Battle, fire, and chaos that was all he saw.

Rickle was exhausted by the fighting and had been forced to step away. He watched as the battle unfolded around the plane. He was a lower-tier god and could not last long in the fight that was taking place.

Oda's corruption had been a shock, but the turning of those who served him only added to it. Those in his realm had been corrupted almost entirely. This had rippled down through his followers on the mortal plane. Their level of resistance to the corruption imposed upon them was linked to their willpower. This led to wildly different outcomes in his temples. The problem was that no one expected it, and they had all fallen.

From them, the corruption spread.

A flash of power and an explosion drew his attention back to the battle happening here.

Nictor was coordinating nearly every other god and goddess against him. They were now beginning to contain him, but it was hard going. Many were sporting wounds.

Rickle was in a bind. Many had called on him to grant them luck, but he had refused to do so. To give them was to take from other places and people. The mortal plane needed everything it could get at the moment.

Astraus was leading a renewed assault, but Oda was manipulating time to stay ahead of them. It was proving to be a cannier opponent than the younger gods had given him credit for. He was dancing around them, striking at openings.

Around them, their minions were holding back the void-corrupted minions of Oda. They were slowly gaining ground here, but it was a gruelling battle. Void corruption was taking its toll on many as the battle wore on. This caused them to turn on their former allies.

Oda and Astraus clashed.

The battle was fought on many levels. Physical, magical, and to the very nature of their Mantles. When the divine waged war, it was the total commitment of self. Oda was mocking them to keep them off-balance. Astraus was letting her emotions control her actions.

Astraus was wielding a weapon that was a concept of a sword. She was striking at Oda, trying to cut him. He dodged and manipulated time to avoid her. Others were coming to help her, but she was too focused on him.

She lunged when an opening had appeared.

It was a trap.

Oda had created the opening, and she had fallen for it.

He stepped in as she lunged, passing any attempt to guard against his attack. Her eyes went wide as she realised her error.

Oda struck her with the full force of his power.

Astraus was shattered in an explosion of energy and concepts.

Silence came to the divine plane.

Then many roared, and battle was joined again. The intensity is increasing. Nictor and Xandus were trying to overwhelm him. Others are adding to the assault.

## ## ## ## ##

The shattering of Astraus was felt across the planes.

It was like a wave travelling; some felt it before others, but in time, all would come to feel it.

The mortal followers were relying on her power to help them in the battles against the twisted, collapsed forces. They suffered a massive backlash of energy as they were violently disconnected from their goddess.

In many places, this was the worst thing that had happened. The followers of some of the most active in fighting the twisted that will be rampaging across the major settlements of the world. This allowed the twisted to regain some of the initiative in many places, resulting in increased casualties and damage.

This was the most obvious of the effects.

It was another effect that would have a more significant long-term impact on the mortal races.

Across the mortal plane, the divine dungeon fairies were sent into a state of catatonic shock as their goddess was shattered. This sent the dungeons into a spiral of fear and confusion as a long-term companion ceased to communicate with them. These fairies were integral to the running of the dungeons they were part of, and their disconnection from them caused different levels of chaos to erupt.

Every dungeon on the mortal plane began to act erratically, striking out in confusion and panic. This only added to the chaos that was engulfing the world.

That was all the dungeons but one.

## ## ## ## ##

"Queen, hold them. We need to kill them before more arrive."

The battles were becoming more intense as the number of twisted increased with every group that arrived. This present wave had broken through my defenders down to the fourth floor and was reinforced by another group that had just come through.

The spiders would bring them down, but they were pushing through, and I had to rely on the fourth-floor Guardian to win this one. The floors below were ready to meet the invaders, but I hoped to reset the dungeon before an even larger group arrived.

Both my essence and corruption counts were increasing.

Currently, I am concerned about the corruption count, but I have only reached 31%. That could change very quickly if they continued at the same pace.

The first, second, and third-floor stairwell rooms were the scene of brutal battles—bodies of my minions and the twisted littered everywhere. I had stopped counting the numbers, focusing solely on killing them as quickly as possible.

Queen had now joined the battle on the fourth. I was confident that she would bring down the remaining four quite quickly.

The twisted were getting more powerful as the waves came in. Most were freshly turned, it seemed, but several of them were showing signs of more advanced void corruption, and they were the ones that would do the most damage.

It didn't take long for her to bring down the few that were still standing, as they were wounded, but I couldn't celebrate. I supported the last of them, and another group charged into the building above. This prevented the dungeon from being reset.

