Chapter 63: The Ten Authorities Attack

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: The Ten Authorities Attack

Arin turned around to look at the passage that led back to the surface.

"We’re leaving."

No one protested.

Ayan had already come up alongside Arin, and Saira was standing near Mira. Zarl and Garul were following behind the group of adventurers, both silent after seeing what they had witnessed in the elven dungeon.

The expedition barely took a few steps when the entire dungeon trembled.

BOOM!

The stone cracked above them. Dust sifted down from the ceiling. Arin stopped in place. "What was that?" Arene did not respond. Arin turned to look at the System.

His Dungeon Master System was silent. There was no blue window that appeared.

The lock that was on the dungeon was still intact. "We need to hurry," Ayan said. They resumed walking towards the passage that led them back to the surface. Then the stone under their feet began to shimmer.

A ring of symbols in black light appeared on the stone.

Arin’s eyes widened. "Wait." The symbols grew larger. The walls of the passage began to change. The passage that they had come from was sealed off by a wall of black stone.

Another appeared in front of them. Within moments, the entire group of adventurers was enclosed in a large chamber. Arin instinctively reached for his weapon. "What is this?" Zarl’s face finally lost its composure.

"This isn’t good." Garul swallowed hard. "I told you we should have left."

Ayan narrowed his eyes at his surroundings.

"The dungeon has changed." Arin activated Dungeon Sense. The moment he reached out to touch the dungeon, a sudden force pushed against his senses. Arin staggered back. "They’re here." Saira’s face had gone pale. "Who?" Arin turned to stare into the darkness. "All of them." From the shadows, ten figures emerged. The chamber suddenly seemed smaller than it was before. A great mass of black stone and flesh stood at the front of the group.

It was the First Authority. The Second was shorter, but it moved more stiffly than the first. The Third moved with surprising calm, scanning over the group of adventurers.

The Fourth appeared to be the most frightened, constantly twitching and wanting to flee. The Fifth had sharp eyes that stared directly at Arin. The Sixth wore a face of sorrow. The Seventh’s lips were curled into a smile. The Eighth moved forward confidently. The Ninth dragged itself along like a beast, barely able to think on its own. And finally, at the back stood the Tenth Authority. It was the oldest of them all, having watched Arin since the beginning.

Its gaze lingered on Ayan, then Saira, and finally landed on Arin. "You were told to leave," the Tenth Authority said. Arin’s fingers tightened around his weapon. "We tried." The Tenth Authority said nothing for a moment. Then it raised its hand. "Stop them." The First Authority vanished from view. Arin barely had time to react before something came hurtling towards him.

BOOM!

Arin felt himself flying across the chamber, his body twisting in the air before landing on the ground in a crouch. "Aren’t we supposed to talk first?" The First Authority lunged at him again, but Ayan was quick to block the attack. The two fighters crashed into each other, sending shockwaves throughout the chamber. Meanwhile, the Fifth Authority raised its hand. A ball of black light appeared in its palm. "Move!" Ayan shouted. The black sphere exploded outward.

BOOM!

The elven soldiers were tossed backwards, one of them flying into the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him. The elven soldier did not get up again. An elven guard at the entrance screamed his name and rushed forward in rage. The Seventh Authority stood in the way of the oncoming soldier. The Seventh Authority chuckled.

"Too slow." A black sword materialized along its arm. The elven soldier was bisected. The remaining soldiers gasped in horror. Then the Seventh Authority laughed.

It was not a real laugh. It was dry, broken and wrong. Saira shuddered. "They’re monsters..." "They were Dungeon Masters," Arin said. "And they still are." The Fourth Authority suddenly screamed.

A wave of power crashed outwards, throwing the remaining elven scouts into the walls. One of the elves managed to stand. The Sixth Authority approached the confused elf. Its face was sorrowful. "I am sorry." The elf was sent hurtling backwards, his body slamming into the ground. The remaining elves barely had time to get into position before the ten authorities surrounded them. Swords slashed at nothing. Arrows pierced empty air. Magic spells fizzled out against invisible protections. The ten authorities worked as if they were a single entity.

A Dungeon Master and his familiar. Ayan roared. His body stretched and twisted.

Scales grew along his skin, and his wings unfurled from his back. Within moments, a massive dragon stood in the center of the chamber. The very air trembled around the creature. Everyone stopped for a brief moment. Ayan opened his jaws. A torrent of fire shot out towards the ten authorities.

BOOOOOOM!

The chamber was set ablaze. Arin shielded his eyes from the flames. For a moment, he thought that the attack would finish off the authorities...

...but the fire had no effect on the Tenth Authority.

It stood in the middle of the flames, unfazed. The Tenth Authority raised two fingers. Ayan suddenly froze in place. His massive body trembled. "What?" Dark markings appeared along Ayan’s scales. His wings retracted, and the dragon’s body began to shrink. Ayan was transforming.

"AYAN!"

Arin rushed forward, but the Tenth Authority looked at him and said, "No." A black symbol appeared beneath Ayan’s body. The magical power that sustained the dragon vanished. Ayan collapsed in his humanoid form. He gasped in pain as he struggled to get up. "My magic..." The Tenth Authority lowered its hand. "Suppression."

