Dumpus emerged from the bathroom and swelled up to fill the room with a forest of slapping tentacles. A pair of fiery red eyes locked onto Maygan.

“I am free,” Dumpus roared. Reaching full size in the hallway, it shook itself like a wet dog showering the hallway with dark, wet filth. It slapped its slime tentacles against the floor as if taunting Maygan into a fight.

Maygan ducked and weaved around the tentacles that reached for her. A tentacle moved close and Maygan sliced with Hon and Koga, severing the tentacle limbs from the main body. Dumpus roared with each attack.

“Stand still, so I can crush you,” Dumpus commanded. The remaining tentacles failed to strike the evasive target.

“I’ve seen enough tentacles for a lifetime,” she said moving closer to the furious Dumpus. In a blur of motion she dashed towards the demon’s midsection, and in a criss-crossing motion struck at the beast with both Hon and Koga. The blades moved through the wet flesh with ease. Dumpus shrieked, its body sliding apart in opposite directions, its tentacles flailing around without direction, like an out of control sprinkler, showering the walls with unspeakable liquid. The beast crashed to the floor in a wet splat, cries of disbelief fading into bubbly gurgles.

Maygan’s cyborg body held the pose of the death blow for dramatic effect. Lines of unspeakable filth followed the contours of Maygan’s blades, dripping splat splat splat onto the tile floor. As the pools of sewage sloshed against the walls of the hallway, Maygan stood tall, impressed by her own efficiency. “Brilliant. Simply wonderful,” she said to Hon and Koga as she held them before her. She spotted her pack left on the bench and moved to retrieve it. It was time for the Compendium Terminus to feast on the leftovers.

“Remember, this one is mine,” Maygan said to her swords.

“Your swords are fierce,” a deep wet voice said. It sounded as if the voice came from all directions. “Against weaklings.” The voice laughed as the watery remains of Dumpus stopped sloshing against the walls, and pulled toward the center of the hallway. It moved as if guided by an invisible force. The liquid coagulated, piling upon itself, like a chocolate soaked stack of pancakes. The tower grew tall, sprouting new tendrils and branches. Dumpus had been reconstituted, as if nothing had happened.

“Maygan 4, you are not the fearsome warrior I expected. If we knew what a weakling you were, I would have happily destroyed you long ago.” Bursts of sticky brown goo shot out from its tentacles.

Maygan gripped the edge of a nearby decorative table and flipped it onto its side. She vaulted over it, just as the barrage of goo rocketed overhead. A massive tentacle swooped where she had been, the fowl air whooshing behind it. The tentacle struck the wall just beyond, cracking the masonry.

“Dumpus is stronger than I imagined. We might need assistance, ” Maygan said to her swords. She breathed hard while her eyes searched the hallway for an advantage to exploit.

A tentacle snaked around the edge of the table, grabbing onto Maygan’s outstretched leg. With a downward slice, Hon severed the tentacle from the body, instantly turning to liquid. But the detached filth slid across the floor on its own power, rejoining the body again.

Maygan’s table slid violently across the floor, pushing her up against the wall. Two tentacles shoved against the table, pushing hard until the table creaked and began to splinter. Maygan sliced with Koga to sever the two tentacles. But they too oozed back to Dumpus to rejoin the main body. Maygan leapt out from beneath the table, now standing fully exposed to the demon.

Three tentacles shot towards her. She cut the first one clean as butter, the second she deflected with a slicing blow, but the third caught her right in the chest, throwing her hard against the wall. She slumped to the ground.

“I’m not sure I can contain this one,” she said in a low voice. “Koga and Hon, I’m sorry but you are not powerful enough yet. Not after what happened to you.” The swords glowed bright as if angry with her words. She got up slowly, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slow.

“You can’t contain me,” Dumpus shouted. “You and your silly swords can’t silence me!” Dumpus opened its mouth and blasted a stream of sewage at Maygan. She dodged the slow stream easily, but behind her, a pool of liquid rose from the floor, taking shape as it grew taller, becoming a small Dumpus. Tentacles blasted into her back, knocking her to the floor, sliding her wounded body along the wet floor. She rolled onto her side, grimacing, taking a moment for her vision to stop spinning.

Three more tentacles came at her, and she rolled out of the way of each before getting to her feet. She looked in the direction of the exit.

“I am not a pus- scaredy cat! And how dare you use that language with me,” she reprimanded. During their recovery, the swords had spent time in an armory with other swords and developed a fondness for foul language. Maygan was none too happy about it but hadn’t the time to reprimand the other owners. “I certainly haven’t battled a diarrhea monster. Have you,” she moaned.

But a spark of an idea appeared in Maygan’s head. Something in what the swords said. Maygan tapped her comm. She hoped to whatever gods were listening that Scooter had not yet left the building.

“Scooter, are you still in the building by chance,” she asked as calmly and politely as she could muster.

There was no answer.

In front of her, two more pools of filth rose from the floor, becoming more minions. Dumpus grew stronger with each passing second. Something was feeding it.

Maygan swatted away two more tentacles, dove under a third and did a flying cartwheel over a fourth. “I can’t hold out forever,” she said breathlessly.

Something grabbed Maygan’s foot and knocked her off balance, sending her to the floor. It was a minion arm formed from the sewage beneath her. She sliced it away with Hon, and destroyed another forming with Koga. She got to her feet and tapped the comm button again. Two tentacles grabbed her legs, holding them close together. Two minions grabbed her arms and held them tightly, working Hon and Koga from her grip, throwing them to the far side of the hallway.

Dumpus moved in close to Maygan, its breath worse than she could have imagined. She hoped it was so bad it was oddly pleasant, but no. It was awful.

“Scooter, are you there?”

But there was no answer.

* * * *