[DCI] Chapter 59 - In the Hands of Death

Before we left the safe confines of our little, magical apartment, the three of us returned inside to make a final check on everything. I could see Lulu curiously peeking through the door, which we had left open for her to come in, but the pink-skinned girl didn’t take the chance, perhaps hesitant about intruding on our private locum without clear, vocal permission.

Aisha made a quick trip into our storage while I accompanied Levia to her workshop. The two of us hovered over the laser engraver for a few seconds and we chose a bunch of additional spells for it to take care of in our absence. To maximize efficiency, we chose the most complex ones that would force the machine into taking its sweet time with the patterns.

We regrouped back in the hallway leading to the entrance and decided to leave. Everyone was there, ready as much as they could, which included Rose too. The enthusiastic sphere of cuteness hovered over our heads quietly, not wanting to inconvenience us but making a point that she was ready to help us out however we needed.

I had a feeling that the appearance of another small, adorable entity, even if only temporarily, had made our little friend a bit more competitive. I just hoped that this rivalry didn’t turn into a full-on war between the two familiars. Things would be getting way harder from now on for sure.

Lulu happily welcomed us into the Dungeon and started to lead us toward the descent into the lower level she had found earlier. It was pretty obvious that she had some questions about the unfamiliar things she had spotted in our home but she kept her thoughts to herself as we walked through the stone hallways.

I felt like, after we had taken care of the Betrayer, she had changed a bit. She was still somewhat seductive and flirty, often bickered with my sexy, draconic girlfriend, and clearly wanted to get her hands—or something else—on my cock, but perhaps there was some more… trust and respect in the way she behaved towards me. I didn’t see anything impressive in what I’d done when compared to everyone else but it wasn’t like I could know how her brain or culture worked exactly.

“So, did you find anything interesting on this floor while checking on the crystals,” I asked at one point in our mostly quiet journey.

“Not really.” The imp girl shook her head. “Besides a few more of those hidden trap rooms, there isn’t that much up here. And the rewards in those chests are either bait or don’t even exist. Most of the stuff I found in them was worthless.”

“It almost feels kind of lackluster.” Aisha scrunched her nose. “Besides those crystal pylons, we didn’t see anything noteworthy either. And while it’s nothing uncommon for the Dungeons, catacombs like these should hide at least some equipment and stuff.”

“I believe Aisha is right.” Levia made a curt nod. “We examined and even opened plenty of chambers and coffins or sarcophagi. The structure of this place is too complex to be a complete creation of contaminated energy. I would assume that these ruins were a relic of the past in some long-forgotten location before they became part of a Dungeon. It is just a guess, though.”

“And if that guess is correct, then we should have run into lots of traces and evidence connected to the history of all the people who were buried here,” my drakan mate continued after her. “Most of those looked to be warriors, knights, or people of higher standing than mere peasants. Taking their beloved or prized possessions to their deathbed is more than just common. Yet, we saw nothing. Except for the weapons carried by the Skeletons, but those don’t count. We found plenty of bones that weren’t animated too.”

“When you say it like that, this Dungeon really does seem a tiny bit strange.” Lulu rubbed her chin as her brows knitted together.

“Even in our previous Dungeon, we stumbled into the Pixies and the crystals, which made it obvious that it was an absorbed one.” I hummed to myself. “Maybe it is just a very elaborate catacomb.”

“We may be able to find some answers down there.” Our guide pointed to the side and we all gazed into one of the hallways leading away from the upcoming intersection.

The unimpressive, stone floor started descending into a flight of equally plain stairs after about ten or fifteen meters, right in front of a dead end. The descent was extremely dark so we couldn’t really see into the pitch-black hole that began after the few first steps. Or at least I couldn’t. The other trio might actually all have Darkvision of some sort.

But, anyway, the angle of the descent was quite sharp, at an almost perfect forty-five degrees, so it wasn’t possible to see far into it from our position. We slowly approached the stairs and peered into the void.

“You haven’t gone in, right?” I glanced at Lulu.

