One had been scary, they moved like ghosts. When more came, it was a nightmare. Lily raced dowone-paved street-if you could call it a street-that stretched between two rows of the eerie buildings that made up the ‘city’ led within the rgest se of the dungeon. Her heart pounded in her chest as she hopped up and cleared another fallen piece of a building, pushing her palm against the surfad ung herself further along while the monsters tiheir pursuit. They were relentless, leaping into the air and reag heights that no normal human could ever hope to achieve.
She spun on her heel as she felt the mana shift behind her again, whipping her sword across the path of the ining projectile. The arrow split down the middle across the edge of her bde, scattering as she tinued her spin and resumed her flight. I gotta get back! She thought, f down the rising pani her gut. I wasted too much time out here and there’s so damn many of them!
Everything had gone downhill just a short while ago. They had been expl the dungeon as usual, mapping out this rger se and studying the structures that made up the city. The scouting party’s numbers had dwindled as the camp had dragged oher through drop-outs or aspirants deg that it wasn’t for them. Now there were only five of them together. While the town they’d found the other day had been impressive to say the least, this pce ractically a metropolis. Sure, none of the buildings went over three stories i for the most part, but the few that did struck quite the chord with the scouts. They had taken up camp in peared to be some kind e religious building, there were murals everywhere and it had captured the imagination of several of the more academic members of their group.
It was a good four hours into their researd cataloging when they showed up. The first two had been scouts, it seemed. Just like the ohey’d been followed by the other day, they had bark-like skin and vine-like hair. They had ‘elvish’ appearances but they could hardly be pared to the pretty creatures that they’d all heard about in myths and legends. The initial surprise had nearly been catastrophic, but they’d decided to go for Lily first. The cuts and scrapes had healed quickly.
They should have been on high alert at that point, but the mystery of the murals had bee even more intriguing. There were two kinds of ‘elves’ on the walls. O looked beautiful and were often seen positioned above the other set who looked very much like the mohey’d entered. There were even a few depis of elves turning into these things after some kind of camity. None of them were sure exactly where reality began for the murals and where some manner of fi ended, crafted by the dungeon. There were even theories tossed around that the dungeon was just filling iails to add atmosphere.
They should have paid more attention. She should have sidered how strahe ma in the dungeon. She should have given it more thought. Instead, all they ed themselves with atting themselves on the back for ‘disc’ the ‘Dire Elves’ as they decided to call them.
That was when Nina got hit with an arrht below the shoulder bde. She was id low in an instant, some kind of poison on it paralyzing her before she’d had a ce to react.The healer had frantically done his best to get her stabilized and had succeeded but only as Lily and the others were beset by dozens of attag dire elves. By the time the fighting was over, three of their group had been seriously injured and now the healer was w double-time to get them ba their feet.
Without much choice, they fortified the temple using the nearby rubble and ruins for materials and Lily had bee out to get a better idea of how bad the situation was and figure out a route to take out of the city and back towards the previous parts of the dungeon. They o reach the portal.
It was worse than they could have imagined.
She raced around another er before pivoting a sed time into an alley just as the three pursuing dire elves followed her. They ran past her position, gleaming eyes bzing with bloodlust. She grit her teeth and shot forward like a rocket, cleaving across their backs with her broadsword in one quient. When she slid to a stop she turo see them drop to the ground, their faces hitting the broken stone pavement. She panted, sweat dripping down her face as she turned in a circle before spotting the rising shape of the temple. Almost there, please be okay, please be okay!
She didn’t hear any fighting, at least, but that could mean one of two things and she didn’t want to even sider one of them. She raced down the alley, leaping and springing, grabbing onto whatever she could to get higher before finally alighting on a rooftop. She squinted, peering at the distant building as she nearly turned into a blur, her legs pumping with mana as she used her internal energy to enhance herself. Faster! She willed, begging her body to move beyond its limits as she hopped from one building to the .
Ahead of her, she could make out the distant shapes of dire elves marg up the steps in ns. There had to be dozens more, Where are they ing from? She thought frantically, The mana’s ing into the dungeon way too fast! Still, it was almost a relief to see them crowding around the walled-off entrao the main part of the temple. Even as several robe wearing dire elves began bsting it with bursts of verdant green energy. That just meant that the others were still alive. She hopped anap and nded, spotting the end of this cluster of buildings and the beginning of the pza that surrouhe temple.
