Bound By Fury:The Forced Path

With exhaustion dogging their heels, the group trudges deeper into the chamber of the second dungeon. Shallow breathing, the erstwhile steady cadence in the steps was now irregular.

All of them spent-Mira's fire spells dulled, Garrett's swings of the broad axe sluggish, Lyra's healing flickered as her reserves ofmana alarmingly low.

There was even a crack beginning to fissure the imperturbability of even Cha-Jong.

Yet they moved on.

The walls of the dungeon faintly pulsed with eerie blue light, casting long flickering shadows.

Huge magic stones inlaid in the walls shone with unreal intensity-twice the size of usual ones, it was like an offering of treasure to the poor light.

Cha-Jong signals for them all to freeze.

"This magical stones...they are worth a fortune."

"We can't leave them behind."

Garret leans on his axe, nodding.

"He's right."

"These could make us rich enough to take months off."

"Worth the risk."

Mira reaches out to one of them and runs her hand over its glowing surface.

"Do you have any idea how few of these are known?"

"One would pay for an entire expedition."

Akira is silent for a moment, his face unreadable.

Seated, he leans back against a rough wall and observes the others who move about, quarrying magic stones.

"Greedy fuckers"

"These are blinded by the gold in their eyes, oblivious to the death lurking at each corner. We do not even know whether we will leave ourselves."

Cha-Jong notices Akira looking somewhere else and approaches him.

"Hey, E.B."

"Thanks."

"Huh?" 

"If it wasn't for your quick mind and those constant charges, we'd be the bulls food by now."

Garrett grins, joining them.

"He's right, kid."

"You saved our ass back there."

"Even if you're reckless as hell, you've got guts."

"I respect that."

Mira smirks from across the room.

"Don't get too cocky about it, though."

"We still need you in one piece for the next fight."

Lyra smiles warmly, the softness of her voice sincere.

"Well done, E.B."

"But do not over-strain, you hear?"

"We still need you at the height of your strength."

Akira shrugged impassively, but the smallest tremble of a smirk played on his lips.

"Don't worry about me, let's just keep moving if you finished you greedy guys."

The air clots as they press forward.

Dim, the glow of blue strengthens, casting strange unnatural patterns on floor and walls.

The wave of immense magical energy passed over them, like that of a cold wave.

Their feet stop dead in their tracks. Their spines thrill with the weight of this oppressive aura.

Cha-Jong tightly clenches his sword, his face pale.

"What… what is that?"

Garrett swallows hard; the bravado has fallen.

"I… I don't think I ever felt anything this strong before."

Even Mira looks a bit less sure, glancing around and gripping her staff.

"Whatever it is, it's not something we're ready for…"

Akira instinctively summoned his inventory, grasping at his Pantho Sword.

Even he had felt the weight of the aura weighing him down, yet he forced himself to stand tall.

A figure steps forward from the darkness.

The atmosphere around her seems almost palpably thick with power and malevolence. T

all, with eyes that glow crimson hot in the dark, her long tresses of black hair cascade down her back, framing a countenance of an eldritch beauty, twisted by the cruel smirk curling her lips. Two pointed fangs glint fitfully while she speaks, her every word dripping venom.

"Ah… prey."

"It's been so long since I've had any to play with."

Lyra jumps back, alarm written all over her face.

"What is she!"

Mira narrows her eyes, clenching onto her staff a little tighter.

That aura...she's no common monster and she looks like a human too."

The women tilts her head, mock amusement dancing in her gaze.

"Such afraid little beasts."

"Would you run away, or shall you amuse me?"

Cha-Jong comes forth, the stability in his voice misplaced.

"It's not for us to amuse you"

"Move out of the way, or there will be fighting."

The unknown women lets out a cold, melodious laugh that echoes through the dungeon.

"Fight me?"

"How...amusing."

"You will make for wonderful time before I dine on your despair."

Then she muttered "Blood Domination" was like a huge evil pressure, directly beating it down upon Akira's party as they crumbled, one by one falling to their knees.

Garrett struggled hard, trying to resist, the veins on his temples protruding while clenching his teeth tightly.

Cha-Jong clutched his fist, and his always calm face now distorted in despair. Mira and Lyra could barely manage to stand firm; their faces were pale as cold sweat poured down.

Every passing thought brought an avalanche of regret and fear within them.

Cha-Jong (thinking):

It's...it's over...we should have never come here."

Mira (thinking):

"I don't want to die here, not in this way."

Lyra's lips quivered, her voice barely audible.

"This can't… be how it ends."

