Eclipse | COTE x Danmachi

Chapter 21 (Predecease)

~8042 words (Tried to copy and write like the GOAT TurtleMe.)

The bottom lurched out of Aleus' stomach as he sank back against the wall, breathing heavily.

Sweat poured out, drenching him wet as if a whole bucket of water had been flipped over his head. The rolling beads of sweat became semi-viscous and translucent as they mixed in with the streams of sustained hemorrhage, pooling beneath him.

Taking in deep breaths, he tried to steady his heart. He didn't dare to move much, the broken ribs poking like hot skewers inside his chest. A transparent green-white light cloaked him, slowly healing the more critical injuries.

The 21st dungeon floor smelled of ozone and crushed granite, courtesy of one of Ottarl's deadliest strikes that had left the entire floor in utter tatters, collapsing the entire floor and making him fall down to the next one.

However, the destruction of landscape was not the thing that was worrisome. It was the aftereffects of it. Or rather, the monstrosity that was about to be spawned as a result of all the damage to mother dungeon.

As the Gods and Goddesses had emphasized many times that the dungeon was alive and breathing. In the same context, adventurers were basically inside it. Usually, the dungeon would not react to adventurers, completing its usual task of birthing monsters.

Usually, after damaging its terrain, dungeon regenerates itself. However, if the damage crosses a specific threshold, the dungeon spawns its trump card, a monstrosity birthed with the sole focus and purpose of killing. Killing the foreign pathogens.

In short, it served as the White Blood Cell of the dungeon. On the flip side, its potential varied depending on which floor it emerged, with deeper floors producing stronger monsters. Rather than having a magic stone, it is designed to disintegrate after a certain period of time elapses.

That means, if Ottarl were to face it, he can easily dispatch it without any effort. However, the case was much different for Aleus. He might be on the brink of leveling up, however, a Juggernaut spawned on Floor 21 was bound to be too much for a Level 2.

The ear-splitting shrieks, one after another resounded like a never-ending ballad of his demise. An indication towards his demise. Fighting back a groan, he pulled the bag Ottarl had dropped before leaving and looked inside. As he peered in, he found a few potions.

With the intensity of a stranded traveler on a desert, he drank two of them, satiating his parched throat as a sigh of relief escaped his bloodied lips, the extreme fatigue from bone crushing punches from Ottarl slowly dissipating away.

'He wasn't even using half of his strength.' He thought to himself, and a bitter feeling clung to the back of his throat, like a parasite, gnawing away at him. Even as the potential cause of death loomed closer and closer to him, he could not get the image of getting dominated without even countering even once out of his head.

It was not like he had not envisioned losing against Ottarl. He knew quite well that a fight with Ottarl would kill him without a silver of doubt. However, his survival left an even bigger void inside his being. Being left at the mercy of someone else as they toyed with him.

It was absolutely unforgiving. Or rather, pathetic. Fighting back another wave of urge to slam his fists into the wall against which he had slumped, he gulped a dry lump of saliva. The potion might've dampened his throat a bit, but the heat from Ottarl's slash had left him dehydrated. The gulp of saliva felt like a ball of thorns forcefully making its way down his throat.

Voices. A lot of them. Filtering his ears were the muffled screams and wails as the cacophonous roar reverberated once again, followed by wet squelches painting the dried, dimly luminescent walls of the 21st floor.