D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Chapter 2085: Chapter 2085 Deeper in the Hole

--- Gareth ---

Fluffles’ head threw back to look at the ceiling and Gareth barely had time to react. It burst apart when a small glowing drill broke through and only Fluffles’ concern gave Gareth time to impose his shield between the construct and everyone else. It impacted his shield hard, and Gareth could feel it ripping away mana to keep itself intact as a grating noise played out. Gareth felt his feet get driven through the stone below him but, ultimately, he managed to hang on and remain upright through the attack, even if his arms were complaining.

When the construct finally dissipating, Gareth moved his shield aside to see a clear path right back to the surface, and already another bomb was being thrown down towards them. Gareth cursed. They were now much lower underground and there was no good way to get back to the surface, but clearly their hiding spot had been found. Worse, their enemy clearly had some way to keep track of them.

”Gardor? Got a better plan?” asked Gareth as he closed the shaft off to prevent the bomb from reaching them. Sadly, their opponent had learned from previous interactions and the bomb exploded against the stone... and several smaller ones fell down afterwards. Gareth threw up more shields, burning mana as each individual bomb hit a shield and exploded. Gareth let out a sigh when despite the cluster of bombs heading their way at least two shields were still intact.

”Ok, so we might need to get to the surface,” admitted Gardor. ”Whatever that enchantment was it only got stopped by your shield because of the mana you were pumping into it, or at least that’s how it looked to me. If it’s optimised to dig through the dirt and it’s all pre-charged? Even twice as deep might not be far enough... and there are other issues with that as you might remember,”

”Yes I remember the heat Gardor,” grumbled Gareth as he tried to listen out for more explosives being tossed their way. The problem was he could no longer trust his ears. The magical drill hadn’t made any sound despite the fact it really should have. It was clear that, along with giving their enemy the ability to taunt them all the time they were also being made to hear things that weren’t there and hear nothing when they should. Staying underground where you needed that sense to help track enemies around corners of through walls... it was an issue.

Gardor clicked his tongue, ”We have to-” Gardor was cut off when another bomb went off in the recently created shaft. Gareth readied his shield to summon more walls in case they started to break, and was sadly rewarded for his vigilance. Gareth blocked the attack once more, wincing at the mana cost. He was down to about sixty percent which was not a good number to be at when you still couldn’t see your attacker. *I really wish Green was here right now...*

Gardor tapped Fluffles on the side and the molebear nodded before roaring once more. Dirt started to levitate a bit around him before he charged forward and slightly upward. Dirt flowed around Fluffles as he burnt mana to get them moving through the earth. His claws moving more like a conductor’s baton then digging implements as earth was pushed to the side. Gareth wanted to help with this but knew his enchantments were too rigid to merge with Fluffles artful earth magic.

Explosions rang out around them during this mad dash but at this point Gareth had no idea if they were real or not. It was just as likely that Fluffles was able to keep them safe with the massive expenditure of mana the molebear was currently abusing. It made them fast sure, but Gareth was willing to bet that Fluffles would have less mana then him when it was all over.

This was further solidified when they broke the surface, but instead of stopping, Fluffles continued to keep the earth moving around them, building out a pillar to stand on as they headed up into the sky. Gareth tried to find the attacker, and it seemed like the crazy ability to ascend into the air on a platform of dirt made by a molebear was just crazy enough they failed to anticipate it.

Gareth could see, Greaves, a bit away from the hole she’d made down to them, glaring at their spot in the air. She grumbled about something and pulled another enchanted item from her bracelet, launching it in their direction. It looked different then the previous bombs, but at this point Gareth had no idea how much stock to put in that. *Now I’m also wishing Kat was hear. At least she could tell us what is and isn’t real. I’m at risk of running out of mana if I waste too much of it blocking fake shit.*

A stone fist went out to meet the projectile, and instead of something reasonable like exploding, it instead absorbed the fist entirely, and spat it back out in the opposite direction. The group had moved on since then so they weren’t directly in the line of fire... but the fist was large enough to still impact the walkway itself. Fluffles and Gardor didn’t seem all that concerned though, as they kept moving forward.

The fist slammed into the walkway, shattering that section and removing the connecting rock from the ground... but the pathway continued to float? ”What the fuck?” hissed Gareth.

”Secret technique,” grinned Gardor. ”Fluffles has been working on this one for quite a while. It’s a mana hog and once he stops moving that’s the end of things until he completely recovers... but for the moment we can go anywhere!”

”And can we outrun her?” asked Gareth.

”Probably,” said Gardor with a grin, only for Gareth to tap his shoulder and point behind him. A giant set of wings had grown from the back of Greaves greaves allowing her to fly after them. ”Ah... shit ok maybe not. Fluffles to the ground!”

Fluffles huffed at the command but went along with the new plan. With Greaves in the air, she started to throw more things at them. Gareth huffed and got ready to waste more mana on that, but instead Gardor took centre stage. Pulling out a sling, Gardor started to hurl rocks at the various projectiles headed there way.

Some exploded, others had the rocks fly straight through them. A few burst into sticky gloop and one turned into yellow mist but they were far enough away for that one to be avoided completely. They touched down on the snowy ground, throwing it up into the air as they turned to face a rapidly gaining Greaves. As fast as Fluffles might be when travelling at full speed, he still wasn’t as fast as Greaves. Gardor and Gareth hopped off to the side, ready to attack while Fluffes dug further under ground to keep himself safe to recover, even sealing the entrance behind him to ensure that he couldn’t be followed.

Gareth almost jumped in fright when the snow beside him shifted and Timmy popped out, a little wooden stick as a sword and a bit of bark as a shield. It probably wasn’t going to protect the little guy at all, as they felt completely normal... but Gareth supposed it was better then nothing.

Greaves rained down more garbage on their position, trying to outlast them using her clearly vast supply of consumables. Gareth was betting that she’d found more somewhere because packing so many seemed silly... though perhaps he was underestimating how deep her pockets were. Now that they were above ground, it was easier to move around, blocking some of the more direct attacks while moving away from others to prevent such insane expenditures of mana.

Timmy wasn’t really helping here, as they hadn’t given the little guy a ranged weapon but Gardor was pulling his weight. Gardor could be seen throwing out multiple rocks in a single swing of his sling at a few points, taking out quite a few of them in the process. Greaves took the hint eventually and stopped with the random bombs, so many of them going off nearer to her then them likely the biggest reason. Even if she seemed minimally effected.

Greaves slammed into the ground, blowing away more snow and clearing the ground almost completely, leaving nowhere for someone to hide nearby, and perhaps give her an easier time watching for earth magics? Gareth wasn’t entirely sure. Still, he pulled out his should an shifted his shield around, just a bit to ensure everything was in the optimal grip.

”Is this really what you want to be doing lass?” asked Gardor. ”Surely you’ve got better things to do?”

”I have been hunting LITERALLY ANYONE since this whole thing started. The fact that I am only now finding competition to eliminate simply makes this a better idea,” growled Greaves. ”If you want to accept your, temporary I suppose, death at my hand then I won’t stop you, but I’m feeling more than a bit like my crazy teammate at the moment,”

Gareth and Gardor didn’t say anything. There was no need to. There clearly wasn’t any other answer.