Great Forest Dungeon

Second Floor

Four Shards Active

Egnatia leaned to the side as a Bolt spell shot from a cultist's wand. Her shield blocked the next attack as she lunged with a sword, skewering one cultist. Her sword sliced through the thin man and slashed through the next one's neck.

She cleaned the blade on their black robes before recomposing herself. The others were rushing through the Isolated second floor. How Voolyn would manage against even the first cultists was beyond her understanding. He was half a man and had hardly moved on his own since Althowin's attack.

If he didn't make it, so be it. The rest of them would move faster. Though they would need to find a new leader for the Golden Bulls. Those hard-headed zealots wouldn't join another company.

Egnatia stepped into the sun-lit cultist city of the second floor. Of all the towers, the Great Forest was the most peaceful. Birds chirped, the sun shone, and calming breezes rustled the leaves. A peaceful place to die for most heroes.

The shining beacon of a quest floated above an old man's head as he hurriedly spoke to a young woman. They both turned to her with hope.

"Hurry up," she said.

New Quest

Assistant of the Malignant Spirit

Reward: A favor from a powerful man

Note: Check the Journal for more information

Egnatia walked away before the old man even finished talking.

"You don't have any questions?" Rattis called.

Egnatia ignored him, heading directly to the satyr village. It wasn't her first time in the Great Forest.

Birds sang as she walked through the forest, over the stream, and directly into the satyr village. As the guards appeared before her, she pivoted and slashed, taking the head off the umbra appearing directly behind her.

"Intrud—"

Her shards hummed as she clutched the god level katana, the only thing of value that had survived Althowin's blast.

The satyr village went into war mode all around her. Mobs appeared in the treetops and bows creaked with tension. She crouched, took a deep breath, and sprang into action.

Arrows flew from all directions, mostly deflected by her new armor and her katana. A few pierced skin or scraped her arms, and yet she launched herself onto the central platform, spinning and cutting down mobs with ease.

She parried, slashed, and dismembered every creature that came close, even as they pleaded for mercy.

"The Malignant Spirit!" one called.

She couldn't help but laugh as she disemboweled the hideous satyr, felling the last of the ones nearby. She strode into the governor's house before the archers could continue their barrage.

Governor Gropnil stood ready like a true warrior. At one point in her life, the old satyr would have been intimidating. Formidable. But she was the greatest hand-to-hand fighter on the planet.

Gropnil held a shield and a flanged mace. His hooves dug into the wooden floor.

Egnatia spread her feet, sliding one back, and held the katana with both hands. It shone gently, even in the dim light of the governor's home.

"I will never give up the eyes," he said in a gruff voice. Gropnil stepped forward, hoof clacking on the wood, and swung for her unprotected midsection.

Like a flash of light, Egnatia slashed, cutting the satyr's forearm in half. His mace and hand clattered to the ground. With wide eyes, he watched the katana spin back around and cut through his skull.

She let the corpse fall as she retrieved the wooden box from the mantle and removed the two ruby gems before tossing the whole box in the fire. Her journey back to the cathedral was faster. There was no reason to keep the others waiting for her. That wasn't the Lucan way.

Skeleton guards watched her with empty pits as she strode over forgotten gravestones and into the oversized building. She walked right up to Nosolus and handed him the eyes.

"Well done," he said with a smile. "Now—"

Egnatia turned and slashed, cutting the head off the young hunter. Nobody in the cathedral flinched except the old man. Egnatia crouched, grabbed the hunter's knife, cut her chest open, and ripped the heart free.

Nosolus's smile only grew as the bloody heart was thrust into his hands. "Well done indeed." He carefully placed the gems in the statue's eye sockets, then raised his hand with the mob's heart. It combusted in green flames.

The flames of the Malignant Spirit.

Egnatia tapped her foot impatiently. Olena would have already made it through, and the others wouldn't be far behind.

Nosolus closed his fist as the last of the heart burned away. The statue of the Malignant Spirit shook.

