Nixie screeched as Koby fell to the ground, paralyzed with fear. Even Joey was surprised by the appearance of a severed head, but the only one who seed unaffected was Arthur himself. Instead of being afraid, he was surprised.
"How can this head talk?" muttered Arthur, causing the others to freeze in place. After all, they all heard it let out a groan of pain. Thus, without a hint of disgust, Arthur raised the head by its long hair, making it groan again. "Are you a spirit?"
"As if…" said the head, its face contorting because of the light coming from the torch. Arthur threw the torch to Joey, allowing the head to open its eyes a little. "You are… humans…"
"You are rather stating the obvious," Arthur said, and to the horror of the three, pinched the head's cheek. "This fleshy texture does not belong to anyone but a human. What are you?"
"A human," said the head with a displeased expression. Arthur was silent for a minute before spreading his palm toward Joey, who threw the torch back. The head closed its eyes again, but Arthur proceeded to push the flas close to its face. "Ah! Stop! I will talk…"
Seeing that the head was complying again, Arthur removed the torch from its face. The head then proceeded to talk in a slow, but concise manner about what happened to him. Essentially, the man revealed himself to be a challenger who had co from the first floor.
"This is clearly a monster," said Nixie with a frown. She was the less brave sister of the two, as Fae seed to have nerves of steel. "We should not listen to its lies or it would lure us into a dream."
"You have a vivid imagination, lady," said the head, seeming to pant a little. "If you give the chance to take you out, I would prove that I'm no monster. Only in bed, that is, hehehe… cough… cough…"
"A perverted head," said Fae with a frown before turning toward Arthur. "I think that Nixie is right. Even if it's not a monster, it can be a distraction caused by the enemy. We should move on."
"Take with you; I know this dungeon," said the head with sweat beads gathering on its face. "Just take , and I might be able to gather the rest of my body."
"…what happened to you, anyway?" asked Joey with a disgusted face. "I can see the inside of your neck from here, yuck! How can you still be alive?" said the tall man after lowering his head to steal a glance.
"I know what he is," said Koby all of a sudden as he rose from the ground. His face was filled with desire and envy toward the head. "He must have the skill, Linked. His entire body becos linked through the skill, allowing him to live even with a severed head."
"Such a thing exists?" muttered Arthur with surprise before turning toward the head. "If that's the case, what if your arm gets poisoned? Would the poison be transmitted even after you sever it?"
"That is the drawback of my skill," said the head while panting. "I'm surprised soone knows such a rare skill. Are you soone I know?"
"I just know a lot about skills and their effects," said Koby with a weak smile. "Linked is the one skill I thought would be useful in preserving my life. Never thought I would find it in a place like this."
"As this thin man said," admitted the head, "I have been separated from the rest of my body. My skill kept alive, but I had to suffer the constant pain the rest of my body feels."
"Every great power cos with a price," said Arthur before placing the head on the ground again. "I wish you luck, bodiless man. Farewell."
"…are you leaving him just like that?" asked Joey, shocked as he stared at Arthur. The latter stared at him with confusion, unable to understand what he was expected to do. "You are not even going to help him?"
"Am I supposed to?" asked Arthur, surprised. "This tower has ordeals befalling its challengers left and right. Why am I responsible for helping everyone I find?"
"Please help ," said the head while on the ground, recovering from the shock of Arthur leaving him to die. "I'm not capable of overcoming this ordeal by myself. I need your help, or I'm going to die. In exchange, I'll offer you guidance in this dungeon."
"A dungeon in the tower?" muttered Arthur as he turned around. "It shouldn't be a dungeon but just a demonic nest. How long have you been here?"
"I have been here… for an entire year."
"This head is lying," said Fae with rage. "We were here a week ago, and this was just an ordinary cave! There is no way he spent an entire year here!"
"I'm not lying," said the head with confusion. "I could not be sure if it was a year or less, but it could not have been a week. I suffered here for a long ti, without even being able to find the exit."
"The exit is right behind us," said Fae as she pointed to the tunnel the group had co from. The head turned around, looked there with confusion, and looked at her again.
"There is nothing there."
As soon as the head said those words, the entire squad turned around. There was nothing but dirt walls and dark shards covering the path they had co from. There was no tunnel or entrance, making the group frown.
"We entered an illusion domain," said Arthur with a frown, rembering the one man who specialized in them. When he entered Jerano, the man who was working on illusions was none other than Yuvan Perli. "Be careful, everyone."
"Are we in a different dinsion?" asked Nixie, tightening her grip on her bow and looking around. "When did the exit disappear?"
"This is not a different dinsion, but an illusion domain that could mimic a dungeon," said Arthur with a frown before crouching to pick up the head. "What do you know about this place?"
"Take with you, and I'm going to tell you everything," said the head with a desperate plea. "I don't want to die like this, too."
"…who wants to carry it around?" said Arthur as he turned toward the four. Three of them shook their heads almost instantly, refusing to do such a thing. Joey, however, remained silent. "Are you fine with it?"
"I can wear it as a backpack," said Joey before walking toward the head and grabbing its long hair. Then, he tied its hair around his neck and threw the head over his back, turning it into a backpack as he suggested. "Does it look cool?"
"…you are an interesting man," said Arthur, completely honest, before chuckling and staring into the deeper parts of the cave. "We cannot waste any more ti, so that will do. We have to look for an exit before an entire year passes again."
"I still think it's a monster," said Nixie, but Arthur just ignored her warning. Her fear was the one talking, not her
. The rest could do nothing but follow him as he walked forward through the darkness.
The cave began to grow darker, making them unable to see their own feet. At so point, the group stepped into so sort of liquid, making them frown as they lowered their heads to see what it was.
"Is there a lake in here?" asked Koby as he scooped through the water, cupping a good amount to examine it. It was dark in color, making him throw it away almost imdiately. "What is this?"
"This is the Dark Swamp," said the head from behind Joey. "It runs almost a ter deep at most and hinders fighting within this cave. Be careful; there are demonic creatures in here."
"What kind of demonic creatures?" asked Arthur before the air began to buzz. He could hear sothing whistling from the distance and heading toward them. The head then proceeded to scream.
"They are coming! Everyone should duck into the water now!" shouted the head in urgency, making them look at Arthur with confusion. Arthur frowned before he nodded, and the four followed his command. However, he remained above the surface to see what was coming.
"You cannot follow their speed with your eyes! Duck into the water and hide!" shouted the head as Joey rushed into the water, realizing that Arthur was not moving. However, Joey grabbed the head before jumping into the water.
"He is the last person you should worry about," said Joey before diving into the waters. The head could say nothing before he had to hold his breath. The other three did the sa, leaving Arthur alone above the surface.
Zzzzz…
The air buzzed around him, making the water surface ripple beneath his feet. Arthur could tell that a group of them was coming at him with great speed, but he was not afraid. He wanted to test himself.
Several shadows jumped from the darkness, flying around Arthur with great speed. Arthur acknowledged that they were indeed too fast, but he was still standing there with a smile. Then, three of these Wasps ca rushing toward him.
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