(Curator POV, first-floor valley)

Where the land is baked in fire and its flowers dyed orange, a fight was stewing in the brimstone valley. Wait, now’s not the time to be waxing poetry. My dungeon is on fire!

“Guardian, you know what to do!” A code-D. Leaping against the valley walls, driving his claws into its stony face, Guardian slung himself upwards. Scaring the shit out of both warring parties in the process.

Reaching the nearest river, he greedily huffed up water by the lung full, and...

It started out as a drizzle, a light caress to calm everyone down. Then came the downpour to send the message home, like a loving thunk to the noggin. Admonishing the raging inferno to an aloof fog. The creeping chill brought the war to a momentary halt.

Thank the Human-like Being. Actually, did they ever call themselves a god? Well, whatever it was, thank god the ground was waterlogged. Or we would have had a field day trying to get it under control.

Ever since the last fire, we’ve been clonking our heads together. Brainstorming ideas on what to do in case another fire were to happen. The lakes and rivers were only the beginning of our machinations.

Disregarding certain monsters, who would terraform the floor in the process, collaterally or not. Guardian was the most suited for the role of fireman. See huffing and puffing above.

Heads reheated, and it didn’t take long for the fighting to pick up again. Only this time, there was a lot more terrified screaming. I don’t know who or what was it, but one mana signature was zipping through the misty veil, snuffing others out at an astonishing pace.

Besides that brilliantly shining light, it really wasn’t too entertaining watching lights bounce around. “Keep an eye on things here.” Shoving Delegating the task to Guardian, I dive back down to the second floor.

Okay... Glad I checked in. How do I even begin making sense of this?

Well, starting with the elephant on the floor. We were being invaded! Slew upon slew of heinous plants and fungi marching across the land, infesting my perfectly curated floor.

My placid plants stood no chance. These ones were warlike scrappy, desperate to survive no matter what grave tactics they had to resort to.

Venus flytraps, their maws stretched open to the sky, nipped at my songbirds. While various tree-sized mushrooms tangled themselves underground, taking tree roots hostage. All neatly packaged in a bramble basket.

And that’s just what I can see from above. On ground level, it was-. {An essence of divinity has been detected. Will you absorb it?}

What?

“Curator, an unknown individual is approaching Red’s location.”

Oh shit! Yeah, sure. Go ahead, absorb, or whatever!

Full speed ahead, I snap over to Red’s location, already assuming the worse. She was just fine... Cloaked intruder(?) next to her notwithstanding. The person in question didn’t seem hostile, certainly intimidating due to their size, cloaked visage, and overbearingly large blade.

But for me, they felt like a gentle giant. Probably due to how they held themselves, the careful steps as to not crush anything underfoot. And maybe it’s their sword, but they gave off the impression of shouldering a heavy burden.

Striking, from how they look to how they act, even their presence... It just begets the question, when did they enter the dungeon? With Sabastian's group? The second wave? Or was it with the last group?

Checking their mana signa- Heh? On, off, on, off, on. Strange, they’re not showing up on my DP eye.

It should be working correctly. No mana? Or does this mean they lack a soul? Ehh, not now, I’m not ready for this. Already getting phantom chills just trying to make sense of it.

Back with the cloaked wonders, there’s been absolutely no developments whatsoever. They’ve just been staring into the blackness of each others hoods, waiting for the other to act. Honestly, why did I even bother worrying?

Red was actually the one who took initiative. Okay, Progress.

Following her script, she requested his aid, protection through the woods to grandma’s house in exchange for her guidance. The Stranger didn’t reply. Instead, they squatted down extending out a hand. Gently patting Red’s head, silently urging her forward.

A silent understanding formed through actions, they departed.

Now, this would be the part where people would have to defend Red from increasing waves of wolves. But see here, I didn’t actually think any intruder would give Red the time of day, so I kinda changed things up a bit. As per the request of a certain hermit.

Speaking of which. Gotta prep my narrator’s voice. Ahem.

Nary a whimper of life could be heard in the illusionary woods today. Not a chatter nor a chirp. Not even the mischievous whispers of the fae. But something was undeniably alive, only the sounds they made decidedly was not.

Crags, rippling against wood, unmistakable, constant, horrible. Like a clock ticking down to an inevitable encounter. *Skrt*..- *Skrt*..- *Skrt*..- And like any good clock reaching its appointed hour, it started tolling.

