I knew the pack of werewolves were here when I heard the howling.

"Game time."

Larry was already moving down the stairs. Puck had left the third floor and was travelling down the stairs to my core room. The intelligent guardians were already preparing to move to the stairs while the others, sensing my unease, were preparing for battle.

Outside, the howling was getting louder.

It was a waiting game now.

The howling was all around the watchtower.

Then the howling passed by.

"I wonder if they…."

The doors were locked, but that did not stop what came through them.

Raid Alert!

Your Dungeon is being raided!

A Void Corrupted creature is attacking your Dungeon. Kill it before it destroys you!

Rally your minions!

Defend your Core and Dungeon!

…………..

Minion room/floor restrictions have been lifted until the raid has been completed or defeated!

My minions reacted and started moving as I looked at what was attacking me.

It was a merger of things. The most significant part was a werewolf body, taller and thinner than I expected. When standing up, it was seven feet tall. From the front of its torso, the face of a man protrudes. An arm came from the stomach, with another from the back. A goat's head was on the left-hand side, just above the hip. Two goat legs protruded from the other side.

"Now that's fucked up!"

The whole amalgamation was just wrong. I had to wonder what had created such an abomination of a form. I shifted my vision to Mana Sight as it moved through the entry room.

Over the years, I have seen natural patterns running through living beings, representing their essence flows. Whatever this was, its flows were a complete mess, and the level of void corruption was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was, by every definition, a twisted monster.

Even with all of its physical issues, it moved with surprising speed.

When I finished my inspection, it was already on the 1st floor. As expected, the Wasps had committed to battle and were being slaughtered. The rest of my minions were getting into position on all the floors below. I never expected my wasps to survive, and they were here to buy time.

A few got through and used their stingers. If this monster had been injured, it would not have reacted and just carried on. Each hand ended in long, jet-back talons. They were razor sharp, slicing through my minions like a hot knife through butter. The human arms and the goat's head also did what they could in the fight.

The Guardian was soon the only one left. It did its best to fight the monster but was casually sliced in half.

I said, going downstairs to the second floor. I relayed what I had seen of its abilities: truly intelligent Guardians. I hoped this would give them a slight advantage in the coming fight.

The toads on the second floor lasted for a shorter period. They were tougher but lacked the speed of the Wasps, which quickly became the telling factor. They used their tongues and status attacks, but this monster just walked through them.

The attacking void monster was slowed on the 3rd. The boars charged in waves, triggering their [Charge] skill to maximise damage. I saw a few wounds appear, oozing black ichor. As before, this was not a one-sided fight for my minions. Tear wounds were added to the attacking boar as the void monster blurred as it struck back.

The boars fell, and it was left to the Guardian. [Charge] was triggered as it collided, its tusks ripping into the legs of the void monster. The fight continued, but the red health bar fell fast above my Guardian. It was not long before it drained away. The void monster walked over the body and continued down the stairs.

The spiders swarmed using numbers to try to win the fight.

They attacked as a solid mass, every normal spider attacking at once. The three more improved spiders waited back with the floor guardian. Ichor and body parts flew around as the spiders were shredded. They were trying to use their ability to create webs to contain and suppress the void monster, but it was ripping through them faster than they were spinning. The number of spiders started to drop fast, and the improved shadow spiders were forced to be committed. Queen was getting ready to join in the battle as well.

It was less than a minute later that she was forced to commit. Her bulk worked against her in the smaller stairwell room, allowing her to use her [Shadow Arms] spell more effectively. This snarled the monster, causing it to stumble, opening it to her attacks.

She hit the monster with several solid blows, causing nasty gashes across its body. It quickly recovered and began to counterattack. Her health bar began to drop fast, but she was able to get off another [Shadow Arms]. Several more of her blows connected, causing more injuries, but the void monster counterattacks finished her off.

The monster set off again down to the next floor, and this time, it was the 5th-floor rooms that were going to get their chance to shine. I had slightly more hope for these minions, as their teeth had the piercing attribute, and I hoped this would cause more injuries to the attacker. As soon as they hit the 5th-floor stairwell room, the amassed worms attacked it again, going for swarming tactics over individual attacks.

The worms died but held out a bit longer and caused more damage. The void monsters' black talons took a terrible toll on anything they could touch. It was during this fight that I noticed something that disturbed me greatly.

