Cass was a one man wrecking ball. He was smashing, destroying, ruining everything that his hands touched. It was insane how delicate the walls that he thought were a prison actually were.
It was also a little funny, because Lucian was actually so mad that he couldn’t help Cass out. The dragon was huffing and puffing that he, the dragon, couldn’t do as much damage with a punch that Cass could. And Cass knew that he was putting his full force behind his punch.
The ground shook, the walls trembled, but the walls didn’t crack. Cass would do the same thing and the place would fall apart like it was made of paper, not bricks, stone and mortar.
Lucian was pouting like a child, but Cass was actually pretty sure it was just because he was missing out on all of the fun and wasn’t able to join Cass in it
So, due to some complicated reasons, i.e. blood relations, Cass had to do it by himself. Oh no, what a nightmare.
It was very, very satisfying for Cass.
All the anger that he had, all the rage, the frustration, the fear, he took it out on the damn walls of this dungeon. He was grinning like a damn maniac, and he was sure that the men were a little worried about how unhinged Cass was behaving.
Cass didn’t mind.
This was easy to him. Felt like damn breathing. He was going back to his roots, and damn it, it was wonderful to know that he could use magic like this. Edgar was the one who suggested it.
Strengthening and protecting his hands so that they didn’t blister and bleed and they had to use the healing tonic. Cass could have kissed the man for his intelligence.
In fact, he was in such a good mood that he did. Gideon gasped, shocked at watching the two do so, while Edgar blushed a deep red and covered his mouth, confused but also...something stirring in his gaze.
So Cass felt like a destructive god as he went through the dungeon. Gideon kept pointing them in the direction of the dungeon Boss, and Cass noticed, as did Edgar, that they weren’t moving as quickly as they had been before. They were slowing down, and Cass wondered if that was because there were less places for them to hide.
Cass grinned at the thought.
They paused for lunch, having a rather calm meal as the water had stopped filling the whole dungeon and had dropped in level. Turns out, when you punch a bunch of holes in the walls of a flooded dungeon, the spaces that aren’t full of water then fill up with water.
Cass had half a mind to dig a giant water pit of a trap and drain more of the water, but again, it was shot down. Edgar was the most against it, wondering if something could spawn in it and make it harder for them to leave.
Cass was pretty sure that nothing would spawn in it, but wouldn’t argue with Edgar on this point. Instead, they ate lunch on a small raised earthen platform that Cass created. It was much better than how they had been living thus far.
Cass still didn’t drop the magic he had cast on everyone, just in case. If whatever demons that were in charge of the dungeon tried something, he didn’t want drowning to be a concern they had. Not after they had come so far.
They continued on after lunch. The group was following Cass and Gideon’s lead. Gideon’s direction of the dungeon Boss was rotating between two locations, and Cass was delighted. Cass kept going towards one location, even as Gideon said that it had moved to the other. Cass didn’t stop.
If he destroyed the last place it was able to hide, there was no turning back. They had to act within the rules of the game, Cass didn’t have to.
Gideon seemed a little scared of how Cass was behaving, and Cass didn’t blame him. This wasn’t very ’hero’ of him. However, it was the world that changed first. What fucking dungeon had a Boss that could move around at will? That didn’t happen in the original. How were they supposed to win against something like that?
They weren’t. They were supposed to waste their resources and energy trying to chase something they couldn’t even see, only follow with Gideon’s magic. They originally weren’t even supposed to have Gideon’s magic.
The demons had wanted them to die in here, and Cass wasn’t about to let them think they could get away with such behaviour. He was a different breed of hero.
He was willing to do more to get what he wanted. In this case, it was freedom. He was willing to break the system that they had put into place to escape, and now the demons were going to be faced with what happened when you fucked around.
You found out.
When Cass broke through the wall into the large chamber, the one that was empty of the dungeon Boss, he let out a ghoulish laugh. He had cut off the last place that the dungeon Boss could run to.
Even if the chamber was currently filled with water, monsters, and a chest that called to Cass’ hero mark, that didn’t matter. Cass just waved his hands, swallowing the monsters up, touching the chest and allowing them to open it at a leisurely pace.
