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Chapter 57: Peckish

“It feels… off,” Anna added. “Wrong, I guess.”

“I’m inclined to agree. Could be some form of necrotic presence in the area,” Arwin theorized. “Or just normal dark magic. I doubt it’s anything too powerful since we’re still in a Journeyman dungeon, but we should still keep our guard up. I’ll take the lead as usual.”

“I’ll back you up,” Lillia said.

Rodrick looked her in surprise. “Really? Shouldn’t that be me? I mean, I know you can handle yourself, but I’m the warrior.”

“Someone needs to watch our back in case something happens to be behind us,” Lillia said smoothly, with all the grace of an older sister redirecting her sibling from something she wanted.

“I suppose that’s a good point,” Rodrick allowed, falling for it completely. He stepped back, letting Lillia move up beside Arwin. With their new formation established, Arwin summoned his hammer back and pushed the door open with its head.

Dried vines squelched and cracked beneath it as it swung open, opening a passageway into the darkness. Not too far down, two dim purple flames flickered at the end of the hall, illuminating an old stone door. Arwin’s eyes narrowed.

“Probably got a nasty bugger up ahead,” Rodrick whispered. “Look at those torches. The dungeon is warning us.”

Arwin wasn’t so sure warning was the right word. Dungeons did tend to mark their more powerful rooms, but it wasn’t to scare people off. At least in his opinion, it was to bring them closer.

When adventurers stumbled across a room that stood out, curiosity almost always got the better of them and drew them to investigate it further. Stronger monsters meant better rewards, and that meant people were willing to take bigger risks.

And, in the end, magical energy was magical energy. Dungeons didn’t care where it came from. They just wanted more. Monsters, humans, it was all alike. As long as more magical energy entered and didn’t leave, the dungeon would be happy.

Those torches are bait, not a warning.

Of course, Arwin’s thoughts were just theory. Nobody knew exactly how dungeons worked.

Then again, maybe the Adventurer’s Guild lied about that as well. I bet there could be some people that have researched dungeons a lot and could tell me more about them, but now isn’t the time to wonder. Warning or bait, the result is the same. I think we can handle this. We haven’t gone deep enough to be at the base of the dungeon, so this enemy shouldn’t be so strong that we can’t handle them.

“We can handle it,” Arwin said, edging toward the door. “But, on the off chance that we can’t, get out of the room. Let Lillia and I try to handle it while the rest of you run.”

Nobody questioned his orders, and Arwin got a round of understanding nods. They advanced into the darkness until they stood before the stone door. There was no handle, but there was an imprint clearly inviting Arwin to push it open.

I suppose I’d be rude to refuse at this point.

Arwin pushed the door open. Stone ground on stone and purple light spilled out, illuminating a circular room with several doors running along its edges. A locked stone chest sat in the middle of the room. Directly behind it was a large marble pillar riddled with cracks and worn with age.

And, clutching onto the pillar with alabaster skin that matched it nearly perfectly, was a monster. Fangs jutted out from its lips and curled around them, and two massive wings were folded against its back.

It had a humanoid body, but its hands and feet were disproportionally large and bore large claws that dug into the stone like butter. The monster was roughly eight feet long, from head to the base of its barbed tail.

[Bone Gargoyle – Journeyman 6]

Unlike many of the other monsters, the gargoyle wasn’t content to sit around while they figured out a plan. As soon as Arwin stepped into the room, the monster’s grey tongue flicked out and tasted the air.

It released the pillar, dropping to the ground with a crash. It stood on all fours like an irate cat. A very, very large irate cat. Bone wings unfurled from its back with a series of loud cracks, raining dust down onto the ground around it as the monster let out a deep, brassy hiss.

“I don’t suppose you count as a magical material?” Arwin asked the gargoyle. It roared in response. Arwin grunted and spun the hammer in his grasp, calling on his [Soul Flame]. A gargoyle wasn’t an easy enemy, and they weren’t going to win this if they pulled any punches.

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“Oh, shit,” Reya muttered, swallowing heavily. “That’s big.”

“Go all out, but focus surviving over doing damage,” Arwin ordered. “Gargoyles are really difficult to keep injured, but we win the war of attrition. Let me and Rodrick take most of its aggression. Lillia – well, do what you can.”

I don’t want to force you to blow your cover, but we might need the power of your demons if we’re going to win this.

Lillia gave Arwin a slight nod, showing she would step up if they needed her to. They didn’t have any more time to discuss strategy. The gargoyle leapt forward, letting out a catlike yowl.

Stepping forward, Arwin poured [Soul Flame] through the handle of Verdant Blaze. The weapon responded with a roar of its own. The crystals in its head ignited, sending shimmering green light dancing across the room.

He brought the hammer into the gargoyle’s side as it charged him, empowering his blow with the full strength that [Scourge] would afford him. Fire erupted from the head of his hammer with a roar as it connected with the gargoyle and a wave of scorching heat rolled past Arwin.

