Facing the Tyrannical Playboy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The group stood before the towering palace doors, the air thick with unease. The sheer size and detail of the structure were awe-inspiring, yet something about it sent shivers down their spines.
"How could such a building be simultaneously elegant and creepy..." Tobe muttered, his voice laced with both admiration and unease. He folded his arms, glancing at his companions. "Are we really sure we want to step in there?"
Miri, Jun, Max, and Yuka exchanged glances, then nodded in silent agreement.
"Well, here goes nothing," Max said, his hands gripping the handles of the massive doors. Tobe joined him, and together, they pushed them open with a groan of protest.
The interior was both breathtaking and unsettling. Massive chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceilings, their crystals gleaming faintly in the dim light. The walls were lined with intricate tapestries, their once-vivid colors dulled by time and neglect. A long, tattered red carpet stretched down the main hall, leading to a large platform where a throne should have stood.
But the throne was missing.
"So... where's the throne?" Yuka whispered, her voice barely audible as it echoed faintly through the empty space.
The group fanned out cautiously, their eyes darting around the eerie palace.
On the walls, faded paintings of what seemed to be the royal family were slashed and defaced. Broken pedestals stood where statues might once have been displayed, and in the center of the main hall lay the crumbled remains of what appeared to be a statue of the king. The pieces were scattered like discarded remnants of a forgotten past.
"This place is off," Jun said, his grip tightening on his dagger. "Not a single guard. Not a single servant. It's like someone wanted to erase the rulers of this kingdom from existence."
Yuka shivered, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "It's too quiet. Way too quiet."
They cautiously moved through the palace, exploring its lifeless corridors and forgotten chambers.
The great halls were wide and cavernous, their arched windows shattered, letting in faint streams of moonlight. In the planning room, a massive table was covered in torn maps and scattered figurines, as though a battle plan had been abandoned mid-strategy.
The kitchen was in disarray, with rotting food still on the counters and utensils strewn about as if a sudden panic had driven the staff away.
"This place hasn't been touched in months," Miri noted, her voice steady but wary.
Finally, they reached the throne room. The vast chamber seemed hollow without its central piece—the thrones for the king and queen. The paintings on the walls were torn or burned, and a deep sense of desolation filled the room.
"What the hell happened here?" Tobe asked, Miri was scanning the surroundings. Her sharp eyes caught something unusual—a trapdoor partially hidden beneath a tattered rug in the main hall.
She pointed. "What about that door over there?"
The others turned to look, and their expressions grew grim.
"Only one way to find out," Jun said, gripping the handle of his dagger tightly.
They approached the trapdoor cautiously, pulling it open to reveal a dark staircase spiraling downward.
"You've got to be kidding me," Max muttered.
Tobe rolled his shoulders. "If it's trouble, I say we bring it to them first. Let's move."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The air grew colder as they descended the narrow spiraling staircase, their footsteps echoing ominously. The smell of damp stone and decay hit them, making Yuka wrinkle her nose.
When they reached the bottom, a long, dimly lit hallway stretched before them, lined with iron-barred cells.
What they saw inside stopped them in their tracks.
Each cell was packed with figures—Brainless, their lifeless eyes staring blankly ahead. But unlike the usual erratic creatures they'd faced before, these were eerily still, standing upright as though awaiting orders.
"This..." Miri whispered, gripping her sword tightly. "This isn't normal. They're supposed to be mindless."
Jun's voice was grim. "Looks like someone's controlling them."
Max stepped forward, scanning the hallway. "But why keep them locked up? What's the point of this? Are they creating an entire army?"
"No idea," Tobe replied, his tone low. "But I don't like it... Uhh... let's keep moving."
At the end of the hallway stood a massive pair of cellar doors, their surface reinforced with dark iron and etched with arcane runes. A faint, unsettling hum emanated from them, as though the doors themselves were alive.
Jun wrapped the steel wire of his hook around his arm, testing its tension. "Whatever's behind those doors, probably isn't going to be friendly."
Miri raised her shield, her expression resolute. "Stay sharp, everyone. We don't know what we're walking into."
Tobe's gloves began to glow faintly as he imbued them with mana, the energy crackling softly.
Yuka's summoning glyphs flared to life, ready to unleash her companions at a moment's notice.
