Deep in the Dungeon, the walls and vaulted ceilings were hewn from white and ashen stone, the whole world washed in a pallid gray that pressed down on the lungs.
Tap tap tap—
Footfalls echoed without pause through the cavern.
The sound drew nearer. A pack of monsters pelted backward in retreat, and after them surged a knot of weapon-wielding adventurers.
Thwip!
An icy arrow lanced out and nailed a fleeing beast through the chest and leg. It crumpled with a skidding crash.
A boot stamped between its shoulder blades. Twin hands brought a blade down and took the head clean off. Without sparing it a glance, the adventurer sprinted after the rest of the quarry. Behind, an elven archer and a shield-bearing dwarf pounded up to rejoin the line.
Hunting monsters in a running chase—rare in the Deep Floors, but here on Floor 37 it kept happening, each round a little bolder than the last.
Boom!
A three-meter stone brute swung a piledriver fist at the nearest adventurer.
Four or five dual-blades danced in, feet lighter, routes tighter. Steel scraped sparks off granite; at the brute's heels, stone was already carved into ragged channels, slowing it step by stumbling step.
The rock giant's swings turned airy, its gait unsteady. Not far off, a dwarf came thundering in, war-axe raised, each footfall punching a drumbeat into the floor—loud enough to yank the brute's attention.
Another flurry of ringing cuts stuttered its stride. The opening was there.
The dwarf slid to the giant's heel and chopped where the stone was already notched.
Crack!
The heel shattered. The brute's balance went and its bulk began to topple, slow and terrible, before slamming the floor with a roar.
Shadows streaked in—four, five knife-fighters driving their short blades into the red-glowing node in its chest. They peeled away at once.
A second dwarf charged and brought a maul down on the knife hilts.
The knives punched deeper. The red light guttered out. The stone body unraveled at the seams.
Rock cascaded in a clattering spill. Only a purple magic stone tumbled to rest in the center, several short blades still jutting from it.
"Stubborn bastard."
"Stone Giant. Pure rock head to toe. In this 'White Palace' the native stone is already hard—use it to build a body and you've got a nightmare to crack. Lucky there aren't many."
Around them, the remaining giants were falling as well. With the floor nearly cleared, the party finally had a breath to scrape the field.
KR-BOOM!
Without warning, a tremor rolled in from the distance and staggered half the line.
"What was that?"
Eyes swung down the corridor. The shaking ramped up—walls quivered, the ground thrummed—and then a lone figure tore into view, sprinting flat out. Behind him thundered a larger, faster stone giant.
Kaka-kaka!
Its bulk clipped the cavern flanks; slabs and shards sloughed from the walls.
"Move!"
They scattered. Only in a broader chamber did the brute stop shaving stone from the passage. Up close it was worse—easily six meters and change, thicker through the trunk and limbs than any they'd logged today.
All stone, but quick—far quicker than a standard type. Taller, heavier, denser. Every watcher came to the same conclusion in the same breath.
"Reinforced strain!"
Opposite the brute stood Sawada Tsunayoshi, who'd gone looking for a worthy test.
And something about this one was off. It felt like the giant was here for him.
The feeling only sharpened. Those red points sunk in the rockwork—eyes—never left him, and in them was something uncomfortably close to thought.
"Odd. That's not common."
Tsuna moved first, sprinting. Whatever it was, this thing wasn't going to stroll off; he needed to check its limits—and its tells.
The giant charged to meet him.
Their lines crossed and a stone fist came down like a battering ram. A direct hit would end anyone's expedition.
A golden halo slid across Tsuna's skin, and his body snapped faster. He bent clean under the blow at the last instant; core twisting, he sprang, one palm kissing the giant's forearm—
Click.
At that touch, a green pellet forced itself into the rock.
Tsuna ran the arm like a ramp, kicked free, and spun. Mid-air, his eyes tracked the web of narrow seams between plates of stone. With a flick of his fingers, more green "seeds" snapped out and drove into the cracks like shot.
But the giant had read the jump. While he hung in the air with no lateral to spend, its other fist came straight down.
A blaze of orange flashed—
Then the fist hammered into the floor.
KRAKOOM!!!
The whole level felt it. The world shook as if the Dungeon itself had gritted its teeth.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]