4 hours of grinding later

Kyle surged and fired, evading massive crystal claws that seemingly appeared out of thin air. Zig-zagging between invisible Quartz Widows, barraging their bottom with bursts of frost. His two Golems had already been over-run, the two large foxes were surrounded by the gigantic pests as the spiders bit and clawed away at their thick carapace.

Lilior was still flying around, evading as Quartz Widows leapt up at her or fell from the ceiling. With keen aim she’d fire off a single arrow at each aggressor, each arrow either cleaving off a leg or sometimes killing a Quartz Widow instantly on a head shot.

Karnage on the other hand was on a war-path, expertly dancing around the large spider’s legs, chipping away at their claws every second with lightning fast slashes and stabs in a never-ending dance.

“There’s too many!” exclaimed Karnage as she evaded an invisible clawed leg, the lightning surrounding her body sparked all over the place allowing her to sense the slightest movement around her.

“Master we should retreat!” agreed Lilior as she flew out of the way of two falling monsters, letting go of another arrow as she did and cleaving off one of the spider’s legs.

Kyle dared a glance at his Golems as he used his senses to evade the spider’s attacks, he could tell where each one was even if it stood behind him or several meters away. Not even invisible anymore several dozen spiders were gathered around each Golem, slowly tearing away at their black-red carapace.

He grimaced as he counted the monsters around them, at least five spiders were focused one each one of them with two dozen surrounding his Golems and several more watched from the side lines. They were surrounded and severely outnumbered, what made things worse was that Kyle couldn’t get any (Chilled Aura) points up. These dungeon monsters were only created minions like his own Golems after all and felt neither fear or hatred.

“We’ll retreat then!” replied Kyle as he turned towards his Golems “Follow me!” he exclaimed and surged upwards, sensing three spiders leaping up after him he quick surged to spin around mid-air and aimed both [Gatling Slime]s ahead and downwards “Explosive Abandon!”

As two of the spiders blurred out of invisibility, revealing long sharp crystalline claws and wide open mandibles Kyle’s two cannons suddenly shone a bright blue before an ear shattering sound echoed throughout the cavern. Both cannons exploded outwards with a mass of frost propelling Kyle backwards and sending all three spiders crashing back down to the ground with enough force that one died on impact.

As Kyle flew through the air what remained of his cannons dissipated, he watched as Lilior quickly flew down her legs morphed into a serpentine tail which wrapped around Karnage’s waist. The Fae changed her course quickly, re-ascending and surging along with her new load.

Kyle sensed as each spider that was aggroed to the three of them gave chase, the entire horde forming around the spiders already harassing his Golems. Kyle could only smile coldly as Spirit suddenly burst out of his arms, the misty blue rays of energy rushed downwards until each landed over a Golem who’s eyes suddenly began to shine just as brightly.

The eyes that Kyle had made out of (Spirit) slime.

The slime quickly absorbed the Spirit, beginning to expand inwards and rapidly but as it did Kyle willed the slime to change from (Spirit) to (Elder Frost). Kyle watched as his Golems bubbled and grew, the moment he felt his back crash into the stone pillar he summoned slime out of his legs and arms to hold on.

He watched from his perch as the Golems completely lost their original form, turning to three times their previous mass within seconds. He waited as the spiders all chased after them, seeing him holding onto the pillar every single one -other than those already targeting the expanding Golems- rushed towards him.

He paid close attention to his detection skills, waiting for the opportune moment “Condensed Slime…” Kyle chanted as his smile grew, the masses of bubbling blue slime suddenly shrunk down a few layers and solidified. Locking in place any Quartz Widow that had been trying to tear into the gooey substance.

Once Lilior had flown to hover by his side Kyle summoned a wall of muddy slime to cover them…The moment came and Kyle quickly chanted, his smile now a full-fledged grin “Draconic Fracture!” He watched as the muddy wall formed, the masses of blue condensed slime shone brightly before suddenly and rapidly the entirety of their surfaces cracked and shattered followed by two explosions of sheer frost.

