The Slime Dungeon: Book 1 (The Slime Dungeon Chronicles) (20 page)

              The demon let out a wicked laugh as it pointed ahead. The two students and Nat started moving forward toward them. "I know you are not well-versed in summoning foolish mage. Neither was the foolish summoner who called me in the first place, and I made sure to completely devour his essence."

              The demon turned to Diana, "Why, he was so full of anger and hate I just had to oblige him. Wouldn't you agree, sister?"

              And the demon changed forms again, this time revealing a form that filled Diana with horror.

              Marcus Duran smiled at his sister with a sinister grin. "Have you no desire to hug your brother?" He taunted, opening his arms out in a friendly manner.

              "You are the one who tried to kill me.” Diana said in shock, almost falling to the ground.

              Marcus shrugged, "I just needed you in pain, not dead. It was too bad those bubbling idiots almost ruined everything with their mistake. Still, everything else has gone according to plan so far."

              "The worg massacre and murders in the camp; those have been your doing.” Fiora realized in horror.

              Gran nodded, "The more pain he causes the more control this kind of demon can exert. From his power, I guess this is one of the strongest in the demon hierarchy.” Gran frowned at Marcus, "Your goal is the royal family."

              "Of course it is,” the demon declared at his servant closed the distance, "Once I stop the rampage of the mad sister who killed all her family, I'll take the throne in grief. The kingdom will be filled with sorrow and anger as I summon my brethren and we will have a foothold in this world."

              Something clicked in Diana, "You want the power of the dungeon; you want to eat the heart crystal."

              Marcus frowned, "Enough if this, I just need you to wait patiently as I gain the power I need. Then, none of you will able to resist me."

              Diana drew her sword and stood next to Fiora, "Over my dead body."

              Marcus growled, "You may be a part of my plan, but I don't strictly need you alive after this. Surrender or perish like your former brother."

              "I refuse," she retorted, "I won't help you with you plan dead or alive."

              "It's amazing how intact you are,” he mused to himself, "At any other time I would flay you to learn your secret, but I've wasted enough of that already."

              Marcus grinned and gestured, "Koran, go help subdue or guests."

              Koran, grinning madly, walked up to join the servants.

              "You traitor; how could you join that thing?" Fiora spit.

              "Power and money my fair lady," he chuckled, "Also the promise of you and your mentor in my bed once this is all over. I'll be sure to cherish each moment till I tire and get rid of you to the whorehouses."

              Fiora and Diana braced themselves as Gran drew his bow from behind them.

***

...

...

...

... Hungry.

...

...

... Dangerous.

…

... Kill.

...

... Mmmmiiinnneeee!

***

              As the servants closed in on the adventurers, a shudder shook the dungeon. Marcus frowned, "What is that racket?"

              Before anyone could react, two spikes shot out and obliterated the remaining former students. Everyone whirled around to find the jungle slime wiggling up and moving quickly toward them.

              Marcus frowned in annoyance, "Stay dead you stupid blob.” He raised his hand and launched multiple fireballs at the slime. The slime shuddered under every blow, but continued regardless. Marcus's face drew back into a feral snarl.

              "KNOW YOUR PLACE AND PERISH! OBEY ME!" His fury peaked as he created lances of flame and shot them through the boss. The boss finally stopped moving and began dissolving rapidly. Marcus huffed in annoyance.

              "Really, now? A mere slime made me that angry? I must be getting soft in this realm.” He turned back, "Now that that's finally finished…"

              He paused as he tried to move his foot and failed. He looked down to find thick vines wrapping his legs to the ground. He rolled his eyes, "A last attempt to devour me I suppose. I only need a little flame to…"

              "-Thunk-"

              Everyone stared at the crossbow bolt embedded in Marcus. Jonas smiled as Diana's abandoned crossbow slipped from his fingers. "I got you, you arrogant son of a bitch."

              Marcus froze as he stared at his chest. As a trickle of blood began coming out of the wound, his face morphed into a fusion of Marcus and the demon's.

              "Die.” It was one word said at room volume, but it held the repressed fury of a thousand acts of denial. A white fireball flew forward toward Jonas with a speed that left no one able to react.

              Everyone except the princess.

              Diana took the full force of the blast for Jonas and slammed into the wall in the far back. She gave a little gasp as her life left her body.

***

........... MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!

MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE!

HANNAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

              The dungeon began vibrating wildly as everyone struggled to gain their footing.

              Marcus cursed loudly, "How?! This violates the agreement, the dungeon cannot directly interfere!"

              As if in answer, everyone heard a small twinkling voice in their heads.

              "Foolish demon, the accord was broken when you killed the dungeon's possession. By slaying his chosen avatar, you have brought ruin on to your very being."

              Marcus paled as he slowly backed away, "No, no, no! I won't let this be the end of my plans!"  With a cry, he fled down the tunnel away from the room.

