A Victory Cut Short

Gwen threw a feint aimed at Damien’s head. When he moved to block, she quickly brought her fist back and lashed out with a kick instead. The strike connected with his stomach, driving the air out of his lungs.

She spun back around and rammed her elbow in his jaw. The impact jerked Damien’s head back, forcing blood and spit to fly from his mouth. With a flick of her wrist, a fireball shot forward. At the last second, Damien caught his bearings and rolled out of the way.

Boom!

The fireball struck the wall, leaving a black mark.

Darting forward, Gwen unleashed a barrage of strikes, putting him on the defensive. When she overextended on a punch, Damien grabbed her wrist. Rotating his body, he used Gwen’s own weight to launch her into the distance. He raised his hand, darkness twisted around his fingers, condensing into several black spears.

Gwen just landed when the first spear closed in on her. She leaned to the left, but the weapon nicked her side, cutting through her hoodie.

Fuck, that stings! She thought, sliding underneath another spear.

Coming to one knee, Gwen planted both hands ‌against the ground. A thick wall of earth appeared just in time to block the remaining spears.

Thump, Thump, Thump!

The wall held, though it showed signs of cracking; each spear tip poked through the stone.

Gwen staggered to her feet, allowing the wall to crumble. She took a deep breath and wiped sweat off her brow. The three spears vanished into a pool of shadows.

Huh, I’ll have to learn how to do something like that.

Smiling, she poured more energy into her light magic. A yellow aura surrounded her body—healing her wounds and fatigue in her muscles.

Feeling refreshed, Gwen lunged forward.

“Such foolishness,” Damien muttered, pointing his hand to the ceiling. A wave of dark energy poured out of his palm, forming a cloud on the ceiling. “Black Rain!”

At those words, small dark blades rained down, but Gwen easily dodged them. A sudden shiver forced her to flip aside. Suddenly, a spear crashed into the ground beside her.

That was a close one, she thought, forcing herself to move again.

The cloud followed after Gwen—raining down blades, not giving her a chance to rest. She attempted to get close to Damien, but all it got her was another spear sent at her. While she was dodging, Damien thrust his hand out. A chain shot out from his wrist and wrapped around her legs.

With a sharp tug, the chain tripped Gwen up and sent her crashing to the ground.

“Flame Burst!” Gwen shouted. A blue light flickered and shot off her back, melting the chains. She rolled clear of the cloud before it could send more blades her way.

Damien appeared above Gwen’s head, bringing his foot down.

Gwen swept his leg.

His body hit the ground with a thud, momentarily stunning him. She got to her feet and stomped the floor; rocks wrapped around his body as she rushed in.

The dark cloud hovered overhead and began raining down more blades. Gwen moved, leaving Damien to take the full brunt of the attack.

At the very last second, Damien roared. “Enough!” His aura grew violent, melting the rock trapping him. It shot upwards and absorbed the cloud, along with the blades, before it could touch his skin.

He slowly climbed to his feet. Blood and spit dripped from his mouth. “Enough! Just die already!” He pointed his palm at Gwen and fired a ball of darkness that absorbed the light. “Dark Orb!”

It struck Gwen before she had a chance to move.

Boom!

The ground shook violently, the rocks above raining down to the ground. Darkness expanded, swallowing her whole. It was cold, freezing, absent sound, absent light. Images tried to plague her mind, but she took a deep breath.

Yeah, this was the kind of fight I always wanted.

“Gwen!”

“Boss!”

“Dammit! Gwen!”

The voices of her allies called out at once.

“You should’ve just begged me to let you live, you stupid bitch!” Damien gloated, sweat pouring down his face, as he lowered his hand.

“A bitch am I?” Gwen’s voice echoed.

A light shot out across the area, splashing against the wall. The ball flashed brightly, blinding Damien.

Damien roared and grabbed his face.

Gwen appeared next to him, fist already swinging. Her knuckles landed a solid hit that sent Damien staggering sideways. She chased after him. Grabbing the back of his head, she jumped up and rammed her knee into his face. The satisfying crunch of bone breaking filled her with glee.

Blood poured from his nose.

“Oh, come on, that was just a love tap. Fight back!” Gwen urged, throwing a kick.

Damien barely got his arm up to block, but the force made it tremble. Gwen hooked her leg around his arm before bringing her other leg up and locking it around his head. Using all her strength, she twisted her hips, dragging Damien to the ground.

Bam

Damien hit the stone face first. He lay still; a wet breath escaped from his lips.

Gwen let go, rolling back onto her feet. With a flick of her wrist, the earth wrapped around Damien’s body, pinning him. For good measure, she imbued the stone with light magic, cutting through the dark energy on his body.

“That was fun, though it sucks he used up all of his magic so early,” Gwen muttered, turning around.

She paused. Okay, that's weird.

Kira, Chris, and Clare just stared at her with wide eyes. It was disturbing. Gwen looked at herself; besides her torn hoodie, nothing else seemed out of place.

Oh, my god, my hair!

Hurriedly, she patted the top of her head, but it felt all there. Maybe they’re just tired. It has been a long ordeal making it this far, especially after spending the night in the dungeon.

Gwen sighed and started heading there when a dark wave shook the room. She whirled around, and the statue’s head turned to her. Right, so everyone is just staring at her today, because why the hell not, right?

The ground rumbled and shook, centered on the area where the black armor stood. For the first time since they arrived, it moved. Metal scraped against stone as the armor lifted its legs, stepping forward.

“It has been ages since I’ve been able to move from that spot.” The statue said, taking swings with a giant blade, as if warming up.

Gwen opened and closed her mouth. She turned to her party members and realized they were still in the same position. “Alright, guys, this isn’t funny anymore. Move already!”

Yet they didn’t move. It was unnerving; it was as if time stopped… There’s no way time could’ve actually stopped, right?

Gwen’s mind raced as she faced the armor one again.

“Wipe that look off your face, your friends,” The black armor said, pausing in its motion before straightening. “Let’s just say I sent us to a void.”

“What the hell are you?”

“Inroingorngt.” The screeching slammed into her head, forcing her to clench her ears. “Huh, I guess I still can’t say my name. Well, I guess you can call me Dungeon Warden.

The excitement of the unknown, to fight strong, died along with her smile. Dread grew, taking over her body.