After our successful heist, we reported to the mayor that we acquired the spear and he pointed us in the direction of the dungeon. We took an airship to the outskirts of the city since our little fiasco with the mafia destroyed a few train lines, but luckily we didn't have to pay for it.
We hop off the airship and a guard leads us to what looks like a red portal protected by a black mist-like barrier. I'm already starting to get ominous vibes from that portal. I can feel a sort of malicious and evil aura that sends chills down my spine.
"How do we use the spear to take down the barrier? Do we just poke it with it?" I ask.
"The spear is imbued with an enchantment that can dispel magical effects. All you need to do is charge it with some of your aura to activate the effect," the guard answers.
I send my aura into the spear and it begins to glow white around the tips. It feels like I'm holding a weapon enchanted by god right now as I can only describe the power being emitted from this spear as holy. However, I don't think it was made by Vienna since I know what her power feels like, it must be by one of the other gods in that case.
Either way, I decide it's not a good idea to get too close to that black mist so I chuck the spear at the barrier as hard as I can. It collides with the black mist and I hear a loud screeching noise, like nails on a chalkboard, right before the barrier is dispelled. The black mist dissipates and I walk over to the spear to hand it back to the guard.
"Here, take the spear back to the mayor, and don't let it get stolen again," I tell the guard.
"Thank you for all your help so far adventurers. Good luck and please come back safely," the guard wishes.
I take a deep breath and turn to face my friends,
"Okay guys, are you ready for this?" I ask them.
"We'll be with you till the end," Remi responds.
"Don't worry about it and let's kick some demon butt," says Ryder.
"No one's dying on my watch," Azura claims.
"I'll be your shield, so let's fight as hard as we can," Lilith assures me.
"We'll beat this dungeon in no time," Nazuko boasts.
It seems I have nothing to worry about as we're all in good spirits. We step through the ominous looking portal to find that we are in a wasteland full of red snow. The sky is purple and there's thunder clouds in the distance emitting various colors of lightning.
"This place doesn't look very inviting," I mutter.
"Of course it doesn't, dungeons are portals to the demon world after all," Azura informs me.
"So how do we beat the dungeon and close that portal?"
"It's simple, we just have to kill the dungeon boss and the portal leading here will eventually close. Its presence is what keeps the portal open, and it has to be nearby in the general area, so let's start looking."
Suddenly I can hear what sounds to be a wolf howling in the distance.
"Remi that wouldn't happen to be yours would it?" I ask her.
"Nope! Let's get ready for a fight," she announces as she starts to summon her own wolf.
Everyone starts to get ready and I prepare myself by activating my aura and drawing my swords.
About a minute later I can see a pack of wolves, around 10 or so, appear from the trees and start to surround us. The wolves have a snow white pelt and actually look tangible compared to Remi's wolf. It would actually be nice to hug one if it weren't for the fact that they have red eyes and their fangs drip with blood.
Ryder begins the fight by shooting his cannon at two wolves. It explodes in their vicinity, sending two of them in the air. He proceeds to shoot both of the wolves in the head which must've killed them as they don't seem to be moving anymore. One wolf tries to bite Azura, but Lilith blocks it with her shield and stabs it in the head. Azura starts to cast a spell on us and a green circle appears at our feet.
A moment later it feels as if my strength increased as I'm moving a bit faster now. That must be a form of strengthening magic, since Ryder just punched a wolf so hard it went flying into a tree about 40 feet away. Next I see Remi's wolf battling the demon wolves as hers just bit into the neck of one wolf ripping it to pieces. Huh so that's what it looks like when her Pokemon is effective. Maybe she battled a gym leader in the time I was training or something.
Five down five to go. I dodge one of the wolves' attacks and I counter attack by decapitating the wolf and slash another down the forehead cutting it in half vertically. However, I wasn't paying complete attention to my surroundings as a wolf comes up behind me and prepares to slash me with its claws.
Right before it slashes me, Nazuko comes out of nowhere and jumps on the wolf and slits its neck. She's looking at me as if she wants praise. I suppose I should give it to her.
"Thanks, where would I be without my favorite thief," I say in gratitude.
"Heh, nobody is allowed to touch you--except me," she remarks.
I hope everyone didn't take that sexually, although Ryder does give a thumbs up to Nazuko.
The remaining two wolves start to retreat and run off into a nearby cave. Just as we prepare to chase the wolves into the cave, Azura stops us.
"Wait, look there in the distance, don't those look like other people?" Azura points out.
We take a look at the direction Azura pointed to and we can see what looks like people herding a few demons into a cage.
