Chapter 195: Tyrant's Domain
The damage notifications hit at once, flashing across his vision.
[+1860 Damage Dealt]
[!! Critical !!]
[+3720 Damage Dealt]
[+123Exp]
[+1852 Damage Dealt]
[+120Exp]
Two dead, and something either close, or really pissed off.
The spire was gone, reduced to smoke and broken coral, but it didn't stay that way for long. Just as Pain drew breath to praise the attack, a heavy aura tore out of the rubble, blasting debris outward as chunks of coral slammed and skidded across island.
[That certainly got his attention.]
'This bow is insane. Can't wait to find some arrows to match it. Think the auction had some exploding ones—'
[Oh fuck.]
'What?'
The shift in the system's tone snapped his focus, but the smell of fear rising off the battlefield hit harder. It came from the Makara on the third island, sharp and sour, and it wasn't aimed at him. It was aimed behind them.
As the figure pulled free from the wreckage, Seo-jin's brow tightened, not from strain but from a memory pushing up without warning. It had been a while since one of his bodies old memories surfaced like this, and the pressure behind his eyes didn't ease the shock.
"Is that a Kraken?"
[Yep.]
"Well shit."
"What's a Kraken?"
He glanced at his son as Pain's eyes widened, the ground still trembling under the creature's weight.
"That's a Kraken."
Crossing the island and coming straight for them was the Warden. He stood over fifteen feet tall, his upper body humanoid and covered in scales that shifted between green and blue as he moved. A gold chestpiece caught the light with every step, bright against the darker flesh, and above it sat a head that looked like an octopus placed on his shoulders.
It was imposing on its own, but what held both Seo-jin's and Pain's focus wasn't the upper body. It was the lower half. Numerous tentacles dragged and writhed across the ground, carrying him forward as the island hissed and broke down where they touched.
"Pay attention to those legs, Pain. If one touches you, it's over."
"Are they that strong?"
"Yes."
Storing the bow in a flash of system light, Seo-jin felt a thin line of sweat run down his temple. The Kraken race was infamous among humans. Few in number, at least from what had been recorded, but that never mattered. They had carved their place into humanity's worst memories.
Strong, fast even on land, but what set them apart were their tentacles. Anything they touched broke down in seconds. Ships, armor, flesh, all of it gone. Entire fleets had been wiped out by a single one of these things.
Standing here, watching it close the distance, Seo-jin understood why.
"So you must be this Warden I've heard so much about. Tell me, did you enjoy my gift?"
One of the fleeing Makara didn't make it. A single tentacle brushed its side, and the body broke down at once, flesh collapsing into bubbling sludge.
"Your gift was...lacking."
Seo-jin could tell the Warden wasn't bluffing. Whatever damage he had dealt was gone. The Warden stood untouched.
"What is your name, demon?"
Tilting his head, Seo-jin smirked as Butcher's Wrath tore free, bloodlight lifting and drifting as he stepped closer to the edge of the second island.
"You may call me Broodfather."
Both Tiamat and Bahamut snapped forward, roaring a challenge that shook the island.
The Warden's eyes, wide and glowing green, flared brighter, the light cutting through the haze between them.
"Broodfather...my name is—"
Before he could finish, the demon vanished. The Warden didn't flinch, only turned as Seo-jin appeared at his side.
'I'll handle this alone. You focus on the Makara.'
The thought passed clean through the broodlink. Pain gave a short nod, then kicked off, landing hard on the third island while keeping distance from the two.
With barely a dozen feet between them, Seo-jin and the Warden held each other's gaze. Their auras pressed together in the space between them, grinding and pushing, the force spilling outward and driving the remaining Makara back even further.
"You are brave, demon. None of your kind has ever dared to face me openly."
"Save the compliments until after. If you're still able to talk."
A wet, gurgled laugh burst from the Warden, thick and uneven, and it made Seo-jin's stomach twist. The sound dragged and churned, nothing close to joy.
[You sure about this? We can still go back for the brood.]
'No, I'm more than enough.'
Setting his stance, Seo-jin kept his weight forward, watching as the Warden reached into the mass of tentacles and pulled free two large black scimitars, the blades slick as they cleared the writhing limbs.
"It has been a long time since I last used these. You should feel honored."
Seo-jin let out a short laugh.
"The honor is yours. You will be the first to experience my new skill."
[-20SM]
[SM // 64/84]
[Maw Dominion // Activated]
"New skill—?"
The Warden's words cut off as the space around him began to shift, the air tightening and pressing in.
About to charge, Pain froze. Something deep inside him stirred, unfamiliar and heavy, pulling at him from somewhere he couldn't name. Turning toward the Broodfather and the Warden, his breath came faster, chest rising and falling hard as his flames surged without control.
The world around them was changing.
It started underfoot. The ground softened, then moistened, the surface buckling as something pushed up from below. Cracks split open and filled with red, wet mass, the texture turning uneven as flesh forced its way through.
Growth followed fast. Lumps swelled and burst into tumors, slick and uneven, some splitting open to reveal glistening insides. Thick cords pushed up like veins, pulsing as they spread, weaving through the surface.
Organs surfaced. Shapes pressed up, beating slow and heavy, some rupturing as they forced themselves out, others hanging loose, dragging against the shifting terrain. Rows of teeth forced their way through in jagged lines, clacking as they settled into place. Strands of hair sprouted in patches, matted and clumped, sticking to the slick surface.
The change spread outward, a full forty meters from Seo-jin, swallowing the island's natural form. What had been solid footing turned unstable, every step sinking slightly as the ground flexed and shifted.
