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Story Codes: Fantasy, Gamelit, Magic, Violence

For a list of all the dungeon builder stories click here

Click here for the world map!

Comments are very welcome. I would like all criticism, positive and negative, so long as it’s
constructive, and feedback is very appreciated.

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Click here for Part 9.

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Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Morana, watch our back,” I said as we pressed through the large room. “The ghosts are coming.”

“Will do,” she said.

“Hagane, lead on.”

Hagane pressed into the next set of tunnels. The worry of the ghosts sweeping behind me pressed on my mind. Right now, Todlicht was in his throne room. He was watching us. Ten black dots and one red moved through his dungeon while he coordinated his blue dots to attack us. Was he sweating right now? Did he think he would win?

Did he realize he was living his final moments in this world?

He was too cruel. I didn’t want him to serve me. Like Sayf. Maybe Siwang’s builder could have been recruited, but Todlicht conquered and enslaved. He forced the elves to cut down their trees to build defenses for him.

He could build walls with his dungeon. He didn’t need to enslave them.

Hagane moved down the passage to an intersection. She shrugged and went right. It was as good a direction as any. I kept glancing back. Morana was there. She was moving backward. Mrs. Lucina threw a halo behind us, illuminating the tunnel.

No ghosts.

That was—

The floor opened up beneath me.

“Shit!” I snarled as Maya, Garnet, Mom, and I plummeted into a pit.

The ground rushed up fast. Before I could even do anything, I hit the ground hard. My legs bent. Only Strength of the Mountains kept my legs from snapping. Mom hit hard, her legs snapping and head cracking on the ground. She transformed into ethereal sparks that spilled around me as I fell onto my back. Maya splatted down hard beside me, her watery form burst apart and washed over me like a wave.

The water didn’t soak me. It pulled back into her form. She pressed herself up as she absorbed all her water, shaking her head. Garnet landed daintily beside us, her legs shut. Suddenly, the light from above dwindled and vanished, plunging us into the dark.

In the wall, mechanisms ratcheted. Sounds echoed around us.

“Brilliant and revealing, let the light of Lord Shamash float!”

Illuminate shone bright around us revealing that the walls to my right and left had spikes thrusting out of them. The walls were closing in on us to crush us. Garnet gasped, jumping back from them. She nearly tripped and fell, her tail washing behind her.

“Big bro!” she gasped.

“Shit,” I growled. I had no way to stop the mechanism. It was closing fast. Garnet whimpered as a spell popped into my mind. “Flesh to steel, let the gift of Lady Nisaba transmute!”

Steel Body did exactly what its name said. I threw out my arms. I was no longer made of fire. The spikes slid past my hands. Garnet squeaked and threw her arms around me, hugging me tight. Maya sighed as one of the spikes poked through her body. She shook her head.

She probably could survive this, but not Garnet.

The walls hit my hands. I locked my shoulder joints, hoping Strength of Mountains and my steel flesh would be enough. Garnet whimpered. My little sister clung so tightly to me, her arms, legs, and wings wrapped around me. Even her tail.

“Big bro,” she whimpered.

The walls pressed on my arms. I groaned, straining to hold them back. I kept my joints locked, the mechanism that closed the walls screeching in protest. I just had to outlast them. I had to be stronger than them. I could do this.

Above, Crystal died.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Where did they go?” Crystal demanded. She rushed up to where her brother had been standing. The stone floor was solid again. “Did you miss a trap?”

Hagane bent over to examine it. “This is not a trap. There is nothing wrong with the floor.”

“It just opened,” the ice sprite gasped. “It opened and swallowed them then it… flowed close.”

The floor shook. A mechanism worked below. Leo had survived, but what was that sound? Crystal swallowed as Hagane gasped and whirled about. Crystal formed a dagger of ice. Something had gone very wrong.

“Oreads!” Hagane shouted. Level 3 Earth Monster girls that could open up the floor. They could be merged with stone. Watching them.

Crystal turned, looking around. From the wall before her, a woman threw herself out, her skin gray, her head smooth like an eggshell. The oread tackled Crystal and knocked her to the… no, not to the ground but into a crack that appeared. They fell into the stone which closed around them. Crystal had a moment of pain before—

She was in the void, held by Souleen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hagane slashed with her armblade, cutting down the oread that leaped at her.

She cut through the Earth monster girl, snapping her collarbone. Hagane prided herself on the sharpness of her blade. An atom’s thick. Able to slice many things apart. The motes of the oread’s essence washed over Hagane, almost hugging her.

