[DCI] Chapter 47 - A Great Match

“Looks like it didn’t take long for us to run into each other again.” I smiled and waved at the Assassin man.

“Oh? You know each other already?” The energetic girl spun on her heels, taking a glance at each of us.

“I guess you can say that. Though, I don’t think we caught each other’s names the last time.” I chuckled as he nodded lightly to my words.

“No surprises there. Even I didn’t get to learn the old man’s name yet,” she huffed, crossing her arms under her chest.

“Old man?” The Assassin guy’s brows rose slightly.

“What else are you if not an old man with that deep voice.” The pink girl put her fists on her sides. “The fact that most of your body is hidden, including half of your face, doesn’t help. I bet you are ugly as hell. But, don’t worry, I don’t discriminate based on appearance.”

He seemed to sigh at her as she sent him a wink and giggled adorably. Before long, the girl turned her attention to us and comically squinted her eyes. She pointed a finger at everyone, including herself, while silently moving her lips. Finishing, she scrunched her nose and put her hands on her hips once more.

“So, what’s going on here? I’m fairly sure that this Dungeon should have four people in total, but maybe I’m seeing things because there are five of us here.” She tilted her head. “I also ran into a Priest previously so that would make six. Ah! Don’t tell me you are the Dungeon Masters of this place and came here to kill us!”

A panicked expression surfaced on her face as she took a few steps back, lowering her posture. The black, mist-like aura intensified around her figure and she warily kept her eyes on the three of us. It was quite apparent that whatever that fog was, it was connected to her ability or weapon.

“They are Defenders. I confirmed that myself during our first meeting,” the roguish guy said, placing a hand on the short girl’s shoulder. “Though, there definitely were just two of you at that time.”

“That’s because I have expanded my team since then,” I replied. “I understand your suspicions and anxiety so I guess I have to share a thing or two about me to reassure everyone. I’m a Commander and they are my teammates. You met Aisha previously, a Berserker, and this here is Levia, a Witch. I’m Lucas. We are three, but for the System, we count as one.”

My drakan mate waved at them while my new lunar elf friend made a curt nod.

“That certainly explains a lot.” The girl relaxed a little bit, showing a dazzling smile again. “I’m Lulu. My Class is Shadowmancer. I can shape and weaponize shadows, though I can’t control much more than my own aura yet.”

She twirled the black mist around her forearm and thrust it forward. The ominous fog followed the motion and struck the air ahead of her hand by forming a deadly spike. She giggled and leaned to the back, seating herself on the faint smoke like on a floating throne, crossing her legs over each other and putting her hands behind her head.

“And I’m Ashmel. I’m a Rogue,” the silver-skinned man said.

~The fuck you are.~ Aisha snorted inside our connection.

~Is he not?~ Levia asked.

~He showed us his Stigma the last time and Lucas identified him as an Assassin. There’s no way he is mistaken. His knowledge about the Classes is vaster than an ocean,~ my mate answered.

~Although she is exaggerating, I have to agree with the part about knowing a thing or two about Classes. There’s no way he is a Rogue,~ I chimed in.

~Looks like he is hiding something. I wonder if he gave us his real name too. We should be careful around that guy, especially considering the fact that we still aren’t sure who the killer is,~ Aisha suggested.

~We’ll discuss it later. While our thoughts travel fast, it will soon be a few seconds since anyone spoke so it might get suspicious too,~ I pointed out.

Both Aisha and Levia sent me a mental nod and we refocused on the current situation.

“As for the pink orb you have been chasing, she’s my familiar. I apologize, but she is a shy creature and someone suddenly running to catch her was enough to spook her,” I explained.

The girl jumped off her mist chair and made a sad expression. “Ohhhhh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. She was just so cute that I really wanted to hug her.”

“It’s alright as long as you understand. If you promise not to startle her like that, I think she won’t mind coming back,” I replied and Lulu looked up at me with puppy eyes.

Barely holding in a chuckle, I reassured Rose mentally that we wouldn’t let anyone hurt her and our adorable companion floated up from behind my back, stopping next to my face.

At that very moment, the girl’s face literally sparkled with excitement as she tippy-tapped in place. She sprinted to us and came to a sudden halt right in front of me, gazing up at Rose with her mouth hanging open, pretty much leaning onto me.

