“DUNGEON OF SEASONS! DEFEND THE CITIZENS! LETHAL FORCE IS AUTHORIZED!”

Tugging the tip of his electrified spear out from within the shattered faceplate of his unexpected opponent Almar let slip a private chuckle despite the circumstances. Far as he was concerned the Boss didn’t need to know he’d already exercised lethal force before permission had been granted. If he ever did find out he’d chalk it up to his excellent foresight.

The situation had gone to shit in a matter of seconds after the first battle had begun. From every corner of the fighter’s waiting room men and women alike had transformed into wooden behemoths without any warning. Those closest to the unaffected had violently attacked their victims before the corrupted roots could even finish forming their armor. Most of the trained combatants had managed to react quickly and separate themselves from the afflicted but not all. Of the 48 fighters in waiting 18 had turned and 4 had been unable to dodge in time, dying in the process. By some miracle none of the Brutes had awoken near any of Almar’s monster allies. Perhaps the aversion to sitting near each other was a blessing in disguise.

Staring down 17 opponents Almar instinctively activated his defensive buff [Stonefish] on everyone unaffected. This included himself, the oni, the lamia, Mulan, and the 4 remaining humans. He hadn’t planned on letting anyone know his buffs could be handed out regardless of race/origin but this wasn’t the time to be secretive. Not only had he made new acquaintances with the humans around him, but he was under direct orders to keep them safe.

“[Crease]!” a man dressed in purple armor cried out as he swung his blade into the side of an oncoming Brute. Despite the sharpness of his weapon the man’s slash failed to sever into the creature’s reinforced bark armor at all. Instead the blade pushed the Brute’s arm across its chest with unnatural ease, bringing the Brute’s chest forcefully along with it. When he pulled back on the blade the purple man had folded the Brute’s form perfectly down the middle. His opponent had not turned two dimensional or into some sort of paper form, his body had simply been forced to take on the properties of paper regardless of internal structure, hence the attacks ensuing effectiveness.

“GRRRAAAAAUGH!” the monster howled in pain as its rib cage was folded over itself and its internal organs were smashed together.

From a hunched over old woman standing behind him Almar heard “[Eye of the Sharpened Storm]”, and suddenly the air around the underground was alive with countless twirling blades. From daggers to whatever weapons the former fighters turned Brutes had been carrying, all were picked up by the woman’s skill and sent flying around the unaffected in a wall of blades. Whenever one of the Brutes attempted to encroach into the protective circle inside the storm the seemingly endless number of knives would lash out at them, severing whichever limb had passed the threshold.

“I appreciate the thought young man but don’t count us humans out just yet. We don’t need you to protect us completely.” The woman said smiling up at Almar knowingly.

Looking into her misty gray eyes Almar grunted “That much is obvious. Would you mind lending a hand then?”

Unphased as an Oni’s kanobo whooshed over her head and sent a Brute reeling back into the storm of blades she nodded “Of course. Shall we proceed to the stands? I hear many screams up above.”

Beheading the Brute the purple man had [Creased] with her streamer Mulan yelled over “Noire has just informed me the Lord is fighting with her near the economy seats on the western quarter! I shall go on ahead and provide assistance!”

Before he could provide protest Almar watched Mulan launch a flying [Yatagarasu’s Talon] down the path leading onto the field and quickly run through the opening the three spears created. In an ideal scenario Almar would’ve had Mulan lead a second strike team around the colosseum, eliminating any Brutes on their way to evacuate the citizens. Unfortunately things looked like they would be more complicated than that.

Recovering quickly Almar pierced the bark of another Brute before calling out “Our given mission is to save as many lives as possible. From the looks of it our enemies have somehow transformed our fellow competitors into these abominations. If that’s the case we’ll need to split into two teams to deal with the largest concentrations of them. I shall lead a strike team back towards the medical ward to evacuate the wounded/exterminate the transformed. Meanwhile a second team shall use the cover of our friend’s blade storm to chase after Mulan in combination with my defensive buff. Those who can gather enemy attention and would be inhibited by fighting in an enclosed space go outside, those who are the opposite come with me! Good luck! And remember, our goal is to buy time for and assist in evacuation for the time being. Keep an ear open for any order changes though!”

Mirroring Mulan’s prior action Almar coated his spear tip in the skill [Marlin] and burst through the enemy line blockading the hallway leading back into the colosseum’s interior. Behind him a smaller group of 7 lamia and the purple man made use of his opening to break out of the waiting room. Almar was uncharacteristically impressed with the oni in that moment. Every last one of them had realized they were better equipped to fight outdoors clashing with the Brutes than trying to fight indoors. From all his past interactions with them Almar had surmised the oni weren’t very conscious of their absurd physical strength, fortunately they seemed aware enough when it came to combat. Through pure power alone they could hopefully knock the Brutes down onto the field away from the citizens. As for the lamia who wouldn’t be joining him their long range weapons and magics were simply better suited to terrain where striking one’s allies wasn’t a factor. Not that he didn’t trust them but Almar understood aiming a bow from an open field was easier than over his shoulder in a hallway.

Switching everyone to his speed buff [Mako] Almar ran through the colosseum interior at a blistering pace towards the medical ward. While traveling they encountered a handful of wandering Brutes but never more than 3 at a time. In all likelihood the people acting as host’s for the magic plants had been sulking away from the excited atmosphere when they’d turned, which had the relatively fortunate side effect of them all being alone and away from people. Just to be safe Almar eliminated each of the creatures his force came across with the assistance of the purple man. Almar was nowhere near as magically curious as his Boss or Noire but he had to admit even he found the man’s skill set intriguing. Paper shuriken’s that could fold into handcuffs after striking to target through [Remote Origami]? If he could instill the weapons with buffs it would open up a whole new world for him to go down.

It was while pondering the man’s utility however that Almar’s strike force was brought to an abrupt stop. They still had a ways to go before reaching the medical ward where he could already sense a high concentration of Brutes was wreaking havoc, but even still, the situation required immediate investigation. His Boss’s allies were involved after all.

In front of the strike force stood 8 of the Wooden Brutes, huddled in a perfect circle around a humanoid figure on the ground. The Brutes were not exhibiting violent behavior of any kind, in sharp contrast to the berserker rage exhibited by their brethren. These indistinguishable few were instead holding a defensive position around the person bent over on the ground. It wasn’t just a coincidence either as no sooner did Almar try to take a look at the figure did they pound their fists against their solid chest plates and scrape their bark hooves against the floor in warning.

Leaping vertically into the air to peek while his group awaited orders Almar was shocked to see who exactly the Brutes were defending. Crouched on the ground was a young looking woman with light blue skin and white hair dressed in plain brown furs. She was currently holding a brown sheet of paper against the colosseum floor and frantically running over it with a piece of charcoal. Sweat dripped down her nose as her eyes darted up and down the shape slowly revealing itself on the paper, completely undisturbed by the presence of the Brutes standing all around her.

Her name was Flacera, the Glacisk Chief Polor’s daughter, and she had some explaining to do.