Max hefted his greatsword onto his shoulder, his eyes narrowing. "On my count," he said, glancing at Tobe.
"Ready when you are," Tobe replied.
"Three... two... one!"
With a powerful push, Max and Tobe swung the massive doors open,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The massive cellar doors groaned as they swung open, revealing a vast, circular chamber dimly illuminated by the faint glow of countless unlit candles as the flames ignited all at once with a snap of a person's fingers, casting flickering light on the room's macabre interior.
Every detail was unnerving: towering walls lined with cages crammed with lifeless Brainless, their vacant eyes staring into oblivion. At the center of the room, a grotesque throne of bones loomed—a twisted masterpiece adorned with jagged skeletal remains. It was
In his left hand rested a scythe, a harrowing object with angelic wings spurting along the blade, radiating an aura of twisted purity. In his right hand, a chain dangled, leading to a woman slumped on the floor at his feet like a broken doll. Her eyes were hollow, devoid of life yet not entirely Brainless.
Tobe's heart raced as he scanned the room, seeing all of the Brainless. "How much more messed up can this get?" he muttered.
Miri's eyes narrowed as she noticed Naoto. She tugged Yuka closer, shielding her instinctively. "There's our problem..." she whispered, nodding toward Naoto.
Naoto's mocking voice rang out, smooth but also condescending. "Shortspark~. Gothie Black~. And… ah~, the little... brown... rabbit~. We meet again." He tilted his head, his expression dripping with sadistic glee.
Tobe froze. "You…" His fists clenched, mana sparking faintly around his gloves. "You're that creep from the bus wreck!"
"Scum," Miri spat under her breath.
"Utter trash," Jun added, his dagger glinting in the candlelight.
Max leaned toward Tobe, whispering, "Hey, who's this clown?"
Tobe sighed. "Some jackass playboy."
"ENOUGH!" Naoto's voice boomed as he slammed the butt of his scythe into the ground. The sound echoed ominously, and the Brainless stirred in their cages, their hollow eyes flickering faintly with movement. Even the chained queen flinched at the sound.
Naoto stood, spreading his arms theatrically. "Do you know who she is?" He yanked the chain, lifting the woman's face slightly. "This is—well, was—this kingdom's queen. Now? She's mine, my... little... pet."
Tobe felt his stomach churn as Naoto caressed the chain like a prized possession.
Max gritted his teeth. "You're sick."
Naoto smirked. "Oh, I'm much more than that. With this scythe, I've perfected control. With necromancy, I command the Brainless. And with this kingdom's resources, I AM UNSTOPPABLE! A ruler? No. A GOD!"
He laughed maniacally, his voice reverberating off the chamber walls. "And once I'm done with you, Gothie Black and the little brown rabbit will make excellent additions to my collection. Such lovely—"
"Shut ya damn mouth." Tobe interrupted, his mana flaring dangerously around him.
Naoto's grin widened. "Oh~, did I strike a nerve?~"
"No," Max said, hoisting his greatsword onto his shoulder. "You just talk too much."
With a click of his tongue, Naoto raised his scythe high. The blade gleamed with an eerie light as he slashed downward, sending a shockwave across the floor. The ground around them cracked, shattered and collapsed, revealing a pit teeming with a massive horde of Brainless. And then all of the cell bars have also been slashed open into pieces as the Brainless burst out and dropped down, increasing the size of the Brainless below, it was also visible that some of the Grey Veil turned Brainless are a part of the gigantic swarm. The creatures snarled and tried to claw upward, an endless sea of undead monstrosities.
Naoto sneered, lifting the chain with the queen. "I guess I won't need her anymore." He then kicked the woman toward the pit.
"Not happening!" Tobe shouted. His hand shot forward, glowing with mana as he cast Mana String, latching onto the queen's mana pool. He yanked her back toward their group just in time.
Yuka rushed forward, wrapping the queen in a long cloth from her satchel. "Stay with us," she whispered, her voice trembling a bit but firm.
Max hoisted the unconscious queen into a princess carry. "I'll get her to safety." He sprinted back to the previous room and quickly came back.
Tobe turned back to Naoto. "What did you do to the king?"
Naoto chuckled darkly, pulling a dry blood-stained crown from his cloak and placing it atop his head. "What do you think?"
