Chapter 41: Adventuring Party
"Killed by fear? That's my only explanation."
Melody checked each corpse, their eyes open wide and their mouths gaping. Not a single pulse among them.
"So if it was death by fear, what the hell caused it?"
Mina looked around, the room was wide open and barren.
"Has this room reset? Or did they finish it just after?"
Melody began to look around, her eyes shifting between anything and everything that might hold a clue. Finally, she threw her hands up in defeat.
"Not a clue. This room is dead. Maybe we should head further in?"
Melody began to head towards the door, Mina's sword appearing beside her in an instant. Mina's body appeared around the blade, her arm extending in front of Melody.
"What's-"
Her voice cut off as a creature appeared. At a distance, it was camouflaged into its surroundings, but Mina noticed it's bloodlust the moment Melody got closer. The creature was massive, roughly three meters tall. It wore a robe while it's head was similar to a squid. The tentacles, as well as the hands, seemed to move in every direction at once.
"I didn't think a Mindflayer would be in here! Mina, Asahi, you need to take care of it. This bastard is tough on melee."
Asahi flew up high, her body already illuminating as bolts of lightning began to rain down. Mina readied her stance, one hand high while the other was low. Bright orbs of light appeared between her fingers, swirling around until they coalesced into palm sized orbs.
'Thankfully I played some tabletop games in the past!'
Clapping her hands, the orbs shot a pinpoint beam straight into the head of the Mindflayer as countless bolts of lightning slammed down on it.
"Did that work?"
Asahi's voice came from above as she began to descend.
"It didn't even try to attack... were we too fast to deal with it?"
Fubuki launched forward, scooping Melody and Mina under her arms. Where they had been standing, a pair of tentacles had flown down and crashed into the ground. Mina glared at the newly appeared Mindflayers, her Sword Body appearing in her hand. She flung the blade, making sure she didn't form around it.
"That's two! How the fuck did three of these bastards get in here?!"
Mina slid out of Fubuki's arm, her magic coalescing as the last Mindflayer began to follow Inferna. She bobbed and weaved between tentacles, her ears falling flat against her head as one flew between them.
"Back off you prick! My ears are supposed to be cute!"
She slunk low, fire spreading under her hands and feet. Launching upward, she spiraled and sent flames up with her. They were sent flying, bombarding the last of the three Mindflayers.
Scorch marks appeared across its body, the Mindflayer screeching in pain. Mina flung her light out, the beams tearing into the scorched marks across the creatures body. It barely kept on its feet, falling to the ground a moment later.
"Damn. Those two were smarter."
Mina wiped her brow, her eyes more alert.
"They were definitely the ones that killed the squad of adventurers. To think those three were in here... this dungeons doesn't hold that type of creature. Not in all the time I've been leading this town."
Melody looked over the corpses, all three without monster cores. She continued to check them out, finally coming back to Mina.
"They... seem to have come from outside. It's the only explanation. They have some wounds that weren't from our group, nor were they from common weapons. This adventurer group ended up in a fight with a truly devastating foe, especially with three of them. From the way this room looks, those three have been killing the spawning creatures themselves. The beasties inside are hostile to any and all invaders."
Mina sighed, approaching the next door.
"We know they're dead, so nothing else we can do. It's sad, but..."
"We should probably check deeper for anything else dangerous. On the way out, I'll get them back to the surface."
Mina turned around and walked up to Melody. She looked up, directly into her eyes.
"We. I wasn't abandoning them. Further in could be something serious."
Melody gave a soft smile, her eyes visibly relieved. Mina got a little closer and reached up to pat her head.
"I don't hate humans. Don't be afraid of what I'll do. They've done me no wrong."
Melody nodded, her face a little red. Mina smiled a little, then pinched her nose.
"Thinking badly of your Master... shame."
Melody's eyes lit up, but she tried to hide her enthusiasm.
'Even when dead bodies are near, she wags her tail like it's only natural. Masochism is scary... but not without its perks.'
Mina's smirk made Melody quiver a little, but she remained strong as she began to head towards the door beside Mina. As they approached, Fubuki, Asahi and Inferna got closer. The three of them seemed somewhat frightened by the creatures, though Melody wasn't hiding her fear nor hatred for them. Mina, having never dealt with them prior to this, was not impressed.
"Are they normally that weak? I was expecting better."
Melody shrugged.
"You're a powerhouse, same as these girls. They're all variants with insane abilities and magic skills. To be honest, you could destroy most towns near the kingdom. Some may be hard, but still... I'd put my gold on you."
Mina shrugged, unable to even desire world domination, or at least human domination. She was planning to challenge and defeat whatever was wrong with the Fire Guardian, but she knew she would need her friends in top shape. She placed her hands on the door, ready for what was next.
-
"Did she just... wow. Your girlfriend is impressive, Lady Dyna."
Kat waved Miracle off, her eyes plastered to Mina. She was almost obsessed, but the emotion in her eyes was worry.
"She's strong, but none of us know the full extent of what Vex did here! I'm scared she'll get hurt... ugh I wanna just protect her with a million powerful Gods and Goddesses at our sides, devoted to her and willing to lay down their lives! But I'll settle for my small group of Blessing wielders, as well as her friends. Should I be worried? They're all pretty hot... sure I can share, but can they? Will they claim sole relationship status with her?"
Kat pouted and slumped over.
"Just stay safe, baby."
--
Thank you,
JScott, croix and Tech!
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