I needed to get ready for a……

"What the hell was that?"

My core and vision suddenly wobbled was the best way to describe it. Something had happened; it all washed over me, and I couldn't fully explain it. As I had never encountered it before, I had no point of reference. I looked around fearfully, wondering what had caused it, but at the moment, I could see no indication.

Yet I got the feeling that something was now gone.

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I can't focus on it right now, as I had a larger group of nine twisted charging downstairs. Queen and what few spiders were left were ready to meet them.

"Nine coming, be ready."

I kept abreast of the numbers she was facing, allowing her to plan accordingly. She organised the last of her spiders. I turned my attention to the nine coming downstairs. Some of them are showing signs of more significant corruption, and they would be the worst ones to fight.

It didn't take them long to reach the fourth floor and battle to break out once again.

"How many more are coming?"

## ## ## ## ##

"How many more are left?" Ranus asked Danrum. By now, both men were exhausted, covered in soot and blood from the relentless fighting that had been taking place.

"The temple district looks empty. They are moving through the city toward the dungeon, following the corridors that have been set up. As to numbers, we counted at least another 50 bound for the dungeon that we know of." Danrum was looking around at the devastation.

"The adventurers?" Ranus asked.

"Helping to contain and fighting those that aren't moving towards the dungeon. Averance is leading the kill teams, hunting those not being herded. Nextom spoke this time.

"I will warm the…" Ranus started to say that when a war cleric of Astraus, standing near them, suddenly screamed and collapsed. Nextom and the nearby healer ran over to him to see what was wrong. Many others had their hands on their weapons, ready in case the man showed signs of void corruption.

"What is wrong with him?" Ranus asked. He was fearful that more priests would turn to the twisted. They desperately needed what was still left standing.

"I don't know, but something has happened to his connection to his goddess," Nextom spoke after a few moments of inspecting the man.

Before Ranus could say anything else, it was as if a wave of subtle energy swept over them all. Many turned and looked around, wondering what had caused it, but there was no clear sign of its source and no visible adverse effects.

"Now, what was that?" Ranus was now running on adrenaline, and all his instincts were focused on his fight-or-flight reaction. He just wanted it to be over and to lie down and sleep for a month, but his position forced him to keep moving.

"I… I do not know. But that was some form of divine power." Nextom was looking up at the sky, trying to figure out what had just transpired.

"Right. Another thing to worry about. Let me warn the dungeon about what's coming.

## ## ## ## ##

At least another 50!

It was at this moment that I seriously questioned all the choices I had made since that time in the darkness when I met Oda.

Queen was the last one standing on the fourth floor. More were entering, halting the dungeon's reset. A dozen were already heading down the stairs.

They were still coming.

Queen used her spells and skills as far as she could. There were few after the battles she had already fought. She had rested a little, but it was far from enough.

The first of the twisted down the stairs was body tackled and knocked down. She pinned the void corrupted man to the floor and reached and ripped his head off his shoulders. She didn't have time to bask in her victory as more corrupted piled on top of her. Many had developed weapons, but their corruption led to their overuse and misuse. She had been wounded in other fights and was not able to hold them back. I watched as she was overwhelmed by the sheer weight of numbers, as they were soon no less than eight attacking her.

As they fought past her, heading down the stairs, the worms were ready for them. The first few who went downstairs were quickly killed. This didn't stop the avalanche of bodies coming downstairs. Queen had fallen, and now more were coming. The worms were tougher than the spiders and proved capable of holding out a bit longer. The problem was that the corruption was now showing greater and more significant effects, twisting and warping their bodies.

This was demonstrated in new physical abilities that enhanced them to the point where they were able to hold their own against my minions on the fifth floor. They were dying, but so were my defenders. More were entering the surface building and coming downstairs.

This was more than 50!

My minions were utilising their skills and abilities whenever they could, giving me that slight edge I hoped would turn this battle. The twisted will also then demonstrate their skills countering that. This was a grinding battle downstairs as the fifth-floor Guardian was now engaged. There was a woman, or what was a woman, on his back that was turning some feral monstrosity that was ripped through my Guardian's hide.

The corrupted were now breaking through to the sixth floor, and the snakes there were taken out as quickly as possible. Striking from ambush points, they were able to take out the first few that reached the floor promptly.

More were getting past the Guardian of the fifth floor and reaching the sixth, reducing the effectiveness of the snake's ambushes. Now they were dying along with the twisted that were attacking them.

On the floor above, the Guardian finally fell, and it was like a tsunami of bodies came down the stairs. The snakes did not last much longer, and on the floor below, one solitary defender was grinning, waiting.

