Uno

The soldiers cautiously trickled into the room under the guidance of their commander. Agric had chosen to lead them from the front, weapons kept at the ready, as his blue eyes scanned and analyzed the future battlefield. His subordinates followed behind the man’s straight back in a condensed clump of leather armor, daggers, bows, and - most importantly - fear.

They didn’t know it yet, but bunching up was a mistake they were going to pay dearly for.

The chamber they entered was a sufficiently terrifying place in my humble opinion. A strong four of out five. I even managed to spruce it up a bit, adding a nice, monstrous ambiance, each sound made by the invaders multiplied and deformed by the haunting echo. The room was much longer than wider, yet still leaving enough free space for ten soldiers to walk hand in hand. Ah, but that only concerned the part of the room that was bathed in light. As for the rest - on both other sides - it was instead hidden under the cloak of darkness, a perfect avenue of an attack.

This arrangement created a clearly artificial carpet of light stretching from the entrance towards the far-off wall where my fake core was embedded. The lighting effect was created by using the Electrical Chandeliers hanging from the ceiling in such a way that their fruits were partially obstructed by “naturally growing” stalactites.

The floor and walls were made from a simple grey stone, but I splurged and added columns on the left and right of the carpet of light, trying to preserve the feeling of sanctity and importance I thought should be present in this place. This made the advancing soldiers look small and weak in comparison to the chamber they were in. And my fake core by proxy.

“Do you recognize the patterns on the pillars?” Murmured the princess and I reacted with surprise. What patterns?

“No, your highness. They seem familiar and at the same time foreign.” Ian was quick to answer, his eyes glued to the final room. My cameras too zoomed in on the closest column. They were covered in something that looked similar to the ancient script, with no real words, using something similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs or Chinese pictograms.

There was however a feeling of everlasting dread and hopelessness infused into them.

Just like...

“Are they connected to the Magitech Empire?”

“It’s hard to say. They should be. A degree of change is to be expected though. The dungeons are known to introduce and mix elements of different cultures.” He scratched his chin. “Let us not forget that this place was once a human castle. Who knows what the core gained by disassembling its architecture.”

“I see.”

While this relaxed exchange was taking place in the back the vanguard soldiers weren’t having a good time.

“It’s a trap.” Whispered one of them under his breath.

“No shit, genius.”

“Shut up and keep your eyes peeled.” Added another one.

“Keep the ranks! Archers ready your weapons!”

“Mages! Where are the mages?!”

“Jinji is in the back…”

“One of the earth mages got done by the rats! The other is in the middle of the defensive formation.”

“One of the fire throwers was held in reserve. He observes with the Princess! The remaining ones stand with us!”

“I dislike that term, you know?” A robed figure grumbled, the unruly reddish hair escaping his wide cap. “Also, we left the least experienced one in the back. Believe me, he would cause more trouble than it was worth.”

“I understand. Nobody likes being put on fire by allies.” Murmured one of the more scarred soldiers.

“Keep it together, men.” Agric was one to silence the elves. “You’re not children! Act like it! There is something hiding in the shadows. Don’t let it get a jump on you.”

“““Captain!”””

“These rooms always have a guardian. They usually represent the creatures that the Dungeon focuses on.” The leader scratched his chin for a moment. “Considering what we saw thus far it could be either a rodent or an undead. Maybe a golem.”

“Or a combination of these.” The second fire mage added his face and figure hidden completely by the robe.

“I just hope it’s not some kind of unkillable undead.”

“I think you will get your answer... SOON!”

As Agric screamed out his final words my Armored Rat Beast lost its patience and silently jumped out of the shadows, a large and dark form gaining momentum in seconds.

“Look out---!”

“Wha-!”

“Fuuuu--!”

The elves didn’t have time to react, only their leader barely managed to get out of the charging beast’s way. The man behind him wasn’t as lucky, his chest immediately skewered and the body dragged by my monster. Two others were trampled, their bones thoroughly broken, while their screams joined the chorus as the temporary Guardian finished its charge.

“Graaaaaaaa!”

