A Soldier's Life - 429 - Dungeon Demolition (minor edit 7-27-25 +150 words)

Chapter 429: Dungeon Demolition

I was battered and bruised. One of my ribs was dislocated, and pain shot through me when I twisted the wrong way. I started focusing on healing the rib, but it would take time, and I had other injuries. A bit of flesh was missing around my jaw, and two of my teeth were chipped. My organs had minor bruising, causing some internal bleeding, but nothing life-threatening.

I crossed my legs and sat in the lotus position as I healed and watched the Sentinels clean up. Fenlorian and six others went into the tunnel to handle the remaining spined devils. An unfamiliar Sentinel, one of the few humans in Sanctuary, had the collector and was harvesting essences. Most of my focus was on him as I watched him gather essences, identifying the essences from a distance.

Most of the spined devils dropped minor fire essences, but now and then, he received a minor abyssal essence from them. This was usually from one of the darker red variants. When he encountered the bone devil, he made eye contact with me. The aetheric essence was thick, but it was just a major protection essence. He looked surprised at the essence, but placed it in his bag. I had essentially killed the demon by myself, so I wonder if I was entitled to the essence.

Bharok and Baelira stood over me as I rested and healed. Another Sentinel came by and dried my clothes with a wave of his hand. “What spell form was that?” I asked as the water had just vanished and was not evaporated.

The elf cocked his head, seemingly amused that I was unfamiliar with it. He waved his hand, and water splashed to his right. “It is a space spell form. I can pull specific objects into my space. Usually just dirt or water. It makes cleaning a breeze.”

“You are an otherworlder,” I stated, and he confirmed with a nod.

I had never talked with an elven otherworlder before. “How long?” I asked. I knew there were more than a dozen otherworlders among the Sentinels, not including Evie and me.

“One hundred and nine years, give or take a year,” he replied.

“Why did you come here? To Sanctuary,” I asked.

The elf chewed his cheek. “To find a way home. This is the oldest archive and organization on Desia. If there was a way, I figured I would find it here.”

“I am sorry you were disappointed,” I replied sympathetically.

His expression changed. “They didn’t tell you, did they?” My look of confusion had him lean in closer. “I am surprised since you are from the Telhian Empire. Your First Legion did find a way back to their planet. Terra, I believe it is called.”

The only response I could muster was: “What?”

The elf talked softly but was not trying to keep others from overhearing. I guess what he was telling me was common knowledge to Seekers and Purgators. Maybe I could get access to the records. Seeing my mind working, the elf shook his head. “The Telhian Emperor and his Legion opened a gate to Terra, but after a short time, demons came rushing through. It was a brutal battle, from what I read, and many men lost their lives in the effort to close the gate. The demons are waiting for the next gate to be opened. There is no way home for any of us.” He patted me on the shoulder and walked away, leaving me in shock.

A memory clicked in my head from when we had gone to support Castile in the Magistrate’s Hall after Macha. There was a mural of the First Legion fighting a demon horde. Konstantin said it was fake, as demons were only found in dungeons. That scene was supposed to be a testament to the Legion’s prowess, but if what I just heard was true, it was a lesson of their hubris and folly.

Knowing that any chance of going back to Earth was gone hurt me more than I wanted to admit. Evie still hoped I would find a way home for her, but knowing the risks of releasing demons made it seem unlikely. As I was thinking this over, Lepidus, wearing his bone mask, was helping with the harvest of the spined devils. If anyone knew what really happened when the First Legion opened the gate to Earth, who better to ask than someone who was there?

I stood, my two shadows following me as I approached the ancient medicus. He looked up from sawing a horn with a runic device. His cold eyes looked impatient. “I know the First Legion opened the way back to Earth.”

He tilted his head slowly and ever so slightly. “I was not aware you had accessed that records vault yet,” he said flatly.

“What happened?” I questioned harshly. I was somewhat angry as the High Sentinel had stated there was no way home for us. He could have been honest and said there was no safe way home for us.

“We built a replica of one of the world gates built by the Titans. Then we learned why the Titans destroyed their world gates. The demons were waiting and rushed out, pushing us back. It took us six weeks to reach, destroy the gate, and eradicate the demons that had gotten through. Thousands of good men were lost. There is no safe way home for you, Seeker. If you try, not only will Desia be exposed to the demonic host, but so will Terra. Accept it.” He turned his back on me and continued with his task.

Bharok coughed to get my attention. “I think the High Sentinel is ready for us.”

I turned to see the Fenlorian standing outside the tunnel. Other Sentinels were moving large stones with ease, most likely using a spell to lighten the stone or make themselves stronger. We crossed the pier to stand with the Sentinels that had cleared the last of the spined devils. Fenlorian waited till I reached him before talking.

“We have collected essences, and I have determined you earned a share,” he said with a flat tone.

“The bone devil essence,” I replied. Another Sentinel scoffed at my boldness.

“You have the protection affinity then?” Fenlorian asked.

To demonstrate, I made a disc and stood on it. “It is not the air affinity, but it uses aether to compress air.”

The High Sentinel had some reluctance in his eyes. I didn’t know what the shadow demon gave, but the major essence from the bone demon was probably the most valuable essence harvested. “Very well,” he said, nodding to the Sentinel with the collector. The elf who had scoffed suddenly looked angry as the major essence was fished out of the bag and handed to me. I didn’t hesitate to consume it, thinking it was best not to let others think I had it on my person.

I let the bliss wash over me for the second time in a day. There were still tasks to be finished, but I wanted to use the tablet reader to see how much stronger the air shield was. I read the faces of those gathered. Most looked pleased for me, but there was jealousy on a number of faces. I could only guess that they also had the protection affinity.