Another Oread shoved Terra back into a crack in the wall. It slammed shut on the golem. Her clay flesh oozed out of the hole like Play-Doh being squeezed through a child’s toy, extruded into a new shape. Hagane had enjoyed making things with Play-Doh.

Terra spilled out and rose, the oread looking shocked. A hammer-fist crashed down on the oread’s head, throwing her to the ground. Terra fell on her, the barista battering down the enemy, crushing bones with her powerful blows.

Lightning shot past Hagane, striking another oread. She vanished into sparks of light and crashed to the ground, her body bursting into sparkles. Hagane held her armblades at the ready, waiting for the next attack, her body still. A statue.

A blue glow emerged from the wall to Hagane’s right. A translucent woman emerged with black hair flowing behind her. The shade. She thrust her hand out at Hagane’s breast. The animated statue attacked, her blade…

Slashing through the ethereal monster girl.

The hand touched Hagane’s modest breast. The energy that animated her metallic body rushed out of her. Hagane gasped at the cold chill that soaked through her form. Her limbs seized up. Darkness swallowed her as she died.

Bitterness swallowed Hagane as she was thrust into the Void. She would miss Leo’s grand counterattack. He would have something spectacular to unleash on the shade. He was at his best when death stalked him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Hagane died, ghosts spilled out of the walls around Lana Fulmine and the other monster girls. Light flashed from Bella’s halo, the angelic glow slamming through one and bursting her into motes. Lana’s wings crackled.

Lightning exploded down the hallway and took another.

Morana screamed, but her deathly wail had no effect on other Death monster girls. The ghost wore a mocking smile. Morana tackled her, the pair falling to the ground. The banshee held the ghost whose life-draining effect was equally useless on Morana. She pinned her down, keeping her from killing one of the others.

Nina’s flaming pitchfork took another ghost in the face, bursting her into motes while Terra slammed her fist into an oread’s face, knocking her back. The fight was vicious. Light flashed again as the ground rumbled beneath Lana’s feet.

She jumped in the air, her wings of crackling lightning beating hard. A spike of stone burst from where she stood, nearly grazing her foot. She spun around, looking for the oread who had tried to kill her. Instead, the shade jumped at her.

“Shit!” Lana Fulmine gasped as the shade hugged her. Life flowed out of Lana Fulmine’s body.

Her wings burst with lightning as she died.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lana Fulmine exploded with lightning, the current making Mrs. Bella Lucina’s hair stand. The shade screamed as Lana vanished into motes. So did the shade a moment later, their glittering essence merging for a moment before fading.

The fight was going badly. The angel shot another beam from her halo, ripping through a ghost. The energy dissipated her ethereal body. She vanished into sparkles. Another flaming pitchfork flew past Mrs. Lucina. Morana grappled on the ground with another ghost, the pair strangling each other.

Neither had to breathe, though.

An oread burst out of the floor before the angel. She gasped as the monster girl shoved her back into the wall. Mrs. Lucina had to push off before a spike rammed through her and killed her. Before she could, the floor exploded.

Rocks burst through the room and struck the oread in the head. She dropped to the ground as Mrs. Lucina trembled. What new attack had just happened? Dust washed over her, blocking her vision. She peered through it desperately, worry for Leo burning through her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The hammer falls, let the strength of Lord Abzu smash!”

My spell struck the roof overhead and burst it into fragments. Smoke billowed. Shouts echoed. The fight raged on. Lana Fulmine and Hagane were dead. The oreads had unleashed a terrible attack. It was time to end it.

I pulled Maya to me like a superhero about to fly into the sky with the woman he loved clinging to him. “Gentle winds, let the support of Lady Tiamat billow!”

The fly spell engulfed me. I thrust my arm up into the air. My body tried to lift off the ground, but I was too heavy. I grunted, straining for a moment. Maya gave me an inquiring look. A smile played on her lips.

“I know it’s not me,” she said. “I don’t weight much at all.”

“Water’s heavy,” I said.

She poked me. “You’ll pay for that, mister.”

I dismissed Steel Body and shot into the air. The hole I had burst open was closing. The oread at work. I flew faster as it shrunk and burst out of the hole into pandemonium. I landed on the now-sealed opening, ghosts around me. The ground shook.

Aural Assault flashed through my thoughts.

“Thunder bursts, let the passion of Lord Ishkur explode!”

