[DCI] Chapter 74 - Dark as Night (Patreon)

We all gathered around the magical formation drawn on the floor with some kind of dark green paste. Judging by the tiny bowl still in Levia’s hands, it had come from a bunch of different weeds and herbs. She set the remains aside and wiped her fingers off. As usual, the markings were utterly perfect, making me amazed by her artistic talent.

But I guess I shouldn’t be if we consider her years of experience in the craft.

“Do we need to bring our gear now?” Aisha asked, resting her fists on her impressive hips.

Our wise Witch shook her head. “No need. The ritual circle will remain active for about twelve hours or so. We will be able to reuse it to renew the blessing even if we are forced to retreat once or twice. Let me first finish the process and then we can take turns enchanting our weapons.”

“Is there a specific part of this array that I need to bleed on?” Shuri glanced all over the patterns. “And I don’t need to bleed that way on it, do I?”

Receiving a look from the short princess, Aisha rolled her eyes. “Please, a girl forgets once about the complete rebirth of one’s body in a heated moment and it’s going to stick with her forever. I arrived here pure too, you know? It was such a weird feeling. Right?”

The oni’s cheeks darkened slightly as she quickly escaped the eye contact, clearing her throat. “Right…”

With how awkward her tone sounded there, I had a feeling that not much had changed for our new friend physically after the summoning. It was just a hunch. Not sure how it had come to be, but maybe she had just a way different general demeanor from my somewhat raunchy drakan lover.

“Glad you have asked.” Levia nodded delicately. “I need you to draw this sigil when I raise my voice. Do not feel anxious and simply take your time to recreate it properly. Even if you finish after me, it will not affect the spell.”

Taking a piece of paper from a nearby counter, she passed it to Shuri. After studying it for a while, the crimson-skinned lady confirmed her readiness and they took positions before the circle. My blue-skinned mate began a chant in some complex language while the other girl got a knife pressed against her palm.

The two of us waited and observed the ritual, Rose unhurriedly floating above everyone. Then, as warned, Levia’s voice grew louder and she raised her arms higher. Shuri took it as her signal and cut herself without even a flinch. Carefully and methodically, she trailed the dripping scarlet liquid over the markings, drawing a just as complex path over them. Regardless of our Witch’s advice, they ended pretty much at the very same time.

We watched in fascination as the array glowed green, then abruptly switched to a golden radiance. The bloody sigil floated up from its surface and rotated into a vertical position. Then, it began spinning faster and faster until it became a red blur. Descending again while in motion, it ground itself against the circle until no more of it was left behind, the scent of burned blood starting to fill the air.

“It is ready.” Levia poked the see-through barrier of a yellowish shade that now surrounded the edge of the circuit. “Bring in the weapons. We may test it now.”

Aisha turned around and marched off to get our stuff. Meanwhile, she approached Shuri and took the woman’s palm into her hands.

“You should have made a cut on your forearm or other inactive area.” She brought up an arcana and activated it, gradually healing the wound. “Any blood would have done. Even that one.”

Shuri looked a little sheepish. “I don’t have much experience with rituals. I’ve always seen people do that. Was it wrong?”

My smart lover displayed the briefest of smirks. “No, it was not. Some extremely specific rituals might require accurate cuts, but in most cases, it is about the blood and not the location that it has come from. As a frontline Defender, your hands are fairly precious to you.”

“I guess you are right.” The oni princess chuckled. “Thankfully, it seems like you have a recovery spell or two to support this party. That’s great.”

“As a Witch, I do not possess much in terms of Healing Magic, but thanks to our resourceful master, I was able to develop a personal technique to a satisfying level,” Levia clarified. “These metal cards can hold onto almost any magic. Without his aid, I would be limited to the basic spells.”

As both girls turned to me, I dismissively waved my hand. “She’s just being too kind. This was her own design, I only helped polish it a bit. How can someone as common as me ever compare to geniuses like you two? I just have a bit of experience watching over those who are immensely more talented.”

“Our master can be slightly too humble at times so you will have to get used to that.” She smiled at me warmly while her ritual partner nodded in understanding.

“There’s a saying amongst my kin, behind each great man is an equally great woman who supports him from the side,” Shuri quoted. “It’s only natural that it's valid the other way too.”

It was slightly unnerving how quickly these two were hitting it off, contrary to how the situation looked between her and Aisha. This was truly becoming a war on two fronts little by little.

Hopefully, I wouldn’t be caught in the middle of it.

