Hal heard her scream, but he couldn't see. The pain in his stomach was too great. All he could do was clutch at his stomach where the dagger protruded and grit his teeth against the pain.

“Lars... after all we've been through...” He dimly heard Áithne say. Then his world went black.

Some time later, he awoke feeling strangely refreshed. For a moment, Hal thought he was back in his room at the Golden Lion in Larlen but as soon as he smelled the sulfur in the air and the accompanying stench of rot, he realized he was still in the dungeon on the 14th floor. Curse this place....

Shit! He snapped his eyes open and tried to sit up, but Áithne was there putting a hand on his chest and guiding him back onto the hard floor.

In the background, he could hear the rumbling and gurgling of the lava springs, the crackling of the eternal firepools and the slow grinding of rock elementals standing guard over treasure chests. Those chests were high level mimicks. Another hellish trap of this dungeon. The 14th floor was such a huge step-up from the supposed D rank dungeon... Yeah, more C+ or B- ... for a full party. And they weren't a full party any longer.

“Stay down. I'm not finished healing you yet.” Áithne said and Hal could do nothing but comply. She extended her hand and placed it on his chest. Blue mist rose from her delicate digits as a cool, refreshing feeling swept through his body, making him shiver.

“So... Lars?” He asked. Áithne's face took on a strange, unreadable expression.

“He... was killed.” She said quietly.

“You managed to beat him? How long have I been indisposed?” Hal asked, coughing a few times and spitting some back goo from his mouth. Áithne shook her head.

“No, I did not kill him. Something.... something else got him.” Áithne said, seeming to shiver.

“What?” Hal asked, but Áithne simply shook her head. “It happened so fast. One moment, we were drinking, the next moment Lars had his poisoned dagger in his hand and was stabbing at your back. I.. I tried to stop him but...” her eyes got wet and the tears came.

There were many things Hal hated in this world, but the thing he hated most of all was seeing Áithne cry. Weakly, he reached up and wiped at her face. “It's not your fault. Lars was stronger than either of us, and with his backstabbing skills there was no way we could've anticipated it.” Hal said, trying to comfort his little ocean girl. She had saved his life and he felt useless and weak... he couldn't even protect the woman he loved. It was shameful.

That reminded him of what she'd said before.

“So... how long was I out? And what happened after Lars stabbed me?”

“Uh, I think 15 minutes at most. I've spent almost all my mana healing you, you know?” She said, then there was a long silent gap where she just stared at nothing.

“She appeared out of nowhere.” Áithne said suddenly. “I've never felt anything so terrifying in my life. Her magic power, her rage. Mana mist was leaking from her eyes like she was a powerful lich. Lars died instantly... there's nothing left, not even his epic grade daggers.” Áithne said, shivering.

“A woman, you say? A mage? Another adventurer?” Hal asked, quite confused still.

“I really don't know what that was. It looked like a young girl, but her power felt like a lich. She looked possessed and very angry and she ran immediately towards the entrance to the 15th floor.

Hals eyes sharpened.

They had been down here for more than 3 months already. Steadily grinding and growing stronger, they kept advancing bit by bit through the lower floors and gaining strength. They had gone from newbie adventurers at level 35 to nearly level 100. Lars had hit 100 about a week ago, but then he changed...corrupted dungeons... there was a good reason why they were destroyed whenever they were discovered.

“If... if she was as strong as you say, then maybe we stand a chance with her by our side. We should hurry and go after her down to the 15th level.” Hal said. Áithne looked conflicted, but in the end she silently picked his sword up and handed it to him. Then she extended a hand and pulled him to his feet.

“I'm almost out of juice, so all I can do will be minor support spells. You good with that?” Áithne said. “Roger that partner.” Hal replied, grinning over at her to get them both fired up and to just change the atmosphere.

“Let's do this!” He shouted, leading the way down the stairs to the final floor of the dungeon.