Continuation of Idiocy

A figure, drenched in blood and sweat heaved a heavy breath as she leaned against a stone wall. Exhaustion and pain assaulted her mind, as she walked a thin line in the cusp of Mind Down. Her once full body, leather armor reduced to naught more than torn sleeved crop top and mangled thigh-highs as tears ran through the fabric. The outer kimono that once veiled her figure was torn and reduced to dirty rags that were used to staunch the wounds that were slowly growing across her frame.

Her ragged figure was without any potions, food, or water. The creamy wings that she would normally use in abundance ruined by crushed vials, and the alchemical solutions they held.

The short spear in her hands was the only thing that had yet to fail her…

She stepped into an intersection of passages with a limp, her lame leg dragging behind even the slightest of pressure laid upon it sent a sharp pain through her mind. While her lips were bloodied from biting into it to endure, however, even then it was difficult to place the difference between the blood which came from her body, and that of the enemies she had faced on her descent…

A roar resounded, followed by the loud charge of a Minotaur coming from behind. Forcing the young woman to pivot on her lame leg; the injury nearly caused her to collapse as the pain assaulted her, as her spear followed drawing an arc in the air that caught upon the monsters horn sending a trembling recoil through the shaft into her hands nearly loosening her grip as she forced herself to step off her lame leg into a thrust. Driving the oridecon blade of her weapon through the tough skull of the Minotaur, yet its charge did not stop. Its weight carried it through, as the blade pierced through the back of its skull and its body pummeled the Little Fox sending her to the ground under its weight with a wheeze.

The only solace, was the fact the the spear's shaft had managed to lodge itself in the ground, allowing the Little Fox some room to move under the dense corpse laid upon her. The monsters blood dripped and flowed, covering the Little Fox's face, blinding her in a veil of red that stuck to her skin and filled her mouth with a putrid taste.

The strength had long begun to leave her body, however, she still had a number of floors to descend before she could even begin to entertain the thought of rest. Slowly, the Little Fox pulled herself out from under the monster, a new pain wrecking her body as a sharpness sprung from her chest and every breath grew dull and heavy.

A cough slipped from her lips, spilling the blood that had filled her mouth, followed by a painful hack that tore at her throat expelling more blood that brought a sense of dread.

Washing her hand over her face, smearing the blood clearing her vision, the Little Fox winced as she tried to free her weapon. Uncaring of her blood soaked state of dress, that when cleaned of blood would be far better suited in the Red Light District than the dungeon.

Descending to the 19th Floor was by far the utmost priority, not allowing a single stray thought to rise from the faint breeze that washed over her unveiled femininity. Grabbing her blood soaked spear just under the blade, she pulled the length of the shaft through the Minotaur's skull with no small amount of effort. Yet, before she fully freed her weapon, a sound caught her ears, and her instincts forced her to leap to the side as a bullet of water grazed her arm, tearing away a chunk of flesh, before impacting the wall.

With a resounding pain washing through her mind, as darkness crept upon the edges of her vision, the Little Fox forced a chant, "Imbue—Flame—Wall." Her hand wiped the blood from the shaft of her spear.

It was among the cheaper spells when it came to Mind, but the Mana consumption was no small affair. Yet, the Little Fox was not lacking Mana and poured an aberrant amount within. Dividing the whole passage with an superheated wall of liquid flames, the heat kicked at her skin and the blood coating her frame began to steam rapidly drying, encasing the Little Fox in an almost wax-like coating momentarily sealing her movements before the coating began to crack and peel away from her skin.

Using the time brought from her egregious use of mana, Sayuri pulled her weapon free wrapping her hand around its shaft as she canceled the imbued mana. The Wall of Flames flickered out of existence, revealing a Lamia Momos across the red-hot cracked stone, pooling another bullet of water between its palms. Forcing her body through the pain, Sayuri limped forward throwing her spear directly at the manifesting mana. Not only ceasing the use of magic, but also skewering the monster, forcing Sayuri to once again, free her spear from a corpse, this time however she managed to do so unhindered.

Sayuri was seemingly allowed a few moments to regather herself with a fortifying breath, her shoulders slumping as an incorporeal weight fell upon them. An existential dread budding in the back of her mind, as once more Sayuri was reminded of her weakness. Despite having thrown herself in this very situation, where the doubts of her gained strength bloomed. Sayuri couldn't help but feel… something… An indescribable complexity that tightened her chest, and worked its way up her throat causing her breath to quicken.

Rapidly, Sayuri shook her head dispelling the thoughts that bloomed from the doubt budding in her mind, temporarily convincing herself that such thoughts were irrelevant to her survival. Sayuri was purely limited by the extent of her 'Mind'…

The seemingly endless well of mana churning within the depths of her being, formed by the ceaseless engine that is her soul, burning away at all that she experienced. Every sensation leading to more production of an energy, Sayuri was incapable of fully harnessing…

With her whole body tensing, a cold reassuring chill washed through her mind. It wordlessly whispered —something— that seemed to dispel all the doubt, weakness, and thoughts from her mind.

