Disclaimer: Black Clover is owned by Yūki Tabata, Studio Pierrot, and Shonen Jump.
Saga 42: Canned Heat Part 2
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO FILL OUT PAPERWORK?!" Fana yelled at Bradamante, a Paladin who was operating the front desk of the entrance of the Catacombs while several FAMAS suits were guarding said entrance. "I'M PRETTY SURE THAT YOU'D LET ANYONE INTO THAT PLACE!"
"The prior applicants all filled out their registration forms years ago," she explained before the Paladin then brought out a stack of forms for Fana and the others to sign. "And yes, I double-checked, Klein registered at literally last minute before the Dungeon's public opening."
"Wait, he did it all by himself?" Duhat asked. "... Without telling us?!"
"To be fair, you were out of the house for a couple of days trying to keep that magic essence from that [Surtr] thing from a few months back contained," Mariella pointed out. "... That and... me and everyone else... kept their distance, mainly because Klein didn't want to talk to us. That and he is a current holder of the Earth Spirit, [Gnome]."
Bradamante sighs before gently pushing the piles of paperwork for the three. "... Look, if it helps you calm down, the kid didn't go in there alone," she reassured. "Saw him with someone during the opening dash."
"Who?!" Fana asked.
"Sorry, didn't get the name, but he and the kid looked pretty tight," she replied. "... That and he looked pretty strong. Might be one of our day-labor volunteers who wanted to try his luck."
Seeing that they weren't going to force themselves in without causing a ruckus, Fana, Duhat, and Mariella all take their tall stacks of forms before leaving with a groan.
"Why. Paperwork?!" Fana grimaced as she kicked aside a pebble to vent her frustrations.
It's a human invention, this "bureaucracy," Elf!Fana deadpanned. ... Then again, considering how much humans... eh, outbred us in sheer quantity, I suspect trying to organize this swollen population is like herding cats for a living.
You talking about the Clover Kingdom or here? Ezel the [Salamander] asked. ... I assume the former, because I feel like the latter is a bigger headache to contend with, given that it's not just humans who live here.
"I don't want to even think about it..." Fana then sighs, left to suffer in silence as she was burdened with several headaches stemming from both real-life problems and obligations. "... Being an adult sucks."
"Fana, you're barely like, what? Fifteen? Sixteen?" Duhat pointed out. "... If you think this is hard, trust me, you're gonna in for literal HELL."
She gulps before looking towards Mariella, who simply looks away. "... The Crypteia kept me busy from the moment I learned how to walk. At this point, I'm just numb to it."
Fana moans in despair as she was the only one who couldn't handle this kind of stress. "... I just want to save Klein."
"Save who?"
Fana then lets out a yelp as she runs into Sirona and Hama on their way back to Terra Cotta Dormitory. "Oh. Hey," she awkwardly greeted. "... What are you two doing here?"
"Less work than usual today, so we're just walking about," Hama explained. "Shame that the bistro I liked has still not reopened..."
"Let me guess..." Sirona began to think. "... Someone close to you has ran off into the Dungeons all by themselves and now you're trying to fill out the paperwork so that you three can go down there and pull them back out before they go in too deep?"
"Klein's a child," Fana added. "A child who went into the world's biggest Dungeon known in written history!"
"Not that rare actually," Hama dismissed. "Heck, some of us Resistance members during the Reign of Terror lived in the outer fringes of the Catacombs for most of their lives. Heck, my first Dungeon dive was when I was only six years old-"
"What he means is that we'll help you three fill out your paperwork." Everyone's expressions rose upon Sirona's assistance. "Give us something to do while helping close friends out. It's the least we can do."
"Awesome!" Duhat remarked. "We really can use the help. And some coffee."
"Mr. Pyrite, I recommend you don't," Mariella warned. "... You smell as if you've been bathing in a coffee pot for over a week."
The three then make their way back to their home to fill out their paperwork with the assistance of two of the Dragon's aides.
"By the way..." Fana said as she opened the front door. "... I'm gonna have to explain all of this to Lady Psi, don't I? And after I said that I'd ask her if I can hold off my volunteer work the day before too, huh?"
Duhat shrugs as everyone else walks in. "We'll help."
Meanwhile, Down at the Catacombs...
"HEY! SOMEONE'S ALREADY LOOTED THAT CHEST!" a member of the Controlled Accord remarked.
"HANDS OFF MY LOOT, ASSHOLE!" an Arms Legion member wrestled an ornate shield with another member of Controlled Accord. "I SAW IT FIRST!"
"I NEED SOME HELP HERE!" a pink-haired warrior of the Red Leaf Party cried out as he and his Party tried to pry open a locked stone door. "SOMEONE GET ME AN ADDITIONAL PAIR OF HANDS TO OPEN THIS DAMN THING!"
"Whoa..." Klein gasped as he took a step back at the sheer chaos at what he and Heracles saw the utter chaos that was the first level of the Dungeon, where every Adventurer too eager for short-term gain were busy fighting amongst themselves over what loot they could each get their hands on. "... There's a lot of people."
"Eh, don't pay 'em any mind." Heracles then scoops up the boy and plants him onto his shoulder as they walked deeper in. "The good stuff is further in! There's no such thing as a free lunch, after all!"
Klein then yelps as he and Heracles jump into a deeper level of the Catacombs, spotting a beacon denoting this level as the second, where the other, more experienced Parties of Adventurers surveyed the whole area methodically.
"Hey, you see any secret passages?" one member of the Riders of Flame asked his compatriot.
"I swear, if I find any block puzzles, I'm gonna..." the leader of the Epic Battlers of Fantasy grumbled incoherently as he and his Party went further in.
"Nothing good is here," a Trialtaker remarked as he and his Party goes in deeper after the former. "Stronger enemies await further in. Remember to take their fang or scalp as proof of our renown."
