Forgotten Dungeon

Charles

"W-what?" Agnes asked, her golden eyes flitting between me and Non. "What are you talking about?"

"Your former associate says it's the fucking elves." I shrugged, feeling tired. It was one thing after another, and my mind was starting to stall. "Theocracy. Not the half-elf fucks from Luna." I narrowed down the words.

"But since when do elves have a flying mountain?"

"You're asking me?" I grumbled, and we both turned to Non, who seemed to have a silent discussion with… someone. We all knew who.

"Master, what do you mean by that's no moon? Why are we talking about moons?" She asked, as the answer turned her face even more stoic. "I don't understand. What is a space station?"

"Master… please stop laughing." With an exhausted look, she turned toward us. "The divine beings are oft incomprehensible. I have no answers. As His devotee, however, I can sense something powerful approaching the Silver Oasis. Something old."

I nearly chuckled.

Uno, that ball of chaos, becoming a divine being? An existence on the level of Brighton and Mirabelle? Unlikely. And yet these doubts never left my mouth. He might've become something else entirely, but I wasn't stupid enough to tell that to his most devoted servant.

Especially since she could smack me into oblivion with a wave of her hand.

"My Master confirmed that this thing belongs to the elven nation… and that it stinks of self-righteousness." The monster in question bowed gracefully.

"But what is it? This flying mountain, this new enemy. I don't understand." I mumbled.

"If I may?" A fourth voice intruded on our conversation.

Its source was Master Vincent, surrounded by his apprentices. Their whole group emerged from the Dungeon's entrance, looking a bit worse for wear - their robes were dirty and disheveled, with faces sporting both small wounds and traces of tiredness. Many of them seemed suddenly aged. Hesitant.

The bald mage smiled thinly, seeing our attention, but his gaze was firmly stuck on Non's new form. For a second, his eyes regained their usual color before dipping down into the despair that surrounded him like a cloud. Something was wrong.

"Go ahead." I nodded, deciding to ignore the situation. "We're in a bind."

Hearing my answer, the old teacher unconsciously straightened up. It seemed that a momentary glimpse of sharing his knowledge broke through the doom and gloom.

"It's been some time since it was last used, but Theocracy does have a flying ship. Or should I say the flying ship, considering its power and rarity." He corrected himself. "It is a fortress of their Inquisition, a mobile castle sent only on the grandest crusades. At the same time, it is the resting place of their Lord, and their most holy site."

"What do you mean by the grandest crusades?" I asked, a bad feeling welling in my stomach.

"The ones where only ash and bones remain of their opposition." Master Vincent clarified. "The genocidal kind."

"Fuck."

"Indeed." He agreed, like my curse was a real answer.

"There's no chance of a negotiation? Or surrender?" I asked.

The mage's gaze turned to Agnes, Non, then the beastkin soldiers and gathered monsters crowding in the vicinity. He shook his head. "Were this place different, then maybe. Right now? None. All will be purged. Theocracy doesn't condone fraternizing with monsters."

He coughed, slowly losing his flair, but continued speaking. "They despise the beast-borne and think that humans and dwarves are beneath them. Half-breeds included. If not for the fact that they hate monsters, undead, and anything they claim is unclean even more than that, there wouldn't be any northern nations."

"Their focus on cleansing the world, their suicidal tendencies, and their low birth rate are the only weaknesses of their military. Which in their case means a religious order believing in the Aeon of Light and Justice, an old god who perished in ancient times." Seeing the incomprehension on our faces, Master Vincent sighed loudly before continuing. "To set straight the power disparity, the Geinard's Kingdom has about five…" He glanced at Agnes. "No, four high-level powerhouses."

"Theocracy has about a hundred."

"Preposterous!" I couldn't stop myself from shouting. "How would they deal with the madness? It's only because each of humanity's strongest warriors has their demesne that they don't clash and work together to keep the Kingdom afloat! There is no other way for them to coexist otherwise! We tried!"

"I'm glad that somebody was paying attention to our lessons." The old mage smiled proudly before turning serious. "Yes, those overly powerful exhibit quirks and frankly speaking, inhuman behaviours. It's as if they have evolved beyond frail humanity. Quite a fascinating topic…" He trailed off for a moment, but noticing our impatience, returned to his explanation.

"But that's not the full truth. These elves don't clash because all of them are sworn to serve the dead Aeon; thus, they want and feel the same things. Well, mostly the same things." He admitted after a short while. "They're like a variation of the same person. Weaker than other nations' warriors, but quantity is quality in itself." He sighed.

"How do you know that, though? Isn't their strength some kind of secret?" Agnes mumbled, and I silently agreed. It was a bit suspicious.