The void monster's back human arm had been wounded by the Queen in the fight above. The worms pinned it to the stairs, and the back arm was not involved in the fighting. To my absolute horror, I realised that the wound on the arm was healing right before my eyes in real-time. The cut was sealing and producing some form of steam as it did so.

"Oh, Fuck me! It can regenerate!"

This revelation changed the whole nature of this fight for me. I hoped to wear it down as it approached the core room, but now that was out of the picture, depending on how its regeneration ability worked. If it were a passive one that was constantly active, then there was a good chance I would lose this fight and be destroyed. I had to change tactics.

"Puck, get up to Krag and help him when it gets to him."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

My second wandering boss understood his instructions and was moving to his new position. By the time he reached the floor above the 5th floor, the Guardian had engaged the intruder, and it was locked in a savage battle. Both were taking terrible wounds, but the void monster's regeneration factor kept it in the fight far more effectively than my Guardian's innate toughness. The Guardian's red health bar was dropping scarily quickly.

I was getting close to panicing.

The monster was steaming more as it was wounded and healing. The Guardian used its [Harden] ability to buy it more time. The talons the beast used were the same as the Fearfiend's. I wondered how it gained them, but I couldn't focus on that now.

The 5th-floor Guardian fell, and the invading void beast wasted no time moving down to the next floor. It was steaming more, and the wounds were healing across its body. When it reached the 6th floor, all the snakes, including the Guardian, attacked immediately. They were hiding all across the courtroom, and as soon as the Guardian stepped off the steps, they attacked.

They were striking and withdrawing, striking and withdrawing, trying to keep the void monster on the defensive. Unfortunately, the void monster was just as quick as they were, and the snakes started dying. Krag could hear the fighting above him and started to get ready to meet it in battle.

Above, the fighting was still going on. The 6th-floor Guardian proved more effective than I thought in this fight. It could dodge several of the attacks the monster launched against it and struck back whenever it found an opening. It used its abilities to toughen its hide, trying to survive longer.

"Puck, go for all of its eyes when it comes down."

I sensed his confusion with my orders, but knew he would obey them. On the floor above, my Guardian was losing its health as the fight inevitably moved against it. The attacking void monster was now lightly smoking from its wounds, not steaming as they healed. This was a strange change, and I wondered what it meant.

It could dart in and inflict several more wounds onto the invader. The third of these strikes proved to be its undoing. The void monster swiped down as it fought back, catching the Guardian and slicing through its body and separating it into several sections.

The void beast now stood in the remains of the snakes, but, for the first time, did not immediately charge down to the next floor. It spent several moments breathing heavily and healing.

As I watched it, I realised that not only was the werewolf's head breathing hard, but the other two were also. They were panting like dogs to regulate their internal heat.

Was this something to do with its regeneration ability?

It set off then down the stairs, and as it descended, Krag struck. His mace collided with its knee, causing it to collapse and roll down the stairs. He quickly moved around the stairwell following it, and as soon as he was close, he struck again, pressing his advantage. This time, his mace collided with their human arm on their backs. There was a sickly crack from the arm as it was deformed by the impact, not broken but shattered.

This was the first time the void beast cried out in pain as the human mouth screamed. It was trying to get back up, but Puck had just joined the battle. He was using [Dazzle] to confuse the void beast. He tried to aim at the different sets of eyes as Krag hit it again.

The steam was again rising from the body of the void beast, but it was sickening much faster this time. It was soon back on its feet, countering Krag. My Guardian used his shield as a bludgeoning weapon, slamming into the void beast and knocking it back again, but this was not without cost, as it could slash across his shoulder because he was so close to it. His armour took some of it, but it was heavily damaged, and blood could be seen coming from the wound.

The mace head glowed and impacted with the void monster again, hitting the goat head on the side. The blow pulverised the skull, and the head went still. The human face again cried out in pain, and the steam increased. The werewolf was not out of this fight yet as it blurred with the speed of its attacks. Krag's shield was savaged as splinters and metal shards were ripped free. Krag's bulk was far more significant, allowing him to stand against the attacks.

Puck continued to pelt it with spells and seemed to disorient it slightly. Krag uses this to his advantage again, hitting it repeatedly with his mace. Injuries against the void beast were mounting, but it was still fighting, lashing out whenever it could. The rapidly deteriorating shield stopped most, but a few did score glancing wounds against my Guardian. His armour was looking worse for wear as well now. The red health bar above his head was fast approaching half empty.

