Disease (3/3)

The defenders were outnumbered and taking more damage than they were dealing. Spinner could barely fight as she protected Shu-Bongo who was trapped in this strange glowing state. One of the Deep Fishers got piled on by half a dozen Võrska and was torn apart limb from limb. Fiona was also jumped while trying to activate her Enervating Howl. Three Zombies grabbed ahold of the wolf and attacked it viciously while it tried to throw them off. Sŭnfur kept protecting Sumiré valiantly, rending the flesh of any Undead that veered too close with fang and claw. Fatná fought side by side with the wolf, stabbing wildly at any approaching enemy. The heroes outclassed the weak and uncoordinated Zombies, however their numbers were still superior. With almost 15 Undead remaining the heroes were soon cornered and things looked grim. Sumiré cursed the heavens and her own weakness. She wanted to do more but had nothing to contribute other than an occasional kick and shove. Fatná looked at her with a knowing look and the girl paled. It was as if her mother was saying "This is it.. You promised.. You promised you would run..". They had lost.

Sumiré looked around in desperate defiance. There had to be something.. anything she could do! Why hadn't the Lady Minõa arrived yet? Was she to abandon everything just to save herself? She could see the Ghoul standing behind his minions, a look of hatred and pain plastered across his face while he clutched his bleeding side. This abomination would tear down her new home, kill her friends, her own mother and enslave her Lady Minõa who had shown her kindness and hospitality. She hated it.. It might have been the first and only thing Sumiré had hated her entire life. The Ghoul smirked at her and licked its lips. The young woman enraged let out a battle cry filled with her emotions and frustration. A glowing head reared up next to hers at about the same height. The form seemed fluid, almost as if it were molding itself into what it was supposed to be. The glow subsided after a moment and a Shu-Bongo, now a Wyvern as tall as Sumiré, joined her in her roar with a conical blast of sound!

The closest Zombies were dismembered by the sheer force of the sound blast. Those behind them were sent flying with bleeding eardrums and those even further away were stunned by the explosion of sound. The surprised Ghoul took the ability head on but faired much better than his brood. He fell to one knee and dug his claws in the hard stone below, to secure himself in place. The Undead managed to hold its ground despite bleeding from every orifice of its head, including its eye sockets, by the end of the attack. Sumiré stepped forward to face the seemingly defeated monster. She had cupped her ears as had Fatná, in order to stand the sonic attack that was unleashed. She patted the fur on Shu's chest and smiled at the newly evolved Wyvern as it held its head high with pride. "This is our home.. You won't take it from us.." she addressed the Ghoul with conviction in her voice.

"You.. you think..." the Undead gasped the words out with a grit in its voice and a wheeze in its breath. "You think I came.. all this way for a fucking CAVE!?" the Ghoul growled and shone dim red for a split second. The Undead's movement sped up threefold as it lunged forward towards the young woman. It had activated some sort of new ability with what remained of its Stamina or Mana and in a flash of motion, maneuvered itself around Sumiré! The Ghoul jumped on the girl's back, turning her towards her allies and placed a claw on her neck! "If anyone moves towards me I will prick the girls neck! Even if you kill me you'll just have to kill her as well! Or.. watch her become one of us!" he said while licking his fangs with those last words, his elongated tongue tracing their sharp edges as he finished. "SUMIRÉ!!" Fatná yelled and every Dungeon summon roared and barked at the Undead, trying to restrain themselves from attacking. "Please.. please! Take me! I'll do whatever you want!" The mother pleaded but Sumiré raised her hand to urge her to stay away.

"See? Isn't this sweet.. I knew I picked the right hostage. You're a fan favourite here! I can't wait to see how our brood will look like! See.. There's just been a vacancy and I am in dire need of a new queen. You won't be able to do much as you are now.." the Ghoul went on, caressing the young woman's stomach as she winced. "But a few tears here and there, a few months of rape and my disease will do the rest.. You'll make an excellent Brood-Matron..". As he finished his long tongue ran across her cheek and Sumiré shivered with disgust but was unable to move. "And now for our exit.. don't you dare follow if you don't want her to die on the spot!". The Undead moved towards the exit while still facing the defenders, not wanting to turn his back on them. His back hit a hard surface and he was confused as he was sure he had guided the girls steps correctly towards the open tunnel behind them. Without too much thought the Ghoul turned to check their course but only saw a tall dark bronze body of toned muscle under leather armor.

The Undead opened its mouth ready to reissue its ultimatum when it was snatched by the throat and held up high. Sumiré, suddenly freed fell forward into the waiting arms of her mother. She checked her neck frantically for any wounds when she finally noticed that Fatná and all the summons were now quietly looking towards the tunnel with a certain reverence in their gaze, as if watching a ritual or ceremony. She turned as well only to see their Lady of the Dungeon herself holding the undead aloft by the neck. Two small humanoids ran to their side, red skinned and pointy eared, a mix of Arsan and Võrska alike. They charged the remaining zombies and the Summons followed without question, wiping them out with no further casualties.