“Alright!” Aisha’s lively voice reached our ears alongside the smack of the workshop’s door. “I got my axe here and it’s ready to get an upgrade! Also picked up your handaxes and mace, Lucas. Not sure what else I should have gotten.”

“That’s pretty much everything.” I snickered at her vigorous entrance. “However, you might need to take one more trip as I’m considering opening the weapon box too.”

“Oh, in that case, I’ll gladly do so!” She grinned at me and set the gear down. “I’m almost as excited to once again play with something other than that wooden hammer as to see another opening! What are you getting this time?”

“You will see.” I winked at her. “And get my buckler now that you reminded me of other equipment.”

“Sure, Boss!” My playful mate spun around and sauntered away again, clearly emphasizing the sway of her entire behind, including that sexy tail of hers.

I hastily got onto my phone and chose the second gear reward with myself as the recipient. Giving it a little bit of thought, I selected the weapon type since it was a selection box, and made the order. The doorbell rang instantaneously and we could hear a quiet curse of disappointment from that direction. I shared an amused glance with Levia.

One day.

Soon after, my strong girlfriend dragged the package into view, carrying the buckler under her other arm. She set everything down at the same spot and we walked up to the pile of equipment.

“What do we start with?” Aisha wrinkled her nose thoughtfully.

“You can go first.” I nudged her with my shoulder.

“Nice.” She flashed me a merry smile and picked up her greataxe. “Come here, baby. I know Mommy has neglected you a little, but no more. You are getting a new shiny feature. Let’s break some canine skulls open together.”

I shook my head while Shuri looked at her weirdly. Levia stifled a chuckle, noticed only by me. I really wondered where this relationship would go. There was a growing fondness between her and Aisha, which brought more cute reactions from the silent Witch, but the appearance of a new variable that didn’t cooperate just as well created a big unknown.

Nevertheless, Aisha turned to us and raised a brow at her. “What do I do?”

“Simply put your weapon inside the formation. And let go of it,” Levia instructed her.

Looking between the circle and her weapon a few times, the Berserker shrugged and tossed the heavy axe into the array. We saw it stop in mid-air and remain there, slowly rotating. The circle glowed brighter and a golden radiance gradually enveloped the surface of the blade and the other elements. Afterwards, it faded away and the weapon flew right back at Aisha with force equal to the initial throw.

Naturally, she caught it without a problem and gave it a few spins. “Doesn’t feel that much different but I guess we will only get to see the fireworks in action.”

And so, we proceeded to put our gear into the blessed light in turns. Next came Shuri, who materialized her full armor again and stepped into the formation, advised to do so by Levia. It was quite entertaining listening to her shaky voice as she floated in the air without any control, waving her limbs in mild panic. My mace and handaxes came after, followed by the buckler.

Finished with the shield, I tossed it at our armored tank. “Keep this. Since you are going to be our dedicated soaker and aggro puller, I can switch back to a more offensive role.”

Shuri examined the slightly worn piece of metal and nodded without much protest. I had expected her to dismiss it in favor of her fists and gauntlets, but maybe she didn’t want to offend me this early. Nevertheless, she attached it to her left bracer and we watched it literally fold into just another layer of plate armor over her arm.

Armorers were such cheats.

“What are you going to use now?” Aisha peered at me and the mysterious box. “I would have thought your hands were going to be full with the handaxes and the mace. Unless you suddenly can make an additional bond?”

“Not yet.” I waved a finger at her. “But, since we are not dealing with skellies again, I’ll let the mace rest, in favor of this…”

Opening the package, I groan lightly. I had really hoped for something normal.

Already sensing the snide comments from my sly drakan, I pulled out a sizable longsword from the cushiony filling. The thing was, the blade was of a shiny, blood-red color, with a line of black runes running through its middle. Below, the hilt was midnight black, with dark crimson wrapping around the grip. The fairly small crossguard took the shape of some ominous monster chomping onto the scarlet metal, a single eye made of a precious ruby adorning the center of its canine skull.

If I had to guess, its name would be something in the likes of The Werewolf Slayer.

“Damn, that’s one slick sword.” Aisha whistled. “I’m getting a tiny bit jealous here.”

“I don’t intend to sound rude, but are you capable of wielding it properly?” Shuri asked with some visible concern. “Your Strength was decent, but not that high, to be honest.”

“You clearly know nothing.” My fierce mate scoffed. “I watched him hurl this big guy here over an entire cave to save my ass from getting drowned under walking trees.”

“Her worries are not unfounded,” I rebuked her a little bit. “And until I can form a bond with it, I will certainly struggle to some extent. But, this is going to be the perfect practice for my Telekinesis, helping it develop quicker.”

