A Devil In The Dungeon: Old Faces Made New

[Old Faces Made New]

Tanya’s party entered the Dungeon at dawn and by late morning, had already managed to make it to the Middle Floors. With a goal in mind and no reason to linger for any longer than necessary, they cut a path into the depths of the dungeon quicker than ever before.

​They chewed through horses of monsters big and small, and even when faced with a surprise encounter with a rather large Hard Armored, they barely broke their stride. Tanya wasn’t even needed for that particular encounter.

​The creature’s cry echoed through the cavern as Rann’s arrow found its place between thick plates of armored. Licia, who had been holding the creature at arm’s length while the Pallum lined up a shot, suddenly burst forward to capitalize. With a few swipes of her sword, armor segments were severed from flesh, before her other blade drove deep into the monster’s body.

​With one final roar, the Hard Armored dropped dead, a heavy stone clinking to the ground with its defeat.

​“That was a lot easier than last time,” Licia commented as she sheathed her blades. Rann passed her by, his hands already digging through the remains of the monster to find his prize. He held it up to the light, grinning at the hefty stone that his efforts had produced, before slipping it into his pack.

​“For safekeeping,” he said, returning Artus’ look with a wink.

​“You mean for your wallet,” Artus muttered with a shake of his head.

​“Like I said, safe keeping. My safe, specifically.” Rann snorted at his own joke, elbowing Artus in the side as he passed the tall teen.

​They made short work of the Thirteenth Floor and made their way down to the next. As they cleared a corridoor of monsters, Licia fell into step beside her, speaking quietly, “It’s a shame, what happened to your business. I can’t believe that you were unlucky enough to have your shipment destroyed like that.”

​“I fear luck had very little to do with it,” Tanya commented, looking down a deep path branching from their own. After a moment, she shook her head, continuing along the main trail while Licia eyed her curiously.

​“You think it was done on purpose?”

​Tanya turned to her. “I had the chance of pouring over the full report last night and found it rather illuminating. One shipment attacked out of dozens, by humans no less. If it were just another monster attack, I could simply chalk it up to bad luck, as you say, but for a group of what was seemingly other adventurers to target and destroy a shipment of valuables, without taking anything, no less... it seems rather suspect, doesn’t it?”

​Licia’s expression darkened. “When you put it like that... I guess it is pretty wierd. Do you think someone hired them?”

​“It’s a possibility,” Tanya nodded. “The question I’m somewhat stuck on is who might be responsible.”

​“Could it be Apollo?” Artus suggested, flashing Licia an apologetic look as she tensed at the god’s name. “He has a grudge against you for beating him. This is a pretty good opportunity to get back at you for it.”

​“Maybe. But that begs the question of how he found out about the shipment in the first place. Even I didn’t know about it until Krov told me, and even then I was dark on the specifics. For him to have not only heard about it but also find the exact route and date...” Tanya shook her head, her expression carved with distaste. “Apollo’s influential, but espionage is certainly not his forte.”

​“No, it’s not. With him, its always louder equals better,” Licia muttered darkly.

​“So then who’s got it out for the munchkin here,” Rann inserted himself into the conversation. “A lot of people were looking forward to that new focus and now they gotta wait. Who hates you enough to get that kind of attention on them?”

​Tanya considered the question, and came up mostly blank. One memory did stick out to her though, an incident that she’d almost forgotten in her pursuit of stable, passive income.

​“A few weeks ago, a rather singular man accosted me in an alley on the way back from the Dungeon,” Tanya began, remembering the incident. “This was actually after one of our earlier delves. I was on my way home after dinner with you, Licia, when he stopped me.”

​Licia’s expression darkened with concern. “Did he do anything to you?”

​“Not explicitly. It seemed like he wanted to get a read on me in person. Apparently I attracted the attention of his goddess, or someone similarly important to him. He wasn’t especially happy about that. I believe his exact words were, ‘You’d be better off dying in the Dungeon.’ or something to that effect.”

