Chapter Three

The four figures finished their careful inspection of the wide open area, before finally turning their attention to the only open gate.

One of the four had tested the gates to see if she could open it, but found it would not budge, so she left it alone.

The two men who were reclining against the side of the arena got up, brushing themselves off, and joined the other two to investigate the single open gate.

As they grew closer, Ansuz was able to clearly make out their features.

The two women were an elfin and orc, both sporting torn jumpsuits that were clearly not torn by blades.

The elf was short and seemed to be made of glass. Her thin and frail body was unhealthily pale and her golden eyes were empty of any emotion aside from despair. Her pale and chapped lips quivered with her short and too-fast breaths.

The orc woman was slightly better, but her green complexion was mottled with paler spots that made it clear she wasn't faring particularly well. Her body still held considerable muscle, however her gaunt face made it clear she wasn't in any shape to fight.

The two men were identical, making Ansuz believe they were twins. Their blonde hair and blue eyes, mannerisms, and creepy smiles all matched nearly perfectly, as they moved.

Their bodies were well-nourished, rife with bulging muscle, the very picture of male health, however they were still dwarfed by Hagalaz's astounding physique.

"Go on." One of the men pushed the orc woman forward into the open gate. "Investigate it and we might give you a ration."

The orc woman perked up slightly at the prospect of food, but hid it well.

"Haha this bitch really wants food, doesn't she?" One of the men laughed raucously, her mannerisms not escaping his sharp eyes.

She set her chapped lips in a thin line as she moved forward, making as large of strides as her malnourished body would allow.

She turned the corner and abruptly finding the three terrified-looking people who had been observing them.

"There's three people here." She said flatly. "They seem harmless enough."

"We'll judge that." One of the men spoke again. "Bring 'em here."

The three compliantly followed the orc woman, silently pitying her situation.

Once the woman stood in front of the two men, the man on the left pulled a quarter of a loaf of bread out of his inventory and handed it to her.

"Enjoy your meal!" He jeered.

The woman reached to grab the bread, but the man pretended to fumble, dropping it onto the sandy ground.

She bent to pick it up and he stepped on her back, causing her to sprawl onto the ground, unable to get back up.

"Ohh that elfin woman is pretty hot, isn't she?" He asked, his foot pressing harder into the unfortunate woman's back. "Leave her here and we'll let you go."

Ansuz felt a part of him snap, causing a sudden rush of rage.

Ansuz exchanged a glance with Kenaz and nodded coldly.

He summoned lightning around himself, his eyes trailing electricity as he charged an attack.

Kenaz summoned her bow and filled it with power as she prepared to shoot.

"You wouldn't want to hit this woman, would you?" One of the men asked, gesturing to the woman beneath his foot.

Ansuz abruptly switched to metal, letting the electricity disperse as he gathered the metal from the bull for a surprise attack.

With an unholy screeching noise, the metal he gathered bent and separated from the mass of metal and flew over to Ansuz, beheading one of the men in the process.

"YOU BASTARD!" The man screamed, raising a sandstorm.

He sent the metal at the remaining twin.

The man growled and raised a wall of sand with the orc woman in the center.

Ansuz halted the movement of his metal as Kenaz released the arrow from her bow.

With a dazzling light, the arrow pierced through the chest of the woman and collided with the man, exploding violently.

The man was abruptly erased from existence. The remnants of what was once a breathing body rained down upon the dying woman sprawled listlessly upon the sand.

"Sorry we couldn't save you." Ansuz said to the dying woman.

"N-no." She shook her head. "Thanks."

Ansuz patted the woman's shoulder as they all gathered around to witness her dying breaths.

"Thank you for...Saving her." The woman said as her breathing abated. "She was my only...Memory."

After confirming her death, Ansuz created a shallow grave to place the unfortunate soul into.

They all stood sadly as he lowered her still-warm corpse into the pit, covering the body with sand and erecting a metal cross on top of it.

"I'm glad I killed the bastard." Kenaz said, as if to comfort herself. "If I hadn't, her death would have been in vain."

"That doesn't make it less difficult to watch someone die." Ansuz said, turning to the elfin girl. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, hugging herself tightly.

"Have you been named already?" He asked.

She shook her head.

