NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38 - Righteous Fury
The silence is deafening. This… this was not in the script.
Juliette’s wooden body is fully pierced by a length of steel. She falls to her knees, managing to weakly whisper out “Why?” before collapsing limply.
“Huh. That was easier than expected.” the betrayer grunts as he retrieves his sword and gives her still body a dismissive kick.
The shock of the audience is broken by a frenzied roar from behind the stage. Porthos charges at the fiend screaming, cloaked in a blazing red aura.
“Ah, a berserker. I had wondered why you were so tall.”, the enemy mutters, before a flash of light blinds everyone and he vanishes from above Juliette and reappears behind Porthos, his sword at the end of an arc that is still being traced through the air by a glowing outline.
Then the trace explodes in radiant fire and Porthos screams in pain and anger as one of his arms simply falls off his body.
“Impressive, for such a newborn dungeon but it is no use. Accept your fate. Baerdur, anytime now would be nice.” he proclaims, his voice turning venomous as he addresses the dwarf while my monsters have freed themselves from their shock and begin closing in on the hostile human.
“What are you doing?” the rogue yells while looking between both of her companions in outrage and confusion.
The dwarf meanwhile looks between the aggressor and Juliette’s body with a distraught expression on his face.
“Only what must be done. Baerdur, come on already, I don’t have all day. You know what happens if you back out now.” the betrayer spits out while turning back towards Porthos who is now coming at him repeatedly. All of his one armed swings however are blocked casually by the armored human’s shield, and when he stumbles from his unbalanced attacks he is rewarded for his troubles with a slash to the torso.
But just when the weapon is about to connect, there is another flash, and a metallic kite shield appears from out of nowhere, colliding with the sword and stopping its momentum dead. Siegfried! This must be the result of his skills. There he comes, charging onto the stage.
Meanwhile, the rogue has drawn her weapons, but is still looking around in confusion and panic.
“Die for my master's wish!” the knight on the stage shouts while fending off multiple mannequins at once, waves of golden light washing over the stage knocking them back constantly. Only Porthos with his [Rage] and Siegfried are capable of matching him in melee, enduring the waves and relentlessly assaulting him.
He is much stronger than them though, and effortlessly repels their attacks… until the timing is right and his robe strains against his arm stopping his block dead in its tracks, causing Siegfried’s sword to connect to his shoulder and Porthos one-armed slam to connect to his back.
He staggers, stumbles, then grins ferociously. The next wave of energy washing over him is much stronger than previously, sending both of my mannequins sprawling backwards and tearing the clothing to shreds.
The wound on his shoulder releases a spray of blood when Siegfried’s weapon comes loose, dyeing the stage in a crimson color.
In the meantime, the dwarf got up. His conflicted expression has hardened into one of determination, as he moves onto the center of the stage next to Juliette’s unmoving body. He gathers himself for a moment and speaks.
“I am so, so sorry. His cronies will kill those kids if I don’t do this. Please, goddess, forgive me. Please, dungeon, forgive me.”
And then he starts channeling energy like crazy. The only time I have seen a mage at work previously was the ice mage from the previous adventuring party. This is on a different magnitude entirely. Even the part of me that’s not quite here, where excess stone is stored, trembles, and I can’t help but be afraid.
“Stop! What do you think you are doing! If you unleash an earthquake now we all will die.” the rogue says and begins running towards the dwarf.
“Stay out of this!” the paladin shrieks at her, a maniacal expression on his face as he moves to intercept her. “ I thought there might be hope for you yet, you would make a worthy ally for the cause! But if you would save this dungeon, you must die with it!”
The dwarf begins chanting in a humming voice, and tremors begin methodically rocking my halls.
In the meantime, the rogue and paladin have begun dueling amongst themselves while my monsters have managed to recover. Porthos is charging atop the stage again and Siegfried is getting ready to assist the rogue. In the meantime, the dwarf’s chanting has increased in intensity and so have the tremors.
It's now or never. At the most dramatic moment, it is time for the lead actress to make her move.
Juliette’s arms close around his neck from behind and she begins squeezing, killing the chanting as the dwarf starts gasping for air. The robe he is wearing immediately seizes this opportunity to restrain his arms behind his back.
The tremors stop. The profusion of power that was channeled begins dissipating. As when first fighting a goblin, my Juliette’s [Tragic Passing] got her into a position where she could do the most good.
The paladin feels the tremors stopping and looks around confused, and his eyes land upon Juliette.
“You bitch! How? I’m sure I got you!”
In this moment of distraction, Athea chooses to make her move. Appearing from out of the shadow of one of the ruined pieces of stage dressing, her body held low to the ground, she dashes up behind the distracted paladin and jabs a knife at his throat.
He notices at the last second and tries to dodge, but his former party member is upon him as well and her knives are aimed for his wounded shoulder and his side.
Barely escaping the lethal blow with superhuman reflexes, he is still grievously injured as the rogue’s blades dig deep into exposed flesh.