Dungeon mantle, p.76
Dungeon Mantle, page 76
CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED NINETY-SEVEN
The portal vanished.
I felt numb. Tophua was gone and we had no idea where he’d been sent.
Aryne didn’t seem the least bit concerned that the portal was closed. He didn’t even turn around as he kept pushing the three remaining Adventurers who were trying to find a hole in his defenses.
The Cultists were backing away; none of them seemed eager to join the fight.
It felt empty. Like Tophua had just vanished and no one noticed or cared. I wanted to scream, but I knew that wouldn’t help anything. Tophua had risked his life.
I refused to think of him as dead. He’d given us a chance. I wasn’t going to waste it.
I turned around and started keying in the gate, but it flared to life before I could finish.
“We’ve got…something?” I wasn’t sure if this was a problem or the solution.
“Now what?” Gesai turned around and I saw a tear in her eye. She wiped it away with the back of her free hand.
“Someone’s coming through.” I pointed at the gate.
Trent marched through the gate with the rest of his team behind him.
“Trent!” I wanted to hug him. “Aryne…”
“I know.” Trent’s voice was cold. It was the first time he’d ever appeared truly angry. “Gesai, keep them back.” He looked at Rix. “We might need her.”
A flash of white crashed through the sky and hit Aryne. The bolt actually budged him and left a little smoke. There was a blast of purple and the three were knocked back as Aryne turned and sneered at Trent.
“TAKE THEM!”
The Cultists got up and started to attack the prone Adventurers. Aryne shot forward, and had to stop as a ring of arm-length icicles started sprouting from a wall of ice that formed around him.
Celia screamed and I felt bloodlust roll off of her like I’d felt off of Edward, except this was infinitely more powerful. My stomach twisted as she leapt into the air and swung a sword over her head before landing inside the ice ring.
Arlo was busy creating shields around the various prone Adventurers while Sandez was doing some sort of mass healing spell.
Zorna had vanished, but someone was shooting arrows into the ice ring. Aryne was trying to tear apart the barrier with an ax—but he also had to defend himself from the attacks from Celia and Zorna.
Fyth was busy tending to a Pocket Dungeon where she was storing defeated Cultists.
Trent began unleashing spell after spell that landed right as Celia backed away to ready for another strike. It was like they’d practiced the tempo a thousand times.
Zorna was doing her part by staying hidden and adding more holes to Aryne. Instead of bleeding blood though, he was bleeding purple gunk. The aura around him didn’t seem to fade, but his power was fading. It was almost like he wasn’t able to control the power of the aura without having it saturated in the purple ooze.
The moment that Aryne dropped to one knee, I knew it was over. Apparently so did he, because he tried to unleash a wave of power, but the pulse died as he was frozen in a cube of ice.
Trent was breathing hard. I’d only seen him like this once before—after fighting Sipher and Whisper. I scanned the battlefield, but the blonde Bandit wasn’t here anymore. I wondered if I’d see him again.
If I did, I could only hope that he’d be on our side when that time came.
CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED NINETY-EIGHT
Aryne was a bomb.
The revelation that killing Aryne would trigger a Desolation was enough motivation for the Adventurers to move. They started loading up those who couldn’t move into whatever vehicles were still working.
Gesai went to the port with almost everyone else. She would heal people along the way and to watch over our class once she got there.
That left Rix and I pretty much unsupervised. I’d expected Rix to disappear immediately, but apparently watching Trent argue with Celia was more entertaining.
“We can’t kill him.” Trent stared at Celia. “If we do that, he will Desolate and kill everyone here.”
“He’s not even a real God.” Celia pointed at the pool of purple ooze. “Once he runs out of that stuff, he’ll separate from whatever that thing is.”
“That thing…” Trent shook his head. “Celia, I need you to get everyone as far away from here as possible. Arlo, Rix, and Atlas will stay here with me while I try to…” He shook his head. “Disarm this bomb.”