"Well, your rune is Algiz, so why don't we call you that?" He pointed to the rune on her shoulder that was a V intersected by a vertical line.

She shrugged.

"Do you want to talk about your time with those two bastards?" Ansuz figured hate might help loosen her lips.

She shook her head vigorously, fear playing across her features.

"Have some food." He offered her several strips of piping hot meat from his inventory.

She grabbed the meat and stuffed it down her gullet as if she were afraid he'd change his mind.

"We won't treat you like those two did." He indicated the large starburst of blood and the headless corpse on the ground.

"I'm going to try and sleep." Kenaz announced, laying herself far away from the battle zone. "Could you take the rest of your watch?"

Ansuz nodded.

"Do you want to join me, Algiz?" He asked.

She shook her head almost imperceptibly, but followed him anyway.

He sat close to the entry gate and patted the sand next to himself, letting her sit uneasily next to him.

"I'm not going to attack you or anything." Ansuz said seriously, patting her bony shoulder. "I don't treat people like that."

"How do I know you're not lying?" She asked in a small voice.

"You'll just have to see I'm telling you the truth from the way I act." He offered her some bread and more meat. "I don't know about the other two, but I think they would appreciate a new addition to our little team."

She didn't respond, ravenously devouring the food he had given her.

"Careful or you'll choke." He warned, handing her a water skin.

She thanked him, but did not slow her rapid devouring of her food.

He turned his attention to the gate, enjoying the feeling of his mana circulating within him.

"Why do you treat me like this?" Algiz suddenly asked after a while.

"Because I don't want to see anyone suffering." Ansuz responded, sighing heavily. "Since I've awoken in this place, I've killed twice, and watched your friend die. It doesn't feel good to encounter death, especially when you once trusted the person you had to kill."

Algiz leaned slightly away from him, an action that was nearly imperceptible, but showed she didn't trust him still.

"Isa betrayed us when I got my first relic." He shook his head. "We saved his life and he returned our kindness with hatred. We planned on merely forcing him out of the team too, but when we came here he tried to kill us again."

Algiz listened attentively, her posture relaxing slightly.

"I'm truly sorry we couldn't save your friend." Ansuz apologized after a pause.

"It's not your fault." Algiz protested.

"But it was my team that provoked those two, leading them to using her as a meat shield." Ansuz pointed out.

"No amount of apologizing will bring the dead back to life." She muttered quietly.

"That is true." He nodded. "And it won't reduce the pain of loss, but it can help mend it."

"Why didn't you try and use your authority to take advantage of me?" Algiz asked after a long stretch of silence.

"Because I didn't want this role in the first place, and I have another person I'd rather pursue." Ansuz answered.

"Kenaz?" She asked.

Ansuz gave her an enigmatic smile.

"Hagalaz?" She tried again.

He chuckled but didn't answer her, instead focusing on his role as a sentry.

"It seems you like Kenaz." Algiz nodded to herself. "Why?"

Ansuz briefly wondered why he was going to discuss his love life with someone he just met, but discarded the thought and merely confided in her.

"Although we met not long ago, I like that she's decisive, quick-witted, strong in both mind and body, and she trusted me enough to place her trust in me." He chuckled to himself dryly. "And yet I know less about her than I do myself."

"You just showed that you knew quite a bit about her." She responded. "And you showed that you like parts of her, but what about her grates on you?"

"What does that mean?"

"N-never mind." She shrank away from him.

"No, do tell me." Ansuz glanced at her. "I won't force you to, but I am genuinely curious what you mean by that."

"I-I mean, what p-parts don't you l-like about h-her?" She stammered.

"I see." Ansuz thought for a moment. "Perhaps her occasionally showing her sadistic side, but it's more fear than dislike."

He continued to chat with Algiz, who slowly opened up to him the longer they talked.

Before he knew it, his time for sentry expired and it was Hagalaz's turn.

He laid down where Hagalaz had rested and was startled by Kenaz rolling over and whispering to him.

"So you like me, huh?" She giggled quietly.

"Well, shit." Ansuz cursed under his breath, embarrassed. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"Don't worry." She moved herself closer to him and embraced him. "I like you as well."

"What of Hagalaz?" Ansuz asked, unsure of where to put his hands.

