When I woke up the following morning, I felt horrible. Because an extreme amount of discomfort emanated from Indella. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened as potion sickness had been a thing in the game as well. By this point, it didn’t surprise me at all. I helped her to her feet, as she looked at me with a pained expression. *What I get for trying to impress everyone by going beyond what I should be able to do, I suppose.*

She gave a pained grin that quickly turned to a grimace. I just shook my head. “You didn’t need to go that far-” suddenly the entire dungeon shook violently and sent a mental warning message.

That could not be good. “Indella get on, NOW” she looked at me for a few moments before dragging herself onto my back. I was in the air the moment I felt she was secure and set off towards the Fort. I could hear the sound of battle inside the Deep Labyrinth. Hazalaar and a strange purple skinned creature that I could only barely recognize as Ezekiel were fighting off several monstrous creatures of varying sizes and forms.

Some looked like a mix of man and beast, others were just a chaotic mess of limbs and mouths. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to their look. There were also small, winged and big-eared ones that I guess could be Imps. Decidedly demons, at least Hazalaar seemed to be enjoying itself, as each swing of Heartseeker killed a Demon if not more. While the Terrorgeist seemed utterly unconcerned with its own safety, it attacked mindlessly even though the demons clearly didn’t give a damn about Terror.

Despite a temporarily vast numerical advantage, they would not live long as the other inhabitants of this place were attracted to the clamor of battle. And while the Demons were impervious to Terror, Deathtouch quickly proved to be effective as the first swarm of Typhoid rats fell on them, followed by a score more.

They were quickly followed by Black Oozes, who quickly managed to organize the fight into a bloodbath thanks to Cooperation. The Demons were in way over their heads, yet they just kept coming.

This would clearly be a question of which side would run out of stuff first, which in this case would likely be the demons unless something changed drastically.

The fort was also doing equally well if not better. When I arrived the Duergar were busy with cleanup. The demons who had appeared there had done so in the middle of the expanse between the fort and the tunnel leading into the mini maze to the stairs.

Unfortunately for the Demons, the Duergar on the wall were always expecting trouble. So, the moment the first one materialized, the guards sounded the alarm and opened fire on them. This sent a literal rain of lethal Starsilver Crossbow bolts down on them, followed by banishing spells from the Priests.

I landed in the fort, Indella was in no state to continue riding. Besides, I needed better mobility to assess what in the world was going on in a timely manner. “Indella get to the priests, see if they can get you something for the potion sickness”

She looked at me for a few moments, then nodded. *Be careful, ok?* I smiled and gave my own nod in response. As she was helped towards the temple by one of the blacksmiths, I dissolved into mist and flew into the mini labyrinth.

There were no demons here, but given the huge amount of mending walls, this was likely not the case recently. Which meant the Depths Worms had been feasting on them.

Well, that meant the 3rd floor was holding, for now. I held little doubt that this was just a probing attack to test the dungeon’s defenses. I was honestly surprised no demon had entered the Core room. Maybe a limitation?

. Oh, well, I focused on the task at hand once more; I had no time to worry about Hazalaar being defeated right now.

The sight that met me was a surprising one, dead Demons. There were about a dozen of them, all without a single scratch on them were at the door leading to the third floor. I could only surmise they had decided to pilfer some tomes from the library and the wards had done their job. Note to self, don’t piss off the invisible Librarian.

There was no sign of any books, however, so someone else had also been in here to retrieve them. The Hive itself was agitated, but secure. There were no demons in sight, though Talka informed me a bunch had appeared in her hive, and had promptly gotten buried under Swarmlings and Striders.

There were also several more fighting her Hive throughout the 2nd floor, though no more demons had materialized inside the hive itself. So, all floors were under siege then. Not good at all. The lake area was clear of demons, I didn’t even need to guess why, my Brothers would likely just annihilate the demons as they arrived there. If nothing else, through sheer size and mass difference.

Or, I thought as the waters suddenly exploded and an absolutely gigantic serpent like demon was flung onto the shore with my Brothers following shortly after. They tore into it with teeth and claws, then just as it started to fight back they blasted it with their strange energy, destroying it utterly.

“SiStEr, We HaVe ThIs PlAcE CoVeReD, gO SuPpOrT tHe OtHeRs.” Well, it was not like I stood a chance against enemies that big anyhow, so I was more than willing to take them up on that suggestion.

I sped off towards the Kobold village. The sound of fighting was growing louder as I neared, despite the constant din of the Striders and demons fighting throughout the floor.