"Alright, we can start by scouting this area here," Heracles stated as he gently lets Klein down from his shoulder. "... No enemies, but just to get a feel for the area as a whole. Don't linger for too long, you hear?"
The boy nods as he and the muscular man begin exploring the second level. As they traversed throughout the area, they noted the moss-covered masonry and ancient carvings engraved into said walls that still held up for a indeterminate period of time.
The ambient light of the underground Dungeon was dim, so much so that one couldn't see a couple feet ahead without running into pure darkness, save for the few torches left behind by the Adventurers who went ahead, if only to help them travel back in case of an emergency.
"Well, there's your first puzzle," Heracles remarked towards the darkness ahead of them. "Let's see if you can make your way through the dark without hurting yourself!"
Klein nods as he walks in, but upon stepping deeper into the dark, his feet quickly gets ice-cold before turning back, where Heracles hasn't moved from his spot.
"Weren't you coming with me?" he pointed out.
"Hey, sink or swim. This is your idea, remember?" Heracles countered. "... Try again."
Klein sighs, calming down as he then thinks of another way to traverse the darkness.
Think... what can I do with my [Earth Magic] to see in the dark? the boy asked himself. I remember... learning something from Magia Academia about this... about how attributes can be used beyond their base applications.
Remembering that, he then thinks what his [Earth Magic] can do right now. So far, he can think of ways to interact with the surrounding masonry with his magic, such as erecting spires or creating constructs-
Wait, "constructs"! he realized. I have Smurf! I can use him to create golems to act as my eyes and ears!
Taking advantage of that idea, Klein then puts his conceptual plan into action. "[Earth Spirit Magic: Spirit Army]!"
Unlike his "father's" iteration of [Spirit Army], Klein only summons about a half a dozen of mini-golems that are each the size of Smurf himself. However, that was acceptable, since their jobs aren't to fight, but to scout ahead.
"Good luck, everyone!" The mini [Spirit Army] then waddles off further ahead, with Klein returning to Heracles before the latter perches the former on his broad shoulder. "Mister! I know where we can go now! Follow my lead!"
Klein then closes his eyes to see what his golems were seeing, their specialized visions of letting them exclusively see mana allowing the boy to see the depths well as daytime.
The two gradually scout out the area, whipping around corridor from corridor until finding themselves in a puzzle room, where a pedestal stood in the middle of the room, enshrined on top being a complicated knot binding something inside.
"A puzzle!" Klein excitedly remarked as he jumped off Heracles' shoulder before running ahead.
"You like puzzles?" asked the muscular man.
"They were fun to play with ever since I was... little..." Klein's prior excitement dies down before shaking his head to ward off his memories with that man who pretended to be his "father". "... Anyway, I think I remember seeing this in one of the books I read! It's a [Gordian]! A rope puzzle where you have to untie the knot to get the prize that's inside!"
"Sweet! Then let me just rip that thing apart-" Heracles was then immediately blown back by the magic knot's defensive barriers the moment he'd attempted to brute force his way through the puzzle, his back hitting the wall outside the entrance of the room. "... I'm okay."
"Yeah, I should've known that we're playing by the Dungeon's rules..." Klein remarked awkwardly. "... Anyway, guess this is another puzzle for me."
"Cool, I'm just gonna lay down while you do your brain-thing, kid." Heracles then slouches against the wall as the boy begins analyzing the knot.
I remember that [Gordian] was a puzzle that literally no one was able to solve, he recalled as he continued seeing the knot from various angles. ... But this... even though it's impossible, I wanna take a shot at it, just once!
In truth, Klein was actually still high from his confidence boost that he'd got from Heracles. In fact, it was this high that made Klein feel invincible, willing and able to take on anything that stood in his path.
Today was his day, the boy was certain of it, so his mind went into overdrive, his finger feeling every interwoven fiber throughout the ball, registering every thread, every nick, every felt that made up the outward surface.
"... Wait a minute."
Klein then feels a certain spot of the knot ball and realizes that something off about it. Upon taking a closer look, he notices a small, pin-sized seam sticking out like a cowlick.
Normally, he would pull on it as hard as he could, but it felt too easy of a solution. With that in mind, he then kept analyzing the knot ball.
Back at the Surface...
"THERE! WE'RE DONE!" Fana cheered as she, Duhat, and Mariella finished filling out their forms.
"Come to think of it..." Mariella then looked at Duhat, who was completely out of it as his head rested against the table's surface. "... Why are you filling out forms? Don't you like... already go to Dungeons to do field work or something like that?"
"I... use a provisional license for my work," the Demonologist explained. "Since this has nothing to do with my work, I have to take the regular channel."
"You should see my dear Contractor dive into Dungeons!" Wadjet explained as her shadow slithers into view from his nape. "It's quite a treat to see him get exited over rare Relics and ancient artifacts! The Ten Terrors that he was working on as his subject for his project was a time of our lives! Dangers and all!"
"Yeah, well, now the board has to process them," Hama explained as he and Sirona took the piles of paperwork.
"How long's that going to take?" Fana asked.
"Until tomorrow," Sirona answered. "And don't think about going in right now unless you want several hours of work be thrown into a fireplace. No, seriously. We do that."
Fana groans loudly as she slams her head into the table before sobbing onto the wooden surface. "... Fuck!"
Mariella sighs before joining the two adults on walking outside. "Hey, does the board take requests?"
"Yeah," Hama answered as he opened the door. "Why?"
Mariella sighs as she walks out first. "... I'm gonna file a missing persons report for Klein, just to ensure that we're not the only ones looking for him."
Back at the Catacombs...
"Are you done yet...?" Heracles groaned as Klein was still working on untying [Gordian]. "I'm getting real sleepy just sitting and doin' nothing, man..."
"Almost there...!" the boy muttered to himself as he surgically unravels the magic knot. "... Almost there!"
