The rhythmic thud of boots on stone echoed off the tunnel walls as the column advanced toward Cotel, their steady pace keeping them just ahead of the gnashing, screeching leeches nipping at their heels. Twenty minutes into the retreat, the monsters swarmed, pressing against the domain spell like mindless drones. The scent of burnt flesh filled the air, and their piercing screams wormed into the minds of the convoy, wearing on every last person. It was almost too much for Faust to bear.
By the Path, why had he let his grandfather talk him into this? This was madness! A child of thirteen, he might be, but he knew better than to play around with the Dungeon. And yet, despite his protests, his grandfather had made a convincing argument. Killing Dungeon monsters was far more efficient for gaining class levels, and if Faust was to one day take over House Cotel, he needed all the experience he could get, and as early as he could get it. The argument had convinced his parents, too; rival families would pounce on an unprepared heir. Would being the operative word; based on the state of everyone around him, it didn't look like he would survive this expedition.
No matter where he looked, grim faces stared back at him. Oh, sure, the adults tried to hide it. Whenever one met his eyes, they forced a smile and returned to the battle in earnest, but the smiles never reached their eyes. The fear was too thick, the exhaustion too deep. It was there on Edmund's face, his mental energy draining at a prodigious rate as he struggled to maintain the domain spell. It was there on the knights' faces as they fought to keep the leeches from breaching the barrier, something that was becoming harder the longer the battle raged on.
And it was there on his own face, reflected in the worried eyes of his guardian, Cygnus. The massive knight, a bulwark of strength, was the only one who didn't seem to be losing his mind, but even his stalwart expression was a mask. Cygnus was constantly glancing back, his eyes searching for something, a tell, a sign of what was to come. Faust had seen that look on his father's face a few years back, when a rival noble family had been a little too aggressive in their posturing; it was the look of a man who suspected a bad situation was about to get much, much worse. And yet, still, they marched towards hopeful salvation.
With a tower shield in one hand and an unconscious knight in the other, Cygnus led the way, his piercing yellow eyes scanning the darkness of the tunnel for hidden threats. Safia, despite the ministrations of the rest of the knight company, lost consciousness about ten minutes into their journey, a testament to the danger posed by their pursuers.
?Behind him marched the twin scouts, Layla and Lachlan. Their etherbolts were slung over their shoulders, swapped for bastard scimitars as they stood on overwatch for any leeches that slipped past the rear guard and threatened Edmund and Faust. Not many had gotten through, thankfully. Despite their exhaustion, the rear guard knights were well-trained, and coupled with support from the domain spell, they could defend admirably against the swarm—At least, until Edmund lost control of the domain.
Faust observed his grandfather with worried eyes. The High Lord of House Cotel, and a revered magioscholar, was little more than a living mana battery. Every flicker of the fire domain, every surge of protective mana that kept the leeches at bay, bled from Edmund's mental reserves. His face was pale, slick with a fine sheen of sweat, and his jaw was clenched in a desperate effort to maintain the spell, making the man look much older than he was.
“Grandfather, are you alright?” Faust asked worriedly, his hands crimping the hem of his blood-soaked tunic. “Can I do anything to help?"
Edmund's eyes flickered open as he turned to his grandson. Although his gaze was unfocused and lacked its usual jovial light, a small smile gradually spread across his face, and he let out a gentle sigh. "I'm alright, lad, just a bit tired. This old man isn't used to—" His words were interrupted by a grunt as he shifted his attention to the battlefield. The leeches writhed against the dome of fire, slipping through breaches in the spell, where they were quickly dispatched by the rear guard knights. He sighed again before returning to Faust. "—Not used to using so much mana for so long. Once we get home, I'll need to add some endurance training to my morning regimen." He said with a chuckle.
Faust supposed that made sense. Usually, his grandfather only used magic in controlled research settings, mainly in short bursts. If he did have to fight, he would leave most of the battle to his Pets while he provided support. Accomplished magioscholar he may be, his class just wasn't built for long periods of fighting in the Dungeon. Which begs the question...
?"Grandfather, why didn't you bring the Pets? You almost never leave the estate without them." Faust asked, a little curiosity bleeding through his fear.
?He watched as Edmund's gentle smile tightened into a small frown. It took a moment before the old man answered, his voice low and serious.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"Faust, I didn't want to worry you, but our spies have informed us that House Andaris may be targeting your father, and by extension, you," he said, raising a hand to halt the boy's expected outburst. "While I miss Mitzi and Penelope terribly, I thought it best for them to stay behind to protect the family while we gave you some experience. It's disappointing that we had to end the expedition before you could gain any experience, but this swarm of mana leeches is far too dangerous for our small group to fend off and feed you at the same time." He gestured toward the pressing swarm of monsters as another cluster of leeches slipped past the burning barrier, only to be quickly dispatched. "It doesn’t help that we brought trainee Knights fresh out of their Squire class. We were expecting low-tier First Stratum monsters, not… this.”
Faust watched as the knights swiftly cut down the advancing swarm of leeches with a brutal yet weary efficiency. Despite their efforts, some smaller leeches slipped past the blockade, racing towards Faust and Edmund, prompting Layla and Lachlan to step up and protect their charges. Before long, the leeches were defeated, and the column continued its steady pace towards Cotel.