The Umbral Spiders had proven their worth ten times over, though. With about a dozen winged demons caught in their webs along with several who did not have wings, all fighting against their inevitable demise. Using fire to escape would not get them out of those webs, heck it would only serve to feed the spiders more light.

The Kobold Village had taken a severe beating, if it wasn’t for Rael and his party the damage would have likely been catastrophic. Several Kobolds were heavily injured, and a few would likely need resurrection before the day was done, provided the Duergar Priests could even offer that Service. .

Finally, some good news in the middle of this mess. I sent a telepathic message to Indella about it. I received the reply that they would send up a group of priests and some warriors to support the village once the area was clear. Another group had manifested itself, great, round 2.

Rael and his party were still fighting a rather big, by their standards, demon, though its underlings had all been slain.

However, I was in no mood to let this play out and cause even more damage to the village. As the demon was gleefully readying a Fireball I manifested literally on top of the demon, crushing it to the ground, then promptly tore out its throat while I had it pinned.

I looked at the group, “Are you alright here?” Rael, somewhat winded, nodded stoically. “We reacted as fast as we could, but it was bad. The damn things came out of nowhere and started to toss fireballs and flame lances all over.”

I looked around, Kobolds were naturally resistant to fire and were busy putting out those that remained. But a few carried bloodied weapons, as well as bandages and other signs of emergency treatment without magic. I would have to find a way to reward them later for their bravery as they had paid a hefty price for defending their home. I looked at Rael “I have sent for Duergar priests to come and aid with the healing and in the cases where it’s needed, resurrection” I informed him.

He nodded, clearly grateful for the aid. “We can hold them off for now. But extra healing and magical support would indeed go a long way in helping out in the long run, as I doubt this is it.” I agreed with that assessment. “The entire dungeon is under attack, on all floors, simultaneously.” I replied in a total deadpan. No need to sugarcoat it. This was bad, and Rael would likely be able to act accordingly with better information.

He closed his eyes for a moment. “Then me and the party will stay in defense of the village, the little ones won’t stand a chance if the demons return.” I could not help but smile. “Thanks Rael, it’s a weight off my shoulders.” We looked at each other for another moment in mutual respect, before I dissolved once more. Time to check on Unguul.

The scene that met me was… bizarre, Demons fighting Demons, other demons dancing around and making merry. Yet others were just lying about sleeping, while Unguul himself was busy eating a particularly large Rhino looking demon. I could only surmise that the demons’ otherworldly resilience let them ignore some status ailments despite its usually penetrating effect. But not all of them. This caused total mayhem for the Demons. The smaller Eyes were making a game out of chasing Imps around, blasting them with their gazes and then eating them. “Are you guys doing ok here?” I asked as I materialized once more. The four eyes answered in their usual and by now predictable pattern.

“Hey guys, are we doing OK here?” “Of course we are doing OK, Stupid!” “You’re Stupid!” “All of you shut up. Yes, Mistress, we got this under control. They got the jump on us, but our Gaze is not something they can deal with that easily, Demon or no.” Unguul turned to me. “Unguul having fun and Demons are tasty” he used his tongue to scoop up another and started chewing happily. Yep, they had this under control. “So no one’s hurt?” I asked.

“Unguul’s smaller eyes got clawed a bunch, it hurt, but Unguul’s eyes heal.” Unguul continued to chew on different demons after responding, and it seemed happy enough so clearly no major damage was done.“Great work guys, keep up the good work.” the Eyes seemed far more motivated as I left, I almost pitied the next batch of demons who entered Unguul’s chamber, almost. It was worrisome that they could only barely disable the Demons with their gazes, though.

That could mean trouble later on, I would likely need to get Unguul some backup if things got worse or more resilient Demons showed up. I continued on as I watched the demons and Striders clash around me, both in the air and on the ground.

They were tearing each other apart with a complete disregard for their own safety; the Demons being banished and the Striders dying in large numbers. Good thing Talka’s brood could replenish as fast as it could, as the demons had a higher kill to death ratio than the Striders. But the Demons could not replenish fast enough to form a coherent attacking force, for now.

I ventured up the stairs and found a sight I had expected, but still filled me with cold dread as the first floor was overrun. Not too surprising. The Cubes and Shades were sneaky and dangerous. But these were demons, not a ragtag band of weak adventurers or puppets made to dance on the strings of a Goddess.

And while they could handle the Imps and some lesser demonic beasts. There were bigger breeds there, as well as Inlas’ Puppets. It would seem Inlas had gotten backup from somewhere.

