The Dread Knight's Rage

Things seemed to go off rather smoothly for the group once Solomon figured out they could be immune to the trial’s trickery.

From there on, the group destroyed the golems with ease. By far, the most difficult part of the dungeon exploration was dealing with the puzzles. And in that regard, Solomon and Dakota were basically on their own.

Nila played what she called ’the essential role of the jester’.

Meaning that when there wasn’t a fight, she lingered in the back of the group and made crude jokes that sounded like they should have come out of Raizel’s mouth.

Dakota only became fed up after Nila made a joke comparing her breasts to cupcakes with no icing. As a result, Solomon had to fight off a wave of stone mimics on his own while his youngest sister held the other in a chokehold.

By the time the three of them had reached what was clearly supposed to be the last chamber, Solomon was beyond ready to go.

He wanted a bath. He wanted something to drink. Most importantly, he wanted to put at least six feet of stone between himself and his sisters.

Nila noticed his expression and frowned.

"You look like you’re having dirty thoughts. You better not be thinking about my aunt again! I tire of you defiling her!"

’...Maybe twelve feet would be better.’ He thought.

"You... Who are you? I sense none of the direct lineage within you."

Solomon and Dakota immediately took defensive stances upon hearing a disembodied voice out of nowhere. Nila shrugged with her usual confident air as she stepped in front of them.

"We do not seek to prove our worthiness to a throne of debauchery. Instead, we come to train and prove ourselves admirable warriors. Just as our father had planned for us."

Solomon and Dakota raised their hands. ""They’re our mother.""

"Not the point, it’s the same person anyway!" Nila snapped.

The disembodied voice seemed to find her words worthy of silence. However, not much time passed before the cavern started shaking.

"Train...? You use these hallowed, sacred grounds... to train..?"

"It was a real waste of a trip." Solomon admitted, mildly annoyed. "I was already aware that I was one of a kind before I rolled out of bed this morning."

"My sentiments are the same." Nila shrugged.

Dakota didn’t say anything, but she silently agreed. She could have stayed in bed reading pornographic novels if she were so inclined.

"You... you dare intrude on this sanctified ground to use it for mere training?! Dismissing it as a waste?!? Blasphemous!!"

Nila yawned, hefting her serrated sword over her shoulder.

"May we get this over with so that you can stop hurling words at us that we care nothing for? I am growing famished."

"...Very well, girl! Your insolence will be the death of you!!"

A heavy shadow fell from the ceiling, and the ground rumbled with the force of its landing.

Nila slowly lost her confident look as she stared up at a creature that was large, hairy, and bore multiple glowing eyes.

""...Fuck."" Solomon and Dakota cursed.

Nila The Vanquisher was impervious to almost all forms of intimidation or fear. She would charge headfirst into hordes of giants with only her sword and her horse at her back.

She did not fear knights or witches who were leagues above her in terms of skill. In her words, ’everyone bleeds’.

However, she had a singular weakness that the group had come to know very well. One that sapped her of all of her courage and bravado and reduced her to a terrified, blubbering little girl.

"WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!! Kill it, kill it, kill it!!!"

"Nila, don’t start this shit again-"

"Big brother, save meee!"

Nila lunged onto Solomon, wrapping her legs around his waist and holding his neck in a death grip. Her tears soaked his shoulder, but it wasn’t that fluid that Solomon was concerned with.

"Nila, I swear to all that is sacred, if you pee on me again, I am going to put you through a fucking wall!"

"I won’t, I won’t, just kill itttt!!!!"

Dakota sighed, slightly relieved that she wasn’t seen as some kind of protective refuge. "Ready?"

"I suppose..." Solomon sighed.

The two of them ran at the giant spider in unison. Meanwhile, Nila kept her eyes shut as tight as a vise.

After all of this training, Solomon had gotten more proficient at using his weapons in sync with one another. But it was using his natural body that he had the most fun with.

Being a child of the outer dark was... fantastic. When he learned something new that he could do, he barely even missed the powers of disaster.

As Solomon ran, his legs split apart into orange flames. The fires joined the black, glimmering substance that made up most of his body.

His lower half turned into a raging tornado of embers, lifting him off the ground and giving him the freedom to attack the thirty-foot spider from the air.

With a thought, he spurned his weapons to attack the creature. His hammer cracked open the creature’s hard outer shell, allowing the rest of his weapons to cut and rend the soft meat underneath.

As Solomon’s face was currently covered by a bone-like mask, it was difficult to read his expressions properly. However, he was unmistakably smiling as he pushed the limitations of his new body even further.

Four additional arms sprouted from his sides underneath the first pair. Each hand craddled a smoldering ball of flame well over five hundred degrees.

"Keep an eye out, Kota!"

"Got it!" Dakota ran underneath the creature, her scythe twirling in her hands with the grace of a ballerina. But the strength she displayed was anything but dainty.

With a heavy swing, she carved through the vulnerable sections of the creature’s legs and threw it permanently off balance.

At the same time, Solomon rained down a storm of flame from above, roasting the creature inside its shell and making her shriek in pain.

The spider lowered her abdomen onto the ground, spraying out a fluid that seemed to be webbing.

However, wherever the fluid landed, it only stayed stationary for a few moments before it writhed about, gradually growing until it took the shape of the ’stone’ golems who had been giving the group trouble throughout the dungeon.

Dakota didn’t know whether to be grossed out or impressed. "What is this thing?? How exactly is it doing that!?" She called.

"It matters not, just make sure that she cannot do it for much longer!" Solomon continued to rain fire on the creature from above, all six of his arms working in unison at maximum output.

The chamber was worse than being inside an oven. However, aside from a bit of sweaty discomfort, the other horsemen weren’t bothered by the change in temperature much. What’s more, the fact that oxygen was quickly leaving the room was of little concern to them.

Dakota cut through the golems as easily as one would shear crops. When she reached the end of the pack, she lunged into the air, her focus on the underside of the creature’s abdomen.

"I’m making an opening down here!"

"Understood!" Solomon roared back.

The spider barely had a moment to react as Dakota’s scythe cut through her underbelly like a hot knife through butter.

As her innards began to spill out, three of Solomon’s weapons rushed inside through the opening made by Dakota.

They wrought havoc from within, cutting through fleshy organs and splitting apart the creature’s muscles.

As it released a final, dying scream, Nila bravely attempted to open her eyes.

It was a crucial mistake, as the spider woman was not as close to death as she would have liked.

The creature hissed and shrieked at her with the last of its strength, but it was more than enough to cause young Nila to faint and lose control of certain... faculties.

"NILLAAAAAAA!!!! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"