DUNGEON SLAVE
CHAPTER 06: APOPHIS
The night in Narvana carried a rare calm. The sky shimmered faintly with floating shards of mana like fragments of stars hanging over the city. Axcel leaned against the tower railing, his sword sheathed at his side, eyes half-lidded in thought. The wind tugged at his short black hair, carrying the faint hum of the barrier that separated their world from the dungeons beyond.
He barely noticed Helena's presence until her reflection appeared in the glass beside his.
"You're awake," she said softly, her voice cutting through the silence.
"Couldn't sleep," Axcel murmured. "After what happened in the Red Veil… it's like the air itself feels heavier."
Helena stepped closer. Her expression was calm, but her eyes those sharp amethyst eyes held something else tonight. Concern. Maybe even warmth.
"You faced your own memories," she said. "That's not something people just… walk away from."
He chuckled dryly. "I'm not sure I did. I think I left part of myself there."
For a long moment, they just listened to the wind. Below them, Narvana slept unaware of the tremors that would soon shake its foundations.
Helena's gaze lingered on Axcel's gauntlet. "You've changed since the first dungeon," she said quietly. "You don't hesitate as much anymore."
"Guess dying once or twice in there does that to a guy."
She almost smiled at that. "Still… don't make dying a habit. You're too reckless. You take blows that should've killed you."
He turned, a hint of teasing in his tone. "Worried about me, Captain?"
Helena crossed her arms, but the faint flush at her cheeks betrayed her. "I don't want to lose a great fighter, that's all."
"great fighter, huh?" He smirked. "I'll take that."
Her expression softened. "Axcel… when we enter the next dungeon, I need you to promise me something."
He looked at her, serious now. "What?"
"If it comes to choosing between saving others or surviving yourself… choose survival. Narvana needs you alive."
He stared for a long second, the words heavy between them. "That's not really my style."
"I know," she whispered, eyes lowering. "That's what scares me."
Later, as the sun broke over the horizon, the city stirred. The eastern barrier pulsed faintly signaling an anomaly. Helena stood at the war table. Axcel joined her, gauntlet crackling faintly with black and blue mana.
"Third dungeon?" he asked.
"Serpent Lair," she confirmed. "A subterranean zone. Poison types, regenerative creatures, and…" She hesitated. "A boss unlike the others."
He raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"
Before she could answer, a faint vibration ran through the ground. Papers fluttered. Mana crystals along the wall flickered. The air shifted.
"Earthquake?" Axcel muttered.
Helena's eyes narrowed. "No. That was… mana displacement."
Far across the citadel, inside the arcane chamber, High Priestess Hebana stood before the Dungeon System Core a swirling pillar of sigils and runic streams. Her fingers traced over the inscriptions, her brows furrowed. The light was unstable patterns twisting out of rhythm.
"What is this…" she whispered.
A sound a low, wet drip echoed behind her.
She turned.
A mage lay collapsed by the door, eyes wide, throat torn open. Blood spread across the marble like ink. Another drip then a crunch.
Hebana's grip tightened on her staff. "Who's there?"
No answer. Only a faint hiss. Like scales brushing stone.
Then a shape lunged from the shadows long, sinuous, scaled, humanoid. A serpent warrior. Its jaws split open unnaturally, hissing as it tore into another mage's throat.
"Impossible," Hebana gasped. "They… breached the system?!"
She raised her staff. A blinding surge of light erupted, burning the creature to ash but more emerged. Crawling from cracks in the marble. Dozens. Hundreds.
Hebana slammed her staff to the ground, activating the sigil barrier. "All units containment breach in the Serpent Node! Defend the Citadel!"
Her voice echoed through the mana channels, reaching Helena and Axcel where they stood on the outer ramparts.
Helena's eyes widened. "They're here?"
From the northern gates, serpent warriors swarmed in a tide of emerald scales and steel. Mages unleashed barriers and flame spells, while knights clashed with shrieking beasts.
Axcel leapt from the wall, landing amidst chaos. His sword flared to life with blue runes, cutting through a serpent's neck. "Guess the dungeon came to us!"
Helena followed, slicing down another beast with precision. "We need to find Hebana!"
They fought side by side, movement fluid and synced. Every swing, every spell was survival carved from instinct and fury. Axcel's gauntlet pulsed with dark flame Full Count activating as his strikes doubled in force.
