Okay, so, maybe, Cass had every right to be fucking terrified about how the demons were going to treat them, how the dungeons were going to treat them without Fiona and Ava.
It was clear that the dungeon thought highly of them, but maybe they thought highly of them because there were supposed to be six heroes fighting to clear the dungeon instead of two. Cass could tell that the others were quite upset upon hearing Lucian’s words as well.
Coming face to face with a Boss monster as a mini Boss was something that no one wanted to hear. Cass could feel his heartrate spike as they watched the weird creature eat its food, the eyes on the ends of brightly coloured stems of vibrant blue twisting and turning, scanning the area. Cass was worried about what the next move it was going to make would be.
Not in a million years would Cass think it would do what it did.
It was so casual, so calm that Cass almost didn’t register that it was moving until it was happening. Cass felt Lucian reach for him, grabbing him, Edgar and Gideon with his hands and arms like he was going to protect them. It was clear that Lucian sensed that it was moving and Cass watched in horror as the creature reached out with those shield-like arms and they unfolded like a damn accordion.
Thankfully, they weren’t aimed for them, but instead the monster was aiming for one of the lights that Cass had cast. It smacked the glowing orb, destroying it and Cass swore that the creature seemed pleased that it had done so. Cass felt the small jarring twitch in his gut as some of the magic that he had cast had been forcefully uncast.
"By the gods, what was that?" Edgar whispered and Cass glanced at Lucian. He was the one with the most experience right now, and he looked ill.
"It hits people with those. The punches feel like damn houses being thrown at you." Cass did not ever want to know what that felt like. He didn’t really even like it that Lucian knew what that was like. Then again, he was a dragon, so maybe that was slightly different.
"Uh, can I ask what that feels like? I don’t exactly have a frame of reference for that." Cass asked a little sheepishly. Lucian scowled, but it wasn’t directed at Cass. It was directed at the monster.
"It hurts, Cass. A lot." Lucian told him. Cass nodded. Well, that part was at the very least, obvious.
"Why is it...punching the lights out?" Gideon asked. That too, was a good question.
"It doesn’t like them?" Edgar offered. Lucian’s scowl didn’t move. He was watching the monster with a sharp, glowing gaze and Cass wondered what he was focusing on. It became clear that the longer that Cass watched him, the more he realised that Lucian was watching the monster finish its meal. Cass felt his body begin to sweat.
Yeah. That was something to keep an eye on.
"What did you do the last time you fought it, Lucian?" Cass asked carefully and Lucian let out a deep breath.
"I prayed to the gods for the first time in years." Lucian muttered. "I almost forgot that fact. Shit." Then Lucian muttered something under his breath in a language that none of the others understood. He shook his head, his gaze never leaving the beast. "Things I remember. It punches with those things, it has good eyesight thanks to those fucking weird eyes on the top of it’s head. They can move independently so sneaking up on it is going to be impossible. It’s made doubly impossible because it has a good sense of smell. It can probably smell us right now." Lucian told him. "And if we get yanked into that hole, the pressure alone is going to kill us."
Cass really didn’t like what Lucian was saying. At all.
The mood dropped and Cass swallowed thickly.
"Okay. It uh, seems like it doesn’t like the orbs at the very least, so I can overwhelm it with those. Gideon...I’m a bit worried if you get too close." Cass told him. Lucian nodded, supporting Cass’ statement.
"Gideon and Edgar should stay back with you. I’ll be the front man. I’ll make myself a dragon. Harder to just drag down into the pit and I think I’ll fit." Lucian muttered, glancing around the room. "I think I had to do that last time too. Face it with something around the same size as it." He didn’t even sound confident in that.
Cass frowned.
"What if I focused on trying to use magic on it? Is it resistant? Do you know?" Cass asked. "Or...could we boil the water around it? Start low and slow, keep the rest of us out of the way, and just...make it a giant hot pot or something?" The way that the others looked at him slowly, like Cass had said something profound and horrifying, had Cass feeling like he should have kept his mouth shut.
Instead, Lucian took his eyes off of the monster for a split second just to kiss Cass on the lips.
"You’re a damn genius." Lucian muttered. "Why didn’t I think of that last time? I can do that on my own." He muttered and Cass did not like that. Cass shook his head.