"Algiz has her eye on him." Kenaz chuckled, her breath grazing his ear. "And I have you."

"I'm flattered," Ansuz grinned still trying to figure out where he should put his hands.

"Aren't you going to return my hug?" She asked suddenly.

"I was, but I didn't want to ruin our relationship by putting my hands where I shouldn't." He admitted.

"Try anywhere on my back." She laughed lightly, enjoying his ginger embrace. "I know I haven't known you for long, but I somehow feel like you are a person that I can place my absolute trust in and you won't betray it."

Ansuz didn't know how to respond to that.

"Come on, hug me like I'm not covered in mold, would you?" She said.

He held her close, acutely aware of every firm, defined muscle that he touched, as well as every soft, pillow-like part of her that he touched.

She rapidly fell asleep in his arms, comforted by his embrace.

'She's cute when she's asleep.' He thought, struggling to follow her example of relaxed rest.

He moved his hand to a more comfortable resting position, incidentally finding that rubbing her back was relaxing.

He began rubbing her back, enjoying the sensation of the smooth fabric that outlined her muscles, slowly drifting into sleep.

His actions eventually awoke Kenaz, who found the action endearing. She hugged him tighter, enjoying his warmth and the feeling of his hands rubbing her back as she followed him in his trip to dreamland.

He awoke to Hagalaz shaking both of them awake, Algiz standing uneasily beside him.

"Is it my watch?" Kenaz asked releasing her hold of Ansuz, sitting up and stretching.

"I went ahead and took your watch." Hagalaz chuckled. "You two looked so comfortable in each other's arms that I couldn't bear to separate you."

"You need to value your own wellbeing too." Ansuz said, concerned for Hagalaz's lost sleep.

"Alright, next time I'll awaken you." He nodded, patting Algiz's shoulder and causing her to flinch. "Algiz is wonderful to talk to, so I didn't really mind."

Algiz seemed uncomfortable with the statement, but Ansuz nodded in agreement.

"Shall we eat before we go?" Hagalaz asked, rubbing his stomach.

Ansuz chuckled, walking over to the corpse of the lizard once more and filling an entire inventory slot of every member of the party with the succulent meat.

"Do you want to try and wear this guy's suit?" Ansuz asked suddenly, seeing the rips and tears that covered her jumpsuit. "I could wash out the blood and you wouldn't have to wear something with so many holes in it."

She nodded, walking over to the dead man's corpse and peeling off the jumpsuit, kicking it a few times after she got it free.

Ansuz used his water magic to rinse the bloodstain that had pooled on the back of the piece of clothing, quickly removing any visible bit of red.

Kenaz went with Algiz to the gate and helped the elfin out of her tattered garment and into the overlarge jumpsuit that bagged around her ankles and hid any traces of her hands.

"Well, it's better than what you had." Kenaz said, helping her roll up the sleeves and legs.

"Thank you!" She chirped, finally poking herself out of her shell.

Kenaz patted her head affectionately.

"We ready to go?" Ansuz asked.

They departed from the monument, once more entering the ancient, misty, stone bricked cavern.

Nearly an hour later, a massive flash of light illuminated the fog, blinding the party.

"What the hell was that?" Ansuz wondered aloud, staring in the direction it came from.

"A flash of light." Kenaz answered his question, though not in the way he wanted.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." He chuckled. "Should we investigate or keep moving?"

"I say we investigate." Hagalaz said. "For all we know it could be an artifact."

"That is true, but that would also mean that we would be walking into danger." Kenaz responded. "I say we ignore it."

"What about you, Algiz?" Ansuz turned to the short girl.

She waved her hands in front of herself, shaking her head.

"I don't dare to provide my input!" She exclaimed, backing up.

"Algiz." Ansuz said, resting a hand on her head. "If we are to be a team, we need to work together, as one. We can't work together properly if we don't listen to each other."

"Th-then I want to go!" She declared, excited to be listened to.

"Alright then." He said, walking towards the origin of the massive light. "Let's go."

"Why didn't you vote?" Kenaz asked as they walked, slightly miffed.

"I won't vote." Ansuz responded. "It would be better for me not to have absolute control over the party."

"But that may create issues further down the line." She protested.

