Dungeon Robotics (Book 7): Collapse

by Matthew Peed

  I flew over to the phoenix in a blink of an eye. With a downward slash, I slammed Helios into its head. I was only slightly surprised to actually hit a physical layer. With a boom, the phoenix was sent careening off the barrier into the surroundings outside the wall. Not letting the opportunity pass, I flew after it.

  I glanced at Gulv to see him and the water dragon entangled as they fought for dominance. It was a very violent display, with charged water raining down on both forces. My forces were safe for now, as they were still protected by the barriers. The rushing enemy could not say the same.

  I angled Helios so that the bladed end pointed at the phoenix and dived at the elemental. It struggled to regain its foot in the forested area around it. Trees and shrubbery that were partially buried in snow were soon dry as tinder, and some were even going up in flames.

  I pulled Helios back and threw it like a spear. It impacted the center of the creature, overloading whatever spell was giving it life. All the flame that composed the phoenix was sucked into a single point before it exploded outward, incinerating everything in a forty-meter radius. I quickly threw a barrier up, but it still managed to throw me several dozen meters and singe my hands.

  Holding my throbbing hand out, I called for Helios and it flew up and into my hand. I winced at the pain of holding it but knew people were dying for me right now. A little pain wasn’t going to stop me. While I was making sure the phoenix was truly finished, a massive force slammed into me from behind.

  I crashed into the ground, causing ash to blast into the air, then quickly regained my feet just as the terra elemental, a gargoyle made from stone, created a boulder and tossed it at me. I shot into the air, barely managing to avoid the several-hundred-kilogram stone. Even I would have been hurt by that.

  I channeled mana into my hands to numb the pain as I turned a glare on the elemental. With my free hand, I created an orb of lightning that should have been able to crack even the mana-infused stone that the gargoyle was made from. Once it had enough mana, I unleashed the spell and sailed across the distance. The gargoyle must have underestimated me, as it didn’t even attempt to dodge.

  The spell slammed directly in the center of the gargoyle, and arcs of lightning ripped through the elemental. The damage was less than I hoped for, with one of its arms being sent flying, while the rest of him remained intact with only a few surface burns.

  “Why can’t you just die in one hit?” I mumbled in annoyance.

  The stone elemental gave a gravelly roar in response, then charged me. I spun in place to build up momentum and threw Helios like a javelin. Knowing better, the gargoyle tried to dodge but was going too fast. Helios ripped through its head and would have kept going if I hadn’t called it back to my hand.

  I observed the battlefield during the respite. The enemy line had reached the walls in the time it took me to deal with the two elementals. I spotted only a few ladders that were propped against the wall, and those were being hammered with spells. Gulv was finished with his elemental as well. He was currently harassing the enemy lines by dive-bombing them to scoop up one or two soldiers in his jaws.

  The Thonaca forces had given up on trying to stop the spell Ezal was working on and were reinforcing their barriers while the foot soldiers continued to rush the wall. I estimated that we’d probably taken out a little over five thousand soldiers. Not a number to scoff at but nowhere near enough to discourage the enemy from continuing.

  In the distance, I saw a giant, of all things, making its way toward the wall through the enemy forces. I couldn’t even imagine where they managed to drag that thing up from, let alone how they were controlling it. It was still a good distance away, so I prioritized protecting the mages.

  I flew up, then over toward the grand magic. I wouldn’t have put it past the enemy to attempt to take it out at the last minute. I would make sure that didn’t happen. I came to a stop right in front of them, scanning the battlefield for anyone or anything that could threaten the mages.

  Ezal’s and everyone else’s faces were masks of concentration as they built the magical construct. I vaguely wondered when the last time magic of this scale had been done by mortals. You heard about gods and Celestials doing magic like this on a daily basis, but for a mortal to do it was only told of heroes and villains. Though, depending on how this battle went, we would be either heroes or villains.

  A ball of pure flames had formed above them. It had gone through several colors but had been blue for the longest time now. As I watched, it started to darken to purple. I was the closest person to the spell at a few hundred meters short of Ezal and her people. The heat coming from the ball of flames was making me worried that this might have been a spell better not launched.

  I didn’t have time to contemplate long before the ball suddenly cracked in a spiderweb pattern. It pulsed once before exploding out. Streaks of dark fire made it appear to be raining. It flew around me, but I quickly dropped to the ground, not wanting to chance it. From the top of the wall, I watched as what I envisioned hell might look like took place in front of me.

  Chapter 33

  Alara

  Jarvis finally stopped pacing after a few minutes. He walked over to the core, then reached up like he was going to touch it. Everyone jerked forward in response, but he smartly stopped on his own. His hand dropped to his side, and a sigh escaped him.

  “I am truly sorry. I do not think I will have any affect and do not see any logic in throwing my life away to try,” Jarvis said, turning back to us. I doubted Regan would have wanted that anyway, even if he had succeeded.

  I moved over and took his hand. It reminded me greatly of Regan’s, only making me miss him more. “I don’t think . . . Regan would . . . want that of you. We can find . . . another way to do . . . this,” I said, patting his hand.

  “Thank you, Lady Alara.”

