“Is the rogue dead?” Viktor asked his Dungeon Core.

  [Yes, Master.]

  The reply was short. Cold, clean, final. And reassuring.

  He had been almost certain of Clint’s demise, but “almost” was not good enough. The st thing he needed right now was yet another unpleasant surprise. He had already had more than enough of those.

  So yes, confirmation was nice.

  Underwater, Bjorn was battling his minions. He rammed his shield edge-first into a frogling's throat. It toppled, spewing crimson clouds. Its friend nearby tried to flee, but he grabbed its ankle, dragged it close, his bde of light slicing the creature diagonally from pelvis to cranium. The two halves drifted apart, organs spilling in a grotesque, slow-motion bloom, while the man hovered amidst the carnage, chest heaving, his hair fanned out like seaweed.

  He was wearing it, Viktor’s old Reliquary. That was a medallion, probably hidden under the warrior’s yers of cloth and armor. The artifact granted its wearer the ability to traverse any aquatic environment with ease. They would no longer feel the crushing pressure of the water, nor would they need to gasp for air. It also gave them the ability to swim with unparalleled speed and precision, moving in any direction without the limitations that even the finest divers would struggle against. In other words, trying to drown the Northman was futile, as he could stay underwater as long as he wished. If he were to be stopped, it would have to be in combat.

  “Celeste,” Viktor said, “have our minions fall back.” It would make the ranged attacks less effective, as the water’s drag would slow down the projectiles significantly, but it was necessary. “Tell the Acolytes to bring down the two giant tentacles from above, and summon more to surround him. Also, order the mermaids to attack from afar with their magic.” They could manipute the water currents, unching torrents or creating whirlpools. While those might not deal much damage, they would help disorient the enemy. “The mermen and froglings should now focus on protecting the spellcasters,” he added. “Do not let the intruder get close.”

  [How about Sebekton, Master?]

  “Have him stand by for now,” Viktor replied. There was no reason to use his strongest card prematurely. He needed Bjorn to be worn down first, and then the Crocodilian would be sent in for the killing blow.

  As the mermen flicked their tails and scrambled away, the Northman lunged after them. However, the first colossal tentacle uncoiled from above, smming down to block his path. The bde of light fred from its sheath, searing through the rubbery flesh, bck blood blooming in its wake. Yet, the limb was too thick to be severed by a single blow. As he raised his dazzling sword for another strike, the currents around him twisted. Water seized the warrior, hurling him into a spiraling vortex.

  But Bjorn halted mid-spin, his movements defying the overwhelming force of the water as he pulled himself out of the whirlpool’s grip. It’s that damn medallion again, Viktor thought. But it was fine. His minions would keep the pressure on.

  A harpoon hissed past the Northman, grazing his armor. Three mermen were circling the edge of the vortex, hurling missiles that wobbled toward their foe. And while Bjorn was distracted by those projectiles, tentacles rose from below, twisting and thrashing as they tore through the water like massive serpents, coiling around him like a living cage.

  The radiant bde danced in Bjorn’s hands, carving through the murk like a beacon. Wherever that glow moved, it left behind trails of seared tissue and clouds of inky blood. Severed limbs spasmed, suckers twitching wildly as they sank into the abyss. Yet, for every serpentine tendril he struck down, more seemed to rise in its pce. And, more importantly, while the warrior was pinned in pce, the second colossal tentacle descended with terrifying speed, coming down on him like a falling mountain crashing toward the seabed.

  “Just die already,” Viktor muttered. If this succeeded, then Sebekton wouldn’t even need to join the fray.

  Then, it happened.

  Frost spread like a web across the tentacles surrounding Bjorn. The water hardened around them, then detonated. Ice shards shredded flesh, exploding the tentacles into drifting meat.

  What?

  The warrior surged free. He unched himself upward as the colossal tentacle plunged down, meeting the bulk head-on. The tentacle’s own momentum was now used against itself as the light sliced through it like a hot knife cutting through butter, splitting the monstrous limb from tip to root. Ink gushed out, a bck fog that choked the water as the two gargantuan halves slowly drifted apart.

  As the tentacles were taken care of, Bjorn immediately turned his attention to the next target. He raised his left hand, and ice crystallized above it, forming a jagged nce. He hurled the missile toward one of the mermaids.

  A merman lunged to shield the spellcaster. The nce struck his chest, and frost bloomed across his scales, slowly encasing his entire body. For a moment, he hung suspended. Then, the ice ruptured, shattering the merman into fragments, guts and frozen debris spraying the mermaid behind him. She let out a silent scream as she fled in terror, her kin’s entrails still tangled in her seaweed hair.