I would need a plan to deal with this. Unless I would have far too many intruders to deal with. For when this force ventured down, I feared that the Striders would be overwhelmed. And far faster than when Rael rampaged through the floor. I triggered Magical Labyrinth and watched as several Demons got crushed as the walls shifted around them. Several more triggered traps when they tried to evade certain doom, causing chaos and mayhem in general. I moved deeper into the dungeon, I would need help to come up with a countermeasure for the intruders on the first floor. Sure the traps and the magical labyrinth could still cull them. But that alone would not stop them, not even close.

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The Core’s Dungeon was doing quite well, considering they had been attacked on all levels simultaneously and with no warning at all. Well, my darling children would only further damage the dimensional integrity as they materialized, or so it should have been. I had not really considered that the Core might have aid from Penumbra’s Firstborn. They were a dangerous lot, they supposedly slept deep underground, how irksome. Even now, they were busy thwarting my efforts, redirecting the powerful ones into their watery domain where they fell upon them with glee. It was no coincidence that they were inside that specific dungeon, I could feel it. A secret that my older sister had kept no doubt. Yes, that was it, I was certain.

So, that was why Inlas seemed so annoyed. The backlash from having one of her vessels defiled by one of those ancient and dangerous entities would weaken her for a while. Well, my children did not have that weakness.

That did not mean that this would be easy though, with the horrors forcing me to only send the weakest of my children. Lest their own tampering with the ritual would just have my children drown or be ganged up on by however many of them were in that lake.

There was one way to circumvent their tampering, but that would mean having to go about it in a roundabout fashion. Well, nothing for it. My mortal followers would eagerly give their lives to summon one of my personal champions.

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The bottle was empty. Typical, I had been the richest man in Caelyn, and now I had run out of wine to drown my sorrows. I couldn’t even afford to purchase more wine either, not that it mattered. I would not be allowed to buy wine from any seller in town, anyway. The news had spread like wildfire, as it always did when the Blacklist was updated. Within 2 hours of dawn, the entire town knew of my disgrace.

I tossed the bottle against the wall where it shattered into pieces. “Saol” Huh? I looked around. Was someone there? Oh, who was I kidding? No one would willingly step up to my porch now, not even children would play pranks on me, that’s how shunned I was.

“Saol” There it was again. What was going on? I sighed and grabbed something to eat. If I couldn’t have more wine, I might as well enjoy some food. Once I returned to the table, however, I dropped the plate of ham and cheese. There was a bottle on the table. A bottle of wine, and not some cheap stuff either, but the good stuff.

I grabbed it and started to drink. “Enjoying our gift, Saol?” I nearly choked on the wine. The voice had been coming from right behind me. I turned around. There was nothing there. “We can’t be seen, Saol, but we see, we want to help, all we ask for is help in return.” The voice sounded hopeful. However, I did not like this, the voice was giving me the chills, but… what choice did I have?

“Why do you want my help?” I asked, fearing the answer “You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, you want revenge on the Core, we can help you. You want to prove yourself to Inlas. We can show you how big a mistake that is” Before I could answer I was flung elsewhere, and I saw… I SAW!

I fell to the floor; the bottle was lying on the floor beside me, broken. I didn’t care, I laughed, that was so funny, hilarious even. So, that was why Inlas needed the Core so much, it all made sense now, Inlas had used me. I meant nothing to her, all she wanted was her precious little Core. Well, I would show her. “What do I need to do?” My new friends smiled. They were like butterflies. I could see them now, now that our paths were aligned. “We will show you.” One of them reached out a hand, I took it.

The next moment reality lost all meaning, and I descended into madness. But that was fine, the butterflies told me. Those that were sane would not survive in this place. Nor could they behold the magnificence of It without having their minds crushed by Its presence. Something wet poured out of my nose and ears, blood. Funny, it seems I still was a bit too sane for its taste.

But that was fine, I just had to give up the rest of my sanity like the butterflies kept telling me. I had to do so if I were to help It rip open the seal, so I would relinquish my mind. I would help It, I laughed. Laughed as the essence of the Void destroyed the last of my sane mind. Good riddance, I did not need it, anyway. Not anymore, not when I had such an important task.

I opened my eyes; I was lying on the floor of my Kitchen; the Butterflies were there. They guided me to my basement, to a room I did not know was there until now. Where I could do my work in peace, it would take a while. But once complete, they would pay. THEY WOULD ALL PAY WHEN IT DESTROYED THE WORLD. I laughed, no, I cackled with glee. As I started to etch the first of the runes for the ritual circle that would be used to usher It into this world.

