by Wolfe Locke
“Oh, yeah. We’re both just overflowing with luck.” John replied, sarcastically.
Chapter 28: Humanity Lost
* * *
“You said that you’ve been here for a while. How long exactly?” John asked curiously.
The Witch Hunter frowned. “I’ve lost track of time. A few months at least.”
“That long?” John responded. “How have you not starved to death or died of dehydration?”
Johannes looked at him in annoyance. “The same way you have, I imagine. By minding my own business and not asking stupid questions, that we both know the answer to.”
Lachesis – Do not pry. Another man’s burdens are not your own. He is god blessed just as you are.
Seonna – You cannot see it, but this Johannes has suffered great injury over and over again on this floor.
Nemesis – He reeks of death. How many of your countrymen has he killed to survive?
An awkward and tense silence fell between them until Johannes spoke up, completely changing the subject. “The walls sweat. Use that if you need to. I’ve found that portions of it to be covered in a flammable ichor. I only found out after a freak accident with a torch while running from Greys.”
“So. I’m assuming that’s part of the plan you have?” John replied.
“Ah.” Johannes said. “That’s where you come in. Here’s what we’re going to do.”
A few minutes later, the two men burst out of the secret passage with weapons in hand. John, of course, had his axes. Johannes bore a long sword with edges that gleamed in the dim firelight of the torches.
Together, they pushed back the horde of creatures that waited for them. Any time one would approach from the ceiling or walls, one of the pair would break off and take care of it while the other kept the remaining creatures at bay.
John and Johannes pushed them all the way back to the back of the prison. There, on the far wall, was a wooden door. That’s where we will find our way down.
Now that John could see the breadth of the prison, he saw that while the creatures were many; they had stopped spawning. They worked together, but from what John could tell, he was hardly needed. Johannes was relentless. His trademark sword lashed out with brutal efficiency keeping the creatures at bay. The monsters fought relentlessly, but they could not penetrate the wall that was the two seasoned adventurers.
Finally, as John blocked the door to the cell, Johannes retrieved a torch from the wall, threw it into the cell, and set the monsters ablaze. The monsters died screaming.
“Perfection, isn’t it?” Johannes commented as the fire reflected in his eyes. John did not reply.
Have you heard the lie yet, John? *Laughs* This one is a monster. If only I had taken him instead.
Once they were sure that there were no more surprises waiting, the two men proceeded through the wooden door at the back of the prison and continued downward.
For the first time since he had come to this cursed place, John was not alone in the stairway that led to another floor. It was both comforting and disconcerting. He was happy for the company, but at this point he had been alone so long that he wasn’t sure how to react. He felt tense, like something was wrong. The things that he had been through in the dungeon so far did not help his concern in that regard.
After a time, the next floor began to come into view and the two men readied themselves.
Waiting for them was a single wide, square room with an extremely high ceiling. On the other side was another wooden door. A door which the two men could just barely see between the legs of the giant that was guarding it.
The ceiling was at least fifteen feet high, and the giant that stood in front of them was almost touching the top. Its head sealed within a caged helmet. The monster wore dark bladed armor over its massive body. It has to be made of either iron or steel and weighs a ton. How are we going to get past that? At his side, the giant held a massive curved sword.
John had seen smaller armor like it before, but always on Paladins. But their armor was always shiny and silver and gleaming. This giant’s armor was dark like obsidian, and it had several cracks and dents running through it. Another cursed thing in the dungeon.
It was not difficult to assume what had happened to him. After all, Paladins who had lost their path and succumbed to darkness were not unheard of.
The giant stood stoically in front of the door, and then he spoke, his voice sounding deep and far away.
“A sacrifice is demanded in order to proceed to the next floor, as has always been custom.”
“What manner of sacrifice do you think he means?” Johannes asked suspiciously.
“I don’t know.” John replied. “But if it’s blood, he will have none from me.”
“Aye, and none from me as well. I’ve given up enough of myself already.” Johannes replied and John nodded, knowing the feeling.
“He’s big. Powerful, too. But there’s two of us.” John reasoned. “If we work together, we might be able to take him.”
“We would need to be cautious.” Johannes replied, assessing the situation that lay before them. “I do not know if you recognize the armor. It belongs to one of the Prince’s Paladins. Even though he has fallen, this monster will be more than a capable warrior. It will not be an easy fight.”
“You have a point, but we don’t really have much of a choice here. I’ve nothing that give to him in sacrifice.” John said, “I’ve already bonded myself.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Johannes muttered as he stabbed John in the back.
Chapter 29: Betrayal Most Foul
* * *
Pain erupted in John’s back as a blade tore through his side. If not for his Body of the Depths and the healing ability granted to him by Seonna, John would have died instantly. The force of the blow was enough to take John’s breath away.