"No. You aren’t doing that on your own. What if something happens and you’re the only one in here? What if the doors close, because I can see you telling us to go into the hallway and wait." Cass said and watched as Lucian’s expression shifted. It was clear that he had planned to do just that. "What I can do is make a little dry spot here. Airtight, expand it with earth and then we can boil this shellfish alive." Cass told him seriously. Lucian stared at Cass, then jerked his head back towards the monster, realizing that he had taken his eyes off of it for a second. Edgar and Gideon looked very uncomfortable.
"Both of you shouldn’t be doing this alone." Edgar said carefully and Cass smiled at Edgar.
"We aren’t doing this alone. This is just...where Lucian and I can take the lead on this. I’m sure if things go badly, Gideon will pull you and I out and Lucian will...be a dragon, I guess." Cass muttered. He knew that this was a serious moment, hell, Lucian was still vibrating. Like a dog who’d spotted a threat.
However, that didn’t mean that he shouldn’t talk Edgar and Gideon down.
Gideon nodded at Cass’ words, his eyes darting to the giant monster, back to Cass and then back to Lucian. He barely glanced over Edgar. Edgar, who was still being slightly held by Lucian, now had Cass’ hand join as he held onto the other mage. Edgar looked uncomfortable, but at the same time, resigned.
He had much less magical capacity when it came to Lucian and Cass, and he knew it. He was also aware that if he pushed himself too far, he’d become dead weight. Something that it was clear that he didn’t want to be.
"Okay, as quickly as you can, explain what your plan is, Cass. Lucian, let us know if we need to suddenly flee the room. I’m sure you know what you need to do. Be big and scary and warm up the water. Cass is going to need more time to create whatever he is planning." It should have sounded slightly insulting, but Cass could tell from how quickly Edgar was speaking that he was just stressed. Cass couldn’t blame him.
He could feel anxiety clawing at his throat, threatening to swallow him. It was only through the reaction that the others had given him when it came to boiling this freak alive that was giving him a moment to breathe.
Lucian nodded, his expression severe as he kept his arms out and protective in front of the other members of the hero party. Keeping himself in between the mini Boss and the rest of the hero party. Cass was glad, once more, that he’d made little earth walls. At least they would have a warning shot, and it appeared that the freaking monster was more concerned about the lights then Cass and the others.
The whole time that they had been talking the monster had been slowly dismantling the lights that Cass had cast all around the mini Boss room.
With the time that they had, Cass began to explain his plan. It was pretty simple. He would make an earthen box and push the water out of it somehow. That would be the protective box for him, Gideon and Edgar. While he did that, Lucian would go bad dragon style, become his true form and slowly raise the heat in the chamber. They would close the doors too and truly make it a boiling pot.
The two combined things would distract the giant fucker and also slowly cook him alive. Lucian wouldn’t have to worry about that since he was a dragon, but it was Cass, Gideon and Edgar that they had to think about.
Would the box that Cass was thinking of making be enough? Cass thought so, but Lucian looked a little less convinced.
"I think you should make it bigger once you get the outside ready, and dig into the ground a bit more. Once we’re done killing this thing, we can use the space as a rest spot, stop for the night and get some rest. It will be an easy way to guard since the mermen wouldn’t be able to get in." Lucian said and Cass couldn’t really disagree.
However, he didn’t want to do too much digging because it could distract the monster from Lucian and draw attention to them. Lucian scoffed.
"Don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure it’s very distracted, Cass. You just make sure that everyone else is safe." Lucian told him as they watched it punch another light out. At this point they were looking at about a quarter of all of the lights that Cass had created to fill this space were gone. Cass did not like that.
"Okay. I’m just worried it’s going to feel me casting magic and get-" Lucian turned to look at Cass, his gaze anything but human.
"Worry about keeping the magic stable, I will worry about everything else. Unlike last time, I wasn’t able to breathe underwater when I had to defeat one of these fuckers. As long as you keep that magic up, we’ll be fine." Lucian confirmed and Cass swallowed. That was the kind of assurance Cass needed.
He nodded, swallowed again, and glanced at Gideon and Edgar. Gideon, now that he knew that Lucian was locked onto the main monster, was back to watching their back. Cass let out a shaky breath.
"Okay. I’ll get started. Everyone ready?" Cass asked and the guys all shared a look, and then nodded.
Cass raised his hands.