Chapter 100: Through Bloody Waters
"How'd they get in?!"
The walls shook with the sound of cracking stone as the first Snakeman forced its way up through the flooded floor. The pipe split wide, and something pale and wet clawed free, a mass of muscle and scale snapping back into shape. Its bones reset with sharp cracks, ribs expanding, tail coiling tight as it hissed. Steam curled off its skin as it rose, forked tongue flicking the air.
It was unarmed and bare-skinned. With no reason to hesitate, Seo-jin charged.
Two slashes, clean and fast.
[+98 Damage Dealt]
[+106 Damage Dealt]
'Too shallow.'
The Snakeman jerked back, hissing as it whipped its tail. Seo-jin braced—then a blur of steel passed beside him. Brundar's axe hit mid-swing, cleaving the tail clean from the base. Blood hit the water like oil, spreading thick.
Seo-jin moved again before the thing even screamed.
[Critical]
[+258 Damage Dealt]
His blade cut through the throat in one brutal sweep. The head spun off, jaws still snapping, landing in the steaming pool.
[+113 Exp]
[Level // 20]
[Exp // 12711 / 14965]
Crimson light flooded the room.
[Level Up +1]
[+1 AGI / +1 INT / +1 FLH // +1SM // +3 AP]
[Spawn Limit +1]
[Class Skill Unlock // Corpse Harvest]
[System // Notification]
[Class Quest Unlock Requirements // Achieved]
[Requirement // Reach Lvl 20]
[Class Item // Broodspawn's Call // Awarded]
He barely registered the flood of system prompts. He swiped them aside as three more Snakemen pulled themselves out of the broken pipe, water hissing around their scaled bodies.
Brundar was already swinging at one. The others turned toward Seo-jin.
He grinned, bloodlight swelling, Butcher's Wrath clawing at his limbs. He turned on the two left, but even as he reveled in the thrill of battle, a scratch at the back of his scalp steadily got worse.
Cleaving a snakeman's leg free from its body, he called out to the dwarf.
"Something's off!"
Brundar kicked a snakeman loose, drove his axe into its skull until the haft hit bone.
"You don't say?!!"
Seo-jin saw more auras skittering through the surroundings.
"Their numbers are too few, they're not even armed!"
"So?!"
"They've got something planned, otherwise this is just suicide!"
Brundar split one clean across the middle; the top half hung by its fangs. He tore it free from his shoulder and scanned the room, eyes sharp.
"We don't have time for guessing. We need to move!"
Seo-jin stomped on a thrashing body beneath the water until it stilled, then sank his teeth into another throat. He ripped it out, and swallowed fast.
"If they have a goal, it's gonna happen quick. We can't run out without a plan."
Brundar snatched up his gear as the fight outside spiked. He barked over the din.
"The only thing we have to do is kill 'em first!"
His blood pumping from the fight, steam crawled off Seo-jin as his skin dried. System light flashed; in a blink he wore the new clothes and chestpiece for the first time.
The effects were immediate. The rush of power was like a tidal wave of heat, spreading throughout his body until he felt filled completely.
Still barefoot, his new armor caught the dim torch light, every plate overlapping like the hide of a predator. The left pauldron jutted high, five angular ridges tapering to blades. It looked more like a weapon than protection.
His new clothes were stripped down and functional. Black slacks, a crimson collared shirt beneath the armor, sleeves rolled to the elbow, veins faintly visible under the skin.
His hair hung black and uneven, pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck, loose strands framing his face. Bangs fell forward just enough to shadow his eyes.
Standing there in his new gear, silent, steady, he looked more weapon than man. Brundar hefted his axe and grunted.
"Let's go."
Seo-jin nodded, snapping from his thoughts, but the rush still lingered in his veins. Newfound strength hummed beneath his skin.
'Only ten points, but it feels like a different body.'