She slid to a stop and crouched, peering over the side.
Holy shit, she breathed.
There were at least a hundred of the damn things, all formed into ns. They looked more like footsoldiers rather than monsters. I’d heard that monsters could speak on occasion, especially the humanoid ones but-
“Ik Th’aahht!” A raspy voice croaked so loudly she nearly jumped out of her skin.
She whipped her head in the dire of the sound and saw the strahing. It looked like a panquin but it didn’t have any curtains or roof, instead it looked like the cutting of a massive tree-trunk that had grown out four roots to be used as handles. Four dire elves were carrying it on their shoulders. Atop it, the ghostly visage of a dire-elf stood. Uhe others who wore tattered robes or odd wood-metal armor, it wore finery and jewels embedded in its long fingers. Its face was more natural too with the ability to make expressioe otherwise clearly being one of the pnt-like monsters.
It raised a finger and poi the temple, “Ik Th’aahht asa am!” It anded, bearing its needle-like teeth auring wildly.
Is that the boss? Looks like he’s projeg himself rather than being here, that’s good. She wondered as more robe wearing dire elves ran up the steps, already weaving their verdant green spells. Not the time to gather intelligence, Lillian! She gripped the hilt of her sword and froze, a tremoing through her hand. She felt her heart leap into her throat as she took in the sheer number of them down below. There’s so many. She closed her eyes, Fuck, I’m so scared!
Her knee shook as she rest her hand on the roof beh her. She couldn’t move. A couple monsters was ohing. Sparring against teacher was a trolled situation. This was-
Stht now! She cmped down oerror with a snarl, biting her lip so hard it bled. A bst rang out and a portion of the wall erected to protect the others crumbled. They need you! What would Firestorm dht now? He wouldn’t hesitate, that’s what! Didn’t you make a promise to Miss ovna that you would be that kind of person too? How is this any scarier than fag down Ishtar someday? She s herself, gripping her on tighter. It’s now or never, Lillian! Do it!
With every ounce of strength she had to throw into it, she kicked off the roof, leaving a small crater behind her as she hurtled through the air at the heart of the ns of dire elves. She took a deep breath and exhaled through her nostrils, setting her body abze with golden fire. A shriek of anger rose up from her right just as she pleted her arc; “Th’aahht!” The boss shrieked furiously as she shifted forward, her arms crossed in front of her. Her eyes bzed, light fring up in them as the tattoo on her neck began to glow in cert. Her muscles tensed and in the heartbeat between her nding and the dire elves rounded on her, she swung in a wide arc, her free hand whipping out as well.
A she burst of fme erupted around her, catg a dozen of them abze while the handful in front of her were cut down in short order, their bodies ied as they crumbled to pieces. She rose and pushed forward, catg the hilt of her on with her free hand and adjusting her grip. She brought the on down and to the left, cutting through another pair as she stepped forward.
‘Our martial arts are about momentum,’ Bck Lotus’ voice rang in her head. ‘How momentum is defined is based on our styles of bat.’
She took aep forward and carried through with the momentum of her swing, spinning her body around and cutting through a trio that raced up to catch her from behind. Her foot nded hard and cracks formed in the ground, golden fmes bursting up from them. She set her jaw, her eyes focused oairs leading up to the temple and shifted the trajectory of her on, ging her grip again as she followed through with another horizontal swing.
Two steps… e on…
‘Mine is more about fluid motions and grace, taking advantage of quick stabs and powerful finishes,’ Bck Lotus’ voice tinued, ‘Despite or perhaps because of your preferred movement style, who you are, your strikes are powerful and direct, a clear goal in mind. You don’t stop pressing forward for anything.’
Lily took a third step, her muscles bulging on her arms as she bore her teeth, fmes dang on the edge of her bde. She felt the mana and internal energy cyg through her body, mingling, spinning, rotating. Her ski energized as she threw her bato the stroke, she didn’t feel the arrows peppering her skin. She didn’t pay any mind to the khat struck her in the shoulder, she kept moving. Diving low beh a particurly deadly swing from a warrior behind her and spun again, catg another dozen up in a whirlwind of steel and fire.