"Unbelievable," Miri muttered, gripping her sword tightly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naoto floated into the air, his scythe glowing with immense power. "Now… let's see if you can entertain me!" He swung his scythe, sending a massive white slash of energy barreling toward them.
"Jump!" Miri shouted.
The group scattered as the projectile tore through the floor. Tobe retaliated, hurling a charged Firas Bolto into the pit below, igniting and blasting away the Brainless in a fiery explosion.
While half-summoning Scale's head. The Wind Wyvern unleashed a powerful Wind Blast, scattering Brainless like ragdolls, Yuka then summoned Blubby, the slime cushioning their fall.
Max, now free from carrying the queen, slammed his greatsword into the ground with such force that it created a shockwave, obliterating several Brainless at once.
Jun, ever nimble, easily landed on top of a Brainless' head as he darted between enemies, slashing throats and severing limbs with deadly precision with his hook and dagger.
Naoto cackled, hovering above the chaos. "You're all insects beneath my power!"
Tobe glared up at him, his eyes glowing faintly. "You're going down, jackass!"
Tobe's movements were a flurry of precision and chaos. As he casted Fall Lightning crackling through the air, arcs of electricity tore through the ranks of the Brainless, scattering them like leaves in a storm. The ground trembled beneath him as his Reconstruct spell shaped a massive stone fist, slamming down with a deafening crash that sent shockwaves rippling outward. Brainless were launched skyward, their limp forms landing haphazardly across the battlefield.
From the corner of his eye, Tobe noticed Naoto's scythe glowing ominously. The playboy's smirk widened as he sent a barrage of scythe-shaped projectiles slicing through the air toward Tobe. Each slash whistled menacingly as it cut through the battlefield, but Tobe's Cat-like Instincts allowed him to weave through the onslaught with almost nonchalant grace. The projectiles that missed him carved through the Brainless behind him, leaving trails of destruction.
Miri and Max fought back-to-back, their teamwork seamless. Miri's shield shone brightly as she activated Defense Up, bracing herself against the oncoming horde. When Naoto sent a large scythe slash toward them, Miri didn't hesitate. "Max, move!" she barked, shoving him aside and raising her shield just in time. The force of the attack rang against her shield like a hammer against an anvil, but she held firm, the glow of her shield absorbing the brunt of the impact.
Max retaliated with a ferocious swing of his mana-imbued greatsword, carving a wide arc through the Brainless and sending a pulse of energy that blasted them back. He turned just in time to see Naoto preparing another wave of scythe projectiles, this time aimed directly at Miri. Gritting his teeth, Max dashed forward, planting himself between Miri and the attack. His greatsword gleamed with mana as he swung it upward, deflecting the projectiles with enough force to send them careening back toward their sender. One of the projectiles exploded near Naoto's platform, temporarily blinding him in a cloud of dust and debris.
Meanwhile, Yuka stood amidst her summoned companions, commanding them with precision. Blubby, neutralized Brainless with its Slime Shots, while Balboa, served as an unyielding wall against the advancing Brainless. Spryt darted through the air, weaving bursts of fire, water, earth, and wind that obliterated enemies in dazzling displays of magic. Yuka's eyes narrowed as she spotted Naoto's vulnerable moment. "Now's the chance!" she shouted.
Tobe, hearing her call, reacted instantly. He slammed his hand to the ground, casting Reconstruct to shatter the terrain and disrupt the Brainless around him. With his other hand, he conjured a fully charged Firas Bolto, the firebolt swirling with volatile energy.
At the same time, Yuka half-summoned Scale's head, aiming its maw directly at Naoto. "Wind Cannon, fire!" she commanded. The air roared as both their attacks converged on Naoto's position.
Naoto's light shield flared to life, barely deflecting the fiery blast, though it left his cloak scorched. The Wind Cannon, however, struck true, shattering the platform beneath him and sending him tumbling and falling. He barely caught himself, leaping onto a hastily constructed pillar of bone and even created more high, huge and towering bone pillars. With an infuriated snarl, Naoto activated one of his necromancy skills;
As the resurrected 4th Chosen Hero and the Ancient Giant loomed over the battlefield, Naoto's laughter echoed. "Let's see if you can handle two of this kingdom's strongest beings! The 4th Chosen Hero, Alvidt Fountan't, and the Ancient Giant, Ru'Ank! Hahaha!"