The armor's benefits felt monstrous, his strength and vitality surged by ten points each, his health leaping from 840 to 1300. His strikes now hit harder, the base of his blows rising to 378 without a blade. He could feel it in every movement.
B-rank strength. B-rank vitality. He couldn't help but picture a full set of Thragdur's work...what kind of monster that would make him.
Brundar's shout broke through the thought.
"Sounds like the fight's heavy in the main hall! Move your ass!"
Seo-jin's focus snapped back. A sting burned behind his ear where the scratch pulsed again.
"Main hall…?"
He slowed.
The dwarf noticed immediately, anger flashing as he spun on him.
"You tired?! Move, you sorry demon! I swear—where in Drom's balls are you goin?!"
Seo-jin turned away, sprinting down a side passage.
"It's suicide!"
His response only made Brundar's blood rise. He charged after, barking through his teeth.
"Rusted coward! The fight's—"
"The fight's a distraction!"
Seo-jin snapped back.
"Even the Snake Tribe isn't stupid enough to rush you unarmed! They're not here to win—they're here for something else!"
The dwarf slowed just enough for the thought to hit. He knew Seo-jin was right. None of this made sense. They couldn't have attacked the dwarves expecting to live. Not with these numbers. Not like this.
"Where the hell are you going then? We can't just run around blind!"
The dwarven fortress coiled like a maze around its heart, the main forge. Layers of halls and chambers stacked and wound through the mountain, linked by narrow ramps and iron stairwells. To Brundar, it looked like Seo-jin was bolting for the surface. His path climbed higher with every turn.
But Seo-jin wasn't running blind. He wasn't fleeing. His Soul Sight burned hot behind his eyes, locking onto a cluster of auras above them. The pattern was too deliberate to ignore.
He called back, breath steady even as his speed surged. He couldn't hold back for the dwarf anymore.
"I'm heading topside to check something! Follow or stay—but if I'm wrong, I'll be back!"
"Wait—!"
Too late. The words hit empty air. Seo-jin was already gone, his stride a blur. Dwarves were strong, but not built for speed. To Brundar, it looked like watching a shot fired from a cannon.
"Long-legged—spider fucker!"
He slammed his axe into the wall, panting hard, veins rising in his neck as rage flushed through him. Stone cracked beneath his grip.
Below, the fortress groaned with war...the ring of steel, the howl of dying. Above, his charge. If Seo-jin was lying, if he'd cut and run, or worse, was in on this...
He spat into the dirt and glared up the stairwell, eyes burning.
"If you're lyin', I'll kill you myself."
He listened to the sound below a moment longer, then tore his axe free and took off after him, boots hammering stone. His kin could handle the hall fight. The real threat was the demon.
Several floors higher, Seo-jin was already cutting through stragglers. Most of the yellow auras below had flickered to green once he'd put on his armor. Only a handful still burned strong ahead.
He found a pair of snakemen tearing into two dwarves. One heartbeat later, both reptiles hit the ground headless.
Two swings. Two kills. Easy experience.
Each strike of Butcher's Wrath landed like a hammer, carving through flesh and bone. Over four hundred damage, enough to snuff the green auras before the dwarves even realized he'd passed.
After passing a few more startled stragglers, he finally arrived at the top to find he wasn't alone. Two guards stood wired and ready. Their faces snapped to attention the moment Seo-jin appeared.
"Stop! No one can leave—!"
Bloodlight ripped out of him like a punch. His voice dropped, low and cold.
"Open it. Now!"
The pressure he pushed slammed into them. Their muscles tensed, knees wanted to fold, but the guards held their ground.
"You cannot pass!"
Seo-jin let out a dry breath. He didn't need to panic yet.
He vanished. Two dull thunks answered as the back of his blades found the backs of their heads. Both men hit the stone in solid, unconscious thuds.
[You need to hurry.]
"I know."
Putting away Butcher's Wrath, he was already at the recessed chained handle he'd noted on the way in, one among many decoys, the only one heavily scented from use. He pulled. The staircase above ground grated and shifted, large gears whining as stone rose.
