'She didn't give chase? Understandable… being a protector meant protecting those behind.'
Lyssandra thought, her expression unreadable while she watched the scene unfold.
'Then I will make it happen.' A predatory smile spread across her face.
"Why did they not continue attacking?" Ysabel muttered, her stance resolute as she stared into the dark, empty corridor ahead. Her grip tightened on her spear slightly.
She remained still, waiting, listening for any sign of movement or another ambush.
But nothing came.
"Are they… scared?" she wondered. "Or perhaps… something happened?".
It was not rare that monsters ran away when they were at a disadvantage, but running away after the first engagement? This was indeed strange.
Ysabel glanced back at the princess briefly. "Young lady…" she said quietly.
Rosalinda, however, was far from concerned. Her eyes sparkled with excited determination. "Keep going!" she shouted suddenly, shoving her guardian forward. "We're going to show them who's the master here!"
The princess's face was flushed by an exhilarating rush that bordered on drunkenness. Her twin-tails hair swished dramatically after each step.
They crept forward, deeper into the dungeon's heart. The silence grew heavier every passing second. The only sounds were their own footsteps, the dripping of water somewhere in the distance, and the crackling of pale yellow torches flickering along the stone walls.
Ysabel remained alert, spear ready, her breathing slow and controlled despite her elevated heart rate. But even she couldn't deny the tension, it felt like a coiled spring ready to snap.
They searched for something, anything, just a sign of movement. Each shadow made Rosalinda jump slightly, gasping softly. Her guard, however, stood firm. Her hand tightened on her spear when they pressed on into the darkness.
A shadow flickered in front of them, perhaps a dozen meters ahead. It was so fast that neither could see it clearly, only a blur of movement in their peripheral vision before it vanished.
"What?! What was that?!" Rosalinda's voice cracked, she grabbed onto the back of Ysabel's armor plating. The excited determination in her expression had evaporated completely, replaced by genuine fear.
"It might be another monster, young lady. Please stay close to me," Ysabel instructed sharply, her gaze locked onto the darkness ahead.
"I am! I am!" Rosalinda shouted defensively, almost hysterically as if yelling could somehow chase away the horror crawling up her spine.
Another shadow whipped past them but this time from behind.
Ysabel's reactions were instantaneous. She spun around in a smooth motion, her spear lashing out defensively to position her body between Rosalinda and the potential threat.
Again, nothing was there. The corridor was empty. The torchlight danced against bare stone and ancient walls.
Ysabel's breathing had quickened ever so slightly. She stood her ground for several heartbeats, spear ready.
"This is not good," she mumbled. Her helmeted head turned toward Rosalinda. "We shouldn't be here. We must leave. We cannot stay here any longer."
Ysabel's instincts were screaming at her, telling her with every fiber to get out, NOW. This was not monster behavior. Something far darker was here and it would not let them leave alive.
"Y-yes! W-we l-leave! Run!" Rosalinda stammered, her voice barely coherent and her feet fumbled forward.
Ysabel caught the princess's hand without hesitation and they sprinted back toward the exit as fast as they could manage. The guard's armor clanked with each step, her spear held close to her side.
But only a few steps later
The sound of stone dropping onto stone echoed through the corridor behind them. Then more stones. Then dozens of rocks piled, collapsing, a cacophony of death sealing the path behind them. Ysabel didn't dare glance back. Her grip on Rosalinda's hand was iron-strong.
"No monsters can do this kind of thing," she realized, her mind racing. "This must be the work of an intelligent being… but who?"
The torches flickered wildly in the draft created by their movement. Heavy footsteps rose ahead of. At first just a few. Then many. It was like an army marching up ahead.
"I'm scared, Ysabel!" Rosalinda's voice quivered, yet she struggled to keep pace. Her face had gone pale as a corpse, beads of sweat dripping from her forehead. Already, exhaustion was rapidly draining her stamina under the strain of the stress and exertion.