During Klein's investigation of the knot ball, he'd figured out the following features of this bizarre puzzle.
One, that seam at the beginning wasn't meant to be pulled, but pushed in like a button. Doing so "activated" the main puzzle itself, and doing the opposite was an instant dismissal that would've locked him out of solving said puzzle indefinitely.
Two, the objective wasn't to "untie" the knot, but rather, arrange the strands into a certain pattern. So far, the knot was still too dense to see anything that was contained within it, but as of now, it was bouncy and light as air, like the world's most beautiful tuft of hairball.
And three, the mentality of said "puzzle" was not getting from "Point A" to "Point B," but rather to "unify" and "harmonize" various threads. Various Adventurers always assume that puzzles exist to be solved, but that in itself was a trap set up by [Gordian].
[Gordian] itself was a rebuttal to all puzzles in known history. It was impossible to be solved since its creation, simply because "solving" it wasn't the objective. It was more akin to a "ritual," where standard procedures and customs had to be "followed" to the letter.
It wasn't conquest itself that as the goal, but appeasement.
"One more strand..." Klein then uses one eye to zero in on a certain thread before moving it to a certain angle...
... Before hearing a click.
"There!" Klein then puts the ball of thread akin to that of a spider's nursery back onto the pedestal it was originally found on, causing the whole room to radiate, almost celebrating in Klein's achievement.
The ball of thread morphs and shifts in place, taking various geometric shapes until finally settling on one form, that being a segmented disk the size of a small yul currency.
"... All of that brain work for that dinky little thing?" Heracles remarked before looking down at the treasure.
Then he noticed Smurf trying to jump up towards the pedestal itself, almost wanting what's up there for himself.
"You want it?" The [Gnome] nods before Klein picks him up and lets the little rock creature claim the disk, instantly forming an affinity with it. "Glad you like it!"
Smurf nods before his host was scooped up by Heracles.
"Alright! Here's to your very first treasure!" the man declared as they marched further in the depths. "Let's keep up the good work-!"
Then, a blast of gas sprays into Heracles' face, knocking him out cold and falling back with Klein in tow, with both landing hard onto the ground.
"Our first victims," a cylindrical Golem remarked as it lowed its nozzle-like weapon.
"Sweet! Let's take everything they have on them!" a garish-looking Elf declared as she and the rest of the Controlled Accord came out of the corner.
As its two owners were tranquilized, Smurf used its tiny body to defend its owners.
"What's this chump think it's doing?" a [Lizardman] scoffed before punting it aside, causing the [Gnome] to drop what it was holding. "That's all they got?!"
"Well, she said to take everything they have on them..." a lightly-armored warrior remarked.
"Just take the disk," the old Witch commented. "Easy come, easy go, as you kids say."
The [Myconid] nods in agreement as the Party leaves in disappointment after prying the disk off of the [Gnome]'s nubby little hands.
"Man, that blows," a heavily-armored woman commented. "I mean, we're literally stealing candy from a baby."
"We started our careers stealing candies from babies," the morose-looking woman with a modded [Firebolt M3] countered. "Don't get self-righteous now."
The Controlled Accord all share a laugh before disappearing into the darkness of the Catacombs.
Once the Party was gone, Smurf then waddled back to Klein and Heracles, trying to wake the former up by shaking his head around.
The boy stirs himself back awake. "... Smurf?"
The [Gnome] expresses its dismay and shame upon losing the prize that its master had worked hard to acquire.
"Mister!" Klein then tries to shake Heracles awake.
"Ow... what happened?" the man groaned as he woke up before looking around.
"Mister..." The boy begins sniffling. "I'm so sorry... that I didn't see them coming..."
Heracles shrugs before patting his giant hand onto the boy's head. "Don't blame yourself," he reassured. "Blame those jerks for getting the drop on us."
The muscular man gets up, dusts his pants, and then scoops up the boy back onto his shoulder before moving further into the Dungeon.
"Kid, I know it's rough, but even I make a few mistakes," he said. "I'm not the smartest man in the world, let alone I can read a book meant for children before I just get sick of it. But you know what my advice is to all of the world's problems, from bad weather to jerks like those guys who stole your prize?"
Klein wipes his tears with his arms. "... What is it?"
Heracles smiles. "Get stronger."
"... Huh?" The boy blinked stupidly.
"I learned from my time here that this place ain't so different from everywhere else," Heracles pointed out. "Spade, Clover, or heck, anywhere else, really, all rely on a little something called 'strength' to get around. I mean, it makes sense; whoever has the biggest magic is the boss, and frankly, I don't understand why those 'laws' and 'rules' are there until I figured out that they're basically fancy ways of allowing you to tell what other people can and can't do."
"... So, I have to be a 'boss'?" Klein asked.
"Being smart's good and all, but sometimes, you can't just to do one thing and stick with it," the man pointed out. "If you're smart, then get stronger physically and magically! If you're already strong, learn new things by reading books and taking different jobs! Soon enough, you'll be able to brave the deadliest of deserts and tundras that the world can throw at you! If you're strong enough, then no one will ever mess with you!"
The pair with their Earth Spirit eventually reach the entrance of the third level.
"So boss..." Heracles smirked as he looked back at the boy sitting atop of his shoulder. "Should we go further in?"
Klein's heart felt aflutter as he was called "boss" by a man who was stronger and older than himself. From that experience, it felt good to be above a man who could easily bully him like everyone else.
The label of a "son of a murderer" and a "faker" slowly lifted themselves off of the boy's soul, as his wounded confidence was reignited anew. "Yeah!" he replied. "Let's go in deeper! So that way we can get our hands on ever better treasures!"
"Heck yeah!" The muscular man then walk into the deeper level, passing the marker denoting the upcoming area as the third level.