The Armored Rat Beast roared its challenge, its brutal face lighting up with joy as it saw the elven ranks falling in confusion. It turned back slowly, small, beady eyes searching for a gap to exploit. Still staring at the soldiers in disdain it shook its horn, letting the impaled body fall on the ground and glistening its black scales with red blood.

The wet *thump* with which their dead comrade hit the stones beneath seemed to enrage the remaining elves. They gripped their daggers even harder and charged forward while screaming insults in the air. Above their heads, a small cloud of arrows already targeted the black beast, falling down on the overgrown rat like the locust.

The vicious expressions of the archers turned to shock when instead of the satisfying sound of metal piercing flesh they heard only *tink*, *tink*, *tink* as the arrowheads helplessly fell on the ground, deflected by the monstrously strong scales.

This slowed the frenzied charge somewhat, but not all of the attackers were deterred. A few of them jumped ahead, their powerful swings simply bouncing off the beast’s hide.

“Why won’t you die?!” Screamed one of them with fury, only to get instantly skewered by the bladed horn.

“Focus on the eyes and mouth!” Shouted another one, his life too ended in but a mere moment.

“Look out!”

“Dodge!”

The beast moved and the soldiers were thrown into the air, their bones, and muscles broken by the mountain-like physique of the charging monster. Archers let loose another volley, hoping for a lucky strike more than anything else. The result was, however, the same as before, their arrows no more effective than the thrown sticks.

“Scorch it!” Agric shouted and mages started to summon their flames. Just like with the Blueflame noble, they had to do it slowly and carefully, focusing on control more than power.

Yet the Rat Beast was not a fool, recognizing the danger and quickly changing its target to the fire-wielders. Its clawed feet screeched on the stone as it forcibly turned a few hundred kilograms of muscle in place, reorienting itself towards the incoming magical attacks.

“Shit!”

“Block it!”

“Spears! Spears to the front!”

The elves, on the other hand, were using their bodies and weapons to desperately try to stop the charging monster.

“Oooof---!”

“Gyaaaaaa!”

“My leg… my fucking leg!”

Yet one after the other they were simply thrown away, mangled flesh and bone left in the wake of the advancing beast.

Powerful.

Unopposable.

Invincible.

At least my creation seemed to look like that… until one of the luckier warriors managed to cut the inner thigh of the Rat Beast, causing it to tumble and then fall to the ground in a great explosion of sound and dust. A few pillars were broken in the process, grey stone shooting out like shrapnel.

This allowed the mages in the back to focus their fire.

A fireball and flame arrow were created and thrown in the beast’s direction nearly immediately.

The explosion sounded, followed by the irate scream and slowly falling dust, that had risen once again. For a while the whole chamber was silent, the invaders holding their breath in a vain hope that their enemy was defeated.

And, as if to break that expectation, a crazed roar echoed in the room.

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

I smiled. It was truly made of the sturdier stuff than the other monsters. This time the roar conveyed not only a challenge but also hatred and indignation.

“We kinda pissed it off, eh?” Mumbled one of the surviving soldiers.

“It bleeds. It can be killed.”

“Yea. But how many of us will die until we manage to do so?”

“Why the Princess isn’t helping?!”

“Shut up. Follow orders.”

“Gather round!” Screamed Agric. “Defensive formation. Soldiers! Aim for the joints! Archers! Focus on the eyes! Mages, keep the heat on! Blast it, no matter where it attacks!”

“We may kill some of our own soldiers this way, Captain.” One of the fire-wielders spoke out.

“Then so be it.” He turned back, his eyes calm and thick with sense of purpose. “What is your name?”

“Eh? Me, sir?” The earth mage seemed a bit out of it, his youthful face covered in grime and blood. Not his own, though.

“Yeah, you soldier.”

“Sond. Sir.”

“Okay, listen up, private Sond. Can you destroy this place?”

“Pardon?”

“Ahhh… I’m asking if you can break down the flat terrain that this beast uses to kill us off.” Agric pointed at the nearest floor. “You and your deceased friend already had done it once before.” Sond twitched for a moment at the mention of his former companion but managed to quickly regain control. “In the battle against these undead and rats. Fucking rats.” Agric growled. “Do you remember? I would like you to stop it from charging.” He stared at the younger elf, his voice already back to normal.

The mage in question gulped heavily. “Are we all going to die if I can’t? Sir?” He asked in a trembling tone.