“Sooooooo cuuuuuuuteeeeee!” she cooed. “Is that a Pixie? Amazing! I’ve never seen a Pixie follow a human before! You are a human, right? You certainly smell like one. Though, many races look similar. Can I lick you?”

“What?” I laughed softly when met with her lively barrage.

“She is a lust imp. It’s of no surprise that she remembers the taste of each race she had sucked off. You two are quite a match.” Aisha grinned at me.

“It’s not lust imp but love imp!” Lulu crossed her arms and pouted, her thin tail smacking the air behind her in irritation.

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say.” My drakan mate snorted.

“And not to be rude but humans are… average. Very average. Their desires are supposedly so strong and so powerful that they make it their life goal to chase after us to fulfill them, but they are always so disappointing.” The petite imp girl shook her head. ”How can you consider your desires anything but basic when you tire after a round or two? There are so many, big, strong, burly races that know how to love an imp…”

Aisha sent me another little grin while poking me with her elbow and I rolled my eyes at her. I had no reason nor intentions to defend my honor as a human, regardless of how much my sly mate tried to incite me. Especially when the person could very well be the enemy we were looking for.

I didn’t fancy death by snu snu.

“But, even though you are a human, you certainly smell a little different.” Lulu trotted around me while spinning around. “Having two pretty female companions hints that you are something special.”

“Oh yeah, special is an understate—mmmhhhwwwm!”

Before my mischievous girlfriend could drag me into something troublesome, I managed to seal her mouth with a hand.

“I was just extremely lucky.” I chuckled wryly. “But, in any way, what are you two doing? I thought you preferred working alone, Ashmel.”

If he was the culprit, then it wouldn’t be stupid to suspect him of trying to lower Lulu’s guard before finding an opportunity to strike her down. He could have been planning to get rid of her the same way he had dealt with the Priest, injuring her in a place with lots of monsters to make it look like she died in a normal fight. Though, we didn’t know if he was aware that the other guy had survived. They might have not met again yet.

“I found him spying on some weird thing in a big chamber, trying to be all sneaky and that. Nothing can hide in the shadows before me.” Lulu beamed at me with a proud smile.

Ashmel pulled his shawl a little higher over his face, clearly hiding his embarrassment of getting caught by such a scrawny-looking girl. “There’s a magical pylon channeling spiritual energy to the west from here. Multiple enemies of a wide threat range are stationed inside. I might be used to doing things on my own, but I’m not an idiot who would get himself into a clearly disadvantageous situation.”

“So, we teamed up. But, before we jumped in, he insisted on taking a stroll around the area to see if there were no other big surprises in case the monsters inside that chamber made lots of noise and attracted an Elite or something,” Lulu continued. “Since you are here, do you want to join? It’s definitely going to be a cream pie with the five of us!”

“Cream pie?” I blinked a few times.

“Lust imps,” Aisha whispered to my right ear with a quiet snicker.

“It’s their equivalent of a piece of cake,” Levia whispered to my left ear with her calm voice.

I shook my head with a sigh. “Sure. I think that’s a good idea. We haven’t found anything useful for clearing this Dungeon yet. While the timer is quite lax, we can’t get too relaxed.”

“Yeah. That pylon might be a hint. The assignment talks about removing the source of corruption. I wouldn’t be surprised if those pillars are at least partially responsible for it,” the Assassin guy said.

“What are we waiting for, then? It’s time to smash!” The bubbly Shadowmancer cheered, causing me and Aisha to chuckle.

“Lead the way.” I smiled at her and we started following the duo.

The stone corridors didn’t change much towards the area they guided us to. It didn’t look like the pylons would be located in a different segment of this small necropolis. Or it was just that the entire underground complex had the same, identical style no matter the direction or purpose of the facility constructed there.

But, who knew what these ruins could be hiding?

As expected, we ran into a few small fries on our way to the chamber with the unusual pillar. My party remained in the back while Ashmel and Lulu dealt with the enemies we encountered. It was a great opportunity to watch them fight and gain some intel on each of the two.

