Chapter 95 #2
“No, no, no,” I said as the mini wheel appeared in front of both me and Penny. It also appeared in front of the woman trapped in the web.
I landed in the green. Penny landed in the green. Relief filled me.
The alien landed in the red.
“Oh, thank the gods. Thank the gods,” the woman gasped as worms suddenly burst from all parts of her body and devoured her. She disappeared with a flash.
Screams of all types filled the dark halls.
“Carl,” Emberus yelled once again.
Donut: ARE YOU OKAY? THE RV TRICK WORKED!
Carl: We weren’t protected, but it didn’t hit us.
Penny: MORE SPLOOGE.
Mordecai: Just so you guys know, we’re okay, and game guides appear to be immune, but it looks like safe rooms are not safe from these nine-tier attacks. Bucket Boy was affected, but Mistress Tiatha was able to heal him in time.
We moved on. A level 13 snare trap sat in the middle of the hallway ahead. Something set by “the Kyryap.” I deactivated the trap and hesitantly moved to the stairs. More screams filled the halls.
Donut: OH NO, CARL! WE WENT OUT THERE AND THE MOUNTS WEREN’T PROTECTED THIS TIME FROM THE ATTACK! GONK AND SWEETY BOTH GOT HURT! I’M GOING TO TRY TO SAVE THEM. THEY HAVE WORMS COMING OUT OF THEM!
Carl: I’m moving to Emberus now. Get ready.
We moved to a long hallway filled with numbered doors on either side.
The hallway was empty, filled with flickering lights, soaked top to bottom with multiple strange fluids.
Blaster and spell fire scorched the walls.
Some of the doors were broken open, showing opulent, bigger-on-the-inside rooms. The orange webbing was everywhere.
Penelope had stopped struggling and instead just sat there, snuffling loudly.
I moved to the stairs, approaching the room with Emberus, which appeared to be a giant lobby.
Imani: We’re moving into the arena.
Florin: Holy hell, that Taranis god is huge. He’s standing over the bug. I think the floor boss got hit with the attack. It has a health bar already down halfway. Oh shit!
We hit the stairs, and then I was suddenly falling. Up was down, and we crashed hard to the ceiling before righting again, and I crashed back to the floor, Penny squealing. Guts and blood and all sorts of other liquids splashed all around me as Scolopendra tumbled.
A pleasant but glitched-out, clearly automated voice spoke over a loudspeaker.
“Honored guests, not to worry. That is nothing but Scolopendra settling as she slumbers. Rest assured such movements are perfectly natural, and the resort’s centrifugal dampeners are more than up to the task of keeping you safe.”
Florin: The tree broke, and now the centipede is all mixed up with the Krakaren monster!
Elle: Holy hell. A third of the mobs died in that worm attack.
I crawled into the hallway. Kneeling with corpses all around was the strange human-sized form of Emberus. Heat washed over me.
He stood to his full height. The man was tall, humanlike, about fifty years old with blazing sockets for eyes.
He was bald with a black beard streaked with red flowing cracks that smoldered.
He wore the white toga thing with the gold sash most of the gods wore, but it was covered with scorch marks.
The ground below his feet burned and sizzled.
An angry scar as thick as my thumb ran down the side of his head.
From outside came a loud female shriek that was the sound of a thousand voices at once. “This doesn’t concern you, god!”
“Get off the worm!” Taranis yelled. “Penelope, hold on!”
Penny: IS THAT GUY TALKING TO ME? DOES HE HAVE MY SPLOOGE?
We crashed again, harder this time, but not flipping.
Florin: Whoa.
Imani: Is everyone all right?
Elle: That god dude ain’t screwing around. How is that tentacle boss even still alive?
“Carl,” Emberus said, “I am here, ready to receive your evidence on who killed my son. Tell me.”
Penny: HOT, HOT, HOT.
Donut: I SAVED GONK, BUT SWEETY DIED!
Ah damn. I stood. The floor rumbled more, and I activated Sticky Feet just in case we tumbled again.
Carl: Okay, Penny. I’m going to put you down. Don’t move, and I’ll give you more splooge in a second. Okay?
Penny: OKAY.
The world rumbled. I unhooked the backpack and gently placed Penny on the floor. I stepped to the side so she was out of the line of fire. I gauged her position with Emberus and took another step.
Carl: Don’t move.
“Two people are responsible for the death of your son, and I’m going to bring them here so you can confront them directly,” I said to the god. “They will admit to their crimes.”
Carl: Here we go, guys. Donut, you ready?
Donut: I AM READY. I’M AS CLOSE TO TARANIS AS I CAN GET. HE HAS LIGHTNING SPARKLING ALL OVER HIS BODY, AND MY HAIR IS ALL POOFED OUT. HE’S IGNORING ME.
The spiral tattoo on the palm of my hand started to itch. I ignored it.
I made sure Penny still wore the collar with the trap module.
She was also still wearing the kneepads.
These were the Enchanted Spiked Kneepads of the Munificent Goddess Kina, originally gifted to Katia on the ninth floor, given to Donut, and now equipped by Penelope.
The kneepads imparted multiple benefits, including the ability to breathe underwater.
But most importantly, they also gave the pig the same temporary deity effects as my Scavenger’s Daughter patch.
“The first person to kill your son was the god Khepri.”
Emberus looked surprised, then enraged. “What? How do you know?” He growled. “That fake sun god was always jealous of me. Show me your proof! Show me your proof right now!”
“He will explain himself. For my second summon to the arena, I choose Khepri!”
Please, please, please, I prayed. The prize said he’d be teleported to the arena. If he teleported to the club instead, that would be a problem.
System Message: Khepri has entered the realm.
Donut: HE’S OUTSIDE! IT WORKED! WOW, THAT GUY REALLY IS WEIRD-LOOKING. HE’S GIANT!
I relaxed.
This deity is too distant to activate your Scavenger’s Daughter.
Poor bug-headed Khepri. He had nothing to do with this.
I actually had no idea for certain who killed Geyrun, though I now knew this was something—if I survived this—I would still have to figure out. I was starting to have a sneaking suspicion that one of the key details of the whole mystery was a lie.
“Where is he! Where is he!” Emberus roared.
I held up a hand. “He’s coming,” I lied. “He was only one of two people to kill your son.”
I reached over and pulled the Emberus ring off my finger, and I put it into my inventory. I moved into my menus, clicked over, and made my selection.
Here we go.
Uh, Carl? Are you fucking sure? Holy shit.
I clicked Yes.
Y-y-you have left your faith, and you no longer worship Emberus. You have abandoned your god. Prepare for a smite. Something tells me this is gonna be a bad one.
Both of the tattoos on the back of my hands burst into burning, searing flames. A notification appeared regarding the ring I’d just shoved into my inventory, and I waved it away.
Emberus just stood there, looking at me, confused, outraged, and starting to glow.
“The other guy to kill your worthless smear of a son was me. That’s right. I killed him with my bare hands, and as he died, I said, ‘I’m doing this because your dad is a little bitch.’ ”
And then, as so many times before, several things happened at once.