NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9 – The Squeeze
The dungeon was vibrating again, but this time it wasn't because of Luma's snoring or Riva's purring.
It was the specific, rhythmic thud of heavy boots.
Reed stood in the Core Chamber, staring at the projection screen floating above his bed. The view was from the entrance corridor, provided by the Dungeon's inherent senses.
"They're heavy," Reed noted. "And they aren't knocking."
On the screen, a new party of three was marching down the hallway. They were decidedly not F-rank rookies.
The leader was a man clad in full plate mail that gleamed with polish—or at least it did until he stepped into the dungeon's humidity. He carried a tower shield that looked like a door. His name, according to the System's quick scan, was Kael (Warrior - D-Rank).
Behind him was a woman with daggers and leather armor that looked expensive, not scavenged. Vanya (Rogue - D-Rank).
And in the back, a mage in silk robes that cost more than Reed's entire previous life. Jace (Mage - D-Rank).
"Iron Vanguards," Riva chirped from her perch on top of the crystal. She was preening a wing feather, looking bored. "Shiny metal. But slow. Very slow."
"They're arrogant," Maira observed. She was standing by the door, holding a clipboard. "Look at their formation. Lazy. They assume low-level dungeons are beneath them. They are not checking corners."
"Good," Grika grinned from the workshop doorway. She held a remote trigger in her hand. "Because they're about to meet the 'Welcome Mat.'"
On the screen, Kael sneered at the uneven floor.
"Standard goblin hole," the warrior announced, his voice booming. "Watch your step, but don't waste mana. We'll be in and out in ten minutes. Just grab the core and—"
THWACK.
Kael had stepped on a pressure plate.
He didn't get hit with a spike. He didn't fall into a pit.
From the wall at waist-height, a padded leather paddle on a high-tension spring deployed at roughly sixty miles per hour.
It connected with the warrior's armored backside with a sound like a thunderclap.
"GAH!" Kael yelped, jumping a solid foot in the air. He spun around, shield raised, looking for the assassin.
There was nothing there but the paddle, which wiggled mockingly on its spring.
"What in the hells?" Vanya laughed, covering her mouth. "Did the wall just… spank you?"
"It was a trap!" Kael roared, his face turning beet red. "A kinetic impact trap!"
"It was a paddle, Kael," Jace noted dryly. "And it got you right on the culet."
In the Core Chamber, Grika fell to the floor laughing.
"Right on the sweet spot!" she wheezed. "Armor or not, that's gonna sting the ego!"
Reed tried to suppress a smile. "Okay. They're mad now. Maira, status?"
"They are proceeding," Maira reported coolly. "Anger makes them sloppy. They are bypassing the workshop and heading straight for the main artery."
She looked at Reed.
"They are heading for the Gallery."
Reed felt a shiver of anticipation. This was it. The first real test of his new layout.
"Seraphine," Reed spoke into the bond. "You're up."
The response came back through the link, heavy and sultry.
"Finally. Send them in, my Lord. I am… hungry."
The Knight's Gallery
The transition from the cramped corridor to the Gallery was jarring. The ceiling vaulted upward into darkness. Rows of sturdy stone pillars marched down the length of the room, creating long shadows.
And it was quiet. Dead quiet.
Kael recovered his dignity, raising his shield. "Eyes up. This room is too big to be empty."
"I smell… musk," Vanya whispered, sniffing the air. "Reptilian. Dry. And… polish?"
"Whatever it is, we kill it," Kael growled. "I want to find the Core and smash it for that paddle stunt."
He took a step forward.
HISSSSSS.
The sound came from everywhere and nowhere. It was the sound of heavy scales sliding over stone—thousands of them.
From the darkness at the far end of the room, on the raised dais, two amber lights ignited. Vertical slit pupils narrowed, locking onto the intruders.
"You trespass," a voice purred. It was deep, feminine, and vibrated in their chest plates. "And you are rude."
Seraphine moved.
She didn't just step into the light; she unfurled.
She slithered down from the dais, her massive emerald tail uncoiling loop after loop after loop. To the adventurers, it looked like a green river of muscle flooding the room. She rose up, her human torso clad in bronze armor gleaming, her spear held loosely in one hand.
She towered over them. At full extension, she looked down at Kael like he was a child.
Kael stopped. His shield lowered an inch.
"That's… a Lamia," Jace whispered, his staff trembling. "A High Lamia. In a baby dungeon?"
"She's huge," Vanya breathed.
Seraphine smiled. It was the smile of a predator who had just found a particularly interesting chew toy.
"So small," she mocked, tilting her head. "Little metal men. Do you think that tin can will protect you from me?"
Kael bristled. "I am Kael of the Iron Vanguards! I have tanked Ogres! I have held the line against—"
Seraphine struck.
She didn't use her spear. She used her tail.
Faster than a creature that size should be able to move, her tail whipped out. It slammed into Kael's shield with the force of a battering ram.
CRUNCH.
Kael slid backward ten feet, his boots carving grooves in the stone floor. He roared, bracing himself.
"Formation!" he screamed.
Vanya darted to the side, looking for a flank. Jace began chanting a fire spell.
"Boring," Seraphine sighed.
She ignored the rogue. She ignored the mage. She focused entirely on the tank.
She slithered forward, closing the distance. Kael thrust his sword, aiming for her human midsection.
Seraphine didn't dodge. She twisted. Her human torso dipped low, dodging the blade with liquid grace, while her lower body swept forward.