“Nah. These run damn deep. I didn’t want to risk going in alone. It’s a perfect place for a trap or an ambush,” she explained.

“Understandable.” I nodded. “I guess it’s time for me to test my new ability. We don’t know what might be waiting for us on the other end so it might be smart to avoid using light if none of us need it badly.”

“Ah. That one.” Aisha snapped her fingers at me and grinned. “Are you going to use me or our wise friend?”

“Do your Darkvisions differ?” I raised a brow at her and Levia.

“Not by much but mine is most likely more suited for outdoor use.” The calm Witch glanced up at me with her enchanting, violet eyes. “Since Aisha comes down from a draconic lineage, hers might work better in caverns and underground structures like this one.”

“Well, I was going to use hers anyway since I can keep it up for six hours instead of just one thanks to the bond, but that’s good to know for the future,” I replied and pulled up my phone to make it easier.

In the corner of my eye, I caught a faint smirk on Aisha’s lips as the two women looked at each other. Since I was sure that she wouldn’t be able to get any special reactions from the almost expressionless lunar elf, I didn’t really pay any more attention to them and navigated to my abilities.

I wasn’t sure if it would work, but just as I expected, I was able to activate the skill straight out of the list and a small catalog of abilities opened up. Some of them had a heart by their name and I knew for sure that they belonged to Aisha even without that hint. The naming sense obviously gave it away with just a glance.

Finding her Darkvision, I tapped on it and then tapped the confirmation box. A weird sensation spread through my body as if something flowed from my heart straight into my eyes and brain. In a flash, my surroundings became sharper, more defined, and the shadows in the corners brightened greatly, disappearing almost completely. I could now see much further into the descending stairs but I still couldn’t spot where they ended.

It was great to know that I could manage this ability with my phone instead of trying to do everything in my head. That reduced the risk of a mistake by a lot. And it was much more fun too.

“Is that how you see shit all the time? Pretty cool.” I looked around and noticed Aisha’s raised brows. “What?”

“Your eyes… I didn’t expect…” she replied in a quiet tone, staring deeply at my face.

Before I could continue questioning her, Levia fished out a small mirror from one of her inner pockets and turned it my way. My brows mirrored Aisha’s as they topped my forehead when I examined my reflection. My pupils assumed a fierce, vertical shape and I could spot a faint glint in them, depending on the angle.

I moved my gaze back to my drakan partner, now aware of the reason behind her surprised reaction. Her eyes bore into mine for a good while and I could swear that a tiny bit more rosiness tinted Aisha’s cheeks. I smirked softly at her entranced expression and it seemed to cause her to nibble on her bottom lip.

Chuckling lightly, I landed a gentle smack on her perfect butt as I passed by the draconic beauty. “Come on. The quicker we finish this delve, the more time you will have to just stare at them.”

I heard a snort, most likely coming from Lulu, quickly followed by a quiet thud and a groan. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what had just happened and I couldn’t hold down a smile from creeping up onto my lips. Levia soon joined me by my side and confirmed my suspicions. We descended the stairs in pairs.

As Lulu had said before, those were really damn long stairs. It felt like we were walking for more than fifteen minutes before there was a change in the dull passage. And we weren’t moving slowly either. The steps were big enough to confidently set your foot on them without the risk of slipping or tripping.

Approaching what looked like an empty entrance to a bigger chamber, we actually slowed down. I nodded at Rose and our smart Pixie friend understood her task immediately. She bolted up to the ceiling and darted forward while keeping herself in the corner. We watched her pass the exit and disappear past its upper edge. After a few long seconds, Rose showed herself in the very middle and joyfully spun in circles, announcing that it was safe to approach.

“What the fuck…” I suddenly felt unsteady on my legs the very moment we stepped out of the descending hallway.

A hand grasped my collar from behind and I knew it was Aisha, who quickly made sure that I didn’t actually lose my balance even though she was in as much astonishment as the rest of us. Regaining my composure, I stood frozen at the exit of the sloping tunnel and looked around with wide eyes. The girls took in our surroundings with a similar shock and awe.