​Her companions absorbed that. “What did he look like?” Artus asked.

​Tanya gave them a short description of what she could remember, only pausing when Licia suddenly stopped in her tracks, staring at Tanya with wide eyes.

​“That sounds like Allen Fromel!”

​The others gaped at her while Tanya simply raised a confused eyebrow. “I’m afraid I’m a bit in the dark here. Who?”

​“He’s an executive from the Freya Familia,” Artus answered, seeming just as stupefied as Licia was. “He’s one of the strongest adventurers in Orario and pretty much everyone agrees he’s the fastest.”

​“If they’re the ones coming after you, you’re fucked.” Rann gave her a sympathetic wince that did little to sate the panic slowly building in Tanya’s breast. The Freya Familia was probably the last group she wanted interested in her, yet apparently she’d managed to get their eyes on her anyway.

​Licia shook her head, forcing herself to calm down. “T-There’s no way it’s them, though. Freya isn’t like Apollo; she wouldn’t do something like this.”

​“But she doesn’t think they’re connected. After all, why would the biggest, most powerful familia in all of Orario mess with Tanya specifically?”

​Tanya just sighed. Why indeed.

​“Let’s keep moving,” she motioned, deciding not to dwell on it for now. They had a goal and she’d prefer to get this done before something else went wrong.

​They pressed on, diving into the Fourteenth Floor and on through the Fifteenth. Tanya’s formulae proved to be extremely useful, as did Artus’ skill, allowing them to pick out and pick off threats long before they had the chance to build up. They came across a few hordes but those were dealt with as easily as the stragglers they picked off along the way, and they barely broke stride as they reached the Sixteenth Floor, farther than Tanya had ever been before.

​And of course, it was there they encountered their problem.

​The party paused as Artus suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning her head to look behind them and frowning. Tanya noted his glowing eyes and realized that he must have seen something and said, “What is it? Another horde?”

​Artus didn’t answer immediately, staring into the distance with a puzzled expression. “I think... someone’s following us.”

​The party exchanged worried looks. “Are you sure they aren’t just taking the same path we are?” Licia asked.

​“I thought that at first, but they’ve been back there for a little while now. They caught up to us on the Twelfth but they’ve just been hanging back there.”

​“Scavengers?” Tanya posed.

​“With Rann in our group, there isn’t anything to scavenge,” Licia shook her head, ignoring the Pallum’s annoyed stare. She looked at Rann, her face twisted in worry. “What are they doing now?”

​“Just talking, it looks like. It’s hard to see through the Dungeon walls.” He squinted, trying to focus better. “There’s a few of them, but I can’t get an exact count. They’re hanging pretty far back, too.”

​Licia thought it over for a moment before speaking. “If they’re just going the same way we are, they’d pass us eventually or take a different rout. Let’s keep going, but take a slightly different path and see what they do.”

​They continued on their way, choosing a route that curved to the left when the Dungeon offered them a choice. After a few minutes of travel, Artus checked behind them again.

​“They followed.”

​“Double back,” Tanya ordered, a sinking feeling in her gut. The party turned and moved back to their previous position, continuing along the path until they were offered a choice in paths once again.

​“What now?”

​“They... moved back,” Artus frowned. “We would have run into them if they stayed where they were. They went back along the path.”

​That settled it. Tanya sighed, “We’re being followed.”

​Licia turned toward the direction Artus was looking. “So we them?”

​“There’s not enough space to comfortably fight them here if it comes to that.” Tanya shook her head, motioning then forward. “Let’s keep moving towards Rivira and hope they aren’t hedging their bets. Artus, keep an eye on—”

​She stopped short as Artus suddenly turned his head to the left and tensed, planting his feet and pointing his spear across the hall where the wall had darkened considerably. “We’ve got contact!”

