolf in the fairytale was probably the best role for him, anyways.
Slashing, leaping, smashing, running, and occasionally punting when a goblin got underfoot.
They blitzed their way across walkway after walkway, crisscrossing ever higher until they were a good twelve stories off the ground, with countless dead monsters littering the bridges, and even more splattered across the stone floor far below.
The sheer adrenaline rush made it hard to tell how long it had taken them to run out of 'up', the trio touching down on the widest and highest bridge yet, nothing but the cavernous darkness above their heads.
"Come to think of it, how the hell did all of this fit into a mine? That's a lot of ups with no downs, considering we're supposedly underground."
"Dungeons almost never look the same from the inside as they do from the outside, but yes, I agree," Claudette addressed Yuuji's comment with a nod, catching her breath now that they were at last alone.
… Seemingly alone, and the reprieve was brief indeed.
A series of slow, heavy thuds, followed by a harsh grating noise.
"Final round, huh?" Risty quipped, shouldering her mace.
Out of their only exit lumbered a towering ogre, dragging a stalagmite nearly as tall as its body that it soon hefted onto one boulder of a shoulder.
"Shit, if it swings that the wrong way…" Risty cut her own mutterings off.
Claudette, who had been tensing to immediately attack as well, found herself frozen in place also.
Yuuji sauntered past the both of them, smirking over his shoulder as he sheathed his dagger.
It was the first time either of them had seen him eager, and how well he wore the expression was a shock.
"Home stretch, so be ready to sprint to finish."
And then he took off at a run, sprinting straight at the ogre.
Eyes widening in cruel anticipation, the ogre brought its massive club swinging down with a rumbling roar.
"YUU-!?" Claudette cut off her panicked shout as Yuuji slid right under the descending mass of stone, and between tree trunk legs.
The ogre stumbled as the entire bridge lurched beneath it, fissuring violently from the point of impact.
And then a heavy pulse of mana struck its already unbalanced body, completing its fall to all fours.
Claudette and Risty kicked off its vast back in unison and went airborne as the bridge gave way beneath them, soaring high through open air…
And hitting the ground in a run that took them past where Yuuji stood casually at the broken end of the bridge, their momentum playing out as they made it over the threshold and into the hallway beyond.
The final bridge and its defender smashing their way to the ground could be heard for almost two full minutes afterwards.
Hands on her knees and breasts heaving with each heavy breath, Risty gave voice to what both women were feeling, even if one of them would never speak that way.
"Kid… you're a crazy bastard and I love it."
It wasn't anything special, as far as tunnels went- a somewhat steep downward slope that curved gently but persistently to the right, the moss that illuminated the dungeon a bit more constant in its lining of the walls.
Out of any tunnel they'd traveled down so far, this particular tunnel felt the more 'natural'.
At least, if you put aside the suffocating sense of malevolence that permeated dark stone like a curse.
They were walking straight towards something that could, and probably would kill them, and they all knew it.
… But even Claudette couldn't quite bar that hint of a smile from her otherwise stoic features, and Risty was waltzing along with her hands behind her head.
They were heading towards a clear and lethal danger.
And if there was someone present who would turn back because of something like that, then they wouldn't have stepped foot in the dungeon to begin with.
… Reclining upon an altar of stone in a cavern backlit by a sacrificial pyre, her choice of attire that was nothing but bloodstains and a smirk made for an eerily decadent sight.
But it was her hair that caught their attention most of all, shimmering hypnotically in the firelight.
Her hair was like spun gold, and they suspected that not all that long ago, it had been done up in a big long braid.
"Oh my, oh my, who would think those brutes would bring me such a delectable offering?" The thing wearing the village girl purred. "Ready to be ruined for other women, boy?"
"I can grudgingly respect the confidence," Risty said in a dry tone."But uh, just to check, Kid... you into that?"
"She's looking at me like she wants to eat me." Yuuji pointed out.
"You blame her?"
"Not really, no." Echidna did it all the time, and Risty had done it once or twice herself. Yuuji wasn't entirely unaware that he was a good-looking young man, it just didn't mean much to him.