Firstly, we were still on the same flight of stairs.

Secondly, the walls and ceiling that closed us off during our descent were now completely gone, leaving just the steps underneath still present.

Thirdly, we had just come out of an uneven wall of a cavern that was unimaginably huge.

We could see the ceiling far above us, for sure, but no matter how hard we looked ahead, down, and to the sides of the descending path, we weren’t able to find an end to them. Complete darkness so thick and deep covered those distant areas that even with Aisha’s Darkvision I couldn’t see shit out there.

But, there were things that I could see. And they could too, for sure.

Numerous spires of various thickness and sizes littered the unending cavern wherever we would direct our gazes. They all poked out of that all-consuming darkness at the bottom of this place. If there even was a bottom down there.

The stone-gray structures had the same gothic aesthetics as the catacombs on the upper level, making them even spookier in this creepy setting. Spiraling stairs coiled around most of them and some of them were connected by long, open bridges of the same mineral. Tiny, blue dots glowed over them and illuminated their surface and various parts here and there, clearly coming from the torches or other light sources.

“Well… Ten days suddenly feel much shorter than before...” I let out a wry chuckle as my brain still processed the sheer size of what we were witnessing.

“This is an entire necropolis…” Levia commented quietly and even her tone wasn’t unaffected by the view, which didn’t happen often.

“How can we find anything out there in less than ten days?! Not to mention getting rid of it or doing whatever is necessary to complete the assignment?!” Lulu’s fingers shot to her hair as she panicked a little.

“Quiet, you brainless midget!” Aisha hissed at her. “We don’t know what might be lurking around in this darkness! We are like sitting ducks out here!”

The imp shortie seemed to realize her mistake and quickly sealed her mouth shut with her hands, frantically looking around as a faint echo carried her quite loud complaint further into the cavern. Thankfully, she hadn’t shouted too hard so it wasn’t the worst. But, my strong mate was right. We were in a complete dogshit position, standing on a flight of stairs surrounded by nothing. Our only options were to back off into the tunnel behind us or sprint ahead to reach the spire connected to the other end of the path. And it wasn’t exactly too close.

“Too late. We have company,” the quiet Witch spoke clearly and pointed to the side.

“Stay close to the entrance!” I ordered and we quickly shuffled our formation, taking a few steps back.

Since standing side by side was too dangerous, we ended up in a single file. Lulu took the front as she could use her shadow abilities to escape danger the easiest out of us all. Levia stood right behind the Shadowmancer and I was right after her since she was much smaller than me too and I would obstruct her view. Aisha obviously took the back as the biggest and most badass member of this party. And the strongest, of course.

I called forth my two bonded handaxes and they jumped out of their holsters with an eager hum, starting to orbit me in a protective manner. We squinted in focus to gain as much information about our enemy before the clash as we could. Our only hint at the moment was the fact that those monsters seemed to be small and were able to fly even though they had no wings.

“Are those… hands?” Aisha pointed out with a frown.

A shiver rolled down my spine. She was right. A literal flock of skeletal hands headed our way, flexing their white, grabby fingers as they zoomed through the air like it was a normal thing for separated wrists to belong in that environment. Gems of various colors were embedded in their knuckles and all the joints. But, no matter how expensive those looked, seeing a cloud of bony fingers rushing at you was creepy as hell, bizarre at most.

They reached us and I saw one of them separating from the group. Rose bolted away and it took immediate chase after our round companion. I had no idea if those spooky hands could grab a Pixie but I hoped that I wouldn’t get to see that play out. Unfortunately, I had to switch my attention to our own opponents, reassured just a little by how fast my cheerful familiar seemed to be in comparison to the grabby monster.

Three of them descended onto Lulu and started clawing at the imp girl with their sharp fingertips. She skillfully parried their attempts with her blades while also dodging as much as she could without moving closer to the abyssal chasm spanning over our sides. At least we had some room forward and back.

