Chapter 6 – There is Nothing I Loathe More than You

“Well, this will be fun.” I brought my hands up, preparing to cast a few quick-shot cantrips.

I had no idea how much Health a monster like Caiaphous would have, but I knew that if I didn’t at least try to start knocking HP off of him, Jai and I would lose the battle quickly.

“I’ll keep him on his toes.” Jiamandi hollered, rushing at the nightmarish creature.

“You do that.” My fingers went through the gestures for Fire Bolt repeatedly, launching a flurry of burning bullets at the boss, snapping them off as quickly as I could.

The blazing rounds tore through the air, leaving small, burning trails of cinder as they flew. The bolts crashed into Caiaphous’ chest, causing him to stagger, and Jiamandi was right behind them, slashing at Caiaphous with his twin swords, glowing with a dull blue light.

Caiaphous faded from sight, his physical shape turning into a shadow and melting into the ground.

The floor of the room swam a dark, eerie black, before multiple copies of the monstrosity appeared in various places.

Some were standing on the ceiling, others on the walls. A few swayed back and forth, but they all let out a raucous laugh at the same time. The sound was a cacophony that split the back of my mind, and made my skull vibrate.

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Debuff Added

Dark Laughter: The laughter of a Lesser Daemon has split the tines of your mind, causing you to be disoriented, confused, and experience periods of pain. Duration: 45 seconds.

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That explained why the room was spinning, and why my head felt like it was going to explode from the inside.

“Don’t give up.” Leese whispered to me from the place she was hiding in my rucksack, and I could feel a gentle warmth surround me.

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Buff Added

Lesser Fae’s Kiss: You have been empowered by the love of a Lesser Fae, increasing your Health, Mana, and Stamina Regeneration by 15%. Duration: 3 minutes.

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Jiamandi swung his swords through a copy of Caiaphous, but the shadowy image exploded, drenching him in liquid darkness.

“Ah, shit, that burns.” He danced around, trying to get the thick substance off of himself.

“Use spells.” I took a couple quick steps away from the wall I had been thrown against, then fired off another volley of Fire Bolts, using both hands to rapid-fire launch them across the room.

I picked every single target I could see as an impact site, hoping that at least one of the copies would be the real Caiaphous.

A dozen of them exploded, leaving puddles of inky shadow on the floor, while others simply dissolved into the ceiling and walls.

With each copy I slew, another laugh split the air.

Come now, surely you don’t think I would make it this easy. Caiaphous spoke directly into my mind, sending shivers down my spine.

“Of course not.” I turned around, then performed a series of gestures for Scorch, aiming for the wall that was directly behind me.

The stones, when I looked, seemed unusual and slightly out of place.

I finished the casting, and flung both of my hands out forward, ready to incinerate the stone wall at worst, and douse Caiaphous in flame at best.

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Spell: Scorch

Through control of Fire, you are able to produce a powerful, explosive fan of flames from the palms of your hands, scorching everything in a cone in front of you, and dousing the area in liquid fire. Through concentration, you are able to maintain the flames, increasing the mana spent per second, but also allowing you to move about.

Spell Category: Fire Magic

Spell Class: Tier I

Spell Cost: 165 MP for Initial Burst, then 7 MP/Second afterwards.

Casting Time: 10 Seconds

Range: 25 Feet

Effect: Deals 45 Fire Damage per Second to targets within the cone of concentration.

Effect 2: Liquid Flame

Liquid Flame: Targets caught in the initial blast of Scorch suffer an additional 3 Fire Damage per second due to the clinging nature of the flames. Duration: 30 seconds after the concentration period ends.

A bit of flame here, a dose of Napalm there, and we have chaos. Nothing better. ~Jenk, Flame Dancer

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The flames burst from my palms, soaking the entire wall in flame. It washed up the wall nearly to the ceiling, and poured down onto the floor, nearly setting my boots on fire.

I stepped back, using the concentration to move slowly, while I continued to just wash the entire wall in fire.

The copies of Caiaphous roared and moaned, popping one after another, erupting into puddles of shadow, until finally the real one stepped out of the illusion, holding his terrifyingly long arms up, trying to shield himself from my flames.