But within this compressive force, Akira stood.

Legs buckling, arms shaking beneath the invisible weight of the pressure, yet refusing to fall. His gaze cut to the vampire, a fierce sparkle of defiance bright within his eyes.

Akira (thinking):

She's tough-strong, no, beyond strong; I wouldn't even stand a chance, yet in all those things, she would still be way behind him.

The picture of the man-the one who had destroyed thousands with the flip of a finger-flashed within Akira's mind.

A small smirk tugged the corner of his lip.

Akira (thinking):

"But I've leveled up quite a lot since then."

Her crimson eyes narrowed, entranced; her head cocked slightly, his lips spreading in a venomous smirk.

"Interesting."

"You're standing."

Akira's voice was cold and cut through the tension like a knife.

"There hasn't been a single time when I've kneeled to the sluts like you."

Irritation fluttered on the vampire's face, and for that one second, her smirk did disappear, only to reappear-thin-lipped and now masking a glittering, dangerous streak of mockery.

"Such sharp words from one so young."

"Let us see how long that tongue of yours does last."

In an instant, she was gone-no sound, no warning, just a blur of motion too quick for the eye to catch.

Akira's instincts screamed, and he had his Sword up just in time to block the killing blow.

The clanging of their combat echoed in the dungeon, the sparks flying when her claw met his blade.

He was thrown backward by the impact, the boots sliding on the stone floor.

The force of her strike had numbed his arms, and yet he refused to release his hold on his weapon.

Akira: (gashing his teeth)

"Damn it"

The women chuckled, an amusement dancing in her crimson eyes.

In an instant, she leaped forward again, so fast that Akira hardly had time to dodge her claw, whooshing past by his face and cut through with his sword in return.

Almost as if she was dancing, nimbly twisting to avoid his blow.

"Her movements… are insane...I can't keep this up for long."

"In the next instant, she was behind him, her talon reaching for his back."

Akira spun, flinging his body into a desperate block.

The force of the impact threw him back, his body skidding across the stone floor as he barely managed to avoid the brunt of the attack... he rolled back onto his feet.

Now, the vampire stood still, a smug grin playing on her face as she watched him recover.

"Not bad, kid."

"Not bad at all."

The oppressive silence after Akira blocks the women's strike is shattered by a series of gasps from his party.

Their eyes widen, their expressions a mix of shock, disbelief, and something bordering on hope.

Cha-Jong:

"H-He blocked it?"

"That's impossible."

"How the hell is he even moving right now?!"

Garrett: his mouth slightly agape muttering to himself :

"I can't lift a finger, and he's out here… blocking that."

Mira (her tone changing from despair to stunned awe):

"No way… That pressure should've crushed him too."

"How is he still standing?"

Lyra (her eyes brimming with tears as her voice shakes):

"I thought… we were all done for… but he's… holding his ground?"

"Was he hiding his power all along?"

Akira doesn't reply to their words, his eyes razor-sharp and fixed upon the opponent in front of him.

Still trembling in his legs, still burning in his arms from the force of the impact, his face keeps its defiant expression.

The women smirks, her crimson eyes narrowing as she observes Akira.

She takes a step closer, her voice sipping on mockery.

"Impressive."

"I'll admit, I didn't even think you'd last a second."

Akira clenches his teeth and takes another step forward against the crushing weight that presses upon him.

His voice is as cold as ice, unyielding.

"Someone who doesn't bow."

"That's all you need to know."

The smirk of the women falls a little, her crimson eyes flashing irritated once more.

In a flash faster than the blink of an eye, she lashes out again with her hand, clawed, and the air hums with the force of her swing.

Cha-Jong: - "E.B, WATCH OUT!"

The party stares aghast as the women's claws crash toward Akira.

But with a sharp clang, Akira raises his sword just in time, deflecting her strike again.

The sheer impact sends sparks flying, illuminating the disbelief in the room.

Garrett (shouting in excitement, his fear replaced for a moment by adrenaline):

"HELL YEAH, KID!"

"Show her who's boss!"

Mira (her voice quivering, yet full of awe):

"Is he… is he really holding his own against her?!"

The vampire stumbles backward, shaking her hand as if the force of her own attack had reverberated back through her.

She eyes Akira almost like a predator sizing up its next meal, her grin returning sharper.

"I haven't had this much fun in centuries."

Akira rolls his shoulders, and his sword glows faintly with white lightning.

He smirks, though his body clearly shows signs of strain.

"Come"

The women laughs, a cold, chilling sound that ripples within the dungeon like the echo of a death knell.