In one smooth motion, she looped around him.
"Kael, move!" Vanya screamed.
Too late.
The coil snapped shut.
Seraphine wrapped a loop of her tail around Kael's waist. Then another around his legs. Then another around his shield arm.
She squeezed.
"URK!" Kael's breath left him in a rush.
Seraphine lifted him into the air. She rose up, bringing the struggling warrior face-to-face with her. He was trapped in a pillar of green muscle, his arms pinned to his sides, his legs useless.
"You have held the line against Ogres?" Seraphine whispered, her forked tongue flicking out to taste the air near his helmet. "But have you ever been… embraced?"
She tightened her grip.
The sound of Kael's armor groaning under the pressure was audible across the room. Creak. Groan. Pop.
"Let him go!" Jace screamed, throwing a fireball.
The bolt of flame struck Seraphine's shoulder pauldron. It scorched the metal, but she barely flinched.
She turned her head slowly to look at the mage. Her eyes glowed.
"Rude," she said.
She didn't drop Kael. She kept him pinned in the lower coils of her tail, squeezing him rhythmically, while her upper body remained free.
With a flick of her tail—the very tip, which was free and whipping behind her—she slapped the fireball out of the air before Jace could cast again. Then she slapped Jace.
It wasn't a lethal blow. It was a swat. But coming from a twenty-foot serpent, a "swat" sent the mage tumbling into a pillar.
Jace HP: 120 → 45 (Winded)
Vanya, seeing her party dismantled in seconds, froze in the shadows.
Seraphine turned back to Kael. The warrior's face was turning purple inside his helmet. He was thrashing, trying to get leverage, but every time he exhaled, the coils tightened, stealing the space.
"Stop squirming," Seraphine purred. "It only makes me hold you tighter."
She leaned in, her lips inches from his visor.
"Submit."
Kael wheezed. "N-never…"
"Mmm." Seraphine smiled. "I love the stubborn ones. They pop so satisfyingly."
She applied the [Measured Strike].
She squeezed. Not enough to crush his ribs, but enough to compress his armor until he couldn't expand his chest to breathe. The panic set in instantly. It was the primal fear of being consumed by something larger, stronger, and overwhelmingly present.
Kael's vision swam. He was surrounded by warmth, by the smell of dry scales and perfume, by the crushing weight of a superior predator.
His sword clattered to the floor.
"I… yield!" he gasped.
Seraphine stopped.
She didn't let go. She just stopped tightening.
"Say it again," she commanded. "For the mage in the corner."
"I yield!" Kael shouted, his voice cracking. "We yield!"
Seraphine held him for three more seconds—just to let the reality sink in. Then, slowly, painfully slowly, she uncoiled.
Kael dropped to the floor, gasping for air, clutching his chest.
Seraphine slithered back, rising to her full height again. She looked down at the broken party. She didn't look angry. She looked… radiant.
"You are dismissed," she said, waving a hand. "Leave the dungeon. Train harder. Eat more protein. You are… disappointingly squishy."
She turned her back on them—the ultimate insult—and slithered back to her dais.
Vanya grabbed Kael and dragged him upright. Jace limped over, looking terrified.
They fled. They didn't check for traps. They didn't look for loot. They just ran.
Core Chamber
Reed let out a breath he felt like he'd been holding for ten minutes.
"Holy…" he whispered.
The Mana counter was spinning like a slot machine.
[FIRST BOSS ENCOUNTER COMPLETE]
Rating: S (Domination)
Mana Gained: +25 DM (Fear/Awe/Submission)
Core XP: +40
"She broke them," Grika said, staring at the screen with wide eyes. "She didn't even use her spear. She just… cuddled them into submission."
"It was efficient," Maira noted, though she was furiously scribbling notes. "Her technique is flawless. Though she played with her food a bit too long."
Luma was hiding behind Reed. "Is she going to squeeze us like that?"
"I hope not," Reed lied.
The door to the gallery opened.
Seraphine slithered in. She was glowing. Literally. Her scales were vibrant, her skin flushed with the heat of battle.
She glided straight to Reed.
"My Lord," she purred, her voice thick with satisfaction. "That was… invigorating."
She circled him, her tail moving faster than usual, agitated and excited. She wrapped a loop around his waist and pulled him close.
"Did you see?" she asked, her eyes wild. "Did you see how he broke? How he went limp in my coils?"
"I saw," Reed said, trying to maintain his footing as she squeezed him. "You were… terrifying. Good job."
"I held back," she whispered, nuzzling the top of his head. "I wanted to crush him. To feel his armor crumple. But I remembered your rule. Measured."
She squeezed Reed a little harder.
"But now," she murmured, "I have excess energy. And the goblin is too small to squeeze properly."
Reed gulped.
"Maira?" he squeaked. "Schedule check?"
Maira looked at her clipboard. She adjusted her glasses.
"It is 1800 hours, Master," the maid said calmly. "Core Maintenance time. And Seraphine has earned a reward."
Maira walked over and locked the door.
"I believe," Maira said, unbuttoning her cuffs, "that a team debriefing is in order. A very… close… debriefing."
Seraphine hissed happily and tightened her grip.
"Submit, my Lord," the snake-knight whispered.
Reed looked at the ceiling.
"System," he thought. "Log out. Log out!"
The System chimed.
[ERROR: LOGOUT NOT AVAILABLE]
[Current Status: Harem Protagonist]
[Good luck.]
Reed sighed, and let himself be dragged into the coils.