The party groans as they finally push their way through a slime-choked tunnel, with Nalain voicing the complaints of the group. "I still think that amulet we found in that other room would've helped with the slime somehow. Like a...slime key, or something."

Tizzy sighs as she uses a wand to scrape some sticky substance off of her boot, agreeing with her companion in feeling if not in pragmatism. "Yeah, that's probably the normal design. But do you wanna risk putting on anything the dungeon has to offer? The token charms are bad enough. At least the bridge key on Floor Four is just something you carry around and not something that might curse you with shit if it's a trap."

Raising a hand, Prince Thaddeus gathers the attention of the group. "We could make it through without any special tools, and so we did. And look - I believe our destination is at hand, or am I wrong?" Looking forward, it's easy to see why the prince would come to such a conclusion. A large door unlike anything else on the floor blocks the way forward - if it could even be called a door at all. It, to be frank, could be better described as an orifice. With a circular frame fifteen feet tall and ringed by ridged organic growths, the actual door itself seems to be constructed of a series of hard, triangular flaps in a spiral pattern. They too share the organic design of the black substance making up many of the walls, making it look a bit like an organ itself, or as Nalain puts it:

"So we finally called all the way down to the dungeon's asshole. Think this is where it shits us out?"

"Let's...try to focus on more positive metaphors, shall we? I would wager this is the floor's guardian arena, however." The prince examines his followers, judging their strength. The group is down to a single false Thaddeus as well as a decoy Linda, with the true Force Mage made invisible thanks to Tizzy. Tizzy herself on the other hand is still exposed, not yet recovered from whatever soul-tainting curse Sevastion had placed on her. Reed and Nalain are still combat-ready but clearly worn down in a way healing potions can't fix. As for the prince himself, well, the man had lost an arm not much earlier and magic and potions could only patch over that sort of pain to a certain limit. That limit will be one he'll reach after victory however, the prince swears on it.

Beyond the state of the party, their loot collection is now up to eighty-six tokens following the seven taken from Sevastion's rewards. He and Nalain are doubled-up on dungeon charms, meaning they should be due to earn seven more each from the Floor Nine guardian and the Core Guardian. Which is, if his tired mind can still do basic arithmetic...only just barely enough. "I'm afraid we'll need to put on some more charms if we wish to be certain to collect the hundred we need today. One more should be enough, but perhaps two for safety. Any volunteers?"

The party collectively takes a deep breath, and Tizzy raises her hand first. "Suppose I can take one, I do have my own defenses - "

She's interrupted by a shake of the prince's head. "Not you, Tizzy, I'm afraid. Your defenses are compromised at the moment now that you can't hide yourself. Perhaps another?"

There's a few blinks at the man asking for volunteers and then denying one of the few options he has left, but with a shrug Reed raises his hand next. "I can handle another, my lord. After all, you and Nalain have gotten this far with two, have you not? I'm sure I'll manage."

"I'll take one as well, just to be safe. I'm still disguised, after all." Thaddeus hands a spare charm to the Force Mage, but it vanishes before touching her illusion's hand as the true mage takes possession of it. "There we go. My mana is solid enough I think, wouldn't want to risk overdoing the potions right now. Are the rest of us ready?"

There's nods and agreements all around, and so Thaddeus turns back to face the giant...door. "Very well. Now...does someone see a...a handle, or perhaps a lever?"

The group takes a minute to analyze the structure, ranging from Nalain bashing it with her shield to Reed grabbing at random parts of the chamber wall, but eventually Tizzy gives a smirk. "Ah, it's mana-sensitive. Makes sense. A magic test...or probably a fart joke, either-or." The scout pulls out one of her secondary wands from her bag and aims it at the center of the barrier, even as everyone else in the group ducks back for safety. A blast of fire bathes the flaps of the door, and sure enough after a few moments they begin to fold away one by one.