“Uh-huh.” I clenched my teeth, pushing more focus into the spell as it poured over the creature, burning its clothing away, revealing just empty shadow beneath.

Jiamandi leapt at the opportunity and launched a series of spells at the creature as well, knocking him around until he tumbled to the floor.

I pushed more Mana into the spell, forcing it to burn hotter, more intensely, until Caiaphous looked up at me and I saw a horrible, broken-toothed grin split its empty face vertically.

I stepped backward, losing focus, the spell ending abruptly.

“Grimm?” Leese’s voice echoed from behind me, gently.

The world was wash in darkness, then I was sitting in the dining room chair at my apartments, a small, sleeping Fae resting in the middle of the table.

“Who are you, I wonder?” I asked the sleeping Fae, who didn’t respond.

Her body was badly beaten, her clothes were tattered, and one of her wings was clipped off, but I had managed to rescue her from the Hellhound.

Using my limited knowledge of Fae magic, I inscribed a Runic Circle of Holding into the base of a small jar and laid her on top of it.

Then I put the bell jar on top, sealing it with a quick twist of the Runic Circle.

“I loathe you.” Leese’s voice said, from the darkness that surrounded my chair, the table, and the empty space everywhere. “There’s nothing I loathe more than you.”

“I saved you.” I argued, pointing a hand toward the bell jar, where I knew Leese slept.

It would be weeks before she had healed, and I provided her with the needed Mana to heal her own wounds.

“You enslaved me.” Leese’s broken body stood up and stared at me, giving me the middle finger, among other rude gestures.

“I did what I had to do.” Snapping my fingers, I let out a small amount of power that was intended to silence her, but the magic simply swirled around the jar.

“You took me away, you used my knowledge, and you locked me in a cage I could never hope to escape from.” Leese’s body grew in size until she was too large for the jar to hold.

The glass shattered, exploding outward. I was peppered with glass.

I wasn’t able to get my hand in front of my face fast enough to block the shards, and I could feel slivers of glass puncture my eyes.

My arm was shredded to the bone, my eyes were blinded. Everything was agony.

I could feel the intense force of Leese standing over me, her body likely now absolutely enormous. Her foot undoubtedly on its way to crush my skull for all of the things I had done to her and her kind.

“Snap out of it, you moron.” A hard, metallic slap brought me back to my senses and Jiamandi had a hold of my body, his armor torn and dented, but his gauntled hand ready to strike me again.

“What the fuck.” I shook my head, feeling the sting of the slap, and the likely broken bones in my face, along with a wash of debuffs sitting in the corner of my vision.

They blasted me like a waterfall as soon as I came to.

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Debuffs Added

Fractured Arm: Your left arm has been fractured. You are unable to cast Wizard Spells that require both hands, and cannot effectively use a weapon that requires two hands. Duration: 4 minutes.

Shredded Flesh: Your flesh has been shredded by a powerful attack, causing you to bleed 4 HP/second. Duration: 45 seconds.

Partial Blindness: You have been partially blinded, reducing your visual acuity by 64%. Duration: 3 minutes

Shattered Mind: Your mind has been partially consumed by a Daemonic Entity, resulting in minor loss of memory, confusion, disorientation, and a locking out of some of your available Wizard Spells. Duration: 2 Minutes.

Exposed Soul (Dark): You have been shown what you truly fear most in the world, beyond even the Underneath itself, and will periodically forcibly cower in fear. Duration: 5 Minutes.

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Upon finishing the list of debuffs, the forced cowering took over, and I fell to the ground, suddenly crying and sobbing. It felt very strange and very real, and I was horrified of the reality of the entire process, because I had no control whatsoever.

“You’ve got to get it together. He’s at less than half health.” Jiamandai said, trying to pick me up from the ground and get me to stand on my own feet.

“No, I can’t. I can’t face it again.” My mind reeled, and I struggled to find words to accompany my thoughts. Everything felt like it was melting, falling apart, the entire world was collapsing in on itself.

“Drink this, you dumbass.” Jiamandi shoved a small, glowing, blue vial into my hands and, mustering up all of the willpower I could, I took it.