“What if he gets out?” Celia countered. “You needed us to help take him down the first time.”
“As you pointed out.” Trent motioned at the purple goo. “He’s getting weaker every minute that passes. If he gets out, then Arlo and I will be enough to handle him.”
Zorna came walking up to us. “I checked from the fiftieth floor to the sixty-second. If Tophua’s in there, he’s further down than that.”
“Just the fiftieth? Why not..?” I realized the answer to my question. “Because he would have just left on his own.”
There was a somber silence for a moment until Trent clapped his hands. “We can put together a rescue crew later, but right now we need everyone else out of here now!”
The morning sun was just starting to come up. I felt like I hadn’t done anything to contribute last night, so I had no reason to feel as exhausted as I did.
I watched Zorna and Celia round everyone up and start heading out of town.
“I messaged dad to let him know we don’t need reinforcements.” Arlo eyed Aryne. “Do you really think this is going to work?”
“It’s the only play we’ve got other than…” He looked at Rix. “An even more risky one.”
Arlo shook his head. “I’m not high enough Tier. I shouldn’t even be trying this.”
Trent waved his arms around. “This place used to be lush and fertile until the Desolation. It killed the whole island.” He pointed in the direction that the people had gone.”They aren’t going to make it out before he loses control and Desolates.”
I raised my hand. “Um, what exactly are we trying to do?”
“We’re trying to keep that thing from going Desolate.” Trent was stroking his short beard while he nodded at the frozen man.
“By doing something VERY reckless.” Arlo shook his head.
“I don’t get it.” I looked between the two men. “What exactly are we doing?”
Trent took a deep breath. “Within each Desolation is an echo of the fallen God. It resides in one of the Tier Seven floors. When a God wants to try to claim a city, they go down into the Desolation Dungeon until they find…” He waved at Aryne. “A Mantle of the Gods.”
CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED NINETY-NINE
A Mantle of the Gods.
I’d known we had Mantles, because that was how we got our jobs, stats, skills, and everything else. But I didn’t know that there was a second one.
“Tres explained that he gets a little bit of experience every time someone gains experience in a Dungeon in his city, right?” Trent waved at Aryne. “This is how they form a connection with that Dungeon. This is how they start a city.”
“But you said you were too low level.” I looked at Arlo.
“I AM.” Arlo glared at Trent. “You’re supposed to be at LEAST Tier Six to try something like this. I’m only Tier FIVE.”
“You’re in the upper fifties.” Trent sighed. “Which do you think is less risky? You trying to bond with the Dungeon?” He motioned at Rix. “Or channeling enough power through her that her skill can snuff him out?”
Rix swallowed. “He’s Tier Five, probably Six…”
We’d seen what it’d taken for a Tier Two to take down a Tier Five. For a Tier Zero to take down a Tier Six… I doubted she’d survive.
“I like Plan A.” Rix swallowed and started to back away a little.
“I have a question.” I pointed at Arlo. “Why is he here? Wouldn’t you be a better candidate to deal with that?” I looked at Trent. “What exactly is it that he’s going to try?”
“I’m here because I’m like you.” Arlo was looking at the huge ice cube in front of us. “Except I’m a LOT older and higher level.”
“You’re…” I was confused. “Are the Heema… Gods?”
“No…” Arlo shook his head. “It’s complicated and I’d rather not get into it. Short story is that Tres is my father and Mala Heema is my mother.”
“So you being here..?” I turned to Trent. “This was all PLANNED?”
“Our participation was a happy coincidence, I assure you. And this was one of the worst-case scenario contingencies.” Trent shook his head and looked at Arlo. “We need to try it now or we’re going to lose our window.”
Arlo closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I still say this is a bad idea.”
“Bad ideas are all we have…” Trent shook his head. “Who else could get here before this thing goes off? There are none of the Lesser Gods that we could get here in time, even if we DID trust them with a city.”