The chamber beyond is similar to the one where they found Sevastion, but at easily five times the scale. A dome-shaped room awaits, poorly-lit but with enough illumination for them to see pools of fluid dotting the floor. There's no sign of the guardian themselves, but given how many of them are prone to ambushes that's not much of a surprise. For now, Nalain focuses her attention on the colorful pools.

"More acid, like on Floor Two? I don't know if the dungeon would repeat itself. Probably something even nastier." The half-orc shivers as she remembers the wounds she suffered fighting Lollyp, even if they have already been largely healed thanks to magic and potions. For his part the prince has to agree.

"I'm sure they're there for more than just decoration. Alright - Linda, keep a group shield up, be ready for an attack at any moment. Tizzy, Reed, you're our flank and rear defense. Nalain, you and I shall engage the beast directly. Ready? Then - forward!"

Nalain marches forward first, flanked by a pair of princes, and soon enough the dome-encased party has fully entered the chamber. There's still no sign of the guardian, but an echoing voice does ring out to welcome them. "I'm glad you've made it this far, I was a little worried you wouldn't. It is nice to see you all again, even if it has only been a few hours."

To the group's surprise a giant arachnoid monster somehow crawls out from behind one of the wall's supports, an apparently impossible feat. As they peer closer however it becomes clear that it's more of an optical illusion than true magic, the poor lighting and the design of the room hiding the shape of the walls. Still rather impressive, given that the beast that reveals itself might actually have to duck its head down if it wanted to use the giant orifice-door to exit the arena. Despite her new form as a mostly-humanoid torso atop a gigantic spider, Tizzy still recognizes her quickly.

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"Yulia. So this is what your real body looks like now? This is really the...the employment you seemed so happy about?"

The woman grins, revealing far too many needle-like teeth in the process. "If this is the form that can best serve grandmother, then I am glad for it. I'll admit, I am a little disappointed you chose to destroy Liani's body. I was looking forward to what uses I might find for it once all this is over."

A Thaddeus steps forward, taking charge of the conversation. "Liani just being one of the former allies you've betrayed. My patience wears thin, Bogdanov, especially for one such as you. Does the dungeon wish to present us with another elaborate 'test', or shall we slay each other and be done with it?"

"If I may brag, I might say that my acting skills have increased quite a bit these past few weeks. But no, I have not the cleverness for morality plays. All of you have had many chances to turn back or to accept grandmother's grace many times by now. Now - all of you are prey."

Her voice turns into an inhuman hiss on the last word and with that said she rushes forward, skittering on eight very long legs. Nalain rushes forward to meet her, eager to strike a blow on her exposed, unarmored abdomen, only to be pulled back at the last moment by a prince. She doesn't have time to ask why as a moment later the line separating Yulia's human and spider halves splits apart into a second mouth, this one wide enough to turn the warrior into half of a half-orc with a single chomp. Instead Yulia crashes bodily into Linda's protective barrier with a force that causes the mage to tremble.

"Gah, she's like a living battering ram! Try to avoid letting her build up that much speed again, if you could!?"

That's easier said than done as Yulia turns away, quickly building up distance, and Thaddeus finds himself forced to face a serious flaw with their current party composition. With almost no ranged combatants they have little choice but to chase after her, but that means leaving the protection that Linda can offer. Thinking through his options, the man turns to his mages. "Hand me one of your spare wands, quickly. Fire, light, anything of an offensive nature."

Linda does so, although not without question. "You can use them, my lord?"

"I never had much talent for mana control, but I'm not entirely bereft. Now, you two, help me draw her in!" Linda pulls out another wand of her own, and together with Tizzy's arcane blasts the three of them begin firing at the gigantic spider-woman. Hitting her is harder than they might expect considering her size, but the guardian's agility is literally inhuman. They do at least manage to block her off from gaining too much distance however, or from charging the party in a straight line.