However, the pair completely ignored the sign underneath the marker, reading the following:
FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, THE DUNGEON IS UNCHARTED.
TREAD WITH EXTEREME CAUTION.
BEWARE OF THOSE WHO DWELL IN THE DARK.
FOR WE ARE MERELY UNWANTED GUESTS.
The Next Day...
"Good news!"
As both Hama and Sirona came down to the bottom of the library's basement, the pair find Fana being assisted by Duhat and Mariella.
"Huh," the blue-haired woman remarked as she ruffled her hair in befuddlement. "What are you two doing here?"
"We asked if we can help with her volunteer work hours," the Daman Contractor explained.
"We also requested that our contributing hours be added to hers as well," Mariella added, prompting both Hama and Sirona to look at the lupine Dragon of Knowledge.
"I've allowed it," she confirmed. "They harbor no ill intent."
The priest-like man sighs as he and his cohort sit down on the stairs. "... So, how long until they're done?" he asked. "I'm pretty sure that the kid they're looking for has gone all-nighter in his first day, like every other newbie in his first Dungeon."
"Half an hour remains," answered Psi as the whole basement cavern resumes in its work, the three moving and dusting various tomes and scripture older than their grandparents and their own grandparents.
"You know," Fana said as she moves a stack of old grimoires no longer in use to another shelf, "I have to ask, Duhat, but how did you hear about the Spade Kingdom in the first place?"
"Last I recall, I think the reason why you came here in the fist place was something that had to do with a family member of yours," Mariella commented. "Of how they are forced to flee and settle in Heart Kingdom territory until coming here."
The Demonologist nervously chuckles before giving his explanation. "... To be honest, I was actually interested in the Northward continent ever since I was a little boy," he began. "I've been told various stories of how some members of our long, primordial ancestors moved further up North, spreading out, building their own civilizations, and so on and so forth. But one story latched onto my childlike mind, and it has been stuck there ever since."
"Which is?" Fana asked after putting down the stack.
"... The world's first recorded grimoire," Duhat reveals. "... The [Rosetta Stone]."
Hama's eyes widened as Sirona gasps. "... You actually seek that legendary object?!"
"Please explain," Mariella requested.
"Forget about the [Rosetta Stone] being history's very first recorded grimoire, that thing contains the very first spells penned by Sephira herself after her global pilgrimage!" Sirona explained. "In fact, the creation of said proto-grimoire effectively kickstarted the Golden Age of Magic!"
"It's not just spells either," Duhat added as he dusted several rolls of scripture of their flecks. "Languages, ideas, translations, standardizations... Heck, the name Sephira itself holds significant meaning in Dama as well, meaning 'the burning one'."
"That's kinda morbid for someone who was the world's most significant being," Mariella pointed out.
"Actually, the 'burning'-part comes from the fact that her light was so bright that those looking at her had their eyes burnt out at her sheer presence," Hama explained. "... In fact, she chose to relinquish most of her divine powers in order to live alongside with the people that she'd shepherded... which led to her demise at the hands some spiteful man who sought to bring forth the Dark Ages."
The whole room goes ice-cold upon that sudden revelation. "... Why?" Fana asked. "Why would they do such a thing?!"
I would accuse humans being humans, but this goes beyond the pale, Elf!Fana commented.
"None of you should be even surprised," Psi pointed out, causing everyone to turn their attention towards the Dragon. "... I did warn her, after all. I warned her that should she relinquish the powers she'd gained in her journey, everything that she'd built will soon come to an end. I advocated for her to use her powers to establish a firm-handed world where evil is punished and good is promoted, but she insisted that humans should be opened to the realm of 'possibility.' A world where one is able to think and act accordingly to their own will, where they can live and prosper with fear. That fool..."
Mariella then turned her head towards Sirona. "... How old is she?"
"She's quite literally the last living Dragon who has the memories of the world before Sephira, let's just say," the blue-haired woman remarked.
"I was merely a whelp back then, when the world was chaos and nature made man cower in its mere presence," Psi added. "... I've said enough. Back to work."
The three resume said work of resuming to organize the underground achieves, now looking more kept-together and orderly compared to what it was last time.
"... Why are we doing this when she can do it easily with her own mind powers?" Mariella asked.
"She rather read than actually keep house," Hama explained. "... And said mind powers can 'convince' you to do it anyway. Trust me, I would know."
Sirona shudders at remembering her own "volunteer work" experience after she returned her reference text she'd borrowed for an assignment water-damaged.
Mariella then bumps into a shelf, grimacing as she goes onto her knee and nurse her stubbed toe.
"Fuck..." she cursed under her breath.
"Allow me." The Dragon's eyes glowed in a pinkish light, causing the pain in Mariella's foot to go away. "... 'Pain' is nothing more than a state of mind that I can easily make irrelevant."
Mariella was admittedly a bit weirded out from that perspective, if not a little disturbed.
"... You are troubled by something," Psi commented.
"If you already know, then why do you care?" Mariella asked. "Hell, why do you care about anything?!"
"Stimuli," she answered bluntly. "My mind needs to care in order to remind myself that I am myself, and no one else. And right now, this is your problem, so confess, and I will help you, solely that it doesn't hinder you."
"You know that treating other peoples' problems like novelty toys is very ingenuous, right?" the ex-Crypteia pointed out.
"And I have lived for far too long to give a shit," the Dragon rebutted. "So take my help or leave it. Your call."
Mariella sighs in defeat before spilling the beans as she does her work. "... You know, ever since I became a Contractor after my failed attempt to find redemption from those who I've killed during my time as the Diamond Kingdom's lapdog via my first attempt at Necromancy, I've been trying to better understand my own Demons that have come to use my body and soul as their home," she began. "But when I tried to reach out to them willingly, they were utterly silent, almost ignorant of my existence, and of each other."