​The group spun as one as a trio of hulking Orcs pulled themselves free of their confines, dropping to the floor. They scarcely had the chance to rise before one of them was struck in the head by an arrow and found itself dead just moments after its birth.

​The next two were dealt with rather quickly as well as the group set upon them before they had chance to get their bearings. Artus’s spear found itself in one of the Orc’s stomachs. The creature roared but it was cut off with a gurgle as Tanya’s saber sliced through its thick neck. Licia divested the other of a limb it used to strike at her and drove her dagger into its brain, killing it just as simply.

​“Good work,” Tanya praised as the monsters dissolved.

​“Thanks,” Licia breathed, flicking the ichor from her blade. “Now, about our little stalker problem.”

​“Keep moving,” Tanya ordered, her voice low. “If they wanted to talk, they would have shown themselves by now.”

​They pressed on through the Sixteenth Floor without further incident, though the sensation of being watched never left them. Artus periodically confirmed that their shadows were still there, matching their pace, keeping their distance, and the pit in Tanya’s gut stayed right where it was.

​The group was beginning to feel the fatigue of the journey as they finally passed onto the Seventeenth Floor. With the transition came a subtly shift of architecture, the corridors widening and walls rising higher with rocky craigs climbing around them, as if the Dungeon itself had grown tired of carving neat passages and simply tore the stone apart instead.

​Monsters appeared and were defeated, and a few wounds were accrued, a estimate to just how dangerous these Middle Floors were. Rann’s face was bloodied where a Needle Rabbit broke from the pack to attack him specifically, and Artus was limping thanks to a cut on the inside of his let that pained him every time he put pressure on it. He’d bandaged it as best he could, but it was clear that it would need proper attention sooner rather than later.

​Even Tanya was beginning to feel the fatigue, alongside a persistent throbbing from the deep cut on the back of her hand. That was why, when Licia stopped the group and suggested they break for a short stint, she agreed.

​“We’re getting close to the entrance to the Eighteenth Floor,” Licia said, as Rann passed around rations. “That means we’ll be coming upon the Great Wailing Wall soon. It’s where the Monster Rex of this floor spawns, the Goliath.”

​“Are we fighting it?” Artus asked, hid voice somewhat nervous.

​“Not unless we absolutely have to,” Tanya cut in before Licia could. She swallowed a moutful of water, quenching her dry throat. “The Goliath is touted as being equivalent to a Level 4. That’s not really the kind of threat I’d like to walk into unless unavoidable.”

​“Then why are we here?” Rann grunted. “The only way to Rivira is through the entrance, and that thing sits basically right on top of it.”

​“Thankfully, we shouldn’t even have the choice to fight it.” Licia glanced at Tanya. “I heard someone took care of it recently, definitely less than two weeks ago, and that’s how long it takes to respawn. No exceptions. We shouldn’t have to fight it at all.”

​Rann grumbled, rubbing a cloth over his face that he’d wetted with water from his canteen. He gave Licia an irritated look. “And assuming that guy was just talking out his ass? What’s the plan then?

​Tanya raised her Luger, clicking the safety. “Distract it and run. I’ll blow its face off with an explosive formula, and we run past it while it’s hopefully blind and deaf. I’m not entirely sure how thick its skin is, but its eyes should be weaker than the flesh around it.”

​Rann eyed the firearm, remembering what it had done to the Wyvern.

​“Fine,” he muttered, though he didn’t look entirely convinced. He wiped the last of the blood from his face and stuffed the cloth back into his pack. “Fine. Let’s just get moving before our friends back there decide to get any closer.”

​Artus rose with a wince, shifting his weight off his injured leg. He planted his spear and used it to steady himself as he got his bearings, then gave a short nod. “I’m good.”

​Licia looked at Tanya, who returned the gesture with a curt nod of her own. “Then lets go.”

​The group gathered their things in short order, falling back into formation with Licia on point, Artus and Tanya flanking, and Rann bringing up the rear. Artus kept an eye on the group lagging just behind them as they moved through the cavernous halls of the Dungeon, and Tanya kept her eyes on him, waiting for a reaction that might indicate incoming trouble.