              "Master! Wait for me!" Koran dashed after his master as the dungeon shook.

              Without his presence, Nat collapsed like a puppet without a master. Fiora ran and caught her before she fell.

              "Brave adventurers, you are permitted to leave this place.” The voice said in their ears, "Take your earned rewards and leave this matter while the dungeon is distracted by his prey. If you do not leave quickly, it will devour you where you stand as well."

              Fiora turned to stare sadly at Diana's still body, "We need to take her with us."

              "That is not permitted. All who die within the dungeon belong to my lord. Know that the demon will not bother you again; you may inform your guild of that."

              "Who are you?" Gran asked as he lifted Jonas over his shoulder.

              The voice seemed to twinkle in amusement, "I am a mere servant, the same as any who belong to the dungeon. Know that the next time you enter, your lives will once again be forfeit and contested."

              With that, Fiora nodded and activated the recall spell. The four remaining adventurers disappeared in a flash of light from the boss room.

              Claire flew out and inspected Diana's body. "Child, he may never know why but you are now connected with him.” She smiled and kissed her body, "I look forward to seeing you again noble princess.” She stayed and watched as the body of Diana shimmered and disappeared into a thousand little lights.

***

              The demon ran as fast as he could through the dungeon tunnels, cursing with every step. "I almost had it in my grasp. This will set me back for years, but I will take my place as prince of the wrath demons.” He came across a divide and ran down the right path.

              As he ran, a thought occurred to him.

              There were no dividing paths from the direction of the boss's room.

              His foot fell through a pitfall and he slammed his chin into the other side as he fell down the hole. Dazed, he shook his head as he picked himself up. A slurping sound emanated around him as he realized the size of the hole he had fallen into.

              "Bastards, I will not die from petty slimes!" He cried out, his form covered in a layer of fire.

              The slimes around him backed off and fled from the flames. Marcus laughed, "Ha, ha, ha! I have nothing to fear from you, inferior creatures!"

              A red slime slowly made its way behind him and leaped onto his back. Marcus stumbled forward and landed on the ground.

              "Little annoyance, why you…my fire!" 

              The fire around the demon disappeared into the slime as it devoured it. Marcus paled completely.

              "An infernal slime.” he whispered. The bane of his race, long extinct after it was hunted by his tribe. It devoured flame as food and was immune to it as well.

              Without the fire, Marcus was only a stronger being than a human. Strength, however, did not matter in this dungeon.

              As the other slimes closed in on him, he let out a final scream of rage and hate… the slimes fell upon him in droves.

              Koran heard his master's dying screams as he ran away. He knew the dungeon was focused on him now, making his own escape a certainty.

              "I'll have to leave the country after this mess.” He muttered angrily, "Thankfully I have friends in other cities.” He was already thinking about his future crimes when a tentacle tripped him to the floor.

              He jumped up and took his sword out, looking for his assailant. "Show yourself!" He demanded.

              A girlish giggle echoed around him, sending a shiver down his spine.

              Koran swung his body around as he searched for the voice, his sword cutting through the air as his fear grew.

              “SHOW YOURSELF!” He demanded again.

              A form jiggled into his view from the darkness. It moved slowly across the ground and forced Koran back against the wall. When he couldn’t move anymore, the slime grew up and adopted a familiar form.

              Koran paled at the figure in front of him, "It can't be; you're dead! YOU ARE DEAD!"

              The voice giggled again; it was the figure of Diana smiling at him. She cocked her head at him, and then slowly began to move forward with purpose.

              Koran began to swing his sword wildly at the approaching slime, slicing small pieces of her off. The slime Diana frowned and backed up as she retracted her body protectively, eyeing the sword in front of her. As Koran began to calm down, tentacles wrapped around his body and squeezed, forcing him to drop his blade in pain.

              He paled as the tentacles began to drag him back toward the terrifying slime. He screamed and struggled with all his might, begging and screaming apologies and threats. The slime paid him no mind as she slowly absorbed him in a large hug.

              She smiled sweetly at Koran, before her mouth opened impossibly wide and devoured his entire body. She giggled as he felt him screaming inside her. Her blue form slithered back into the darkness, taking her victim with her out of the light.

Epilogue

              Mary sighed as she reread the report in front of her. She tilted her head up to gaze into the former pupil's eyes. "So, is this everything that happened?"

              Fiora nodded, stiff faced and sad, "Yes, it is as I have told it. At some point, Prince Marcus attempted a demon summoning for unknown reasons. As he was not a practiced summoner of any level, the demon devoured him, body and soul. It used his intellect and cunning to come up with a plan to turn the city into a demon controlled land and masqueraded as the prince."

              "It enlisted the help of the former sir Koran to drag people into emotional compromise and took control of them. It also shape-shifted into various monsters to cast suspicion on the dungeon and other local monsters in order to send more people into despair and fury. The two, however, failed to break the noble princess and convert her into a demonic disciple. The princess sacrificed her life in the dungeon to make sure we escaped them so we could not recover the body."