Hebana appeared through the smoke, robes torn, mana burning around her. "Listen to me!" she shouted. "The dungeon is collapsing inward. The Serpent Lair has lost containment. The gate is open and the boss is trying to cross over!"
Axcel cursed. "You mean"
"If Apophis escapes," Hebana cut in, "Narvana will fall. You two must enter the dungeon and end it at the source!"
Helena nodded. "Understood."
Hebana placed her bloodstained hand over Axcel's gauntlet. "This won't be a trial anymore. It's war. Do not hesitate."
The gate behind her roared open scarlet light spilling into the sky like a wound.
Axcel took one last breath. "Let's end this."
Together, he and Helena stepped through the Serpent Gate.
The air changed instantly.
The dungeon was a labyrinth of flesh and stone, glowing veins running through the walls. The floor pulsed beneath their feet as if alive. From the shadows, serpentine shapes slithered some with wings, others with claws. Their eyes burned crimson.
Helena conjured a barrier of projected blades, slicing through the first wave. Axcel drew his spear, spinning it in a flash before impaling a charging beast.
"Damn," he hissed, wiping blood from his cheek. "They just keep coming."
"They're protecting their king," Helena said. "And we're walking right into his throne."
At the end of the corridor, a massive gate of bone loomed, carved with serpentine sigils. As they stepped forward, a voice rumbled through the cavern.
[BOSS: SERPENT KING APOPHIS]
The gate shattered.
A massive serpent uncoiled from the darkness blue scales glowing faintly under its armored plates. Its eyes were pits of molten red. Fire dripped from its fangs as it roared, the entire chamber trembling.
Axcel grinned weakly. "Okay… that's new."
Helena raised her sword. "No holding back."
The serpent lunged.
The serpent's body moved like lightning one second it was coiled, the next it crashed through the air with a roar that split the cavern in two. Axcel and Helena leapt opposite directions as its tail slammed into the ground, cracking the floor open with a quake that sent chunks of rock flying.
"MOVE!" Helena shouted, her voice barely audible over the deafening roar. She landed in a roll and raised her hand hundreds of ethereal blades burst from her palm, streaking toward the serpent in a storm of light. They shattered harmlessly against its scales.
"Armor's too thick!" Axcel shouted back, blocking a stream of fire with his gauntlet. The black metal glowed red-hot, the flames searing his arm beneath. He gritted his teeth, thrusting forward, slashing across the serpent's face sparks flew, but no blood followed.
The beast's eyes narrowed, and it bellowed. The roar carried mana a shockwave that threw Axcel against the wall, his breath leaving his lungs.
Helena charged, weaving sigils in midair. "Projection: Judgment Wing!"
Her sword erupted in light, shaped like a massive wing of glass, and she swung with all her might. The blade carved a shining arc across the serpent's neck deep enough to make it reel, but it didn't fall.
Instead, its scales glowed. The cracks mended instantly.
"It's healing?!" she gasped.
Axcel spat blood, forcing himself up. "It's the serpent lair… everything in here regenerates." He clenched his gauntlet. "Then we'll just have to hit harder."
He dashed forward, his movements blurring. The floor cratered beneath each step his speed amplified by Full Count. He leapt, twisting midair, and brought his spear down with a thunderous crash. The impact sent shockwaves through the chamber, but when the smoke cleared, the serpent merely hissed, scales unbroken.
A tail slammed into him before he could react.
The world went red for a second. His ribs cracked. His body hit the wall with enough force to shatter stone.
"AXCEL!"
Helena sprinted toward him, sliding as another blast of fire barely missed. The heat seared her cheek. She crouched beside him, her armor scorched, her breath ragged. "Get up… you have to"
The serpent coiled again, towering above them like a king. Its chest glowed gathering energy.
Axcel's hand twitched, blood dripping down his face. "Helena move"
Too late.
A pillar of blue fire roared from the serpent's mouth, swallowing them both in light.
Helena threw up a barrier, her arms shaking as the heat tore at her. The translucent wall cracked. Axcel reached up, reinforcing it with his gauntlet, channeling his remaining mana into her spell.
They held. Barely.
When the flames died, the air was thick with smoke and the smell of burnt stone.
Helena collapsed to one knee. "We're not… making a dent."