​She got one perhaps fifteen minutes later when he tensed visibly and said, “They’re closer.”

​Tanya glanced at him. “How close?”

​“Maybe forty meters. They moved up a little bit while we were resting.” He peered back the way they had come, face worried.

​“They’re getting impatient,” Licia murmured, her hand drifting to the hilt of her sword.

​Tanya nodded silently.

​She didn’t like this. The group behind them had been content to shadow them for floors on end, maintaining a careful, deliberate distance. That they were closing the gap now, right as the party approached the Goliath’s territory, suggested either growing confidence or a planned approach. Neither possibility was particularly comforting.

​“How many can you see?” she asked Artus.

​“It’s hard to tell; my vision is fuzzy and they’re grouped up. Could be six, could be twelve.”

​Tanya’s jaw tightened. She didn’t like the prospect of fighting an unknown number of people, even in an open environment like this. She thought about laying a trap for them, but they were rather close to Rivira and if this group was well prepared, then all she would be doing was delivering them into their arms. Best to play it safe.

​There was, of course, the possibility that this group was entirely benign and didn’t have it out for their party in the least, but Tanya knew better than to bet on wishful thinking. Expect the worst and prepare for it, that was the only way to survive down here.

​“Speed it up,” Tanya called. “But stay sharp.”

​The party moved faster at Tanya’s behest. Eventually, the corridors widened as they pressed deeper, the walls pulling apart to reveal broader passages and the occasional cavern that opened up around them like the mouth of some great beast. Monsters spawned at faster rates that before, but they were dealt with as they came and while the party didn’t gain any more injuries, it was clear that it was wearing on them.

​It was perhaps fifteen minutes later when the corridor ahead of them opened up dramatically, the walls pulling back and the ceiling soaring upward until it vanished into shadow. A giant wall of pearlescent stone climbed toward the ceiling and a deep, shadowy form lurked just behind it. Waiting.

​“That’s the Goliath,” Licia said, looking relieved. “It looks like it’s still reforming. We’re safe.”

​“Apart from the monsters, you mean,” Rann pointed at the far end of the cavern where a pack of hellhounds had made their appearance. He pulled his bow and let loose and arrow, but the leading wolf jumped to the side, letting the arrow pass him by to stick in the ground. He clicked his tongue. “Tch. They’re fast.”

​The Hellhounds didn’t do them the courtesy of waiting and charged them as a group. There were five of them, all drooling muzzles and glowing red eyes peeking from soot-colored fur. The leading one gnashed its teeth in a clear display of intimidation.

​“Spread out!” Licia barked, drawing her weapons. “Don’t let them get around us!”

​The party broke formation. Artus planted hismself near Rann, using his spear’s reach to keep the nearest hound at bay while Rann nocked another arrow. Tanya meanwhile, moved right, drawing her saber and her Luger in her off hand. The hellhounds split in response, two peeling off to either side while the center three charged straight through.

​Rann loosed his arrow and this time found his mark, the shaft burying itself in the eye of one of the Hellhounds and dropping it mid-stride. The beast skidded across the stone, body already beginning to dissolve, but its packmates didn’t slow as they leapt over their fallen comrade’s remains and crashed into the party. One of them bounded toward Rann but was waylaid by Artus who held it at bay with his spear. He was unable to catch the second in time though, which bolted past him toward the much smaller Pallum who cursed and scrambled to line up another shot.

​The hound that had broken through was fast, closing the distance to Rann in a heartbeat. The Pallum abandoned his bow with a curse, throwing himself to the side as the beast’s jaws snapped shut on empty air where his throat had been a fraction of a second before. He hit the ground hard, rolling and scrambling for his short blade as the Hellhound spun around for another lunge.

​It never got the chance.