?Faust walked in silent contemplation as battle raged behind him. He'd always known about his family's position and his place within it. It was to be expected that an assassin might one day come for him. As the heir to House Cotel, Faust knew he could never live a "normal" life, but hearing about such political machinations didn't compare to experiencing them firsthand.
The reality of the situation was sobering, yet not unexpected. If it were anyone else, they might have felt despair or the urge to rage against their circumstances. But he was different. He was a Cotel, and Cotels were stubborn to a fault. This wouldn't be his end; he was determined to ensure that. Whether facing man or monster, Faust Vol Maria Cotel would overcome.
As Faust steeled himself for what was to come, he didn't immediately notice the slight tremors beneath his feet; the shaking was so subtle. However, Cygnus did. With an audible curse, the knight commander spun on his heels and sprinted toward the rear guard, practically throwing the unconscious Safia at a bewildered Lachlan. The scout dropped his weapon but managed to just barely catch her. As Cygnus bolted away from the irate and confused Lachlan, the shaking intensified, and soon everyone within the domain could feel it. A heavy silence fell over the tunnel, as even the leeches seemed to sense that something was wrong.
Shudders rippled through the rock as the tremors reached their peak, and large fissures appeared along the tunnel floor. “Brace! Get back and brace yourselves!" Cygnus bellowed, his voice raw with urgency and his eyes alight with determination. When Cygnus reached the line held by his soldiers, he breached it, forcing the knights back with his massive hands and raising his shield. Power flooded through the defensive instrument, expanding into a ten-foot-tall wall of light that stretched across the tunnel—just in the nick of time.
With an earthshaking BOOM, the tunnel floor erupted, sending up a cloud of dust and sharp shards of stone that pinged loudly against the wall of light and pierced indiscriminately into the swarm. Wails filled the air as Cygnus grit his teeth, bracing against the onslaught. Seconds ticked by as the wall of light was battered by the barrage of debris, but eventually, only the dust remained. Silence descended upon the tunnel, with neither leech nor man daring to make a sound until a single long chitter echoed from the hole in the floor and bounced off the tunnel walls.
A moment passed before a silhouette slowly emerged through the dust plume. Faust watched as the dark figure rose, becoming as tall as the shimmering barrier of light—and then continuing to grow. Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen feet—it seemed never-ending. But that was only the beginning.
As the dust settled, more of the creature came into view. Heavy chitinous segments lined its body from tip to tail, armoring the beast in layers of protection like plate mail. Six gleaming eyes studded the monster's gaping mouth, and rows upon rows of teeth gnashed at the air. The most startling feature, however, were the two heavily muscled arms that sprouted from the beast's broad shoulders. Faust watched in naked terror as the monster silently, almost tenderly, trailed its hands up the wall of light. Up, up, up they went until it grabbed hold of the top of the wall and began to pull itself up. Faust wasn't sure when he started to scream, but the monster in front of him radiated an aura so terrifying that he couldn't stop himself. That...thing was a leech?!
In an instant, two things occurred simultaneously. A hand swiftly shot out to cover his mouth, silencing his audible expression of terror. At the same time, the monster turned its attention to him, its head snapping down, eyes blazing in their sockets. Seconds ticked by as Faust locked eyes with the creature of nightmares and teeth, and before long, a cruel grin spread across the monster's face. His stomach dropped. The Monarch screamed in the exact same tone as Faust, and all hell broke loose.
The Monarch’s shriek was a physical blow of sound and psychic might, rattling the minds of everything in the tunnel like a bell. Faust's ears felt like they were being stabbed with a burning poker, and he quickly noticed a growing headache as the monster continued its opening move. Blood dripped down the sides of his head as his eardrums ruptured, the rest of the convoy not faring much better. Edmund, already on his last legs, fell to his knees, his hands pressed to his ears, the protective domain spell flickering violently. The knights’ hands flew to their heads as they cried out, their formation breaking as they stumbled back, disoriented. The only person that didn't budge was Cygnus. The knight commander stared up at the leech with hatred in his eyes as the oversized pest tried to haul itself over the wall of shield-light.
?"Don't you dare!" Cygnus bit out, his voice cutting through the psychic shriek as he canceled his skill.
?The shimmering barrier dissipated into nothingness in an instant. With a heavy thud, the monster fell to the ground, and Cygnus leapt at the chance. His sword flashed out, stabbing into a gap in the monster’s rings of chitinous armor. He plunged the blade deep before twisting it, causing even more damage. A loud shriek was his reward.
With an audible hiss, the Monarch went on the offensive, contorting it's body like a heavily armored spring and launching itself at the knight commander. Another wall of shield-light sprang up in the knick of time as the beast slammed into to like an errant locomotive, claws and teeth digging deep gouges into shining barrier.
As Cygnus fought the highly evolved Monarch, the other knights emerged from their stupor as more chittering echoed through the tunnel. Although their numbers had been significantly reduced, the leeches joined the fray.
The battle for survival had begun in earnest.