The arcane mage's eyes twinkled with mirth as he considered us. "I admit, that's a good point, but the military power they can bring to bear is on another level. So, on the contrary, the Theocracy is proud enough to show that they have at least that many powerful warriors. The strong don't need to fear the weak. That's their motto. It's not hard to acquire this amount of information."

"They're using their numbers as a deterrent. Smart." I mumbled.

"Nope, that's just stupid! It's like they don't even consider the possibility of defeat." Agnes disagreed. "What would happen if many of them fall? Wouldn't their enemies pounce on any weakness, since the powerhouses are already weaker than they should be?"

"Both of you are right!" The old man smiled, like he wasn't breaking our hopes. Academics. Nerds! An unknown word swirled in my head. "But what you hope for, Agnes, didn't happen for hundreds of years. Why should it happen now?"

"So are they all on this ship?"

"What? No!" The old man was baffled. "No matter how powerful they are, most of the warriors need to be home. To defend Theocracy borders."

"Then, how many are currently on the flying mountain ship?" I asked, regaining some hope.

"About a dozen, maybe a bit less."

I stared at him without blinking. "So, you are telling me that on that flying castle, there are only about twelve super-elves, with their power-level in the fifties? And an uncountable number of their supporters?"

"Their levels should be in the sixties, at least. Humanity's powers are a little undercooked when compared to real monsters, who trained diligently for hundreds of years. We are nothing to them, and to their arrogance." There was a strange undercurrent on Master Vincent's face. Was it resignation or some painful memory?

"Then why aren't you running?" I pressed on.

It didn't make sense - if there was a real danger, this old man would be the first to escape. So why didn't he? There was no real loyalty between us, just an exchange of goods, and he was clever enough not to get bogged down by Silver Oasis. By feelings.

Apprentices? He could either take them with him or abandon them. Maybe even train new ones, if some decide to stay. There was a silent distance between Master Vincent and his pupils, the divide that he kept for this reason. Or so I speculated.

Money? He was never greedy, no matter how he tried to lie about it. Then again, what good was gold when the civilized world seemed to drown in flames of war? Could you eat coins? Build a home with them? He did not need a hoard, like a dragon would! They would just be a target on his back.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Knowledge? It was his greatest desire, and Uno's creatures shared what they could. Even the crowning achievement of Non's metamorphosis was something special. Something unique. But to gather knowledge and to preserve it, he had to first be alive.

What else could we offer him?

As for emotional investment? Please… Master Vincent wasn't born yesterday. He knew how to judge benefits. And cut losses.

Another flicker appeared on the old man's face. "I'm not running not because I don't want to, but because I can't. It's useless. We were doomed the moment these madmen appeared on our skies." I hummed… it was our skies now. Interesting. "They have classes specialized in hunting down heretics. The hounds who seek their enemies."

"What do you mean?"

"They are here to judge us, on the authority of their dead God. There's no escape. Only frenzied pursuit and bitter death. So instead of fleeing, I chose to meet my end head-on." He turned around before speaking into the air. "Follow me, please."

We walked behind him, like some kind of a funerary procession. Our feelings sure were similar. After a few minutes, we arrived on the northwestern part of the plateau, seeing for the first time the fabled flying mountain.

And what a sight it was.

The flying ship was still far away, but seeing how large it appeared in the distance showed something about its real size. It moved slowly, levitating through the air with seamless grace. I could understand why lookouts thought it a floating rock - the lines of defensive walls and towers were there, but carved into the surroundings.

Like the flying fortress was turned into a weapon of war, not created because of it.

As we stared at its menace, a few magics had been shot from the Lich's lines. They were weak and sporadic at first, many of them falling short of the fortress. The ones that did arrive had been swatted from the sky by counter-magics.

It was a beautiful, if hopeless sight.

I suddenly noticed a change. "Agnes, are you seeing that?" I asked, squinting my eyes.

"Hmm? Are they… flying?"

Three black dots separated from the sky fortress and started approaching Silver Oasis. They were fast, much faster than anything I had seen, Geinard's Kingdom powerhouses included.

In seconds, the dots turned into three men… no, three elves clad in golden armor. They soared through the skies like they belonged to them. Free and unchained. With a sneer, one set loose a lightning cloud, frying both undead and allied monsters. The others gazed down at the battlefield with barely hidden contempt.

Then they turned in our direction, speeding up and then landing on the plateau like it was the easiest thing to do. There was not even a trace of wind.

My guards trembled as their powerful auras enveloped us.

"Kneel." One of them spoke, their blue eyes and golden hair similar in all three invaders. "You are before the Hounds of Aeon."

The soldiers, the apprentices, the unseen servants, and even the monsters fell to their knees. Master Vincent, Agnes, and I barely managed to keep standing. Their emotionless eyes turned to our group, pointedly ignoring Non.