“Telekinesis? How will that help?” Shuri frowned thoughtfully.

Grabbing the hilt, I lifted the sword to demonstrate. Even without any support, I was able to hold onto it more or less as intended and make some correct and incorrect swings. Then, I activated Telekinesis and touched the weapon delicately, repeating the same motions. They became much smoother and perhaps a bit more professional now that I was in more control of the blade, nudging it to go almost exactly where I wanted it to go. Shuri’s brows raised in surprise at the quick change.

And then, I made a wide swing from behind, adding Armsweaving to it.

At the peak of the arc in the front, I let go of the hilt. Firmly holding onto the sword with both Telekinesis and Armsweaving, I sent it forward while spinning horizontally. It flew towards the shocked oni princess, and before she could duck, it circled her spot like a traffic cone, covering the same distance to return to my hands. Catching it casually, I rested the tip against the floor and put my hands on the pommel.

“Like this.” I grinned at the stunned Armorer. “You aren’t the only one who can magically affect your gear. Until I bond with it, though, it’s a quite draining trick. Great for some training, however.”

“I can’t wait for the day when you are going to be able to simply stroll forward while a dozen flying greatswords pave the path for you.” Aisha nibbled on her bottom lip. “Gods, now I can’t get that hot picture out of my head.”

Snickering, I patted her on the shoulder. “That’s why, let’s get moving. I might look fine, but I’m constantly fighting a losing battle against the stimulants and Levia’s Hex.”

And so, we geared up, after I blessed my sword too.

Shuri was more or less ready, already sitting inside her new armor.

Levia fetched her dress and coat, alongside the card holder and the medical bag we had gotten her for potions. The lack of any magical staff confused our new friend, but the Witch promised that everything would become clear in a moment, tenderly grazing her precious stack of arcanas.

Aisha got her usual armor and the two of us helped her don it. For my own sake, she did her best not to tease us too much as per her usual games during this kind of activity. She checked everything twice and nodded appreciatively, gracing me with just one gentle peck on the cheek to show her gratitude.

Finally, I made my way into my reinforced boots, padded pants, armored vest, and the totally-not-edgy hooded coat. I put the handaxes in their rings at my sides and attached the sheath that had come with the longsword to my back. For now, I would be required to use it.

I caught Shuri glancing at me as I was pulling on my gloves, and some kind of silent wonder alongside fearful respect could be identified in her amber eyes. I certainly looked the part in this equipment and with the hood up.

Hopefully, not too much, though.

Rose followed us as we made our way to the main entrance. Taking that as a sign that she wished to accompany us, I nodded at Aisha and my drakan lover opened the door. A humid, musky atmosphere hit us right away and we scrunched our noses. Our playful Pixie rushed outside to check for threats, then made some happy loops after not spotting any.

Still wary, we stepped into the unknown. What greeted us was an immensely spacious earthen cavern. I could tell it was underground only thanks to the massive cliff we had emerged from. The ceiling was so high that we saw only darkness imitating a starless sky. But, here and there on that empty surface, poked out whitish crystals of just as unimaginable size. They bathed the land below in a moon-like glow.

As for the ground level, it was all that had been told to us by the Assignment’s description. We faced an extremely scarce forest mixed with muddy terrain and plenty of different swamps. Some of them were toxic green, some seemed more natural as they bubbled slowly, and some reeked with pure evil. Rock and stone formations adorned the landscape, creating passages and secluded regions, but overall, it was one humongous room.

Perhaps we had been dropped off fairly close to our objective.

“Master.” Levia called out to me and I glanced to the side, finding her with a hand inside the potion bag.

I accepted the familiar flask and gave it a few shakes. “To the bottom, then.”

She nodded gently and waved her fingers. I felt the Hex disappear and the pain gradually crawled out of the depths it had been sealed in. Uncorking the stimulant, I downed it in one go. It took a few seconds to take effect, but when it fully settled in, I exhaled in relief and cracked my neck.

“If we don’t get this done by the time my third dose fades off, you are going to need to continue without me. I feel like my body won’t survive another sip. It’s literally making me burst with energy from the inside, in turn, causing some places to feel quite tight.” I chuckled wryly.

“This ends here and now.” Aisha growled, wrapping her fingers around the shaft of her greataxe. “I won’t let you suffer any longer.”

Thanks to the silvery illumination, we didn’t need any light. Just in case, I borrowed Darkvision from Aisha once again. Now, only Shuri lacked that enhanced sight, but we would need to do without it for this Dungeon. I was sure she would figure something out in the future.