“I’m assuming you know what I have to do to pair the Mantle?” Arlo looked at Trent. “Because dad hasn’t covered that yet since I’m still too low level.”
Trent gave him a look that told me that Arlo had just asked a question that didn’t deserve an answer.
“Are there any other relevant questions before we get started?” My teacher looked even more tired as he scanned us.
I raised my hand. “I have one. If he’s supposed to pair that Mantle,” I pointed at Arlo. “And Rix is supposed to try to kill it if he can’t…” I tried to swallow the nerves that were shaking my voice. “Why exactly am I here?”
“Because…” Trent started casting something. “You’re plan C.”
CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED
My mind was overloaded.
Arlo, a Tier Five, was concerned about surviving pairing with a Mantle of the Gods and I was the backup if it failed.
I had to blink a few times before the world didn’t seem so far away. I realized that I’d taken a few steps back.
“You think I could pair with that thing if he can’t?!” I realized that I was breathing fast so my voice came out high-pitched. I closed my eyes and tried to slow down the panic. “Wouldn’t that mean that this thing Desolated? Wouldn’t I be dead?”
“Desolation isn’t instantaneous.” Trent had his hand on Aryne. “There will be a few seconds that we can try to extinguish it with Rix’s Godslayer, but I would have to channel Magic through her to raise the Tier of the attack. If that doesn’t work, then hopefully, it will be weak enough that you can pair with it.”
“Wait!” My mind was racing. “Don’t I need to know what to do if that happens?”
“I just said…” Irritation filled Trent’s voice. “I’m going to thaw him out. When I do, I’ll try to drain the rest of this artificial bonding fluid out of him. That should separate him from the Mantle. Arlo is going to be holding the Mantle and try to pair with it. The hope is that the Mantle is still looking for someone to pair with, since it was forcibly paired, and it will start to pair with Arlo’s Mantle.”
“What do I do if I have to pair with it?”
“Grab the Mantle and use your Siphon skill. That should be enough to connect with it. Then charge as much of your Mana as you can into the Mantle. It should feel like you’re casting a spell. Once you charge it up enough, then it should pair with you and overlay your Mantle.” Trent had his eyes closed. “Please, I need to focus.”
I backed up as the ice started thawing. Arlo walked behind Aryne and grabbed the unconscious man’s shoulders.
I moved over to where Rix was standing. “Do you think they can do it?”
“I hope so.” There was fear on her face.
I’d seen her sad, irritated, bored, angry, and even concerned, but I’d never seen Rix afraid. She usually attacked problems blade-first, but this was one she was scared of.
“It’ll be okay.” I put my arm around her. “It’ll work.”
“But what if I can’t do it?” Rix stared at me, her eyes wide. “What if he can’t do it and I’m not strong enough…” Rix looked in the direction of the docks. “They’ll…”
“Hey.” I squeezed her. “Tell you what. If Arlo can’t do it, I’ll be Plan B.”
Rix shook her head. “No, you…You can’t do that unless it’s weakened first.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “You have to go after me.” She seemed a little more confident. “You have to do it if I can’t.”
“It’ll be okay.” I looked back at the men. “It’ll be okay.”
It didn’t look okay.
Aryne was completely thawed out. Trent was covered in the purple ooze and Arlo was on his knees. Wind started to pick up around them and the air was getting warmer. It almost felt like there was a sour taste in the air.
I didn’t know what was happening, but it did not look like it was going well.
“RIX!” Trent held out his hand. “IF WE HIT IT NOW, MAYBE HE CAN FINISH!”
If she did it, it would kill her. If she didn’t, then it would kill everyone else and her. There was no reason why she shouldn’t do it, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her back. It was enough that she was out of reach of Trent as I grabbed on to Aryne with my left hand.
“SIPHON!”
CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED ONE
Everything went black.
At least there wasn’t any wind or anything, but I had no idea what happened. Wherever I was, I was laying on my back on something hard.
My head was throbbing as I rolled onto my side.