Not with a ding or a ring but a whistle. As several ballistae-sized bolts arced through the sky.

Showering the land. Each javelin bore into whatever they hit. Reacting quickly, the Stranger pulled Red close. Hand in hand, with graceful footwork, they led her through the deluge of death. Deftly avoiding a gruesome end, the same couldn’t be said about his cloak.

Face finally uncovered, “Worn” was the first word that came to mind. Scars, stress-induced wrinkles, and a countenance that spoke of many stories. Although underneath the caked-on tan of a seasoned warrior, there were still vestiges of the young man that once was.

Dancing through the hail of arrows. Each one, no matter how erratic. In his presence, they all fell into rhythm. One, two. One, two. One, two, three, the pair progressed towards the arrow’s source.

One convoluted ballroom dance later, the Stranger switched partners. From Red to his sword, and in one sweep, he sliced down the tree in front of him.

Thudding unnaturally against the ground. Instead of leaves and branches, it was more like a boulder had dropped.

Alright, let’s stop with the narrating voice, at least until things slow down again.

Rolling out of the fallen treetop was the final dokkaebi bro. Skin made of stone, but physically he was less bulky, shorter, more human than his two brothers.

Really despite his unassuming appearance (considering the other two), he was the most dangerous of the lot. Lacking Mono-Eye’s DP stores or Dokkaebi’s calm under fire personality, he made up with it in martial prowess alone.

Hell, the whole reason nobody's heard from him yet, is because he went and became a hermit the instant I summoned him. Day in and day out doing nothing but honing his arts, he might actually be as strong as Big Bad in consumption mode.

He really is a troublesome child, even more so than Alice or Red. I can only look over him in his endeavors.

Ehh. But that’s all past. The fight is already underway. Taking place in close quarters, Enmah (100% not made up on the fly) methodically switched between short-ranged arrow volleys and quick, precise strikes with his bow-club. Each move was designed to trip his opponent up.

But rather frighteningly. Even when what amounted to a golem hyped up on speed rushed him down, the Stranger remained unfazed. Elegantly back-peddling a path through the quickly expanding maze of missed arrows.

An odd sight to behold that’s for sure, an archer who wanted to get in close, and a swordsman wanting distance.

At this point, I’m here sitting on the sidelines, enjoying the show with Red, who was intensely analyzing the whole affair. And I don’t blame her it’s not every day you see a human matching one of the dokkaebi bros in combat, especially one so unorthodox.

Though it wouldn't last for long. Tensing up, the Stranger suddenly halted all backwards momentum, surprising Enmah, who was pursuing him. Before the speeding goblin could stop, he jammed the pommel of his great-sword into Enmah’s chin.

Lifting the oversized goblin a couple centimeters into the air.

The dokkaebi made of mother fluffing stone. Into the air...

This is a first. Okay, sure, SUREEEE.

In that brief moment, as his foe hung in the air, the Stranger distanced himself. Brandishing his blade, he swung upwards at the falling dokkaebi, aiming to bisect.

*Boom*

A gust of divine wind gushes from the woods, buffeting the Stranger as metallic tentacles pulled Enmah to safety.

“My. To think that our esteemed warrior hermit of an elder brother would be overwhelmed.”

“Disappears. *munch* Trains. *munch* Still loses *munch*.”

Looks like they’ve cleared out most of the riff-raft. Dokkaebi and Mono-Eye appeared, one looking very accomplished and the other *munch* very... satisfied.

Helping their brother up, they faced the silent intruder together.

Watching, Red and I were still on the sidelines casually sipping warm tea that I had wolves deliver to us.

(Zhenya POV)

Stalking through the woods, I repelled Sabastian each time he tried to breach through. Even with his mastery of the spear, it was still difficult for him to fight in such a cramped area.

That being said, I wasn’t about to jump out and fight him in the open. So a stalemate it was.

“Argh, I don’t have time for this!” Fidgeting restlessly, he was barely restraining himself from charging in haphazardly.

“Time for what? All this bloodshed and chaos, just why? Weren’t you supposed to be some hero?!” For all his talks and tales of heroism, he sure didn’t act like one.

“Shut-up! What does a brat like you know? How can you understand when you’ve never stood on the war front! You’re the one who’s on the wrong side of all this. Don’t you see, dungeons are the key ta changing everything!” That really riled him up.