No surprises, the Assassin guy mostly kept himself away from the enemy unless it was plainly impossible. He attentively observed all the opponents engaged in the battle with them and looked for the perfect moment to strike them down. Thanks to his nimble movements and high accuracy, he had no issues dodging all the blows the Skeletons made and launching sporadic counterattacks.

As for the short Shadowmancer girl, she fought exactly the same as she behaved. Lulu’s movements were jittery and quick. She often spun around and made energetic jumps in every direction, including the vertical plane. She boldly faced her opponents, giggling and chuckling to herself as she shaped her aura into various dangerous forms, great for defense and offense.

Thanks to her efforts, Ashmel was able to find the opportunities he needed to skilfully destroy the nuclei of the more dangerous enemies, leaving the less scary Skeletons either to her or us. He showed his proficiency with that unusual dagger once more, confirming that it hadn’t been just luck the last time he’d taken down the Death Knight for us.

Soon, we slowed down and he signaled us to turn the noise down a little bit. He’d kind of assumed the role of the leader of this temporary team-up. Since they knew the most about the situation, I didn’t have any issues with that. I could focus on paying more attention to him and the girl.

~Try to keep your arcanas a secret for as long as possible,~ I instructed Levia before we reached our destination. ~If they know anything about Witches, it will make a good element of surprise in case of an emergency.~

~I shall keep that in mind,~ she replied with a slight mental nod.

~If the need arises, though, don’t hesitate to use them. Your and our safety takes priority. It’s good to have an additional card up our sleeve but it will be pointless to keep it hidden until we are out of the game,~ I added.

~Very well. I will do my best not to reveal too much. This party looks strong enough for me to remain in a more supportive position. If one of you is able to protect me, I should have no problem still using most of my magic without bringing out the cards,~ Levia replied.

~I won’t let anything get anywhere near you so don’t worry and just do your thing.~ I smiled at her softly as we locked gazes for a brief moment.

“Alright. We are here,” Ashmel whispered as an empty arch entered our sight. “Take a look inside. Maybe you’ll have any idea about this thing.”

I nodded and gestured for Levia to follow me since she was the most knowledgeable person out of the three of us when it came to magic. Ashmel and Lulu made some space for us to pass them without making too much noise and I leaned past the edge of the archway.

What greeted me was a spacious, hexagonal chamber with a high ceiling in the shape of a dome. A depiction of some kind of event was carved into each wall, taking up the entire available space. Judging by the crumbling benches and remains of a wooden stage in the very middle, it had been another ceremonial meeting place or something similar. The usual dark braziers and wall-mounted torches illuminated the sides of the chamber with azure light.

But, there was one more source of a blue glow.

Right in the very middle, where the stage had clearly been located in the past, stood now a weird magical construct. A long, rough crystal was lodged in between four metal elements holding it vertically in place. It pulsed at a regular pace, getting brighter for a brief moment after the wave of spiritual energy passed through the surroundings. It was about thrice as big as a normal person, poking its sharp tip into the territory of the masterfully crafted dome in the ceiling.

Obviously, it wasn’t alone.

A lot of Skeletons loitered around the prayer room pretty much in every corner of it. Besides the common, weak grunts, quite a few stronger enemies were mixed in the crowd. I spotted two Death Knights, at least one spellcaster, and a few purplish, ethereal, see-through, floating faces the size of a family table. If I wasn’t mistaken, those were Screamers. Not so dangerous on their own, but certainly irritating when paired with other monsters.

Seeing enough, I returned behind cover and gave Levia the chance to take a peek at the chamber. We didn't want to squeeze together and risk pushing each other into the open so she’d waited a while for her turn. The collected Witch scanned the insides of the room with great attention and turned to me.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“I have no doubt that this pillar is upholding some kind of magic in the area. It is impossible to identify exactly what with just this much. Judging by the ominous aura, it definitely is not anything beneficial and pleasant. At least for us,” she replied.

Aisha glanced at her. “Do you have an idea how to deactivate it?”

“The simplest solution is to destroy the crystal which serves as the catalyst for the spell. Of course, it is also the riskiest approach since we know nothing about the spell and how the device will react to damage. It might simply shut down, but it might also explode,” Levia explained.

“Scary.” Lulu shivered.

