Apocalypse crusade a dun.., p.37
Apocalypse Crusade: A Dungeon Crawler LitRPG Adventure (Gravity And Divinity System 3), page 37
“I missed my shot at dumping him with gravity shenanigans,” Jay said, pouting.
“Oh, you silly man, you.” Brit tapped him over the head with a light bonk. “Come now, let me walk you where you need to go. I hope you don’t mind that I’m gonna hold on to you until it’s done.”
Jay leaned into her, feeling how easy it was to rest his head on her chest. She outweighed him, and had an athletic, thick, and powerful frame that fused wonderfully with her beauty. He’d buffed up as well, but she still had him outmatch in overall size. Jay didn’t mind. There was a lot of fun to be had as one of the shortest guys around. He would probably stay that way when he evolved.
He gladly let Brit walk him up the stone steps. It was like taking a nature walk through a misty island jungle. They crossed over valleys and rivers. They passed by great waterfalls where the rising mist sprinkled them lightly. Every step along the way, with Brit’s body rubbing against his, her laughter and cheer sounding into his ear, and the twinkle in her eyes that focused on him, Jay was slowly realizing it was not her that needed to answer the question of devotion. It was him, too. If Brit said yes, and YoAnna wasn’t trying to break things off by pressing Jay onto Brit, then Jay would be a man who’d have to support two of some of the grandest women he knew. Jay liked to think of himself as a man who’d do what was right. If he ever had kids, he would be there for them. If he ever had a family, he would lead them.
He would do all he could to prevent the suffering that his mom… and himself… had gone through without a good dad around. Maybe Jay couldn’t be perfect. He was pretty warped in his head, after all. But he could try to be leaps and bounds better than his dad. That was a low bar to pass, but you had to start from somewhere.
Because having Brit against him was different compared to having the Allens flirt with him. Brit was someone who was devoted to a fault, dangerously and insanely so. If this was a thing, Jay would have to repay that devotion as much as possible, which might seem weird to some people if they thought love was free.
Jay wasn’t that sure if it was free. He didn’t get where he was today by aiming to get free things. He had to fight, suffer, risk-everything, and kill to get where he was now. To become someone that could have these choices. An icon to men. The desire of women. He had to work for it, which was fine, it was part of the package deal of striving to make the greatest change, and be the Luckrun that broke generational curses that had seen them suffer.
So when they arrived at the top of the steps where a simple stone dial with no covering waited for them at the peak of the highest mountain here, Jay felt ready and at peace with himself in ways he’d never felt before. He might never feel like this again, because feelings changed just like the seasons. But right now, right here, he was centered. Like touching nirvana.
“Weird,” Brit said, shifting away slightly. She gave him some space but held his hand. “You’ve got something of a holiness to you right now. It’s a bit of a paradox, sugar.”
“I figured,” Jay said, eyeing the katana that he held in his other hand. It almost felt like Frank’s spirit was truly in this thing.
Jay looked up into a sky filled with low hanging rain clouds and mist. The reunited pieces of the medallion hummed against his chest, shining with dark light under his shirt. His eyes of gravity and divinity shone brighter and brighter.
He now felt it was time to let out his grand powers. He squeezed his grip on Brit’s hand and on Frank’s sword as he let his mind cross over into the fourth dimension. The medallion was supposed to facilitate an astral transfer of spirit that would bring you to Bondye’s hideaway– a domain within a dungeon space. Jay could’ve done the same the whole time with his 4D headspace, but he would’ve been ill prepared. With the combination of medallion and his own powers, Jay pushed himself to do the most unlikely thing. Instead of going to the Dungeon Boss of the Sea of Death, he made a request for the boss to come to him.
Bondye answered his request and slithered out of her domain. The valley in front of Jay and Brit disappeared behind a white body the size of a small mountain. The torso, arms, and head of a blonde, blue-eyed woman looked down at them deviously. A shimmering top of large Rare Quality seashells strung together covered her chest, glinting with myriad colors. But once Jay paid more attention to what was below, he realized the rest of his ancestor was purely monstrous.