He was turning into a one man dungeon clearing beast.
He knew it was just an illusion. Cass was unable to clear dungeons on his own. He might be powerful in this moment, but he was weak in other ways.
One of the obvious things was the fact that he was able to deal with the monsters easily because they were human-esque, but they weren’t human. They might have human arms, but they were mostly freaky fish people. Cass could easily detach himself from the fact that he was killing them.
However, if they were back in the undead dungeon? Cass would probably hesitate. He would also probably hesitate if the monsters inside the dungeon weren’t sea creatures. Cass didn’t have attachments to sea creatures.
Cass pondered his humanity and his ability to carelessly wave his hands and kill these monsters while the other party members, mainly Lucian and Edgar, went inside and cleared up any loot. Gideon stayed at his side, a protector and a monitor as Cass stayed in his mind for a moment.
"You...okay?" Gideon asked carefully, pulling Cass out of the moment. Cass gave a nod, his mind slowly coming back before he sighed. He rubbed a hand over his face, glancing around the destroyed dungeon. The water was at their knees right now, and was still slowly draining.
"Yeah. Just...questioning my humanity." Cass murmured. Gideon stared at Cass for a long moment, before he spoke.
"Did you know that not many who are truly monsters question if what they are doing is right or wrong?" Gideon asked and Cass turned to stare at him, curious.
"Really? Where did you hear that?" He asked and Gideon swallowed slightly, looking a bit nervous now that he had spoken up.
"I’ve done a lot of reading, as I am sure you have noticed. Most knights struggle with those kinds of feelings. The good ones do, at least. The true monsters never do." Gideon said, his gaze growing distant for a moment. "I once asked my brothers and my father about their feelings on killing others. They responded that if they had to do it for the common good, they wouldn’t hesitate." Gideon let the words sit between them for a long moment.
Cass chewed on the words, wondering what he could say to something like that. Gideon spoke up again.
"That was the moment...I think I started questioning if what we were doing was the right thing? I was too late in my questioning. I still turned you in, but I had also deluded myself into thinking that it was the right thing." Gideon gave a rather pained smile. "I am glad that you’ve given me a second chance." Gideon’s smile shifted to something more sincere and Cass felt his heart twist.
Had he really given him a second chance? Gideon was bound by a contract now. A contract that forced him to be obedient and subservient to them. Cass didn’t feel great about it, now that he was talking to Gideon like this.
Instead of voicing that, Cass turned to look at the mess that he had made of the dungeon.
"I’m glad that you grew cautious and introspective, Gideon. It would have been a shame if you had truly been an enemy." Cass told him. Gideon chuckled.
"I think I would have been rather sad if I was your enemy too, Cass. Plus, I don’t think I would have survived long on my own. Tragically, I am a beast of my family’s making. I don’t know how to live like others." It was interesting to hear Gideon admit it too. Cass was about to respond when a grumbling voice spoke up.
"Are you two bonding while we do all the work?" Lucian grumbled, all bark, no bite. His eyes were light, glowing, but his face was twisted into a face scowl. Cass chuckled.
"Didn’t you want us to get closer?" Cass asked and Lucian scowled more.
"Yeah, while I was gone." Lucian complained. Edgar, who was at Lucian’s side, laughed. He gently patted Lucian’s shoulders, his own blue eyes glowing a monstrous hue.
"We cannot dictate when they grow close, Lucian. Not if we want this group to work together harmoniously. Now, come on. We’ve gathered the loot. We’re almost done now, aren’t we?" Edgar asked and Cass nodded.
"There is nowhere else for it to run now. We’ve cornered it in one spot." Cass said, then glanced at Gideon to confirm that was true. Gideon closed his eyes, focusing for a second, before he nodded.
"It hasn’t moved again. I think it knows that we are coming now." Gideon said. Cass chuckled. Good. They had been jerking around their chain for long enough. Now it was time to get out of here, get Lucian out so that he could go rest, and so that the rest of them could go back home.
Cass clenched his hands into fists and sighed.
"Well then, let’s keep moving. They’ve kept us waiting long enough."