“No, of course, no.” The larger elf sighed loudly while clamping his hand on the subordinate’s shoulder. “But more of them will die. So don’t screw up.”

“Ahhhhhh…”

“Deep breaths.”

“Y-yesh…”

“So? Can you do it?”

“I-I’ll try. I have a shield spell.”

“Most of the earth-mages have one.” Nodded Agric.

“I can use some of the debris here to make small walls… partitions. Hills. It should work.” He trembled a bit more. “I think.”

“Then do it.” Agric turned his head. “Hunber, Kijat, Erbac - guard the mage with your own lives.” He squinted. “Understood?”

“YES, SIR!”

“Good. The second round starts now, eh?”

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

While the elves were preparing my Armored Rat Beast also wasn’t wasting time. It stalked the darkness, searching for the best avenue of approach. Instead of attacking silently however it had chosen to announce its presence, the blood-craze already taking hold of its sanity.

With a burst of energy, it emerged from the darkness - a monstrously large rodent covered in black scales - and immediately charged towards the temporary elven formation.

It was a simple plan really - to rely on superior speed and mass in order to cut down the amount of time that the enemy had to attack it.

Unlike before, its enemies were ready - the fire mages were throwing their blazing magics, while the sole earth-wielder made it impossible to approach the formation freely. The earlier scuffle also left the beast not without wounds - two patches of melted scales decorating its left side - damage from the oppressive heat, a weak point for iron arrowheads and weapons.

It was the start of a decent, bloody battle. One worth watching.

And one which was cut short with a single, powerful word.

“Enough!” A woman’s voice echoed in the chamber, her blonde hair reflecting the everpresent flames. “Just die, monster!”

At Minnalea’s command, a beam of light appeared out of nowhere and cut the Armored Rat Beast in two… thus ending the encounter. The flesh of the monster sizzled as it fell to the ground, an expression of unwillingness and fury still present on its brutal features.

The elven survivors stared at the dead beast.

Some with an expression of bitterness, others simply filled with joy.

Slowly the soldiers started to cheer - at first quietly, only to finish with an overwhelmingly loud ovation.

Their minds were filled with but a simple miracle of managing to wade through this deadly battle. The water mage was already busy with mending flesh and bone, bandaging the wounded and cleaning up the survivors.

In the meantime, Agric and Minnalea were having a little chat.

I was listening in with curiosity, of course.

“Your highness, what are you doing?!”

“Saving your life, of course.” She answered haughtily.

The man sighed in response, slowly massaging the bridge of his nose. “Firstly, we had everything under control.”

“Losing half of your squad meant that the battle was under control?!”

“Princess, were you a part of any other Dungeon subjugation party?”

“No, but how’s that impor--”

“It is important.” Agric cut her off. He lifted one of his fingers. “Firstly. We all.” He pointed towards the soldiers, mages, archers. “Every. Single. One. Of. Us.” He squinted his eyes. “We are expendable. You are not.”

“But--!”

“Secondly.” He lifted another finger. “Did you recover completely?” The muscular half-elf asked keenly, his eyes searching for any sign of weakness.

“I-I mostly recovered.” Minnalea stumbled a bit in her answer.

“And what do you mean by that, your Highness?”

“Ah…”

“How many light beams are you capable of producing right now?”

“T-two?”

Another sigh made Minnalea tremble. “That’s what I am talking about. You’re our hidden weapon. Our strongest blade.” He stared at the rejoicing soldiers. “Yes, a few more elves will live today. But what about tomorrow?” Agric tiredly turned his gaze back to the princess, who shuddered in response.

“Y-yes?”

“Thirdly. Did you consider that we have a sweeper on our tail? And that it is possible that we all are going to die down here anyway? Simply because you were too impatient?”

“I am strong enough to beat any monster in one, maybe two hits!” She declared proudly, her blonde hair swaying with every move.

“There are things out there…” Agric started talking before waving his hand. He gave up. “Doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. Please, do your duty, so we may try to return. And who knows, maybe we even manage to avoid the sweeper.” He smiled bitterly and then bowed at which Minnalea nodded uncertainly, her steps leading her towards the fake, black core.

