Lucius gritted his teeth as the heat tore at his skin, but he didn't let up the fire. He pushed forward, unleashing an inferno storm of his own. But it was barely enough to defend against the attack of the floor's boss.
[ OVERRIDE REJECTED. SUFFER AT WILL ]
With a final burst, his fire carved through the monster's jet of flames, consuming the creature and pinning it against the wall.
For a moment, silence hung heavily in the caves, broken only by the thing's piercing screech.
Lucius exhaled. His breath was ragged. His arms burned black to the elbow. Yet, he was still standing.
The soldiers stared, caught between awe and horror, as Lucius' charred skin peeled away in sheets.
Beneath was fresh, red, raw flesh.
Pain flared through him, almost buckling, but he barely reacted. His vision swam but sharpened as Valverde's voice cut through the ringing in his ears.
"Skin of the Hollow…"
Lucius turned, his gaze locking on him, "Regroup. We're leaving." He ordered.
Valverde instantly snapped, "Are you insane? We can – "
"No, not this time." Lucius' voice was low, but its volume left no room for argument. "Bosses don't respawn. And it's even stronger this time. We pull back… I'll find a way around it."
Valverde hesitated, his eyes flicking to the monstrosity as it walked out of the blast of flames, seemingly unharmed. A chill ran down his spine as the small opening on its head curled into a singular smile, stretching from one side of the patch of skin to the other.
"Pull back! Quickly inform the moonstones behind us as well!"
The soldiers quickly fell back as Lucius was the final one. A tower of flames still pinned the monster back. With a tap of his feet, a wall of fire emerged from before where he stood, shooting into the ceiling of the cave, engulfing the entire tunnel.
He turned back, but amidst the thuds of his shoes on the damp cave floors, he could almost hear it whisper "Lucius".
As if a mock from behind the screen.
* * *
Entrance of the 4th floor.
Makeshift Basecamp: Tactical Meeting Tent
13 hours since entering the dungeons.
"Lucius? You're here too?" Sophie chuckled, "Never thought you'd be here! Great to see you take good steps to get back into proper dungeon hunting!"
"Ye… Sorry, give me a minute." Lucius muttered, trying to ignore her somewhat annoying voice. He jotted down the path that was relayed to him from another of Valverde's men.
"It's different, isn't it?" Seraphina muttered as she folded her arms. Looking at the large map before her.
It stretched a 5 x 5-meter makeshift stone table, "Strange seeing you out of your depth."
"Well!" Lucius inhaled, running his hands across the map, "I guess you haven't seen me enough times the past few months, then."
The winding paths of each tunnel just didn't click, no matter how much he tried. It felt like an unsolvable puzzle. And the silence felt even more suffocating, like a quiet expectation set upon him.
He ran his fingers through his hair, "These paths used to have certain patterns, but these ones all lack any cause of reason… Paths that simply branched to literally nothing… it was never like that… It's almost as if…"
"They were planted there…" Seraphina rubbed her chin. "To distract us."
"I'm out of my depth here, so I'll go get a drink!"
"No, Sophie. Stay." A man entered the tent.
That man was Sebastian Moonstone. The patriarch of the Moonstone family. As always, they oversaw the logistics portion of the raid. He is an ageing but powerful man, exuding an aura of menace. Easily commanding respect with every step.
He wore dark robes with a streak of silver dust scattered, shimmering with the lantern's warm lighting.
Entering beside him was the matriarch, Elara Moonstone, who guided Sophie to the side of the tent, sitting her down.
The next to enter the tent was Ignatius Celeste, the head of the Celeste family. He, on the other hand, exuded elegance. His golden threaded coat connected to the golden hair that extended behind his neck. His wife, Marielle Celeste, followed behind, greeting the Moonstone heads as well before moving beside Seraphina.
The family heads all found their positions around the table, with Lucius at the forefront. A familiar sight from previous expeditions.
Sebastian Moonstone looked around before speaking. His voice was deep and somewhat hostile. "Who will explain to me why the vanguard has been forced to retreat?"
Valverde opened his mouth, but Lucius quickly cut in, "The 4th floor boss respawned. It's stronger than the last time I was here."
Ignatius' face scrunched with visible annoyance as he leaned with his hands on the table with deliberation. He tapped his finger with frustration, looking at the people in the tent trying to find answers.
"And where the fuck are the Larks. They think they can just leave my reconnaissance unit in the lurch and have the gall to not participate in the salvation efforts?"
"Forget the Larks," Lucius interrupted, "We won't be –"
Ignatius slammed the table. "Don't you dare cut me off like that, boy."
"Da-" Seraphina tried to step in, but Lucius raised his hand to stop her. Oddly, that single gesture was enough to quieten the room despite it coming from a 16-year-old boy.
"Seems you forgot you're talking to the head of the Thornes right now. Perhaps show some respect, Ignatius."
Ignatius' fists clenched, about to throw the table to the side, but Sebastian stopped him.
"Relax. We have a more important task at hand. And, we must admit, only Thornes here has the knowledge that we do not."
Lucius nodded, acknowledging Sebastian's efforts before continuing.
"I would like to direct everyone's attention to these veins here." He grabbed a long stick from the side of the tent and pointed to a general direction on the map, "As you can see, each vein that branches out has dead ends, but each one seemingly crosses over this one region… I can't piece together the patterns in this system, but this is the only thing we can go off of as of right now."
Lucius tried to make sense of his own words before moving on, "This area is north of our Base camp. So, I suggest… we dig it out. But the problem is… We do not know which of these veins leads to the boss and which one of the veins leads to the reconnaissance unit, since we have no information about their whereabouts"
Ignatius clicked his tongue, "I'll handle that. Once the path has been dug out, I'll sense out the veins through the air movements. I should be able to decipher what's in the veins…what is the size of the veins?"