  While we all thought silently about what to do from there, the ground started to shake at random intervals. That was Alpha’s automated defense systems coming online as the undead got too close to the floating city. Regan had showed me their power a few times since he’d freed me. I shook my head and made to leave the core room. Regan was too great for us to be able to get through anything he’d put in place.

  “Wait!” Ignea shouted, appearing in front of me. She was quite flustered even with all that was going on.

  “Ignea, what are you doing out of the core room? It is dangerous!” Jarvis said, moving up next to us.

  She held up her hand and he went silent. I felt there was something at work. Knowing Regan, he was likely behind it. Ignea flew over to the core, and the shielding opened around her as if it were afraid to touch her. “I don’t know why, but I knew I had to come here and do this. Hurry, it won’t last long.”

  I nodded, then rushed over to reach through the gap she’d opened for me. My hand touched the surface of Regan’s core. The amount of power thrumming inside, which I was only starting to reclaim, nearly knocked me to my feet. I concentrated and wrapped my aura around the core, making sure to focus on borrowing rather than claiming.

  The core accepted me just as the shielding snapped back. Had I been a few seconds later, I would have lost my arm. Not that it would have bothered me; it just would have hurt for a minute. As it was, the plasma, as Regan called it, wrapped around me like a warm blanket that periodically shocked me gently. I pulled my arm out and flexed it to make sure everything was still working right.

  “I felt a change. Did you succeed, Lady Alara?” Jarvis asked me.

  I turned to face them. “Yes. I felt Regan’s . . . acceptance,” I answered with a smile. Even wherever he was, he was still thinking about me. I would truly never be able to pay him back for all he had done for me. For now, I would have to protect my and his cores. That way I would have plenty of time to work on my debt.

  I let my awareness flood out as I acclimated to the new power I felt. I hadn’t realized how large Regan’s core’s aura had gotten, but it covered nearly a hundred kilomete
rs around us. The core itself was already at the end of tier two. I couldn’t help but wonder how Regan had amassed so much power so fast.

  I knew that if he had wanted to, he could have had this core break through a while ago. That was how much mana was gathered in it. Of course, he was using a lot of mana in the various battles he had engaged in. I would have to be sparing with it since it wasn’t mine.

  “Excellent! Let us move to the command deck,” Jarvis said with a clap of his hands.

  I blinked and moved us to the command bridge. Moving about one’s aura was the first thing a core learned, after all. Even though I was borrowing this core, I could move around as if it were my own aura even before this. I just felt more at home now. I would be the laughingstock of the dungeon core community if I couldn’t do at least that much.

  We moved forward to assess the situation. The command children that Regan had left behind were exceptionally good at their job. They had already gathered information about the coming undead. All of said information was in Regan’s automata’s language, but I could at least read the numbers.

  A blue box on the bridge showed past the edge of the aura where several thousand undead were spotted. They were tunneling through the snow, up to twenty meters deep in places, so they were not completely accurate. They had estimated the number based on the spikes in unholy mana in the area.

  “Fifty thousand? That’s . . . it?” I asked, moving over to the screen showing the number.

  The automaton at the terminal nodded. “That number is still growing, of course, but based on mana detected, there can’t be too many more.”

  “Jarvis . . . when should we . . . leave for the . . . enemy?” I asked as I looked at Regan’s throne-like chair in the center of the room. I didn’t feel like I should sit there, so I created a smaller one next to it and took a seat.

  “Soon. Lady Ignea, I would like to pull some of the newer units from the main dungeon if that is acceptable?”

  Ignea landed on the back of Regan’s chair. “I think it will be fine. The goblins have those creatures under control. I’d rather send you with a full force than risk the core by gambling,” she said. “I will open a portal in a few minutes. Whatever is causing those monsters is also affecting portals and teleportation magic. I won’t be able to keep it open for long, and if you get too far from here, I won’t be able to send reinforcements.”

  “We understand the risk. We will do our best to answer this threat.”

  “We should get . . . Anubis,” I added. He was Regan’s prime champion against the necromancers, and I thought he would be invaluable on this campaign with his ability to absorb the unholy taint. I still remembered the pain and relief that I’d felt when he was cutting through the undead as Regan worked to save me.

  “Anubis is leading Sir’s other forces past the undead scar. It would not be wise to pull him from there with Sir incapacitated as he is,” Jarvis said, shaking his head.