Or were they not able to see her?

"It seems like there's a bit of strength hidden in this Aeon-cursed wasteland. Passable." One on the left said, his tone unchanged.

"Too bad it is a tainted kind of power." The right one sniffed his nose. "Shall we exorcise it?"

"Stop it!" The central one commanded. "Remember our mission. The Saintess wants her benefactor back. Anything else is secondary. We will have time." He added after a second.

The leader turned to Agnes, scanning her face while frowning. "The bloodline is there, but why has no one said she was of tainted descent?" His frown deepened. "This is troubling."

"We have only one mission." The left elf reminded, his tone faintly mocking.

"So it is." The golden leader sighed and pointed his gloved finger at Agnes. "You! Yes, I'm talking to you, beast. The Saintess Eve sends regards to her saviour. To the one who spared her the humiliation of slavery."

"As a boon for her safety, the Dungeon that frustrated you so will be destroyed." The left elf spoke.

"And the heretics and monsters that sully this land will be purified." The right golden boy added.

Agnes was livid. Her face went through a few emotions - surprise, recognition, grief, relief, and in the end, anger. "Eve? The snide healer who was with us from the beginning of the party? The one who doted on Boulder? The child who couldn't be truthful even if it killed her? That Eve? She was the Saintess?" My girlfriend mumbled furiously under her lip.

She ignored the powerful auras spewing from the Inquisition elves (because who else could it be?) and shouted back her defiance.

"You are coming to my home, telling me you'll destroy it and kill everyone dear to me, and expect me to thank you for it?! Get lost, you arrogant fucks, and go back to your masters! I don't need your help or your judgment! Leave me alone!"

"Leave US alone!"

The elves stared at her with what I assumed was amusement. Like children observing particularly interesting ants. After a few seconds of heavy silence, their leader answered.

"Your opinion has been noted. You will still come with us, though."

I edged forward, stepping between the golden trio and Agnes. "Over my dead body." I growled, the green fire burning brighter and coalescing in my hands. "You will not take her!"

"Funny." Their leader sneered. "Beast and a heretic. How fitting. Well, we only need the girl. As long as she's alive, the Saintess' word has been fulfilled."

"Take her." He snappily ordered. "And burn the rest."

The world stilled as their golden aura poured out. And then a cold voice spoke, cutting through the oppression.

"I DON'T THINK SO."

Their heads snapped to Non, her form somehow emitting a familiar greenish glow, just like my flames. On her brow, Taijitu started swirling, but this time it was the dark part that turned lively.

"An Ascendant!"

"Priest?"

"Monster!"

The golden trio shouted all at once, but it was the only reaction they had time for.

"PERISH!" The Uno's prophet ordered, and a black light swirled into existence. We couldn't tear our eyes out of it.

It had the coldness of the grave, but also the rest that came with it. It was something that shouldn't be here, and yet it was also a part of the cycle of life. It was terrifying and encouraging. An oxymoron.

All will rest with time, it whispered, all will be devoured, turned to dust from which new life blooms. It promised peace above all… and gazing at this certainty could turn a man mad. Or suicidal.

The summon covered the three powerhouses like a living thing, like a funerary shroud calming down the dead. They struggled for a second, their mouths opened in soundless screams, before suddenly collapsing into dust.

Three elites killed off - just like that.

And the darkness that did it danced… not in a celebration but rather fulfilment - and then, disappeared.

We stared at the place where it winked out of existence, dreading that it would come back. The strained silence was cut by the tired gasp of our saviour. Non nearly collapsed, kneeling on her leg, breathing heavily.

As I gazed at the incomprehensible, one thought found its way to my mouth. "Where's Uno?"

The former revenant lifted her emotionless face to stare at me. "He's busy."

I stifled my complaints.

But what was he busy with?

***

Uno

I was fucked, fucked, I tell you!

"No!" I screamed. "I refuse!" The blue window winked out, only to return a few seconds later.

"No! I refuse, like I refused the hundred windows before! Give me time to prepare you fucking idiotic machine!" A few seconds passed as I stared at the nearby wall.

I screamed.

The windows never stopped, even after declining their ascension bullshit time and time again. It was getting hard to get a few seconds of respite before the blue nightmare appeared from the void. I nearly skipped the contents before staring in horror at the new prompt.

I stared at the window in mute disbelief for a few long minutes before once again screaming into the ether. "Fuck, no!"

I wasn't going to try killing one of three literal Gods I know!

Especially the scariest one!

My mind swirled as I processed the essence of the problem. Dungeon Cores can't ascend, cause they're stupid-class level of intelligence. So I needed to stop being one.

Easy.

Now, where was my favourite mage at?