Eila fell through the air, her mind unable to comprehend what was happening—then she hit the ground with a thud, her equipment flashing red, the breath knocking out of her. The others dropped down beside her, Duran and Varya landing on their feet, the others just as clumsily as her.

She stood up, scrambling over to help Mosi to her feet as she looked around with wide, panicked eyes.

They were in the boss room. She was back here again.

The room was a near perfect circle, large enough that she could barely see the other end. The giant roots of the Great Oak arced down from the ceiling, wrapping themselves around a large, glowing green crystal. Iridescent veins ran through the crystal, pulsing with an angry light. A cluster of eggs, each as large as her, sat squat underneath the crystal.

“Everyone, to me!” Duran shouted. “In formation!”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Genn stammered. “Bosses are not able to affect their terrain to this degree, not unless there's a Dungeon Break.”

“I guess the rules have changed,” Varya growled.

Eila helped Mosi over to the group; the older woman was limping and cursing up a storm. “Think I broke my ankle,” she muttered. “I’m getting too old for this nonsense.”

Marr quickly took over, casting an [Aquafirm] card that quickly mended Mosi. Eila looked the rest of the group over, saw that everyone else was in mostly one piece, and then saw something in the corner of her eye.

A body, limp against the far wall of the room by the entrance into the boss room.

Her heart stuttered. She took a dizzy step towards it when a hand laid on her shoulder, stopping her.

“Not now,” Duran said, his voice firm but not unkind. “Later.” He nodded up to the ceiling, where they’d just dropped through.

Eila managed to peel her eyes away from the body and look up.

There, clutched to the ceiling beside the hole they’d dropped through, was the boss.

[Adept | Boss — Withering Roots Corrupted Devourer]

The monster was some sort of beetle, only magnified to a scale almost incomprehensible. Each of its six legs was as tall as three grown men stacked from head-to-toe; the joint connecting its torso to its head alone was large enough to host a Duel. Its segmented carapace was the same harshly iridescent color as the Great Oak leaves, and looking at its pulsing sheen made Eila’s eyes water.

The mandibles on either side of its head chattered, creating a shrieking noise that shook the room.

“Gaia protect us,” Genn murmured, voice half awed, half paralyzed with fear.

The Devourer abruptly dropped from the ceiling. It somehow twisted mid-air to land on its legs, the force of it nearly knocking Eila off her feet. The monster loomed over them, a titan of malevolence, rivers of sickly Earth energy coursing through its carapace and casting rippling shadows across the walls.

“Marr, Genn!” Duran shouted, stepping forward. “Alternate between buffing me and supporting the others as needed. Throw in a few attacks when you can. Varya, Mosi, focus your attacks on the neck joint with me, but stay split apart. That seems to be a weak spot. Everyone, cast your summons and have them target those eggs to start. We don’t want any surprises. Eila, go with the summons and help them out however you can.”

He took a deep breath then looked over his shoulder..

“My friends,” he said with a grim smile. “Today is not the day we die. Let’s get a nice meal when we’re back home.”

Genn and Mosi gave a tight smile. Varya shouted. Marr closed her eyes and breathed out heavily. Eila forcefully shoved the image of the body out of her mind.

“Go!” Duran yelled.

Varya and Mosi ran off the beetle’s side as Genn and Marr stacked buffs on buffs on Duran. Eila tried keeping track of them all: [Jagged Stones] and [Earthen Might] from Duran; [Hydroboost] and [Eroding Force] from Marr.

Duran’s deck lit up with brilliant energy. Everybody cast their Summons, five cards flying out and forming as various monsters across the battlefield that rushed towards the egg cluster. Eila ran with them, one eye on the battle.

The beetle chittered, its beady eyes seeming to focus on Duran.

The Guildmaster made the first move. He ran off, Genn and Marr keeping up behind him, and cast two cards in quick succession aimed right at its neck joint. The first one landed, a [Flaremark] appearing as a pulsing cross of fire. The next card flew through the air, a [Pyrolance] infused with Water and Earth energy that ripped through the air and landed square on the [Flaremark].

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

The Attack erupted, followed shortly after by the [Flaremark], and Duran’s Perks triggered, causing another series of fire eruptions. The Devourer shrieked in pain, and Varya and Mosi let loose another string of Attacks, but the beetle barely seemed affected by those ones.

“We’re not strong enough!” Varya shouted.

“Marr, support them now!” Duran ordered, as he laid down a Trap in front of him.

Marr ran off, water swirling around her and making her skip across the earth like a stone across a river.

Eila reached the egg cluster with the summons as they focused their attacks on one of the eggs. She pulled and cast [Strengthened Zone], a weak Novice Light card that granted a small boost to damage to those in a bubble around her. The egg shell started to crack under the damage.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the beetle swing its head towards Duran. Its mandibles shot out from its head at blinding speed, aimed right at the Guildmaster.