The thing gazing at him with amused hunger had a certain appeal, no denying that, but... in a way best described as 'off'.
Like it was seductive when it shouldn't be.
It didn't help that the woman's body was shifting- filling out forcibly in some places and tightening in others, curves over ripening like fruit on the edge of rot. Even those sharp black horns glistening with the vessel's blood had a decadent sort of aesthetic to them.
"Actually not the first time I've heard that pickup line," Yuuji addressed the creature blandly. The woman's sensual smile widened with those words, then disappeared with the next.
"But I'm not in the mood for cosplay, so I'll have to turn you down."
"Cosplay?" The woman tilted her head. "I confess, I'm unfamiliar with the term."
"It means that if you want me to take you seriously, take off that costume you're wearing."
Claudette and Risty flinched at the callous delivery of the line, but the woman just blinked once and began to giggle, bloodstained curves quivering sensually as she did.
"Ahaha~ what an amusing turn of phrase~!" she laughed. "She is rather fetching, but perhaps a bit frail, so I fear a robust offering such as yourself might break her after a round or two~"
And then those serpentine eyes were roaming once again, looking at Claudette and Risty for the first time. It was an invasive gaze that felt as if it were exposing every inch, tracing every toned curve before looking far deeper.
"But what do you know, you brought me someone more sturdy to wear~!" the woman clapped her hands together. "Who would you like me to put on first? Oh, but let's not be hasty- we have plenty of time to try out all three, if it suits your fancy."
Claudette realized with a start that the foreign unease she felt could be handily explained by her status being reduced to that of mere garments in the eyes of a sentient being.
"I think you've done quite enough, wretch," Claudette's tone was measured, but heavy with both disgust and killing intent. "That woman is not your plaything. We are not your playthings, and you shan't lay hands on my comrades as long as I draw breath."
"You're not exactly being subtle, ya know," Risty yawned with her morningstar over one shoulder. She flashed the woman a lazy grin that didn't reach her eyes at all. "Unless little miss Marigold has been a demon all along, her body shouldn't be leaking miasma instead of mana."
She had said that last bit for Yuuji's benefit as anything- it wasn't common knowledge, and the only reason she knew it was… unfortunate personal experience.
"But just because we can't give her body back to her, doesn't mean we're gonna let you keep it." The bandit concluded with finality.
Yuuji noted the missing puzzle piece without outward reaction- a human body was leaking the energy needed to make monsters and dungeons. Sounded fatal enough to explain the strange phenomena that he couldn't really tell if he was 'seeing' or 'sensing'.
It was like the air around the woman was dying.
… The air, and the body she was inhabiting. The red markings pushing against the skin weren't anything mystical- they were watching her blood vessels rupture in real time.
"Do not hesitate to strike," Claudette instructed, her voice quiet but firm. "If it has progressed to this point, then we are no longer fighting to save Miss Marigold. We are fighting to avenge her, and grant some measure of closure to those who have lost her… destroy the vessel, and the demon will have nowhere to go."
All throughout this, the woman- no, the demoness, had watched them with a permissive, patient smile. She seemed to preen at the lethal intent aimed her way, sitting up and daintily crossing her bare legs.
Claudette crossed the distance in half a blink, Thunderclap roaring with lightning as she brought it down in a strike that would have easily cleaved that dainty body in two.
But the blow never landed as the woman's shadow leapt from the ground, taking the form of an opaque wall that the greatsword bit deeply into.
Yet the blade still fell well short of the smiling demoness, and her swift retaliation saw Claudette leaping away, as the split halves of the shadow flattened and lashed out with their edges.
When the edges crashed together, it made a grating 'snik' sound, much like a giant pair of shears being forcibly shut.
Claudette landed, grimacing a little but setting her stance firmly, and even though she'd dodged the worst of the blow, a thin, oozing cut still appeared across her upper abs. She flexed the muscles a bit, testing for damage before dismissing the wound as superficial.
Having scarcely felt the bite of those shadowy blades, Claudette was forced to conclude that had she failed to dodge, she may have very well died on the spot.
"Be careful, she can turn those shadows of hers into razors," Claudette warned.