"We'll deal with that when we get there." Ansuz said, laughing as he quoted her.

"Fair enough." She shrugged. "But I think you should take total control over our general decisions. That way the majority of us doesn't vote to do something stupid."

"How about I overrule when I think it to be a foolish decision?" Ansuz suggested.

"Why aren't you doing that now, then?" She inquired.

"Well, because of a lack of information." He gestured the direction they were walking. "We don't know exactly what we're getting into, so when we have that information we can make decisions from there."

As they closed in on the location that the light originated from, they began seeing the flashes of magic that illuminated the fog with an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colour.

Through the illumination of the fog, they saw a total of seven active figures, clearly in teams of three and four respectively, each controlling a different element.

The figures were locked in an intense battle, clearly proven by the multitude of corpses that were strewn about like broken toys.

"This'll be interesting to watch." Kenaz said, pulling out a slice of meat and biting into it.

Ansuz still hadn't quite gotten used to death, and looked at Kenaz, who was leisurely enjoying a meal with incredulity.

"What? It's good meat." Kenaz glanced at him before returning her gaze to the fight. "And a girl's gotta eat."

"How are you so nonchalant about the bodies?" Hagalaz asked, gesturing to the broken bodies lain upon the stone.

"I don't know." Kenaz shrugged with indifference. "I just kind of found out that I don't mind the dead."

"I wonder what you did before we ended up here." Ansuz said.

As they spoke, the fourth member of a team fell, tipping the balance of the battle in the favor of the other team.

The team that fell at a disadvantage fought to their last man, managing to take out all but one of their enemy's men.

"I guess this is where we come in." Ansuz shrugged and approached the sole survivor.

Kenaz followed him closely, half-drawn bow and arrow in hand, ready for a fight.

The light of the arrow dimly illuminated their figures in the swirling mist, alerting the survivor to their presence.

"Who are you?" The man demanded, charging his fist with blue flame, despite the wounds on his body. "What do you want?"

"Information." Ansuz responded easily, gesturing for the man to put his fists down.

"Ask, and I shall answer to the best of my ability." The man said exhaustedly, releasing his control over the flame and letting it puff out of existence.

"Why were you fighting?" He asked.

"We found a legendary relic." The man responded, pointing to a structure that had been impossible to see due to the rapidly shifting colours from their fight. "But my team was attacked by those people and we were forced to retreat."

"How did you know it was legendary?" Kenaz asked curiously.

"The size determines its artifact's power." The man explained. "Based on Scholar's study of the dungeons, the larger it is, the more mana it absorbs, creating a better relic."

"That makes sense." Hagalaz butted in from behind them. "But why do the dungeons have monsters and puzzles and other deterrents in them?"

"Scholar thought they were parasites, feeding off of the accumulated magic of the dungeon." The man responded. "And the puzzles served as a way to deter the potential parasites, as if the dungeon made its own immune system."

"But why would the monsters also be caged by the dungeon?" Ansuz asked after a bit of thought. "Could it be that they formed a symbiotic relationship, then?"

"Or the dungeon enslaved them." The man suggested. "Because a few large monsters absorb less mana than a bunch of small ones, once again, according to Scholar."

"Is Scholar dead now?" Ansuz asked.

"Yeah." The man replied, pointing to a corpse in particularly bad shape. "He fought on the front lines, despite me telling him he should run to save himself. I wanted to keep him alive so we could figure out why we came here, and to help me and my team figure out how to utilize our mana better, but he wouldn't listen."

"That's unfortunate." Kenaz said, disappointed. "We could have learned a lot from him."

"He was a kind and compassionate man, as well as a insightful and curious scholar." The man responded, leaning down over the corpse and closing its eyes. "May he rest well."

"Shall we go try and take that dungeon?" Ansuz asked his team.

"I don't see why not." Hagalaz said, looking forward to a relic of his own.

"This might be a trap." Kenaz warned.

"You're right, but I think we have the power to break through any potential ambushes." Ansuz responded. "We should be careful regardless."

"I want to see a legendary relic." Algiz said.

"I also think we should go, despite the risks." Kenaz said. "This might be stupid of us, but we do need to strengthen our whole team."

"Alright then." Ansuz began jogging towards the massive structure. "We need to hurry so we can get there before the other teams."

