4 Crawling Down

The 4th Floor . . .

Selena,"We can't keep hanging for ever?"

Raven,"There's no more openings to the tower until 1st floor."

Selena,"So, how can we get down?"

Raven,"Well, we have been climbing down by a cheat way till now,the platforms were originally there for resting."

Selena,"Do you mean there was a way to go down except that insane way!"

Raven,"I told you that you have to go down through each level by stairs which I don't have time for."

Selena,"So,where are this stairs you speak of?"

The whole floor is coated with lava with few rockbeds and skeletons floating on the lava pool.

Raven,"The stairs are right at that corner of that cave."

Selena looking closely, saw a little hole on the wall at a corner.It was like a cave with a upper platform where the lava can't reach.

Selena,"Why are we still hanging then?"

Raven,"Do you see that the level of lava is a little overflowed compared to here?"

Selena noticed the lava is actually flowing from that place to the whole floor.

Selena,"Yes,It is but I can use heat resisting magic so there is....

Suddenly the floor started to shake and lava gushed out at random places but the overflown area bursted out like a volcano.

Selena,"Lava geysers....They seems to be at random times,so why don't we just pass through just when it occurs?"

Raven,"Oh yeah, thanks for mentioning it! I couldn't even think of such a small thing, I must be an idiot,no?"

Selena didn't say anything and kept silent.

Raven,"See that rock over there, stare at that rather than me!"

Selena noticed a rock on the surface of the lava. It looked similar to all the other rocks around it. Selena wanted to say something to Raven but thinking again she kept staring at the rock. Lava geysers gushed out near the rock after a few moments.

Selena,"Can I report what I saw?"

Raven,"Say It."

Selena,"That rock isn't actually a what it looks like.When lava was gushing out, I saw an eye on that rock under the lava."

*sigh* Raven,"Yes and that's a lava toad. It submerges it's whole body under lava and spits geysers on it's preys. It randomly spits to make it look natural and avoid direct encounter."

Selena didn't say anything and kept staring with curious eyes like she is waiting for more.

Raven,"Well,the problem is not the toads,they die off just after they are thrown out of the lava. The real problem are the floors, the 3rd floor is a monster spawn and the 2nd floor is a sub-zero blizzard plain."

Selena,". . . . . . .?"

Raven,"The third floor is filled with stone gargoyles. They are guarding the stairs to the 2nd floor."

Selena,"Can't you kill them?"

Raven,"It's not about weather I can kill them or not. They have a habit of going after the weakest first even if they have to leave their floor for it."

Selena,"Can't I run around using immobilizing magic?"

Raven,"Your not actually good at running you know and also that room is really small and this one is filled with lava.". . .he thought to himself,''Maybe she can't run well for all that fat on her chest?''

Selena,"Oh.."

Raven was thinking of a plan then he suddenly said," Didn't you say that you can use heat resisting magic."

Selena,"Yes.."she mumbled,''But it can't save one from gargoyles.''

Raven,"How much heat can it take?"

Selena,"About.. If you fall in the lava,you will get off with only severe burns rather than dying."

Raven,"Perfect! Cast it on me, I've got a plan."

Selena,"EEEHHH??!! But.."

Raven,"Just use it!"

Selena used her spell on Raven. A hint yellow coating appeared around Raven. Then Raven suddenly threw Selena to the cave near the stairs...

Selena,"HIIIYAAAAA!!"

Selena fell near the stairs escaping from a geyser by a hair's breadth.

Raven,"Wait there." then he suddenly jumped into the lava.

Selena,"RAVE...

Then Raven suddenly jumped out of the lava with a lava toad on his shoulders and landed near the stairs. The toad has a size that of a large boulder. His clothes were half burned and had burns all over his body. But he had a creepy smirk on his face.

Raven,"Move out of the way!!"

Selena jumped to the side and Raven dashed to the lower floor.

Selena,"Why doesn't he stop doing such outrageous things!"

3rd Floor

Gargoyles were sleeping peacefully. A little gargoyles was sleeping on his mother's lap. The aged were sleeping with a stick in their hands for helping them to maintain their balance. It was really

a peaceful sight.

When suddenly someone crashed in and said..

"Good morning, Time to wake up!!"

Saying that Raven punched the toad on the back and the toad vomited all the lava it had stored inside.

All the gargoyles were coated with the lava from head to toe.

Selena came running down,"The gargoyles didn't take much damage from the lava! What do we do?"

Raven,"Of course they wouldn't, they are made of stones."

Selena was confused,"Then why did you do all that for?"

Raven,"Just wait for it."