I forced the cork off the top and slammed the vial back, drinking the contents all at once.

A wash of coolness poured over me, and the trembling, sobbing and cowering stopped.

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Potion of Cure Fear

Potion Type: Elixer

Potion Level: 5

Potion Class: Rare

Ingredients:

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Manufacturing Time: Uknown

Required Level: Alchemy Level 7

Effect: Removes all Fear-Inducing effects from the imbiber.

Effect 2: Prevents Fear-Inducing effects from taking hold of the imbiber for 20 minutes.

Not everyone is immune to fear. Once your greatest fears are exposed, it’s only a matter of time before they are used against you. ~Potions Master Edward, High Alchemist

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“Giant baby.” Jiamandi said, rolling his eyes behind his damaged helmet.

“Whoa, whoa, who saved who the first time?” I asked while getting myself to my feet and brushing myself off.

My HP was low, down to seventy-five. I had no idea how I had taken so much damage so quickly, even with Liquid Armor active.

The power of a Level Twelve Dungeon Lord was intense. I wanted that power for myself.

“How’s your Health?” I nodded to Jiamandi while working on a spell with my right hand.

“Not great, but manageable.” He replied, while recollecting his swords from the ground.

“What’s not great?” I continued to cast, changing my intended spell from a damaging spell to a Summoning spell. We needed backup.

“Below twenty-five percent.” Jiamandi was being vague, and I didn’t doubt it was intended to prevent me from just blasting him from behind. Smart.

I finished the summoning, using just a single arm to complete the spell, reducing its effectiveness by fifteen percent, and increasing its cost by twenty-five percent. But I had mana to spare, and I didn’t care. I just needed a distraction.

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Underneath Summon: Ghoul

Considering the efforts used to summon creatures from the Underneath, a Ghoul is merely a weakling, with a high Mana Cost in order to pull them from the Darkness. They will fight by your side, until they either die, are dismissed, or have had enough of their time on this side of the Veil.

Summon Type: Tier I

Creature Type: Undead

Mana Cost: 155 MP, plus 10% Max Mana to maintain summon

Casting Time: 66 seconds

Creature Stats: Caster’s Level +1

Creature Abilities:

Rend: Attacks with claws, dealing 10-25 Dark Damage to a single melee target

Shred: Deals deep, bleeding wounds with tooth or claw, causing the target to bleed for 3-7 HP/sec. Duration: 10 Seconds

Bile: Vomits a puddle of toxic bile on the target, dealing 25-35 Dark Damage, with a 33% chance to poison the target. Cooldown: 20 Seconds

Explode: Through a series of command words, each being different from the previous Ghoul, the Summoner can cause their Ghoul to explode, dealing what remains of their total HP in Dark Damage to all creatures nearby.

Cooldown: 24 hours

Materials: Flesh, Blood, Hair, Nails

It’s not everyday that you see Necromancers anylonger. Why? Because the cost to have an army of the Undead went way up, once the Underneath discovered they could charge by the pound. ~Dark Wizard, Astorius

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The damaged flesh, dripping blood, hair, and fingernails of my left arm dissolved into the air, like dust, and a twisted, broken runic circle appeared on the ground in front of me.

From the center of the circle came a hand, then an arm, then a body. Eventually, a vaguely human-like creature pulled itself out of the circle.

It was broken, bent in odd ways, and decaying, but it was a Ghoul, and that was what I needed.

“Go.” I gave the command, and the creature looked around for a second before leaping off, heading toward Caiaphous.

Jiamandi was already engaged with him again, so I had no problem standing back for a moment and letting my newly minted monstrosity work for me while I regenerated my health, and let some of my debuffs fall off.

After I had regained the use of my arm, I targeted Caiaphous with Soul Flare, and began the long, lengthy casting time.

I closed my eyes and hoped that it would be enough to at least end Caiaphous. And if Jiamandi was caught in the splash from the explosion, that was just as well.

The casting finished, and the black bolt of flame arced away from me, hurtling toward the three individuals who were fighting.

Blood slicked the floor beneath Caiaphous, but he kept his footing.

