I stumble backwards as curved blades swing down at me from above. The stone shattering at the location I had previously been. Looking at the damage caused by the blow makes me shudder. That would have been it for me. The creature, however, doesn’t stop for me to process it. It lifts up its sickles arms and prepares to lunge again. Mists take it! The blades come down and I throw myself to the side. I'm glad this form doesn't have legs as if it had, they would no longer be attached. I make sure my pick is still in hand before darting back through the cavern the way I came. Fighting it here in the open is not going to work. Not with that speed.

Fast clinking sounds follow from behind as I continue through the cave. The chitin, slamming against stone as it gets closer at rapid speed. The sound stops. Instinctively, I duck and feel the air rush past my form as a blade crashes into the wall. rock and dust sprayed everywhere. I lift myself up, not stopping to look back and continue my frantic retreat.

For a moment the sound of the creature stops, putting me on edge. In front of me lies the narrowest point in the corridor and where I plan to take a stand. I quickly shift my vision behind me and panic. The creature, standing right behind me makes another attempt to part me from my body. I feel it as one scythe misses my back by a hairs width. My relief was short-lived though as the second scythe comes down from the other side, gliding effortlessly through my back. it scores a diagonal slash through the stone and scoring my core.

Pain. Pain I hadn’t felt in what feels like forever courses through my body. I feel myself hit the floor and curl up in agony as it doesn't cease. My mind goes blank and my consciousness begins to fade.

“ELYSIA”

I startle awake as the pain no longer feels as all-consuming as before and quickly look at my surroundings. I'm still in the cave. Then, the sound of rock being crushed comes from behind. I look around to find the creature staring directly at me. I flinch backwards expecting it to hit me at any moment before I realise it cant get to me. Its mandibles are clacking as it chews and arms scrape against the stone walls. it's digging its way through. When it hit me it must have pushed me through the narrow part of the cave.

“Elysia!”

The shout startles me “Oberon!”

“Thank the make-

“Oberon you need to prepare. A large creature attacked me in the tunnels. It is stuck for the moment but I doubt it will be for long.”

“What would you have me do? Shall I come to you or set up an ambush?”

I think for a moment before deciding an ambush would probably be for the best. There's no telling how long it will be stuck “Ambush, ill see if I can hold it off here while I can but will be returning soon”

“As you command!”

I look around for something to use against the creature before my eyes fall upon the pick I took from the defender. I'm so glad that came through the tunnel with me even if it looks a little worse for wear. I grasp it in my hands and ignore the pain as I stare at the creature that caused it. I try something that I hadn’t done before and will the mind inside the pick to move. I ask it to pull the head of the pick back, making its shape more like a spear. To my surprise, it actually works! The pick head rotates around the core that attaches it to the handle. I take up a stable posture and get ready to stab forward as I look at its face. Come on you can do this. Don't feel apprehension at killing something that wishes to do the same. I look away and thrust the pick forward. It connects. When I turn back I see the pick has gouged into one of its large eyes. The eye swells before it suddenly popping, littering its contents across the cavern walls and pushing my pick back.

The creature recoils and furiously clacks its mandibles as it rubs the area its eye had once been. I stand there ready, hoping it might turn back and leave now that it has been hurt. Unfortunately, that's not the case. After a moment the creature resumes its assault in a frenzy but no longer uses its mandibles to dig. Instead, I feel it as it stares at me, paying close attention to my every move. I don't get it. I'm made of stone! Why does it even want me when it can't eat me?

I get into position again and this time thrust toward its other eye. I miss, my foe moves out of the way with plenty of time to spare. The creature then tries to lunge at the pick. Oh no you don't! I pull it back just in time as a bladed arm moves through its previous location and hits the ground.

I adjust my grip on the pick for a longer reach and aim at its abdomen in retaliation. The insect dodges again. this time, it wasn’t enough. The pick head slams in between two chitin segments. The two plates peel back creating a large open wound. The insect moves back again as I desperately pull the spear out. It swings down an arm and misses the handle but it clipped the core. The pick flashes for a moment before crumbling in my hands.

I choose this moment to run. The insect not long after resuming its digging. I move through the cave. Intently listening out for the sound of the creature expecting it to be upon me at any moment. The entrance to my heart room is in the distance and I feel my mood drop when I realise Oberon might not even be ready.

“Ober-“

I stop talking and pick up my pace as I hear the sound of clinking against stone rapidly approaching from behind. Within moments the creature is close enough that it lunges. I throw myself forward and Its arms slam into the walls on either side of me. I fall to the floor and slide through the entrance.

I look around once I stop and find Oberon waiting above, my defenders ready at the sides. The creature throws its body at the hole exposing its head.

Oberon leaps off the stone above as my defenders simultaneously stabbed and swung their tools forward. Two defenders at the back quickly latch on to its bladed arms with everything they have to deny their use.

The creature continues to struggle, knocking several of my defenders over as it tries to pull Oberon off its back. An arm gets free and in but a moment, slices through 2 defenders. My connection to them is cut as they turn to dust. The creature brings up an arm ready to sweep once more but it stops halfway through the motion. Oberon pierced its head with a sharp stone. The body twitches momentarily, then slumps to the floor. The cavern goes quiet, my hearts chime the only sound present.

The pain finally becomes too much and I drift into darkness.

When I wake up I find myself in the same position with Oberon by my side. The defenders are still peering down the entrance to the cave ready in case anything else approaches.

Oberon was the first to speak “we lost two defenders.”

“Three if you include the tool,” I say

Silence rains again.

“…You’re mad at me aren’t you?”

He flinches back “why would I be?”

“because you warned me of the dangers yet I went anyway… I even ended up bringing it so close to my heart.”

“… Elysia as much as I want you to prepare, it was inevitable that you would encounter hostile creatures. Sure I would have liked you to have more defenders at this point but that's only because the information I hold tells me it's wise to, not that you have to. To the other entities of this world, you are a beacon of mana that they could obtain to advance.”

“Is that why it was mist-bent on killing me? “

“As other beings are stepping stone for your progression, so are you to theirs.”

“After what I just experienced I feel I have to agree on us having more defenders. We need stronger defenders too. Both the ambush and me slowing it down relied on the use of tight spaces to keep it in check. What happens if, for instance, the creature wasn’t one but a swarm? Or maybe was small enough to fit through the narrow spaces from the start.”

“ ‘The strength of your enemies can be yours in more ways than one.’ If you dismantle the body you should be able to use its parts to create stronger defenders.”

That's a good point. I start to examine the corpse of the creature that attacked and now that I'm not running away panicking, I'm just… confused. I can identify it straight away its a glowing mantis and they are absolutely everywhere in the underneath. In fact, a lot of the community keep them around as a deterrent for other insects that are more of an annoyance. And that's the thing, they are really small. As in, the tip of your finger. How did it get so big? Unless it's from a rift. That's always possible… it can't be that I'm small right? Dungeons don't start that small surely?

“Oberon… how big are we?”

“That… I do not know.”

Evershadows

As always thanks for reading! it was interesting trying to write a fighting scene (or running scene) let me know what you think xD the chapter was originally really big and took too long for me to go over on time so I've split it and will hopefully get the next part out in a day or two.