​A shot cracked through the cavern, the Luger’s bark echoing off the high walls. The round caught the Hellhound in the shoulder, spinning it sideways with a yelp. It wasn’t a killing blow, but it bought Rann the precious seconds he needed to drive his blade up into the beast’s throat as it lunged again, the creature’s own momentum impaling it on the short sword.

​“Nice shot,” Rann grunted, shoving the dissolving corpse off himself.

​“Watch your spacing,” Tanya called back, already turning to the next threat.

​The two flanking hounds had split wide, one cutting toward Licia while the other circled around toward Tanya. The one that had gone for Licia opened its jaws to let loose a blast of fire but that plan was quickly aborted as Licia stepped into its charge rather than away. her short sword caught it across the jaw, severing the lower half of its muzzle from the rest. Before it could even offer a shout of pain, her dagger found the base of its skull and the beast dropped.

​Tanya’s opponent was more cautious, circling her with its ears flat and lips peeled back. She leveled the Luger at it and it bolted, zigzagging as if it knew what was being aimed at it. Eyes narrowed, she squeezed off two rounds, the first punching a furrow through the dirt while the second clipped the beast’s haunch. It stumbled and fell, and Tanya closed the distance and brought her saber down on its neck.

​The final Hellhound hadn’t had any luck with Artus in the meantime and now that its pack was dead, it seemed to realize it’s time was up. It made one last desperate lunge at the spearman, but Artus merely planted his back foot, braced his spear against the ground, and let the beast impale itself on the bronze point. The hound thrashed once, twice, then went still.

​“Clear,” Licia called as it began dissolving.

​The cavern fell quiet for a moment. Tanya swept the area and was relieved to find nothing amiss. She exhaled and lowered her saber, though she kept it drawn.

​Rann pushed himself to his feet with a grimace. “Always a good time with you folks.”

​“Nobody’s hurt?” Licia asked, looking over the group.

​“We’re fine,” Tanya confirmed, and Licia sighed.

​“Good,” she said. “The path to Rivira should be just past the Wall. We’re almost through.”

​“Wonderful,” Rann muttered. “I’m sick of this place. And when we’re done we have to go aaaaall the way back up again.”

​Licia allowed herself a small smile. “It’s not much farther. We can rest properly once we—”

​Twang.

​The sound of a bowstring being released was quickly followed by the whistle of something slicing through the air. The party turned, but Tanya was already beginning to move. Her saber sheared through the air, connecting with the wooden shaft of an arrow, and cut it in two

​The two halves went spinning into the darkness as Artus flinched back, nearly tripping over himself thanks to his bad foot. Tanya interposed herself between him and the darkness of the cavern beyond, baring her teeth.

​Out of the darkness, several figures emerged. Tanya was struck with an irritating sense of deja vu as a familiar figure stepped out in the lead, smirking just like she had months ago.

​“Azalea,” Tanya said flatly. “How lovely to see you again.”

​“Little Bitch,” Azalea returned, her smirk widening just a tad. “I’ve gotta say, you’re faster than I remember. I thought that kid was done for.”

​Licia’s hand flew to her sword. “You! What are you doing here?”

​“Well I thought that much would be obvious to anyone with half a brain” Azalea laughed, rolling her shoulders as the figures behind her fanned out into a loose semicircle. “I’m finishing what I started.”

​Tanya looked past the woman at the array of people she had managed to recruit to her little endeavor. She did not recognize any from last time but given how that had ended, that wasn’t entirely surprising. What was surprising was that Azalea not only survived, but managed to recruit even more fools to her cause.

​Fools follow fools follow fools, Tanya thought, angling her Luger towards the lot of them. She had no stomach for monologuing right now.

​Her movement was answered with the sound of several arrows being nocked as the men behind Azalea responded to the threat. The woman herself smirked, holding her arms out taunting.

​“Really? You’re going to use that little pea-shooter? We both know you don’t have enough bullets to kill all of us. You’ll get maybe two, three shots off before someone’s riping that thing out of your hands and shoving a blade in your gut.”