A massive sound exploded through the hallway. It shook the ground. Dust leaped from the floor and dropped from the ceiling. The ghosts all clapped hands over their ears and burst into motes, unable to withstand the Ultimate Tier Thunder Spell. From the ground, five oreads burst from the earth, spasming from the awful sound that had rippled through the earth.

Three were so badly hurt by it, they died.

Nina Naughty roared, stabbing one in the belly with a flaming pitchfork. The oread spasmed and died. Terra fell on the last with her hammer fists, caving in her head and finishing her off. Mrs. Lucina stumbled from the wall while Morana rose from the ground.

“Dark Lord,” Morana purred and knelt before me. “As always, you make a grand entrance.”

I nodded, glancing at the trap. If I had died… Maybe I should do it. Maybe I should perform the ritual to make myself into a lich. It would make me undead, though. Sure, if I died, my soul would return to a phylactery and I would be reborn, but…

Why hadn’t Fuegin done it? There had to be some awful drawbacks to that ritual. Was that sort of immortality worth it?

“I’m still trapped in the hole, big bro!” Garnet said.

I glanced back at where the hole had been. Garnet had not gotten out fast enough. I used Earth Shatter, an Expert Tier spell, to free her. She rose out of the dust and landed. She wiped dust off her arms and face then smacked her ass a few times.

“Shall we?” she asked.

“Terra, you have point,” I said.

“Let’s finish this,” Nina Naughty said, grinning from ear to ear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terra glanced down the corridor and said instead, “Should we not summon the reinforcements? We’ve taken casualties.”

“And killed most of his Level 3 Monster girls,” Nina Naughty said.

“Yes, there will just be vampires,” Nina said. “We’ll stake them!” She formed a rather sharp-looking dildo. Not quite a point, but close.

“Well?” Terra asked.

Leo hesitated. “The wind dragon truly worried me.”

“Yeah, but the chances of her attacking right now while you redeploy our forces is slim, Leo,” the golem said. “I’m sure Hagane would agree with me.”

“The Dark Lord can handle Level 3 Monster Girls,” said Morana. “If he feels the wind dragon is a threat, then she is a threat.”

Leo glanced at Maya.

She shrugged. “If the wind dragon has any idea our forces are beneath her city, she could attack. It’s hard to say.”

“We’re deep into the dungeon now,” said Nina. “It would take time for Todlicht to prepare new traps. We have the initiative. Let’s press forward.”

Leo’s face hardened. “You’re right. I can destroy Todlicht. He won’t be a match for me in combat.”

“Ultimate Magic,” said Maya. “It is powerful.”

“Very,” Mrs. Lucina said. “Perhaps we should press on.”

Terra nodded. She could see the logic. “If that’s what we’re doing, let’s do it.”

She turned and stared down the corridor. Behind her, Leo cast Steel Body on himself again. He would need that advantage. A very powerful spell. I suppose I’m worried for nothing, Terra thought. Leo had defeated the Saints.

Those were far more deadly than a dungeon builder.

Normally.

It worried her as she pressed ahead. They were in the heart of the builder’s territory. Leo wanted to keep his presence in the city. He wanted to make sure that we had a peaceful transfer of power, but this was putting them at risk here.

He was strong, yes, but…

She loved Leo. She didn’t want him to be hurt. She didn’t want all they had worked for undone by Todlicht. She certainly didn’t want to serve someone as awful as him. She wouldn’t. She knew that. She would go into the afterlife with Leo.

Or maybe she would just merge with her other self. Maybe she was just an extension of her other self. A projection of her into this world. When one died, they would be re-merged. They would go together into the next life.

After all, they were the same soul just in different locations. It was the sort of philosophy some of her coworkers at the coffee shop would talk about between making macchiatos and lattes. She pushed it out of her mind. She had traps to find.

She wasn’t as good as Hagane, but she was able to find a few more nasty surprises as they moved down the hallway. She always stepped first so that if they did go off, they would hit her. She did miss one. An arrow trap.

It buried into her clay body.

That hurt.

Leo healed her.

She found a door and opened it. Frigid air washed over her. If she had bones, they would be chilled. She shook her head, though. It wasn’t a true cold. This wasn’t an icy room, but a deathly one. She could feel it hungering for her essence.

“Morana, you’re up,” she said.

“Yes, yes, you need my eternal beauty for this room,” Morana said, the black mist spilling around her form. “I shall reach the lever.”