The explosions expanded outwards instantly covering the area with frost, almost reaching up as high as they had been perched up at. Like a cold white-blue cloud the explosions settled below them, the sound of quickly cooling air crackling nearby. Slowly the frost fell, dispersing further and further on the ground until finally the scene was revealed with a few inches of frost still covering the floor.

Dozens of massive spiders that were closest to the explosions were turned to shards of frozen flesh, the rest behind them had half or more of their bodies covered in ice and were struggling to break out. Lowering his shield of muddy slime Kyle watched as several spiders began bursting out of their frozen bindings.

“I thought we were retreating!” Exclaimed Karnage with a chuckle.

“We don’t leave survivors.” said Kyle before he morphed his hands into slime while still holding onto the pillar with clawed (Monstrous) slime digging into the stone and crystal. He dispersed the slime connected to his feet and quickly he descended down, his arms elongating as slime until finally he reached the bottom.

Kyle counted seven Quartz Widows still alive, six once Lilior let loose an arrow killing the spider that had broken out of its icy cage.

He let go of the pillar, allowing his long tentacle arms to fall briefly before lunging forward with them. The two tentacles expanded and separated into a total of six, each one slamming into a spider, each creature busy struggling with the ice that covered them.

The tentacles expanded again, growing to cover each spider’s head while growing several tendrils to entangle around their legs. This alone would not keep the spiders restrained. On the other hand it gave Kyle exactly what he needed, physical contact.

He focused on each mass of slime and tentacle, changing their make to several different colourings and types. Slowly stacking debuff after debuff on each spider. As he did so Lilior hovered down to his side, letting go of Karnage she held up her bow and began firing quick shots taking out any clawed leg that wasn’t restrained.

Karnage rushed forward, also working on doing the same.

Before long each spider’s head and leg-shoulders were covered in violet (Vampiric) slime, black (Cursed) slime, dark blue (Elder Frost) slime, dark red (Elder Flame) slime and light greenish (Acid) slime. The spiders began to struggle more fiercely as their faces melted to the flame and acid, the flesh freezing to the frostbite, rotting to the cursed or dissipating to the life-draining vampiric.

Kyle felt his mana bar slowly regenerate, his health was still full as he made it his first priority not to get hit. He didn’t think he’d survive a single claw. “Time to end it.” He said with an exhausted sigh “Devou-”

Suddenly each spider shattered and burst into sparks of light, quickly dissipating into mana.

“That was quick, what did you do?” asked Karnage as she sheathed her swords, looking like she hadn’t even shed a drop of sweat.

“That…wasn’t me.” said Kyle as he turned to Lilior who shook her head, quickly he gathered his slime letting it form around him defensively as he glanced around “If it wasn’t me…and it wasn’t either of you…”

Suddenly the ground began to quake, as each pillar in sight began to descend into the ground.

“It’s the Dungeon…” said Lilior as she glanced around like everyone else.

Once all the pillars had sunk down into the ground they could see several hundred other delvers, yet no monster was in sight.

“What’s going on?” asked Karnage as she spotted Zaahr and the others rushing towards them.

“Kyle!” exclaimed a voice out of nowhere making an already jumpy Kyle hop back a step.

“Jacky?” said Kyle as he took his VCD out of the inventory window “What’s going on?”

“Get moving back to the top! I’ll explain on the move!” Jacky told him through the device, it’s vision blurred as the assassin ran at full speed.

Kyle glanced at the gathering guild leaders “Something’s wrong, Jack will explain on the way.” He gestured for them to follow and the entire group began to run towards the single pillar remaining within the cavern. The staircase.

“I just got contacted by Birse.” Jacky began to explain “They encountered Orcish raiding parties invading the Ogre’s borders. Just a few moments ago, the Wood Elf court’s navy began to move as well which probably caused this Dungeon’s distress.”

“Move? Are they retreating?” asked Kyle as they reached the staircase, rushing by several confused warriors as they began their climb.

“Yes and no.” responded Jacky as he finally appeared into the device’s view, he was standing outside the dungeon already “Mer scouts indicate twice as much movement from Il’tel, the Elven continent. Kyle the Elven courts are all regrouping their numbers, for what I’m not entirely sure of yet…”

“Do they plan to start a full invasion of Ruk?” asked Zaahr from a few steps behind him.