  I nodded and turned to the giant window that showed the snow-covered north. “Very well. We leave in . . . one hour . . .” I just hoped it would be enough to answer whatever the necromancers were trying to accomplish. I tightened my grip around the hilt of my sword at the thought of my old undead master. I would not be easy prey this time.

  ~~~

  The floating city was much fuller after the hour had elapsed. There were over thirty thousand of Regan’s best automata on the ship, awaiting orders. It made me realize all over that, given time, Regan could have marched an army the mortal way. I didn’t think anything could have stopped him either.

  With a shudder, the city rose into the air, blasting snow and ice in every which direction. The gathering undead took notice almost immediately. The city was gigantic, after all. As the undead came into range of the mounted weapons, they unleashed their full firepower. Beams of energy, metal rounds, and projectiles that exploded when they hit the target turned the path the city was on into one of destruction.

  The rear end of the undead turned and ran back out of the aura. “This is . . . a trap,” I said.

  The undead knew no fear. They would only flee if they were being commanded. I had learned that thoroughly over the century I was trapped. Only their mortal masters would run and hide if the danger got to be too much.

  “I expect so. However, we need to deal with this before they find a way to attack us closer to home. I believe this to be the best option, Lady Alara,” Jarvis replied. He was sitting at one of the consoles, working it faster than I could keep up with my eyes. I thought the device he was working on was having a hard time keeping up as well, as he would stop periodically.

  “Not . . . my core. Regan’s,” I said with pointed meaning.

  “I understand. Please do not worry. Sir would have likely had you take this approach if he could view the situation,” Jarvis said.

  Alpha was soon joined by two of the great ships that Regan had been commanding when he’d saved me. They were each well over two hundred meters long and appeared armed to the teeth. Dozens of smaller craft were flying around all three of the vessels, providing information. A few what I assumed were scout ships were zipping off into the distance.

  Liz put her hand on my shoulder. “Do not worry, Lady Alara. Jarvis knows what he is doing. We all have Lord Regan’s best interests in mind here. We would not endanger one of his cores lightly.”

  “I understand . . . Please continue and just . . . tell me where . . . I can help,” I said, falling back in my chair. I would leave the commanding to them. I’d been trapped in a prison for a century. I knew how to kill and corrupt people, but not how to lead people.

  Chapter 34

  Rens Wanderer

  “I’m going to have a hard time returning home after enjoying this city,” I mumbled to Qez. I held out the skewer of meat to the flaming bird, and he took a nibble of the end. Just these simple skewers tasted better than any I had eaten over my long life. I just couldn’t help being fascinated by everything.

  Finishing off the skewer, I closed my eyes and sent out a pulse of mana. Something simple that wouldn’t bother any but the most sensitive mages. When the pulse reached the edge of town, I found what I was looking for. “A pinprick of mana that felt off” would be the easiest way to describe it.

  It went by many names, depending on which mage you asked. Chaos mana, reverse mana, negative mana, and more. That was because no one race had been able to study it enough to claim the naming privilege. The main thing that they all said was that it could end up being the destruction of everything around it.

  Sticking the now clean skewer between my teeth, I tapped my staff on the ground, forming a spell structure around me. I hadn’t been stuck in the cell doing nothing. They really should have moved their jail away from the portals. I was able to study the portals for nearly five days. I teleported over to the spot that was about to crack. Even in just the ten seconds it took me to do that, the crack grew by over fourfold.

  “Now, now. We can’t be having that. I do have an agreement to uphold,” I mumbled.

  The crack continued to expand, though there was no visible indication of it doing so. Only those who could see mana in its purer form would have been able to see it. Still even without being about to see the crack, normal people would have started to be aware something wasn’t right. They would feel depressed or overwhelmed, for example.

  Examining the crack, I gathered it would be some type of dog monster. I placed my hand against the ground and summoned my terra elemental. A large golem, five meters tall, loomed over the area. As the crack finally reached the point where the monster could materialize, the golem shot its hand forward and wrapped it around the neck of the wolf that was half in this plane and half in the other.

  “I’ve always wanted to test pretakrin, but they are just so hard to come by!” I said, walking around the creature at a safe distance. I pulled a small notebook from my storage bag. “If the materialization is interrupted, then the crack stays open.”

  The crack that had f
ormed the wolf monster was still present and was growing as the creature remained lodged half in, half out. While it would have been interesting to go to the dimension they originated in, I was not prepared for such an excursion. I motioned for my golem to pull it all the way through in case something else tried to come across.

  “With the body created in this dimension, functions similar to a regular lifeform are exhibited. Fascinating,” I commented as I wrote it down.

  The pressure from the monster was growing as it started to absorb ambient mana. While the golem was animated by mana, its body was very much just dirt and stone from the surroundings. That allowed it to touch and actually affect the pretakrin.

  “Now, now. Don’t ruin my fun,” I said. Tapping my staff on the ground, I created an anti-mana barrier around the wolf. It took more mana than it was worth when dealing with mortals of this plane, but for a pretakrin it was the perfect thing to keep them contained. I was glad I had studied with that branch of magic a few times in the past.

  I used some terra mana to form a sharp blade on the end of my staff. Jabbing forward quickly, I sliced a nice gash into the monster. Blue blood leaked from the wound, but the creature didn’t show any signs that the minor wound had hurt it. Less than three seconds passed before the wound was completely sealed. Not even any scar tissue remained.

  “The flesh is a mana construct. This allows the creature to repair any damage received to pristine condition at the expense of mana. Physical methods of harm effect the mana construct, effectively interrupting the structure of the creation for a time. This gives the impression of wounding the monster, but the attacking force was in fact only draining the creature’s mana supply.”

  I couldn’t help but mumble out loud as I worked on the creature. It was an occupational hazard of old age. It helped me sort out the subject I was working on. A few of the little queen’s soldiers surrounded the area while I worked but left me to my own devices, which I appreciated. Last thing I needed was a soldier using a spell to feed this thing.