I won’t lie. I was terrified.

This was one of the things that might one day end my existence.

One of the fates that I was desperately trying to avoid.

As she came closer a cold feeling of fear engulfed me more and more. Unconsciously my distress was transmitted to all dungeon’s denizens.

And they reacted.

The roars, squeaks and pure emotion of fear filled the halls.

“Do you feel it?” Asked Ian, flanking the approaching Princess.

“Yes… what is that?” She asked, her eyes wide open.

“Even though the dungeons aren’t really alive… they too fear death. And as you approach with a Royal Family’s dagger - a tool of their destruction.” He stopped for a moment, the regret and sadness filling his young face. “They wail. They scream. Sometimes I think that if they could… they would beg.”

“Are they truly not sapient then?” Minnalea asked, her hand lifting a long, straight dagger to the light. It glimmered - at first glance but a simple weapon, if not for a small, reddish gem embedded in its hilt. Just like my fake core in the wall.

“Every time we extinguish one of them we try to ask.” His tone changed, a mask of much older and much wiser being appearing on his face. Ian was reciting now, his words heavy with an ancient feeling. “Is there really no other way? Speak to us! Understand us! Oh, the light brought from the heavenly spheres! We do not want to waste your gifts. Answer. Scream out your purpose and role. Allow us to believe in a godly plan. Survive.” He ceased speaking, tensing his ears for an unheard answer.

And for a one, long moment I wanted to answer.

To cut this charade short.

To speak with somebody else than my subservient monsters or brainwashed followers.

To stop this damn loneliness of mine.

But I didn’t.

The fear… the terrifying visions of the second death didn’t let me.

And thus it was decided.

Ian breathed out, turning towards Minnalea. “Please, Princess. Do the honors.”

“Yes.” She nodded crisply. “I just need to lift it up and then plunge the blade into the dungeon core?”

“That is correct.”

“Won’t the metal break though?” She took another look at the weapon. “It doesn’t look very sturdy.”

“It is, however. There is old magic in the works here. One that we don’t understand. One that we don’t need to understand. Never.” He smiled weakly. “This part always dampers my mood. I can’t shake the feeling that we are doing is murder.”

“What? But it killed Goddess knows how many people!” Minnalea disagreed loudly.

“After we invaded its home. After we are trying to kill it. So… please - do it quickly.”

“Yes.”

Without any other warning, she lifted up her weapon and struck the blade in the middle of the fake obsidian core. The dagger entered easily, its hilt slowly growing brighter and brighter.

“Is it broken?” Asked Minnalea. “Nothing is happening.”

“No. It should start soon.”

Something stirred in the dagger’s handle.

Something old. A greedy, ancient being.

A monster.

A devil.

It yawned loudly.

The invaders couldn’t hear it.

But I could.

Then it opened its maw.

Wider. Wider. And wider. Until the only thing that remained was the greedy, monstrous mouth and two small, bright eyes.

A second passed and it bit, devouring the fake core in one sloppy chomp.

Another second was lost and then - this part of me was gone - and I understood that this was a large, tragic mistake. The fake core was… fake, but it was also part of me. My memories. My feelings. My dreams.

And now it was irreplaceably destroyed.

Then the pain came - like a wave - slowly strangling my mindscape with darkness, forcing me to retreat, to run, to hide. From one memory to another it tried to steal my very being as I fought against the current, slowly being dragged towards the still wide open maw of the beast.

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!] My mental scream came out unknowingly, enraging my followers and scaring both Non and Guardian.

I fought.

A sEcOnD aFtEr sEcOnD.

Who knew for how long.

It felt like minutes.

It felt like years.

One desperate fear

against another desperate fear

against the slowly consuming

darkness

darkness

darkness

The whole place shook, my senses curling up, like a kicked puppy.

I yelped. I begged.

Nobody heard me.

But

darkness

darkness

darkness

Garbled words penetrated the fog of my consciousness.

“That is how a dungeon dies. And this is why I hate these jobs…”

They faded away and when I thought that it was the real end a different, cold, soothing darkness came. And I lost my consciousness.

Uno

sometime later

*BAM*

A sound echoes… somewhere.

*BAM*

It comes and goes. A simple thing, yet full of rage and longing.