"Here we go," Egnatia said. She sheathed the katana, kicked a skeleton in the ribs, and snatched its halberd. She flourished it, spinning with expert precision, and decapitated the old man.

The whole cathedral lurched into motion, closing in on Egnatia, except Nosolus, who was staring wide-eyed at the statue.

Egnatia moved like water, using the halberd to dismember skeletons and kill the few human cultists. It made her long for the weapon Althowin had destroyed.

A Lord of the Abyss has risen

The Malignant Spirit

The Malignant Spirit shook off its first layer of stone as Egnatia felled the last of the mobs, leaving only the two bosses.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Nosolus turned to her with green eyes and a confident, if not arrogant, smirk.

Engatia tossed the halberd on the ground and strode directly at the magus. He flinched and formed an abyssal weapon in his hand. Before he could even swing, she was close enough to taste his sour breath. She snapped his wrist, dispersing the spell and forced Nosolus against the wall with a hand around his throat.

"Hm." The Malignant Spirit's voice was like a deep rumble. "The Demon Killer returns."

"I'm not here for you," she said, lifting Nosolus off the ground.

Even as he choked, his eyes glowed with an abyssal boon. He clawed feebly at her face with fingers not even strong enough to score her skin.

She had read all the books and done all the studying one could do.

Energy thrummed in the cathedral as her soul connected with Nosolus's. A loop appeared in her mind, blackness to green fire and death, and back to black. The life of Nosolus the mob. The life of a magus who thinks himself a god every time a hero enters the floor.

It was too weak to overwhelm her. He was too weak to influence her at all.

Egnatia's hand crushed his throat, then snapped his neck. Green fire roared, consuming his corpse, then it climbed her arm with fury. Her skin burned, leaving purple scars wherever the fire snaked until it reached her left eye. The horrid scar burned like new. Green flames rushed inside like a torrent into her skull.

Then silence.

Egnatia stood and spat.

The Malignant Spirit stood nearby, still crouched like its statue. "Such willpower."

Egnatia took a deep breath and drew the katana. It immediately ignited with blue flames. "Do you know, Spirit, what demons are weak against?"

The Malignant Spirit stood tall. "Other demons."

Egnatia dashed and swung. The Malignant Spirit's claws rang against the blade. The impact sent them both sliding backward.

***

Althowin sat on the table with her knees up, all hunched into a ball. She had goggles over her eyes and spectacles over the goggles, magnifying her vision on Owin's metal hand. He had already been sitting as still as possible for at least ten minutes, and he was finding it harder every second.

"I'm going to kill Zezog," Althowin muttered. "If it was already this damaged, why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. There was a lot going on."

Althowin muttered something else and poked a wire that made Owin's whole hand convulse. She placed her bare hand against it, which glowed gently. A few more pokes and adjustments, then she looked up, raising the spectacles and goggles. "That would've been faster if we took it off, but . . ." She gestured. "Move it. See if it works."

Owin opened and closed the hand a few times. It felt perfectly fine. "It seems good."

"Good? Things I make aren't just good, Owin." She climbed off the table. "If you tell someone I made you a 'good' prosthetic, I'll send you to Minolitana Prima or something. Go deal with the Magna Regum on your own." She put some tools in a drawer. "Those jokes aren't really funny anymore, are they?"

"Are they normally?" Shade asked.

Althowin gave him a look, which made Shade flinch horribly.

Basolia appeared above the door. "The Alegarra Alchemy party has arrived."

Owin and Shade looked at each other.

"The what?" Shade asked.

"Kat, Ernie, and all those other people." Althowin shooed Owin. "Go greet them for me. I'll be there in a moment."

Basolia opened the door. "Would you—"

Owin took off as fast as he could. He immediately crashed into the wall, and found himself bouncing off a wall with every turn. To his surprise, Basolia kept pace, acting as a guiding black line through the snaking labyrinth.

Owin burst into the lobby and was greeted with a myriad of reactions.

Katalin yelled, "What the fuck?"