"Aghg.. gah.. my.. love.. let me.." choked the Ghoul through the strong grip on his neck and actually attempted to caress Minõa's cheek. The Dungeon Avatar took his wrist in her free hand, appearing to accept the gesture, before snapping the Ghoul's arm with a violent movement of her own. Bones shattered and flesh was pierced by the sharp fragments before she let the broken arm fall limp to his side. The Ghoul tried to slash at Minõa's face with his left but that limb shared the same fate as its counterpart. With both arms broken and dangling at its sides the Ghoul screamed and thrashed violently in Minõa's grip, ultimately accomplishing nothing. "This surely couldn't be it!?" he thought through his frantic flailing. He had endured through decades of mutations, survived such horror and pain and for what? To die at the hands of a fledgling Dungeon Core!? The Avatar repositioned her grip, now with her free hand holding the creature's skull. She began pulling upwards, slowly stretching the Undead's neck as its head began moving away from its body.

The Ghoul flailed its broken arms wildly with a primitive urge to survive. Its tongue flicked uncontrollably outside its mouth, it kicked, it thrashed and convulsed in every possible way but there was simply no escaping this. Faint memories of a life before its corruption flashed through its mind. The Ghoul remembered briefly.. A young man in the caves of the Dark Under, playing his flute for the Night-light's Elementals that danced around him. He remembered courting the beautiful daughter of the Councilor and how he longed for her to accept his affection. The memory followed the young man as he bravely took up arms against the darkness despite not being a warrior! "For Gäldrys! For the Crown! For the Qwŷrthem!!" What had happened?! What had he done? WHAT HAD HE BECOME?!!!

"No...please..gharl..for..give..mmmeee.." the wretched thing managed to say before the flesh around its neck tore and its spine was pulled out of its torso along with its head. Its eyes flashed with a feeling of regret and realization that had been lost to it for many...many years. Minõa held its head in her powerful grip and squeezed until the skull caved in under the pressure she applied. The scene was gruesome enough to make both women look away and Minõa lost her composure the moment her fury subsided. The adrenaline left her, leaving behind only the pure brutality of her action. "God damn it.." she whispered as if she had just lost the fight. How much of a monster did she need to become to survive this world. What more atrocities would she still have to commit. This monster would have never stopped. It had outmaneuvered her time and time again, she had almost lost everything fighting it.. Was she in the wrong for ending it, even if she did so in such a violent way?

She touched the Ghoul's remains and a flame spread from her palm, incinerating the corpse. With the ashes scattering to a breeze that traveled through the caves, a blast of Aether, Experience points and Loot was produced from the Undead and its defeated minions.

[ Chimera Ghoul Lv.10 defeated! 670xp gained! 300 Aether points awarded! 500 Gold coins awarded! ]

[ Võrska Zombies x30 defeated! 480xp gained! 190 Aether points awarded! 30 Gold coins awarded! ]

[ Chimera Ghoul has dropped the following loot: 1) Chimera Ghoul Monster Core Lv.10 (Preserved). 2) Vile of Tainted Blood. ]

Minõa sat down, hands resting on her knees as she drew deep breaths. It was finally over.. for now. Other enemies would appear and surely some of them would be even more dangerous. She would strive to attain even more strength, to turn this Dungeon into a safe haven for her and hers. But what would she need to sacrifice for that to happen? Would this world prove to be more forgiving and full of opportunities than her old one? Or was its magical beauty just an alluring trap for those easily fooled? Her pessimistic thoughts were suddenly halted when Sumiré sat besides her and wrapped her hands around her in a tight embrace. "Welcome home my Lady.." she said almost reverently. Her warm skin against Minõa's caused the Avatar to melt into a sense of security, acceptance and even.. love? Minõa returned the hug, rubbing her cheek against the beautiful Acamarian's hair. "Thank you for waiting for me.." answered the Dungeon Core's Avatar, forcing down a wave of emotion and a few tears.

Fatná knelt beside them and placed a hand on Minõa's shoulder. Soon every summon still alive approached and attempted to greet the Avatar and show their affection, with Fiona outdoing them all. The Blood Wolf pushed away all other critters and nuzzled the big woman with such force that she managed to throw her on her back. Minõa was assaulted with a slur of licks to the face that brought back pleasant childhood memories."Ok ok enough haha waiaiait that tickles!" Minõa exclaimed with teary laughter and everyone smiled, relief washing over them. The Great Dungeon of Elgolar was once again able to hope for tomorrow.