"We can't stop here, young lady, or we are going to die!" Ysabel snapped sharply, her grip still iron-tight.
"Many enemies ahead!" she hissed when the sound of footsteps grew louder, still unseen and hidden by shadows and corners, but close.
There was a sharp turn up ahead.
"There! Go there!" Ysabel didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second. She yanked Rosalinda toward it, pulling her into an unknown area as they strayed even farther from the entrance.
The torchlight here was weaker. The walls felt like they were pressing in, the corridor narrowing.
Being weak was not scary. Death was not scary either.
But this, the fear of the unknown always had a way of sneaking in even into the strongest person's mind. The danger that you couldn't see, couldn't perceive… it could drive someone insane.
And they were about to reach that threshold.
THUD.
The sound of bodies hitting the floor echoed through the corridor. Ysabel's head snapped back. She saw it.
"Why would a rope be here?" she thought, her eyes widening when reality set in.
It was a trap. And it had worked perfectly. Both of them were now on the ground, in a very compromised position.
Ysabel rolled to her feet instantly, weapon at the ready, every muscle coiled tight while she scanned their surroundings. Her breathing had become measured despite the adrenaline flooding her veins.
Silence.
No more stone dropping. No footsteps hammering the floor. Nothing. But she still waited, every sense heightened, every instinct screaming to be ready. After what felt like an eternity, she slowly lowered herself and checked on the princess.
"…Oh no."
Her voice quivered slightly. The girl had fainted. Now Ysabel sat there, exposed, an easy target. A sitting duck in an open corridor along an unconscious burden. If an enemy were to strike now, she would die instantly.
And as if the god had heard her worst prediction. Voices erupted from the darkness. Not one. Not two.
But many.
They began as a wail, then shifted into screaming, then roaring the sound reverberating through the narrow maze walls with such violence that it felt physical, shaking Ysabel to her core. The noise was so deafening she had to cover her ears to block out the assault.
"DO IT!" a guttural voice shouted.
Two dark portals ripped open directly behind her feet pools of absolute void. From them, two pairs of hands reached out and grabbed hold, restraining her movement. Ysabel couldn't even glance down before another shadow blurry glided toward her, closing the distance in mere breaths.
It struck at her head, aiming for a killing blow but Ysabel's training kicked in even through the panic. Her hands which had been covering her ears whipped back to the spear in an instant, the blade catching the attack sparking wildly.
But more were coming.
[Web Shooting]
A white, silky web burst forth toward Ysabel. The pain in her head throbbed after she deflected the previous strike. She activated a skill. "Flamepiercer!"
The entire length of the spear ignited, the metal shaft and the tip burning covered in bright orange flames. She thrust it forward, the burning point aimed straight at the shadow.
But it was fast, far faster than it should have been. The shadow dodged, barely avoiding the killing blow. The web caught the brunt of the attack instead. A small puncture appeared in the side of the web, a perfectly round hole seared through the silky threads.
"Ouch! You hit me!" Luna groaned, her voice feminine and pouty as she jumped backward and raised her slime sword, it glistened with moisture and took on a blade-like shape despite being made of semi-solid water.
Ysabel's eyes widened in surprise. "A… water slime? Shapeshifted to human form?"
Slimes could shapeshift using their innate abilities, yes, but usually with limitations. They'd appear distorted, barely coherent, nothing like this. But this monster in front of her looked like a normal woman. Albeit with far too much blue tinting to the skin.
'First a hobgoblin… and now a perfectly shapeshifted slime,' Ysabel realized while she blocked Luna's strikes. 'This dungeon is far too dangerous. I need to report back to the king and bring an army to wipe this place out completely.'
Luna was fast, shockingly so but not fast enough. Every strike, every slash of her slime-sword was easily deflected by Ysabel, who had been mastering cold steel weapons since she was a child. The guard's footwork was flawless when she stepped, parried, and repositioned.