Nods met his question and he checked his own to be sure the buff was still applied.
“How do we get down there? Jump?” Jimmy asked, gulping. “I ain’t jumping.”
“Why not?” Maverick asked, grinning madly. “You’ll make it.”
“And if I don’t? Nope, not doing it. Someone else can go first.”
Bishop smirked as Maverick winked and grabbed hold of Jimmy’s hand. “Where’s your adventurous side at?” she asked, and she toppled them both over the ledge. Jimmy’s scream echoed up to them, and they waited to see if they survived the jump or not.
“Damn it, woman!” Jimmy hollered. “That was not funny! I think I just pissed myself!”
“You can’t urinate inside the game, idiot. It’s safe!” Maverick yelled up to them. “Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times!”
In twos and threes, the group members leapt into the pit, screaming and laughing as they fell. Bishop and Calista were the last to go. He sent Willy away first, the wolf not looking too keen on joining them down there. When he was gone, Calista held out her hand and he took it.
“Ready?” she asked.
He peered into the pit, shaking his head. “You’re enjoying this way too much,” he managed to say, as she pulled him over the edge. He yelped as they tumbled down through the cold, salty air, and his feet hit hard ground a few seconds later. He staggered, finding his balance, and he glanced around. “Well, this is pretty sweet.”
“Underground sea cave anyone?” Trajan asked. “Looks like that way leads out into the sea and there’s three paths behind you.”
Bishop turned and spied the three rocky openings leading deeper into the cave. “Well, how do you want to do this? I would assume they all lead to one main cavern.”
“We should probably split up,” Trajan said. “Or we could stick together.”
After fighting off hordes of undead for the past however long they’d been in this dungeon, sticking together sounded like a great plan. “Any objections to staying as one big group?” he asked.
No one argued, and he motioned to Trajan to pick a tunnel and lead the way. Bishop pulled up the map as they headed for the central path, the one he would have chosen, and watched as the caves slowly filled in before him. After five minutes of walking and not running into anything, Bishop wondered if they were meant to split up and caused a glitch in the dungeon.
“Where are they?” Calista murmured beside him.
“No idea. This is odd.”
“Trap?” she suggested.
He was about to reply when Sorgon grabbed his head and staggered into the cave wall. Bishop reached out to grab his shoulder and Shamus did the same thing, and Derrick and Orion from the LongBeards. They all fell to their knees, clutching their skull in their hands.
“What’s wrong?” Maverick asked. “Guys?”
“The singing,” Shamus spat out. “It’s so loud!”
“What singing?” Bishop asked, and suddenly his ears rang with it. “Damn!” He dropped to all fours as the intensity of the music struck him like a blow to the gut. The wards were supposed to stop this, he thought. Yet, one by one, the males in the group succumbed to the sirens’ song… and it was no pleasant experience. The music tore at his mind and forced him back to his feet to walk forward down the path. The others followed suit, leaving only the females in their group unaffected. “Calista,” Bishop gasped. “Have to… break it!”
“Break what?” she asked, hurrying to stay beside him. “Bishop! Snap out of it!”
Bishop struggled to maintain focus as he was forced to march with the others. Five females, they only had five females out of their entire group. This was bad, very, very bad. Sorgon was at the front of their line of players and he yelled in warning when the tunnel brightened, opening up into a larger room. Bishop tried to move his hands to his bow, desperate to help, but his fingers refused to listen to him. The wards, why weren’t the wards working?
“Oh you’ve got to be shitting me,” he heard Maverick whisper as they cleared the tunnel and entered the main cavern.
Bishop’s eyes roamed the room and widened. Surrounding the outer walls were tiers of stone acting as balconies as in an amphitheater. They were filled with sirens, singing with one voice, and the Demon Lord Helenex herself leading them from a raised stone platform. When she saw the players walking towards her, she smiled a hellish grin that stretched too wide to be anything but horrifying.
“Welcome, my heroes,” she purred with a voice of silk, and Bishop’s feet came to a sudden stop.