One of his eyes flicked toward the gigantic ball of black flame and, for a moment, I thought I saw fear.

But it focused back on Jiamandi and my Ghoul, which was already down to half health, giving it about a hundred-forty HP.

Dissolve. I thought in my mind, igniting the first of the three command words required to cast Explode.

The Soul Flare was nearly to its target.

Flesh. The second command word lit up in my mind like a fire, and the Ghoul itself began to turn an eerie blood red.

Soul Flare smashed into the middle of the three combatants, erupting in a dark blast of flame, consuming everything around it.

Eternally. The third command word lit in my mind, and the Ghoul, or what was left of it, exploded violently.

Blood, gore, pieces of flesh and bone, and half of its head soared past me, spattering the walls, ceiling, and floor of the room.

A large blood smear, where the Ghoul had been standing, was all that remained of it.

Jiamandi was leaning against a nearby wall, sitting up, breathing heavily.

Caiaphous was nowhere to be seen, aside from a smudge on the ground where he had been standing moments ago.

“Got ‘im.” Jiamandi said, his voice thick and full of blood.

“Yeah, we did.” I leaned down next to him and pulled one of my daggers from my belt.

“So, this was the plan all along.” Jiamandi chuckled, then spat blood on the floor.

He would have died anyway, no sense in letting the bonus get away.

“I wouldn’t say it was the plan all along.” I shoved the dagger deep into his exposed gut, then twisted it, before gesturing and sending a firebolt directly into his core.

“I owe you.” He sputtered before the light in his eyes went out, his AMHUD chirping the resurrection countdown.

“No, I owe you a drink.” I said, running my hand over his eyes and closing them.

There was something horribly unnerving about seeing a dead person staring at you, regardless of knowing they were very much dead.

I’m not finished yet. Caiaphous laughed in my head, the sudden intrusion causing me to fall to my knees.

A shadowy apparition appeared before me, completely human. It had long black hair and most of its face was scorched away, revealing a bleached white skull beneath.

“Well, well, well.” Caiaphous stood before me, looking down at the dagger I still held, covered in Jiamandi’s blood. “Finally did the deed.”

“You dirty shit.” I stood up quickly, holding the dagger out, stepping toward Caiaphous, who I recognized as a previous member of the Dark Wizard’s Guild.

He was the old Dark Magic master, Armenius. Everyone had thought he had died in a Dungeon Raid gone wrong.

“Calm yourself, Grimm.” Armenius, Caiaphous, whatever he was called, put his hands up and slowly backed away.

“Why? You put me through absolute Underneath.” I shook the dagger at him and he shook his head in response.

“I was preparing you.” Armenius said, narrowing his eyes.

“For what? To murder Jai, or to slaughter Cinza? What about all of the Wizards who died trying to take this stupid mission?” I was furious.

“To take over the dungeon.” Armenius said, his eyes unfocusing, then refucosing. “Looks like I’ve got about two minutes, so I’ll make it quick.”

“Make what quick?” I wasn’t following.

Armenius snapped his fingers, and the room shifted, changing from the elongated throne room that he had just beaten us down in, to a small, ornately decorated throne room. A large seat adorned a small dais, where a Kiosk was attached to the side of the chair.

“If you want this dungeon, you’ve already killed my Persona, so you simply have to wait until I die. Once the Persona is killed, the Avatar has three minutes to either pass on the dungeon, or flee to respawn. This is my chamber.” Armenius gestured to the room as a whole.

“Wait, hold on. Are you saying I finished the quest?” I tilted my head, forgetting the dagger in my hand.

“You did, yes. Ah, time is almost up. I suppose I should ex—” Armenius was cut off as I plunged the dagger into his throat.

“You abandoned me to Cinza. You left the Guild. I looked up to you, and you were here!?” I pulled the dagger from his neck and jabbed it into his chest over and over again.

“Everything I ever wanted was to be you, and here we are!” Madness had taken over me, and I wanted nothing more than to just annihilate everything.

There were so many betrayals, so many backstabbings, so many things that had gone wrong in my life, that led to this moment. Most of them were caused by, or orchestrated at the behest of, Armenius.