My two handaxes intercepted one enemy each and prevented them from going after Levia, who drew a card from her deck holder. I smacked one more off its path with my mace and focused on the four that chose me as their target. Thankfully, our Witch friend wasn’t completely useless on her own and I heard a keen zap alongside a faint blue flash. Two of her opponents and two of mine were struck by continuous lightning for about three seconds and began falling into the darkness.

I turned around for a moment to chase after the remaining ones that had flown behind my back and to check up on Aisha. My brave Berserker swung her massive hammer with quick motions and pummeled a skeletal wrist out of the air with each one. The noise of cracking bones filled our close vicinity as we did our best to deal with this sudden swarm straight out of hell.

“Ahhhhh!”

A feminine scream reached my ears from behind and I instantly whipped my head around. One of the floating bastards had grabbed Levia’s coat by the collar and tried to lift her up while dragging her to the side as she repelled two more going after her hands. She was already close to the edge and struggled to slip out of her loose attire.

I reacted without a hint of hesitation and threw myself at her just as she was being pulled dangerously far over the ledge. Smashing my mace into the main culprit behind her situation and smacking it away from the petite Witch, I crashed into her a split second after she was brought past the border.

She plunged down immediately but I was with her. It was a dreadful feeling to experience a sudden lack of support under my feet right over the unending chasm, but I didn’t let it get to me and wrapped my free arm around Levia’s waist as tightly as I could. I let go of my mace and hastily extended my other arm towards the ledge, somehow managing to grab it before we fell too far.

I grunted heavily as our combined weight and added velocity strained my arm and shoulder, and groaned more when we slammed into the hard, uneven, rocky side of the stairs. My mace bounced off the surface with a clang and made a dive for the abyss too. Before I lost it completely, I locked my eyes on its shape and squinted heavily while begging for my Telekinesis to work. A mental strain was suddenly added to the physical one but the weapon froze in mid-air.

We weren’t exactly safe from the flying fucks yet but my handaxes did a great job at shielding us from their evil touch. My mind was completely split between holding onto the mace and directing their blows, though, so it wasn’t easy to hang down like that with just the tips of my fingers.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for help to arrive and I heard Aisha shout my name from above. Right after, she lowered her hammer vertically while crouching over the edge of the stairs. I didn’t even need her to share her intentions with me to know what they were and I hastily twisted my body to bring Levia closer to the double head of my mate’s weapon. The dainty elf stepped onto it like onto a pogo stick, gripping the pole with both hands.

Aisha immediately pulled her up without a problem and I turned my attention back to the mace. Extending my hand towards it like I was trying to use force to bring me my dropped lightsaber, I summoned it back to my palm a bit faster than I expected. Right after, I felt someone grab my wrist and I was launched up, returning to the safe surface.

“Thanks.” I managed a nod of gratitude at my gorgeous, crimson-scaled savior.

She winked at me and got back to annihilating the swarm.

“Don’t let them grab you! Retreat into the tunnel!” I shouted and glanced around.

Many grabbers still zoomed through the air and assaulted us from every possible angle. I stepped closer to Lulu and helped her back away since Aisha had already put Levia close to the hole in the wall. We repelled and destroyed as many hands as we could before jumping into the enclosed space. Surprisingly, the monsters didn’t follow us.

“Why aren’t they going in?” Lulu asked while calming her breath.

“Perhaps they can not. Or their orders are limited to grabbing people and throwing them over the edge. They are unable to do that here,” our wise Witch suggested.

“This sucks. They are perfect for this situation. It will be hell to push through or fight them out there.” I clicked my tongue.

“It’s the only way as far as we are aware.” Aisha sighed.

“I shall deal with them,” Levia announced calmly. “I did not plan to make use of it this early but we can not be stopped this early.”

We all turned to her and watched how she started heading back toward the entrance. I had to fight the urge to grab her wrist and stop her but I knew she wouldn’t do anything stupid. Just in case, though, I followed closely after her.

Reaching the edge of the opening, where plenty of skeletal hands still buzzed around like ferocious hornets blocked off by a non-existent pane of glass, she slowly raised her witchy hat. The Divine Fowl was peacefully napping atop her hair, seemingly unaware of everything that was happening, or just not caring enough about it.

