Journey to Lazarus

The customized Humvee, dubbed "The Admin-mobile" by Tundra, rumbled along the overgrown road towards Lazarus Village. The journey was relatively uneventful, save for a few encounters with monstrous squirrels and a surprisingly aggressive flock of chickens that Mirai dispatched with ruthless efficiency. Admin kept his phone constantly scanning for potential threats, his eyepatch giving him an unnerving laser-like focus.

As they rounded a bend in the road, they spotted it: a lavish royal carriage, overturned and partially engulfed in a viscous, shimmering green substance. Figures that could loosely be described as "slime monsters" oozed around the wreckage, their movements slow and deliberate.

"A princess!" Tundra exclaimed, her TV screen displaying a dramatic close-up of the scene. "We have to save her, Admin!"

Eyrie, despite her newfound confidence, hid behind Mirai, clutching her leg.

Admin, however, remained impassive. He scanned the scene with his phone, analyzing the composition of the slime monsters and the energy signatures emanating from the carriage. His expression remained unchanged.

"That's not a princess," he said, his voice flat. "That's a trap."

Ignoring Tundra's protests, Admin accessed his phone and summoned a heavy-duty flamethrower, the weapon materializing with a satisfying thunk in his hands.

"Admin! What are you doing?" Tundra cried, horrified.

Without a word, Admin strode towards the carriage, the flamethrower raised. He unleashed a torrent of searing flame, engulfing the "princess" and the surrounding slime monsters in a roaring inferno.

As the flames consumed the scene, the illusion shattered. The "princess" dissolved into a mass of writhing, blackened goop, the slime monsters shrieking in a chorus of demonic voices. The carriage itself began to melt, revealing a twisted metal framework beneath the ornate exterior.

"Demonic goop," Admin stated matter-of-factly, extinguishing the flamethrower. "Highly corrosive. Vulnerable to fire."

The remaining demonic goop, enraged by the loss of their vessel, lunged towards the party, their pseudopods dripping with acidic slime.

"Get back!" Admin barked, pulling a sleek, silver revolver from his jacket. It was a custom-designed weapon, capable of firing specialized rounds with pinpoint accuracy.

He didn't waste any ammunition on the amorphous bodies of the goop. Instead, he focused on their weak points: the glowing, pulsating eyeballs scattered throughout the gelatinous mass.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three shots, three hits. Each bullet pierced an eyeball, causing the demonic goop to convulse and dissolve into a puddle of smoking residue. The remaining goop faltered, confused and disoriented.

Admin moved with practiced precision, his movements a blur of controlled violence. He dispatched the remaining demonic goop with a series of perfectly placed shots, each one finding its mark with deadly accuracy.

Within seconds, the attack was over. The road was littered with the remnants of the demonic goop, the air thick with the smell of burnt metal and acrid chemicals.

Tundra stared at Admin, her TV screen displaying a complex mixture of awe and fear. "You… you knew all along?"

"It was obvious," Admin replied, holstering the revolver. "The carriage was too ostentatious, the 'princess' too helpless. Mishanter's forces are rarely subtle."

Mirai sheathed her axe, her expression unreadable. "Efficient," she commented.

Eyrie, who had been hiding behind the Admin-mobile, peeked out cautiously. "Are they all gone?"

"Yes," Admin said. "It's safe now. Let's move on. Lazarus Village is close."

He climbed back into the Admin-mobile, the engine roaring to life once more. The party continued their journey, leaving the charred remains of the demonic trap behind.

Unknown to them, they had saved the royal family of Lazarus from being Demonic Goop food after they fled and one of the slimes created a decoy princess ordered by Mishanter, which they hid in a cave until they summoned transport.

As they approached Lazarus Village, Admin couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning. Mishanter was playing a dangerous game, and he was willing to sacrifice anything to achieve his goals. Admin knew that he had to be prepared for anything, even if it meant making difficult choices, even if it meant burning a "princess" alive. The fate of the world, after all, might depend on it.