Saira stared at the markings on Ayan’s body.

Her expression twisted in horror as she realized what was happening. She had seen these markings before. Years ago. In another dungeon. In Elias’s hands. "No..."

Arin glanced at her in confusion. "Saira?" Saira shook her head. "It can’t be." The Fifth Authority moved. Saira recognized the shape of the magic that was forming around it. Her breathing came out in short gasps. "That pattern..." The black markings twisted around one of the remaining elves.

His sword clattered to the ground as his magic was drained out of him. Saira stumbled backward. "No! It can’t be!" The Third Authority used the same technique, and the Eighth Authority was right behind it. The First Authority created another field of suppression. Each of the ten authorities used slightly different magic, but they all had the same effect. Saira looked at Arin with wide eyes. "They’re using Master Elias’s monster suppression skill!" Arin’s eyes widened. "Elias had something like this?" "Yes!" Saira’s voice shook as she looked at the ten authorities.

"I’ve seen it before! He used it to suppress monsters without killing them! This isn’t exactly the same thing!" She looked at the ten authorities all around them. "They’re using different variations of the same ability." Her voice grew quiet. "All Dungeon Masters have it." Arin stared at the group of ten authorities. Another part of the legacy of the former Dungeon Masters had been uncovered. He barely had time to process it before the Ninth Authority lunged at Mira.

Arin was quick to stop it. He rammed into the monster, sending both of them flying.

Arin rolled away and came up behind it. "Stay away from my people!" The Ninth Authority snarled at him, but it did not respond. Instead, it swung at Arin.

Arin blocked the blow and then the next one. The third strike sent him sprawling backward. Arin ducked beneath the monster’s claw and drove his weapon into its ribs. The blow did little damage, and Arin grumbled in frustration. "Seriously?" The First Authority came up alongside him. Arin was able to sense its presence with Dungeon Sense, and he jumped away just in time to avoid the strike. The Fist Authority’s punch went wide and slammed into the ground beside him. Arin came up behind the Ninth Authority. Before he could deliver another blow, the Eighth Authority struck him from behind.

BOOM!

Arin was sent flying forward. Saira tried to help him, but the Fifth Authority raised its hand. A black field of suppression appeared in front of Saira. Her magic was sucked out of her, and her knees buckled as she fell to the ground. "I CANT..." she gasped. Mira grabbed hold of her arm. "Saira!" The Fifth Authority turned towards them, but Ayan forced himself to his feet despite the suppression field. "You are not going to protect them," the Tenth Authority said. Ayan’s eyes burned with determination.

He tried to channel his magic, but nothing happened. Ayan clenched his fists.

The Tenth Authority merely looked at him.

"That is the difference between power and authority."

Arin was forced to listen to the words as he pushed himself back up to his feet. His breathing was ragged as he looked around the chamber. The elves were felled, Ayan could not use his power, Saira was helpless, Mira was injured, and Zarl and Garul barely had the strength to stand. The ten authorities stood tall and victorious. Arin gripped his weapon. "Fine." The First Authority looked him up and down. With a battle cry, Arin charged forward. It barely blocked his strike. Arin twisted his body and swept the Second Authority’s legs out from under it. The Third Authority raised a barrier of black light, but Arin’s weapon shattered it. The Fifth Authority slashed across his ribs, sending him flying. Arin barely had the strength to get back up, but the Seventh Authority was floating above him. "That’s amazing," the Seventh Authority said as it brought its weapon down. "Here’s a gift!"

Arin barely crossed his arms in time to block the attack.

BOOM!

The force of the blow sent Arin crashing into the ground, his vision swimming. His body was on fire, but he forced himself to ignore the pain. Saira’s voice rang in his ears, but he pushed past her and focused on getting up. A sudden explosion of power sent Arin flying backwards. He was on his knees, feeling the pain in his ribs. The Fourth Authority screamed, and Arin barely had the strength to get up before he was sent tumbling across the ground. His fingers slipped off his weapon, and it spun across the floor before coming to rest a few meters away from him. "No..." The First Authority stepped forward, followed by the Fifth, Third, and Seventh Authorities. The rest of the ten slowly surrounded him.

Arin pushed himself up onto one arm, his entire body screaming in protest. He took a deep breath and looked around at the battlefield. The elves were wounded, Ayan was powerless, Saira was struggling to get up, Mira was barely able to stand, and Zarl and Garul were falling to the ground. Arin clenched his fingers around his weapon.

Arin charged forward again, but the First Authority was waiting for him. It blocked his strike and sent him flying backward. Arin barely had the strength to roll away from the Third Authority’s barrier. The Fifth Authority kicked him in the ribs, and Arin was sent sprawling.

For a moment, he thought that this would be the end. The Seventh Authority hovered above him and grinned. "Now, let’s see if you can make it this time." The Eighth Authority brought its weapon down, but Arin crossed his arms and blocked the blow.

The two of them locked eyes for a moment.

BOOM!

Arin’s body was thrown backward again, but this time he was able to get up. "Okay..." Arin laughed through the pain. "In all my life, I’ve never been this pained.