And, while the heat of the flame didn’t hurt Arwin, he couldn’t say the same for the gargoyle. The monster hurtled back, coils of flame rolling off the huge crater Arwin had just put in its side and slammed into the wall with a resounding crash.

It dropped to the ground, a few wisps of persistent fire still burning at its side. Scrambling to its feet, the gargoyle let out a snarl. Even as chips of bone rained down from its body, the damage faded away as if it had never been there.

“Godspit,” Lillia muttered. “Where in the Nine Underlands did you learn how to do that?”

Arwin adjusted his grip on the hammer, trying not to look too surprised at his own strength. Verdant Blaze vibrated in his hands, as if hungry for more. It was warm to the touch – the [Soul Flame] had completely permeated the weapon, and it almost felt as if it was hungry.

“I don’t think the gargoyle is impressed,” Rodrick muttered under his breath. “How do we kill it?”

“By hitting it a lot,” Arwin replied, striding toward the gargoyle to keep the monster’s attention on him. Despite his words, he had no plans of blindly flinging himself at the gargoyle. The claws on its paws weren’t just for show.

Even with his armor and enhanced defenses, the gargoyle would probably shred him to ribbons pretty quickly. The monster was simple, but it was effective. Generally, the best way to defeat gargoyles was through magic.

Unfortunately, Arwin’s team didn’t have a proper mage. The closest thing to that was probably Anna, and she had no way to fight back.

That’s fine. Magic is the easiest way to take out a gargoyle, but it’s not the only way. There’s always another way. And, in this case, that other way is to wear this bastard down until there’s nothing left of him to regenerate. Any healing skill is going to be either really slow or really taxing. And, considering the gargoyle regenerated that wound in just a second, we’re looking at the latter.

“It can’t keep up the healing forever,” Arwin said. “Just keep safe and wear it down. Reya, focus on slowing it if it’s about to hit someone. Your job is to keep us safe, not to help us land hits.”

“Understood,” Reya said.

The gargoyle threw itself for Arwin, turning into a white blur. If Arwin had been with anyone else, he would have tried to dodge the blow. Taking the monster head-on was far from the best way to handle it – but he was the best defended out of the entire group, and they were all behind him.

With a roar, Arwin channeled [Scourge] and swung Verdant Blaze. The head of the hammer erupted with flame as it connected. At the same time, lines of heat carved through Arwin’s shoulder.

The gargoyle shot off like a bullet and slammed into the wall, shattering both the stone and its own body. At the same time, Arwin nearly lost his grip on the hammer. He stumbled, blood pouring down his arm in rivers.

In the brief instant the gargoyle had been beside him, it had managed to snag his arm with one claw. And, in that glancing blow, it had ripped his armor open like a can, gouging deep into the muscle and scratching the bone beneath.

If I didn’t have [Indomitable Bulwark], I think I would have lost my arm there.

Anna rushed up to Arwin and pressed her hands to his arm. Relief flooded through him as the wounds knitted shut. The few seconds it took her to heal him were just enough for the gargoyle to rise as well, the last smoldering embers falling away as its body reformed.

Arwin’s second blow had done more damage to it than the first had – likely because it had been head on and also had the additional force from [Shieldbreaker], but it still wasn’t anywhere near enough to kill the monster.

“How many times do you have to kill that thing?” Rodrick demanded, adjusting his grip on his sword.

“Until it stays dead.”

“Fair enough.”

The gargoyle charged again, screaming. This time, before Arwin could attack, Rodrick lunged forward. Despite Arwin’s orders, Reya thrust her hand forward with a yell of her own. Blue light enveloped the monster and its dash slowed for a flicker of an instant.

Rodrick’s sword ignited with burning yellow light and he released a flurry of three blows into the monster’s side in rapid-fire succession before throwing himself back just in time to avoid getting carved apart.

Each of his cuts left a deep gouge in the monster’s side – and the cuts weren’t healing. Arwin nearly burst into laughter as realization struck him. The gargoyle craned its head back to study the damage it had taken, flapping its wings and creating a powerful gust of wind to keep them back.

“Your attacks count as magic?” Arwin asked of the air rushing past them.

“Yours don’t?” Rodrick demanded. “What’s all the fire if not magic? And why does that matter?”

“It’s [Soul Flame]. I think soul attacks count differently,” Arwin replied. “And gargoyles can heal from physical attacks easily. Magic disrupts them.”

“Why?” Rodrick asked.

“Now really isn’t the time for a lesson,” Arwin said as the gargoyle stopped flapping its wings and turned baleful eyes toward them, its gaze locked on Rodrick with revenge promised in its eyes.

“It’s because they’re made of magic, and magic always disrupts magic,” Lillia answered for Arwin.

Arwin started to nod, then paused.

Wait. It’s made of magic, and gargoyles aren’t technically living creatures. They’re objects that have gained sentience, usually stone.

Does that mean…

“What’s that look on your face?” Lillia asked. “Focus!”

“Sorry,” Arwin said, letting his tongue wet his lips as he moved to stand in front of the gargoyle. “I just realized I was feeling a bit peckish.”