The Witch Hunter removed the long dagger that he had produced and prepared to deliver another blow, but John blocked it with his thrice blessed axes. John felt the wound already filling up with black blood.
“What? Why?” John asked in shock. “I thought we were allies.”
“Allies? You’re just an adventurer. Neither a true knight nor a servant of the Kingdom. It is far more important that I escape this hellish place to find my lord.” Johannes explained as the Witch Hunter readied his blade.
Before John could ask a single follow up question, Johannes attacked again.
The two men traded blows, the Witch Hunter’s blade and John’s thrice blessed axes clashing together and sent up sparks. Johannes still wielded his blade, while a long sword was strapped to his back.
John was agile, but so was the other man. The only advantage proved to be that John had two weapons and he only had one.
John sidestepped one of Johannes’ thrusts and got into his guard. He was about to bring one of his axes down on the other man, but Johannes intercepted him with a headbutt to the face that sent John sprawling.
“An ugly move, but warranted nonetheless. It’s your fate to die here and mine to move on.” Johannes said. “I confess. I’ve never been one for close up fights, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to put some distance between us.”
In one fluid motion Johannes jumped backwards while sheathing his dagger and reached for his sword. John didn’t wait for Johannes to steady himself. He leaped forward, wanting to take advantage of the window in which his opponent was defenseless, struck.
But Johannes proved to be exceptionally agile. Before John could close the distance, the Witch Hunter’s sword was drawn. Johannes blocked John’s thrice blessed axes and the room rang with the sound of steel on steel.
Johannes put a gloved hand on John’s shoulder and pushed away. The Witch Hunter displaying a level of strength John had not expected.
Still, John had some tricks up his sleeves, and he had the feeling that he would need some of them to win this fight and continue pushing
forward.
The two men circled each other with their weapons held before them. This was not like any fight or encounter that John had had in the dungeon before. Always he had had to battle against one creature of the dark or another. Be they undead, minotaurs, or cursed monsters. But he had never had to go toe to toe with another warrior like himself.
Although he hated to admit it, John was enjoying himself. This was something that he had done repeatedly throughout his travels before the dungeon. This was normal. This was human.
He had missed it.
John actually grinned as the two men clashed once more.
“Don’t underestimate me” Johannes snarled as the two men locked weapons again.
“I wasn’t. But I will win this.” John said. “I mean to escape all this insanity.”
“We can still try. You’ve proven yourself powerful, and yet I still survive. We can defeat the giant and go down. It doesn’t have to end this way.” John said.
“It always was going to end this way. Do you really think I haven’t tried before? This is not the first time I’ve stood in front of this monster. The die has been cast.”
Johannes lunged forward again; the man’s blade cut superficially across John’s leg. John tried desperately to get within the other man’s reach to counter, but the Witch Hunter’s long sword kept him at bay. The one-time John got inside his defense, the Witch Hunter countered with a backhand that sent him sprawling.
For someone who said that he was not one for close up fights, Johannes held his own easily. He might kill me yet.
The one drawback to a big, heavy weapon like a longsword was that they quickly burned stamina. I’m counting on that. Johannes was obviously strong, but the longer he hefted around the sword, the more tired he would become.
The same could have been said for me. His thrice blessed axes were not exactly heavy, but they would still have worn down his strength over time under normal circumstances. But John was stronger now than he had ever been. Three different gods have bonded with me. I hold the advantage.
But Johannes did not know about John's increased strength. I can use that to my advantage. Johannes knew John had fought against monsters on the previous floors. The Witch Hunter likely suspected that John was already fatigued after the grueling descent.
In fact, the brief respite that John had got after they'd run away from the Grey's was enough for him to almost completely regain his strength.
But for Johannes' benefit, he acted as if every swing of his axes was a struggle. As for Johannes, the man's breathing grew heavy. Whereas John's breathing was less though, though he didn't let that on.
"Pity." Johannes said as sweat dripped from his forehead. "I would have liked to fight you when you were at full strength. But I suppose I should count my blessings, for a mere adventurer you have merit.”
"You're not…going to…beat me…" said John through ragged breaths.
"John, you're already dead. This is just the lead up." Johannes explained matter of factly.
John said nothing and instead focused on his breathing.
"Fine, but just remember that you asked for this. You should be proud, but it's time for you to know your place." Johannes said as the man's voice hardened.
The Witch Hunter darted in swiftly, bringing his sword up in a sweeping arc.
John made a show of trying to raise his thrice blessed axes to defend himself, but just as the sword was coming down, he rolled to the side, came up in a crouch, and stuck out at the man.
Johannes, to his credit, reacted quickly. He sidestepped and John's axes bit into his side instead of into his spine where John had been aiming.
