#110 – WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY?

These pillars were useless!

The crystal shard shower had been a straightforward attack and hiding behind the pillars had done the job, but this tsunami of flames? It just went around it like water rushing at me!

That didn’t even make sense! That wasn’t how fire worked!

My only saving grace was the Phoenix Blessing counteracting a lot of the damage being done to me. Without it, I would have been totally toast.

Finally, after the tsunami of flames ended and I swore off on using fire against her again, I groaned as I looked down at my poor burnt clothes self that was already slowly repairing itself.

Thank god for that.

I wasn’t going to get a moment of reprieve, however, since the demon queen once again jumped into view, already leaning back in a telltale sign of preparing a breath attack.

I whipped out my gun self and quickly fired off a simple water shot just as she whipped her head forward and released a surge of fire – regular one, not the black one – in my direction.

The two hit each other, sizzled, and burst into steam… but apparently, my puny water shot was just too small to counteract the entire breath attack, and I didn’t have enough time to dodge such a wide area attack at the last second.

Instead, I finally listened to what chat had been suggesting this whole fight and used Guided Shot’ subskill Slippery to bend the space and make the fire swerve around me like a driver trying to avoid running over a pedestrian.

I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it, but she seemed shocked by that for a moment. Long enough for me to fire off Rend – ow, my head – and cleanly hit her.

She staggered – for longer than when she was in cyan mode, for some reason – and I used that chance to dash forward at her, pull out my axe self, grab it with my ultra fast tentacle, and then swing it so fast that I probably broke the sound barrier.

In fact, it was so fast, that the axe freaking slipped out of my tentacled grip and went flying, only barely scratching one of her arms.

Dammit.

Luckily, even though I’d kinda screwed this attack up, I could easily resummon the axe to myself and try again, this time using my actual arms to swing it.

She ducked under my swing.

I put my axe away, readjusted my stance, pulled the axe back into my hands, and then slammed it down on her crouching form.

She rolled away from the swing, but I still managed to make a cut on one of her wings.

She clearly didn’t like that, as indicated by her lashing out at me with her arm covered in fire.

I easily dodged both the punch and the resulting burst of fire that shot out of it and immediately went for another slash, aiming to cut off the offending arm.

But then she suddenly exploded.

“Gwah?!”

I stumbled back as the fire hit my face. It wasn’t strong enough to really hurt me, but it still blinded me for a second.

Just as I recovered and grabbed my axe again for a counter-attack something hit me in the back, making me stumble forward.

Straight into the demon queen’s flame-covered fist.

It was a split second reaction that had me bending space again to have the punch just barely miss, giving me just enough time to get my bearings, channel Crystal Dragon Stomp into my own fist and throw it at her shoulder.

It was like punching a rock, even with all the crystals exploding around us.

Why the hell was she suddenly so durable?!

She returned the favor by punching me in the stomach with her fiery fist.

I grunted but surprisingly withstood it and wound my arm back for a counter attack.

I had no idea how this battle turned into a fist fight, but we just kept punching each other more and more viciously and I didn’t even have the time to think about a better strategy.

Luckily, chat came in clutch and reminded me of the demon queen’s request before our fight.

And if I weren’t in the middle of a brawl, I would have probably hesitated, but right now…

I activated Soul Strike and used it alongside my next punch.

I still hesitated a little just before my punch hit and withdrew most of the power from that strike…

But still, unlike every other time I’d landed one, this punch seemed to have completely rattled the demon queen, sending her stumbling back with a full-body shudder.

Not exactly surprising. I could feel something in me reaching out and striking something of hers, after all. And I had to assume that those were our souls.

But… hers just seemed so… tiny. So frail. I had withdrawn most of the power from that Soul Strike and it still seemed to have a massive effect on her.

If I’d gone full power… it would probably shatter her soul.

…Which was exactly what she wanted, wasn’t it?

Still shivering, she managed to stand back up, fists back in the brawling stance. But I just stood there, frozen with indecision, now that I’d been reminded of what I was about to do.

“Will you come back?” I suddenly blurted out, instead of continuing the assault.

She paused – still shivering – and tilted her head.

“I mean… if I do this. Will you… respawn? Like the other monsters?” I winced a little at calling her a monster, but I had no other good way of calling these dungeon enemies.

She seemed to think about it for a while, before pointed a thumb at herself and slowly shaking her head.

My heart sank.