Potilia screamed and threw her kanabo. Ernie didn't react at all. Cixilo went invisible. Sylmare drew her weapon and crouched into a fighting stance.

Siora just sighed.

Owin leapt into Katalin's arms. Her expression shifted from anger to joy as she laughed and caught him.

"You're back," Owin said.

"And you're a 2 Shard Hero!" Katalin hugged him tightly before setting him down.

Shade walked over and leaned on the wall beside Siora. "A bunch of losers, aren't they?"

"They're my friends," she said.

"Oh, right. Me too." Shade nodded and winked. He nudged her gently. "It's good to see you."

Siora smiled softly and nodded.

"What is that?" Ernie asked, pointing at Shade.

Owin hugged him then gestured. "Shade, introduce yourself."

The skeleton bowed dramatically. "Greetings, all. Hello, everyone. Salutations—"

"Shade," Owin said.

"I'm the Withered Shade. A dead hero who is Cursed to live forever and uh, I don't know. The gods hate me, I die a lot, and I clearly have the best fashion out of everyone here." Shade looked at Althowin as she entered. "Does that sound about right?"

"It's as close as we're going to get." Althowin nodded to the others. "Well done."

"Excuse me," Sylmare said. "Is Veph still here?"

Althowin looked at Owin, then back to Sylmare. "No. She betrayed us and tried to kill Owin. If you want to return to Void Nexus, I'll release you from my company and you can go. If you work with her, you'll be my enemy, but I won't stop you here."

The room was suddenly uncomfortably silent.

"Oof," Shade said. "I wouldn't want to be in that position."

Althowin rolled her eyes. "Same goes for you, Siora. In fact, it was your old partner that tried to kill Owin before Veph."

"Nikoletta?" Siora's index opened. "What happened? She—"

"I killed her," Owin said.

Siora closed her index. "Her name is still on the list."

Owin immediately opened his index and looked over the list of 2 Shard Heroes. His heart sank upon reading her name. He closed his index and looked at Althowin, who had just done the same thing.

"It appears she lived through the encounter. I'll send word to Indulf." Althowin composed herself, adjusting the glove she wore over her flesh hand. "What is it going to be?"

"I want to go back," Sylmare said immediately.

Althowin opened her index. "You're released. Get out."

Sylmare immediately turned and left through the door as Basolia opened it.

All eyes turned to Siora.

"I . . ." She walked up to Owin and crouched. "Is it okay if I stay?"

"Yeah." He nodded slightly. "It's fine."

"Then I will." Siora stood and faced Althowin. "I'd like to stay, ma'am."

"She worked as a team?" Althowin asked.

"She led us," Katalin said.

Althowin nodded and gestured to the side. "Everyone go wash up, unpack, and get some food. Chorsay, his friend, and the Hog couple are somewhere near the kitchen."

"Hog couple?" Potilia asked.

"Sanem and Raif," Owin said. "She never remembers their names."

Althowin shrugged.

Potilia crouched and pulled Owin into a hug. "Are you okay?"

"I am. But check on Miya and Chorsay."

"Where's Miya?"

"Medical," Althowin said. "She'll be out soon. Basolia can show you the way if you want. Katalin, Ernie, let's have a chat in the studio."

Katalin patted Owin's head. "We'll catch up soon."

Owin nodded as they walked away.

Potilia flinched away from Shade, but guided Owin toward the kitchen. "Two shards?"

"Save the stories for Chorsay," Cixilo said. "He'll want to hear it all." She smiled and set off toward the kitchen.

Owin let himself get pulled with Potilia until they reached the door. He looked over his shoulder where Shade still stood with Siora.

"Are you coming?" Owin asked.

Siora pointed at herself, brows raised.

"Obviously," Shade said, putting his arm over her shoulder. "I want to hear your story."

Owin waited for her at the door. "I think we have a lot to talk about."

Siora hesitated.

Shade leaned in uncomfortably close. "He's trying to be friendly," he whispered loudly.

"I can figure that out," she said, pulling away from Shade. "Can I have some space?"

Shade gestured to the door. "Onward!"

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