The demoness hadn't even left her seat, idly bouncing one slender white leg as her shadow changed shape once more.
The trio tensed warily, watching her with keen eyes as her shadow narrowed into…
A long pole?
The woman hopped from her perch, took grasp of the pole, and tugged it free of the ground with a twirl.
All three noticed at once that there was no longer a single trace of her shadow on the ground, but now the demoness was holding what appeared to be a bladed staff of sorts, ornate in appearance despite being a uniform black.
And then she twirled like a dancer and swung her staff in a blistering arc that covered nearly twenty feet, proving that the malleable nature of her shadowy weapon had not been lost, merely focused.
Claudette and Yuuji went low, ducking the shadowy sweep.
Risty went high- launching herself upwards to cover a distance equal to the reach of the attack she'd just dodged.
High enough to reach the stalactites pointing down at them all like the fangs of a beast, and smash that 'tooth' with her mace.
It shot down from above like a pointed meteorite, and the laughing demoness flipped away to avoid being pierced through.
Claudette was there when she landed, Thunderclad hissing in from low to high.
The demoness bent her back like a bow, and the splintering of bone echoed in the cavern as she flipped away once more, seemingly unhindered by having done audible damage to 'her' own spine.
She went into a series of crackling flips and cartwheels, flipping herself up to land onto the altar, striking a theatrical curtsey when she did.
… Somewhat unsurprisingly, it seemed the body of a village girl wasn't up to moving the way a demon wished to move.
And then Yuuji took his own throwing dagger to the shoulder as the demoness slapped it right back at him.
"Kid-!" The spray of blood caught Risty's attention at precisely the wrong moment, and the demoness was upon her before she could blink, smiling wide as she lashed out in a whirling flurry of blows.
Mace and shield caught one strike, then a second, then a third, sparks flying and muscles straining.
Then the demoness twisted low and kicked high, smashing her bare heel into the bottom of Risty's chin.
Risty's eyes lost focus, and her morningstar slipped from her fingers.
Grinning wide, the demoness spun, bringing her staff around as it narrowed into a long skewer, thrusting for the space right below Risty's bouncing breasts.
An elven leather boot kicked the shaft of the weapon aside, and a bolt of violet lightning struck the demoness from above with a crackling roar.
Laughing even as 'her' flesh crisped, the demoness staggered away, spinning as if drunk and slashing out.
A solid metal buckler smashed back the haphazard blow, and Risty, lips red with her own blood, lunged forward and seized the demoness by the face. With a roar, the buxom bandit spun and flung the demoness across the room with a single hand.
The demoness bounced from the wall in a ruinous tangle of slender white limbs, laughing merrily even as she willed her broken body to rise.
Thunderclap punched through her thin back and out from her cleavage, sinking its tip into the stone. She called upon her namesake, and an unseen sky proclaimed its judgment at the grim behest of the Lord of Thundercloud.
"Lightning Execution."
A torrent of violet lightning engulfed the stolen body of the demoness, briefly dyeing the entire cavern in its furious glow, and leaving nothing but a charred corpse in its wake.
Drained from the exhaustive use of her mana, Claudette stumbled slightly as she pulled Thunderclap free of the body, the sorrow heavy in her gaze as she stared down at the undeniable proof of having failed one whom she had been sworn to protect.
Her eyes never left the body, not even for a second.
Yet the near skeletal body rising, serpentine eyes gleaming with rapturous insanity, was not something she could have possibly been on guard against.
The corpse thrust the point of what had formerly been an arm straight for her heart, and a dry crunch echoed gruesomely through the bloodstained cavern.
… Flecks of ash that had once been flesh and bone escaped from between his tightly clenched fist as murky dark eyes swallowed the monstrous light of a demon's gaze.
"Let her rest already," Yuuji tonelessly demanded.
A heavy dark knife danced and danced until there was nothing left to cut, and the battle ended with the echoing laughter of a demon.
Showcasing their hard-earned teamwork, the victors collapsed to their knees as in perfect harmony.
… Her portion of the work had turned out to be annoyingly cushy.