“You sonuvabitch.” I spat as he fell to the floor, clenching his ruined throat, blood pouring through his interlaced fingers.

“How many more, Grimm?” Leese asked, flitting out of my ruck and floating in front of me as I stared down at Armenius’ twitching body.

“Until none remain.” I said, my eyes wild, my mind on fire, my desires driving my decisions.

“There’s a bonus quest, you know.” Leese said, her voice quiet and worried. “It involves a Fae.”

“No.” I said, shaking my head and sheathing my dagger. “I won’t sacrifice you.”

“It wasn’t a request, just a reminder.” Leese sat elegantly on the edge of the throne arm, her face downturned.

“Is it what you want?” I knelt at the front of the throne so I would be at eye level with her.

“Could I be free then?” She asked, hope filling her face for a moment. “Would you let me do as I pleased?”

“Within reason.” I answered with a half-smile.

I took a seat at the throne and pulled up the Mission interface, looking at the details that remained.

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Mission: Assault on the Eldritch Temple – In Progress

Mission: Assault on the Eldritch Temple

Briefing: The Eldritch Temple, within the Blighted Territory to the north of Adelor. The Temple itself has fallen into disrepair, and will require modifications. However, the individual who can destroy the Temple Lord and claim the Throne of Horror will be rewarded with control of the Temple, allowing them to expand their influence and take control of the surrounding area. Expect heavy resistance from fellow Wizards and Witches. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Objective: Claim the Throne of Horror from the Eldritch Lord, taking your seat as a Dungeon Lord. (Complete)

Secondary Objective: Kill 5 Fellow Wizards or Witches to cement your power (Complete)

Bonus Objective: Enslave 1 Fae to the Dungeon (Incomplete)

Expected Payout: Unknown

EXP Payout: Unknown

Time Allowed: 59 hours, 19 minutes.

Job Restriction: None

Accept: In Progress

Do you wish to complete this quest? Yes/No

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I selected no, then looked at Leese one last time.

“You’re sure?” I put my hand out and Leese hopped into it.

“I don’t expect you’ll ever truly free me of your own will, so it’s the best hope I have.” Leese said with a smirk.

“This might hurt.” I told her, bringing her up to my face.

“I know, love.” She leaned forward and kissed the edge of my nose. “But that’s okay. I’ll always have you.”

I sat down in the throne, pulled the Kiosk in front of me, and placed Leese on top of it. I pulled open the Dungeon Interface, having no idea what to expect.

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Eldritch Halls of Horror – Dungeon Level: 12

This Interface will provide you, the Dungeon Lord, with simple, quick interactive options to improve, modulate, or alter your dungeon layout, monster complement, and supplies. It will also provide you with various options to organize resources and summon Heroes or Daemons to improve your dungeon.

Welcome, Dungeon Lord _ERROR_

The following Options are available to you:

Summon Monsters (LOCKED)

Format Dungeon (LOCKED)

Change Dungeon Name (LOCKED)

Gather Dungeon Resources (LOCKED)

Change Monster Types (LOCKED)

Open Dungeon to Heroes (LOCKED)

Teleport out of Dungeon (LOCKED)

Sacrifice Fae as Dungeon AI

~Please make your Selection~

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Being the only choice I had, I chose to sacrifice Leese.

She smiled at me as I selected the option, then she collapsed to her knees, screaming.

A beam of light appeared from underneath her out of the kiosk, pulling her apart at the seams. Pieces of her body dissolved like ash and were pulled up into the light above.

She put her hand against the inside of the beam of light and screamed as her voice disappeared, becoming a digitization.

After more than two minutes of this horror, all that remained of her was her hand, and the sound of her screaming in the back of my mind, until finally even her hand dissolved, and the light cut off.

A notification popped up in my face, pushing everything else out of my mind.

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Faery Absorption Complete. Dungeon AI is now Leese 1.0. Goodbye.

>>>

The interface vanished and the lights that previously had lit the room started to go out, one at a time

The darkness encroached quickly, leaving me alone in the abject horror of my own mind, waiting to see what happened next. And my mind, as dark as it is, was quick to jump to innumerable conclusions.