Giant, serpentine tentacles the color of black with white rings snaked around the mountains and through the valleys. They curled around trees, bushes, and rivers. They sought whatever might try to hide from her.
A man screamed as one of Bondye’s tentacles snatched him from a bush he was using as poor concealment. Jay had known he was there, but Jay didn’t pay the man much mind since Brit would’ve stopped anyone from trying to interrupt this moment. Bondye had the guy wrapped up with the end of one tentacle, and without giving him an opportunity to plead for mercy, she threw him up into the air and ate him in one bite.
Brit shuddered.
Jay kept his cool.
The two stood in the giant shadow of the Level 100 Grand Sea Witch, Bondye of Undeath Devilry. She was purposely showing her Rank 4 level as an intimidation tactic.
“Boy,” Bondye purred as she lowered down, her billboard-sized face hovering close in front of Jay and Brit. The Grand Sea Witch’s voice boomed with power. Her windy breath filled the air with the sweet scent of rum and fruit. “You need to evolve before you can fight me. And your crew needs to kill more and reach Rank 4. You are not yet strong enough to defeat me.”
“I don’t need to do anything further to defeat you, Bondye,” Jay said. “I’m simply going to ask for your surrender.”
Bondye backed away, shocked. Her hand touched her chest, each finger tipped with pearly white claws that flashed under the sunlight.
“How daring, boy! I am the mightiest creature here across all the Sea of Death. All of those little Rank 4 mini-bosses that gave you such a hard time do not compare to me. And yet you believe yourself powerful enough to ask for my surrender?”
“Yes,” Jay said. “Because my future potential is very powerful. You can feel this, ancestor. You know this. Your defeat by violence would’ve been still a challenge for us if I was truly what I should be right now, but it would’ve happened.”
“But you are not that future potential,” his ancestor countered. “I can cut off that future right now.” She snapped her sharp teeth in front of them. “I can eat you up and take your power for myself.” She wriggled her clawed fingers at them. “I can devise the most horrible of spells and drain your potential out of you slowly, torturously if that’s more amusing. I can end you before you get to be what you are meant to be.”
“You can,” Jay said with a smile. “But part of getting your surrender is explaining why you wouldn’t want to do that.” He pointed his sword at his thirteen ships. “If it will please you as a sacrifice, I have amassed the greatest wealth anyone has seen in the Sea of Death. More wealth than some nobles combined. This is yours if you want it, ancestor.”
Bondye shifted uncomfortably. “Well, that is quite a lot of wealth.”
“And if it will please you, I’ll be of some service to you as long as my [Godling] is of agreement, and she will agree. I don’t know what you would have of me when I am made to serve. But if we open a doorway where I can return to you when you need me, I’ll be the strongest person you’ll have at your disposal. So, you don’t have to bother with fighting or dealing with difficult people anymore. You can ask my [Godling] and have me sent to do that for you.”
Bondy wriggled more uncomfortably. “You would make for a good mercenary if your [Godling] is willing. And there are so many annoying people impeding my lounging and drinking and fun.”
“And if it will please you, my Champions can give aid as well. So, if I am not enough, and there is such a threat that would harm you, ancestor, I will summon them for you. And we will bring a fury down upon those who wish you harm like no other. We will bring down nations, tyrants, the gods if we must. If my [Godling] is of accord, and it pleases you, I offer as much of myself and what I have to your benefit as long as you will surrender.”
Bondy sighed. “Answer this one question for me, boy.”
“Anything.”
“Are you saying all of this because there is no other path to victory against me?” Bondye asked. “Or are you saying this because–”
“I don’t want to hurt my family,” Jay said. “And I know that’s selfish. But that’s okay with me right now. We’re all that we have, ancestor. You, Mom, me, and my pantheon. I’m sorry that you’ve been through so much– I’m guessing there’s been a lot of pain in your immortal life. But if I can convince you of this one thing, this one idea, let me convince you with this:
“Believe in me.
“For I will fight for us, and I will forge our destiny anew with wealth, with drink, with family, with friends, and with lots of laughter.”