The first of the corrupted down the stairs found its head smashed into a pulp by a mace. The second was hit with a large door acting as a shield into the wall. Before it could recover, Krag's mace pulverised its head. Behind that, one came to more, and they were able to engage the seventh-floor Guardian.

Soon, there were more. Krag was bellowing challenges and laughing as he fought. Here, the twisted and the corrupted found an opponent who could hold his own against them. Some were slipping past downstairs, but the defenders were quickly eliminating them on the eighth floor.

Coming down the stairs, this battle is far from over, as from their appearance, these are the most corrupted I've seen yet. Krag was weeping a tally amongst the attackers, but they were overwhelming him with sheer weight of numbers again, like the guardians above.

They were wearing him down now, pushing him back from the stairwell into his hall. More were passing to the floor below. The eighth-floor minions were now fully engaged in fighting those who had broken through.

Krag was bleeding from many wounds, and his shield was starting to break up from the punishment it had received. This didn't stop him, and he hit back just as hard as he was getting it. Bodies were piling up in front of him as he was killing the twisted that were not fast enough to avoid him.

On the floor below, the boars and rats were engaged in the fight. The revenant had now also committed to the battle. It was holding up better against the twisted minions than the others, but I knew it was only a matter of time before it fell.

On the surface, it seemed that there were no more twisted coming in, and those remaining were hopefully all that I had to deal with. The level of corruption I was absorbing was starting to take a toll on my mind, and I was feeling terrible. I was able to push through and keep focused on what needed to be done.

I hadn't checked my corruption level, as I was too busy and too afraid to do so.

Krag fell.

My minions on the eighth were being overrun.

I had removed myself from the stairwell column when they broke through the fourth. Larry was holding me, and I was in the first cavern of the ninth floor. Before me were all the lions and the floor Guardian. Puck was flying around above us, ready to fight.

This was my last line of defence; I had nothing beyond them.

The first of the corrupted townspeople came down the stairs. They charged into the room and were met by nine lions. The cavern was filled with flashes of fire and light that grunted off ice as it impacted bodies. The Guardian raced through the corrupted using its illusionary abilities to confuse them.

I was down to my last defenders, but I was also down to the last attackers.

Most of them were now dead.

The revenant fell on the floor above, marking the last of the opposition there.

Here, on the ninth, all of my remaining minions were fighting.

## ## ## ## ##

Averance, Elian, and Albrot were on the surface outside the dungeon with most of the city's adventurers. The last of the corrupted and the twisted were dead in the city. The majority were assaulting the dungeon as they spoke. There was some confusion about whether they should descend into the dungeon and assist in wiping out the corrupted.

Ranus and many others had arrived while they were debating.

"You cannot enter!" Nextom's voice carried across the area, silencing the debate. "The entire Pantheon has decreed this, and we cannot act against them."

"We cannot let the dungeon fall." Averance snapped back—her demeanour tense.

"We must trust in this. The dungeon is one of the few things that can withstand the twisted." Nextom's logic was sound, and they were not happy, but they listened.

## ## ## ## ##

"Some fucking help would be appreciated!"

Numbers on both sides were close to the end.

## ## ## ## ##

Oda was weakening.

He was powerful, but numbers were wearing him down.

He was bleeding power from the wounds he had received. Nictor was just as wounded, but he was now confident of victory.

Oda's corrupted servants were now contained or dead. They had him surrounded.

"Surrender, Oda. You have lost." Xandus called to him.

He laughed. Saying nothing, he triggered his fail-safe. Before any could stop him, space and time warped around him, and he vanished.

"Find him!" Nictor ordered.

## ## ## ## ##

The cavern was covered in blood and bodies.

Blood was running down the stairs because of the number of dead.

I looked around, counting the cost.

The final void corrupted invader had fallen. The dungeon had started to reset. In the end, I was reduced to one wounded, fire-infused lion, and Larry and Puck were both battered.

Everything else had died.

My vision was wobbly. My control of the dungeon was strained. Void corruption had hammered relentlessly. Larry was carrying me slowly back to my alcove.

After a few attempts, I opened my status sheet. The numbers and words refused to stay still. Concentrating, I finally got the first number.

"96%."

I had almost been drowned in void corruption. The effects were slowing my thought processes. I trusted in the system that worked with me to restore everything, as I was wasted.

By the time I was placed back in my alcove, I had checked my essence count.

"93%."

So close. Now, let's address the alerts and their aftermath.

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