They rapidly ate up the distance between them and the structure, easily locating the massive entrance of the pillar.

Each dungeon had a clearly different feeling to it, seeming as though it was made to resemble a sword blade piercing through the floor and into the air. Ansuz craned his neck upwards, but found no end to it.

They entered through the perfectly square entrance, rapidly making their way through the maze within, thanks to Kenaz's uncanny ability to path find, and found themselves inside what seemed to be a large mausoleum.

Despite the sheer size of the room, there were only three tombs labelled, each nearly twice the height of Ansuz.

One was labelled with a 'H' that was the Hagalaz rune, one was labelled with a 'V' intersected by a straight vertical line, creating the Algiz rune, and the final tomb was labelled with the letter 'F' with the horizontal lines angled down, creating the Ansuz rune.

"Can I open this one?" Hagalaz asked, pointing to the one with his rune on it.

There was no stereotypical puzzle, or cryptic sentence, or incomprehensible poem to give them clues regarding what could be in the tombs, so Ansuz let Hagalaz open the tomb with his own rune on it.

The tomb door opened downwards, slowly spilling purple light onto Hagalaz's face as he pulled it open, steadily growing more excited as he saw what was within.

Inside the massive door was a scythe haloed in purple energy waves that danced gently in a rough sphere. Its pitch black blade was attached to the curved silver haft by thin purple cord, creating a beautiful weapon.

Hagalaz waved them in, ready to take it for his own as soon as they touched it for possible achievement progress.

Algiz didn't understand what Hagalaz wanted, but seemed too afraid to ask, so Ansuz explained it to her.

"We're seeing if there's further achievement rewards for if we keep touching legendary artifacts." Ansuz explained, touching the smooth metal that made up the gently curving haft.

"Aren't you worried someone will try and run off with it?" She asked.

"Inspect it and you'll see." Ansuz chuckled, standing back so Hagalaz could take it.

{Artifact: Scythe of the Midnight Sun}

{Type: Weapon(Midnight Sun Set Item)(Unbreakable)}

{Alignment: Darkness, Light}

{Rarity: Legendary}

{Description: Death's scythe has been used by its disciples for millennia, until it was lost to them. After it was found by a being of light, it was tainted by light, creating a balanced power within the weapon. The disciples of Death spurned the weapon and cast it aside to be turned to dust by the sands of time. When using this weapon, the user will be strengthened by the anger of Death's disciples.}

{Restrictions: Must possess rune [Hagalaz], must not have another alignment, must not have any other artifact equipped, must be bound to user using an item of rarity [rare] or higher.}

{Penalties for use: Cannot equip armour unless it is part of the Midnight Sun set.}

Hagalaz pulled the [Shimmering Rainbow Crystal] from his inventory and happily watched both the scythe and the crystal disintegrate before reforming into a black tattoo on his hand in the shape of a skull outlined by a sun.

"Why does it feel like there are so many legendary artifacts?" Ansuz wondered aloud.

"Perhaps there are a lot of legendary artifacts." Hagalaz shrugged. "I don't mind the number."

"Why have we found no lower rating artifacts, then?" He countered. "Is it their size?"

"Probably." Kenaz said suddenly. "It's easier to spot a larger structure than a smaller, if we decide we believe that guy's explanation."

"It could also be that we're in the center of the massive area we're in, and there are rarer items here." Ansuz thought aloud, grasping at straws more than anything.

"Or we just haven't moved around enough." Kenaz suggested.

"But why would so many legendary artifacts be in such a small area?" Ansuz pursued his line of questioning. "Perhaps so we fight over them?"

"So you think this might actually be a battle royale?" Hagalaz asked, playing with the scythe in his hands.

"Well, given the situations we've seen, yes." Ansuz responded. "We've seen people fighting over resources, killing each other in the process, we've seen opportunists, taking advantage of people like Algiz, and people like Isa, wanting to remove their party for their artifacts."

"So, to win a battle royale, we have to kill every enemy, right?" Kenaz asked.

"Yes." Hagalaz nodded.

"So, would that mean we'd have to kill Algiz?" Kenaz asked, pointing to the unfortunate girl.