“But, if I can get closer, I might be able to find a way to cause enough interference for it to cease operation. Possibly disable it fully. I recognize some patterns on these metal claws holding it in place,” our Witch friend continued.

“I think that’s our best bet.” I nodded at her and glanced at everyone. “We require information so letting Levia study it rather than destroying it right away sounds like the better choice. Can we handle whatever is in that chamber?”

“Their numbers aren’t low but we should be fine if they split their attention between all of us. We have two brawlers, three if we count you, but you will be more stationary than the other two. I can move on the sidelines and your friend can focus mostly on her thing while taking action when necessary,” Ashmel replied.

“It will be fine! I’ve cleared worse rooms on my own!” Lulu grinned at us while puffing out her chest. “As long as the Berserker doesn’t go crazy and starts trying to kill us.”

“I’ll definitely pick a tasty little snack like you for the first meal so you better be prepared to run.” Aisha snickered and showed a wolfish grin at the imp girl. “But in all seriousness, I’m proficient in my rage and he is more than proficient in holding my leash. Now that I think of it, why haven’t we tried that before?”

Judging by the look she gave me, I knew exactly what kind of leash she was thinking about, including the situation she would love to use it, and I was certain it came with a collar. The kind that you wouldn’t really show in public.

Shaking my head at her, I turned to Lulu. “I’ll keep an eye on her. We go with that plan, then, but if things take an unexpected turn or it so happens that this crystal strengthens these monsters somehow, we get rid of it immediately.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and I glanced over my shoulder.

“Rose, keep an eye on the hallways around this place. Let us know if anything dangerous starts heading our way. Can you do that for me?” I asked the cute Pixie floating above my shoulder.

She buzzed around my head with great joy and energy before pecking my cheek with her ticklish, immaterial body and darting away. Lulu cooed at the adorable scene, escorting the fleeting orb of pink with her gaze. Then, we refocused on our objective and prepared to enter the chamber.

“Wait.” Levia stopped us and crouched down. “We need to take this.”

She brought a few small vials of seemingly clear liquid out of one of the pouches at her belt. Everyone took one off her hands and I examined it from up close, recognizing one of the concoctions we had made together in the big cauldron.

“What’s that for?” Aisha asked.

“Do you see that whitish, radiant mold in the far corner of the room? With so much of it there left unbothered, we should assume that the entire chamber is filled with its toxins. This is one of the disease hazards that the assignment mentioned,” she explained.

“Great catch.” I showed her a thumbs-up. “What does it do?”

“Causes a raging erection for at least three days, more if your body isn’t strong enough to fight it.”

I choked on my vial, barely avoiding doing a powerful spit-take, certain that I heard at least one more person trying to control their coughing. Their identity wasn’t that hard to figure out.

“Tsk. It would have been so much better if you didn’t notice it…” Aisha clicked her tongue and muttered under her nose.

“That mold is one of the ingredients in a popular medicine used to treat erectile dysfunction when properly dried and ground into a powder,” the knowledgeable Witch continued. “As for females, it causes serious swelling of the clitoris and makes the inner vaginal areas overly sensitive. In both cases, it’s to the point that even walking becomes hard.”

“We should gather some of it after the room is safe,” the playful drakan suggested with a devilish grin.

“Why? It isn’t exactly expensive or tough to come by.” Levia turned to her with a barely noticeable frown.

“Well… Uhhhh… It might not be, but… Who knows if Lucas won’t come up with something as amazing as the Woodmen’s Bane and we break the bank again? Right?” Aisha raised a brow at the shorter woman and spread her arms to the sides.

“We’ll discuss this matter after the battle.” I interrupted them, pointing a finger at my tease of a girlfriend. “And you, bottoms up, right in front of me.”

She smirked and followed the order. I knew her long enough to anticipate her tricks. Though, I was also fairly sure that she wouldn’t get that far. But, better safe than sorry. Especially with that horndog.

Surprisingly, Lulu downed hers in a flash and even asked if she could have seconds. I’d partially expected her to be as eager to get a little tingly down there as my drakan mate but it looked like she couldn’t be judged by her race.

After all of us drank Levia’s mixture, we exchanged glances and turned to the empty archway.