Oh sure, her and Keltan had needed to do a spot of quiet murder here or there, to keep the girls safe. But the village women had only seen a monster because Echidna let them see (its corpse), since their paranoia was starting to ramp up a little too much.
As hoped, they'd relaxed a little when they realized how effortlessly she was keeping them safe.
… And it wasn't as if Echidna had any compunctions about lazing around while others worked hard, just that moving out of danger while people she kind of liked moved into danger left a sour taste in her mouth.
Especially the kid- putting aside that she did like him the most out of those three, he was one of those dead-eyed brats who got themselves killed when no one was looking, and looked happier as a corpse.
Centuries of mercenary work meant she'd seen a little too many of those types.
Well, she was pretty confident that between the three, they'd make it out alright- didn't know much about the bandit other than that she was a mountain in a curvy package that she'd like to get her hands on at some point, but Claudette was a certified monster.
… That she'd also like to get her hands on at some point, though Claudette was a bit of a stiff so it was taking a while to get past her guard.
For Yuuji's part, he might not quite stack up to Claudette in terms of raw fighting strength (not yet anyways), but he was probably the best suited for delving into a dungeon alone, beside herself.
If the task hadn't been to retrieve potentially an entire person's worth of deadweight, then either herself or Yuuji could probably roam the dungeon as they pleased.
Which once again brought Echidna back to the realization and acceptance that she was a pretty selfish person.
Because the mental image of Yuuji wandering anywhere dangerous alone was kind of annoying.
… Maybe she was getting a little soft, might be time to take another decade or two off from mercenary work.
But she wasn't getting so soft as to have not picked it up from the start that one of the women she was escorting wasn't quite what she seemed.
Yuuji had picked up on it too, on some level, but the kid just didn't have the breadth of experience to know how many ways someone could be 'off'.
So he'd let it go when she winked at him, trusting her to handle it.
And the exit was in sight, so about time she did.
As the women lost their composure at the sight of the sun, the dumpy brunette that Echidna had let fall behind her a little raised one arm from behind her back. Flesh rippled the way flesh wasn't meant to ripple, as a translucent pink dagger formed in her hand.
Grinning with malice, the girl plunged the dagger down towards Echidna's defenseless back.
… What just happened?
The elf-bitch had skipped forwards, dodging the blow without seeming to notice, moving like she was a young woman even though she was probably an old hag in reality.
It was so surprising that she sucked the dagger back in on impulse, hiding her murder attempt.
"Alright ladies, thanks for your patience, but here ends our dungeon tour," Echidna spoke cheerfully. "Just outside will be a bunch of familiar faces just waiting to have you in their arms once more, so don't keep the boys waiting, hm~?"
The humans might not be able to, but she could already hear the militia men rattling those spears around and getting all impatient to rescue their missing womenfolk.
Couldn't blame them for getting antsy, but they did well to stick to their role.
"Am I to take it that you're going back to meet up with the general and her companions?" One of the older women asked (old for a human anyways).
"Weeell maybe, but first I figure I'll take care of our unwanted tagalong." The elf smirked over her shoulder then, and their eyes met for the first time.
"Tagalong?"
"Ahaha~!" the 'tagalong' laughed, her borrowed appearance flashing a nasty smile. "How'd you guess, hmm?"
Echidna turned to face the 'girl' fully, casually putting herself between her and the rest.
"You're the only one who had to fake being nervous," Echidna shrugged. Hadn't done a bad job of faking it, all told, but she was a couple centuries too young to be pulling one over on the Veteran Mercenary. "That and clover-shaped pupils. Kind of a dead giveaway."
"Ahaha~ that's true, that's true, you'd have to be awfully weak to be scared of small fry~!" The woman mocked. "But aren't my eyes pretty?" she giggled as Echidna conceded that point with a shrug.
"Wait, Emi, what are you saying-" one of the younger women made to move towards her, but Echidna held up a hand to stop her.
"It'll only be harder on yourself if you use her name," Echidna explained softly without looking. "Sorry, but your friend didn't make it."
Whatever she was speaking to had killed 'Emi' at some point and taken her place.
One look at the thing across from her was enough to confirm that the girl hadn't survived being replaced.
