(Curator Pov)

Time slowed to a crawl, bitterly dragging itself from the withering eclipse caused by Zhenya and Fredrica. One was a simple girl looking to support her family, and the other yearned for valor outside hers. The knight chased after a dream while the hunter lived for the simplistic.

And yet, the two got along swimmingly. Balancing each other’s weaknesses and tendencies.

Enduring trial after trial, the pair remained strong. There were disagreements due to Zhenya’s cautious nature, but all things considered, theirs was a hardy friendship. Making the sudden fissures in that otherwise stable foundation much more jarring.

An eventuality that was bound to happen. Wrought by an aspect the two shared, pigheadedness. Initially, it was Fredrica who made the executive decision to leave. Then further exacerbated by Zhenya’s decision to pursue her friend heedless of their warning.

Now they’re getting all pissy at each other!

“You were to wait until I returned,” Fredrica stated without a hint of emotion. Probably the first I’ve ever seen her take this tone. Wanting her friend to leave above all else, even to the point of abject hostility.

“Funny. We were here on direct request from the A.A and thought it best to escort our new FRIEND to her destination. You know with how DANGEROUS it is around these parts.” And Zhenya countered in kind.

“It is dangerous. But we are professionally trained knights-to-be. This is not something any ordinary adventurer can tackle. Zhenya! Being a hunter does not equate to the training me and the others have received!” This back-and-forth bickering was cut short as the sound of chaos whimpered its last.

Amidst the receding madness were three figures. Just their presence alone plunged fear into the hearts of their enemies and bolstered their allies. Even obscured by the bodies of allies they attracted, one stood head and shoulder above all else.

A giant bound in armor more likened to a hollow slab of steel than a suit made to wear. Crude, cruel yet effective, containing no segments, the armor was one singular piece with welded joints. Trapped and suffocating was my first impression. And yet that lone statue inspired confidence, standing straight despite the weight of that bulky cage.

And judging by Fredrica’s wide-eyed horror, they were a statue worth fearing. Biting her tongue, the blond acting generalissimo pushed her argument with the northerner aside and spat out a flurry of orders.

“Fall back to the mines! Rudi! I want that wagon behind us, on the double!” Maybe out of friendship or duty, she had Rudi leading the retreat with everyone else bringing up the rear.

Either or, that wagon could not fall into enemy hands at any cost. Considering the witches now in her company, Fredrica probably dreaded what concoctions that wagon was carrying.

With a full-on retreat underway, Zhenya clicked her tongue in annoyance but understood now wasn’t the time. Choosing to stick in formation with the other knights.

Chains rang out as they cut through the metal and wood like a knife through lettuce, letting out one sharp crunch. Through the rubble strode the caged giant, now in full view for all to see.

Once again, invoking an image of a person imprisoned. As if this bulbous armor was built around them and made to be as encumbering, lumbering, and ineffectual as possible. But that’s not the end of it. I sensed magic emanating from the suit.

Concentrated around the crook of their elbow, knee, and neck. Not the usual fireball type either. This was engraved into the metal and felt heavy. Dark.

The armor was completely sealed with no indication it could be removed. As if the maker wanted to leave this person forgotten, stripped of face or heritage to affiliate with. Only further exemplified by the three holes for each eye socket and the tiny cage of a mouthpiece.

Adversely those same engravings made it so the armor could withstand the elements, if the lack of rust was any indication. It gave the impression that the person within was an enduring soul. Epitomized by the broken weaponized chains attached to their forearms.

With the walls felled underfoot this behemoth of steel, the rebels redoubled their effort. Rallied behind such an inspiring visage, fearlessly swarming the knights.

Meeting a wall of steel at the mine’s mouth. Lingering grudges rekindled as wills collided. Momentum lay with the rebels as their leader trudged towards the front lines like a lame ox, unconcerned of the metal wall and spikes before them.

That was when I felt it, essence. Scarcely different from a skill activation.

Leaping forward, a trail of agitated chains following the Imprisoned landed, leaving the ground beneath them heaving. The earth split under the chains’ descent, causing the floor to collapse from beneath the knights, dropping them god knows where inside the dungeon.

“What the hell was that?!” As expected. Head felt the disturbance. “All this chaotic magic running rampant, now a goddess’ chosen activating one of their cheats?” And, in what is quickly becoming a trend, he was a ball of nerves, assuming he also failed at deterring Antonia.

Although, he makes a good point. What the fuck just happened! First, we have Zhenya, Su, and the three mad alchemists riding in out of nowhere. I’m not even sure how they caught wind of this, or even for how long, considering the war crime amount of potions they were lugging along.

Then the frigid meeting between Freddie and Zenni. Which, barring emotional reasons pertaining to my favorite adventuring group possibly breaking up, was a fairly sordid affair, but I was already expecting this.

Then comes the Imprisoned and their cronies, who may be female for all I know. Comes trudging along and instantly marks themselves a threat through sheer presence alone. And then ends it by showing he’s a ‘goddess' chosen’ or essence user, whatever Head calls them.

Collapsing the mines, which shouldn’t even be possible without high-grade explosives. Pretty much sent the inquisitive core into a questioning spiral, trying to figure out how.

And now the armor-bound bulldozer’s puking up dust? Sand? Great, at least things can’t get any stranger. Oh, tree crab. How I miss you.

(Zhenya Pov)

“Agh, my aching head.”

