Natives had a ranking system for nearly everything.
That was natural—hierarchy is everything in a world of order, after all.
To determine an individual's strength, they created a ranking system. To determine the danger level of Dungeons, they created a separate category for the most dangerous ones, referring to them as the World's Deadliest.
The Citadel of Graves fell under this category.
Treasures found in Dungeons also had grades—as expected of items with value. However, despite the need to always classify anything and anyone into objective or arbitrary ranks, there was one exception.
—Horrors.
As a general rule, Horrors of earlier Floors were weaker than those of lower Floors, but no one was naive enough to construct a strict set of ranks for them.
Why?
… Because Horrors were generally unpredictable!
Each type was unique—possessing its unique patterns of movement and special abilities. Ranking them based on arbitrary standards like strength, speed, or overall durability was difficult, if not downright impossible.
It was also useless, functionally speaking.
Horrors that excelled in physical attacks could be easier for certain Explorers to deal with than the trickier kinds, while others would prefer indirect assault to head-on confrontations.
It all depended on specialty and preference, so creating a ranking system was never going to be possible, and it would be ill advised if pushed.
All it was bound to create was an illusion of difficulty that wasn't so straightforward.
Colossus. Bats. Worms.
All were Horrors with their specific features, patterns of attack, and most importantly… individual weaknesses.
That was why…
"It looks like I'll have to fight!"
… In a way, Rule 3 was the most important of all.
'Show no fear.'
~WHOOSH!~
Des charged forward, already knowing that his sudden movement was going to cost him a limb or two.
Intentionally sacrificing his second hand to the flames, in order to protect his primary method of mobility, he began his race to the Colossus.
'~BOOOOM!~
The resounding explosion behind him seemed like background noise, and the smell of his roasting flesh did very little to serve as a distraction. The pain was numbed by the adrenaline pumping through his body, and his resistance to those kinds of sensations.
Plus, since he was already regenerating, there was no problem whatsoever.
'The lights are growing dimmer, so I expect its vision to get worse. Still, since it's quite sharp, it should be able to predict my trajectory. In order to prevent that…'
~VWUSH!~
Des zigzagged his way forward, bouncing on and crushing the confused Worms that stood in his path as he made his way to the Horror ahead.
~BOOOOOOM!~
'As expected… it missed!' Des grinned, resuming his tactics while increasing the speed of his motion so the Colossus wouldn't adapt to his movement.
One of his arms completed its regeneration.
~BOOOOOOOM!~
He allowed the force to propel him forward, crushing even more Worms in his unstoppable charge towards the enemy. Their blood spurted on his body like cheap paste, and he could feel the sliminess of their gory entrails on his naked flesh.
None of that bothered him, though.
'Almost there…!' His second arm was nearly done healing, and he had nearly closed in on the creature.
The zig-zagging caused a slight delay in advancement, but since it was towards a good cause, he considered it a necessary sacrifice.
Any moment from then, and he would finally—
'Ah…'
~WHUUUUUMMM!!!~
The Colossus suddenly leaped from its position, sending its gargantuan body hurtling into the air.
'... Damn.'
A dark, overwhelming shadow instantly enveloped Des thanks to the eclipsing effect of the Colossus on the source of light that granted illumination to his surroundings.
Any normal person would experience pitch-black darkness at that moment, unable to see where they were going and how far they would need to go to escape the inevitable crash of the now descending Colossus.
Des was not a normal person, though.
'Even if I didn't have night vision, I'd still know the direction and time it would take to escape.' He smiled to himself, once again thankful for his slightly better than average cognitive prowess which allowed him to memorize locations and make rapid calculations.
His Horror Aspects did not improve this innate ability of his in any way, but they did give him a body powerful enough to keep up with it.
And so—
~WHUSH!~
—He could not only react to the Colossus' leap, but he was fast enough to avoid being crushed under its belly, while ricocheting on the nearby wall and leaping high into the air so—instantly flipping their positions in the span of barely a few seconds.
'Now then…!' With both arms now healed, he clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, ready to send his most powerful blow straight towards the Horror.
Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy.
~WHISH!~
Its stinger whipped across the air, ready to slice Des in half if he wasn't already looking out for the attack.
Thankfully, he suspended this blow and managed to prevent the fatal strike from lopping off any of his important organs.
That said, it managed to slice off his two legs.
'They're not necessary now anyway. I've got you where I want you!' Des grinned, already knowing that the stinger's wide attack required time for recoil before it could be used again, and he was already descending too rapidly for the thing to catch him a second time.
All he had to do was pass one final hurdle.
'Cooldown is up. Here comes one more explosion!'
~BOOOOOM!!!~
Des twisted his body in the air, but the blast managed to graze his hand, sending scorches through his steaming skin.
He didn't cease smiling, though.
'Here I go!'
Clenching his unaffected fist as hard as he could, he applied the most pressure he could muster into it, and sent it crashing into the Horror's thick exoskeleton.
~BOOOOOOOM!!!~
The very air vibrated, and the ground of the room shook tremendously, as the Horror was forced to kneel thanks to the incredible power that pushed it down.
His bones shattered as a result of the impact, and his fist popped wide open due to the incredible impact forced upon both clashing sides.
The Colossus' hard shell even managed to crack, but it was far from shattered.
Des expected this as well.
"I'm not done…" He raised the previously scorched hand that just finished healing that very instant.
'My dominant right hand… where the Horror Aspect's effect is mostly concentrated…' His muscles tightened, and his arm fell in a heavy descent of power.
'... Why don't you have a taste?!'
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~
This time, the exoskeleton shattered, causing shards to fly across the area, spiraling in the air, and heading to the ground.
A massive hole there and then, and Des wasted no time sending his leg down there to crush the soft insides of the Horror—particularly targeting the Core that hid behind tons of fat and soft muscles.
~BOOOOOOOOOM!!!~
His incredible stomp sent reverberations through the Colossus, but more importantly, it burst the soft insides wide open and revealed the glowing Core deep within.
Having both hands damaged, and one of his legs still healing, Des wasn't confident in his ability to destroy the Horror with one final attack. He also didn't have time for consecutive blows, since the stinger was already making its way towards him.
Ultimately, he ended up with one simple solution.
"Just die already…"
Taking off his cloak, he shoved it down the open hatch of the Colossus Horror and stuffed it in with one final stomp. Of course, merely doing this wouldn't guarantee his victory, but his true goal dwelled in the resulting effect of that choice.
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~
Several explosions ravaged the Horror's insides like a variety of fireworks, all resulting from multiple reactions from the few items he packaged within the cloak—most of which were combustible.
Once the explosions died down and the smokes cleared up, Des found himself amidst a pile of the Colossus' entrails, wrapped around in its soft innards.
He lay on the ground, his eyes wide open as he gazed upon the darkened ceiling.
"Hahaha… haaa…"
Just like that, he managed to win.
"Hope you're satisfied now, Eve…" He muttered, panting as his damaged body began regeneration.
"Subjugation complete!"
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Personally, fights like this are entertaining to me since a lot of things are happening and there are so many close calls.
I'd like to hear your thoughts.
Also… thanks to all my readers who constantly support me with their comments, power stones, golden tickets, and gifts. You all are the best and the source of motivation behind my continuous efforts to create stories.
I am honestly grateful.