              Mary nodded, "What of the voice you heard in the dungeon? Do you have any inkling toward its identity?"

              Fiora shook her head, "I do not."

              Mary nodded as she tapped on an orb sitting on her desk. A picture of a forest pixie appeared on it. "What you heard was a dungeon pixie; a rare variant of pixie that lives within the dungeon. They somehow bond with the crystal and live their lives in willing servitude to the dungeon. Very little is known about them because they cannot survive without their partner. The few that were captured expired after a few days and never said a word. They only talk to adventurers in extreme situations within the dungeon."

              Mary leaned forward, "She called Diana the avatar, is that correct?"

              "Yes, but what does that mean?” Fiora asked curiously, “It frightened the demon into fleeing and the dungeon rumbled like an earthquake."

              Mary sighed and leaned back, tears gathering over her eyes. "It means the dungeon chose her, and she chose it. Before she left, she confided in me that she had stabilized as a disciple, but did not know who she had bonded with. Obviously, she had paired with the dungeon and became its avatar. Avatars are legendary figures in our history; they bridge the gap between dungeon and the other races. The greatest dungeon cities of our time only came about due to the dungeons’ avatars making the dungeons cooperate with the inhabitants. In theory, dungeons are the deities of their dungeon and can bond with humans and others if they so choose; but almost all prefer to eat all who enter. It is quite a shame Diana perished so soon before she could accomplish her duties. "

              "Still,” Mary clenched her fists as a sadistic smile came over her, "Slaying an avatar is forbidden, especially within the dungeon itself. When one slays an avatar, it invites the pure rage of the dungeon, which will not stop until the perpetrators are dead. That was learned long ago, after enough deaths occurred from such mistakes. The demon may have escaped back to its home plane, but it will be severely weakened for many centuries. We will never see it or Sir Koran again."

              Fiora smiled wryly, "I guess that's a good thing then. What do you think the responses of the nobles will be?"

              Mary groaned and dumped her head on the table, "When this gets out, the church will lead an inquisition as you have never seen. With one of the two princes dead, the succession has been decided, but Father Tobias will have the authority to investigate every level of government and guild for demon corruption. At least he is a reasonable man, but there will still be many changes before he is satisfied the area is cleansed. You and your group will most likely be promoted a rank, a small comfort to your loss."

              "Nic is sorely missed.” Fiora admitted, "Natalie is stricken with grief and poison while Jonas watches over her. I only hope the flame he carries for her will save her from her pain. Gran has left to report to his elders, and I'm here with you."

              Mary sighed and picked herself back up, "Indeed, this is a disaster for everyone. Go home and rest Fiora, you deserve that much before the questioning begins."               As Fiora closed the door behind her, Mary let the tears she had been holding back fall down her face. Her blood connection to Diana had long since vanished, and she had lost another friend.

***

              Michelle sighed as she packed her bags. "Such a disappointment, I really thought he could do it."

              "I'm really surprised too, big sis.” Shelly piped up from her side of the tent, "We gave that silly prince a duke level demon summoning book and it still failed in the end."

              Michelle turned and tussled her little sister's hair, "It goes to show that our summoned relatives are less than us little one. Then again, summoning from the fury circle is always a risk; we should have asked one of our relatives from the lust circle."

              Shelly giggled, "If that happened, then we couldn't have used our powers to control it, silly big sis."

              "Right you are, munchkin. Now, hurry and pack; we don't want to be here when those church dogs begin sniffing around."

              Shelly sniffed sadly, "Are we leaving for good big sis? I really liked exploring the dungeon, and letting the men take the fall for us. If we go home, I'll be so bored again." She pouted, her crooked tooth morphing into a perfect smile.

              "Patience my little sister,” Michelle knelt down and hugged her, her hair changing into a blonde wave down her back, "We can't go home remember? They banished us for embracing our heritage."

              Shelly giggled, "I thought it was because we tried to take over the kingdom and bring back the demon lords? The disciples really didn’t like us trying to corrupt them, right?"

              "There was that as well,” Michelle admitted, "In any case, the dungeon has proved itself to be a formidable force, one that we can use at a later date. That fool duke did teach us that our glamour won't work the deeper we go into the dungeon; it senses us and hungers for our power."

              "Is that why they say dungeons are related to demons?" Shelly asked curiously.

              "Only to those of the gluttony circle, little sister, and no one has been able to prove that. We leave for now, but we'll not go too far and we’ll come back after the church is gone. Let's think of a new plan while we wait."

              "Can we use men still?"

              "Of course, sweetie; I'd never deny your instincts. Let's go find us some bag carriers and someone to lend a wagon. In fact, let’s invite all of them to come with us. Traveling always makes me hungry.”

              For just a moment, red wings and a black tail appeared on the sisters, but perhaps it was just a trick of the light in the tent.