"What are those guys doing? Why are they capturing demons?" Lilith asks quietly.
We see the group of humans being led by a man with black armor and a bunch of edges on it. The dude also has slick black hair and an eye-patch over his right eye. To top it off he has two huge swords on his back. I can feel an extremely menacing aura coming off from that guy. I don't think I could win a fight against that guy the way I am now. We decide to sneak closer in order to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Hey, you slaves, hurry it up. Whatever you do, don't get the attention of the dungeon boss, we need those portals to stay open. We have a quota to meet with these demons if we're going to prepare to take over Ayana," the big dude says in a super silky voice.
"They're planning to do what to Ayana!" Remi whispers.
"Shhhhhh, don't let them know we are here. I can feel it. We can't win a fight against that dude with the black swords," I claim.
The group of people finish herding their remaining demons into the cage. I can see various types of demons: something that looks like a lizard monster, a death mantis, and even the two wolves that ran away from us earlier. They proceed to exit through a portal back to who knows where. The backed up feeling in my gut subsides and I take a deep breath to calm myself.
"Those dudes seem like bad news," Ryder remarks.
"Indeed we should probably report what we've just experienced back to the lords in Colonus when we get back," Azura states.
"If those guys are collecting demons to attack Ayana, then we have to do something," Remi says with conviction.
"It seems like we have our next adventure lined up and ready," Lilith remarks.
"We'll definitely have to get stronger if we're going to fight those guys," Nazuko states.
"Agreed, but first things first, let's finish up this dungeon," I remind them.
As we progress into that cave earlier I can start to see piles of bones the farther we go in. I think we're on the right track. Ryder accidentally steps on one of the bones and it makes these really loud cracking noises that echo through the cave. Suddenly we hear a loud roar and very heavy footsteps coming our way.
"It's coming, get ready guys," I command.
About ten seconds later we are met with what looks to be a large yeti with red eyes. It's carrying a large blunt club that's about as tall as Ryder. I take a moment to analyze the situation and decide on a plan of attack. This cave is very narrow, there's little room to dodge if it decides to swing its club. Nazuko is agile, but needs an open area to be effective.
To maximize Ryder's strengths we should probably fight it outside as well to avoid a cave-in if the bombs cause the cave to collapse. Remi can probably hide her presence in the snow as well. Lilith's longsword isn't the best weapon for fighting in small areas. Okay I've decided.
"Guys try to lure it outside, we'll have an easier time fighting if we do," I tell them.
We proceed to get it to chase us outside to the open snowy area and begin combat. Ryder begins the fight by shooting cannonballs at the yeti, which it attempts to swat away with its club. It manages to hit away 3 of the 7 cannonballs Ryder launched at it. The rest explode in its face, but barely manage to leave a mark.
I see that Remi has summoned a bear this time instead of a wolf. I guess that's the new power she was bragging about earlier. Unfortunately for her, this catches the yeti's attention and it swings its club at her. I expected the hit to send Remi flying, but she manages to brace herself and she stops the club with the full force of her body. She looks like she's taken a small bit of damage, but managed to stop that powerful blow. Her bear then proceeds to bite the yeti's leg, getting it to back off.
"Remi, are you ok?" I ask her.
"I'm fine, didn't you know that tamers can take on the abilities of the animals they summon? In my case I can take on the strength of a bear. Just another thing to prove how great I am right," Remi brags.
I shouldn't have been concerned for her in the first place.
Fight Theme: Heroic Desire
Nazuko proceeds to blind the yeti by throwing two kunai right at its eyes. It stumbles back from the pain and pulls out the two knives. It tries to strike Nazuko, but Lilith shields her and they manage to back off. I can see that one of its eyes is starting to regenerate. I need to strike now while it's still partially blinded. I channel my aura into my blade and it enhances my strength.
I jump up to the yeti and attempt to slash right through its right shoulder. However it doesn't go through. It's body is thick and my blade only manages to cut in by a few inches. How the heck are we supposed to beat this thing if even my enhanced strength wasn't enough to cut it?
Everyone's attacks are having little to no effect on the damn beast. Before I can back away it swings its club with hurricane force and smashes it into my chest. The impact of its blow is enough to send me flying into a tree that's about 30 feet away. The damage I just took was too great as I momentarily lost consciousness.
"Wake up! Will wake up!"
Whose voice is that? I can't tell. I want to go back to sleep.
"Wake up already!" I hear someone yell.