​“I only need one,” Tanya replied, tightening her grip on the gun. This area was a bit more open, but the blowback from her Explosive Formula would still be more than enough to rupture eardrums at this range. And that was on the lighter side of things.

​To that end, Tanya spoiled up a second Formula. Her computation orb flared brightly against her chest, and whatever Azalea was about to say cut off in spectacular fashion as a shimmering wall of green light curved around Tanya and her party, protecting them. But not from Azalea.

​Tanya lifted sighted down and Azalea flinched back, expecting a bullet in her head or similar, but Tanya aimed a bit behind her instead.

​The majority of the group didn’t even get the chance to flinch at the bark of her Luger before they were suddenly caught up in a fiery explosion.

​The blast was nothing less than catastrophic. Tanya’s Active Shell was designed to wrap tightly around the body and as such, had a bit of trouble weathering the storm, modified as it was. But it held, and they watched as burning bodies were hurled against the cavern walls like rag dolls, some alive, most not.

​The explosion faded away racing smoke and cinder. Silence reigned through the ringing in their ears. Tanya calmly holstered her weapon among the horrified looks from two of her three companions.

​“You...” Artus’ voice was a whisper, his face ashen as he stared at the smoke.. “You killed them.”

​“Before they killed us,” Tanya replied as her barrier flickered and died. Rann seemed similarly out of sorts while Licia just swallowed and looked away from the carnage, no doubt remembering Azalea’s intentions the last time they met.

​“We need to mop up the survivors,” Tanya said , already moving forward. “If they’re alive and standing, they’ll be weak. We need to—”

​She stopped as a blur suddenly erupted from the smoke, the stomping of footsteps screaming against the cries of wounded men.

​Only instinct saved Tanya as she reactivated her Mage Shell in a rush, just in time for it to shatter against a horizontal slash that would have opened her throat. The resistance gave Tanya just enough time to duck, but not enough to avoid the boot that embedded itself into her chest a moment later.

​Tanya was sent rolling across the dungeon floor, tangled in her cloak as she tumbled. She stopped with a choked gasp, her body moving almost on autopilot as she unsheathed her combat knife and brought it up with both hands, managing the feat just in time to catch the downward strike that would have split her skull.

​“Tanya!” Licia’s came distant as the blade ground against her own, forcing her downward. Tanya’s eyes locked onto Azalea’s face just inches from her own, the woman’s burned expression set into a facade of rictus agony and rage as she forced her sword toward Tanya’s body with everything she had.

​As they locked eyes, bright blue meeting brilliant gold, Tanya was thrust back in time. The smell of burned flesh and gunpowder reignited that old memory, and suddenly Tanya’s was thrust back to before she was ever sent to this world, to a time when fighting for her life was no longer a choice. A face etched with mania inches from her own, and her death but a heartbeat away.

​Those eyes... Tanya grit her teeth, rage spooling in her gut, hot and all-consuming. Why the fuck does she have those eyes!?

​It was like looking at that wretch Mary Sue all over again! But if Azalea had those eyes, then that mean...

​No.

​Adrenaline poured through Tanya and her strength surged. She shoved Azalea back with a snarl of her own, breaking the lock. She sprang to her feet, unsheathing her saber in the same motion, and darted forward to meet Azalea as the woman charged

​She sidestepped a follow-up thrust and caught the woman’s next swing on the flat of her blade, redirecting it wide. The force behind the action elicited a spike of pain in Tanya’s wrist, and she snarled as she stepped forward into Azalea’s guard.

​Behind them, the sounds of combat erupted—steel against steel, the twang of Rann’s bow, Licia’s voice barking orders. Some of Azalea’s men must have survived in fighting shape. Tanya wasn’t concerned about them.

​“After all this time, that bastard’s still hounding me!?” Tanya demanded, blinding Azalea with the edge of her cloak and striking in the same motion. “Where is he!? Tell me so I can cut his throat myself!”

