Worthy Core

Indeed, the next hour or so plays out much as Pretty Thing expected. The Domain expedition took half an hour to rest, recharge, and heal those with minor wounds. Of course for a team of Supremes, 'minor' meant anything less severe than 'complete limb amputation', although there had unfortunately been several of those. Once everyone was ready again they set back out for the boss arena, and the fight there was rather perfunctory compared to the slaughter that had occurred only a few hundred feet away. DEATH OF RABBITS and Trush may both be S-tier monsters, but when facing off against a dozen and a half Supremes and Masters it just wasn't even close. After the bosses are slain - Trush for the third time this day - the tunnel to Floor Six reveals itself and Pretty's surviving companions approach the incubus to consult on their next steps.

Grenwald gestures at the stone stairwell leading down into the earth, below the floor and out towards the mountain's inner abyss. "So this is Floor Four, and reports say that this tunnel goes to Floor Six. Which means somewhere on this floor there has to be some portals or secret paths still open to Floor Five, which gives us a couple options here."

Tiffany grins, although her expression is a bit of a tired one. "It's a big floor, but give me some time and I should be able to pin down those portals no matter how well they're hidden. If I'm not mistaken the dungeon can move some around, but there has to be at least one that's stable. Gotta have a consistent path through the dungeon while people are in it, or so they say."

The kobold slams his fist into his palm. "And then we'll finally be able to deal with the rest of these Challengers! No more damn ambushes!"

The man's excitement is quickly extinguished as Pretty shakes his head. "Do be a dear and find those portals when you get a chance, Tiffany - however, we will not be assaulting Floor Five."

One of the other squad leaders, a draconic elementalist, stomps over with a shout upon hearing the order. "What!? We have the path to their homes laid before us! The reports were clear - Floor Five is a safe floor with a vastly expanded footprint compared to most dungeon floors. It's surely where the Rainlanders and Valleylanders have been residing all this time. Why not finish them off?"

"Do you know why cats play with their prey before they finish them off?"

Grenwald sighs at his captain's apparent non-sequitur. "It's an ego thing. Showing off how in-control they are of the situation. Or because they're just sadists. What's the point, Pretty?"

The incubus smirks. "Actually you're quite wrong on that. Well, cats may be sadists, yes. But they play with mice and rats because they're not fully in control of the situation."

Tiffany rubs the bridge of her nose. "We're too tired for elaborate metaphors right now, Pretty. Are we the cats?"

"Indeed. You see, while monsters may attack with little self-regard, mundane predators must actually use the utmost caution when they hunt. Even a cornered mouse can bite and scratch, causing potential infection. Imagine if every single meal you had in your life had the potential to inflict a devastating illness or even death upon you for eating it? If you hunt careless of the risks, your death will come quickly." His smirk turns into a full grin. "And I did not reach my fourth century by being careless."

The arcane demon frowns at the explanation. "You're saying you don't think we can beat them. We saw most of their best here today, and crushed them! According to the reports, there's only a bare handful of Supremes or Masters in the place we didn't fight already. A bunch of scared Initiates or Advanced will be nothing in comparison."

The smile on Pretty's face finally fades away as frustration mounts. "I don't believe you understood my point, dear. We're talking Initiates backed into a corner with nowhere to run, on their home territory, and - might I remind you - equipped with the best gear a dungeon can provide them. Keep in mind that many of these Challengers may not be intending to fight us at all! Likely just laying low, living off of the dungeon's generosity while their betters fight around them. If we don't force them to fight, then they will not."

He glances around the forest floor before continuing. "Besides, another floor we take is another floor we'll have to garrison, to keep the dungeon from simply refilling it with monsters behind our backs. Our reserves of troops are thinning, and this floor will take more than most as it is. Now, as I said - do go ahead and locate any portals there may be. We'll keep an eye on them, and if the dungeon uses them to attack us here then our hand may be forced." He turns his eyes upwards, as if speaking to the ceiling. "And I know you can hear me, dungeon spirit - if you do not force us to attack your residents, then we will not. A partial truce, hrmm?"

There's no response, but the demon wasn't particularly expecting one.

"Fine, fine." Grenwald grumbles as he concedes the point. "So Floor Six, then?"

"Eventually, but not today. As I mentioned, we still need to garrison this floor. Besides, we've all had a long day, and diving right into an untested floor right now would be foolish. The mortals may be beaten and exhausted but the dungeon's had weeks to prepare its tricks, there will surely be plenty of challenges left to await us." Pretty's smile returns somewhat. "At least we have a rather pleasant floor to rest on, don't you think?"

Tiffany groans. "Well now that you've said it, the dungeon's probably going to turn the place into a damned hellscape tonight or something. But whatever. I'll grab a couple scout-types to help me hunt for portals, Grenwald, you want to head back to the Floor Three tunnel and get supplies and soldiers moving?"

"On it. If the dungeon tries anything, just...make a loud explosion, I guess."

As his companions rush off to perform their next tasks, Pretty stands silently in thought, murmuring to himself. "...How many floors must I pass through to find you..."

---

As Beatrice makes her way out of the chapel-turned-infirmary on Floor Five, she meets Prince Thaddeus coming the other way, "Ho, prince. You and your wife make it through alright?"

Thaddeus nods. "We did, thank you. I just finished seeing to our tired soldiers, and was about to check on our injured ones. Particularly the Scarlet Eagles. You just came from inside, how does it look?"