  A fourth Reliquary. Wonderful.

  Apparently, Viktor was not the only one here holding onto his trump card until the very st moment. Turned out that the Northman had yet another artifact, one that allowed him to create and control ice from the surrounding water. The frozen objects he conjured could also spread additional ice, even when they were far away from him. And they could explode. An excellent weapon in an environment where water was abundant. Ugh.

  As the merfolk faltered, Bjorn pushed himself upward. But he didn’t swim to the surface. Instead, he lingered within the upper yer of the water, circling around and scanning the area.

  “What is he doing?” Viktor wondered. “Why isn’t he heading for the exit?” Then realization struck, and he barked at the Dungeon Core, “Celeste, order the Acolytes to scatter!”

  But it seemed the warrior had located where the mutant mages were conducting their ritual. He dove toward the spot, a massive ice nce slowly forming in his left hand, growing bigger and bigger. Clearly, the man wanted to eliminate all threats before advancing forward.

  Bjorn’s arm thrust forward, and the ice nce tore through the water like a lightning bolt, its trajectory locked directly at the heart of the circle the Acolytes of the Deep were forming. The seabed shattered, and frost quickly spread. It crawled up the mutants who hadn’t moved away fast enough, locking legs, sealing tendrils. One eel-skinned Acolyte—a woman probably, though it was hard to tell given their current appearance—cwed at the ice that crept up her torso, but soon, it encased her throat, freezing her face into a twisted mask of terror. Several Acolytes had been engulfed by the ice, their bodies slowly solidifying into frozen statues.

  Then, they detonated. Ice shards and meat erupted in a storm. A chunk of spine impaled a fleeing mutant through the chest. A head, cleanly severed, rolled and bounced across the water floor.

  Thanks to Celeste’s warning, some of the Acolytes managed to scramble away just in time, retreating into the murk. But with their circle destroyed, their numbers diminished, these stragglers would no longer be able to make any meaningful contribution to the battle.

  “Fine,” Viktor said. “Bring Sebekton in.”

  [Understood.]

  Bjorn was now attacking the merfolk. The mermaids frantically tried to disperse, while the mermen fought desperately to shield their women.

  One ice nce brushed against a mermaid’s hand, but that was all it took for the frost to begin climbing up. The mermaid watched in horror as her limb was slowly devoured by the ice, muscles hardening into mounds, fingers stiffening into icicles. As she struggled, a merman barreled toward Bjorn, attempting to engage in close combat. He was quickly beheaded by the bde of light, but the creeping stopped. Only the mermaid’s frozen arm exploded, and she fled, clutching the stump.

  I see, so the ice stopped spreading if he’s distracted.

  A massive crescent whistled through the water just above Bjorn’s head as he ducked, barely evaded the projectile. Sebekton had arrived, and immediately, he unched an attack against the intruder.

  The Northman turned, assessing the threat. Afar, the Crocodilian loomed like a submerged titan, his predatory eyes fixed directly on his foe, while the jaw full of jagged teeth formed a murderous grin.

  Bjorn conjured an ice nce and threw it at the Guardian, its crystalline tip cutting through the water with deadly intent. Sebekton’s eyes narrowed as he watched the projectile approach. With a powerful swing of his massive axe, he carved another crescent-shaped arc, shattering the spear mid-trajectory, both defending himself and attacking his enemy in a single move. The Northman flung himself sideways to dodge, while another ice nce already formed in his grip.

  This is not good, Viktor thought. One of the advantages of Sebekton’s axe was its ability to unch invisible ranged attacks. However, when used underwater, the distortion caused by the curve’s movement through the medium revealed its presence. And thanks to the power of the medallion, the Northman was extremely agile, allowing him to avoid any incoming projectiles with ease.

  The csh between Sebekton and Bjorn had escated to a dance of destruction. Bjorn conjured one ice nce after another, before hurling them away in quick succession, while Sebekton’s axe spun in a deadly blur, slicing through the water with a relentless barrage of sickles that hissed through the depths.

  It was as though a meteor shower had erupted beneath the surface. Bjorn’s nces streaked like comets, their frozen tails sparkling with trapped bubbles. Sebekton’s moons glided through the dark, each one leaving a brief void in their wake. And whenever a waning moon and a cold comet kissed, the collision detonated a storm of shrapnel. Shards of frozen crystal exploded outward in all directions, shockwaves and debris slowly pushing both combatants backward.

  [What do you think, Master?]

  Viktor shook his head. “I don’t think Sebekton can win this.”

  [Why, Master?]

  “Using that Reliquary takes a heavy toll on his stamina,” he replied. “His endurance is extraordinary, but even he can’t st forever.”

