What came next was a blur to Lauri.
Carolynn knocked arrow after arrow, lighting them all and sending them into the swarm of insects. After a few dozen volleys, she activated Delayed Bang.
Whilst Marcus and Elbert were melee fighters, they used what few ranged skills they had to try and keep the insects at bay.
But still the crystal incests kept coming.
As the insects kept moving forwards, losing no ground, always gaining ground. Elbert backed away.
"Elbert!" Carolynn shouted, "Where are you going!"
Shaking, Elbert dropped his sword. "Any- Anywhere that isn't here, there's no way we could beat an A-Rank dungeon."
Lauri unlike Elbert was doing his best to support Carolynn by giving her more arrows and mana potions.
Carolyn clenched her teeth. "You coward Elbert!"
"I might be a coward, but at least I'll be alive!" About to turn around and run away, Elbert bumped into something.
Looking up, he could faintly make out the empty sockets of a skull.
"Wh, what are you?"
Without saying a word, the skeleton grabbed Elbert's neck, snapping it without any difficulty.
Lauri turned just in time to see the skeleton fling Elbert's lifeless body against the nearby wall.
"What, the hell!" Marcus roared. Rushing the skeleton, Marcus readied his shield.
[B-Tier Skill: What Goes Around Comes Around
About: Once activated, the user can absorb any impact and counter at 5x strength.]
Marcus tensed, holding his shield ready for the skeleton to attack.
…
Looking over the top of his shield, Marcus froze. The skeleton hadn't made a move, instead it just stared at Marcus.
Reaching forward it grabbed Marcus' shield tearing it from the man's grasp, it simply tossed the shield away.
"Come on then! I've got plenty more skills to take you on!" Marcus' body began to glow orange.
[B-Tier Skill: I Will Be Your Wall
About: Boosts Strength stat by 5x of Defence Stat]
Holding its left hand up, the skeleton relaxed its fingers, the book in its hand began to open, the pages flapped resting on a page filled with foreign writing. The words began to glow a dark brown.
Punching his fists together, Marcus swung at the skeleton. "I will avenge my friends-"
A spear of stone shot up from the ground, piercing through Marcus' fist. Before Marcus could react, a dozen more spears erupted out of the floor, skewering Marcus like a pin cushion, killing him instantly.
Lauri and Carolynn stared in shock.
"Guild master… No…" Frowning, Carolynn looked at Lauri before shaking her head. Nocking her last arrow, she aimed it at the end of the cave.
Carolynn let the arrow fly through the air, unlike the other arrows, this one stuck into the cave wall.
Lauri watched as his last remaining party member did this. "C- Carolynn?"
Smiling at Lauri, Carolynn shrugged. "Currently, we're going to die. Stuck between those insects and that skeleton. But I can get one of us out of here. I have a skill that lets me teleport people to my arrows."
"That's great, get out of here!" Picking up Elbert's sword, Lauri held it, pointing it towards the skeleton that was slowly approaching them, the pages in its book flapping to a new page.
Carolynn watched Lauri. Although he was doing a good job of hiding the fear in his voice, Lauri failed at hiding the fear in his body.
Shaking her head, Carolynn touched Lauri's shoulder. "Nope, I'm afraid it only works on the people I touch. Not that I'd leave you here to die, you see-"
"Carolynn no!"
[C-Tier Skill: Full Send
About: The User can teleport anything they touch to an arrow they have previously fired.]
In a burst of light, Lauri found himself looking at a stone wall. Slowly turning around, Lauri watched as Carolynn turned to smile at him.
"I'd never be able to live with myself-"
Lauri looked away as the skeleton reached her. An orange glow shining from its book.
'She gave her life, so I can live, I can't let her death be in vain.'
Running, Lauri opened his inventory, dropping Elbert's sword inside.
Hearing the sound of the crystal insects skittering, Elbert looked over his shoulder.
Half of the insects parted from the main group, beginning to chase Lauri.
As fast as he could, Lauri ran from the insects.
The insects were slower than they appeared, as Lauri was able to slowly build a gap between himself and their small legs.
As the skittering stopped, Lauri began to slow down. Coming to a stop, he slowly turned to look behind him.
The small insects had started forming into something bigger as dozens of insects the size of grapes began to grow bigger and bigger, larger and larger until their single body grew to almost occupy the entire passageway.
"Is that a, a lobster?"
As Lauri tried to understand what was happening, the crystal lobster dashed towards Lauri. Its six legs carried it faster than its smaller forms.
His eyes opened wide as Lauri turned tail and ran.
"What did I even do to deserve this!"
-- Present --
"Would you like to change your fate?"