"Megaera, Alecto, and Tisiphone, collectively representing the sin of [Martyrdom]," Psi revealed. "... Not the first I've seen them act like that. If anything, they're perfectly fine."
"But why, though?!" Mariella asked. "You think being in Hell for all of their lives would be an eye-opener for them."
"That is merely an assumption. Not all denizens of the Underworld wish to leave their subterranean pits that they call home," the Dragon pointed out. "Most of those who desire to stay down there only do so in order to freely indulge in their perversions against all natural order, festering in their own sins as they see fit. Those three, the 'Furies,' stay for a different reason: to enact [Justice]."
Fana's eyes widened upon hearing that word. "... So you're saying... that [Justice] is a sin?!" she pointed out as she vividly recalls Loki's words. "... That clown who ruined everyone's lives was right?!"
"A sin and a virtue, thus blind to anyone they mete their [Justice] on," Psi explained. "They are Demons who exist to punish other Demons, and only react to feelings of 'rancor', 'spite', and 'hate'. You can say that those three aspects embody the very thing they exist to react and fight against: [Injustice]. What people nowadays fail to take into account is that [Justice] and [Injustice] are fundamentally one and the same, for both do not care whom they hurt so as long as there are 'justifications' spurring said action. It is this uncertainty that why they exist, and why they choose to remain inert... until the time comes to mete out said [Justice], even if it costs you your very life, hence, [Martyrdom], the senseless abandonment of one's own well-being for a deluded sense of the 'greater good'."
Mariella's legs grow weak before she was caught by Duhat. "... Hang in there," he said. "... Dealing with that heavy of a topic is... yeah, why do we keep running into those brick walls out of nowhere?"
"Life and the rest of this world doesn't wait for anyone," the Dragon retorted before telekinetically moving her hourglass into her view. "... The three of you are now released."
The binding feeling around their heads come loose, soothing their skulls after those tortuous hours spent in labor.
"Finally!" Mariella gasped for air.
"Now we can go save Klein!" Duhat remarked.
Fana then turns towards Sirona and Hama. "... Our Adventurer licenses?"
"Catch." Hama then tosses three tags towards her, with Fana taking the one stamped with her name. "Don't lose it, you hear?"
"Easy enough," Duhat remarked as he took his own tag. "... So this is what a real-deal license feel like."
"I'm just grateful that we don't have to wait a day longer..." sighed Mariella.
"Enough talk!" Fana then rushes out the door. "Let's go!"
The three then walk back upstairs and out of the basement, with Psi's voice now echoing in their heads.
"A word of warning to you all," she announced. "Beware of the 'void' that wanders the depths."
What do you mean "void"? Fana replied with derision.
"An intruder has breached the Catacombs from its bottommost depths," warned the Dragon. "What I can only perceive with my powers sees naught but black emptiness consuming all in its path. If my eyes cannot reach, let along discern it... then make the wise choice... unless you have no other choice."
"... Probably a Demon that wandered into the Dungeon," Duhat remarked.
"I don't care who it is!" Fana snapped. "I'm getting Klein back no matter what! I'm not losing another family member! Never again!"
Meanwhile, at the Catacombs...
"So, how's your very first all-nighter?" asked Heracles as he carried the sleeping Klein over his shoulder. "... I mean, at least what I think was an all-nighter. The ceiling makes it really hard to tell what time it is."
The boy then lets out a yawn before waking up, shouting in surprise as he found himself in the dark. "W-Where am I-oh, right. Dungeon."
"Easy there, buddy," the man reassured. "It was like, what? Your first day down here?"
Klein nods. "... Am I doing good?"
"You're doing great," the man reassured as he walked around the third level, the smell of sewage and blood becoming more apparent as they went further in. "... You knew that it wouldn't be easy, but you're sticking to it, right?"
Klein nods. "... I'll become stronger," he said to himself. "... So that no one can hurt me anymore."
"Attaboy!" Heracles then turns a corner before shifting back. "... Crud."
"What is it?"
The muscular man then shushes the boy before letting him look at what he'd saw.
It was the members of the Controlled Accord... or at least, what was left of them.
Gone were the arrogant Adventurers and in place were a group of man-sized rats devouring their flesh and bone with diseased glee. Most of them wore decaying and fraying rags that mocked the concept of decency and human clothing, looking more akin to rats playing peasants, with one exception.
Standing over the pile of heads it has collected and stacked upon was a larger, more well-put together-looking rat dressed in a rusted hoplite's armor, its head crest being fashioned with various sharp fangs belonging to that of a viper's, and held in its arms were a shield and a short spear with a partially-barbed shaft running from its spade-like spearhead.
"HURRY UP!" the armored rat barked, taking the disk that was originally Klein's and wearing it like a medallion. "MORE TERRITORY WAITS TO BE TAKEN! THE BATARACHS WON'T WAIT FOR US!"
"What are those guys?" Klein asked.
"I think I heard of the word [Myo] related to giant rats," Heracles recalled. "... But I think they're also called 'Skavens'... but that's besides point. We should probably find another way around-"
Heracles' heel then catches onto a pebble before grinding it against the floor.
All of the [Myo] present perk their ears and heads up upon hearing that sound coming from that corner.
"Crap."
All of the gathered [Myo Troglodytes] shriek in diseased madness as they all then scurry towards the source of the noise, spotting the fleeing Heracles and Klein just up ahead.
"WHAT ARE YOU IDIOTS WAITING FOR?!" barked the armored [Myo], despite the other ratmen already scurrying. "GET THEM!"
"MISTER!" Klein cried out as he was flung behind like a cape as the man ran through the depths. "CAN'T YOU JUST TAKE THEM?!"
"NOT WHILE YOU'RE AROUND!" Heracles replied he turned the corner. "WE NEED A BETTER PLAN-!"
Then the wall adjacent to them opens up, revealing the armored [Myo] coming out, holding up a glowing parchment before itself, looking something that belonged in a grimoire that it had torn out.