"Hmm, I dunno, she might still be alive~?" The creature taunted. "You all look the same to me, so it's haaard to remember my last meal~"
The young woman put her hands to her mouth, terror and despair warring on her features as one more tragedy was added to the pile.
"Take her and go," Echidna raised her voice. "You don't have to worry about being followed."
There were tears and muffled sobs as the girl who had lost her friend was pulled away, and the villagers made for the exit.
"Honestly, I'm a little surprised you didn't take your shot when their backs were turned," Echidna admitted, once some distance was gained.
"I thooought about it, but I decided it'll be way more fun if I catch up carrying your limbless body," the creature chirped brightly. "I can't wait to see the expressions you make when I kill them all in front of you!"
The creature gave an erotic shiver, sadistic pleasure visible on a borrowed face that didn't suit the expression at all.
"Is that your plan, Cutie?" Echidna asked with one eyebrow raised. "One little problem there."
"Ohh?"
"You're not the first shapeshifting monster I've killed, and you sure as hell aren't going to be the last." Echidna's playful smile was replaced by a cold glare.
It was met with equal venom as the creature bared her teeth, eyes wide with outrage.
"You bitch, how dare you call me a monster! My name is Melona! Mel. !" She shouted. So angry was she at being called 'that' that her disguise melted away almost instantly, revealing her true form. "I'll melt you inch by inch, you saggy hag!"
Slender but chesty, she had the appearance of a young woman with a slight pink hue to her softly glistening skin. Her 'outfit' (that Echidna suspected was probably part of her body) consisted of a tiny, translucent pink jacket that didn't really cover anything beyond her neck and shoulders, and a revealing pink dress that covered her sides and a trivial amount of thigh. Pauldrons that looked like- no, were eyes were on her shoulders, and dainty pink shoes were on her feet.
Her outfit left her chest bare, which led into the obviously inhuman qualities of what Echidna immediately identified as a slime of some sort. Her long, wavy hair was a gooey pink, with what resembled rabbit ears poking out the top. The long bangs that framed her cute features turned into wet pink hands at the tips, cupping those plump tits.
Echidna took about three seconds to conclude that if she wasn't a heartless, sadistic monster, the slime-girl in front of her would definitely be in her strike zone. Shapeshifters probably had a lot of options in bed, after all, and it wasn't like she couldn't find better uses for that 'Melona's' sharp tongue.
The scent of wet flowers and spilt blood was unique, but ultimately a turn off.
An unrealistically sharp-looking sword oozed into (or out of) the slime's hand as she glared pure hate, but Echidna made no move to take a stance, just continuing to check out the exotic cutie while said exotic cutie was alive.
"Don't ignore me, you old hag!" Melona shrieked and leapt in with a diagonal slash.
It wasn't a bad attack, Echidna conceded as she dodged with a smirk, and it was clever the way she just rotated her upper body for the followup- no bones meant extra range of motion- but…
It didn't matter what kind of fighter you were, not watching where you stepped was a mistake.
Keltan's fangs sank into the slime-girl's calf a moment later, and she rippled in surprise.
"W-what the-!? A snake!? … Hey, wait a second, is this yours?" The slime's expression immediately into a sadistic smirk, as she clued in that the elf wasn't surprised by the snake at all.
Dumb reptile had made the mistake to bite her, she could just shove her slime down its throat and burst it open- oooh~ she couldn't wait to see what expression the hag made when her pet popped in front of her-
… Hang on… was it just her or was the snake's bite kinda starting to hurt?
The snake removed its jaws and slithered off.
The second it did, her field of vision tipped wildly as the bottom half of her leg dissolved into a puddle, and she hit the floor, hands slapping wetly to the stone.
"... huh? … eh… that's strange, my leg fell apart. B-but it's just a snake… p-poison doesn't do anything-" from where the snake had bitten her, her slime was slowly losing its pinkish hue, spreading venom staining her body a sickly purple.
Echidna smiled coldly as Keltan twined up her body and onto her shoulder, baring his fangs with a hiss that only a wild elf would know was smug.
