Chapter 98 - Chaos

Aang carried Lydi on his shoulders back the way they came. Vivi followed with a steady step. She stood only with the power of ether. Without it, her muscles would have collapsed.

With the boss cleared, the main dungeon had transformed. The hellish castle transformed back into an ordinary ancient castle. The lava became water, and the ethereal magma turned to daylight gems. All monsters, including the Skeleton King, had disappeared, leaving nothing behind. The oppressive ether in the air had calmed down. Vivi barely felt any ether at all.

The dungeon really was cleared. Nothing would be respawning anymore. Zand was done.

The upper levels of the main dungeon were dark, having lost their ethereal light. The bricks on the ground were cracked, and the lamps were falling apart. Without ether, the dungeon appeared long-abandoned, like an ancient ruin.

There was no time to admire. Vivi followed Aang up the first level, back to the hidden dungeon. “There’s a thousand ways the plan can still go wrong. The Stewards could have set an ambush on our exit. You have your disguise in spirit storage, right? Put it on.”

“Yes,” Vivi said. Alisa had ordered her to keep it there at all times. She summoned her mask straight to her face from spatial storage. Her cloak was more difficult to put on—her arms screamed from movement—but she managed to get it on.

“Keep your aura to a minimum,” Aang said. “If we’re sensed, everything is doomed.”

Vivi tried not to grimace. Keeping her aura down would be difficult, considering she was walking solely with ether's help. But she complied, limping after Aang.

The exit of the main dungeon was open. Vivi and Aang approached nervously. In an ideal situation, the exit would be empty and undiscovered for a swift escape back to the hub. If guards were present, Vivi and Aang would have to fight their way out, killing any witnesses.

If an ambush was already prepared with all Stewards present… Well, Vivi and Aang were likely dead. That was the risk they agreed to take.

As Vivi stepped closer to the exit, voices sounded from outside. Aang clicked his tongue.

“He’s dead!” a shocked man’s voice said. “A guard is dead? The runesword is just left here?”

A woman responded. “Take it. You know how to wield a sword. But don’t show it to anyone.”

Aang paused. “They sound familiar…” He focused on listening. Vivi, too, had heard both voices before.

“We’re dead if they find the sword,” the man said.

“Aang has done shadier business,” the woman said.

“That’s Rosa,” Aang said. “From the Union. What is she doing here?”

A nimrod? Vivi thought. Nimrods found the main dungeon?

“Something has gone wrong,” Aang said. “Change of plans. We'll have to ask for details.”

Aang revealed himself, stepping up the stairs with his usual confidence. He still carried Lydi on his back. Vivi followed him in her disguise.

The two Union members froze in place, seeing their leader. Vivi recognized both by name. Rosa was the same cautious member who had doubted Vivi’s arrival on her first time visiting Aang's hub. Rosa wore the same brown cloak, long hair hidden underneath her clothes.

The boy was called Patwyn. He was one of the youngest nimrods at fifteen years old. He had short hair and a greying white tunic. He was loud and careless, always causing scandals in the Union, but he was one of the most determined nimrods Vivi had talked to.

“Aang!” Rosa gushed. “W… What?”

“Rosa,” Aang said calmly. “Why are you here? Is something happening?”

Rosa stood there in shock for a moment. “Yes!” she said. “Zand is being attacked. And it looks like the main dungeon got cleared. It, uh… Did you just defeat the main boss?”

“No, that was Uundref,” Aang said. “What do you mean Zand is being attacked?”

“A boss monster breached the walls,” Rosa said. “It’s chaos up there. All guards and Stewards have been called to fight the monsters. The hub is being totally overrun. Nimrods were ordered to fight as well. It’s a massacre. Hundreds are dead already. In the dungeon… A bit of a riot happened. The double doors leading to the main path have been breached.”

Boss monster… Vivi thought. That must be our Twilight Shaman.

Lucius laughed in her thoughts. “Serves them right.”

Aang wore his ah hell expression. “Let’s head up and meet up with Ven. You two, follow us. This is an order. I will explain once we’re out.”

“Out?” Patwyn asked.

“We’re escaping,” Aang said. “Zand is cleared. Uundref defeated the main boss of the dungeon. It’s about to get messy soon. We need to escape before then.”

