The Only Son Amongst The Daughters Of Eros

Instinct took over as he saw himself lifting his hand with a burst of adrenaline and determination.

His arm moved before he could think, his palm was open wide and from it, a red surge of energy suddenly burst out and struck the creature, intercepting it with a wild, explosive blast.

The energy hit the Lizard's throat with ferocity, catching it off guard and causing it to reel back, black blood oozing from the wound.

The Lizard hissed, its faceless head tilting toward him as it struggled to stay upright. Realizing what had just happened, Alzera took advantage of the creature's hesitation. She turned around and lunged forward with her sword to deliver a final, devastating blow that sliced the creature's head clean off its neck.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Aeric got up on his feet and stared at his palm. 'What was that?'

For a moment, they both stood there, breathing heavily, surrounded by the remnants of the fallen Lizards. Alzera's turned around and her gaze met Aeric's, her expression unreadable.

He lowered his hand and straightened his face.

"What was that you did?" she asked him.

Aeric pretended not to know what she meant. "What was what?" Explore more stories at empire

Alzera furrowed her brows. She didn't like that. "You struck the beast with something when it lunged for me. What was it?"

"Oh." Aeric walked up to the beast, but quickly moved his blade from his left to his right hand, hiding it inside his sleeve before pretending to pull it out of the dead Lizard's neck.

"It was just my dagger."

Alzera was silent for a while before lifting a brow. "I didn't see that when I beheaded it."

Aeric shrugged. "It has a black hilt."

Deciding not to think of it any longer, Alzera let out a sigh. "You saved me from the attack. Thank you, Dagwood," she said, a faint but forced edge of respect in her tone. "And well done."

The compliment — though terse — felt like a victory. Just like any compliment from her would feel. Aeric nodded, swallowing down the adrenaline-fueled tremor in his chest. She had saved him first, but he had been able to return the favor.

It felt good to know that he was useful, and that he wasn't just a burden.

"I must return to the fight." Alzera went ahead.

Around Aeric, the battle went on. Kael, Ryn, and Bel had begun to close in on the remaining Lizards.

It was quite difficult because of the way they kept teleporting, and to battle that, Kael had to be precise in positioning his shields.

The Solidify Skill was losing its energy and the shields needed to be present and strong to hold back the beasts. They rang out each time they did, Kael's strength holding their attacks at bay.

Ryn made sure to use his Warp skill and his usual agility to follow the vanishing beasts everywhere they went. With his halberd, a blur of deadly metal, he struck at weak points in the Lizards' armor-like scales.

Bel — now on her feet — worked overtime, chanting softly as she activated Skill after Skill under her breath, her staff aglow as she cast a series of protective wards over the team, bolstering their defenses and easing any wounds they acquired.

One of the larger Faceless Lizards reared up, and clearly, Alzera was the one to accept its challenge. It attacked with claws slashing at both Alzera and Ryn.

Ryn dodged by warping, his movements swift but narrowly missing the strike each time he himself attacked. Alzera on the other hand, attacked head on, clashing her blade against its claws.

Her dreadful skill as a fighter was undeniable. And once she ducked an attack from the bigger Lizard's claw, she thrust her sword backwards, piercing its chest with a brutal, final blow.

The creature let out a rattling hiss, but Alzera made sure not to sink the sword too deep. She only struck it in a manner to weaken and paralyze it.

Once it collapsed, convulsing, she grabbed it by the tail while everyone watched and she brought it to Aeric who was staring in confusion.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

Alzera dropped the half-dead beast in front of him and handed him her sword. "Finish the kill," she said. "That way you can earn the rewards."

Aeric looked at her in disbelief. 'Is she serious?'

"Are you sure?" he asked. "That's a Master Level Beast."

"You struck down one of them and I took the kill," she pointed out. "It's only fair that you are allowed to do the same."

'Yeah, but this one is bigger. The rewards will be greater than that kill.'

Nevertheless, who was he to say no to a free kill? He glanced at Kael who gave him an assuring nod to go ahead, and so he took the sword from Alzera, lifted it high and struck the neck of the Faceless Lizard.

Its head fell off in one swipe and rolled away, causing another suspicion from Alzera that Aeric also didn't notice.

However, the rewards came.

[You have killed a Faceless Lizard]

[XP allocations for a Master Level Beast is 100]

[100xp allocated]

[You have been granted an item: Deadwatch]

[Your Divine Body grows stronger]

Aeric stared at the interface with intrigue. 'Deadwatch? What is that?'

He decided to study it later when he had more time in his hands, as for now, he still had a Dungeon to clear and a goal to achieve. With Alzera building some respect for him now, he felt like his chances were slowly but surely increasing.

[Second Lobby Cleared. Objective Complete. Progressing to Next Lobby.]

"Thank you," he said to Alzera, who only nodded.

They all took a moment to gather themselves, harvesting the Beast cores from the fallen Lizards. Aeric's arms grew heavier as more and more cores were added to his bags, their eerie glow casting strange shadows as they shimmered with residual energy.

"Protect those cores well, Dagwood," Alzera said, her tone softened but her gaze firm. "They're of higher value than the last ones. Losing them would mean a wasted effort."

He nodded, adjusting the straps on his shoulders, feeling the weight of both the cores and his responsibilities. They prepared to move forward, stretching their limbs, healing their wounds, eating quick snacks and drinking water.

After that, they pressed onward.

~ ~ ~

Meanwhile, outside the Dungeon in the real world, the Starlight sisters were still in search of their brother.