C130: End of the Abyss P12

C130: End of the Abyss P12 😁

Overall Word count = 2283 on 8/17/2024.

A/N: I hope yall are ready for a treat 😁

Alt Title Teaser: Corruption…

The group soon arrives on the 52nd floor and it does not change much from the previous floor. It is still the granite like surface, same old monsters of goblins, kobolds and now dungeon lizards. If there is another positive to the dungeon getting weaker is that Jack birds have been showing up a ton each time the floors were reset. This has helped a lot of the first adventurers who were in the upper floors to get a quick break. Then it was mostly Surveyors who got the heap of Vali in their hands.

As for why Axel is thinking about this, it's just that Axel and co have spotted their first jack bird. Haruhime, Daphne and Cassandra stay by his side while the others fall for the allure of money and charge forward after the bird. Axel has a bad feeling in his gut. This is incrementally heightened as the group approaches the jackbird. Axel feels a bit hot and a strange gaze on him but he cant immediately sense anything due to the dungeon's mana in the walls. He is unnerved and he quickly channels a bit of wind magic into his hand and then thrusts forward at the group.

This sends the group flying forward unexpectedly but they, with their rings, remain steady on their feet or just bounce off the walls. They look towards Axel strangely until they notice a spot where they were just about to be if they were not pushed start to glow red before a powerful fire burst through the ground.

"I mentioned this area before when we had reached floor 50 but just a small reminder. The 51st to 58th floor is called the dragons nest. It is called as such due to the Valgang dragons that have made their home on the 58th floor. Anyone want to explain why the Valgang dragons are special?"

The group looks down in shame as they come to quickly understand that they could have very well died. Chigusa is the one who finally answers, "Because the Valgang dragons can somehow sense what is happening up to the 52nd floor and release a fire breath that reaches up to here."

"Correct. I didn't expect the Valgang dragons to still remain here after the dungeon weakened but they have no reason to leave. But this also worked out for us. The dungeon repairs most of the damage, so the hole is no longer hot but that also means, we have an easy stairwell towards the 58th floor. Hip hip hooray. Ill go on ahead to clear the path while you all make your way down. "

Axel informs the group and hops into the tunnel, he walks quickly in case the dragons release another fire breath into this tunnel or make another one. If its the first option then he would struggle to dodge and would likely have to make a barrier to block the fires. If it's the second then he can easily dodge and would instead gain a second tunnel if he needed it.

After a brisk jog, he arrives at the 53rd floor and extends his various senses for any incoming fire attack. He even smashes open a hole in the wall in an attempt to find the Valgang dragons.

Yet the threat of being lost and the fact that the holes are quickly recovering urges him to abandon his idea when he quickly finds nothing but walls.

He jumps back into the hole and at a slightly faster pace, he makes his way down again.

54th, 55th, 56th,

Oops dragon breath. Axel punches out to create a wind blast that creates a small opening for him to slink through and get to the 57th floor. Yet it is then that the holes finally close in this region. Afterall, it was damaged first.

Due to his attack, the second breath could only introduce minor damage. He sets down Sabrina and has her 'death hound' watch over her while he quickly teleports to the location of each floor near the hole.

He finds his team and brings them to where he got to. Picking up Sabrina again and having the grim reaper go back into hiding. Axel manifests a katana in his hand and then with a mix of spatial magic and his personalized mana burst. He slices open a new hole to the next floor. The group drops down right next to the original fire breathing Valgang dragon.

The group quickly rushes at this dragon while Axel takes a closer look around to find that there are a total of 18 Valgang dragons, he is surprised that more didn't attack him but maybe they would have if his group continued walking around on the 52nd floor. Thus marking the area around this dragon as it's territory. It's only when he started descending at a fast pace that he might have unnerved another dragon that sensed him so it also attacked him.

As for why he didn't go after this second dragon instead, well it's because he did it for his team. This 'dragon' nearly killed the group, so he directed them to the proper one while he himself went off after the dragon who attacked him. Haruhime provides some support to the rest of the group while Daphne and Cassandra tail him since they are very fearful of these dragons.

The Valgang dragons are in fact giant Drakes, quadrupedal dragons that live without wings. These ones can reach up to 10 ft tall if they stand on their back legs. Drakes sport tough muscles with dense shells overlapping it's body until it reaches its spiky tail. [1]

(imagine a stegosaurus without back spikes and tail it more like a tri-spear then 2 spikes on each side of the tail's end.)

As Axel gets a bit closer, he actually finds that this type of dragon is really cool. His hands grow itchy as he suddenly finds a worthy target for something he has had for a while but was never sure he could have pulled off when he first got it. It was only through repeated enhancement of his willpower that he gained the confidence to do it.

He approaches the dragon and it unleashes its breath at him again but he picks up a rock and infuses it with some of his energy so that it is more sturdy. He then throws it at its throat which with Shockwave buff, causes the drake to cough suddenly as it is gathering its fire. It burns it's throat/mouth but it also is forced to stop anymore of it's breath attacks.