Getting confident as Sabastian ranted on, I prowled at the wood’s edge, hoping to end it in one go. Although I might’ve miscalculated a little.

He instantly spotted me and threw out a swift jab. Maybe a rash decision considering I was out of range.

Could’ve been a sloppy strike made in frustration, but the way he’s gripping his weapon had me thinking. Preemptively side-stepping, the spear slipped from his loose grip. Running until it pined a tree next to me.

His arm briefly shines as he grasps the ball end of his spear, whipping the damn thing at me. Taking a strip of bark along with it for added weight. Slamming into my chest, it didn’t cut deep, more of an impact, really. But I’m differently gonna feel it in my ribs tomorrow.

“Meghh...” Sabastian lets out a concealed grunt under his breath. The arm he used now hung limp at his side, trickling blood.

Huh? Is he still wounded? But he’s been hopping around like one of those circus folk!

Clumsily loosening a pouch with one arm, he pops a bite-sized piece of bread into his mouth. Horribly red in color, chewing on it seem to dull the pain instead of fixing his arm, so that’s good. Before long, his breathing calms a little and-.

Like fuck, I’m gonna let him recoup in my face! In one breath, I dashed in, driving as much of my elbow into his chest as my aching rib cage would allow, making him drop the pouch. Unable to bring my sword back in time, I settled on toppling him over.

Pushing full force into him, I slam into a cold iron wall as his chest starts to glow. Yep, Body augmentation skill, metal variety. Immediately bounding back, my instincts screamed at me to dodge. Drifting to the side, it was no use. A stinging pain pierced into my thigh.

Can’t drop now! Barely stabilizing, I stumbled back.

Composed and on the offensive again. Sabastian switches to methodical precise jabs, unable to do his usual fast, wild flaunting swings. Unknowing or uncaring of the blood spewing from his chest.

Throwing myself from tree to tree, the unsteady limp actually did me a few favors, unintentionally wobbling out of danger. But this luck can’t last forever.

Making sure to break vision first, I dove into the underbrush. Alright, that should’ve bought me some time. Rucksack, come on, there has to be something in here. Skinning knives, potion, rope...!

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Finished preparing, I sat up in a not so glorious fashion, braced myself against a tree, and waited for him to come to me.

It’s do or die from here on out.

Noticing me, he zipped forward, his first jab whiffing as I dropped behind my support tree. Circling around, I grabbed the shaft of the spear, keeping him from bringing it back. A brief moment was all I needed. With my other hand, I slipped a noose around the neck of his weapon.

Aerg, This is going to hurt like a bitch. With the other end of the rope in hand, I swung around the tree as fast as I could. Pulling, tightening, and tangling the knot with each cycle. Easily, slipping past Sabastian’s one-armed attempts at stopping me. His spear was choked motionless, bound to my support tree.

Still trying to jiggle his spear free, he made little headway, perhaps if he had more time. Buuut, Pulling out two skinning knives, I went to town on him.

Now, what will he do? Abandon the spear or weather my attacks.

Apparently, the latter as I soon learned. By that, I mean, my knives broke against his metal body.

*Clink* *Clank* Yep, that was solid metal alright.

Ehm. So what now? Well, Just wait until blood splurts outta him like with his arm and chest. I mean, this time he metal-fied his whole bod-.

Ack! He- he can move even like this? His hand digs into my throat, like a vice. Can’t hold it anymore. As the pain becomes unbearable, my leg finally gives out, dropping both of us, with him landing on top of me.

Heavy... Punching, clawing, and kicking had no effect. Shit is this where I... The darkness is closing in, I’m losing consciousness.

*Drip* Heh, took the stubborn bastard long enough. *Drip* Blood seeps from his eyes and mouth. And his grip loosens. Losing consciousness, he drops on me, his impenetrable metal skin returning to flesh.

Ergh... All according to plan. I just didn’t expect his body to be this much of a bloody mess. But then again never guessed he would cover his whole body. The strain from his skill practically popped all his wounds open.

“Well, that should be it. The mastermind behind all this knocked out and ready for arrest.” Ugh, Shoving him off of me, I tie him up.

Downing a health potion and setting my poor nose back into place, I sling his unconscious body over my shoulders and neck. “It’s gonna be a long way back. Let’s pray that Fredrica took care of that Bargas guy.”

Shit, My nose still hurts...