Part One Hundred

“Wh-what the heck is going on!?”

Whatever those wolves’ howls had set off definitely wasn’t good. Not only was the Dungeon’s mana going haywire, but my own mana felt defiled, as of something foreign was forcing its way into it.

“W-wha!? Michael, Accuracy isn’t working anymore!”

“What!? How is that even-? Shit! Neither is Sword Aura! What’s going on here? What is that strange-. Oh fuck. That’s Void Magic, isn’t it? Alicia, check all of your equipment to make sure their enchantments are still applied.”

“Huh? Uh, okay!”

Void Magic was dangerous stuff. Depending on how strong this spell was, we might lose every piece of equipment we had on us.

Okay, my Magic bags are fine, so everything inside them should be too. So's my swords, armor, coat, and helmet. Looks like everything's fine, though I think Kalia’s [Bless] has been dispelled. And I can’t generate any Aura either. It’s like something's blocking my mana from flowing out of me.

“All my gear is fine, though Stealth isn’t taking effect. It’s like my mana doesn’t want to leave my body. I can sorta make Accuracy work, but it feels like it’s less efficient than normal.”

“If mana doesn’t work outside of the body…? Crap! Grudge Magic isn’t working either!”

“That’s definitely not good! If your Magic isn’t working, then I doubt anyone else’s is either. This is definitely bad, but-. Michael! Look!”

“Huh? Oh, you’ve gotta be fucking with me!”

We’d been so preoccupied with the spell’s effects on ourselves, that we’d failed to notice the obvious. If all Magic effects were being dispelled, then so would the barrier protecting the fort.

The barrier, which was barely perceptible from this side, was beginning to fall apart. Large sections of the barrier were flaking away, dispersing into a fine mana mist. And with the collapse, came an even bigger terror.

“Shit! Alicia, jump!”

“Hah!? Wait, what are you DOOOOIIIIIIING!?”

With barely any time to spare, I scooped Alicia up and jumped from the tower. Thankfully, the watchtowers weren’t too much taller than the walls, otherwise the jump would’ve hurt me far worse than it did. As it was, the shock caused by landing caused me to drop Alicia, and nearly caused me to fall over myself. But it was by far the better option.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

Not even seconds after we’d landed a shell launched by the Golems blew it to pieces. The shockwave knocked me to the ground as bits of rubble fell down upon me.

“What the heck was that!? Ah, Michael, are you okay!?”

“Ow, ow, ow. For the most part. I might’ve sprained my ankle though. Damnit, that’s the last time I jump from that high up! I mean it this time.”

“While I’d love to dig into that mess, I think we’ve got bigger problems.”

The monsters, who’d just been on the brink of retreating, were now rallying back, flooding back up the walls. The mercenaries and NPCs closest to them were already being swarmed by enemies.

“See? I told you that you were a living jinx.”

“Just, just start fighting. Haaah, no rest for the wicked.”

This is gonna suck. My ankle can at least support my weight, but I don’t think I’m going to be very agile like this. And Alicia’s out of arrows too. Can things get any worse?

“”“AWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!!!”””

…………Ah fuck it.

***

[Edwin’s POV]

When [Void Cage] activated, all Skills and magic were dispelled and silenced. Basically anything that used mana wouldn’t work now. But this also included effects similar to magic, but that didn’t rely on mana to function.

This category mostly included Unique Skills, which were generally abilities granted by the World System that functioned by a different set of rules than magic and Normal Skills. However, not even they were exempt from the dispelling effect of [Void Cage]. So anyone under the influence of Sampson’s Berserking now found themselves regaining their sanity. And with such wonderful timing.

Wha, huh, what!? What’s going on!? Where am I and what the hell is that!?

Edwin came to in a confused daze. His mind was still hazy from the violent rage that had consumed him, but he remembered that he’d been in a battle that had been winding down. He’d been attacked by a powerful monster that had injured him, only for someone to kill it suddenly. Then, then…. Someone had done something to him, but he couldn’t remember anything past that.

::Individual has acquired Title: Berserker’s Delight. Individual’s Archetype has changed to Berserker.::

And now the System was telling him things while he was still confused. Receiving a Title out of nowhere wasn’t unusual, he’d heard of other people experiencing this, but he’d only gotten Razor’s Edge up to now. And as for this “Archetype”, well he hadn’t heard anything about that before.

But he didn’t have time to think about it yet. Whatever had snapped him out of his haze also greatly disturbed the other defenders, causing holes in their defense to open and allowing monsters to flood in. Even worse, large black wolves were emerging from the shadows, each one accompanied by little black foxes.

Wha!? Shadow Wolves!? But, but I thought they all died! Gah, they’re coming!

Three wolves broke towards him, dodging around other monsters to be the first to him. They were laser-focused on him for some reason, going so far as to jump over other mercenaries and NPCs in their way.

Oh crap, I’ve got to run!

Unfortunately, his body wasn’t quite in any condition to run or fight. He was racked with pain and tremors, and he could barely hold his spear. His only hope would be for someone to intercept them before they reached him. But unfortunately, his hopes were completely dashed. The other mercenaries either dodged or swerved out of the way, condemning Edwin to a hopeless fight.

“Gah, get back!”

“Awrrooo!”

The first wolf got ahead of itself, and tripped on a piece of rubble. But this was still a wolf the size of a horse. It weighed hundreds of pounds more than Edwin, and that was before factoring in its monstrous nature. It was basically like a wrecking ball was coming at him. The wolf slammed into him, sending the both of them toppling over the wall.