All trap rooms had to have a way to disable them. That was just the rule for the world. Morana slipped into the room. She moved cautiously across it toward the lever on the far side, taking the straightest line.

“Oh, that’s sadistic,” she said, stopping. She bent down and stared at the floor. Then she hit it.
A pit opened.

“The room doesn’t drain your life fast enough to kill a human,” Morana said, “not so long as they sprint across it for the lever, but…”

“Fuck,” muttered Leo.

“That’s a builder’s duty,” Nina Naughty said. “You have traps just as lethal in your dungeon.”

“And I’m glad adventurers don’t try to break into my dungeon any longer,” Leo said.

Morana skirted around the trap and pulled the lever. The chill vanished in an instant. Terra entered the room and moved around the trap. Leo watched, Maya standing before him to block his way. Just in case the lever hadn’t fully disabled it. A trap within a trap.

She made it across and through the door on the other side.

Morana leaned against the wall, staring at her fingernails. She was acting nonchalant. Leo marched across, his metallic footsteps ringing. He looked like an animated statue himself with his steel body. Terra wondered what that did to his cock.

Could he ejaculate in his steel form?

She pushed down those thoughts as they continued through the dungeon. They hit an intersection. Terra shrugged and went right. She disabled a life-leach trap and another pit trap before they hit a dead end, forcing them to backtrack.

“No vampires yet,” said Garnet. “Where are they?”

“Where is he?” asked Nina Naughty.

“Waiting for us in his throne room,” said Maya. “Watching his map.”

“I wonder what he’s thinking right now,” Leo said as they reached the original intersection and went left.

“He’s shitting bricks,” Nina Naughty said. “You’ve cleared through most of his obstacles and are getting nearer and nearer to his throne room.”

“Yep,” Garnet said.

“The Dark Lord is here for his soul,” Morana said.

Leo sighed, though. He didn’t sound happy. Pity welled up in Terra. She understood. He hated having to do this, but Todlicht was a monster. He had to be put down like any rabid dog. This wasn’t their world.

No police.

No judges and fair trials.

Might made right in this world. A horrible thing, but there was nothing to it.

Soon, this tunnel came to another room. It was dark in it. Leo’s balls of illumination did not work as well. Shadows moved strangely. There was something she didn’t like about this room. They moved deeper into it, looking about with caution.

“Did he hold back some of his leprechauns?” Maya asked, glancing at the way the shadows moved.

“I don’t know,” Leo said.

Terra wanted to yawn as they pressed deeper into the room. The light pushed back the darkness only a few feet. They were forced closer together. Tighter. She wanted to lie down. To sleep. She didn’t need sleep, but…

The room was warm.

The shadows looked so inviting. She stretched her back and shook her head. She didn’t get tired. She was a golem. Not even a living monster girl. She was animated clay. Animated clay didn’t need to sleep, but…

It wouldn’t hurt, right?

She sank to the floor onto her side, forming a pillow out of her hand to lay her head upon. She closed her eyes and fell into dreams.

No, into nightmares.

Chapter Twenty-Four

I yawned as we moved through the dark room. The exertion was falling on my steel body. I yawned again, stretching my back and just wanting to fall into sleep.

“Don’t do that,” Garnet said and yawned herself. “Contagious.”

“Yes,” Nina said as Terra just lay down on the floor before me. She was… going to sleep?

Maya sank down behind Terra, spooning her. The ripples through Maya’s body slowed as she fell asleep, too. Monster girls didn’t sleep. I yawned again. It was so hard to think. I was exhausted. I needed to lie down and dream.

Mrs. Lucina sank to the ground and cuddled up with Morana. The pair was soon asleep. Nina sprawled on her back. Garnet frowned, though. She was shaking her head, holding it back. Like I was. Something… invigorated me.

One of my spells?

It was so hard to think. The shadows swirled around me. They beckoned me to lay on the ground and have a good night’s rest. I slapped my face. The metallic ring shot through me. I needed to stay awake. I was in a dungeon.

But I just wanted to sink to the ground.

“This isn’t natural,” Garnet said. “The shadows are—”

A woman jumped out of the shadows, her body all black. Her hoofs clattered on the ground as her mane of white hair whipped behind her. She punched Garnet in the head, throwing her to the ground. The busty enemy monster girl spun about, a horse-like tail streaming behind her, and vanished.