The werewolf still had a few tricks left. This time, it again glowed with a sickly anti-light, similar to the Fairfield. Its attacks were already blurry due to its speed, but now I even had trouble seeing them. Krag, how do I shield before him? I need to choke the bunch of these attacks. Unfortunately, the shield could not withstand the abuse it had been going through, and it fell to pieces. One of the werewolf's strikes sliced through the now-exposed arm, causing a nasty wound. It was so deep that I realised that even the bone in his arm had been sliced through.

This time, it was my Guardian crying in pain.

Now that he was without the protection of his shield, the void beast jumped at him, flashing with animalistic fury. Puck knew the fight was now against Krag and withdrew from the floor down to the next and last one. On the 7th floor, my Guardian was slaughtered. He tried to fight back, but the void beast's speed and brutality carried the day.

My Guardian fell back, slamming onto the ground with a massive, resounding thud. The void beast stood victorious over him, but he was painting again on the thick steam to the point that he was a light smoke. The invader was not steady on its feet and staggered slightly. It appeared that the older fighting had done to get here was taking its toll, even with its regeneration ability or because of it.

Below, the last of my defenders had gathered. I was afraid, but no longer panicking. I had a slim chance of victory here. My changes to how I could defend myself helped, and I would have to implement more. The demon I had access to now was one option I was contemplating.

My focus returned to the fight as the void beast descended to my last floor.

The rats swarm first. The beast soon has dozens of tiny bite marks, but it kills the rats faster than they injure it. It is not long before they are all dead. Then, the boars commit. They attack in pairs and are slightly tougher than the ones above. They trigger their abilities and fight as hard as they can. Many more wounds are added to the void beast.

Here, I saw the first change.

It was not regenerating as fast. It seemed that its ability had a limit and had reached or was close to it. The revenant was in the back, getting ready to engage. Puck was prepared to join in again. It was getting to the point where I was even willing to commit to Larry as well.

The boars were cut down, and the revenant committed to battle as the last fell.

It did not hold back committing straight away with a [Multi-Thrust] and [Touch of Death] combination attack. The void beast was weary from the fighting and too slow to dodge this. Two deep cuts were opened across its torso. One of them crossed the human face, and it fell silent with its eyes closed. The arm from the front of the torso had also gone still. The goat's head had still not recovered from the battle with Krag.

The revenant was forced to dodge counters but stayed moving, keeping the advantage. [Multi-Thrust] and [Touch of Death] were used again, but this time, they were used in conjunction with Pucks' [Dazzle]. Two deep wounds now scarred across the void beast. Its regeneration factor was now clearly slowed to the point of inactivity. It was starting to sway on its feet more, and its attacks were becoming less coordinated and focused.

The revenant went for the kill, and with the forward thrust with its full weight behind it, it inserted its sword through the neck of the void beast. The void beast, however, was aware enough to strike back, and its talons sliced into the body of my revenant as it impaled itself on them. The red health bar dropped frighteningly fast, but not completely.

The void beast seemed to die, and it collapsed to the floor. As it did so, it tore its claws from the revenant's body, doing additional damage and ironically bringing the health bar to zero, killing the revenant.

"Is it ov…"

Raid Alert!

Your Dungeon is being raided!

The raid has ended!

Result – VICTORY!

Your defences killed one Corrupted Monster!

Designs gained: Werewolf! Abomination!

Minion's ability gained: Regeneration!

Your Dungeon is being repaired from the raid. As you are VICTORIOUS, all damage will be repaired. All minions will respawn.

Void corruption gained!

………….

Minion room/floor restrictions have been restored, and your Dungeon is being reset!

The void corruption hit me like a sledgehammer.

I shifted my view into my Core. This was the most void corruption I had ever absorbed in one go, and I was eager to see how the changes I had made would handle the volume of it. Being able to see the channels in action was something I should have done long before. Seeing the corrupt energy flowing through the upper level of my Core, I was able to track it all and realise where I could make more improvements.

The Dungeon was repaired when I emerged, and all my minions were back in their proper positions. I felt shitty as hell. If I hadn't made the alterations to my Core when I had that amount of void corruption, it would have pushed me close to the 90% range, and I dreaded to think about how long that would have taken me to process and get rid of.

I had gained not one but two new designs, but I was in no mood to investigate them at the moment. That will have to wait for another day.

I vaguely wondered what was happening on the surface.

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