"Die."
"MISTER-!"
A fiery explosion separates the pair from each other, with Klein being sent to the other side while Heracles was immediately pounced on by the [Myo Troglodytes].
"Keep him in place, he looks strong." The armored [Myo] then jumps over towards where Klein was at, the boy getting up to find that the armored ratman towered over him. "You look like easy prey... and having powerful magic."
Wasting no time, Klein immediately jumps out of the way as soon as the ratman plants its spear into the ground.
"Slippery." The armored [Myo] then pulled out its spear.
"KLEIN!" Heracles then lifts himself up, throwing off the lesser ratmen off of himself.
However, the armored ratman then throws a clay bottle that shatters upon impact, spilling oil before it was then ignited by its scattered, glowing pages that it threw around, trapping it and the boy in a ring of fire.
Heracles tries to punch out the flames, but due to the applied accelerant, the blaze either reignited instantly after being put out, or the wind itself fed the fire, causing it to burn even hotter and brighter.
"WHY CAN'T I PUNCH FIRE?!" The muscular man was then pounced from behind by the [Myo Troglodytes], forming a massive pile onto the former through their sheer numbers as their raked their claws and bit their teeth into his dense, iron-like flesh and skin.
Realizing that the boy was now on his own, Klein raises his arms with his grimoire while Smurf the [Gnome] came to his aid in spite of its diminutive form.
"I AM LICHENOR! THE 'BLOOD-LICKER'!" the [Myo] declared as it banged its barbed lance against its shield while menacingly approaching Klein. "AND YOU BOY, ARE MY PREY!"
At Another Part of the Catacombs...
Normally, when one would traverse into a Dungeon, especially one as massive (and uncharted) as the Catacombs, the first thing that they usually do is to formulate a long-term plan.
But due to it being their first time combined with the urgency of there being a missing child wandering in the Dungeons, Fana, Duhat, and Mariella ended up delving into the Catacombs without so much as a plan save for "find Klein and GTFO."
"Do you know where you're even going?" aske Duhat as he and Mariella followed Fana, who was using her [Fire Divination Magic] to track Klein in the old sluices that made up a part of the Catacombs.
"Well, do you?!" Fana snapped back before being met with silence. "... He couldn't have gone that far! So come on!"
The Demonologist grumbles as he and Mariella do naught but follow Fana's gut instincts and the old (now-outdated) map of the Catacombs acting as their sole guides.
As they traversed the old paths, their steps clacking against the old masonry filled the dreary ambiance of sound of fetid waters running through the canals, droplets of water trickling down from the mossy and moldy ceilings, and the stale air that made up the atmosphere that which they breathed in, dulling their senses the more they sucked in the stagnant air.
Come to think of it, why would humans built this place to be so... excessive? Elf!Fana asked as her host pushed forth through the oppressive Dungeon.
You assume that it was only humans that contributed in building this place to be as large as it is now, Ezel rebuked.
Well, yes. Us Elves back in my village have no need for such frivolities, the Elven ghost countered. We have lived in harmony with nature and magic as long as I can remember.
That perspective is too small and you know it, dismissed the [Salamander]. And besides, you died young, didn't you? Surely, you must know that you barely know anything of the whole world when the only time you stepped out of your little village was when it burnt down and you were forced into a human who looks nigh-identical as you.
... Oh fuck you.
Says the little tyke who played herself-
"WILL YOU TWO SHUT THE FUCK UP?!" Fana snapped as her lantern was petered out from her disrupted concentration. "I CAN'T FOCUS WHEN YOU TWO GO ON NONSENSICAL TIRADES! MY BRAIN ISN'T SOME FUCKING PEANUT GALLERY THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE COMMENTARY FROM!"
"Fana, shush!" Duhat hissed. "... Dungeons are where Wilderbeasts lie-"
"DAMN THOSE FUCKING ANIMALS!" she snapped harder before approaching Duhat confrontationally. "IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HELP ME FIND KLEIN, THEN THEY CAN FUCK RIGHT OFF FOR ALL I CARE!"
The two then begin arguing due to the lack of progress and the sewers' stale air impairing their better judgments.
"Guys, please calm down-"
"WE CAN'T FIND KLEIN WHEN WE'RE DEAD!" Duhat snapped back.
"WE CAN'T FIND KLEIN IF HE'S DEAD!" Fana argued back.
"GUYS!"
"WHAT?!"
Mariella points her finger towards the other side of the sluice, revealing a warty, brown-hided toad man standing there, staring at the three stupidly.
"When Duhat said Wilderbeast, does he mean that thing specifically?" she asked.
"The fuck is that thing?!" Fana asked.
"A [Batrach]," Duhat answered as his face paled. "... We need to run, now-!"
Suddenly, the toad-man pulls out a conch horn before blowing into it, its inflated mouth-sac providing extra air into the funnel and releasing a louder siren that echoed throughout the sewers.
"Run." The Demonologist then runs past the two girls. "RUN-!"
Then emerging from the waters behind the trio was a massive galleon, or at least a mockup of it, manned by even more [Batrach] toad men, and helmed by a few well-dressed toad men who dressed like nobility, or at least akin to it.
"DRAG THEM TO THE DEPTHS!" the hat-wearing [Batrach] crowed as the ship set forth towards the three as they now ran for their lives. "SHOW THEM THAT THE MUCKRAKERS ARE NOT TO BE TRESSPASSED UPON!"
The other [Batrach Skulkers] all grab their rusted spears before diving into the waters and swimming ahead, acting as the vanguard for this underground fleet.
"THEY CAN TALK?!" Fana cried out as she outran the thrown spears staking behind them. "I THOUGHT ONLY ELDERBEASTS COULD DO THAT!"