Sayuri continued deeper into the dungeon, her face expressing an unnatural calm, while the wounds riddling her body slowly began to mend together. The 'Mind' that had been drained slowly began recovering to a point that she was no longer teetering on the edge of Mind Down, as her mana gently filled every crevice of her body, ridding her of all the exhaustion that had begun to build up in her injured frame.

With no notion of pain occupying her mind, and not a single hint of 'Mind Down'. Sayuri found herself face to face with a Crystal Mantis…

Its crystalline blades rubbing together creating an ominous sound, a sound Sayuri took with a forced limping stride. Her spear slipped through her grip as she charged forward with a thrust, catching only the tail end of her spear as it clattered against the crystalline hide of the monster before her. Leaving naught but a scratch upon its body…

While its blade slashed out, forcing Sayuri to block with the shaft of her spear, the tip of the monster's natural blade briefly touched upon her skin causing it to indent before drawing a singular drop of blood as the Little Fox forced the blade away with a flourish of her spear. Using the moment gained from the rebounding blade to thrust her spear into the monster's midsection, only for her blade to scratch upon its surface slipping to the side, the slipping spear fueling a forceful pivot the brought the spears blade into the opposite side of the monster only for it to uselessly clatter against the crystalline exoskeleton.

The duo of Fox and Mantis devolved into a cycle of attacks, that continued for a time the Little Fox couldn't spare the mental processing power to keep track of, as it took the whole of her focus to continue to press what little advantage she had. With the use of Magic practically off the table, unless Sayuri wished to succumb to Mind Down.

Despite the feeling of its presence having disappeared from her mind, Sayuri —knew— a singular spell would bring her to its clutches, and that would only bring death upon her… Of all the monsters on the 15th Floor, it had to be a Crystal Mantis that kept her from advancing… The singular monster, whose body was made from a similar material as the blade of the spear she wielded…

They clashed numerous times, neither landing a debilitating attack on the other until a Minotaur's charge interrupted only for its head to slide from its shoulders as a crystalline blade swiped downward on a path towards Sayuri, the Minotaur's corpse slumped to the ground as the Little Fox blocked the attack with the shaft of her spear, the weight behind the attack lessened by the interruption allowing the Kitsune to half turn driving the rear of her spear into the Crystal Mantis' midsection cracking the crystalline structure, another half turn into a thrusting retreat brough the blade of her spear towards those cracks, and just as it was about to slip off as it had many times before.

Sayuri stepped forward, putting her all into a thrust that skewered the monster before it could lash out once more. Shattering the Magic Crystal within its chest, as it collapsed into a mass of red tinged ash, Sayuri stumbled forward through the ash briefly filling her lungs with the airborne material. Forcing her into a coughing fit that churned the internal injuries she hadn't noticed until a glob of blood left her lips, staining the stone floor.

Her gaze fell as Sayuri planted her spear against the ground, halting her stumbling finding her intestines hanging from her stomach just past the two bloodied mounds that rested upon her chest. A wince found her face as the pain registered in her mind, and her left hand cradled the viscera before it could worm its way further out of her body sending a chill through the depths of her mind as she was enlightened upon a new sensation… One of feeling your own insides, the gentle breeze that washed over them feeling like a thousand blades, the ash that clung to the organs and the putrid smell of smoldering flesh…

The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt, yet that reassuring child remained in her mind, urging her to stuff them back into her body to survive. Sayuri listened, and fought through the pain, stuffing her internals back where they belonged, alongside all the filth that littered them…

Another cough brought the taste of iron back to her lips as blood spurted from her mouth, dribbling down her chin and staining her already blood soaked chest with even more of the gory substance.

A weakness assaulted Sayuri's body, as her knees gave out from underneath dripping her to the floor as the darkness which was once content with lingering in the edges of her vision began to close, blocking out the world around her leaving only a thin tunnel pointing the way forward as she forced her way to her feet and trudged along…

Eventually her limp faded, but one of her hands remained across her stomach keeping all her organs within as a paleness slowly began to encroach upon her figure. A long trail of blood left behind as a faint delirium touched upon her mind, fading visions of a faceless family she could not remember moved through the passage that was seemingly coated in grass. A short pavilion in the distance, where a masculine figure stood waiting overlooking the frolicking children and feminine figure. Their tails swaying with the perceived wind, while clouds hung overhead casting a long shadow over the land…

The tall grass brushed against her legs, as Sayuri continued more featureless figures arrived surrounded in a malevolent presence. Some clashed with the Little Fox, while the others hunted down the faceless family in an indiscriminate slaughter…

Sayuri continued as the perceived land burned, the short pavilion crumbling under its own smoldering weight as the scenery changed… To something reminiscent of the Orario she saw long ago…

A figure stood before her, his features blended as if partially forgotten, yet even then she knew, "…Allen…"

Her voice was hoarse, and laden with sadness as her steps came to a halt, her cerulean orbs filling with tears as the surroundings began to fade away, leaving only the kind old man in her vision. He smiled as a moment of pain bloomed in her mind, yet it faded as quickly as it appeared as she reached out, her spear slipping from her hand clattering against the stone floor dispelling the delirium, and visions. Revealing Sayuri stood amongst raging flames, her spear melted to her flesh and her skin mottled and dripped.