Levia then passed me her hat, nonchalantly grabbed the bird with both hands, evoking a surprised cluck from the white-feathered chick, and also nonchalantly tossed it ahead. The holy chicken flew past the edge while frantically flapping its golden wings and squawked in a slightly higher pitch as one of the monsters caught it into its tight grasp like a fluffy stress-relief ball.

We wondered what was the point of that when the Divine Fowl began glowing brighter and brighter before exploding in a flash of blinding light that emanated right from its body. When we uncovered our eyes, it was slowly falling to the ground alongside a bunch of its swirling feathers that detached from its frame, flailing its wings to slow its descent. I caught traces of faint, black dust floating away into the darkness and some more of it scattered over the steps. A few gems lay over them too.

The heavenly bird jumped step by step while pushing itself up with its wings and then leaped all the way back on top of Levia’s head when it got close enough to the blue-skinned lady. It nestled itself in her white hair and I could swear that it was squinting at us with an annoyed expression, puffing its feathers out. As it closed its tiny eyes, the Witch covered it up with her hat once more. The rest of us exchanged surprised glances and Levia clearly noticed our confusion.

“One of its main offensive abilities, Purge Undead. It is a powerful area skill but can be used only twice a day,” she explained kindly. “The Divine Fowl can use four spells a day before running out of energy so each cast is very valuable.”

“It does look quite OP. I’m not surprised it has a limiter on.” I chuckled while shaking my head.

“Can’t you just resupply its energy somehow?” Aisha asked, raising a brow at the shorter lady.

“Potions and other consumables do not work.” Levia shook her head. “People tried various things, trust me.”

“What about Transfer Spirit?” I rubbed my chin. “It’s your familiar, therefore it’s connected to you, therefore I wonder if I can share my energy with it through my ability to control its flow between me and my Subordinates.”

She opened her mouth to answer but paused for a moment and closed it back, taking a few seconds to rethink it.

“I do not know. It might be worth a try.” Her violet eyes looked up at me with a faint trace of wonder in those enchanting irises.

Aisha snickered next to us. “You will always find a loophole to abuse the system.”

I shrugged with a smile. “Old habits die hard.”

After calming down our elated moods, we moved closer to the exit and peeked past its edges to see if there truly were no more of those terrifying grabbers around. Rose made a wide circle in the air and no monster lunged at her so it seemed to be safe. We collected the fallen gems and shoved them in our pouches or pockets to examine later.

Lulu stepped closer to the ledge on the side and peered into the chasm. “I wonder if it has an end. Will we have to explore it too?”

“It’s so deep that even our eyes can’t see the bottom.” Aisha scrunched her nose as she joined the imp girl.

“I can launch an illumination spell down this abyss to verify that,” Levia suggested.

“Alright, but send it far away from the stairs. We don’t want to risk attracting unwanted attention again,” I replied.

“That was my thoughts exactly.” She glanced at me and I spotted the faintest hint of a tiny smile at the corner of her dainty lips.

I smiled back at her and we watched as she picked out another arcana and activated it in her fingers. This time, instead of casting magic through it, she filled it with mana and threw it away like a professional card thrower. It disappeared from our sight pretty quickly due to its color and how dark it was everywhere. But, we saw a golden flash a few seconds later and spotted it quickly descending about twenty or thirty meters from our position.

We were starting to lose hope of seeing the bottom when it finally stopped. The chasm was so deep that we could barely make out the fact that it had hit the ground. Everyone squinted as hard as they could until Levia raised a hand to stop us.

“Wait a few seconds. I set it to discharge all the mana with a brighter glow after a while,” she said.

I nodded approvingly and we continued to gaze into that small, glowing point.

Then, the timer ran off and the illuminated area grew to around the size of a soccer field. That was the exact moment I shuddered involuntarily and my eyes went wide. I caught the sight of the others reacting the same way and Lulu actually took a frightened step back. Even Levia’s usually emotionless face paled a little.

“Fucking hell…” I chuckled wryly.