“Hello!” I slowly pushed myself up. “TRENT! RIX! ARLO?”
No one answered.
I squinted as I tried to see something, anything, in the darkness. It was pitch black.
Just like…
I swallowed. I had been about to use a spell, but now probably wasn’t the right time.
There was a bright light that hurt my eyes. I blinked as I got accustomed to it. Before I could see, someone grabbed me. Someone with shoulder-length red hair and firm hands.
“Rix.” I had to blink some more as I looked around.
“You disrespectful..!” Trent’s voice was full of irritation and anger. “This is what I didn’t want to happen!”
I was able to find Trent in the white room that we were in, but my eyes still hurt. I managed to see Arlo as well. The blonde man was laying on the floor holding his stomach.
“What’s going on?” I started to stand up, but my legs reminded me that sitting was a better option and refused to straighten all the way up.
“This is…” Trent looked around. I could finally see without it feeling like there was a sun in my face.
“This is the Bequeathal Chamber.” A baritone voice behind us finished Trent’s statement.
Rix and I turned around and saw the figure that had been a purple ghost before, but now looked like a real person. A tawny minotaur with flashing red-eyes and gleaming black horns. He was wearing a purple suit and carrying a Crystal glass. He took a sip from it.
“What’s that?” I felt like I really should be given a lesson on these things. I could feel Rix tense up beside me. I grabbed her arm to keep her from attacking Wurn. Until we knew exactly what this was, she needed to hold back.
Wurn clicked his tongue as he walked towards myself and Rix. He grabbed my shirt and the two of us were dragged by an invisible hand behind Trent.
“So many unworthy…” Wurn shook his head. “Two Gods and a Hunter come to take my Mantle, but these are just babes…” He held out his glass towards Trent. “And you’re barely worthy of a challenge yourself.”
Arlo was on his feet. I realized that he didn’t have any armor. None of us had any armor. We were just wearing whatever clothes we had on under our armor.
Wurn started walking towards a golden throne that I knew hadn’t been there just a few moments ago.
“Is this really what has come to die? Babies, a Celestial, and a..?” He spit over his shoulder. “Gibborim?”
That was a word I’d never heard before.
“What’s a Gibborim?”
“Later.” Trent pointed his right hand at the dead God and a blue robe started to slowly wrap itself around him. Once it was finished, there was a silver sword with an emblem at the end of the hilt. I’d seen that emblem a few times. It was the one that had been burned into Gesai’s hand when she’d killed Sipher.
“Someone tried to take your power instead of earning it.” The white-haired man kept his sword pointed at Wurn. “He is going to Desolate unless you give us your Mantle.”
The minotaur God started laughing. “You think I’m going to just give YOU this Mantle?” He pounded his fist against his chest. “You aren’t GIVEN a Mantle. You EARN it or you TAKE it!”
He put down the Crystal glass and it and the throne vanished. He pulled out a wand and pointed it at Trent.
“You should have just let me kill you.” Wurn’s red eyes started to glow. “Now I’m going to make you suffer.”
CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED TWO
Purple lightning split the air.
Arlo was in front of Trent with a golden shield. The force of the blast pushed the blonde back almost a foot. I started to move back, then realized that Rix was no longer beside me. Because of course, if we were fighting a God, why wouldn’t she try to assassinate him?
I tried to think of what I had in my arsenal that could help. The problem was that however I’d gotten to wherever this was, I hadn’t brought my CB with me either. Which made me curious about how Trent and Arlo had donned armor.
Trent was hitting Wurn with fire, electricity, and ice attacks. He was throwing balls and streams of each at him while Arlo fended off the attacks.
Wurn was creating a shield with his left hand and firing lightning from the wand with his right. I was thankful that I was being ignored and kept looking for Rix. I hoped I could spot her before she got herself killed.
She phased out of invisibility behind Wurn. Her chainsword was in her hand and she was bringing it down on his neck.