Fenlorian was not one of the jealous ones, but I was hiding my anger with him for lying about there being a way back to Earth. “I want the two-spined devils who flew out, tracked, and hunted,” Fenlorian shouted to all those assembled. “Those who are named are with me to enter the dungeon and find the core.” He listed off six names rapidly. The Sentinels divided, with six standing with Fenlorian and the rest leaving to help with other tasks. My two shadows and I increased the entry group to ten, more than enough to handle any problems.

I ended up walking beside Fenlorian. “Have you destroyed a dungeon before?” I asked as we looked down on the perfect emerald lake. Although we had managed to handle the release only losing one Sentinel, doing so every day would slowly lead to more deaths.

“No, but I know the method,” he stated with cold determination. I could tell he was not happy about this course of action. As the commander of Sanctuary, he was the caretaker of this dungeon, and they relied on the resources it provided.

I knew the procedure as well, having studied it in the Godok archives in the Adventurer’s Guild there. The first step was locating the dungeon core. The core was a complicated matrix of crystals whose pattern mimicked spell forms. These crystals were usually found on large sheets of clear quartz, but sometimes other media, such as diamond or onyx, held them. The descriptions in the tomes made me think of them like oversized circuit boards.

They were not circuit boards, as electricity and most chemical reactions were not reliable in an aether-rich environment. From the Repository here, I learned that even a simple electric bulb could not be trusted. Otherworlders had tried, only to have the bulb violently explode. Gunpowder was more like nitroglycerin, catalyzing with any modest strike and producing a more violent explosion than normal. From what I learned about attempts to manufacture gunpowder in Sanctuary over the centuries, it was about twice as potent, so it would still have required tons of gunpowder to cause the damage it did in Yuetsen. It was not my mystery to solve, and the otherworlders responsible were likely dead.

We crossed the transparent bridges, and the large flat fish stirred in the sands beneath us. It made me itch to fish and use the collector on them. “Are these fish edible?” I asked no one in particular.

One of the Sentinels in front craned his neck back to talk to me. “They are actually quite delicious. Buttery and flaky, but you need a net to catch them. They feed on the algae in the sands.” I looked back longingly, only thinking about the essence they could provide.

We crossed into the next room more cautiously. They had accounted for all the spined devils, but even one well-placed flaming barb could kill you. The chamber had an acidic smell to it as we crossed. I warned my guards not to touch the slimy hourglass spires as we passed them.

Before we entered the shadow demon chamber, it was lit by dozens of light spells. It was brighter than midday after the Sentinels finished. We crossed the room in a defensive formation anyway. The greater shadow demon had shown itself to be incredibly powerful. It made me glance at the Fenlorian’s white sword. He saw me admiring it.

“It is a dungeon-forged sun blade. A human brought it to Sanctuary three hundred years ago when he joined us. I had forgotten it existed, but it is effective against creatures who thrive in darkness.” He said while waiting for the Sentinels in front to confirm it was clear.

“What happened to him?” I asked.

“He was an otherworlder like you. He called himself a knight, and he was a good man. He passed away a long time ago from old age. I did not know him well, but I recall him saying he was from France. Is that a place in your world?” The all clear was given, and we entered the last room.

“It is a country on Earth,” I said, following.

The final chamber was slightly oval with sandstone walls and a flat ceiling. The light seemed to exist in this room without a visible source. I liked the room’s simplicity because it kept you from being surprised. As the Sentinels spread out, I sent out my own earth pulses. The floors were solid stone, but the walls had dozens of veins of water running through them. I walked around the perimeter of the room with the others, searching for the core, with my two shadows close behind. 

“I found it,” another Sentinel yelled from the far side of the chamber. Our entire group moved to encircle the short elf tracing lines on the wall. “It is about twenty feet deep and ten feet up.”

I stepped up to the wall and placed my palm on it. He was right. A large chamber packed with stone, which echoed oddly from my pulses. Delicate lines of tightly packed runic script were in the odd stone. “Can you reach it without the void mage?” Fenlorian asked while indicating me.

“We do not need his help,” the confident Sentinel replied. I recalled him being one of those who were jealous that I received the protection essence. “Maybe two hours to reach it.”

Fenlorian gave a nod and addressed me. “You can return to the surface.”

I thought to leave him some parting wisdom. “After the dungeon core is destroyed, you only have a few hours before the aether that powers the exit expires.”

“I am aware,” the High Sentinel said with an appreciative nod. “You may leave.” I noted they still had the human carrying the collector with them. I didn’t know if you could harvest a dungeon core, but by their eagerness, I suspected it was possible.

I thought to warn him that there were some instances where the exit collapsed with the destruction of the dungeon’s core, but since he seemed so confident and I was being dismissed, I left with my guards in tow. When we reached the first chamber with the crystal-clear emerald waters, I paused.

“You wouldn’t mind if I took a few minutes to do some fishing?” I asked as I was already taking off my boots. The bottom-feeding fish were about two feet across and didn’t appear to swim very fast. There had to be dozens to sustain the serpent.

The elf seemed to consider for a moment before nodding in acquiescence. “I can aid you by helping you breathe in the water. You should join him, you need a bath,” Baelira said to Bharok, raising her brow in challenge.

“I don’t know how to swim,” the dwarf said nervously as Baelira started to smile.

“No better time than the present.” She deftly touched the panicking dwarf and pushed him into the water. He tried to pull her with him, but failed as he flailed and splashed into the water in his armor. It was not deep, and the water was clear. The dwarf was dirty, as the water clouded slightly around him as he sank. He was clearly irate and already headed to the edge to climb out.

I was allowed to strip to my underclothes before receiving Baelira’s spell. “If there is danger, I will freeze the water into steps to help you exit quicker.” I nodded my thanks before jumping in.

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