Somehow, she found the strength to continue…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sayuri roughly coughed as she stepped through the ash of a defeated monster, fragments of its Magic Crystal crunching under her feet as she positioned her spear in anticipation of another attack. Her left arm stuck to her stomach, the mixture of dried blood, thick scabs, and mottled flesh having locked in in place. Any attempt at freeing her arm would reopen the wound it had been placed there to contain, once again spilling her guts onto the dirty dungeon floor.

Her skin was deathly pale, and a coldness settled deep in her body from the grievous loss of blood, while the minor wounds that had littered her body had already scabbed, most definitely leaving scar behind. While her leg, despite screaming in pain whenever excess weight or intense maneuvers were placed upon it, had mostly healed superficially leaving a large dark scab that occasionally leaked with a pungent puss. Though, it was all numbed by the weakness that spread through her body, from the lack of blood, mental exhaustion, major Mind Depletion, and the excessively terrible physical state she was in.

A clang resounded as the claw of a Wyvern met her spear, Sayuri's knees crumpled under the weight but she managed to keep her feet beneath her as she angled her weapon shifting the weight and allowing her to retaliate with a thrust sticking the blade into the thickness of its shoulder. The scales kept the blade from penetrating deep, causing only a minor flesh wound, but it had been enough to draw blood…

Sayuri retreated intent on slowly whittling away at the foe before her, wading through the thin layer of ash that coated the floor from her previous opponents.

She was close… So, so close to the 18th Floor, where she'd finally be able to rest before descending to the 19 Floor where she'd be able to buy the potions needed for her recovery. Her shoulders draped with a poorly harvested, mangled Minotaur's hide trembled as the Wyvern gave a resounding roar that echoed through the passages, her ears having long gone numb from the loud noises she'd been subjected to on her descent. The blood that leaked from them having long dried on the sides of her face, a sharp glint of determination in her cerulean orbs as the Wyvern charged forward, it's four clawed paws sending a faint tremble through the cold stone beneath her feet with every impact as it gained momentum with no clear intention to stop.

Pinning the butt of her spear into the ground, she angled the blade towards the charging beast and leaned against its shaft, hoping that the small jutting stone would hold the force it was about to be subjected to as the spearhead found the charging monster, penetrating the scales and much of the beasts flesh yet the monsters momentum didn't halt pummeling into Sayuri pinning her against the ground under its weight for many long moments before it burst into ash, a chipped Magic Crystal clattering against the ground, shattering from the impact. Relieving Sayuri of the weighty corpse that had pinned her down, and tore her left arm from her stomach…

With a pained groan, Sayuri struggled to her knees using her staff as a cane to drag herself to her feet only to realize the amount of blood pouring out of her stomach, and the mass of scabs that had clung to her left arm when it had been torn away. Luckily, the wound had closed enough to stop her internals from spilling once more, but it did little to slow the flow of blood…

With stumbling steps, Sayuri continued…

Her body hung with every movement, like a puppet poorly fixed to its strings. The string fashioned purely from her determination to continue, and the will to live. It felt as if she was trying to move through a thick slime, her body seemingly fighting against every movement she made screaming at her to stop, wanting rest.

Rest it would not receive until Sayuri knew she was safe, not willing to allow herself to fall here. She…

Sayuri…

She… Sayuri wanted…

To be free—

No… Sayuri was free, she knew that… There were few who could restrain her, even fewer who could live after an attempt to do so… Children…

Yeah… Sayuri wanted children…

Her gaze briefly found her Status, momentarily eyeing the [Infertile] negative trait. Another level, and it would be gone if she received the same amount of [Points] as she had for reaching Level 2. Then, she could have a child of her own…

Something created from her own body…

A groan slipped from her lips as the pain in her stomach suddenly intensified, causing her to stumble and fall to the cold stone floor. The Dungeon had been awfully quiet ever since she fell the Wyvern, allowing the tension to begin to drain from her body, and the adrenaline that had fueled her up to this point to start to fade.

A faint curse slipped from her lips, as she stumbled forward spotting a Lygerfang feasting on the corpse of an unfortunate Adventurer. Noticing her arrival at the same moment her eyes fell upon its figure, its head snapped towards Sayuri, a rumbling growl rising from its throat as its beady eyes locked onto her blood soaked frame. The Little Fox readied herself for the confrontation ahead…

(A/N: You've chosen a Super Short Chapter, I managed to write another 1k words in the meantime, and left you on a cliffhanger due to the lack of patience found among you…

Anyways, the majority of this chapter is hastily put together and hasn't been looked through once… It's as raw as raw can be, so enjoy.

Until next time

White_Dog