​Azalea didn’t answer, tilting her body out of the way of a slash and retaliating with a thrust that Tanya caught on the edge of her blade. Tanya drove forward, her anger carrying her through the moment, fully fed-up.

​He just can’t help himself, can he?

​Azalea came at her again, and Tanya met her sword again. The woman was faster and stronger than the last time they had met, and though Tanya had never clashed blades with her like this, she knew that a simple level up wasn’t responsible.

​Tanya deflected the follow-up strike and retaliated with a thrust aimed at Azalea’s exposed flank. The woman twisted away, the tip of Tanya’s blade scoring a line across her side rather than punching through.

​“He’s given me a great gift” Azalea snarled, spinning into a counterattack that forced Tanya to give ground. “The strength and means to get my revenge. You don’t stand a chance against my Lord’s power.”

​“Just as stupid as his last sycophant!” Tanya spat back, her saber singing as she deflected a series of rapid strikes. “What drivel did he fill you head with to make you so obsessed with me?”

​Azalea’s response was a scream of fury and a brutal overhead. The force drove her to one knee, the stone biting into her kneecap as she braced against the weight bearing down on her.

​Tanya gruffed her teeth and green energy crackled along the length of her saber. She twisted the weapon sharply, channeling the enhanced edge against Azalea’s sword. The magic bit into the steel and sheared a chunk from the blade’s edge, sending sparks showering into the air between them.

​Azalea stumbled back, staring at the three-fourths of the sword she had left. Tanya surger forward forward with a slash that carved across the woman’s forearm and drew a spray of blood. Azalea gasped but caught herself, redirecting her ruined blade into a desperate parry that stopped Tanya’s follow-up strike an inch from her throat.

​They locked blades again, faces twisted with mutual hatred.

​“He’s using you,” Tanya hissed, shoving Azalea back and stepping into her space with a knee aimed at her midsection. The woman caught it on her thigh, but the impact still drove her backward. “But you’re too blind to see it. The last one died with a smile on her face thinking she could get to me, but he’s the one who saved me from death. He doesn’t care about you or your revenge. You’re a tool to him, nothing more.”

​“Shut up!” Azalea screamed, lunging forward. Her sword caught Tanya across the shoulder, tearing through leather and drawing blood across Tanya’s collarbone. Tanya hissed but didn’t relent, spinning inside the woman’s guard and driving an elbow into her jaw.

​The crack of bone against bone echoed through the cavern. Azalea staggered, her head snapping sideways, and Tanya brought her saber around in a horizontal slash that bit through Azalea’s armor and deep into the woman’s ribs. Grinning viciously, Tanya pushed and pulled in one motion, cutting through bone and flesh with a sickening squelch.

​Azalea crumpled, a wet gasp tearing from her throat as blood welled up around the blade embedded in her side. She dropped to one knee, her ruined sword scraping against stone as she used it to keep herself from falling entirely.

​She was bleeding out standing; no amount of willpower would pull her back to her feet. But it wasn’t enough. Tanya ripped the sword out as hard as she could and raised it high, preparing to finish it, when a scream stopped her in her tracks.

​“Artus!”

​Licia’s scream cut through the haze of bloodlust and Tanya’s head snapped to the side, to find Artus staggering backwards, hands clutched around the blade of a short sword that had been driven into his gut. Blood poured between his fingers, running down the steel in thin rivulets that dripped onto the stone floor in a steady stream.

​Azalea’s choked laughter rang in Tanya’s ears as Artus met her eyes, his expression pained and pallid. He looked at her, then down to his wound.

​His mouth moved, trying to form words that failed to come and as Tanya watched, he fell to his knees and moved no more.

Bit of an abrupt ending, I know. This chap was getting long and I don't have much more time to write so I figured I'd go ahead and get this out for y'all! Hope you enjoyed!