[You have begun the first challenge of the Underworld Of Protectors Dungeon!]
[You have become the Main Conqueror of The Underworld Of Protectors Dungeon!]
That's sweet and all, but I'm pretty sure I began the first challenge the moment I descended and survived the Shadow Bats, don't you think? Still, it's fucking awesome that I can be the Main Conqueror in any dungeon, even if I don't open a gate to it!
[You have received the first quest!]
[Take down the controlled Beastblood Clan member and find out about the Shadow controlling him.]
[Reward: Shadow Eye]
Sweet! It even sounds cool as fuck!
Fueled by that, Azrael shouted, "Kaya, I'll disarm him the way I disarmed you!"
Kaya's eyes went wide, goosebumps prickling along her skin.
Her first kiss flashed back, and how Azrael had used it to disarm her.
It had definitely worked… but…
"Kissing the current Marmo might not end well, Master Azrael!" Kaya shouted.
"You and your stupid thoughts! Why would I ever kiss a man? I want women, ripe and mature, with big tits, like the Third Lord!" Azrael shouted.
From the other side, Marmo screamed, "I want women too!"
"Fucker! You had plenty of them!" Azrael and Kaya barked at the same time.
With a snarl, Marmo dropped into a half-crouch and pounced.
He slammed into the invisible barrier hard enough to make it shudder. Marmo narrowed his eyes.
"He's pretty strong," Azrael said.
Kaya nodded once. "He is. He's got tiger blood, which gives him short bursts of speed. He took it further and developed a strength boost, too. There's a catch, though. He has to half-crouch first!"
It was called Pounce Drive. Fast and brutal. It shredded the legs, and most Beastblood couldn't retreat well after. Marmo had trained past that.
Basically, he'd dumped everything into Dexterity so he could capitalize on the burst and drop his target fast before his legs paid the price.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Rooted in place, Marmo slashed at Azrael's Conditional Sphere with wild madness. Cracks spiderwebbed in a blink. Chunks peeled away and snapped off.
He was chewing through it, fast.
Kaya sprinted past Azrael to take point. Now that her head was clear, she knew exactly what he wanted to do.
Right on cue, Azrael let Marmo and his sword slip through the barrier for a split second, just long enough to ruin his rhythm.
Marmo stumbled straight onto the tip of her spear and skewered himself. His heart had been punctured.
Sadly, Marmo himself was long gone.
"You're in my head!" he screamed at Azrael, even with Kaya right in front of him.
Sword rising, he was about to slash at Kaya when something flickered near his face.
It swelled into a human-sized orb. Branches poured out like an army of snakes.
They punched through Marmo's flesh, burst out the other side, then lodged deep in the corridor.
From the orb, a tree the size of an adult human sprouted, its limbs twisting into chains that pinned Marmo in place.
"You!" he barked.
Azrael crossed his arms. "He's already dead. An unknown shadow is controlling him. You can puncture his heart. You can sever his head. He'll keep coming back anyway, like a zombie."
That earned the controlled Marmo a wicked smile.
The corridor went dark. Only the smile stayed, then it drowned in the black.
The sickening sound of flesh tearing free of unfamiliar restraints echoed through the hall.
He tore himself out of my tree. Fair. You're one of the walking dead now, aren't you?
Then the darkness flickered again, like someone kept flipping a switch.
Marmo was nowhere to be seen… and a heartbeat later, a loud slap cracked beside Azrael.
To his left, Marmo pressed a palm against the invisible sphere and stared at him with widened, furious eyes.
Azrael sucked in a cold breath and forced a smile. "You didn't expect another barrier, did you?"
With half his body missing, Marmo's corpse was barely more than a puppet.
"You…" Marmo whispered, or rather, the shadow behind him.
In those eyes, Azrael felt like he saw someone staring back.
"You're like me, dude," Azrael said. "You're a pervert too. That's why you didn't go for Kaya, you came for me. You want to take over my body because you want one with a cock. You horny fucker. I like you!"
"Women… family… why can… a Beastblood… have a family… and I don't?" the Shadow asked.
"Isn't it because you're dead?" Azrael tilted his head. And can't you fucking back off so I can breathe?
Not wanting Azrael to waste his Grand Ammo on a puppet, Kaya rushed in and slammed her spear into Marmo's head.
The hit yanked the corpse sideways. Already ruined, it rolled like a rag doll along the corridor.
"I protected… alone… we were alone… and…" the Shadow muttered as it struggled to stand.
Mary leaned closer and whispered, "It does appear this is one of the protectors, more precisely, one of the shadows. He took over Marmo because he was furious that Marmo had a harem while he spent his entire life as a protector. Who did he protect? What was his role? Those answers will help you solve this dungeon, Azrael."
Azrael rubbed his chin. "So he isn't as horny as me."
"Yes. He is not," Mary replied flatly.
Azrael clenched his fists, then poured every ounce of feeling into his voice. "I feel you, man! I swear I won't end up like you and disappear into my duties! Even if I become a Lord, I'll still make time for my girls and bang them until they're satisfied and full!"
The Shadow's eyes flickered.
"Your life didn't go in vain! I get it now, and I'm not letting that be me!" Azrael added.
Seconds later, the Shadow vanished, and Marmo's corpse collapsed.
[You have taken down the Shadow controlling a Beastblood Clan member and learned about them.]
[You have obtained Shadow Eye.]
"Thank you, fellow testicle-brother."