As for our formation, she took the front this time. Aisha either followed her or walked by her side. Levia took a spot in the middle of the group, with me basically covering the back, keeping myself close to our precious Witch in case of an attack from behind. Rose zoomed through the air to check all the angles and corners, intent on warning us ahead of time if she found anything dangerous.

I checked my watch to make sure it still worked and brought up a clean sheet for our GPS. The compass showed no issues and the canvas was slowly being marked with the line of our progress. With this, we would be able to safely run back to the door if necessary. Hopefully, it would have more use someday. But our talented programmer needed time for his magic.

It didn’t take long for Rose to spot the first trouble. Since we stopped between two big ponds of smelly sludge, Levia activated one of her arcanas, which covered our bodies with a membrane made of air, pushing away all the uncomfortable fumes and poisonous substances. It functioned like a better gas mask or hazmat suit.

From the edges of our perception, a pack of fairly huge wolves strolled out. They were hard to spot with their fur bordering on pure brown and dark green. The bright white eyes were a good giveaway, though. And the feral growls, of course.

“It’s time to put that new armor to the test.” Aisha snickered, bumping her hip into Shuri. “Go, get ‘em, little one!”

The oni princess glared at her. “I’m not little, you are just as big as a log.”

Regardless of their beef, she moved forward to intercept the first lupine. The wolf lunged at her, its jaws open wide, but she simply side-stepped and let it pass her. Grabbing onto its tail and evoking a pained yelp, she spun around, sending the poor pup flying right into the worst of the swampy ponds. It whined desperately as the merciless muck dragged it under the surface.

From that moment, the fight was on.

About four enemies charged at us from the front, and three had finished flanking our position during that initial attempt. We left the quartet to our pair of warriors and focused on the sneaky bastards. I stepped forward to get their attention while Levia prepared her arcanas. It was fairly scary facing wild dogs that were big enough to chomp onto your neck, but we had dealt with much worse.

I took a frenzied bite onto my blade and held one enemy at bay. As another one aimed to snack on my thigh, it was blasted with a perfectly timed Lightning Bolt, cooking it on the spot. I kicked the dirty mutt with all I had and dragged my sword back, slicing through its muzzle with ease. A slight golden shimmer remained around the wound.

“I’m afraid these guys do have resistances!” I shouted to my companions.

“We know!” Aisha shouted back. “Watch out for the leader, then!”

My awesome Witch stole my kill with another spell, skewering the wolf’s skull with six sharp ice needles, but I thanked her with a nod. The remaining one glanced between us, and I could tell from its eyes that it was considering bolting.

“You are going nowhere!” I thrust my sword into the ground and grabbed the handaxes.

As it turned around, I was already hurling them forward. Boosted by Armsweaving, they sank right into its tendons, forcing it to switch from All-Paw-Drive to Front-Paw-Drive. Unfortunately, it looked like the wolf wasn’t used to using only its front to propel itself forward and I caught up to it in just a second, longsword in hand. One precise stab later, it had a fatal hole in its neck.

Quickly checking on the other side of the battle, I watched Shuri pummel their final opponent into the ground with her armored fists. Her dance partner tried to bite and scratch at her as it lay between her and the ground but could cause no damage to the thick plates. Gradually, it lost strength and dropped dead, its skull caved in so much it must have poked out the other way.

There were now two women I really didn’t want to make furious.

Not that Levia couldn’t just turn me into a frog or something if I offended her, of course.

“Damn, you guys made a mess out of them.” A feminine voice reached my ears from behind.

On pure instinct, I swung around and readied my sword to block. The very first thing my eyes registered was fur. Lots of black fur. All on a humanoid figure. With beast-like ears and hints of a tail swaying behind their legs. The second was glittering golden irises staring up at me.

“Werewolf!” I shouted as those few details formed a connection in my brain.

“Typical human.” The creature in front of me scoffed, pulling down the cloth covering the bottom part of their face. “Can’t distinguish between a dog and a cat even if they were set side by side. Listen here, I’m a—”

“Celestial Saber?” I whispered to myself.

The person, a she now that I was able to get a longer look at my ambusher, blinked repeatedly, pausing mid-sentence.

“Now, that’s surprising.” The feline lady tilted her head curiously. “How did you know?”

“The markings.” I gestured at her body. “Silver and blue streaks resembling stars on a pure black sky.”