Bondy stared down at her descendant, her lips pressed together into a fine line. She looked more angry if anything after his words. Her mood darkened so much that the air became stormy.
Thunderclouds formed. Lightning bolts snapped and cracked at the air. Ghoulish spirits at Bondye’s command howled with fright and anger, ready to be sent at her enemies to destroy them. Great magic that Bondye had piled up for thousands of years and had been boosted as a Dungeon Boss resonated through the air. With a snap of her fingers, she could start the simple game of destroying Team Dante, taking her time if she wanted, and see them dead whenever she wished.
“Where were you all my life?” Bondye muttered. “Where were you when I was shackled and brought along with our people across the water? Where were you when I was made servant to immortals who saw me as lesser despite my great gathering of magic? Where were you when I was betrayed?”
“I was not yet born,” Jay said. “But I’m here now. And I will learn and grow further to protect you.”
Bondye shuddered. She wiped away the tears that formed in the corners of her eyes. Then she dismissed her great showing of immortal and dungeon boss magic.
“I need nothing from you, boy,” Bondye said. “At least for now, I don’t. All I needed was to see how truly good you are. Just like your mother told me. So, keep your loot. And have your victory. I surrender.”
Wait, this wasn’t how things were supposed to go, said one of the Dungeon Cores, appearing on the scene right at Bondye’s ‘defeat.’ The pearl shaped thing spoke through a blue box that appeared on Jay’s System notifications and inside of his mind almost instantly.
I told you we shouldn’t have let her have the island paradise location, said another Dungeon Core. That ruined everything! He became more peaceful here.
I think we got played, said a third Dungeon Core. He was not made as violent as he should have from all the fighting and trouble we sent him.
Jay chuckled as he, Brit, and Bondye turned to look up at three of the six cores that ran the 6th Hell Circle Dungeon. No matter if they were Admins, Masters, or Cores, Jay couldn’t help but get a laugh when he flipped the board on them and played the game his way. When would they learn that a hero of comedy played by his own rules?
26. Dealing with Devils
“Are you sure I can’t eat those prisoners you have lying around on my beach?” Bondye asked, her voice shaking the air around Jay and Brit as they sat on his ancestor’s right shoulder. “I’m really liking this monster business. Something about tossing a whole man into your mouth and swallowing him in one bite is thrilling. Just like that song– Maneater! It’s all the rage with you kids these days.”
“That’s not exactly our generation, but I know the song,” Jay admitted.
“Me too,” Brit said.
“Also, I kind of went ahead and spared those guys,” Jay added quickly before Bondye distracted him. She was good at doing that. “The one camping out earlier as if he could kill-steal– that guy had it coming. But please don’t eat or harm the others on the beach unless they act up.”
“Fine,” Bondye sighed. “At least I can shake things up with this stellar body of mine! Look at me go!”
Jay and Brit held onto one of Bondye’s dreadlocks in case she moved too suddenly and sent them overboard. From their vantage point, they could watch the many tentacles of Bondye’s lower body extend, contract, and twist as she propelled herself nimbly around hills and small mountains.
It was a chaotic but extraordinarily careful means of locomotion that left minimal destruction in her wake. Her tentacles seemed to wriggle and crawl consciously between jungle trees and bushes rather than lay and crush inconsiderately. She was also a scarily silent mover, leaving nothing more than little hisses where tentacles dragged across surfaces. Sounding more like a moderate den of snakes moving together as one.
Part of Jay realized he now had two monstrous elders in his family. Part of Jay also realized that this was too fun to not enjoy. He eagerly watched the reactions of Frank and the prisoners when Bondye slithered out from behind a giant wall of jungle trees and appeared out in the open. Half of her tentacles reached out into the water, the other half patted across the sands as if seeking for the next victim for her to grab.
Unlike all the monsters they’d come across around the Sea of Death, Bondye was perfectly alive– she was also stunning up top, apparently. Some prisoners paid closer attention to her face and upper body, which was probably not the best thing to do right now as Bondye sought to cause mischief and mayhem with her lower body. Those who hesitated and moved too slow got snatched up by her tentacles and waved around.