“They wouldn’t dare, in total the alliance outnumbers the Elven Empire right now.“ Jacky was mumbling now, seemingly talking to himself more so than them. ”With the mountain range that is Northern Ruk, the defences the Dwarves and Dezol already have set up alongside the Avian and Mer’s capability to be here before they can…And our capability to portal the rest of Esfelt’s forces here?”

“Then maybe they are moving to invade Hasharr? To wipe out the Ogres before they can fully join up with us?” offered Vain who was nearby Jacky on the other side of the call.

At that point the VCD switched to someone else “No if they are to invade somewhere other than Ruk.” Began Birse who had just connected to their devices “Each three courts will move on Barik.”

“Shit! The others! The respawn points!” swore Dherik as he struggled to keep up with the rest, his short dwarven feet aching with the spiralling staircase.

“Birse! Are you sure?!” Asked Jacky as he grimaced.

“I am, the bulk of the alliance’s forces lie on Ruk. Barik is a far easier target, the Dezol will be unable to transfer enough troops onto Barik even with the use of portals before it’s too late…” Birse sighed as he stared into the VCD, a sand storm raging around him “The Empire doesn’t even need to invade Barik, they can just level it to the ground from the shore. So at most they will be facing the Mers, the Avians, the Esfeltian Griffin and Pegasi riders alongside what little Mageks we have available…”

“It will be a one-sided massacre…” mumbled out Zaahr.

“They plan to scatter the Dezol’s allies before turning their focus on the Dezol themselves.” Added Jacky as his grimace only turned uglier “Birse what do we do?”

Birse remained silent for several moments.

“Birse! What the hell do we do?!” suddenly exclaimed Rico, appearing behind Jacky and looking into the VCD.

Birse sighed “Initiate operation LR…” he cut his connection.

Kyle was staring into the VCD as he quickly climbed, he watched as Jacky’s eyes briefly widened before he regained his composure. Rico and Vain were by his side, now looking at him in confusion.

“Jacky what does he mean?” asked Vain.

Jacky’s eyes went cold and he cut the connection.

Kyle could only grimace as he glanced back at the others “I don’t know what that means either.” He told them, turning to look forward again and quickening his footsteps.

“He’s got a plan right? At least we know that…” mumbled out Karnage after a minute of climbing the stairs, several moments later they reached the top.

Nobody was around except for Jacky’s party, Rico, Vain and Jane standing behind him whispering and seemingly arguing. When they noticed them each one immediately stopped speaking and Jacky gestured Kyle over.

As Kyle and the rest approached Jacky stepped forward “Kyle, Lilior we’re leaving, the rest of you do whatever but we’re going. Alone.” His tone was strict, more serious than his usual.

Kyle glanced between him and the other three, each one of them was anxious, he also sensed a mix of guilt and anger. “What is operation LR?” he asked Jacky.

Jacky glanced between him and Lilior “Nothing for them to hear, just you two. Let’s go.” He began to turn around when Kyle suddenly grabbed his arm. He glanced back, his eyes cold and wide “Don’t make this more difficult than it already is, follow, listen then bitch about later.”

Kyle was surprised by his now hostile tone but only nodded in response, letting go of his arm. He glanced back at the others, each wearing expressions of worry and confusion “Wait here…” he told Karnage before moving to follow Jacky. Lilior followed too but Rico, Vain and Jane stayed with the others, still dead silent.

Having stepped several meters away from the Adventurer’s guild Jacky finally turned around to face Kyle, he chanted something beneath his breath “Silent Barrier” and a shimmer of light suddenly engulfed them briefly before dissipating.

“Now they cannot hear us.” Jacky told both him and Lilior.

“What is operation LR?” Kyle asked again.

Jacky sighed weakly “Last resort, if all fails…if the worst comes…We switch sides.”

Lilior’s eyes widened fully “Abandon everyone?...”

Jacky nodded “To survive, yes. Birse obviously doesn’t see any other options.” He glanced at the adventurers “They are our enemies now.”

