Tales of the Pearly Kingdom (Pearly Tales Vol. 2)

Ch. 187 Reunited

"It's been an hour, just how many fiends did they bring with them. Not only that, we haven't found a single staircase going up. Damn! Just what is this place?" Juliette cursed as she gasped for air.

There was an explosion that lit up the corridor behind them. More fiends fell into traps they deftly dodged, but it wasn't enough. Neither the army of fiends nor the perilous dungeon were small by any means. Wherever they had landed in the depths of the undercity it was obvious that had been lost from the beginning.

They had learned about Seamus's map early in their training and wished he was awake for more than one reason. They weren't quite helpless without it, but they weren't well off either. Luckily, their patience had paid off.

"Take this left." Seamus groaned. "There is a safe spot up ahead."

"How safe?" Vera asked.

"Safe enough to get this arrow out of my back before the next wave finds us." Seamus answered.

They followed him and found a small broken cove in a hallway leftover from an explosion.

Jasmine set Seamus down. He wobbled on his feet for a second and then slammed his back into the wall. the tip of the arrow punched through his chest and the girls screamed in shock.

Seamus grabbed the arrow and pulled it out. He looked at it and then licked the tip before throwing it in his inventory. "Poison and cursed," Seamus clicked his tongue. "How long was I out?"

"An hour maybe, it's hard to tell the time down here." Juliette held up her hand and a magic circle appeared in the air with a formation that made it look like a clock. "I also don't know when we started."

"The corridors also keep changing, even more than what we're used to. Like the entire dungeon is moving on its own." Jasmine said.

"That's because it is, the undercity is almost twice the size of the city and it's shifting on a timer." Seamus said as he pressed his hand against his wound and looked at his map. It had completely changed. It was a giant mechanism of death, a picture only he and a seldom few others may be able to appreciate.

But his attention was on neither the artistry of the dungeon and how it had changed, nor the countdown in the corner and the symbols that indicated how the dungeon would shift. It was on the three green dots labeled: Ophelia, Loacoda, and Ellie. They were being chased by a large group of red dots.

"Careful Seamus, you just woke up." Vera said kneeling down to hum.

"I've already assimilated the poison, but the curse slowed down the process, not to mention hitting my head." Seamus soothed her. "But we have pressing concerns. Ophelia is in danger."

"Here, we'll move as soon as you finish drinking this." Vera handed him a health potion.

"We don't have time-"Seamus argued.

Vera grabbed him and kissed him. The three girls around them squealed in surprise.

"Wha- gla-" Seamus went slack jawed at the sudden display of affection and how much his heart thundered in his chest. Then she plucked the lid off the vial of health potion and shoved it in his mouth.

"Don't argue!" Vera said as she nearly drowned him with healing elixir once she had an opening. She was relieved that he was finally awake and well. So much so that she lost her inhibitions when he was about to refuse her health potion. But she was so embarrassed after the fact that she held his face upward as she poured the health potion down his throat. "Stupid idiot. Don't you know how worried we were?"