Why can’t I move? He turned his head, barely, to see the female players huddled near the entrance to the cavern. If Helenex hadn’t noticed them yet, maybe they had a chance. He looked around the cavern as the singing intensified, and he spotted glowing pillars planted every so often amongst the lower level. They glowed, pulsing with the sirens’ singing, but each was a different color. Bishop studied the color pattern, and his eyes darted to his feet. There, beneath the stone, was a matching color to one of the pillars. I have to tell them!
He attempted to move and his hands twitched. Unfortunately, the singing increased in pitch and his hands slapped back to his sides.
“We have been waiting for you,” Helenex said, as she stepped closer, clad in scraps of seaweed hardly covering anything. “Yes, you will do nicely. All of you will do just perfectly for what I have in mind. An army of heroes at my beck and call. You truly thought those priests could aid you with wards? They know nothing of my power!”
Bishop’s heart sank. So the wards were useless after all. He wondered what the reason was for creating them in the first place, or if they had something to do with the Demon players giving strength to her. When he wouldn’t be on the verge of dying, he would ask Dennis.
“No,” Trajan snapped, and Bishop tried to peer down the line to see if he managed to move. “Never.”
“So brave in the face of your horrible fate,” Helenex crooned. “Soon enough, you won’t remember who you are. Soon, you will be all mine.”
“Hey scum,” Calista snapped. Bishop wanted to turn around to catch her attention, but he was still frozen.
He wanted to yell at her to smash the pillars, but a growling drew his attention to the other side of the cavern. It was Maverick, along with healer Nell, who had attacked one of the pillars. Maverick crushed it, clawing at it furiously as Nell made ready to heal her when the sirens fired back.
“Stop them!” Helenex screeched.
Bishop winced at her voice. Luckily, Maverick was even stronger now thanks to the armor Calista made for her. The pillar collapsed just as the first section of sirens fell down to the lower level and lunged at the players. Arthur sank to his knees then, seeing he was freed, raced to the closest pillar to bring it down.
Calista appeared in Bishop’s range of view as she kept the sirens off Arthur. The second he made contact with the stone, more sirens jumped down to try and stop him. Bishop screamed inside his head for them to hurry up, but at least they had two healers there to keep them alive. Nell and Aiden moved back, staying out of the fray of advancing sirens as Trajan was broken free, followed by Orion. The sirens were pouring off the tiers quickly though and, soon, they would overwhelm the players if they weren’t careful. Bishop wanted to call out the warning, but Calista did it for him.
“Hold up! Clear the mobs first! Don’t destroy another pillar yet!”
Helenex snarled, although she had yet to attack, and Bishop worried over the reason why. He studied her as she glared at the battle taking place in her cavern. There, beneath her health bar, he found another which was increasing every so often. Bishop watched it go up again as another siren died. It was nearly full when she gripped a trident in her hands, opened her mouth, and let out a high-pitched shriek. Bishop winced, but he could do nothing else as the rest of the players’ lives took a hard hit. Nell and Aiden cast AOE heals, though it did little to negate the damage dealt by the Demon Lord. The sound did not stop until the bar
was emptied.
“Plan, we need a better plan!” Calista called out.
“Anyone have stuns they can use?” Trajan yelled. “Stun them, don’t kill them!”
“We can’t keep that many stunned for too long!” Arthur argued.
“It’s our only chance. If we lose our healers, we’re screwed. Stun the sirens the second they get down here and free up Benji!”
Maverick lumbered to the players still trapped and stared at the ground beneath Benji’s feet. The pulsing green glow directed her to a pillar across the cavern, and she lashed out at it with a fury. Calista waited until Trajan and Arthur kited the rest of the sirens to the other side before she jumped up and leapt into the center of them. A shockwave shot through the ground and the sirens were stunned for ten seconds. Maverick destroyed the pillar and Benji was free, rushing back to join the other healers and give them a boost before he turned his attention to the group.
Meanwhile, Bishop waited as they moved around the room, going after one pillar at a time while struggling to both keep the sirens stunned and not killing too many to avoid filling up Helenex’s special attack. The whole time, Bishop worked at moving, wondering if there was a way for him to break himself free… until his pillar was finally destroyed and he was thrust backwards.