My knees buckled. I had to sleep. I had to… to…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Big bro!” Garnet gasped and jumped to her feet.

Her big brother sank to his knees, fighting it, but the shadows were pulling on him. They wanted to on the succubus, but she resisted it. She was born of the darkness, too.

She formed a heavy dildo for battering.

Bats screeched overhead.

They dropped out of the ceiling and landed by everyone down. They blurred into human form. Pale-skinned women. Vampires. Each of them hissed in delight and opened their mouths wide to feast on the blood of the downed monster girls. One went for her big brother who knelt, still fighting off the effect.

Sparks sizzled and killed the vampire, Static Aura discharging.

She vanished into motes, but the others were feeding on Garnet’s friends. All save Morana. Mrs. Lucina was the closest.

“No!” Garnet shouted, drawing back her dildo to save the angel-MILF. It became a whip to—

The darkness swirled before the succubus. The black-skinned woman appeared and kicked Garnet in the stomach. The air whooshed from her lungs as the blow threw her back. She hit the ground, pain exploding through her guts.

She rolled onto her hands and knees and jumped to her feet. She fashioned a heavy dildo and swung it at the enemy monster girl. Hooves. White hair. White tail. Fara had described this. A nightmare. Able to put people to sleep.

Garnet swung at the enemy monster girl’s face, shouting, “For Dark Lord Big Bro!”

The nightmare vanished into the shadows. Garnet squeaked as she hit nothing and spun about, off-balanced. The vampires fed as she regained her footing. The little succubus flapped her wings and swished her tail. She had to do something.

Shadows swirled. Garnet formed a net out of the darkness and hurtled it at the nightmare. It struck the nightmare, but she melted away as the entangling attack wrapped about her. The net fell to the ground. Garnet dismissed it and formed another thick dildo.

She had to do something.

The vampires fed.

Mrs. Lucina burst into motes.

“No!” gasped Garnet.

Nina Naughty died, glitter spilling around the vampire who fed on her.

The one who killed Mrs. Lucina jumped at her brother. She opened her mouth wide and bit down on his neck, trying to feed off her big brother, but he had cast Steel Body. Her fangs couldn’t penetrate the steel. They just made an awful sound.

The nightmare struck Garnet from behind. She hit the ground, pinned on her belly. She watched helplessly as the vampire gave up on feeding on Terra and just started ripping apart her clay body, throwing hunks about. Maya was in a similar situation, only that wasn’t working to kill her.

Terra, though…

The nightmare laughed as she stood on Garnet, the hoofs pressing against the succubus’s spine.

“Big Brother!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lightning sizzled.

I had to do something.

Mrs. Lucina died.

Nina Naughty, too.

Teeth scraped on my neck. A chunk of clay landed at my knees. A piece of Terra. I had to focus. I had to resist the sleep. My little sister screamed. Garnet was in danger. Maya was being attacked. I had to do something.

I threw back the vampire. She hissed as she landed on her back. I rose to my feet and turned to face the nightmare standing on my little sister’s back. The enemy’s white tail swished behind her. She glared at me, this mocking gleam in her eyes.

“Get off her!” I growled and focused on her. A spell popped into my mind.

The Nightmare vanished into the darkness before I could even speak the words. She appeared near the wall. She flicked a lever there. The balls of Illuminate snuffed out. The Beginner Tier spell could not drive back the darkness any longer.

Vampiress hissed in delight around me. Hoofs clattered. I couldn’t see anything.

“Crackling fury, let the lightning of Lady Uttu transform!”

I became ball lightning. Crackling energy that rippled out for me. Garnet shrieked. The vampire I had thrown off attacked her. I shot toward the enemy, completely transformed into electricity. The Ultimate Tier spell was powerful.

I struck the vampire. Lightning discharged. The room lit up with strobing light. The vampire screamed and burst into motes. The others hissed in alarm as I shot at the next one ripping apart Terra. I stuck her.

It wasn’t in time. Terra melted into motes.

Anger sizzled through my new form. I shot through the air and slammed into another vampire. She screamed before she vanished into glitter. The others jumped to their feet. The spell wouldn’t last forever. I shot at the next, a crackling ball of electric death.

The vampires turned into bats.

That wasn’t good enough.

I crashed through them as they flapped about the room, trying to escape. I hoped Todlicht felt fear right now. This was his last trap. He had used his darkness companion to spring it. She was in here, somewhere. I would find the nightmare.