It then tried to attack with it's sizable claws but Axel grabs hold of the claw and pulls the dragon towards him. The force of which knocks it down before Axel. It stares at Axel with hatred and murderous intent. It is afterall born of the dungeon and hates all humans or even any outsiders. It didn't spare that Jackbird that Axel's group was chasing when it's buddy unleashed the fire breath at them.

"It's alright now. I won't hurt you" He says with such compassion that if anyone but the two girls were paying attention, they would think that he is a saint.

Yet his next words can only belong to a devil as his shade form overlaps with his normal form. "Afterall, YOU ARE MINE!!"

His hand glows bright blue as it comes in contact with the Dragon's head. A link is set between the two as the dragon is stunned in place under the blue glow. Axel enters the dragons mind. He stands before a vast blank darkness with the exception of a single light source. A giant crystal, floating in the sky. Well, 'sky' is only roughly 5-10 ft high.

This is much ore different than Axel had expected since Cellebrimbor had never done something like this. WIth not much to do, he approaches the shining crystal. He can still feel the shade power flowing through him here, so he reaches out to touch the crystal with his glowing palm when a shadow intercepts him. Akin to a punch landing on his face, he is sent flying but as an expert in the mind space, he stops himself when he is in midair, He takes a look at his attacker and is confused.

The only detail he can make out is that it's humanoid but even that might be far-fetched as its form constantly shifts around. One moment it has human hands, while the next it has canine paws (wolf or dog for ref). Next moment it has scaly dragon claws. Even its face changes like this. Axel can only assume that it is the will of the dungeon

"Sup…" *pop* "Bitch" He calls out to the will, emphasizing the word by popping his lips out on the 'B'. He doesnt know if the dungeon will understand his words or can simply feel the intent behind it because the will 'growls' and leaps towards him but he has a surprise for the dungeon will.

He is not alone.

BANG

SMACK

SLAP

Axel first brings in the sleeping Radahn to sit on the jumping dungeon before he gets off. Asura delivers a Tombstone Piledriver upon the will when it bounced off the floor.

When the will finally gets its head out of the ground, it finds Axel squatting right before it. His leg spread, elbow on knee, as if waiting for her to come up as his free hand delivers a resounding slap across its face.

The will seems to be in a daze so Axel gets to kicking. Stein, Migi and Killua join him in kicking the will when it's down.

"It's this what the young folk call, jumping a bitch" Stein asks Axel with a mad smile, the cigarette in his mouth nearly falling out a few times but anime logic dictates that it doesnt.

The dungeon will naturally understands that it is somehow losing, so it attempts to reach towards the central crystal, the magic core when the frosty Leviathan Axe comes down on the hand, splits it down the middle. The Will naturally is shocked but not more so than Kratos continuing his rampage by grabbing it's shifting head while Asura grabs it's legs while Kratos grabs it's head and shoulders. The duo both pull which creates visible agony on the Dungeon Will before its head is ripped off along with its waist being split in half horizontally between the upper and lower parts.

Asura splits the waist half it holds in half so it's just one leg each before slamming both down onto the ground where they turn into puree. Kratos takes the opposite approach by yeeting both the head and the torso it holds into the air before summoning his chain blades to split the head and torso into multiple other chunks as he does an X pattern on both.

'Blood' splatters everywhere from both their cruel actions before they just look at Axel who cant help but comment.

"Well boys, I think that's our win. Hooora" He slaps his still glowing hand upon the crystal and he returns to the real world. The Valgang dragon has been successfully corrupted to his side, it's injuries seemingly healed as a result…somehow. He notices his hand print etched white upon it's gray granite scaly skin. He hops onto the drake's back. He leans forward to rub it's neck as he says,

"Well buddy, your part of the team now, and the first I've done this to. So that means your special bud, you deserve a name and I have just the right one. You are now the Earth Dragon Araba. A noble creature, wise beyond its years and a powerful predator to your foes." His words elicit glee within the dragon as it knocks it's head back with a resounding roar.

"I wonder what Sabrina will call you when she finally can talk. Maybe Toothless?" Araba shakes it's head as if petrified or disgusted by the name

Daphne and Cassandra who have witnessed this whole thing are in shock as the now named drake, Araba walks forwards to the rest of the group that has long finished their dragon and decides how they should split the money and materials for this dragon. They had gotten a few pieces of scales so the general idea is for Welf to turn that into some armor but since it's shared the primary argument is who would get it. Though when they hear the roar, they are stunned to silence when they see Axel riding his dragon.

"Howdy folks, I reckon you all better prepare yourselves. I dare say, I may have hit..no. pummeled…no. I…I hurt the dungeon. It's probably going to be angry. Haruhime, prepare the chant." They all pale at his words and they further pale as the whole of the dungeon shakes, as if the Dungeon Will had just recovered from being jumped by Axel and his soul fragments. The walls of the 58th floor, the dragon nest. It trembles and breaks as monsters break free to kill Axel and his group.

***********************************

Alt title: Corruption, Dungeon Will, Boss Rush P1

[1] Fun fact, I was about to describe the valgang dragons as lindwurms but then saw in description they can stand on back legs. For those that don't know, lindwurms don't have back legs. They follow the chinese style closer with it being a snake that looks like a dragon.