“Bishop! We need cover!” Calista yelled.
He grabbed his bow and immediately shot Rain of Arrows at the group of sirens growing larger by the second. He held them in place and switched to his Stunning Blow, though his wasn’t as impressive as the others. He moved away from the attacks, stunning whenever he could. Alas, he couldn’t help dealing damage. Soon enough, Helenex’s bar filled up and she charged towards the end of the platform, her jaw falling open, ready to attack again. He drew back on the bowstring, Silent Arrow at the ready. He doubted it would stop her, being a boss, still he had to try something.
The moment she let out the first note, he fired, and she choked on her own scream. The sound echoed on, but the few moments of the hit drained her bar halfway. So when she picked up the scream, it didn’t last as long.
As the healers struggled to keep everyone above half health, they managed to release more and more of their trapped group until only three players remained stuck.
“Trajan! Might want to start focusing on the boss!” Bishop yelled.
“We have to kill this mob!”
“If we kill the mob before we kill her, she’s going to have endless special attacks to use!”
“Damn it! Calista, stay on the sirens. Maverick, Arthur, you’re with me! Range, focus on the boss!”
Bishop aimed for Helenex and started with Penetrating Shot, hoping it would damage whatever she used as armor. The last three players were freed and all of the sirens were down on the main level of the cavern. Giles and Zoe took up their places beside him, raining down arrows on Helenex as she fought with the tanks. Fiery Arrow followed his Penetrating Shots, and each time she made ready to use another special attack, all three of them used whatever interrupts they had to try and deflect most of the damage. A technique which was becoming increasingly harder as, with each dead siren, the bar grew larger and the screams lasted longer. Bishop groaned as the scream rang in his ears and he fumbled to stay on his feet.
Helenex’s life was down to nearly half. Yet, with the sirens forcing their way past the DPS and going after the healers, the battle was still far from won. Calista’s aggro couldn’t hold them and she labored to corral them back together. They weren’t going to kill the boss in time. Aiden fell first, her blue orb hovering over her body. The DPS attacked the sirens, but with one healer down and the last three under direct attack, they took fast damage.
“Trajan! We’re not going to make it!” Bishop hollered over the sounds of the battle.
“I am not repeating this damn fight!” His battle cry ripped from his throat as he delivered a hefty blow to Helenex, barely making a dent in her health. “Bishop! Use it!”
“Use what?”
“That attack, the big one!”
Bishop rattled his brain then froze. “If I use that, half of us are going to die!”
“We don’t have a choice!”
He glanced around. Most of the players’ lives were at half health or less, including his own.
“Do it!” Jimmy agreed from behind him. “This sucks, man! I don’t want to come back!”
Others yelled for him to do it, too, but Bishop knew it wouldn’t suffice to get rid of the boss. They were taking a risk that this shot would kill them all and leave the boss alive, meaning they would have to repeat the whole fight anyway. Calista’s health along with Maverick’s were the only ones above half health.
“Screw it,” he said, and he drew back on his bow. The trembling power of Assassin’s Tear shot through his fingers as he aimed for Helenex. “Die!” he yelled, and he let the arrow fly.
The arrow struck her dead center in the chest and she was thrown backwards. A bright white explosion filled the cavern. The sirens screamed as they died, but they weren’t the only ones. Bishop cursed, the wind knocked out of him, as his life drained and he was thrown into the dark room. Most of the group appeared beside him and he pushed quickly to his feet to see who was left alive to face down the Demon Lord. Helenex’s health was below a quarter. He counted faces around him and turned back to the viewing window. Maverick was there, pushing her large beast body back to its feet, Calista right beside her, and Jimmy.
“Jimmy? How the hell did he stay alive?” Trajan asked.
“I have no idea,” Bishop replied, confused. “I’m not sure he does either.”