She hummed thoughtfully as my companions gathered around us, looking at me with an inquisitive twinkle in her mesmerizing eyes.

“It’s rare for others to recognize them,” she said. “It usually stops at a Catfolk or Beastman.”

“Training?” Aisha raised a brow at me.

“Pretty much.” I smirked.

What appeared before us was a female member of a race called Celestial Sabers. She stood about a head shorter than me and was covered in thick black fur. Besides the obvious ears and tail, her face bore a slight resemblance to a feline visage, complete with two small fangs poking slightly from under her upper lip as her lineage suggested. 

She had actual hair atop her head, a faintly lighter shade than her fur, woven into something akin to a single Dutch braid resting over the long strands at her back. As mentioned earlier, her dark fur was adorned with a lot of dots and streaks of silver and dark blue, turning it into an enchanting sky that dropped falling stars. Her vertical pupils were hugged by the golden halos of her irises, almost glowing with warmth.

Naturally, she wasn’t naked. Albeit, she wasn’t completely protected either.

Comfortable leather shoes of dark brown shade sheltered her feet. Going up, a pair of metal greaves covered her shins, however they seemed mismatched. One was silver while the other was emerald. Adventure shorts made of leather wrapped around her slim waist with plenty of pouches, rings, hooks, and other options for storing stuff attached to them. 

Some of her furry tummy was visible, then another out-of-set vest and chestplate hung over her upper torso. While the leather was brown, the metal plate was azure, bearing marks of plenty of battles. She had one shoulder pad strapped on, her other side bare. And to match that, only the opposite forearm had a reinforced bracer. Previously, a piece of cloth had covered her snout, but we could now witness her entire feline face.

“Apologies for that.” I lowered my head politely at the shorter girl. “It’s so dark here my mind has jumped to conclusions after seeing your fur.”

“Well, as long as you feel sorry.” She played with her hair while roaming her gaze over us. “Considering you have corrected yourself right away, you couldn’t have meant that in a bad way. I guess I can understand having in mind what our enemy is.”

“What’s that?” Shuri asked, pointing at her shoulder.

“Oh, this?” The cat woman picked something up and put it in her joined palms. “This is a Spiritual Puppet. It helps me gather materials and process them. It’s not much, but it’s honest work. And it does help a little.”

A very simple hand-sized doll made of wood and metal sat in her grasp, a glowing gem embedded in its chest. It moved slightly as if peering back at us.

“A Scavenger?” I said more to myself.

Her brows rose in surprise again. “Huh. You really do know a lot.”

“It was an educated guess.” I chuckled. “One of the Classes that gets a tiny helper. Could have been several other options.”

“Now you have my race and Class while I don’t even know anything about you guys.” She pouted a little.

My drakan mate glanced my way and I nodded. “Aisha. A Berserker. Didn’t see many of you back in my home realm. I think it was too hot for Beastmen.”

“Levia. A Witch.” Our magician tipped her big hat.

“Shuri. An Armorer.” The newest member of our party took off her helmet respectfully.

“And I’m Lucas. Don’t freak out, I’m an Overlord, but a slightly peculiar one.” I kept my eyes on her reaction as I introduced myself.

“I’m not sure what you mean exactly. I don’t recognize your and the oni’s Classes. But, I work mostly solo,” the Saber lady shared. “And you can call me Aurora.”

“Great. I’m glad we found each other early. I wasn’t sure if we were alone or not and didn’t plan on wasting time looking around,” I said.

“Now that you mention it, I’m fairly sure it was a duo Dungeon at best. Math might not be my strongest point, but this looks like more than two people,” Aurora pointed out, silently counting us all up.

“I’m a commanding Class. These ladies are my subordinates. We are treated as one entity, like Summoners,” I explained. “But, don’t pay mind to those terms. We are a team and work together as well as we can.”

“This Assignment should be a bowl of milk with this many Defenders, then.” Her feline snout curled up in a charming smile.

“That’s what we hope too. But, we are on an extremely tight schedule so let’s talk on the way, shall we?” I gestured to the side and started turning around. “Shuri and Aisha will take the front while Levia supports everyone from the middle. The two of us will cover the back.”

“You are dreaming if you think I’m going to let some stranger order me around.” Aurora snorted, and as I looked back over my shoulder, she gave me the side-eye with arms crossed over her chest, watching me raise a brow at her. “Fine. But only because it does sound logical, not because you told me to.”

I held in a chuckle and turned around again. Regardless of her attitude, she fell in line rather easily, arriving at my side a moment later.

This assignment was bound to be a difficult one, wasn’t it?