Perhaps it shouldn't be too much of a surprise then when Yulia responds by crawling up onto the ceiling. One summoned sphere of acid from Linda does manage to strike at Yulia's legs, perhaps even disabling one, but unfortunately the wands are last-resort weapons and hardly up to the task of slaying a monster of Yulia's caliber. Nothing is able to stop her when she comes close enough to leap directly on top of Linda's shield dome, and the mage is struck by a sudden paradox. Yulia seemed almost weightless when she was running across the ceiling with ease, and yet now it's as if a several-ton weight has been suddenly dropped on top of her. Knowing her limits, Linda shouts out.

"It won't hold - dodge!"

Each of the party reacts in time, ducking or rolling out of the way before the spell collapses and Yulia crashes down on where they were standing. They're certainly disoriented and split up though, each of them flanking Yulia from a different angle. In other situations that might seem like an advantage yet Yulia proves to be a threat to multiple targets at once, her blade-like legs fending off the swords of her attackers. For good measure the guardian also draws a spear from where it had been strapped to her spidery back, and with it in her hands she turns towards Linda's decoy. "You think you're very clever, don't you?"

"Well, I don't like to boast, but I was a more talented mage than yourself, of that I'm certain."

Yulia prods at Linda with her spear, not seriously, just enough to make the woman flinch. "In your own arena, perhaps. But you have your specialties and I have mine. For example - you have forgotten that I can see souls!" Even as she shouts out her last word Yulia plunges her spear forward, not at the illusion of Linda but at the air to her left. In a moment the spell is shattered along with Linda's ribcage, the spear penetrating all the way through her chest and out her back. A barrier spell could have perhaps prevented this, but as it would have given away her location she had been relying on stealth for protection instead - a gamble which did not pay off.

The rest of the party is hardly inactive during this, with several of them scoring deep hits of their own while Yulia's concentration is elsewhere. Tizzy strikes the hardest, a belated attempt to save Linda with a blast that ends up taking both of Yulia's arms with it. It's too late though, and there's still several feet of wood stuck through the Force Mage when she collapses to the ground. Despite the injuries, Yulia laughs loudly. "Finally finishing what I started in our last fight, ahaha!"

With a shout the group surges forward, and within moments Yulia is short not only her arms but three of her legs. It's still not enough to stop her, as with a flick of her neck she's spit an acid sphere of her own at Nalain, while a spray of webbing from her rear pins a Prince Thaddeus to the ground. That attack at least proves to be a wasted effort when the prince fades from view a moment later, along with the decoy Linda. Tizzy sucks in a breath at the sight of it.

"Linda's portion of the decoy spell's fizzled out! I could maybe run one myself, but I'd need a moment to redo it from scratch!"

"Later! Focus on bringing her down for now!" The last remaining prince redoubles his efforts to bring the monstrous guardian to ruin, and although her vital organs are mostly out of his reach or armored by exoskeleton he does manage to continue to claim a bounty of legs. To her credit Yulia never lets up, stabbing at him until she has nothing left to stab with, and spitting acid until her throat runs dry. Eventually though she's left bleeding and literally disarmed, breathing hard as she stares into Thaddeus's eyes.

The man spares a glance for his fallen companion, but soon returns his attention to her. "You gave everything for one last attempt to kill a former ally, traitor. Was it worth it?"

Yulia's smile is wide as she leans forward. "I only wish I could have tasted her. This body's instincts are very - " Whatever the guardian is about to say, it's silenced as a blast from Tizzy takes off the woman's head. As all eyes are drawn to her, Tizzy seems to be as surprised by the move as anyone else.

"I - she - I couldn't just listen to her gloat like that! So - so fuckin' pleased with herself!"

"I fully understand, Tizzy." After a quick glance to ensure that Yulia is indeed actually dead, Thaddeus quickly paces over towards Linda's fallen form. He finds only what he expects unfortunately, no potion will be saving the Force Mage this time. "She...Linda was always one of the strongest of us. I truly believed she'd make it to the end with us."

Nalain walks over, having finished wiping the acid off of her armor. "At this point I'm half-surprised any of us are still alive. But we've made it now, right? No more floors?"

"Only the core chamber remains. A final guardian...and then our destiny."

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