The Admin-mobile rumbled to a halt just outside the gates of Lazarus Village. The village itself was deceptively peaceful. Quaint thatched-roof houses lined cobblestone streets, and villagers milled about, seemingly oblivious to the dangers lurking just beyond their walls.

"Seems… quiet," Tundra said, her TV screen displaying a cautiously optimistic emoticon.

"Too quiet," Admin countered, his senses on high alert. "Stay sharp."

As if on cue, the silence shattered. A bone-rattling clatter echoed from the forest bordering the village. Then, they emerged: a horde of skeletons, their skeletal limbs clacking against each other as they shambled forward. Each wielded a rusty sword, their empty eye sockets glowing with an eerie green light.

"Skeletons!" Eyrie cried, instinctively hiding behind Tundra.

"Just what we needed," Mirai muttered, drawing her axe with a practiced flourish.

"Engage," Admin commanded, already accessing his phone. "Prioritize survival."

Mirai charged forward, her axe a whirlwind of steel, cleaving through the skeletal ranks with brutal efficiency. Tundra unleashed bolts of electric magic, frying skeletons with crackling arcs of energy.

"Take this, boneheads!" she yelled, her TV screen displaying a series of aggressive pixelated cat faces.

Eyrie, remembering her defensive magic, focused her energy, creating shimmering shields around herself, Tundra, and Mirai. The shields deflected the clumsy swings of the skeletal swords, buying them precious time.

Admin, however, remained behind, his focus on a much larger threat. From the depths of the forest emerged a colossal skeleton, easily three times the size of its smaller brethren. This behemoth wielded a massive, chipped greatsword, its every step shaking the ground.

"That's not good," Admin muttered, scrolling through his phone's armory. "Time to bring out the big guns."

With a tap of his finger, he summoned a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, the weapon materializing with a loud whump beside him. He hefted the launcher, its weight surprisingly manageable, and took aim at the giant skeleton.

WHOOSH!

The first rocket streaked through the air, impacting against the giant skeleton's ribcage with a deafening explosion. Bones shattered and fragmented, but the giant skeleton remained standing, albeit slightly more damaged.

"Not enough," Admin grunted, reloading the launcher with practiced speed.

The battle raged on. Mirai and Tundra fought valiantly against the horde of smaller skeletons, their combined might slowly but surely thinning the ranks. Eyrie maintained her shields, deflecting blows and providing crucial support.

Meanwhile, Admin unleashed a barrage of rockets at the giant skeleton, targeting its joints and key structural points. He blew apart its kneecaps, its elbows, and even managed to shear off one of its arms.

Despite the damage, the giant skeleton continued to advance, its remaining arm swinging the greatsword with terrifying force. Admin realized he needed to change his tactics. He couldn't simply brute-force his way through this.

He switched his targeting, focusing on the giant skeleton's head. With a well-aimed shot, he detonated a rocket right in its face, obliterating its skull in a shower of bone fragments.

The giant skeleton swayed for a moment, then crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom, its remaining bones scattering across the battlefield.

With the giant skeleton destroyed, the smaller skeletons began to crumble, their will to fight seemingly evaporating with the death of their leader. Within minutes, the battlefield was silent, littered with the broken remains of skeletal warriors.

Admin lowered the rocket launcher, his face grimy with soot and sweat. He surveyed the scene, assessing the damage and checking on his team.

"Everyone alright?" he asked, his voice strained.

"Just peachy," Mirai replied sarcastically, wiping dust from her axe. "Remind me to bring a bone saw next time."

"I'm okay," Tundra said, her TV screen displaying a tired but relieved emoticon. "That was… intense."

Eyrie ran to Admin and hugged his leg tightly. "Thank you for protecting us, Admin!"

"It was a team effort," Admin said, patting her head. "Now, let's get into Lazarus Village. We need to find out what's going on here."