Axcel panted, his gauntlet flickering. "No…" He looked up, at the colossal creature glaring down at them, its eyes burning with endless hunger. "We're not supposed to fight this thing fair."
He stood.
Helena's eyes widened as she saw his gauntlet interface flicker the corrupted sigil pulsing faintly.
"Axcel… no."
He didn't answer.
The serpent lunged again, its massive body cutting through the mist like a blade. Axcel darted forward, dodging narrowly, landing a slash along its underbelly and this time, he felt the blade dig in. Just barely.
"THERE!" he shouted. "Weak point just below the crest!"
Helena nodded and charged again, projecting five duplicates of her sword mid-swing. They all struck the same spot sparks flew, scales cracked. The serpent screeched in rage, whipping its tail to throw her back.
She hit the ground hard, coughing blood.
Axcel leapt in front of her, deflecting a descending fang with his gauntlet. The impact shattered his forearm armor, sending black shards scattering.
"Damn it!" He fell to one knee, barely able to raise his weapon.
The serpent reared up, mouth glowing again. This was it.
His health was too low. His mana almost gone.
And then
A notification blinked in his vision.
[Use Blood Wine?]
[Effect: Unleashes 300% Power Consumes Sanity and Life Force]
His hand hovered over it.
He stared at the glowing option. The serpent drew back its head, fire building in its throat. "If I don't… we both die."
"Axcel, listen to me!" She grabbed his arm. "If you can't make hard decisions for the better, then you're not fit to be a Dungeon Slave let alone a Dungeon Master!"
Her words hit harder than any blow.
He looked at her her armor cracked, her hair clinging to her face, eyes blazing with defiance even as she bled.
Then he smiled faintly. "Guess I better start acting like one."
He slammed his hand down.
[Blood Wine Consumed]
The world exploded in red light.
Axcel screamed the sound half agony, half transcendence. Veins of crimson mana ripped across his body, his gauntlet morphing as dark tendrils wrapped around it, forming jagged patterns. His eyes turned molten red. His hair lifted as raw energy burst outward, shaking the dungeon itself.
Helena shielded her eyes from the blinding glow. "Axcel!"
When she looked again, he was gone from where he stood.
Then, a shockwave.
Axcel appeared above the serpent's head, moving faster than sight, the air around him tearing apart as his mana flared violently.
He clenched his gauntlet, which now burned like molten metal. "FULL COUNT BLAZING OVERDRIVE!"
He slammed his fist down.
The serpent roared but its voice was drowned out by the explosion.
The impact shook the entire dungeon. Fire, blue and red, spiraled upward like a volcano erupting from underground. The walls cracked; the air screamed.
Helena barely managed to hold her ground as a wave of force washed over her. She saw it the serpent's armor melting, scales shattering, its body convulsing in flame.
Then came silence.
The monster fell.
Its massive body hit the floor, dissolving into shimmering blue motes. The dungeon's veins dimmed, the pulsing walls fading into stillness.
Axcel stood in the crater, his armor cracked, steam rising from his skin.
[BOSS DEFEATED]
[LEVEL UP LEVEL 49]
[Reward Acquired: Serpent Blade, Scale Armor ,EXP +12,000]
He dropped to one knee, panting, his hand trembling from the backlash. The Blood Wine had drained him dry but he was alive.
Helena ran to him, kneeling beside him. "You idiot," she said, her voice breaking. "You could've died."
He gave a weak grin. "Didn't you say… make the hard choices?"
She laughed softly through tears, pressing a hand to his chestplate. "Yeah, but not that hard."
They sat there for a moment, surrounded by the fading light.
Then, from above, the dungeon's ceiling began to fracture, opening into a tunnel of pure light the exit.
Axcel pushed himself up, helping Helena stand. "Let's go home."
As they stepped through the light, the voice of Hebana echoed faintly in the distance weary but relieved.
> "The gate is closing. Narvana is safe… for now."
When they emerged into daylight again, the world was quiet the city still standing, smoke rising faintly in the horizon.
Helena turned to Axcel, her expression softer than ever before. "Next time," she said, "you don't drink that again unless I tell you to."
He chuckled. "So I need permission now?"
Her lips curved into a rare smile. "Exactly."
another victory carved in blood and fire.
TO BE CONTINUED...