"It could be that there can only be one survivor." Ansuz pointed out. "But I don't really want to consider that possibility."

Algiz shivered.

"Let's not talk about that." Ansuz clapped his hands, moving to the remaining doors and opening the one with his rune on it. "Let's see what else we get."

Algiz followed suit, opening her own door.

He inspected the black artifact behind it.

{Artifact: Abyssal Edge}

{Type: Weapon(Abyssal Set Item)}

{Alignment: Darkness}

{Rarity: Common(Growth)}

{Description: The dual daggers once wielded by the Abyssal Assassin, a woman who killed so much even her weapons began thirsting for blood. When injected with mana, the daggers grant the user stealth, but after using the skill, the user must satisfy the weapon's lust for blood. The weapon has been weakened by eons without feeding upon the blood of enemies.}

{Restrictions: Must possess the darkness alignment}

{Penalties for use: When using this artifact, it must taste blood, cannot be abandoned unless user passes them on to another.}

It was a pair of curved black karambits that were accented by red around the chipped, yet sharp edges of the blades that dripped with black blood. The hilt was wrapped with a tattered grip that was the colour of dried blood that bled into the blade where they met.

It was an artifact that went poorly with his skill set, but he took it nevertheless. A weapon was a weapon, although the penalties made him a bit nervous. He figured he could deal with the penalties with relative ease.

He turned to Algiz's tomb, curious as to what she received.

It was a straight gold rod with feathered wings on the top that glowed softly.

{Artifact: Angel's Staff}

{Type: Weapon}

{Alignment: Light}

{Rarity: Rare}

{Description: The staff of a now-deceased angel. Can be used to heal or as a light source.}

{Restrictions: Must not possess the darkness alignment.}

{Penalties for use: Cannot attack while this artifact is equipped.}

"That's a pretty good item." Ansuz said appreciatively. "That means we have an advantage in drawn out fights."

"But...How can you trust me to heal you?" Algiz asked, holding the staff across her chest.

"See the penalty?" Ansuz pointed to the screen that displayed the penalties. "You're utterly harmless while you have that. In addition, you have no reason to attack us."

"I wonder how it prevents you from attacking." Kenaz strode towards Algiz suddenly. "Try and attack me."

"But-" Algiz protested, shying away.

"For science." Kenaz pressed.

Algiz gave her a half-hearted swing towards her arm.

Kenaz didn't move, accepting the blow.

To their surprise, the staff didn't hit, instead stopping about an inch away from her arm, and Algiz couldn't move it any closer to Kenaz.

"Artifacts are weird." Hagalaz laughed. "Too bad we didn't find any food in the dungeon they spawned in."

"Were the dungeons here in the first place?" Ansuz had a sudden thought. "Or do they spawn and grow like plants?"

"Does it matter?" Kenaz asked. "Our end goal is to escape. Not to figure out the mysteries of the dungeons."

Ansuz shrugged, turning back towards the entrance of the mausoleum.

"Might as well move from this place then." He said. "We can't dawdle in a hotspot for competition."

"Why are you so afraid of being caught by another team?" Hagalaz asked. "We could just smash them with our artifacts."

"There will always be unknown variables." Ansuz stated matter-of-factly. "And it'd be a risk I'm unwilling to take. The payout for defeating another person is nothing aside from experience, which, while helpful, is not something we should seek right now."

"He's right." Kenaz agreed. "We could fight each other if we wanted battle experience, but to fight another person is to fight a cornered rabbit. They'll fight like hell and could very well drag you to it with them."

As soon as the words left her mouth, they exited the dungeon and found themselves surrounded by four teams of four.

"Well." She sighed. "We might not have a choice."

"Will we die?" Asked Algiz in a small voice.

"There's always a chance." Ansuz responded.

"What do you want?" Hagalaz asked the teams surrounding them.

"Give us the legendary you found in that dungeon." One man spoke up, stepping forward an pushing his chest out.

"There was a legendary?" Ansuz asked, deciding to play stupid. "We only found a rare. Algiz show them."

Algiz complied, showing off the golden staff and the window that Ansuz opened for them.

"Of course, there could be a hidden legendary, but we chose to focus on speed in hopes of avoiding a situation exactly like this." Ansuz continued, seeing many of them beginning to nod their heads.