"I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY CAN TALK EITHER!" Duhat panicked as he kept running. "OR BE ORGANIZED ENOUGH TO OPERATE A PSEUDO-NAVAL FORCE!"
Then several more [Batrach Skulkers] armed with tridents and spears cut them off in their escape path, prompting everyone to fight their way out.
"Think later unless you'd prefer to think inside that literal toad's stomach!" Wadjet warned as her host swung his [Requiem Anubis] through the [Skulkers]. "... Not that you'd be able to think when you're all nothing but bones anyway!"
Fana then unleashes [Spirit Blast] from her [Salamander] while Mariella cuts through them all with her [Crystal Kris] dagger spell, clearing a path for them as they then found themselves in a fork in the road.
"SHIT! WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?!" Duhat asked.
"I'M THINIKING!" Fana then tried to reignite her [Divination] lantern, only for it the humidity in the air prevents her from igniting anything.
But suddenly, a yul currency was thrown ahead of them, the gold coin landing on one of the paths ahead.
"This way!" Mariella then shoves Duhat and Fana towards the path opposite of where the coin had landed before unleashing a barrage of ice spikes that covered their route while the [Batrach] all leapt towards the shiny object. "Better to settle this sooner rather than later!"
"GET OFF OF ME, YOU PESTS!" Heracles then grabs one of the [Myo Troglodytes] by their tail before swinging the ratman around like a flail, smashing several of its own kind before its tail snaps off of it butt. "Aw nuts."
While Heracles was having difficulties dealing with the now-nigh-endless swarm of ratmen dogpiling him, Klein was facing Lichenor, an Elderbeast [Myo], in a ring of fire as the latter poked his spear in order to skewer the boy as his catch of the day.
"You move like a [Myo], boy." The armored ratman then raises its shield up to block a cast stone from Klein's [Earth Magic]. "But you fight like a human."
"Because I am," Klein rebuked as he then unleashes his [Spirit Army], summoning forth a battalion of mini-[Gnomes] to pile onto Lichenor.
The armored [Myo] hisses as it knew from its instincts that the boy expected him to bat them aside to leave it vulnerable, so it skips back to create some distance between itself and the boy.
"YOU'RE OPEN!" Klein then flutters open his grimoire pages before manifesting a large chunk of earth. "[EARTH SPIRIT MAGIC: SPIRIT IMPACT]!"
The large column of earth was shot towards Lichenor, but the ratman then throws an impact grenade made from crumpled-up pages of an old grimoire once used by a [Fire Magic] user encased in a clay bottle stuffed with iron shrapnel before throwing it.
The bottle shatters, triggering an explosion that blew apart the earth and the [Spirit Army] chasing after it, now obscuring each others' vision with a thick layer of smoke.
"I can still smell you...!" Lichenor then hucks his spear towards where Klein was at.
As the thrown polearm breached through the smokescreen, the boy sees that it was attached to a chain, quickly erecting a stone barrier to block the attack. The ratman however, sensing that the boy was standing still, toggles the chain to realign the thrown spear's trajectory to have it curve around the obstacle.
Klein narrowly avoids a fatal strike, but his arm now suffers a jagged gash across its length, causing him to wince, to which Lichenor picked up as he begins cackling in delight while pulling his spear back.
"Clever boy..." The armored [Myo] licks the bloodied spearhead with diseased glee. "... You're a fun hunt."
Klein's heart began palpitating like crazy at this near-death experience. Normally, living in Libratium where someone's untimely death could easily be undone via MASS.
However, ever since he'd learned that his "father" Krieger never saw him as his son, a feeling existential dread had taken root within his soul, making him question his own existence and whether or not that everything that he felt since he could remember was "real" or not.
That feeling of self-doubt lingered even after he saw all of the Controlled Accord get devoured by the [Myo] down to the last marrow, wondering if he should join them upon realizing that his quest for self-validation was stupid to begin with-
"DON'T GIVE UP!"
Klein hears Heracles' voice in time to narrowly dodge another spear throw hucked at him.
"CAN YOU BREATHE, KLEIN?!" the muscular man's voice asked, breaking through both the boy's funk and the crackling flames surrounding him. "IF YOU CAN, THEN FIGHT! FIGHT UNTIL YOU RUN OUT OF BREATH!"
Klein now dodges another spear throw, this time, his timing becoming more pronounced and punctual as evident by his swiftness.
"YOU'RE STILL HERE, KLEIN!" Heracles cried out as he snaps a [Myo Troglodyte]'s neck with his biceps. "FIGHT LIKE YOU MEAN IT!"
Lichenor lets out a maddened shriek as it then throws its spear towards Klein, but this time, rather than dodging it, the boy catches the spear by its shaft after dodging the spearhead's reach.
"YOU FOOL!" The armored ratman then pulls the chain towards itself to fish in Klein, but just before the chains could hit the ground, several mini-Smurfs grab the chain before pulling the link down, keeping one point of it anchored to the flooring, causing Klein to jump up with the weapon in hand.
Seeing an opportunity, the boy then points the chain spear towards Lichenor's head as he fell, to which the latter replies by raising its shield-arm to protect itself while reaching its other hand for a grenade.
But then, Smurf himself appears behind one of the armored [Myo]'s feet before shoving it as hard as his tiny body could, knocking the latter off balance and flail its arms to instinctively balance itself.
That was the opening needed for Klein to drive Lichenor's own spear into the former's mouth, the spearhead breaching into its throat and out the back of its neck, killing the ratman instantly as Klein's body pounced upon the [Myo].
"... I won." An familiar feeling of revulsion and pride filled Klein's soul. "... I won?"
The former was immediately washed away by the latter as the boy howls in triumph of overcoming his first great foe.
"I WON!" Klein yelled towards the closed heavens.