Bondye laughed uproariously, terrorizing the prisoners without harming them. Although Jay figured traumatizing these dungeon-trapped people was its own form of harm. Oh well, Jay could only do so much to help them. He had to let his ancestor have some fun– apparently she’d been cooped up in her domain, waiting for a challenge since this all started. So Jay sat with Brit at his side as Bondye swung, tossed up, and juggled prisoners. And made them cry.
Frank darted around Bondye’s waving tentacles and came to a hovering stop near Jay and Brit. The [Fighter] was having a hard time keeping his expression in control as he stared at Bondye laughing and cooing over the terror of the prisoners. Then Frank settled on one of his default emotions, a mix of anger, annoyance, and frustration. He pointed at Jay as if this gesture alone could lay all the ills and troubles of reality at Jay’s feet.
At this point, Jay wasn’t even going to deny it.
“I should’ve fled farther!” shouted the Voodoo Priest as he got flicked up high above Bondye’s head. He got caught by an awaiting tentacle that tentatively softened his fall. “You are more than the scariest of madmen. You are a monster of monsters, Captain Jay Luckrun!”
“I agree with that guy,” Frank muttered, staying in the air rather than joining Jay and Brit on his ancestor’s shoulder.
Bondye turned a giant blue eye on him. “Can I play with this one?”
Jay hummed.
“Don’t you dare!” Frank shouted. “I am not to be played with.”
“That sounds like he is to be played with,” Bondye challenged mischievously.
Jay read the emotional-g flaring high over Frank. The temptation to yank his chain was strong, but it would be too much for the guy. Jay sighed, feeling like he’d never get a decent opportunity to prank Frank hardcore.
“Join us on Bondye’s shoulder and you won’t get tentacled,” Jay said.
“Never say those words ever again,” Frank said before settling on Bondye’s shoulder with Jay and Brit.
“Hey, you all down there!” Jay shouted, blasting his words out without too much gravitas. “As long as you show subservience to Bondye, she won’t really harm you. She’s just getting used to being a giant monster. Let her kid around with you for a bit and everything will be okay.”
“Forget that!” shouted a Level 35 Warlock, one of the rare girls at that. “This is Chance at work! If we all unite and fight–”
Bondye snatched the girl up and tossed the girl into her mouth as she screamed for mercy. In one gulp, the Warlock went down the chute. Frank froze up like a petrified animal when the bulge formed in the monstress's neck and disappeared below.
Brit shook her head. “Some girls need to stop trying to be the center of attention and shut up.”
“Eh, excuse me, sir!” called a Level 32 Grave Robber ensnared by a tentacle. “Do we still get to live here and partake on the fruitful bounty of this paradise?”
“Can they hang around if they’re good neighbors?” Jay asked Bondye.
“Well, I could use good drinking buddies.” Bondye eyed the prisoners suspiciously. “You all do drink, right?”
They all said yes immediately.
“Bon!” Bondye cheered.
Jay had a weird vision of being on his mom’s shoulder instead of his ancestor. That magic connection business was strong between Mom and Ancestor.
Okay! A blue box signifying the arrival of a Dungeon Core appeared above them. It was larger than Bondye herself and took up most of the sky. After some deliberation, we’ve concluded that it’s best we address this boss surrender through me– the 6.2 Hell Circle Dungeon Core!
“Can we call you Six-Two?” Jay asked.
That would serve well enough for our purposes, the core said. Now please stop playing with your food, Grand Sea Witch. Be a proper Dungeon Boss and eat them all.
All the emotional-gs of the prisoners flared with horror and fear.
“No,” Bondye said. “They’re my drinking buddies now. And neighbors. And the people I’ll flip around in the air when I’m bored.”
I am starting to see why Six-Six is against having outsiders as major components of the dungeon, Six-Two complained. So troublesome. We’ve signed away too many freedoms to you.
“How did you make that mistake?” Frank asked.
Well, at the time, she was filled with a great amount of negativity, malice, and evil. There was no doubting this. But now she’s changed suddenly. Where did all of that dark emotion go?