_____________________________________________________________________________

The entire dungeon shook once more. This felt more severe. Hopefully, Pearl was fine. Problem? What probl- The scent of sulfur told me all I needed to know, another assault. But this time however it was not just demons materializing, but something huge entered via teleportation, not plane shifting. What in Penumbra’s name was that? The Archive was screaming. I could not blame it, this was beyond bad. That thing could go toe to toe with the Things and actually stand a good chance of winning.

Its appearance was abhorrent. It stood nearly 20 meters tall and was roughly humanoid in structure. Giant leathery wings protruded from its back and a long sinuous tail with a spiked mace like tip extended from its body. Its coloration was mainly a yellowish green, except on its upper wing tips, lower arms and lower parts of its legs, which instead were white. Its hands were deformed, with 7 clawed fingers crowing haphazardly on each of its palms with no real structure to it.

It’s Lion-like legs were similarly disfigured with one toe actually curling the wrong way on each of its feet. Its head was like that of a giant human skull, with a mane of white hair growing out of it. A crown of horns grew from its head and its lipless mouth were set with razor-sharp teeth and locked in a perpetual grin. Its eyes left a trail of teal light as it looked around, and it gave off an aura of pure malice and bloodlust.

The bolts of the Duergar just bounced off of its skin. It didn’t even feel it. The magic hit Barrier and just fizzled out. We had no way of damaging this thing. I reached into my own magic reserves. The Potion Sickness immediately reared its angry head at me, breaking my focus. Argh, why did it have to attack now, when I was helpless? I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. I ran out of the room, trying to cast once more. Something ANYTHING that could even be just a distraction to make it easier for the Duergar to keep it at bay. I did manage to do something alright, but it was not casting magic. Ugh, at least now my stomach was empty. I got back on track. I had to come up with something to delay it, even for a moment.

I racked my brain, but I couldn’t come up with anything. It was like a damn riddle. WAIT! That was it, riddles! The “Sphinx Curse” and “Challenge” were passives, right? Damn so much for that idea. Wait, if the problem was that we lacked a way to force the challenge then, maybe. I ran for the main temple, the Demon had not taken notice of me yet, it was too busy dealing with the priests who had marshalled to repel it. I needed time right now, time for a miracle. I entered the temple itself and as I neared the altar I slid down on my knees and started to pray. I prayed for a miracle to save the day. It was all I could do in my current state.

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The flood from the first floor was being contained, barely. I had called on a Depth Worm to deliver a Black Ooze to help, and Cooperation had allowed the brood to excel far beyond its usual limit. It helped that I had created a kill zone for the brood. Though I wish I could take credit for the plan, it was actually the dwarves who came up with it. The entire hallway leading to the stairs' room now had a hallway going parallel to it on both sides and above. Inside these tunnels were Striders, and they were shooting at the intruders through specially designed arrow slits.

This ingenious idea had stemmed the demon tide from above greatly. There just wasn’t enough room for the demons to make it through that gauntlet without getting seriously wounded at worst or just flat out killed at best. The most ironic twist to this was that this was a strategy that could essentially only be employed by someone with a primary Maze biome. Because other dungeons were not allowed to have dead-end hallways. Still, we were in trouble. The Kobold Village had been attacked twice more, though with the priests there to help out the damage had been minimal the last two attacks. That’s when Archives had gone ballistic, screaming about an Elder Demon on the third floor.

I had no clue what that was, but it sure as hell had not planes shifted in. I had received a notification of a teleportation occurring on the third floor, so that had to be the Elder Demon. Strange that it decided to Teleport in rather than just Plane Shift like the other demons. Bah, it didn’t matter, I had to find a way to deal with it and fast. That thing was far too strong for the Duergar to deal with, I had already received a rather dour casualty report.

Come on Pearl, think you have to find a way to put a stop to it all. I was drawing a blank, there was no way I could bea- wait, there was. It would be risky as all hell, but I DID share Acting Lv5 with Indella, so I should be able to pull it off, right? .

Well, it’s not like I could come up with anything better. Besides, riddles should be outside that version’s area of expertise, just like Archives was limited to just what affected me directly, right? . Well, that sucked. Time to take a gamble, I guess. Worst-case scenario, I would distract it for a moment. Wait, hang on, I suddenly had an epiphany. Could demons be compelled by using their true name? .

What followed was a bunch of syllables I could never hope to pronounce correctly. Did all elder Demons have such convoluted True Names? . Well, I might not be able to speak it, but Telepathy should be able to at least mimic the word using my memory. I had the Archives repeat the name a few times until I was sure I had it right, then I dissolved myself and moved to the third floor. It was time to put my plan into action.