  The Crocodilian had once told him what it felt like when he activated the axe’s ability. It was as though the very air before him solidified to oppose his swing. The harder he struck, the greater the resistance. And while this meant the blow would unleash a more powerful projectile, it exhausted him very quickly. On the other hand, Bjorn could go on forever, unless he ran out of water, which was obviously not going to happen anytime soon.

  [Should we command the merfolk and Acolytes to regroup and assist him?]

  “You can give the order, but I doubt any of them would want to get close to that,” Viktor replied with a chuckle as he watched explosion after explosion unfold in his vision.

  [How about having Sebekton retreat, then try to snipe the intruder once he is out of the water?]

  “I doubt it’ll work. That Northman is too cunning to fall for such a trick. And don’t forget, he still has his shield.”

  [We still have two Cyclopes left. How about Sebekton teaming up with them to fight the intruder on nd?]

  “You saw how quickly he killed the Cyclopes on the second floor with that bde of light. Engaging him in melee combat is suicidal.”

  [The situation is very bad, isn’t it?]

  “It is.”

  [Yet, you still seem too calm.]

  Viktor chuckled. “So do you.”

  [Well, I just refuse to believe that you have not considered the possibility that at least one of the intruders is very good at underwater combat.]

  Of course he had. And he had prepared a contingency for this exact situation. It was time to use it—his final pn.

  “I’ve told you to keep a mermaid on standby, waiting for my further instructions...”

  [Yes, I have done what you instructed. She is just outside the Core Room.]

  “Good.”

  He opened his eyes, rose from his chair, and made his way toward the door without any hesitation. His movements were automatic, as he was simply following the steps he had already mapped out in his mind.

  Yet, the moment he crossed the threshold, he froze.

  “Master?” Fianna asked. The mermaid was leisurely sitting on the beach, oblivious to the battle that was raging underwater, oblivious to the fate that was awaiting her.

  With so many mermaids in this dungeon, what are the chances of her being chosen?

  “Master?” Fianna asked again, tilting her head.

  It matters not, he decided. She was just a minion. Unlike someone like Sebekton, she was expendable, and repceable.

  He strode forward, eyeing the mermaid. “Do you know what’s going on?”

  “Well, it seems there’s a battle underwater over there,” Fianna replied, pointing at the distant waves. “Have the intruders reached this floor, Master? How are we faring against them?”

  “Badly,” Viktor said with a cold voice. “Merfolk, froglings, Acolytes, all have suffered heavy casualties. Sebekton is now dueling the enemy, but even he’s at a disadvantage.”

  The mermaid’s eyes widened. “That means...”

  “Soon the intruder will be here. He will walk through that door. He will enter the Core Room. And then, he will take the Dungeon Core away.”

  “But... but...”

  There was no need for him to spell it out, as Fiana understood the consequences all too well. If the Core was no longer here, the dungeon would gradually crumble into nothing but an empty cavern. The merfolk would be trapped here, along with their rvae and eggs. And without the mana from the Dungeon Core to sustain them, all of their offspring would perish.

  “What... what do we do?” Fianna asked. Her hands trembled, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Viktor gave a casual shrug. “Yeah, what do we do, I wonder?”

  “How can you act like this is nothing?” The mermaid yelled, her tail spping the water. She clenched her fists, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. “Y-You must have a pn, right, Master? There’s no way you would let that happen.”

  “I do have a pn. But I need you to carry it out for me.”

  “Just give me the order.” Her face lit up. “Whatever it is, Master, I’m ready to do any—”

  “I’m going to order you to die, Fianna.”

  “What...!?”

  “I’ll be straight with you,” Viktor said. “This is a death sentence. Your chances of coming back alive are zero.”

  Fianna was frozen in pce, her breath trapped in her lungs. Her wide eyes were locked on him. Her lips quivered, yet no sound escaped. He didn’t know what was going through her head, but it made no difference, as he already knew the decision she would make in the end.

  While technically he could command his minions to do anything, there were a couple of things that could get in the way. Fear was one of them, and there was nothing worse than the fear of death. It was one thing to tell the minions to engage a dangerous opponent; it was another to make them walk to certain death. Even if they obeyed his order, they might still hesitate at the st moment, and that could jeopardize his pn.

  Which was why he had instructed Celeste to hold a mermaid in reserve. With the fate of the eggs and rvae hanging in the bance, he was using her maternal love to make sure that she would die as he dictated.

  “Master,” the mermaid finally said. “Will... will my death stop the intruder?”

  “Yes, he’ll go down with you.”

  “I see,” Fianna said with a sad smile. “I can’t believe that I get to become the Guardian of the Bridge.”