“Ru- Friend- through.” I feel like crap. My voice dully dips in and out as each sound sends aches coursing through me. Likewise, my eyes could only discern black blobs floating to and fro around a single orange flare, which only illuminated how cramped everything was.

“Zhen-.” Ellie? “Zhenya.” After several bouts of unconsciousness, my hearing and vision recovered. Though my mind was a bit slower on the uptake.

“Ellie, is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Easy now. You’re lucky getting out with only a minor concussion.” The pink doctor helped me lean against the wall. Assuring herself that I was physically okay for the most part, she attended the unconscious girl beside me.

Surrounded by the wounded and unconscious, my mind roamed, trying to catch up to everything around me. Ellie and a few others were dipping up and down, tending to the myriad of wounded that kept getting pulled out as others dug through stone and rubble with their hands and weapons.

Oh, yeah. That masked weirdo came out of nowhere, and- My mind slowly caught up, that armored giant charged, and- and completely devastated us in one hit. Just the memory alone was enough to get my bruises acting up.

Sitting there, I let whatever potion Ellie administered take effect. Listening and orientating myself with the situation at hand. In an enclosed environment like this, everything could be heard.

Freddie was off to the side, talking with another knight. “We managed to luck out somehow, boss. A majority of us landed in this pocket. With about a sixth uncounted for, assuming they weren’t crushed by rubble.” Fredrica soured at the thought of her troops’ possible deaths, weeping tears for those lost, especially under her command.

Thinking back, the girl was firmly opposed against us killing those bandits... Too kind, too green, too compassionate. But that’s Freddie. She’ll bounce back eventually.

This was the green-horned girl lecturing me about not being formally trained. “But if there’s one thing living in the north teaches you, it’s how to deal with death.” The girl visibly jolted, turning to see me clumsily approach, using the wall for stability. Better do this now while I’m numb.

“Zhenya... go lay down. You look one foot away from a grave.” True. I probably look like shit, or maybe a zombie? Since I’m sure my left foot isn’t working all too well.

“Right, back at you.” While not too physically injured, Freddie looked like she was about to keel over at any moment. “If anything, I’d say you’re worse off than me. How’s your heart feeling?”

“Like it just ran across the continent.” She replied bluntly. Having lost the energy to even argue.

“Look, Freddie. You need rest. How long have you been at this?” The answer was about eight hours. One knight chipped in as Fredrica was at a loss for excuses. “Don’t worry. Let me handle this. I have my share of experience with cave-ins.” This earned me a raised brow. “Well, snow-ins and avalanches, but close enough.”

For a while, Fredrica’s eyes bore into mine. Reminding me how much of a boost her armor provided. Usually, she’s a head shorter.- “Together.” Was the word she arrived at. It’s a start, we both knew, but in a situation like this, it was enough.

“Yeah, sounds about right. We’ve gotten out of tougher scrapes together.” Honestly if we weren’t both past the point where a stiff breeze would knock us out. I’m sure we’d find something to argue about, but this seems right.

Going in for a handshake, we fumbled, almost collapsing into each other. Only for a pair of cold hands to prop us up. “Together.” It was Su.

“Pfff.” I released a poorly restrained guffaw. “Stuck in a collapsed mine with friends. Going ‘together’ Almost sounds like one of those stories bards would tell.”

A sentiment shared by my two party members. Earning an exhausted chuckle from them and a round from those still among the conscious. Who cares about quality when you’re tired.

From there, we quickly laid out our foundations. Freddie worked on formulating a plan. Apparently, Antonia had gone in beforehand to set the mine to blow in a worst-case scenario. Disastrous, if we weren’t ahead of them.

Freddie fought to stay conscious during the fall and estimated we were on basement floor three. That should put us ahead of Antonia, throwing into consideration that this dungeon acted as if it had a core. Making it somewhat sentient. And likely to put up fierce resistance once they caught wind of their plan.

So as long as we keep digging, we should arrive at the core room, if not a shaft connected there. Hopefully to stop general supreme from blowing us to kingdom come.

Some ways in, as Freddie finally gave into sleep, gracing a makeshift pillow with her head, Su, Ellie, and I continued to work. I’d taken the job of forewoman. Things were grim on that front. But with some elbow grease and good old drowned muscle, we managed to make ends meet.

Fashioning tools from swords and spears and scoops out of armor. Now while cutting implements sound like an awful choice of pick. There was one thing to consider, can a drowned cut through stone. The answer was yes...

Making Su our MVP and a real time saver, surpassing Ellie’s estimations for when we’ll escape. Real heartening as we were unsure how much oxygen we had to work with. Or if we were receiving any at all.

Allowing us spare hands to dig out any survivors stuck under the rubble... This was the touchiest subject, and we may have been biased when allocating resources. Especially for Ellie, who threw herself into her work, employing her intellect to help organize everyone while nursing the wounded. But Junia and Rudi, both of whom were in the wagon at the time, were nowhere to be seen along with the wagon itself.

Originally, torn between reaching Antonia first or finding them. Thanks to Su, who could almost handle one end by herself, made the decision for us.

And it wasn’t without merit, either. Knowing we were diving headlong into a war zone, the three alchemists supped-up the wagon with a whole bunch of enchantments, one of which being enhanced durability.

So it’s entirely plausible, if not guaranteed, they were still alive. Along with healing potions that could save the lives of those in critical condition.

Everything was on the up and up, but there was still one subject none of us wanted to breech, the armored man and the rebels. Who were no doubt headed for the dungeon’s core. Nothing we can do about that but hope the dungeon has something to slow them down.