“Make sure you keep getting Levels,” I urge them all, directing my scent widely across the ceiling where the rest of them are hiding. “I know you’ve been working hard to Level up. A bit more of a push and you’ll reach tier five. Let’s do it!”
If all of them reach tier five at the same time my pets reach tier six, my group will have reached a much higher level of power, making us a mobile fortress that the Colony can fling at our enemies. Certainly, we’d have been able to hold at the siege far more effectively.
“Anyways, we’re pushing forward again!” I declare. “We aren’t going home until I catch a glimpse of the third stratum. If you want to go back, then push forward even more aggressively!”
Curses ring through the very souls of the defender squad above me, each of them raging that the target the Council wants them to keep alive is so determined to seek out danger at every turn. Not my fault, team. I’m not the one who tasked you with this impossible mission, so if you want to complain, then go back and yell at the ones who commissioned you in the first place.
Having reaffirmed my desire to push on, the group girds themselves and continues to press onward into the teeth of the endless flood of monsters. The deeper we go, the more necessary it becomes for the bodyguards to get involved, working in groups to knock monsters off-balance, put damage on targets from range with coordinated acid barrages, or use magic to thin out the weaker opponents. It makes a noticeable difference in our advance.
The first thing I pick up on is the heat. The irrepressible cold of the shadow sea gives way ever so slightly, the faintest hint of warmth brushing against my carapace. Thank goodness! The temperature was getting so low that my legs were on the brink of locking up. The more we move, the warmer it gets, and the fewer shadow monsters we see, as if they are actively avoiding the heat. Which makes sense, I suppose.
[Crinis, are you feeling alright as it gets warmer?] I ask, concerned.
[It’s uncomfortable,] she admits. [But I’m fine.]
[Good, we can press on, then.]
Down we go into the depths and we come across something unexpected. A thick wall of fog blankets the way forward. We’re cautious nearing it, testing our footing and stretching our senses, even as monsters and demons swarm around us. Every time I move my leg another step, the rock gets hotter, until it reaches a near scorching temperature that thankfully does no damage, though it stings. Tiny is particularly uncomfortable, and I can sense him hopping from foot to foot as we fight our way through the fog.
It lasts for perhaps a hundred metres of tunnel, and when we emerge on the other side, the Dungeon has completely transformed. No longer are we surrounded by the dark and cold. It’s been replaced by a wall of heat that boils the moisture from my eyes, and bright red light emanates from veins that flow through the walls like branching lines of pure magma.
Far more shocking than this is the scene that opens up. The tunnel continues to slope down, forming a bridge to what I can see is a flat pillar. Not far ahead, the walls of the tunnel drop away to reveal a huge Expanse of open air that frankly defies belief. Keen to see more, we barrel forward, slamming monsters out of the way, even knocking them over the edge to fall to the depths.
[Hold them off,] I tell my pets. [I want to take a look.]
As Crinis, Tiny, and Invidia move to defend me from the monsters, I head to the edge of this ramp, my mind freezing at the impossible sight. The floor… is so… so far away. What am I even seeing? Even in the Dungeon, this surely can’t be possible…
But the evidence of my eyes cannot be denied. The ramp we stand on connects to a pillar of fiery rock that rises what must be ten kilometres from the floor. It’s hard to make out, but as far as my eyes can see, the rocky ground flows with lava, fire, and a writhing carpet of monsters that surge toward the base of the pillar. The pillar itself is covered in monsters, clawing their way upward, even as they fight each other every step of the way.
These are the demons who’ve been reaching us in the second stratum, those few who survive the climb. In the far, far distance, straining my eyes to their limits, I can make out another towering spire of stone that looks as if it holds up the sky itself.
You’re telling me that the entire surface, and the top two stratum, are being held up by these columns? Surely not, right?
42. Pillars of the World
[Master, we need help!] Crinis’ call shocks me out of my daze and I rush over to assist them against the unending crush of demons who’ve crested the top of the pillar. They’re charging up the ramp, securing their positions against their fellow demons.
[No worries, I’m here!] I call as I leap back into the fight, my mandibles pumping and minds spinning a new domain.
Without the overwhelming crush of shadow monsters, the Fire Domain no longer serves a purpose, as the demons are at least partially resistant to it. All production of Blue Fire Mana is discarded, and the construct now starts to pump out pure Ice Mana which is deftly woven into the new domain.
Likewise, the Lava Mana I was working with before is also cast aside in favour of the much easier to work with air. In only a few seconds, the first compressed bolt of air is ready, and I fire it at a lithe, weasel-looking demon trying to slip past us. Caught unawares, the beast only has time to roar indignantly before the powerful gust of air carries it over the edge of the ramp and plummeting to the depths below.
Ice Domain!
The moment I release the spell, the air around us becomes frigid and infused with spinning chunks of ice that bounce harmlessly from my allies but detonate with a sharp crack when they hit anything else. At first, I’m wholly satisfied with this new domain, the demons certainly aren’t big fans of the ice, but after a few seconds, I notice something I may have overlooked. The amount of Mana it takes to maintain this domain is unbelievable! Even over this short period, the sub-brain in charge is starting to frizzle from overwork as it tries to maintain and produce the Ice Mana necessary to keep it running at the same time.
The reason why is readily apparent: it’s too damn hot here! The Ice Mana is being consumed way too quickly! Cursing inside, I throw away the Ice Domain and switch to air, both sub-minds working together to pump out the same type of Mana to hurl bolts of compressed air at my foes.
[How are you holding up, Crinis?]
[I’m fine, Master!] she replies, her voice steely with determination.
[Don’t give me nonsense, Crinis,] I warn her as we battle back and forth with the demons. [Give it to me straight, that’s an order!]
[My strength feels like it’s being sapped,] she grudgingly admits. [And my flesh doesn’t move through the shadows as easily as before.]
Of course, without the naturally abundant Shadow Mana and darkness of the second stratum, her powers don’t work half as well as they did before. Another problem quickly becomes apparent.
[Is it just me, or are these demons tougher than they were before?] I gasp as the bladed arm of a nasty-looking horror scrapes across my carapace before I can snap forward with my mandibles and end the threat.
[The cold must have weakened them when we fought them before,] Crinis guesses. [Here, they are surrounded by their natural affinity, and it is empowering them.]
Dangit! This is actually way harder than I thought it would be. Despite arriving at the most perfect natural choke point we could hope for—the ramp is no more than fifty metres wide and every demon who climbs the pillar has no choice but to move up it if they want to reach the stratum above—we may not be able to hold here as long as I’d hoped.