"I've lost count of how many people have died wearing a stupid expression because they underestimated me," she sneered. "But, you know, the number of people who died thinking my partner was an ordinary snake is just as big."
Her people had only ever earned their place in the jungle because the first thing they earned from the jungle was the pity of the Agarthan vipers.
With a shriek, Melona chopped away her own leg, forcibly ending the spread of the venom and reforming her leg in an instant.
Keltan hissed again, and Echidna returned the barest of nods.
Sure, Melona wasn't crippled, but who the hell expected to cripple something whose limbs were probably just for show?
It was far more important that she was rattled, and Echidna decided to drive that home, her honeyed tone every bit as venomous as Keltan's bite.
"Is it just me, or is there a little bit less of you than there was a second ago?"
Melona's flinch made her whole body ripple, blatantly demonstrating how unnerved the slime was.
That's what happened when a strength you relied on fell apart.
If you were an amateur, that was.
"S-screw this!" Melona stepped, or rather slid a pace back as Keltan hissed again. "I can kill you and that nasty little worm whenever I want!"
"Then try," Echidna smirked as the distance between them vanished, slicing off the slime's arms with a single swipe, then kicking out, putting mana into her foot to keep from sinking in, just in case.
The slime smashed, or rather splashed into the wall, the back half of her body seemingly spreading across the wall.
Rather than pursue, Echidna just put her hands on her hips, and smirked.
Her lower body reforming into more of a tail than anything else, Melona fled in a panic, slithering rapidly around the corner and out of sight.
Echidna's smile slowly faded, and she let out a little sigh as she scratched under Keltan's chin.
They'd lucked out there, hadn't they?
As tired as she was from playing nursemaid, that fight could have gone bad if the slime got serious about going for the kill.
This was why mind games were Echidna's second favorite kind of game.
Sex games being the first, obviously.
Speaking of sex, when were the hot people gonna catch up to her?
Brushes with death always left her a little horny.
In a palace beyond the reach of light, a pale vision of perfection writhed naked upon dark silk, as if the moon itself had been carved into a tribute to feminine beauty.
In contrast to her milky white skin, her hair was so glossy and dark that it diminished the shadows with its presence, blending in perfectly with the sharp horns that adorned her head like a crown.
Even the single blemish upon that enchanting figure served only to heighten her loveliness, perhaps due to how that blemish was the focal point of her fascination.
On a supple and slender arm, pointed towards the ceiling were a set of smallish red marks- more bruises than punctures, despite their source, or perhaps because of the imbalance between the source of the wound and herself. It matched the location of the borrowed wrist that he had seized in one of those big strong hands of his.
Yet the wound resembled not a handprint, but a bite mark.
… A bite mark left by the jaws of a beast.
There should have been no way for him to reach her, even in the slightest.
Decadent laughter echoed like profane music through that castle beyond the light, as an ageless being allowed herself to be captivated by novelty.
"I won't let you deny me twice, you delightful boy," she purred into the sultry dark. "I'll make you beg for my touch."
After all, who but her could take in every last drop of his madness, and still want for more?
"It's a bit of a shame to have been underestimated like that," she mused, "but I suppose that's all I could hope for in such a flimsy vessel."
She would be sure to teach him, teach them the depths of their folly for mistaking her for but one of many.
For there existed a great many demons, lurking at the threshold between Gainos and the Nether.
Many demons, but only one Witch.
One Swamp Witch, to be more precise.
One Swamp Witch in the form of a demon milf, to be even more precise.
Oh, and Melona was there too.
Too bad the Protean Assassin wasn't ready for the mystical power of the danger noodle.
I've been dropping hints here or there, but… magic animals are a thing.
Keltan being one of two that takes the role of an actual supporting character.
Anywho, I had lots of fun writing some good old hack-and-slash dungeon crawling, and the ascending battle up those stone bridges was inspired by the escape from the goblin caves in the first movie of the Hobbit trilogy.
Hope you guys liked the fight against the Witch wearing a costume, I wanted it to be straightforward, but a little creepy and grotesque to balance out how the final boss of the dungeon was a naked chick.
Next chapter we'll have our aftermath, and explore a bit of the bonds forged in battle.