"That does make sense." One member of another team piped up. "My Blood team will enter first. You can try and fight us for it, but we'll meet you with magic if you get within twenty paces."

The four people disappeared into the entrance.

"Damn it!" Another team leader exclaimed, rushing in after them.

"Give us all your artifacts and we might let you live." The man who spoke first piped up again.

"Here's the problem with that." Ansuz said, stalling for time. "If we did that, we'd die somewhere else, rather than here."

"I see you're not stupid." The man chuckled. "But fighting us is futile. Do you want to die here or somewhere else?"

"You do seem to be stupid." Kenaz laughed suddenly. "You're wasting your time on us, rather than the chance for a legendary artifact."

"You-" The man began once more.

"Not only that, you're sacrificing your chances for a legendary artifact in favor of a rare artifact and other common artifacts." She continued mockingly. "Bravo. You are truly the dumbest person alive."

The man drew his sword coldly advancing towards them, followed by his three teammates. One was an archer and hung back slightly, the other two were swordsmen as well.

Kenaz shook her head and summoned her bow.

"You do realize that legendary artifacts are bound to the person once they acquire them, right?" She asked as she took aim.

Hagalaz wielded his new scythe in front of him, taking advantage of the massive reach of the scythe to keep them at a distance.

"And how would you know that?" The only team leader that had not spoken finally opened his mouth.

No one answered.

Ansuz channeled his power into his eyes, turning them into pits of darkness as he disappeared from everyone's view.

"Looks like it was the correct choice to stay, eh, boys?" They spoke again.

"Good luck." Kenaz laughed, loosing her arrow into the leader of the other team.

The leader tried to deflect it with his sword, but the sword shattered on impact, leaving him defenseless against the arrow that continued on its path.

The arrow pierced into his chest and exploded violently.

The two that had been approaching with him stood in wide-eyed shock, splattered with the bloody remnants of what was once their leader.

While they were distracted, Ansuz was using the skill of his {Abyssal Edge} to approach the members of the other party.

He reached them swiftly and silently, moving to their backs and killing them one by one.

He swiftly cut the throat of the rearmost member of the party, shocked when no blood spewed from the fatal wound.

The weapons pulsed, as if they were alive, greedily feasting upon the blood of the still-standing man, gradually gathering black mist around them as they absorbed more blood.

Ansuz pulled his sight from the corpse, swallowing the bile that had formed in his throat as he swiftly cut the throats of the other three who were still entirely unaware of their dead companion.

'After killing those four, why does it feel...Pleased?' He wondered, glancing at the pulsing void that surrounded the blades like fog, making their shape hazy as they greedily drank the blood of the dead.

He turned his attention to the rest of his small party. Hagalaz sat, depressed and covered on one side by blood and small chunks of flesh, fruitlessly wiping at it, trying to get it off.

Kenaz stood with her bow at the ready, entirely unscathed, and ready for those who had entered the dungeon to return.

Algiz was cautiously holding her staff in front of herself, as if it could protect her from Kenaz's arrows. She stood at a distance, her back pressed into the stone dungeon exterior.

He walked over and placed his dagger on Hagalaz's shoulder, allowing his demonic daggers to suck up the blood that dyed Hagalaz's jumpsuit.

"Thanks." Hagalaz said gratefully, picking off the now-dry chunks of flesh that still stuck to his clothing.

"I must say, that was relatively anticlimactic." Kenaz said, still on alert.

"While that is true, I still don't want to kill more than we have to." Ansuz sighed.

Hagalaz, at last pleased with the cleanliness of his clothing, pulled a piece of meat from his inventory and began voraciously tearing at it.

"How is it that you're able to eat right after eight people were killed right in front of you?" Ansuz asked, sitting next to him.

"Well, for one, I didn't even scratch them." Hagalaz chuckled, shifting his weight and extending his feet out in front of him. "And two, I had no hand in their death. Kenaz annihilated them."

"You got covered with their remains." Ansuz noted, plucking a piece of dried flesh off of Hagalaz's jumpsuit.

"And you cleaned off the blood, at least." Hagalaz shrugged, pulling another strip of meat out of his inventory.

Ansuz was about to say something but was interrupted by Kenaz.

"They're here."