I mean, yes. I had known that would be the case, but still…

Then she spread her arms and wings, making me stiffen in anticipation, but rather than attacking, she then nodded her head.

…What?

She repeated the motions. Thumb at herself, shake her head, spread out her arms and wings, a nod.

“You… won’t, but… something will?”

A nod.

“...It won’t really be you, is what you mean? It will just be another soulless monster?”

Another sad nod.

I clenched my fists and grit my teeth.

Of course.

I had expected that.

So why was I damn opposed to it?

Was it because she was the first actual person I could talk to – sort of – I’d met in this dead world? Was it because her moveset was so damn similar to mine? Was it because I felt bad for the demons as a whole, having seen the massacre humans – presumably – had caused in this city?

…Or maybe it was simply because I didn’t want to be a murderer.

It didn’t really matter. Whatever the reason, I was still hesitating.

And it looked like she wasn’t going to let me just stand there, frozen with indecision.

She jumped back as her entire person burst into flames and I tensed, preparing myself to defend.

She waved her hands and then spread them out. Two fireballs shot out to the sides out of her hands and I warily flicked my eyes between them.

Before I could make my own move, the fireballs turned into bird shapes, flapped their wings and then curved their path toward me.

That was probably what had hit me in the back earlier.

I dashed to the side, trying to dodge the two firebirds, but as expected, they just readjusted their course and kept going toward me. Well, I guess there was no dodging these.

With no better way to deal with the attacks, I gathered some Ether inside my tattered clothes self and created a layer of water before putting up my arms to defend my face and turning slightly to the side.

One bird slammed into me, creating a puff of steam with a loud sizzle. I stumbled a step back but held on.

Then the second one slammed into me and I grit my teeth to bear with it.

But by the time my vision cleared, I got a clear view of the demon queen’s echo holsting up her axe again as it burst with black flames, about to swing it horizontally–

I dropped to the ground, hearing the swoosh and feeling the black fire’s heat right above me.

I snarled in frustration, quickly got up, got my own axe, and charged her.

Her axe shimmered with cyan and she chucked it straight at me.

I used Slippery to let it fly around me and got ready to swing–

#$5jerrod’s peanuts can’t fly.

Neurotoxin–

A tentacle burst out of me and bitchslapped my opponent just before her punch landed. I followed that up with a Rend to return the favor, further making her stagger.

Then I wound up my shaking punch, grit my teeth, activated Soul Strike, and just as she straightened again, punched her right in the stomach.

I could feel her soul shattering under the impact, just as I could feel the shudder ripping through her body.

She slumped, all the fire around her blinking out and her axe disappearing.

I reflexively caught her in a hug.

I was shaking.

“...E-Echo?” I asked, still not really knowing what to call her.

She didn’t react in any way.

I… I didn’t know what to do. What to think.

My mind was blank, and not because of the earlier mental attack hitting me.

I had just–

My arms suddenly went through her and I stumbled in momentary confusion.

A moment later, I realized what had just happened and looked at the dissipating orange smoke that had been the demon queen’s echo wafting away from my arms.

My breath hitched and I fell to my knees.

I sat there, staring blankly as the orange smoke dissipated into the air. Chat was spamming things at me, but I shut them off completely.

I just…

I couldn’t…

I…

‘Higher and higher’ achievement unlocked!

+1 Skill point

‘True adventurer’ achievement unlocked!

+1 Skill point

‘Deja vu’ achievement unlocked!

+3 Skill points

‘Strong-willed adventurer’ achievement unlocked!

+3 Skill points

‘Iron-willed adventurer’ achievement unlocked!

+8 Skill points

‘Universal adventurer’ achievement unlocked!

+8 Skill points

‘Supreme adventurer’ achievement unlocked!

+18 Skill points

‘Variety dungeoneer’ Side quest complete!

Main objective:

   Conquer at least one Intra and one Ether-based dungeon. [ACHIEVED]

Side objectives:

   Complete the Intra-based dungeon in one attempt. [FAILED]

   Complete the Ether-based dungeon without any monsters respawning. [FAILED]

Hidden objectives:

   Complete the Intra-based dungeon solo. [ACHIEVED]

   Complete the Ether-based dungeon solo. [ACHIEVED]

Reward:

   +4 SP

   Secret dungeon key

A fancy platinum key clattered to the floor in front of me, but I paid it no mind. Nor did I pay mind to the absurd amount of skill points I’d just gotten.

All I could think about was that the person I’d just been talking to was dead and gone forever.

By my own hands.