"AWESOME!" Heracles replied as the [Myo Troglodytes] that he was fighting sensed that their leader had fallen, to which they promptly retreated. "HEY! GET BACK HERE! I DIDN'T RETURN THE FAVOR FOR ALL THE BITE MARKS YOU GAVE ME!"
The muscular man opens his empty grimoire as he charges a concentration of gravity between his hands.
"[GRAVITY MAGIC: VECTOR RAY]!" A stream of pure physical force was shot out of his hands at the fleeing [Myo], vaporizing them until they're nothing more than scattered limbs.
Once that was done, Heracles then turns his beam of pure gravity around and towards the ring of fire, carving out the ground soaked in accelerant before the attack itself peters out.
"Hey!" Heracles waved as Klein comes out of the breached ring of fire. "... So, how was your first kill?"
Klein sighs as reveals his trophies: Lichenor's spear (w/chain) and the reclaimed coin-sized disk. "... Gotta be honest, it feels super-weird," he commented as he gives the latter to Smurf. "Like... I know killing itself is a bad act, but at the same time... it makes sense that I had to do it right now."
"Don't worry, everyone's like that the first time they take a life!" Heracles reassured as he then walks over towards the slain Lichenor before rummaging through its body. "Hey, I got some bombs and a salt-cured tadpole on it!"
Klein shudders at the latter before his stomach grumbled, remembering that he hadn't eaten in a while, to which Heracles then looks at the unappealing foodstuff before coming up with an idea.
"Here's your next puzzle!" The muscular man then tosses the drumstick-sized dried tadpole into the boy's arms. "Eat that whole thing until we reach the next level!"
The pair then make their towards the next level down, with one of them having a scrunched-up expression as he tried to eat the dried meat that the ratman had.
"Okay..." Everyone takes deep breaths after they've successfully escaped the [Batrach] "Muckrakers". "... I think we lost them."
"Question is, where are we?" Mariella asked as Duhat pulls out his map.
"Well, according to the old map, we're at the place where all the wastewater is supposed to be filtered further down underground..."
Everyone then looks down at the pit of waterfalls to see that there are tunnels that weren't there before, indicating that the [Batrach] living here had "modified" the sluice to their own accommodations.
"... Yep, I now know why Libratium sealed up this place," Duhat sighs before putting his map away. "Forget the Catacombs being history's biggest Dungeon. This place might as well be a whole other civilization entirely!"
"With its own customs, norms, history, and not accepting of outsiders?" Mariella asked, to which the Demonologist nods without saying a word.
"So do we go in one of those tunnels or are we going to have to take the long way around?" Fana asked, her tone betraying her facade of calmness.
Duhat squints down at one of the tunnels, with a pair of [Batrach] toad men carrying a skinned hide of a rat across a spit that was the size of a large animal, or more disturbingly, of that of a human's.
"... Let's take the long way around."
No one objects as their path further down into the Catacombs were spurred by the desire to not be skinned alive and paraded around like a common animal.
Meanwhile...
It was business as usual for Prassaeus, the "Collector."
Its days were spent going between various [Batrach] sub-clans, conducting business between factions, being their middlemen, and avoiding any dirty [Myo] who would want to get their grubby little claws on its merchandise.
One would assume, such as the members of the Muckrakers, who were the most outgoing of the sub-clans of the toad men, would see it as monotonous and uneventful, but really, it didn't care for others opinions as long as it was allowed to do its job.
Every minute spent in the underground of the Catacombs was spent uttering a silent prayer that everything would go as planned-
Then a sharp tinge of pain shot out from its chest from its back.
"... Disgusting as the rest of this place."
As soon as the corpse of Prassaeus fell, standing behind it were none other than Astaroth, Tia, and the Freischutz, long after they've escaped the reach of the Lich King and Avalon's Order of the Spade Cross.
One order. Only one order was uttered after slaying the [Batrach] in the most dishonorable way possible.
"Kill everything that are not us."
24 Days, 8 Hours, 13 Minutes, 7 Seconds Remaining...
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Happy April Fools! I got nothing to watch on YouTube save for clickbait-and-switches, so I figured I get this chapter out of the way soon as possible.
So this time around, Klein is now being led on by Heracles in his misguided journey to become stronger, with Fana, Duhat, and Mariella going after the former because he's a child.
As for the inhabitants of the Catacombs, it's a giant Batrachomyomachia reference, something that I found randomly and just made more sense than ripping off Warhammer's Skaven race (even though the [Myo] are basically Skaven with a different name).
And on a side note: Heracles got nerfed in that him slowly regaining his memories affected his performance. Before he was 100% amnesiac, he could fully focus on fighting and exerting his strength freely. Simply put, the man is so dumb that being smarter is debilitating to him.
As for why Fana's being more unreasonable than usual... well, given that she kinda sees herself as the "older sister" of the family unit of what's left of the Diamond Kingdom, and given that she both saw herself as responsible and caught off-guard regarding Klein's well-being.
That and she's still young. So even she doesn't know fully what she's doing, and Duhat and Mariella are coming along to ensure that she doesn't die.
Yeah, this whole arc is motivated by the character's assumptions and miscommunications.
And to make matters worse, Astaroth and company are back after slaying the Lich King.
The Catacombs aren't even 10% covered yet. I might be overly ambitious for a sunsetting fic, but dammit, I gonna try, and this arc is my personal indulgence.
References:
- The [Gordian] puzzle is based on the "gordian knot" and the element of said puzzle being based on the one Lok solved to get [Springer] in Huntik Season 1, Episode 5, "Crawling the Catacombs," only less-high stakes and more tedious.
- The [Myo] race are based on Warhammer's Skaven and Darkest Dungeon's Swine enemies.
- The [Batrach] race are based on Darkest Dungeon I and II's Pelagic and Fisherfolk enemies.
- Going off the Batrachomyomachia references, Lichenor's death is loosely based on how the character went out: speared.