The wolf tried to spring to the side, but with a sharp nudge of telekinesis the spearhead sunk deep into his stomach at an angle, the heated tip piercing his armor. The Beastkin howled, stumbling to his feet, his wings twitching. He snarled at Erak, swaying where he stood.

  Erak tested his ((MANA POOL)) and yanked the spearhead out of the wolf’s side with another surge of telekinesis. The Beastkin yelped and fell to the ground, limp. The wound didn’t bleed, the heat must’ve cauterized it. Erak plucked the bloody spearhead from the air with his free hand, and let the spell die. The splintered shaft was too long to be a comfortable weapon for him. The Beastkin shifted to his man form and lay gasping on the floor. Erak dropped the spearhead. Instead he hefted blunt side of the broken spear and whacked the wolfman over the head. He groaned but stayed awake.

  Erak, if asked after the fact, could never explain why he did what he did next. It was something he would regret, not for the rest of his life, Elves rarely remembered their transgressions that long, but Erak would regret killing Quillian. Even if he had been mortally wounded from his first blow. The death of the beastkin wasn’t what he would regret. The air buzzed with hatred. It wasn’t Erak’s hatred certainly, and he didn’t think it was the Dungeon’s either. There was something else. Something that demanded Erak killed the wounded man, not simply put him out of his misery, not remove a threat, but kill him. And kill him he did.

  He pointed the splintered side of the busted spear shaft at the Beastkin’s face, the wolfman looked at him, helplessly, with the frenzied gaze of a wounded animal.

  The sharp splintered wood hovered an inch from the Beastkin’s eye. His mouth moved silently as he struggled to produce words.

  and then Erak stabbed.

  He pressed downward in one coordinated thrust, placing his entire body weight behind one action.

  The beastkin screamed, his limbs flailed wildly. Erak looked confused.

  He stood over him, and with a grunt, removed the pole from his eye. The beastkin didn’t make an attempt to move, but his chest shifted up and down erratically. Blood welled in the eye socket. The eye itself hadn’t gotten lodged onto the butt of the spear, but instead had been shoved back farther into the skull, causing the wound to essentially plug itself.

  Erak stabbed again.

  There was a sight sqliush this time. The face of the Beastkin contorted and he writhed, weakly trying to raise his arms in defense. The spear shaft was pushed deeper.

  Something gave way, and there was a soft and noticeable crack.

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  The beastkin went still. Erak stared at the corpse for a moment, confusion evident on his face.

  Then he stumbled back. He looked at his hands and was surprised to find them completely clean. It really hadn’t been all that messy of a fight. The man’s internal fluids were mostly still contained inside of his body.

  The man…

  The beastkin’s wings were stretched at odd angles. His muzzle was parsed open slightly. He looked no different than he had alive, a little surprised maybe. If it wasn’t for the wooden staff sticking out of his cranium, Erak would’ve checked for a pulse.

  Erak took a step back. His footstep echoed throughout the corridor. The corridor completely empty of living beings other than himself. Several dead ants littered the floor. One dead wolf.

  He breathed shakily, looked at the exit for a split second, then turned around. He scooped up the bloodied spearhead, and began to run ento the dungeon.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The spider had one goal, and by proxy, Empress shared it. Only one could survive. It seemed natural, somehow.

  The pillars in the ((SANCTUM)) crashed to the floor as the beast spun around. The ants who had clung to the monster dug their mandibles deeper into the armor. It flailed around wildly, knocking the ((CORE)) from its pedestal. The golden crystal clattered to the ground. Empress let out a phantom scream.

  Guard infused more strength into her bite as she hung from the spider’s neck area like a Pitbull. The spider only grew more frenzied. Empress didn’t think consider suffocation as a motive, Erak was the only person she knew that had lungs, and she hadn’t realized that yet. The spider wasn’t a regular spider however, and the spiderkin saw spots dance in her eyes. Guard swung around like a strange necktie as the spider kept shaking off the smaller ants and approaching the ((CORE)).

  Empress could do nothing but watch. Her ((MANA POOL)) jumped up and she felt Erak running through the hallways, which she took to mean that the wolf was dead but Erak wouldn’t make it to the ((SANCTUM)). She was going to die like she assumed the wolf had. It was a sobering thought, but not one that she wanted. There was nothing she could do, even Guard was barely holding her own. Her ((MANA POOL)) climbed upward slowly as she absorbed the dead. Not that she could use it.

  Hopelessness washed over her. It was the first time she had felt truly and utterly useless. She had always been the master of her Domain. Now a creature had come and was going to kill her. Her ((GAZE)) shook and dimmed. She barely watched as the spider and Guard thrashed around. She closed her metaphorical eye and breathed out. Letting herself be enveloped by the darkness. She… didn’t want to watch herself die.

  “Help me.” She whispered into the void; her voice quickly being swallowed up. She spoke softly, unsure of who she was begging. She didn’t even realize that she had spoken in first person, the words jumped almost unbidden from whatever passed as her lips. Perhaps it was a remnant of something.

  EMPRESS:

  A small Dungeon in the Inth mountain range that specializes in the Ento affinity, with a sub affinity to water. All monsters/colonists are Entopathic. Empress has no Mantra, and appears to be unaware of the concept. Empress has not manifested her Blessings and Curses page and appears to be unaware of the concept… somehow. This Dungeon has no RETAINERS, although due to her temperament, it is likely that she will soon gain RETAINERS, which would GREATLY INCREASE her chances of later expansion. It is EXTREMELY likely that she will soon gain a RETAINER within the next few days.

  Empress blinked at the text box, confusion momentarily overriding her terror. The spider sunk her fangs into the final guard ant. Guard silently seethed in anger, the spider felt her HP continue to tick down steadily, and began to search the room for the ((CORE)).

  CONGRATULATIONS!

  The ((SYSTEM)) chimed, despite its Silenced status, the text appeared quicker than normal.

  ONE OF YOUR MONSTERS HAS FULFILLED THE REQUIREMENTS FOR RETAINERSHIP, WOULD YOU LIKE TO-

  “YES! Do it!” Empress screeched. Her ((GAZE)) grew brighter, and she felt her ((MANA)) begin to envelop Guard.