***

[Sampson’s POV]

Well, that happened. I guess the pup wasn’t ready yet.

Sampson had only meant for this to serve as an initiation for the boy. Getting him killed was unexpected, but an acceptable outcome nonetheless. If he couldn’t keep up here, then he would’ve failed them at a much more critical juncture. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he’d left Sampson with a pair of nasty presents.

“”Grrrrooooowlll!””

The two wolves that hadn’t fallen were now focusing on him. The one on the left leaped for him first, only to be met with a hammer blow to the head. Sampson may have lost the boost from Berserking and his other Skills, but the force a full-bodied swing could generate should not be underestimated. The blow caused the wolf's skull to cave in.

Sampson then used the recoil from the blow to stifle his hammer’s momentum, just in time to bring it up to use the haft to block the second wolf's fangs. After a brief struggle over the hammer, Sampson used his gauntleted fist to punch the wolf in the face. He then dispatched it with a simple blow to the top of its head.

Hrm, looks like the others are holding. Huh, for all the bluster involved, that spell hasn’t seemed to do all that much. Even the artillery fire isn’t anywhere as intense as at the beginning. Hell, the NPCs will wrap this up given enough time.

His intuition was telling him that there was more to this than it seemed. And after taking a look around, he had to agree. While the regular monsters were continuing their assault on the defenders, a handful of the Shadow monsters and C-Ranks were peeling away from the battle to go somewhere else. His instinct told him he’d find a proverbial jackpot if he followed them. So he did.

***

“Hey Alicia?”

“Yes Michael?”

“Doesn’t this seem too easy? I mean, sure we’re occasionally getting bombarded, but the overall vibe I get from the monsters is that they’re still moments from breaking. Shouldn’t they pushing harder since they’ve cut off our ability to use mana?”

“I’d think so. So then why aren’t they?”

The million-dollar question, that right there. There had to be a reason for this lukewarm offensive. Despite the fact that we’d been weakened, the monsters were acting like they were only grudgingly attacking us now. Their numbers had thinned out remarkably over the course of the battle, to the point where I actually had time to stand and think.

What am I missing? That spell must’ve had a purpose. If it wasn’t to make an opening for the monsters to push through, then what was it for?

“Michael! Where’d the Shadow Wolves go?”

“Huh? The Shadow Wolves? Why would you-! Ah shit! The Gate! Alicia, go get Braddock and Cameron! Tell them to hurry to the Gate of Rebirth! That’s what they’re after!”

“Ah, got it!”

Fuck. If the monsters crack the Gate open, then all our work will be for nothing. I refuse to lose this late in the game. I just need to get over there before it’s too late.

***

[Tavin’s POV]

Where’d that wolf go? I saw it jump off the wall over here, but I lost sight of it soon after. Uh, maybe if I just follow after it?

As the fighting on the walls winded down, the NPCs had taken charge of the fighting more and more, leaving very little for him to do. Even as the mysterious spell went off, the NPCs had continued to monopolize the enemies, and that was what caused him to notice the large wolf slinking off into the fort.

Of course, he’d also managed to use nearly every last drop of his mana during the earlier fighting, so the effects of [Void Cage] weren’t bothering him. In fact, the rush of magic had slightly revitalized him, removing any traces of the sleepiness brought about by Mana Exhaustion. He wouldn’t say he was in tip-top shape, but he was more than up for a fight.

If I was a monster wolf, where would I go? Well technically, I think I’d go to the walls, that’s where all the enemies are at. So why would one go deeper into the fort? Hm, me thinks that something is afoot.

Speaking of afoot, frantic footsteps could be heard coming from a nearby alley. An odd premonition came over him, one that bade him to face the alley with his best shit-eating grin on. And when the figure burst out of the alley, he knew his gut had been right.

“My kindred spirit! How fortuitous to think we’d meet here and now!”

“……Fuck.”

***

“Just, just follow me.”

“Certainly! I shall follow you into the depths of hell itself.”

“Yay, great.”

Why!? Why was it this guy of all people that I had to run into? I was hoping it might be the Commander or Archmage, or even Sampson. Haaah, whatever. I need whatever backup I can get, so I’ll have to just deal with his bullshit.

I quickly led the weirdo, who finally properly introduced himself by the way, back towards the central headquarters, filling him in on the way. We had to stop several times as Shadow monsters ambushed us, so I was grateful to have the backup. With my ankle how it was, my speed was severely reduced. I could still fight monsters one-on-one, but I struggled with multiple enemies. And there was of course the fact that I couldn’t use mana now either.

Still, the two of us proved to be more than the monsters could handle. Tavin would stagger or immobilize the monsters, which I would then finish off. Thankfully my swords were still more than sharp enough to maim and kill, even without Aura backing them up.

We soon arrived at the central headquarters, still on full alert. We’d yet to see hide or hair of the Void Wolf, which I was certain would be here somewhere. Considering that the wolf could move through shadows, there was a high likelihood it would attempt a sneak attack.

“Keep an eye out. The Void Wolf could be anywhere.”

“Are you certain that it is aware of where this Gate is? Are we not leading it right to it?”

“I can’t say that that isn’t what’s happening, but I’ve got to try. If it does know where it is and we do nothing, then we’ll fail the Dungeon. That’s the worst possible outcome. And don’t worry, I already sent Alicia to get more help. We just need to hold it off long enough for them to arrive.”

“I see. Then very well. Let us find and hunt this beast.”

If you were just going to agree with me, why'd you bother arguing? Bah, let’s just head towards the underground. I’ve got a plan to lure that bastard out.