Above them, the light dimmed. The sky dulled, colors draining as a dark film spread across it, muting the sun until it barely pushed through.
Then the smell hit.
Rot, blood, and something deeper. Thick and choking.
The Makara staggered. Some coughed, others gagged, their formation breaking as the stench filled their lungs.
The Maw had come to the Abyssal dungeon.
[Racial Skill // Maw Dominion]
[Type // Active]
[Category // Domain]
[Sub-Category // Territory Mutation]
[Rank // B]
[Evolve // Yes]
[Description]
[The Maw recognizes the Imp Tyrant as kin. By exerting dominion over nearby matter, the user corrupts the surrounding terrain, transforming it into a living fragment of the Maw.]
[Effect // Mawfield]
[Transforms a 40-meter radius area around the user into Maw terrain.]
[Terrain Manifestations]
[Flesh growths erupt from the ground // Bone spikes and teeth ridges form natural hazards // Tumors and organ masses grow across surfaces]
[Effect // Tyrant's Authority]
[While inside the Mawfield]
[User Gains // +15% STR / +15% VIT / +10% Damage Resistance]
[Broodlings Gain // +25% STR / +25% AGI / +15% Movement Speed]
[Effect // Maw Pressure]
[Enemies inside the Mawfield suffer // –20% Movement Speed / –10% Damage Output / –10% Health Recovery]
[Targets with Will lower than the Imp Tyrant also suffer Madness]
[Effect // Living Flesh]
[The terrain continuously produces organic matter / Broodlings may consume Maw flesh using Feed]
[Effect // Mawspawn Resonance]
[Broodlings within the Mawfield gain // +50% Feed efficiency / +20% Corpse consumption speed]
[Note]
[Maw Dominion does not distinguish between friend and foe for terrain hazards. Bone growths and teeth ridges may damage careless allies.]
[Cost // 20 Soulmass]
[Cast Time // 3 seconds]
[Duration // 60 seconds]
[Cooldown // 15 minutes]
"The Maw is not a place. It is hunger given form."
As [Maw Dominion] settled, Seo-jin drew in a slow, deep breath, the air thick in his throat and heavy in his chest.
He hated to admit it...but it felt like home.
Shouts and screams broke out among the Makara as their lines faltered, bodies twitching as Madness took hold. With Pain tearing through them harder than before, the sound of ripping flesh carried, and the smell of blood in the air grew dense enough to taste.
Feeling the pressure of the domain and watching his troops break, the Warden's grip tightened, the tendons along his arms flexing as his aura surged.
"Your tricks won't stop me from—!"
"Shut the fuck up."
[Aura Severance // Activated]
Bloodlight tore free from Butcher's Wrath as the twinbacks roared, two heavy waves ripping forward and carved through the Warden's limbs. The severed tentacles hit the ground with a wet slap, twitching as they dissolved where they landed.
Without waiting for the Warden to react, Seo-jin moved, feet digging into the shifting flesh as he drove forward, the blades along his pauldron peeling free and drifting behind him. Two beams of bloodlight lanced out from Tiamat and Bahamut, cutting through the space between them.
The battle had started.
And the dungeon began to quake.
----
The second floor sat quiet, the air thick and stale, broken only by scattered noise from the brood.
They'd split without being told. Small groups, each doing their own thing while they waited.
Hex had something playing, a low beat echoing out from his body as it pulsed. Slims leaned in close, head bobbing, while Split-jaw tapped a rhythm with one boot against the ground. Teal sat half-lowered beside them, still drunk, the sound carrying just enough to cut through the silence.
Across the chamber, Lynn had her back to a wall, one knee up, laughing at something Min said. Min was grinning wide, hands moving as she talked, while Widow stood just off to the side, quieter, but still smiling as she watched the two of them go back and forth.
Not far from them, Panic was crouched low, grin stretched wide as he circled.
Tomb flinched every time he moved.
Sin tried to hold still, but his shoulders kept twitching, eyes locked on Panic like he was waiting for something to happen. Fang didn't wait. He snapped once, teeth clacking, then immediately backed off when Panic's head tilted.
Bile stood behind them, arms crossed, watching it all with that same slow smile.
"Relax."
Panic's voice was light, stepping in close to Fang before suddenly vanishing from his view and reappearing behind him.
Tomb jerked hard, stumbling forward.
Panic laughed.
"Weak."
Fang growled under his breath. Sin said nothing.
Bile's voice came calm and even.
"They're going to die if they stay like this."
Panic didn't argue. He just kept smiling as he stepped in again—
When suddenly, somewhere above them, something shifted.
The dungeon gave a faint, uneven pulse.
Every broodling froze, heads snapping up as one, eyes locked on the ceiling.
Min cut off mid-laugh, her body going tight.
"What happened?"
No one answered. The air sat heavy for a beat, until Synapse and Snare stepped out from the tunnel leading up, bloodlight leaking off both of them in a low, steady bleed.
"Something has changed."
Snare's voice quiet, almost reverant.
"I don't know what, but it feels familiar."
A high-pitched squeal tore through the chamber.
Panic's aura exploded outward, bloodlight whipping around him in jagged arcs, the edges cutting through the stale air.
"IT'S HELL! HELL HAS COME! PRAISE THE BROODFATHER!"
The ground shuddered again, harder this time.
Before Min could process it, every broodling moved at once.
They broke.
A flood of bodies surged toward the passage to the third floor, claws digging in, teeth bared, the sound of them filling the space as they pushed forward. The air churned with heat and fury, the pull of it dragging at everything.
Min stared for half a second, then snapped out of it.
"Move!"
She didn't wait. Whatever was happening up there, she was not gonna miss it.