Garnet was on her feet, her whip out. She cracked it into the darkness, shouting, “Burn that skanky nag’s ass, Dark Lord Big Bro!”

CRACK!

Shadows swirled behind her. The nightmare appeared and kicked out her leg. Garnet jumped into the air, though. She… anticipated the attack. She flapped her wings and climbed to the ceiling as I hurtled at the nightmare.

Off-balanced by missing her sneak attack, the nag spun about and fell on her belly. I slammed down on her and consumed her in lightning. She shrieked as she died. The spell was about to run out. She vanished into motes.

I became human. Steel Body was gone. I could only have one of those sorts of transformations at a time. Garnet squealed and threw herself at me. Maya and Morana were coming awake. I had three companions left.

“Smerta, send the reinforcements,” I ordered. I was done fucking around in this place.

“They’re on the way,” Smerta said. “He’s giving you some trouble?”

“Yes, he is.” I smiled. “Right now, he’s thinking he can win. He’s cut me down to three monster girls. He probably has one more surprise. Let’s ruin his day.”

“Someone’s angry.”

“Very.” My monster girls were killed while sleeping. Helpless. That nightmare was a dangerous enemy. If I hadn’t had Steel Body and Static Aura, I would be dead.

“Lightning crackle and hiss, gird me in the love of Lady Uttu!”

The floor dropped out from beneath us.

I snarled as I fell. I had cast Fly early. It was still active, so I only fell a few feet before I stopped myself, but Maya and Morana were hurtling down. Garnet spread her wings. A light was far below.
Far, far below.

I dove after Morana, snagging her. My banshee gasped as I threw her over my shoulder. She clung to me while Maya hurtled toward the ground. There was a room hundreds of feet down. I flew after her faster. She probably would survive, but it would hurt her.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her close. I slowed my fall and burst into a room full of light. I landed on the ground in a large room. A throne room. A man sat on a throne of skulls, of course. A young man. Blond and blue-eyed, buff and strong.

Garnet landed beside me as I sat down with Maya and Morana. My little sister folded her wings around her like she was batman, glaring at Todlicht as he sat on his throne of skulls. He wore this smirk like it was all part of his plan.

He expected me to slam into the ground and die.

He had two monster girls with him. One was a petite woman with orange-red hair and green eyes. She was tall with a sultry smile as she leaned against his throne. A werefox. I had them as Level 1 Monster Girls, but they were companion level. I wondered what made her different from the lower ones.

The other monster girl was a succubus, pale like my sister with black hair and red horns peeking out of her tresses. She had her wings folded behind her, her tail swishing back and forth. She had big tits, though. Just some massive melons.

She winked at me and blew me a kiss.

Todlicht had several levers before his throne. He pulled another one. A massive, glass wall slammed down before us, separating us. The ceiling shut above while behind us, the wall opened. Water poured through the opening and slammed into his.

“I redirected a river,” Todlicht said, his voice booming. He must be using some property of the dungeon to project it.

The water washed around my legs, nearly sweeping them out from under me.

“Soothing water sustains, let the love of Lady Ninli engulf,” I whispered as the water rose higher and higher.

Maya vanished into it. She was all but impossible to see in the roaring current. Garnet kicked toward the surface. She reached it, but the room flooded fast. Anger swelled in me. She would drown. I couldn’t cast an external water-breathing spell.

She kicked and thrashed. Morana shook her head, her black hair billowing around her. She was undead. She didn’t need to breathe. I reached up and grabbed Garnet’s foot. I yanked her down. She was thrashing.

I hugged my little sister tight and kissed her.

I wanted to breathe for her, but I just had to buy time. I couldn’t cast spells underwater. Morana sank to the bottom while Garnet kissed me. She trembled in my arms, but she wasn’t afraid. She held me tight. I soothed her.

She drowned.

Her motes washed around me.

Hatred for that mother fucker swelled in me as I let my body go limp. I just had to wait for my reinforcements to arrive. Smerta would flood the dungeon with them. I sank to the bottom. I could feel Todlicht watching me. He was waiting for the rush of power.

He had to start growing worried.

He rose from his chair and stared at the map. I couldn’t hear the alarms, but they were ringing. More monster girls were on their way. I smiled as I lay at the bottom, breathing water. Smerta always came through.

“We’re in the dungeon,” Smerta said. “How’s it going?”

“He got the drop on us,” I said.

Maya giggled nearby. I was sharing the communication with all my monster girls.