The lava on the gargoyles solidified and made the gargoyles fixed on it's ground making it unable to move.

Selena,"The lava solidified?!"

Raven,"We are above a sub-zero area, of course the lava would solidify in a moment."

The heat from the fourth level and cold from the second level neutralized the temperature difference in the third level. But the lava, a very high temperature substance coming in contact with the sub-zero surface of the third floor instantly solidified it.

Raven,"Now let's do some punching practice. My hands are itching for days."

Gargoyles,"GYAAAAAAHHH!!!"

At that moment what Selena saw, was just a one-sided genocide to the gargoyles. Boulders and little stone pieces (In this case gargoyles insides) were crushed and smashed until they turned into dust.

... . . . .

LATER

The 2nd floor's temperature went up due the lava up floor. The ice melted, turning into water and making a large water body. The whole room became like a huge lake. Selena was drinking water from that lake.

Selena,"Let's wait here for a moment, you should rest after all that fighting?"

Even if Selena noticed that all of Raven's wounds and burns have already healed, she was still concerned because of Raven's insane feats.

Raven,"We should move on even if this place looks peaceful, the tower will maintain it's ecology"

Selena,"You mean, this place will turn into a snowy plain again?"

Raven,"Maybe you'll turn into a nice ice statue and the people who will pass through here will worship you as a maiden who lost her life to make people remember of this tower's danger."

Raven started to go down to the 1st floor, he had a slight smile on his face.

Selena,"Was that supposed to be a joke!"

The two of them went down the stairs until they reached the 1st floor. It was a very large and vacant room. The walls had odd cravings which looked like letters.

Raven,"Finally we are at the ground."

Selena felt a sense of relief as the finally reached the ground.

Raven,"See that metal door on the other side, that's the exit."

Selena,"What is that other door there for?"

There was another large door on the surface of the ground.

Raven,"It's the door to the basement . . ."

Raven stopped walking and kept staring at the door, he looked a little lost in thought.

Selena,"Is anything wrong, you seemed a little worried?"

Raven,"Strange. . . .The door wasn't opened when I entered the tower."

Selena suddenly got startled,"Some kinda liquid fell on me! Is the water from above leaking here?"

Raven looked up,"The floors aren't that thin to lea. . ."

Raven quickly grabbed Selena and jumped to a side of the room.

"Wh-What is. . that!?!", Selena was trembling and her voice barely came out.

A kind of thing crashed to the floor. It was a insect with two needle like horns and mouth with fangs to the farthest inside that could be seen.

Selena,"Is that anomaly thing it's head?"

Raven,"No, It's the tail. The head is up there."

Selena looked at the ceiling only to find her voice frozen.

It was a creature with the head of a dragon and body of a centipede. It had hands in place of it's ear which had thorns all over it. It's whole body was filled with gapings releasing some kind of dense saliva.

Raven passed a cloth to Selena,"Rub that fluid off you, it could be lethal."

Selena while cleaning the liquid off her,"Do you recognize that beast?"

Raven,"No. It must be from the basement and judging it's action it doesn't want us to escape."

It stick to the walls of the exit like it was guarding it.

Raven,"I don't fight without a plan but seems I've got no choice."

Raven pulled out his guns and started shooting but the creature coiled itself to harden it's skin.

"Seems like it's ineffective, maybe I should use some other wa. . . ."

Suddenly the creatures tail threw some splinters from behind. Raven was taken by surprise, he pushed Selena away but he got hit by those splinters. The creature quickly punched him with his hands and Raven flew to the other side of the room and stumbled on the wall. The creature then instantly threw numerous needles at Raven, he got penetrated from top to bottom and stuck to the wall.

Selena,"RAAVEEENN!!!" she screamed but she was paralyzed, unable to do anything.

The creature reacting to Selena's voice, charged towards her.

Selena,"KIIIYYAAAAHH!!!"

The creature was about to hit her when suddenly Selena felt a chill pass through her. Both the hands of the creature were sliced cleanly off it's body. She looked behind to find two scythes attached to the walls like it was thrown at it. After a moment, the scythes disappeared into smoke.

"Analyzing it's characteristics, it looks like it is a 'Dragonial Millipedes'. "

A voice echoed through the room apart from the wailing of the centipede in pain.

Selena couldn't move her eyes from the soulless body of Raven which was surrounded by a black fog. His body suddenly turned into fog and came down leaving all the needles on the wall. His body was filled with holes from all those needled but it was regenerating immediately emitting black smoke from the wounds. He then pulled out two scythes from the black mist around his hands.

"Looks like I just found myself a new PREY!!"