Kyle glanced back too, his eyes falling over Karnage “There has to be…anything else…there has to be something else we can do!” he exclaimed turning to look Jacky in the eye.

“Like what? You think they would switch sides with us? After getting all buddy buddy with the entire fucking continent of Barik? Which by the way is about to be deleted off the damn map?” Jacky snorted in cold amusement “Go on and offer that to them, maybe they’ll abandon those poor souls to the massacre that awaits too.”

Kyle’s silver eyes turned blue and began to glow “She’s not like me, she wouldn’t abandon them.” His voice a chilling hiss as he spoke.

Jacky smirked as he stepped to him, his cold eyes centimetres away from Kyle’s “No, she isn’t. None of them are, it is why they won’t survive. Where’d all the good shit you were talking about earlier gone off to? Because you were right then, this is no longer just about survival. This is a matter of pride.”

Kyle’s fangs and claws appeared as Frostfire frolicked the tips of his ears and tails.

Jacky’s smirk faltered back into a cold guise “You may have been called a Hero one too many times these past weeks, did it get to your head? Kid you’re a member of the Blood Pack, a reject of society that doesn’t give one single shit about anybody outside the Pack itself. Has Birse been too lenient with you new comers?” He glanced around Kyle “So choose boy, the Pack or…Her.” His eyes turned back to Kyle, locking onto him like a target.

Kyle clenched both hands into fists “I can’t do that.”

Jacky reached for his daggers “And I cannot allow you to go rogue…Not now. Because if I have to choose between the safety of one brother I barely know and several I’ve spent my life with…Where’s the choice?” Jacky glanced between cold dead eyes of the Spirit Beast and hate filled eyes of the infuriated Fae by his side.

Kyle closed his eyes as his fangs and claws morphed back to normal, as the Frostfire tendrils snuffed out. He also raised his right hand to hold Lilior back, the Fae’s wings already turned to scythes. Kyle opened his eyes now back to silver and met Jacky’s “Sly’s wish was for us to live on…not to fight between ourselves. Jacky, I won’t kill you.”

Jacky relaxed his grip on the daggers “Good choi-”

Suddenly blue slime burst out of the ground grabbing hold of Jacky’s legs and tripping him back, quickly the slime rose out to cover Jacky as more rushed out of the ground until only the assassin’s face was uncovered.

Kyle stared down at him as Jacky calmly struggled with his bindings, testing their limits. “I won’t kill you, Jacky. Because unlike you, I make my own choices.” Kyle’s eyes were cold and emotionless but nothing like his blue Spirit-filled gaze, no magic or other ability was effecting his eyes yet they brought a certain chill over the assassin who met them with his own.

“You caught me off guard…” said Jacky as he glared up at Kyle, for long chilling moments the two sustained their glares.

When suddenly Jacky’s gaze turned from murderous to amused, quickly moving into a fit of laughter “Only two people ever got the drop on me…I guess that’s three now?” He knew now Kyle could have killed him, and that much amused him.

Kyle dissipated the slime that restrained him “Birse and Sly?” he asked.

Jacky chuckled “Birse? Several times…Sly? No, never. The other person was…well it’s a long story.”

Kyle offered his hand “Then after all this, after we’ve stopped this damn war. Let’s sit down with a few drinks, then tell me this story of yours.”

Jacky smirked as he accepted his aid, Kyle pulling him back up to standing “So you do have a plan?”.

Kyle glanced back over at the others, Rico, Jane and Vain stopping the Adventurer’s guild members from approaching them “I don’t have one, I only have ideas. We both know someone, who’s better at coming up with one.”

Jacky sighed “You think you can reason with him?” he snorted at the thought “You’ve got balls.”

Kyle smiled weakly “I’ve been reasoning with the unreasonable since before this world.” He grabbed hold of the VCD that had been hanging off his belt, off a hook meant for a sword’s sheath which he did not have.

He thought of the person in question, the devices immediately connecting with each other “Birse, It’s Kyle.”

Birse sighed as he grabbed his device, after a brief moment appearing into view “I thought you’d have something to say, are you alone?”