She nded, still fag forward as the hissing screams of the dire elves winked out as suddenly as she ripped them from their lungs. Three steps, don’t stop moving, she ordered herself. She cut through two more and blocked arike, catg it on the bde of her on aing it slide down to the hilt as she passed by, finishing a swing and biseg the warrior before it had a ce to react. Block, uppercut, block, block, horizontal ssh, block, she snapped out a kick, gold fmes beginning to burn around her eyes as she caught one in the abdomen a him flying.
‘You push through any obstacle, over, around, or through. A juggernaut. A force of nature. Burning bright with golden fmes, even as your foes desperately flow around your impcable form, a Leader,’ Bck Lotus tio push her, just as she always had, no matter how hard it got, no matter how much it hurt.
Five steps, six steps, seven steps! She felt the momentum build to a fever pitch as more and more of them came running at her. A big one charged from the front, holding a longsword over it’s head. It swung down and she threw her on up, grabbing the bde with her armored hand and pushing with all her might. She bellowed, shoving the dire elf back as she brought her leg up. Weeks spent perfeg the first teique of her martial style. Days of trial and failure, frustration, fatigue. Now! Do it now! She grit her teeth ahe instincts bze through her body, every muscle triggered, every neuron fired, every sense exploding with crity.
‘A Crusader’
“AAAHHHHH!” She screamed in challehe fire bursting from her lips and catg in her hair.
First March of the Golden Crusade!
In an instant her movements became a flickering blur. Her on ing up in a right-to-left diagonal ssh. Heat erupted from her on, the air shuddering for a moment from the force. The big dire elf was blown away by the strike, the fmes so intehat he was turo bck ashes in an instant. She stepped down and swung again.
BOOM!
More of them were thrown about like ragdolls as Lillian brought her sword down in an impossible vertical stroke. The sudden shift in position almost impossible for a normal human to pull off. Step after step came with a thunderous boom and more dire elves falling in her relentless path of destru. Her foot work was slow, but her blows came in faster, harder, crashing into anything in her path and leaving gilded cuts and carvings ioh her feet.
Firestorm was the spark! She grabbed a dire elf by the fad threw them to the side, bowling over its patriots. She took another booming step and swung again, I won’t stop, not for anything, not until the people of this world feel safe! I’ll protect them! I’ll give everything! All of it!
She cut through a set of robes as a caster tur her, eyes wide with fusion and fear.
“GET OUT OF MY WAY!” She bellowed as she took the final step of her march, swinging with all her might as the golden fmes began to stutter and die on her shoulders. Blood dripped from her arms and legs, from her chest and side, some of the wounds started to close faster than others as clumps of cloth and ied monster flesh colpsed to the ground around her. She paurning her back to the wall guarding the entrao the temple. She pointed her on doweps, not knowing how or when she’d asded this far. It didn’t matter. She was here now.
“I AM CRUSADER!” She roared even as her entire body ached and her vision swam. Beh her, a horde of dire elves raced up the steps, ons drawn. A sea of bodies that seemed endless. She breathed hard, she was in so much pain, but she pushed her bzing aura out as far as she could, letting it wash doweps and into the temple interior behind her. “AND I AM THE HARBINGER OF THE HEROES BEHIND ME!”
ROAAARRRR
She didn’t budge, even as a chill spiderwalked down her spine as something terrible began to push its the stairs and through the crowd of dire elves.
It was a creature out of books, it’s body wasn’t especially big, about the size of a school bus. Not as massive as she’d imagihey’d be. It had a feline gait, nguid and slow as it prowled betweehered dire elves. Its scales were green and gleamed angrily in the ambient light. It had a reptilian head with a long snout filled with terrible teeth that it showed as it let out another bone chilling roar. She gnced up at the blue glowing figure of the dungeon boss pointing at her with rage in his malformed eyes.
The sub-boss? She thought as her heart ched in her chest. She squared her shoulders and g the other scouts who returned her stare.
If any of you guys are ing, I sure hope it’s soon. Until then…
Her broadswnited.
…looks like I’m fighting a dragon today.
