Despite Lord Vasquez offering to go next into the fray, Cerila's determination was firm. She was confident that she could defeat the creature, and she wasn't even aware of its warning or its advice to use magic. And although I was hesitant to send her out there, the truth was she may be one of the best equipped to fight that ghost.
Cerila was a Master level mage, along with the mana enhancement and talent of a War God. Although her skills may not be as polished as Lord Vasquez's or Ms. Taurus's, she was the only one who could wield Hubris. If Professor Garrison thrust his entire sword through the creature and did nothing to it, then surely Hubris would. There was a possibility the sword could even instantly kill the creature.
I felt defeated, despite not lifting a finger. I also wanted to fight, but knew it was a hopeless endeavor. That monster was too many levels above me. Even if I could last long enough not to die instantly, there was no way I could find the time to form a spell core for a powerful enough spell to be rid of it.
I just wasn't strong enough. All I could do…was watch as everyone fought.
"Cerila, going next is fine; however, I believe we should take a vote to see if we want to retreat," Lord Vasquez announced as he sat down.
"You believe this is as far as we can go?" Varnir asked.
"There is no guarantee that this is the final stage of this dungeon or that we are even close to the end. The Iron Citadel could be dozens, if not hundreds, of floors deep. If we are to face even stronger opponents than these, as we are, we may suffer insurmountable casualties. And I fear Kelly will no longer be able to fight with the loss of his gear and wounds," Lord Vasquez said gravely.
Bowen rubbed his chin and pondered aloud, "However, we could be at the cusp of defeating this place for good. It could very well be generations upon generations before another raid is mounted against this place. And if Luminar were to face another calamity of that magnitude again, our future generations would suffer."
"Planning what ifs for the future only works if we live to see it. And there may not be a future if we all die or become crippled before what's to come. We still have a battle on the outside to prepare for," Lord Vasquez countered.
"Then I take it you would vote to leave?" Ms. Taurus questioned.
Lord Vasquez shook his head. "No. But we must be aware of our current situation and what's to come after," he answered.
"Then let us vote. Those in favor of leaving, raise a hand," Bowen said.
Only two people raised their hands. Mom was the first, Tsarra the second.
"I just want to get these eggs out of here…" Tsarra mumbled.
"And I would rather everyone stay safe. Luminar isn't the only nation that can conquer this place. There are many powerful adventurers who would flock to this dungeon if they knew how to progress past the first floor. Also, I've never heard of a monster warning people before. If there is something strong enough here to capture and hold a creature that powerful. I fear what we may come against next, despite how close we may be to the end of this place," Mom said.
"It's true that the creature acted differently, as if two minds controlled it. One from when it was still a person, and the other the monster it has become," Ms. Taurus reasoned.
Bowen nodded in agreement. "And now it appears that the Human part of it is gone entirely, and its full power unleashed. What do you make of all this, Kaladin?"
"If the power behind the undead shackles souls to corpses, then these monsters are similar. Perhaps they are too powerful to control, or not chaining the soul completely gives them more power. Either way, it's true we have run into unprecedented things one after another. However…I have a feeling that past these three monsters and beyond those doors is the final obstacle. We may already be on the last floor," I said.
Sylvia eyed me from across the fire, and I nodded at her. I had a feeling she wouldn't leave even if everyone voted to go. She had family here, even if he was dead and gone, but perhaps, if a sliver of his consciousness remained, he could answer one of Sylvia's numerous questions. Or, at the very least, put him to rest.
"The vote is decided then," Lord Vasquez said, standing up.
But before he walked off, he turned to face all of us. "We will remain here. However, if Cerila fails to defeat this monster, we will leave this place. Any more casualties are unacceptable from this point on," he warned.
"I believe that to be more than fair. I wouldn't be able to dream of defeating an opponent of that caliber in such close quarters, so I am basically useless here," Bowen said.
Lord Vasquez walked off, and Bowen scratched at his beard. "Now then…I have some things to go over. Shall we start with these mysterious eggs?"
Tsarra gently rubbed them as she meekly shrugged her shoulders. Bowen smiled softly and asked, "You passed out the moment you touched them and said you felt a certain way, yes? What happened and what did the voice sound like?"
"Uh…I got the feeling when I looked at them. I was flooded with emotions and…I acted before I knew it," Tsarra explained.
Flooded with emotions that are not of your own? That sounds familiar.
"Magic, perhaps? But magic that directly affects someone's emotions…I can't say I've ever heard of such a thing. It wasn't anything like bloodlust, correct?" Bowen prodded.
Tsarra nodded again. "It was nothing like fear…it was just…a feeling? Like…I don't know how to explain it," she said.
"Interesting indeed," Bowen agreed. "And Kaladin, I assume you found life within those eggs?"
"I wasn't able to see through them, however, I couldn't store them in my Spatial Ring," I confirmed.
"I suppose the real question is why they haven't hatched yet. Or how they got down here in the first place. I've never seen eggs like this before," Varnir said.
"I thought they could be Dragonkin eggs due to their size, but they are entirely different in shape," Bowen said.
"They are definitely not the egg of a Dragon either," Mom added.
Those who were unaware looked over to my mother with blank expressions. Bowen licked his lips as he narrowed his eyes.
"Should I ask how you are so certain?" he questioned hesitantly.
"A long story for another time," Mom said with a smile.
"I'll have to hear it one day, then," Bowen said with a shrug. "However, Tsarra, you never mentioned how you went unconscious."
"Ah, that…I think the eggs took some of my mana?" she answered, unsure of herself.
"Manipulating emotions and taking mana while still within the egg…perhaps they are more dangerous than we expected," Bowen mumbled.