“I’m with Jacky and I have a proposition.” replied Kyle.

“Kyle…we have at most 12 hours to use what cards we have before they are taken from us.” Said Birse solemnly “What do you have in mind? Cause I’ve looked at this from every angle, I’ve considered every possible action we could take and none end well. Even if we fought the Empire head on, we’d only be left with remnants of broken kingdoms to face Scythe’s allies.”

Birse shook his head “The Empire knows this, they aren’t just forcing our hand…they are specifically forcing yours. The last Chosen. This is how badly they want the Quest’s power.”

“But why now?” asked Kyle “After holding back for so many decades, why make such a big move now?”

“Because of us.” Simply answered Birse “Because we did what they hadn’t imagined would happen, the Alliance of Esfelt and the Dezol joining together, the Ruk rebellion to simply disappear under a single night. These two events forced their hand, now they want to force ours back.”

“No Birse, not what forced them to take action.” corrected Kyle “You’re missing the picture, the question is what held them back for all these years?”

“Their Elders council…I’ve considered that too. We don’t have the time for that route Kyle, the leaders of the courts are obviously fed up with the Elders.” Birse argued back “Before we could even request an audience with the Elders…Barik will already be gone. That is if the Ogres can even request one for us anymore.”

“But we know the reason, the Elders held the court military back from acting. So is an audience all we’d require?” Kyle questioned.

Birse sighed once more, he thought it over briefly “We have no way of knowing how badly the ties between the Empire’s military and their Elder’s council currently are…For all we know they might be at the verge of civil war or have already gone through one…Il’tel is completely locked up, we have no way in, no way to collect information from inside.”

“So what if we did have a way in? A way to go anywhere within Il’tel, no matter the danger what if we did have some way to get directly at the Elder council’s doorstep?” Kyle asked tentatively.

Birse grimaced and stared straight at Kyle “In theory if we had such a method, we could also reach the Empire military’s top brass and cut the snake’s head off. But we both know Devils can only open rifts to places they’ve already been to. And portals require a runic connection to open along with someone capable of opening a rift. No Devil will risk their lives for our one in a million-chance plan.”

Kyle glanced back at Jacky “Give me your VCD.” He told him as he held up his free hand, Birse watched with a raised brow.

Jacky shrugged, took out his VCD and handed it over to Kyle who showed it to Birse through his own “A runic connection and someone capable of opening a rift.” He repeated plainly.

“You’d die before even stepping on Il’tel’s shores.” pointed out Birse “It would take the entirety of the Dezol forces to even make it that far be it by sea or sky. Kyle you don’t know what defences those Elves have set up around their borders, I’ve been given a vague description and it’s nothing good.”

“Birse I’m a Spirit Beast, I don’t need to go by sea or sky. There is always another option, all I ask for is time!” pleaded Kyle.

“No, you’re not going alone. And Lilior does not count as enough assistance!” Birse barked back “Listen to me dammit, nobody else is getting killed…Not while I am the fucking leader!” he slammed his fist onto the same surface that his device lay on causing it to quake.

“What if I wasn’t alone, what if it wasn’t just Lilior?” Kyle reasoned, unfazed.

“How many? Who even?” Birse immediately asked in annoyed disbelief.

“Me, a Spirit Beast. Lilior, a Dungeon Fae. Soren, another Spirit Beast. Karnage, an unknown magical being with skill on par with our average fighter. And lastly my newest companion.” Kyle counted off until the last one, when suddenly a small shadow surged out of the ground behind him. The Shadow rapidly expanded, taking the shape of a large winged serpent while retaining its black foggy make “Behemoth, the first beast and devourer of souls.”

Birse stared down into his device, his expression unmoving and unreadable as he studied Kyle’s “I’d be sending three members and two unknowns into the middle of enemy territory. Then what?”

Kyle casually shrugged “We do...what we always do, we do what only we can do.”

Birse’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance as he sighed weakly “And what would that be?”

“We put an Empire into its place.” exclaimed Kyle with a wide wicked grin and cold hungering eyes that matched the hulking shadow beast behind him.