I slowly open one eye and I can see its Azura slowly healing me. How long have I been unconscious? Seconds? Minutes? I take a look at the others and they're still fighting the yeti. It's healing through any of the damage dealt to it and they're starting to look pretty roughed up. It's too strong, I need to help them or else we're all going to die. I don't want them to die. Move! Move body! I channel all of my willpower into moving and I start to get feeling in my legs again. I attempt to get back up but Azura tries to stop me.
"Hey wait, you can't get back in the fight yet. You have three broken ribs and I've only managed to heal the damage to your internal organs," Azura says desperately.
"I have to help them right now! We're all going to die if I can't help them!" I yell.
"But-"
"It's okay you've done plenty already. I just need to be conscious to fight"
I need an extremely powerful attack in order to take down this monster. I need to defeat it with a strike that will kill it instantly. Power. I need more power. If two times my own strength isn't enough to do damage. Then I just need to surpass that strength. I get in position where my left hand is on the hilt, my blade and my right hand is on the sheath. I activate the power of the sword to enhance my strength.
Enhance. Two times. Enhance. Three times. Enhance. Four times. Enhance. Five times. I continuously activate the power of my right sword to enhance my strength five times of what my body is capable of.
All of my strength and aura will go into this one attack. The repercussions of this will be severe. I can already feel my muscles screaming at me to stop. Enhancing my body this much also intensifies the pain from my injuries.
The pain from my broken ribs hurts so much it makes me want to piss my pants. I grit my teeth and focus on the opponent before me. The air is stirring and the force of my aura is pushing away all the snow in the area. It's as if there's a godlike force of wind coming from my body.
My purple aura makes me look like I'm on fire, and it catches everyone's attention. The yeti in particular starts to make its way towards me, but everyone starts doing their best to hold it back. I just need a little bit more time to focus this power, just a few more seconds.
"I'll cast a weakening spell on it, everyone create an opening for Will," Azura commands.
She starts a short chant,
"God of the Night I call upon thee,
Steal my enemies strength,
And cast them into despair
Shadow Siphon!"
Apparently everyone can sense what I'm about to do from the massive amount of aura I'm giving off. Azura casts some kind of spell on the yeti as it looks like it's slowing down and it's having a hard time moving its limbs. There's a purplish black circle encompassing it that seems to have caused that effect. There's also black orbs that start to gravitate towards me and I think I absorbed its power.
Ryder throws out a smoke grenade and I see Lilith and Nazuko rush in. Lilith and Nazuko cut the Yeti at its heels and Remi's bear hits it in the back causing it to fall to its knees. As the smoke clears I use my charged up strength and surpass my limit. With speeds faster than a bullet, I leap at the yeti, unsheathe my sword and decapitate in one fell swoop. I sheathe my blade at the exact time the yeti's head hits the ground.
"It's over. I can finally sleep now…. " I say as the pain of my attack causes me to fall unconscious.
I awaken to find myself in what seems to be another infirmary. I can see the rest of my party except Nazuko talking with the mayor nearby.
"What happened?" I ask, getting their attention.
"Ah you're finally awake. After you killed the dungeon boss we booked it for the exit while Ryder was carrying you. Things kind of got a bit hectic since some demons tried to get in our way, but we managed. After that we rushed you to the hospital, Lilith and Nazuko we're panicking since you weren't breathing for a good few minutes," Remi says.
"That's to be expected when his broken ribs punctured his lungs," Azura remarks.
"Well of course I panicked, if Will died I wouldn't be allowed to go adventures anymore," Lilith argues.
"I'm glad to see your priorities are in order," I say sulkingly.
"A-And maybe I'd feel really sad if you died I g-guess," she adds nervously.
"By the way, where is Nazuko?" I ask.
"Did you try looking down? Also we are so going to talk about that later," Lilith tells me.
I don't really understand what she's talking about when I look down and see a lumpy blanket in my bed. This is what I think it is, isn't it? I try to peek under the blanket and I see Nazuko sleeping soundly. Yep, I'm not even going to react as I'm used to this by now. I'm just going to accept her cuddles since I can barely move my body right now. I see the mayor walk up and get everyone's attention.
"Now that mostly everyone is awake I would like to thank you all for completing the quest. Here is the reward as promised and there is another matter I'd like to discuss," the mayor says as a few workers struggle to bring over a gigantic bag of gold. I can see a little bit of drool coming out from Remi's mouth. Unexpectedly I hear the door open and I see Giacomo come in to greet us.
He sees Nazuko cuddling up to me in bed and says one word,
"Nice!"
"It's not what you think!" I tell him.