Jimmy stared at his hands, then grinned and let out a loud whoop. Helenex faced down the last remaining players and her special attack was fully charged. Maverick and Calista assailed her with a fury as Jimmy’s hands darkened and shadows swirled around him. Bishop frowned, wondering what he was about to do, when a demon three times his size appeared beside him, writhed in shadowy black flames. It flew at Helenex and drove its hand into her chest. Calista and Maverick did not let up their attacks as the demon held Helenex paralyzed for them in its vice like grip.
“Kill her!” Trajan yelled, thrusting his fist in the air.
Bishop’s hands fisted at his sides, watching as the Demon Lord’s HP dropped, then dropped again, and finally hit zero.
The boss dropped her trident to the cavern floor with a bang and her body exploded, sending water and seaweed every which way and drenching the three players left.
Maverick, Calista, and Jimmy congratulated each other. Bishop chose to release his body and he, along with all the others who he technically killed, appeared back on the platform at the start of the dungeon. They jumped into the pit and sprinted for the cavern to res their bodies. As soon as he was back on his feet, a prompt appeared before Bishop and dinging sounded around him.
You have reached level 22.
Jimmy bent down to loot Helenex and more prompts appeared.
You have received the Trident of Helenex Banner.
You have received twelve Demon Shards.
You have received scraps of seaweed.
Bishop smirked at the last one, wondering what he could use it for. An image of Calista dressed in a scantily made outfit of seaweed burst in this mind and his cheeks warmed.
“Right, looks like some good loot,” Jimmy announced. “Knights, got a two-handed weapon for you, a trident. Nice. Roll for it!”
Those who wanted it rolled, and Arthur walked away with a sick looking obsidian trident etched with ancient ruins. Gauntlets came up next, and those went to Mack, one of the dwarf tanks. There was nothing for Bishop, but the Demon Shards were more than enough for him.
“Well, sorry I killed most of you,” he said, cringing, when they were finished dishing out the loot.
“Eh, I’ll forgive you since we didn’t have to do that again.” Trajan smirked. “Think we should let the other guilds know or let them figure it out for themselves? And why the hell didn’t the wards work? I thought
they were supposed to stop us from turning into zombies.”
“Oh, let them have the fun of it. I bet the whole thing with the wards was just a set up to make everyone think there’s hope. Or it was a glitch. I’m sure we’ll find out,” Bishop suggested. “And Jimmy? What was that thing you summoned?”
“Demon. Pretty sweet, right?”
“Uh huh, and how did you stay alive?”
“That was by accident,” he told them. “I was in the middle of life draining the sirens when you used it, so I managed to keep myself alive, barely. Took a health potion when I was getting back up.”
“Summoning demons,” Maverick sighed. “Don’t forget to purify your soul so we don’t lose you to the dark side.”
“But the dark side has cookies,” he pouted.
“I’m going to call this a successful run,” Bishop announced, and he walked to the rear of the cavern where a swirling portal opened up. “Good job, guys. Let’s get back and turn this in. I for one am starving.”
Calista took his hand as they made ready to step through the portal and the last thing Bishop heard was Jimmy say, “I wonder if they’re serving sushi today for dinner.”
He expected to land with Calista beside him, outside the walls of the harbor, but he was yanked away from her hold and slammed into the ground. All was dark around him and he grunted. “Calista?”
“No, no I am afraid it’s not her,” a voice whispered in his ear, and he froze.
“Valen.”
Green flames burst to life before his eyes and the Demon Queen herself stared at him. “Bishop, what am I going to do with you?”
Chapter 10
Bishop glared at Valenastrious as she stalked closer, her footsteps leaving flames in her wake. He backed away, glancing constantly over his shoulder into the nothingness awaiting him. “What do you want?” he snapped.
“I want to know why you insist on trying to kill all my generals in the war to come, especially when you are to lead them for me. No good destroying them if you plan on taking my vast armies and wiping out the rest of the population,” she stated, the fire flaring around her with her anger. “I want to know why you continue to turn down a role I have chosen specifically for you to have. Yet, here you are, running around Samar making a mess of my well laid plans.”
Necromancers, Demons & Kings: A LitRPG Epic (World of Samar Book 2) Page 16