Rosa and Patwyn both looked baffled. But Aang’s authority didn’t give them much room for arguments. The leader walked past with the step of someone who expected to be followed. Vivi walked beside him. The two Union members followed closely behind.

“If the dungeon is already overrun with nimrods, we have less reason to hide,” Aang said. “Take off your disguise. Let’s try a different approach.”

Vivi took off her mask and cloak. She hid both inside her raincoat before stuffing them to spatial storage.

“Ah, I knew it!” Patwyn said. “It’s Vivi.”

Vivi gave him an awkward smile, then quickly ignored him. “We’ll try to look the part?”

“We’ll pretend like we’re caught in the chaos,” Aang said. He kept a composed look. His step, however, was heavier than usual. Aang was distressed. Annoyed at the very least. Things hadn’t gone to plan at all. They could only hope Ven and the others had succeeded with their part of the plan.

Panicked nimrods ran down higher up in the dungeon. A man in glasses ran past, his eyes wide, as if believing anything he came across would kill him. Aang let him pass.

Soon after, Vivi smelled sweat further ahead. The kind of sweat that concentrated after avoiding a bath after fighting for weeks in a dungeon. She immediately guessed whose gang was approaching.

Seven red-skinned demons were grouped together. Bwern's men. Each one was taller than Aang. Up close, their sizes were intimidating. They were all breakers, carrying at least a thousand ether each, auras active. Faced with them, Rosa and Patwyn took steps back.

Bwern himself stood in the middle with his arms crossed. A tooth-necklace around his neck, long hair tied to a ponytail, he grinned as he saw Aang. “Well. A pleasant surprise. We finally meet in private. Defender of Nimrods.”

Aang frowned. “Step aside.”

Bwern stepped forward. He called his aura right away, looming over Aang. He carried at least two thousand ether. “Today might be Zand’s last day. It’s also our time to settle our debts for good. You’ve been hiding well. Down here, you can’t run. You can’t call the guards.”

“The dispute was settled years ago,” Aang said. “My mother has nothing left for you.”

Bwern’s brows twitched. Vivi had no idea what they were talking about. She did, however, feel Bwern’s aura growing hostile. Things were about to get physical.

“Capture the others,” Bwern said. He lifted his sleeves and stepped within spitting distance of Aang. “I will duel the man himself.”

Aang called forth his full aura and punched Bwern in the face.

Bwern couldn’t react. He was blown back, colliding with the wall. From there, he collapsed on his knees. The wind was knocked out of his lungs. He took heavy breaths. His followers watched in shock.

“I’m going to create an escape,” Aang said. “All of you can follow me. Or you can head down and wait to get captured.”

Bwern spat on the ground. He wheezed out words. “Escape? What do you mean?”

“Uundref cleared the dungeon,” Aang said. “There’s nothing down here. Nimrods can either wait until the chaos settles down and we’re transferred somewhere else, or we can use the chaos to escape.”

Bwern looked furious, but stayed on the ground.

Aang didn’t stay to argue. Two more red-skinned demons blocked the way. Aang glared at them, and they kindly stepped out of the way. Aang and the Union members walked past. Bwern’s men didn’t follow.

Vivi had a lot she wanted to ask, but she saved her questions. For now, they needed to escape.

The rest of the ascent was uneventful. Aang didn’t use one of the secret exits. He headed straight for the double doors connecting the hidden dungeon to the dungeon entrance. The closer they got, the more nimrods were rushing deeper into the dungeon with fear-struck expressions. Shouts and screams came from ahead.

As Rosa had said, the double doors were open. Any guards protecting the doors were knocked unconscious. Their runeswords were stolen. Nobody was protecting the entrance, giving nimrods free access to the hidden dungeon.

The shouts and screams were loud enough to make Vivi’s head hurt. Everyone was yelling all at once. It was hard to pick up sentences. Vivi heard multiple instances of, “Twilight Shaman!” and “Get out of the way!”

Vivi and Aang stepped past into the dungeon’s crowded entrance room. Everyone was rushing deeper into the dungeon, as if running from something. More nimrods were entering from the hub.

Squeezing past the crowd toward the hub, Vivi felt as if she was stepping into another dungeon. Hostile ether oozed out from all around the hub.

After clearing the crowd, stepping into the hub, Vivi finally had a clear view of the hundreds of monsters enveloping Zand’s hub in total warfare.