As the cat waves its paw in Lauri's face, the boy blinked in his delirium due to his blood loss.
"The cat is talking to me…" Looking at the ceiling, Lauri smiled, "Good kitty."
Glaring at Lauri, the cat hopped onto his chest. Grabbing the sides of Lauri's head with his paws, the cat looked into Lauri's eyes.
"Listen here, human, you may be faced by a godly power, but I am not a figment of your imagination. Now, I need to enter into a contract with you before they notice my essence. Give your body over to me, do you accept?"
Putting his hands around the cat's body, Lauri lifted it into the air. "The good kitty can talkkk."
Wiggling in his grasp, the cat shouted. "I am no mere cat! I am the great Odraz!"
"Odraz," The Undead Magic Knight stopped in its tracks, hearing the name. Turning around, it held up its grimoire, the pages already beginning to move.
Seeing this, Odraz grabbed one of Lauri's arms. "Ok, ok I don't need you to give your body over to me, just give me part of it, seventy-five percent, three quarters, sounds good?"
Lauri blankly smiled, "Funny kitty…"
Odraz watched as seven balls of fire formed around the skeleton.
"Ahhhh, fifty, fifty percent!" Still, Odraz did not receive a coherent response from Lauri.
The seven fireballs floating around the skeleton began to converge above its head, forming into one large fireball.
"Come onn, give me something! Ten percent!"
Holding out its empty hand, the large fireball shrank down to fit into the skeleton's palm. Pulling its arm back, it prepared to throw the ball of fire at Lauri and Odraz.
"Dammit, fine. One percent, but that's as low as I can go. One percent of your soul."
Lauri brought Odraz closer, rubbing his cheek against Odraz's face. "Aww, you're such a smart kitty with all your big words, sure we can do this." Lauri smiled, cocking his head to the side.
The skeleton swung its arm, flinging the condensed fireball at the two.
Receiving Lauri's permission, Odraz jumped up. "Finally," Blinking, Odraz's eyes glazed over, beginning to glow white.
A white system screen appeared in front of Odraz.
[System application accessed - Admin Rights acknowledged
Preparing body and soul merger with identified target Awakened Human 'Lauri']
[Merger at 0%]
Odraz looked up as the fireball was about to hit them.
As the fireball exploded, smoke and shards of crystal were sent flying in every direction.
Observing the carnage, the Undead Magic Knight was about to leave as a voice came from within the smoke.
"That sure is one hell of a way to wake someone up, you know."
As the smoke settled, the skeleton saw a dome of mirror-like crystal had appeared where Lauri and Odraz were.
"Come on, Zoleil, don't underestimate me too much." The dome shifted, coming undone, it almost slithered back into the ground. Within the dome, Lauri had sat up.
No, not Lauri. Whilst it was his body, his eyes were different, his iris and pupils had thinned into cat like slits and a different voice spoke through his mouth. Odraz's voice.
The Undead Magic Knight, Zoleil strode forward, stopping a few feet from Odraz, Zoleil knelt on one knee.
"I had intended to finish you before you could merge with a vessel. Forgive me for not catching on fast enough." Its voice spoke formally. "Had I realized breaking your prison with my spear would free you, I would have exterminated you within an instant."
Odraz smirked. "How long have I been gone, feels like a few thousand years at least." Odraz's jovial, almost familial attitude with Zoleil shifted into a voice of annoyance, almost loathing. "How many worlds has the Tower conquered in that time? One hundred, five hundred."
Zoleil did not move to speak.
Odraz rolled his eyes. "Well, it's comforting to see my death penalty is still on the table. What am I still not forgiven?"
"After betraying my master, how could you believe you could ever be forgiven!" Zoleil's temper flared, standing up and pointing a finger at Odraz. "My master had detected that your prison had merged with one of the dungeons these weak humans travel to. I was sent to this dungeon to find the place you were sealed in and to crush you."
Odraz brushed his hair out of his eyes, "Golgothie still keeping you on a tight leash I see."
Zoleil's face twisted into rage. "Do not speak her name so carelessly!" The grimoire flapped, landing on a new page, the text glowed white, a dozen spears of light formed around Zoleil.
Seeing this, Odraz frowned. "Leave your parlour tricks at the door, Zoleil." Raising his hand, Odraz flicked his finger.
The reflective crystals on the floor began to move, forming sharp spikes. They burst from the ground, piercing all of Zoleil's spears, causing them to shatter.
"Hey Zoleil how about a friendly game," Odraz called over with glee. "I'll sit down here, and we'll see how long it will take for you to make me move, deal!"
[Merger at 5%]