*BAM*

Like an old clock, it regularly strikes the hour. Or was it a second? A minute?

*BAM*

What was even a concept of time, really? Especially here, in this soothing dark?

*BAM*

Wait. Was that the sound of my alarm clock? Do I need to go to school? To work? Huh?

*BAM*

I didn’t really remember setting such a vulgar and brutal sounding soundtrack, though?

*BAM*

*ROAAAAAAAAR*

Okay. Now, something really seems weird.

*BAM*

Okay, okay! I’m waking up! Can’t a dude sleep a bit longer on his free day? Sheesh. People today. Maybe five more minutes?

*BAM*

Okaaaaay!

Fuck.

How did I open my eyes again?

Huh?

Wait.

Something… something is not right. No… eyes?

*BAM*

From where all this light had come?

*BAM*

And you! Who are you, you dam fucker, always banging on my doors?

Just follow the noise… Yes, just like that.

Follow the noise, Uno.

And kick his ass.

*BAM*

[Gotcha!]

[Huh?]

[What happened?]

[My lord?!] A happy, screaming voice echoed in my brain.

[What are--]

[MY LORD! YOU’RE SAFE! OH THANK THE UNFEELING GODS!]

[Hey--]

[I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE MY FATE! MY FATE TO BE ALONE AGAIN!]

[Gua--]

[THE HEAVENS ARE JUST! OH, MY LORD!]

[WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP?!]

[Y-yes?] A small, squeaky voice answered my question.

Much better. Have I drunk something? Could Dungeon Cores even have a hangover? Or two? At the same time? But more importantly...

[What the hell happened? Where are you? Where is Non? What is going in the dungeon? And what’s the situation aboveground?]

*BAM*

[And what the fuck is that sound?!]

[Ahhh… That may need a longer explanation, my lord.]

[Start with the sound. It’s driving me insane. Or not. The overall situation. More important.]

[Yes, yes. You see after the half-elves broke your sub-core we all kinda… lost our minds. The Ratlings were most affected, pretty much pouncing on any enemy available. The undead… simply stopped functioning. About three-fourths of them. The ranks of your minions are currently greatly reduced.]

*BAM*

[You still didn’t tell me what this sound is. A clock? Did I install a clock in my time of madness?]

[No! You were just sleeping, my lord. And I was just getting to it!] I could hear him swallowing dryly. Pretty impressive considering we were having a mental conversation. [After your assumed demise Berserker blocked the way out of the final chamber and started attacking the invaders.]

[And?]

[And he has been doing so ever since.]

[Wait, what? More importantly - for how long was I out?]

[About a week.]

[SEVEN DAYS? He is at it for seven days?!]

[Yes, my lord.]

[I have to see it.]

My focus turned towards the third floor. It moved slowly, like a rusted machine forced to work against its will. I still managed to turn it towards the loudest place underground and a curious sight had greeted me.

A tunnel, blocked by an invisible wall, similar to one that the silent knight produced. Outside the protected space Berserker was slowly letting out a punch, after punch, shaking the barrier, the whole surrounding dungeon and thus producing the sound.

Every few hundred or so attacks the elven princess - Minnalea - was counterattacking. A beam of light was summoned, cutting Berserker’s flesh, only for it to completely regenerate a few moments later.

She was red-eyed and panicked, nothing like a noble lady I remembered from a few days ago. I could hear curses muttered under her breath and slowly setting panic. The other elves were trying their best too, but neither arrows or earth, water, and even fire magic didn’t leave a dent.

Truly a monster I gave a part of my soul to create.

[For how long are they at it?]

[Since your supposed demise, my lord.]

[And… why?]

[Berserker tries to avenge you. That knight projects the shield defending the survivors. The princess and the rest of the elves try to kill Berserker before their defense collapses.]

[And how do you know that?]

[I asked Non to scout for me.]

[And why was that needed?]

[There was commotion above and below ground. A good general knows the importance of good intelligence.]

[I cannot disagree. So tell me. What’s happening?]

[That redhaired noble--]

[Blueflame?]

[Yes. I believe that is the name. I think he is getting hanged.]

[What?!]

Go up!

Up, up, up!

Gotta see it!