"Ahem, Giacomo here tells me that you would pardon him and the rest of the people in the mafia who refused to partake in the old mafia boss's schemes," the mayor informs.
I think I may have said something like that, but I don't remember granting a pardon to all those other people.
"I think I said something like that, I suppose."
"You never said that you were the prophesized hero," Giacomo states.
"I never thought it was important, plus I don't like to brag about fame or titles like some people," I say staring at Remi.
"Hey!" she says looking offended.
"I'd be willing to allow it as long as the remaining members of the mafia pledge service to the government. They will serve as an underground organization under the government in Yrden and I've decided that Giacomo will be their leader," the mayor announces.
"Hmm, I'm fine with that, but the remaining members of the mafia probably won't be okay with me being their official leader. They might follow my orders, but they wouldn't look up to me as the head honcho," Giacomo states.
"I see, in that case do you know of anyone who might be better suited to have that title?" the mayor asks him.
"How about the future emperor right here, I'd say you'd make a great mafia boss, in name only, of course," he suggests.
"Wait, me? I don't know the first thing about leading an organization like that," I assert.
"Don't worry, like I said, in name only. It's only so the guys have someone to look up to. They'd feel a lot more willing to work for the hero of Westphalia," he tells me.
"Well I guess that's that, congratulations on becoming a mafia boss," the mayor jokes.
Man, people are coming to conclusions so quickly. I haven't even given my answer yet. I guess I can accept it if it's in name only. At least I can tell Quincy I became a Gang-Star.
"Ugh, well since this is being forced upon me, what's the name of our organization then," I ask.
"Hmm, this is technically the birth of a new organization, so you should get to choose what it's called. The old organization was called Jacuzzi," Giacomo answers.
What name should I even choose? Maybe I'll call it Baccano. Nah no one would get that reference anyway.
"Hmm, what do you think about Corona, in Italian it means crown," I suggest.
"I don't know what this Italian thing is, but sure, it sounds cool," he says in agreement.
Oh right, I forgot Italy isn't a place here. Damn, that means I need to invent gelato.
"Since I'm the new boss, does that mean I inherit all of the mafia's current possessions?"
"Well aside from the things that got stolen from the government, yeah pretty much," Giacomo informs.
"Does anyone want anything?" I ask my party.
"Oh I do, when we did the heist and snuck into the field of airships we saw one really cool, fancy one that never got shot down," Ryder announces.
"That must have been the boss's old airship, I don't think it was ever used in transporting the spear because it was so elegant he didn't want it getting damaged," Giacomo answers.
"We'll take that then," Ryder claims.
"Sure, but do any of you actually know how to fly an airship?" he asks in response.
All of us end up staring at Azura since she flew one for the heist.
"I mean I kinda fumbled my way with one, but I can navigate it, I think," Azura mutters.
The I think part has me kind of worried, but I trust Azura with my safety more than I do Remi so there's that. There's also the matter of parking that thing too. I wonder if there are any airfields in Colonus. Maybe I might be able to store it in my pocket dimension, but I've never put anything that big in there before so it might accidentally collapse in on itself if I tried.
After I was released from the hospital in Yrden, we traveled to that elegant airship Giacomo told us about and everyone got settled in. This thing isn't like the standard airships I've seen. Most airships look like blimps, but this one reminds me of a mini shield helicarrier. It has 4 propellers facing the floor on each corner that seems to be what makes it levitate, and one propeller in the very back of it.
The interior looks pretty fancy as there is red carpet everywhere and quite a few gold decorations. It's like I'm inside Lord Borin's house again, if it floated and was 10 times smaller. Azura and Ryder led us into what seems to be the cockpit area and I plopped myself on a nearby couch.
After a few minutes of those two arguing over who wants to fly we are off. I guess I can check off having my own private airship off my bucket list. It's the closest thing to a private jet after all. As we start to fly away from Yrden I can see fireworks going off in the city. I guess the people in Yrden are happy to not have a dungeon in their city anymore. I'm still worried about that guy with the eye patch though. Something tells me I'm going to end up fighting that guy sooner or later.
"Lilith, when we get back, let's train even harder. I want to get stronger," I declare.
"Sure! Let's become stronger together," she responds.
"Let me join in on that if you two don't mind," Ryder says.
"Heh, not if Marianne has anything to say about it," I joke.
Today I've done quite a bit. I completed my first successful quest, almost died again, became a thot slayer, phantom thief, a demon slayer and a mafia boss all in the same week. I bet Quincy doesn't have the same level of awesome titles as I do.