After some silence, he shrugged to himself, seemingly putting that off for the time. However, his eyes drifted toward Sylvia.
"Sylvia. What is your connection with that third monster? You seemed to recognize the sword," Bowen asked, his tone serious.
Sylvia adjusted herself and stared back at Bowen. "I believe I have a personal connection with that one," she answered firmly.
"Then it's a Vampire," Bowen muttered. "Family or friend?"
"Family," Sylvia said, much to my surprise.
"I see…I suppose you won't say much more than that, and you are the one who wants to face it?" Bowen asked.
"Correct," she said bluntly.
"But if you can't defeat it…" he trailed off.
"I can. And I will. And if I couldn't, I would tell you everything I knew beforehand," she said.
Bowen sighed to himself. "Then I'll leave it at that."
Mom gently clapped her hands. "Perhaps we should get some rest before Mr. Garrison wakes up?"
—
I awoke from sleep to a sudden shout and moan. By the time I was on my feet, I saw that the professor had awoken. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared down cursing at his right arm, his hand limp.
"Damn it…" he grunted.
The camp watched as the man struggled, his concentration fully on his hand as the muscles in his arms flexed with strain.
Professor Garrison clenched his teeth and stared up at the ceiling, the frustration clear on his face. Lord Vasquez was the first to approach him.
The tall man loomed over the professor and asked, "What happened?"
"I—when I got back to the circle, a voice spoke to me in my head. It asked me, 'My life or my hand?' I chose the latter," Professor Garrison said.
"Syivla said she found something wrong with it and could not heal you. Does this mean you've lost your right hand?" Lord Vasquez asked bluntly.
Professor Garrison nodded slowly in defeat. "I—I can't even feel my fingers anymore. Everything below the wrist…it's like it's gone. It just had to be the right one," he choked out.
Professor Garrison was right-handed. And since he used such a large sword, it would be nearly impossible to wield it with only one functioning hand in the future. A crippling injury that may stay with him for the rest of his life.
"Can you still walk?" Lord Vasquez asked.
"I can…to be defeated like that…is this really all I'll amount to…" Professor Garrison said in defeat.
"If you can walk and use your other arm and hand, then you can live, Kelly. You'll find a way to adapt, I know you will. But it doesn't have to be right now," Lord Vasquez said coolly.
Professor Garrison hung his head. "Maybe…but that… thing. It's in a league of its own. At the end…I don't think I could have beaten it with a hundred attempts."
"We only need to do it once. And now that everyone is awake and she is ready, we might as well start," Lord Vasquez said.
Cerila wiped the sweat off her brow and hefted Hubris to her shoulder. Despite just waking up, I felt more alert, and I watched her retreating back as she went to the circle.
"I don't think you need to be so nervous," Sylvia said with a yawn.
"Is it that obvious?" I asked.
"Painfully so," she grumbled.
Sylvia turned her crimson eyes to Cerila and said, "Honestly, once I saw that thing manifest, I had the thought that Cerila would make for a good match up."
"What gave you that idea?"
Sylvia shrugged. "Just a gut feeling."
Cerila walked into the circle and planted Hubris into the ground. She turned back and smiled as Mom signed for her to be safe.
she signed back.
The orange barrier warped and swallowed Cerila, putting her into the arena. The ghost knight had not disappeared and had walked back to its circle. As Cerila lifted her blade, so did it.
The atmosphere was heavy, and the tension in the air grew by the moment as the monster's bloodlust rolled off it. Its ghastly blue aura flamed up as it took stock of Cerila.
Unlike with Professor Garrison's fight, the monster did not feel the need to size its opponent up. It went into a low back left stance with its sword and shot off like a speeding bullet.
Cerila extended her hand, and a wave of ice flowed out and engulfed the arena in its embrace. She immediately started running the perimeter of the arena. The crystals cracked, and the wall that had formed burst into pieces. The ghost knight moved with tremendous speed and, despite having legs, didn't seem to be affected by the ice at all.
"Her usual tactic of changing the landscape to benefit her won't be as effective," Varnir mumbled.
"Even so, taking control of her surroundings won't hurt. And there is far more to her plans than just making the ground icy," Bowen chuckled.
Spears of ice shot off from the walls, spikes burst from the ground, but the ghost broke through all of them. Cerila swung Hubris as the monster closed in. The clash of blades rang out as the two were locked against one another. The muscles on Cerila's body flexed and swelled with power as she broke off the engagement.
Her palm was outstretched as a shard of blue ice formed and raced off toward the ghost at close range. The monster backpedaled, swinging its sword out to deflect the ice, only for a barrage of magic to be unleashed on it.
The ghost swung its blade with tremendous speed, its moves barely a blur as it destroyed the magic. Its wings fluttered, and it glided straight for Cerila. The two clashed swords, and Cerila was forced back as a wave of blue left the ghost's blade.
Cerila brought Hubris up and deflected it, and in one swift motion went for a slash on the encroaching monster. It dodged to the side but Cerila blasted the monster with bolts of water. Water splashed harmlessly onto the creature, and as it dove in for another attack, Cerila released a howling blizzard into it.
The ice crept up around the monster, encasing it in an icy blue tomb. As Cerila swiftly moved in, Hubris mid-swing, the ice began to crack. The ghost knight broke free in a shower of crystals, and with a swipe of its sword, a blue crescent blade flew through the air.
Cerila slid to her knees and finished the swing. It was a grazing blow, barely a scratch. However, the effect was immediate.
The monster glided back to safety, increasing the distance between it and Cerila. The side of its chest piece had a scratch, no wider than a single finger width across. But that ghastly blue aura leaked out from it like a minor cut.
"So, they can bleed," Lord Vasquez said with a slight grin.