Johannes screamed in pain and quickly backed away, but John was on top of him, pressing his advantage. He slammed the man’s sword away and got in close, bringing both of his axes down in an overhand strike that would end the man.
But then, Johannes did something that John would have never expected.
The Witch Hunter breathed ice.
Chapter30: Blessing of the God of Winter
* * *
John had to jump backwards to dodge the attack. A cone of ice spewed out of the Witch Hunter’s mouth, and only John’s honed reflexes saved him from being frozen solid. Even then, John could feel how some of his skin had frozen.
John looked at the other man in shock.
“What?” asked Johannes. “Did you think you were the only one who had god-given abilities?”
To emphasize the point, Johannes drew his dagger from his side. Then, he held it in front of his face and breathed ice onto it until it glowed a light blue. The Witch Hunter brought the dagger down to his side where John had wounded him and cauterized it with the frosted edge.
“God of Winter. He made me an offer I would be a fool to have refused.” Johannes said with a mirthless smile.
“You’re full of surprises.” John said. “What did you have to give up?”
“Just a promise to bring him to the surface.” Johannes replied. “But you surprise me. You aren’t fatigued at all, are you?”
“Maybe slightly if that.” John admitted.
“Just what manner of monster have you become?” Johannes asked.
“I’ve been asking myself that question since nearly the beginning.”
The two warriors circled each other once more, now more wary of one another. Johannes was the first to push an attack. He came in with his sword and swung it in a vicious backhand.
John dodged and once again tried to get in close, but this time Johannes used his frost breath to keep him at bay. For a while, the two men struggled against each other, neither able to get the upper hand that was needed to bring the fight to a close.
Be wary. Just as you’ve a monster form, so does he. The longer this battle is prolonged the more likely the chance that he’ll get the upper hand.
I don’t want to end it though. The thrill of battle pulsed through John. He had not felt it since he had entered the dungeon. John had thought he would never feel it again. He had thought that he had lost to much of himself. Too much of his humanity. Even if both of us have changed, I can’t help but enjoy it. I never thought I’d live to see myself test my skills against something other than a mindless monster
On they fought. Drops of blood from each of them matted the stone floor as the Iron Giant watched on. In the end, John got extremely lucky.
The Witch Hunter fought with the precision of a man who had trained all of his life with the blade. He probably had. No matter what John did, he couldn’t find an opening, but with the strengthening of his body through the bonding, his opponent couldn’t find an opening either.
Until Johannes faltered first. Not because John was the better fighter, but because he had more stamina. Maybe more drive to survive. Whatever the reason, the Witch Hunter’s guard came up just a fraction too slow, and one of John’s thrice blessed axes plunged into his chest.
Johannes dropped his weapon, and John wasted no time. He brought the other axe to bear. Johannes fell to the ground, a stunned look on his face as he realized he was dying.
Just like that, the fight was over.
John stood above the dying man. “I didn’t want it to end this way. You chose this.”
Johannes stared back with eyes clouded by hate and by impending death. “I chose to remain human. But you, you will forever be a monster.”
Johannes coughed up dark blood, his breath coming harder. The man’s face was stained red as the light faded from his eyes and he fell to the floor.
Of all the battles that John had been through, this had been the hardest of all. Looking down at the fallen warrior, John felt a moment of bitterness towards the man. I’ve become what I’ve needed to be. A blue orb dropped next to the man and it was immediately absorbed by John.
John knew that the black blood that covered his wounds would leave his body changed. Further from human. But there was at least one thing he could do to halt the process slightly.
/> Kneeling in front of Johannes’s body, he withdrew the Witch Hunter’s dagger. After a few moments of work, John turned the dagger on himself. The pain was intense, but the Witch Hunter’s words stuck with him, I need to choose to be human.
John stood up and blinked, Seonna’s healing magic going to work immediately. Forever more, he would have two different colored eyes. One brown, the other green. The less of Nemesis power I depend on, the better for me.
John bent down and cradled the body in his arms and walked over to the Giant, who stood over the gateway leading down. “Here. Your sacrifice.”
The Giant nodded in acceptance. “By the power vested in me by he who dwells below, this sacrifice is accepted.” The giant stretched out his hand and motioned for John to place the body on his palm. The door opened and John stepped through to the other side, not bothering to look back.
However, for the first time, John did not immediately proceed. Instead. He sat at the top of the stairs and wept for all that he had lost and all that he was becoming.
Chapter 31: The Doppelgänger’s Labyrinth
* * *
Interesting. You’ve gained more power. Though Seonna has faded. It will be many years before any of us hear from her again. You have taxed her power. She will rest within you. Let us see how killing the Witch Hunter has affected you.