Miri immediately took charge. "Yuka, Max, take the giant! Jun, you're with me. We'll handle the dead hero!" She turned to Tobe, who was already advancing toward Naoto. "Don't get yourself killed senpai!" she called out.
Tobe grinned over his shoulder. "I'm insulted you'd think I could!" With a powerful leap using High Jump, "You almost did, senpai!" Miri added as he soared through the air, slamming down with Explosion Impact to clear a path. Standing before Naoto, he declared with a cocky grin, "You're dealin' with me, YA JACKASS PLAYBOY!!"
Naoto's face twisted with anger. "You insolent short…" He unleashed a flurry of scythe projectiles, but Tobe's Cat-like Instincts kept him one step ahead. He darted between attacks, each movement fluid and precise, as he ran to the left, detonating Brainless with Explosion Impact as he went. When he reached a bone pillar, he took cover, fending off advancing Brainless with Aqua Control bullet shots and close-range Explosion Impacts.
Miri and Jun (with the backup of Oculis) hid by the debris and observed the resurrected 4th Chosen Hero, its headless form clad in rusted armor and wielding a corroded blade. "No head," Miri observed. "Decapitation must have been how he died."
"That's really not much comfort," Jun muttered, his eyes scanning for weaknesses. Before they could strategize further, the hero was already in front of them as he lunged with startling speed, bringing its blade down in a powerful arc.
Miri almost barely had time to shove Jun aside with a kick, the impact kicking up a cloud of dust as they scrambled to regroup.
"When the hell did he get here?" they both thought in unison. Regaining their footing, they prepared to counterattack.
Miri activated Defense Up, her defenses glowing with an unbreakable aura, while Jun flanked with Silent Step, his dagger poised for a precise strike.
On the other side of the battlefield, Max and Yuka faced the towering Ancient Giant. Wielding a massive bone club, the giant's swings were slow but devastating, each impact even creating craters.
Yuka's Balboa managed to absorb one strike, its rocky body cracking but holding firm. "Encouragement!" Yuka shouted, boosting Balboa's resilience and performance, as Balboa retaliated with a straight Stony Punch that directly hit the resurrected Ancient Giant's chest.
Max, unrelenting, charged in. He jumped and his greatsword carved into the giant's shoulder, each strike forcing the skeletal behemoth to stagger. Flake joined the fray, launching icicles with Icicle Rush from above to chip away at the giant's defenses and slow its movements. Together, their coordinated assault began to turn the tide.
The battlefield was chaos, each skirmish playing out like a symphony of destruction and strategy. Tobe pressed his attack on Naoto, Miri and Jun danced around the 4th Chosen Hero, and Yuka and Max worked in perfect tandem against the Ancient Giant. But, their battles were far from over...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of Chapter Stats of our Young Adventurers:
Tobe Lvl 85 - (Race Abilities: High Jump, Cat-like Instinct) (Spells: Mana String, Explosion Impact, Fall Lighting, Space Space, Aqua Control, Reconstruct, Firas Bolto, Rock Spire Shotgun, Vine Whip) (Spark - Ambition Ignition 15% Current)
Flake Lvl 43 - (Skills: Ice Creation, Icicle Rush, Frost Breath, Ice Ball Shot, Familiar Fusion)
Miri Lvl 75 - (Race Abilities: Halo Flash, False Judgement, Weightless Embodiment) (Skills: Strength Up, Defense Up, Agility Up, Slash, Pierce, Shield Block, Shield Bash, Shield Rush, Bastion Wall Shield, Bastion Weapon Integration)
Oculis Lvl 41 - (Skills: Health Drain Tendril, Soft Healing Glow, Wide Party Heal)
Yuka Lvl 64 - (Race Abilities: Creaturea Lamvia) (Skills: Contract, Summon, Half-Summon, Encouragement. Summons: Blubby Lvl 49, Scale Lvl 53, Balboa Lvl 57, Spryt Lvl 50, Gyutei Lvl 46)
Jun Lvl 70 - (Race Abilities: Danger Sense, All-Four Rush, Bleeding Bite) (Skills: Disguise, Silent Step, Smoke Bomb Drop, Snatch, Stab, Slice, Hook Pull, Needles, Healing Steal, Decoy, Theft Hook, Escape Plan)