In answer, the slayer takes the prince by the shoulder and turns him back towards the inn as she heads that way herself. "Maybe come back in a couple hours - right now, folks like you and I would just get in the way. I offered up a couple of my better healing potions, and it seems like they'll need them."

The prince winces. "That bad, eh? How about that lizardkin, will he pull through? His injury looked...severe."

Beatrice frowns as she looks around, making sure no one else might be listening in. "He'll live, but it's not going to be a quick recovery. Brain damage that severe...even magic can't fix it, most of the time. You need divine intervention to ensure the soul helps stitch the mind back together, or so I'm told. Fortunately, the man's a cleric himself, and he's in a chapel with a bunch of priestesses and stuff. Neither Kahlia nor Dice are healing-focused goddesses, but other than that things are about as good for him as they can get. It just might take a while. What I'm really worried about though is that other cleric, their healer."

Thaddeus develops a frown of his own. "Bandages? I saw multiple people afflicted by that incubus, including their leader, the minotaur. If I'm not mistaken the harm he causes is a form of illusion, yes? What's the issue there?"

"If only it was that simple..."

---

Inside the chapel, Xenia questions her rabbit-eared priestess herself as Sincere listens on. "What do you mean, it's not working?"

Deylia's response is delayed by another groan from Bandages's bed. "I mean nothing. Healing spells, blessings, potions...we've tried things focusing on the body, the mind, and even one for the soul, and nothing seems to help! The man even tried casting some of his own, although we made him stop. We're focusing on sedation and painkillers now, to at least give him some relief and buy us some time."

Sincere taps his chin in thought. "So it's just an omnipresent sensation of pain? Nothing more specific than that?"

"So it seems. Physically, he seems to be fine."

Xenia turns to her core guardian. "You know what the issue is, Sin-man? I'd want to help any of our guys that got hit like this, but this dude's a Supreme - I really don't want him laid out on a hospital bed any longer than we need to. Bad enough that Referee's out of it for at least a couple of days."

The demon goes into lecturer mode. "Generally, spells have limits such as time or distance. Line of sight, sometimes. Spells which can take effect at long distance and which are immune to basic treatment are often actually curses. Have you cast any curse-dispell blessings on the man?"

Deylia nods. "I don't have any, but the Bountiful Mother gave it a try just to be thorough. It didn't help."

"I see." Sincere sighs. "Then I'm afraid that the issue is that this was not a single-cast spell. The spell affecting this man is, in fact, still ongoing."

Xenia furrows her brow. "But I thought you just said distance or line of sight would stop something like that?"

"Most spells, certainly, but a Supreme has access to exceptional levels of skill and experience. The truly amazing thing is that it remains active even through several layers of dungeon stone, which are quite resistant to mana transfer. I suppose, as painful as it may be for the man, it is a relatively low-cost effect. A pyromancer would likely not manage to keep a flame going at this distance even if they were a Supreme."

The dungeon master turns back to peer at the wounded Challenger. "You're saying there's mana actively moving between that incubus and this guy? So...obviously, we could try and kill the incubus dude. If we weren't kind of fucked-up right now, anyways. Can we just block it somehow?"

"Considering that Pretty Thing is currently in the middle of the dungeon, simply moving Bandages to another floor is unlikely to help. We're already almost as far away as one can get from Floor Four up here. I...do have an idea, but it's not an ideal solution."

Xenia snorts. "A solution that works is better than a solution that doesn't exist. What can you do for the guy?"

Sincere eyes the floor around Bandages's bed. "I can seal the man within a time stasis field. Not a full one, not if it needs to be kept running long-term, but if I slow down his experience of time by...twenty times? The strength of the spell will also decrease by twenty, as the flow of mana degrades to a trickle. He'll be confined to the bed and still in a bit of pain, but it won't be crippling."

Before Xenia can respond, Grim marches over from where he'd been checking up on Referee. Although he can't see or hear the dungeon spirit, it's clear that he's not pleased by the portion of the conversation he did overhear.

"You're telling me you want to seal up our man inside a damned time bubble? For how long, dammit?"

Sincere, not having the best bedside manner, simply shrugs. "Well, until we do kill Pretty Thing, potentially. Or he otherwise decides to disable the spell. It is costing him mana, after all, although to be honest I imagine the drain is so light for a man of his skill he won't have too much concern with keeping it going. Not if it disables one of our few Supremes, after all. Alternatively, until we come up with another means of blocking or canceling the spell."

The towering Challenger briefly looks as if he's about to start a fight, but with a few deep breaths he visually brings himself under control. "Aggh! ...I...do not take this harshly, either you or your mistress, guardian. We appreciate the efforts the dungeon is going through to save our wounded. But you must understand, this is crippling for our team. Both of our supports are currently out of the fight indefinitely! If there's any way this can be sped up..."

Deylia answers his concerns, although she's translating Xenia's words. "Ah, do keep in mind, Crusher Grim, that you are not fighting alone. The Highbranch retainers recently lost their commander and frontliner, in, ah, a manner of speaking. Perhaps your parties could work more closely together going forward?"

Grim considers that before nodding. "I suppose that may be required, yes. I...do not suppose there is much more I can do here, so I shall go seek them out right now. But inform me if the status of either Referee or Bandages changes, yes? Or if a plan is put into place to destroy this cursed incubus of theirs."

Sincere takes a deep breath of his own before answering. "I'll get started on that stasis seal immediately. But after that, I think I'll be giving the matter some thought myself..."