Lucius put the large stick down, leaning his weight on it, "I…don't know if it would be the same as before, but the size of each vein on the fourth floor should be the same size as the open areas on the 3rd floor."
Ignatius sighed, slotting his arms into his pockets, "I'll manage."
"I'll go get the Terra Fluxborn ready." Marielle nodded to the rest before striding off.
"Lucius, what about supply-wise?" Elara asked.
"Siphon the minimal necessary supplies to the vanguard. Rear-guard led by Seraphina should be retreating to the third floor, escorting the rest of the logistics team." He droned off, looking to the foreboding map before him, "We can't have so many people in one place for too long… Especially with the boss roaming who knows where."
Marielle acknowledged as well before dragging Sophie out with her.
Ignatius and Sebastian glanced at each other before looking at Lucius, "The monster, is it the same as the previous 4th-floor boss?" Ignatius asked.
"…Yeah…" Lucius tried to recall the memories, "But something is off."
"Its strength?" Sebastian questioned.
"Well, that…But, overall, there is something off about this floor; it feels like it is luring us towards something… We shouldn't stay long. We find the reconnaissance unit, and we're out."
"Alright." They left the tent, leaving Seraphina and Lucius alone once more.
Lucius looked at the map again, hoping something would make sense. But nothing did. No patterns, no logic. Just a floor that seemed deliberately twisted, like it wanted them to get lost.
He frowned.
He knew something was controlling the floors. That much was obvious. But a darker thought crept in, uninvited:
What if this dungeon wasn't here to test us? What if it was here to feed on us?
What if all of this… the relics, the progression, the illusion of reward, was bait?
The idea lingered for a moment, heavy and unwelcome. But then he pushed it aside.
What did it matter? The boss on the fifth floor, the one pulling the strings, couldn't be beaten.
Not by humans.
He knew it. He experienced it.
Silence settled between them. It was not the awkward kind, but the rare, easy quiet that came with being around someone who didn't expect you to be anything other than yourself.
Seraphina huffed a breath, shaking her head, "Well, Lucius. Still finding ways to piss adults off. Classic."
"I just tell the truth." Lucius finally looked away from the map to her once more. The light danced in the stars of her eyes. No matter how many times he had seen it, he would still be mesmerised by it.
Seraphina bumped her shoulder against his, knocking him out of his trance. "It's okay, I like that." A ghost of a smile played on her lips.
"Also!" Lucius reached behind one of the crates in the tent, pulling out two bottles of beer. "Found these before the meeting. Had to hide them, obviously."
Seraphina bit her lip, eyeing the bottle in his hand.
"Don't mind if I do!" She snatched one before he could even open it.
She popped the cap and knocked it against his in a silent toast.
Lucius followed, quickly taking a swig of the cold, bitter alcohol.
Silence settled between them again.
Peace and tranquillity.
Yells of the people outside. Sounds of rumbling rocks in the distance. The atmosphere felt strangely similar to that at school. The world continued to move around them, but in their little planet, time stood still.
Each sip of alcohol was a tiny bliss in their distraught lives.
"Lucius," Seraphina said.
"Hm?"
"…Any… advice to improve my fighting?"
Lucius blinked, caught off guard. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uhh… I don't actually know how you fight?"
"Right. What was I expecting?" she muttered, half amused, half bitter.
She brought her bottle to her lips again, only to find it already empty. She blinked at it, surprised by how quickly she'd finished it. With a quiet sigh, she set it down. Lucius noticed and, without a word, held out his own bottle to her.
Their fingers brushed as she took it, a surprising warmth against cool glass.
"So, I saw the footage. You against Professor Galen," she continued, taking a slow sip. "You countered all his high-skill moves so easily. I know I haven't gotten full control over lightning yet, but… what were you thinking while fighting him?"
Lucius shifted slightly, settling into the padded floor of the tent. "Mmm… probably not what you're hoping to hear. It was a tight area, right? Makes it easier to predict the lightning. You guys are stronger in open space. Big room, lots of range. Smaller zones? It limits the chaos."
He shrugged. "I don't know all the ins and outs of Lightning Flux, so I can't guide you through it properly."
"Oh, that's great to hear," she replied with a dry smile. " 'Seraphina, you're only useful when you've got a damn town square to yourself.' No wonder I'm in the rear-guard."
She let out a sharp breath and leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees. "Any real advice?"
Lucius raised a hand and began ticking off fingers.
"Alright. Broad flux concepts, then."
"Pyro—thermal transfer. Heat or lightning."
"Aero—movement and sound, mostly."
"Hydro's about flow. Phase changes and healing."
"Terra? That's mass and compression, down to atoms."
He dropped his hand. "In the end, it's all energy."
Seraphina tilted her head, a spark of epiphany in her eyes. "So… what's stopping us from cancelling each other's Flux? Like two equal forces hitting each other?"
Lucius gave a short laugh. "Exactly. Net force zero."
He took the bottle back from her and drank, then handed it over again.
A beat.
"In theory, you can cancel anything. But in practice, it's all timing. Miss the window and you'll get lit up before you even blink."
Her lips curled into a sly smile. "Oh, is that what those sparks of fire were during your fight with Galen?"
"Yeah. Just a little interference to throw him off. Fire doesn't beat lightning, but it does mess with voltage paths."
She nodded slowly, considering that, then nudged his arm with her shoulder. "Thanks for the advice. And if I figure something out… You owe me another bottle."
"Yeah, yeah. Just don't electrocute yourself."
She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Her fingers brushed his knuckles as she took another sip.
"Wouldn't be the worst way to go."