He pinged the Twinback Growths, waking them. His shirt and chestpiece blinked into inventory. The air then filled with wet, guttural sounds, screeching, retching, flesh tearing open. The Twinback Growths convulsed, splitting wide as the brood forced their way out.
"I'll have to get some shirts made with holes."
[Just rip the one you have—]
"Hell no. I just got it."
It was a problem he'd have to fix soon. He couldn't go shirtless forever, not with humans around. Too many eyes. Too many questions about the mouths crawling on his back. The armor wasn't an answer either; he couldn't wear it every hour of the day.
A wet splatter broke his thoughts as the last of the slime hit stone. The sound faded. He waited until the growths finished vomiting the broodlings, then slipped his shirt and chestpiece back on, adjusting both as if nothing had happened.
The brood finished. He re-equipped the armor and faced them: Pain, Panic, Snare, still slick and steaming.
"Snare, take Pain and head down. Your top priority is keeping them alive, but help the dwarves kill the snake tribe. Panic, you're with me."
Panic's eyes flared; bloodlight licked his teeth as he smiled wide. Pain and Snare bowed, taut with hunger.
"Yes, Broodfather."
"Yes, Broodfather."
Seo-jin shoved the command a hair further.
"Make them fear us. Kill every Snake Tribe member in ways the dwarves will remember."
Pain spit flame. Snare slammed his staff into the floor and grinned, malice bright on his face.
"Your will, be done."
They bolted, climbing walls, vanishing in silk and shadow as Webcrawler and Stealth took hold. Behind him, the big staircase settled with a final thud. Checking the cluster of auras he'd chased, his brow tightened. They had drawn closer, too close.
"We need to move. Climb on."
Seo-jin turned his back. Panic hesitated for half a breath, then bit down on his dagger and climbed up, a mad grin stretching his face, tears trembling at the corners of his eyes.
"Hold tight. If you fall, I won't stop."
Seo-jin bent his knees, gathering strength, only to freeze when a voice split the air behind him.
"HOLD IT!"
Rage clawed up his throat. He wanted to turn and gut whoever shouted, but instead he saw Brundar staggering up the hall, sweat slicking his face.
Seo-jin's eyes flicked toward the cluster of auras again. Then back to the dwarf. Panic's growl rumbled low, bloodlight building under his skin.
"You're too slow. Go back—"
"Tell me what's happening...!"
Brundar stopped running, bracing his stance, chest heaving.
"Or I'll collapse the entrance the second you leave. You're quick, but not quick enough."
"Are you serious?! I'm trying to help, you stubborn little asshole! We don't have time—!"
"Then stop wasting it and tell me!"
Brundar bellowed, voice echoing through the stone.
"You came out of nowhere, and now this?! Speak, or we're all stuck down here!"
"That's what I'm—!"
Seo-jin bit the word off, clenching his jaw. He nearly struck the dwarf where he stood, but forced it down. The dwarf was right, they didn't have time to argue.
"The attack's a diversion. They came in through the pipes—through the sea. Right now another team is tunneling in from above. That's why they're pointlessly throwing themselves at you down there—so you won't hear the real threat. If we don't stop them they'll flood this place. Collapse the gate if you must, but I'm not waiting to drown because you can't trust me."
True to his word, he didn't wait for a reply. Seo-jin threw Panic higher on his back and vanished up the stairs, his footsteps fading fast.
Brundar stood there, breath ragged, eyes wide, but it clicked...the pipes, the suicide assault that made no sense. All of it fell into place. But only if the Broodfather was telling the truth.
He looked back, toward the distant sounds of battle, remembering the two demonic shapes that had slipped past him. Then down to the unconscious guards at his feet.
Lifting his axe, he spat into the dirt.
"Drom's balls...I hate swimmin."
Then he charged after the demon, up toward the surface.