As they passed some invisible threshold, his Trap activated. [Wall of Fire] formed from the ground, creating a barrier that the mandibles slammed into and melted upon contact. Duran repositioned and returned an Attack, causing another rupture of fire to burst at its neck joint. Lines of Fire energy formed across its body in a massive net before proccing in flash of light, a [Burn] status effect applied by Duran.

Eila focused her attention back on the egg as the beetle shrieked in pain; the egg suddenly burst open at a powerful skill from Duran’s [Fire Elemental]. A half-formed, goopy creature sloshed out. Its name read: [Adept] — Gestating Withering Roots Devourer Grub.

A chill ran down through her spine. These were its babies? She imagined a whole group of these Devourers bursting forth from the Dungeon and swarming the island.

That’s why it was so important to clear Dungeons as soon as they spawned. The longer they festered, the more likely they were to eventually Break, releasing the monsters trapped within out in the world.

Again, she felt an almost choking rush of anger that the other Guilds hadn’t come to help them. This was their duty as cardbearers, was it not?

Eila directed the other summons to focus their attack on an egg that was worryingly starting to squirm. She looked over her shoulder and saw the others maintaining their distance from the beetle, who seemed confused on which group to target. Thanks to Marr’s Support cards, Varya and Mosi were inflicting real damage now.

The beetle shrieked, rose on its hind legs and slammed back down. Jagged spikes of stone ripped through the earth in a massive wave, and Eila’s heart leapt into her throat as one of them clipped Varya, sending her flying. Marr cried out and ran to her sister as Mosi angrily let loose an Attack in retaliation.

A strange crackling of corrupted Earth energy rippled across the beetle’s shell; Mosi’s [Command: Spike] landed, got absorbed, and reversed back towards the older woman. Eila watched in horror as the redirected attack shattered Mosi’s Armored top and ruptured a hole through the side of her body.

Beside them, Duran got hit with one of his own Attacks. The Guildmaster stumbled backwards, but Genn had shielded him in time. The older man’s {Shatter Stun} activated, stunning the Devourer for a precious moment.

Eila left the summons and ran to Mosi. The older woman laid on the ground, clutching her gushing wound.

“No, no, no,” Eila stammered, dropping to her knees beside her. She immediately casted [Healing Hands]. “Marr!” she cried, looking around desperately for the better healer.

“Damn,” Mosi muttered. She raised a limp, blood-soaked hand, and laid it on Eila’s trembling face. “Make sure my cards get back to my son, you hear me? He’s been clamoring for them ever since he was young. Spoiled brat. Tell him I love him, please.”

“Mosi, no,” Eila wept, her tears making it hard to see.

Footsteps made her head jerk up. Marr skidded to a halt beside her, breathing heavily, her own hands soaked in blood. Behind her, Varya stood up and re-entered the fight.

Explosions sounded behind her as she felt the beetle run towards Duran, who was leading the monster the other way.

Marr dropped down. Eila looked at her, hoping, but Marr just grit her teeth and gently closed Mosi’s now vacant eyes staring up at the ceiling. Her [Binder] appeared beside her body.

Eila stared down at the intricate, white-colored [Binder]. She had the sudden image of her when she was young, sitting on Mosi’s lap, as the older woman flipped through the pages and animatedly explained the different cards in them.

“Get up,” Marr said.

Eila woodenly looked up at her. With her hair messy and blood staining her body, Marr looked like a different person.

“The fight’s not over. Go finish off the eggs.” She ran off and joined Varya, the two of them wrapping around to hit the other side of the Devourer’s neck joint.

Eila took one last look at Mosi before standing up and sprinting back towards the summons. They’d managed to crush two more eggs in the time she’d been gone, but only Marr’s [Sunken Crab] stuck around, as she was the only one remaining who unlocked a duration-increasing [Summon Perk]. Mosi had too, but her Summon had disappeared upon her death.

She cast [Infusing Light], a Novice Light card that increased the duration of other card effects by a small amount. The fuzziness around the Crab solidified, and it focused its efforts on the fourth egg when suddenly it burst open.

[Adept — Withering Roots Devourer Grub].

The monster was a large, black grub with tinier rivulets of sickly Earth energy flowing through its wriggling flesh. Quick as a flash, the Grub snapped forward and bit down on the Crab, crushing its shell and dissipating it in an instant.

The Devourer shrieked, and the three remaining eggs cracked open. Leaving her facing down four Adept monsters by herself. She stumbled backwards from the Grubs, tripped on a piece of broken shell, and fell to the ground.

“Eila!” Varya screamed from the side.

The first Grub wormed towards her.

I’m dead, Eila thought, feeling oddly numb.

The Grub reared its head back.

In the corner of her eye, she saw something flash through the air. A moment later, a spear formed from darkness slammed into the Grub, knocking it away.

Eila turned and saw a figure in a wolf cloak running along the top of the beetle towards her.

Tristan.