I gave up pretending to be dead. I watched Todlicht. He was agitated. He paced back and forth, his two monster girls no longer posing sexily. He had to know reinforcements were coming. He would drop the barrier and attack me.

I had to be ready.

I found the perfect spell and waited.

Todlicht glanced at the map. At the lever. He was debating it. He had to act. He would hit me with something hard. He snarled and moved to the levers at his throne. This was it. He pulled it. Several stones in the floor opened to reveal drainage grates. The water rushed out as the glass wall came down in sync.

An impressive bit of engineering.

The water lowered and lowered. I stood in the current as he moved into position, his monster girls ready to act. He drew in his breath. He would cast it before I could. He was smart. The water level was almost to my head, draining fast.

This was it.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“The breath of death kills, let the exhale of Lord Nergal slay!” Todlicht cried.

A cloud of black air spilled over the top of the water. Maya jumped out of it, letting it hit her. Spectral Breath, Expert Level Death magic, engulfed her and created a small void for me as the water level dropped to expose my head.

Maya died as I snarled, “Flesh to steel, let the gift of Lady Nisaba transmute!”

I became steel. The dark cloud washed over me a heartbeat later. Maya had bought me those precious moments. I loved her so much. Morana was at my side, her black hair clinging to her naked body. Fresh mist spilled down her flesh.

“Dark Lord,” she purred as I walked forward.

I was made of steel. I wasn’t technically alive at the moment.

Todlicht stepped back, staring at me with wide eyes. He had no idea the power I possessed. He had never seen this spell. His two monster girls rushed forward, the werefox blurring into a small creature and moving too fast to track. The succubus unfurled her wings.

Morana screamed.

The death shriek engulfed the succubus. The busty monster girl collapsed and burst into motes.

“Color of life fades, let the shadows of Lord Zuen leach!” I chanted as the werefox jumped from the wall to the ceiling and hurtled behind me.

Colorleach was an Ultimate Level Dark spell. It stole the color from her orange-furred body as she hit the ground. Her form spilled to the right and slid past us. Morana blew the monster girl a kiss as she vanished.

Todlicht, the buff epitome of manliness, paled. He stumbled back, horror on his face. He collapsed to the floor and pissed himself. It was the most embarrassing thing I had ever seen. He trembled as he stared at me in horror.

“Please!” Todlicht whimpered, his head lowered. “Please, don’t kill me.”

I marched forward and dismissed Steel Body. Todlicht glanced out at me. His eyes trembling.

“Dark Lord?” Morana asked and touched my arm. “Don’t trust him.”

“He’s defeated,” I said, stopping before him. “I can be magnanimous.”

“Thank you,” Todlicht whimpered, his body tensing.

“Will you pledge yourself to me?” I held out my right hand to him. He stared at it, his blue eyes shadowed by his brow. “Take my hand and then swear your loyalty.”

Todlicht looked up at me. His hand moved. Fast. A dagger appeared in it. He lunged at me with a blade dripping in shadows, the weapon of his first glyph. I seized his wrist, stopping his blow while Static Aura discharged.

He screamed as the spell struck him. He must have had Endure Pain cast because he didn’t die. He collapsed on his back, the dagger spilling from his grip. I snagged it, anger burning in me for what he did to Garnet. Making her drown like that.

I buried it into his chest.

Power flowed into me. I closed my eyes at the immense energy. My entire body trembled with it. The dungeon shifted. Growing inert. He had failed in his duty to protect his piece of the Incarnation. He had to be a cock-sucking prick.

“You know he would do that,” Morana said with amusement. “You toyed with him, Dark Lord.”
I shook my head. “I gave him a chance, but he showed his true colors.”

“And you know he would,” said Morana. She looked around. “Well, that’s over, but… how do we get out of here? I mean, it’s crazy to have a throne room down here.”

“This is how he gained his power,” I said. “He put the door in the floor and hid it. Then he welcomed in his guests and they fell to their deaths. And if they survived the fall, they wouldn’t survive being drowned.”

“And he made sure he could watch,” Morana said. “That’s sick.”

I kicked the corpse hard in the side, my blood boiling. Holding Garnet, keeping her calm as she ran out of air, had been awful. This mother-fucker had watched the entire thing. Probably gave him a boner. I kicked him again.

“If he took your hand, he would have died,” Morana said. “Your Static Aura would have discharged.”

“You know, you’re right. I don’t think I wanted his service.”

To be continued…

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