19 — The Colony (Part 2)
Silence.
Only the sound of their heavy breathing and the nervous clattering of
Mélo’s pots. Emet immediately threw himself onto the five corpses,
devouring them with a voracity that would have been revolting if it
weren't so effective. The sound of cracking shells filled the room.
[Scavenger’s
Feast] [HP Emet: 2200 / 2200]
Vincent
inhaled.
[Controlled Breathing] [Psyche:
63% → 64%]
Stable.
I’m handling it. We're ready for the Princesses.
Emet
stood up, wiping black blood from his mouth.
— Well
played, kids.
Nova
was already checking her HUD.
— The Princesses are right behind
this door. Two-minute break or do we go now?
— Now,
Vincent replied. — Let's keep the momentum.
And my 64%
Psyche.
The
group nodded. They moved toward the massive gate leading to the
Princesses' chamber.
The
door opened onto a room that felt entirely non-organic. It was an
arena. Perfectly circular, polished black stone floor, a ceiling so
high it vanished into the dark. At the center, three figures waited.
[Scoloptera
Princess — Level 10 Elite Boss] HP: 8500 (×3)
They
were different. Not just grotesque hybrids. Something more. Almost
perfect female humanoid bodies, covered in black and red chitinous
armor that hugged their curves like living plate. Their faces were
mantis masks, compound eyes gleaming with cruel, calculating
intelligence. Their arms ended in serrated blades as long as katanas.
Their lower legs were those of a giant centipede, allowing them to
move with terrifying serpentine grace.
They
didn't move immediately. They observed. Judged. Calculated.
— Wow,
VoodUwU whispered. — My chat is saying they’re... sexy?
— Your
chat needs serious therapy, Emet replied.
Vincent
stared at them. They were beautiful—in a horrifying way. The
kind of beauty that kills you while you're looking at it.
Then
they moved. Not toward Emet. Not toward Vincent or Nova. They went
straight for Mélo and VoodUwU.
— SHIT!
Nova yelled. [Teleportation — Shadow Step]
She
vanished, reappearing in front of VoodUwU just in time to block a
blade with her rapier. The impact sent her skidding back across the
polished stone. [-180 HP]
Emet
roared.
— HEY, B*TCHES! IT’S ME YOU WANT! I’M RIGHT HERE,
YOU SL*TS!
[Massive Taunt]
Two
of the Princesses hesitated, their heads pivoting toward him. But the
third completely ignored the taunt and continued her charge toward
Mélo.
— She’s
resisting! Emet shouted, frustrated.
Vincent
threw himself between the Princess and
Mélo, claws raised to block. The creature’s blades met his claws
in a shower of sparks. [-85 HP]
The
force of the blow pushed him back, his feet carving grooves into the
stone. But he had absorbed the hit. Mélo was safe. Damn, I
actually did it. No one touches my Mélo.
The
Princess turned toward him, her compound eyes fixed on him with
almost amused curiosity. Then she attacked for real. Her blades
became a whirlwind of death, every strike aimed at vitals with
surgical precision. Vincent dodged, deflected what he could, and
tanked what he couldn't. His draining wounds pumped life with every
hit, but it wasn't enough.
[HP:
765 / 850] [HP Stock: 520 → 480]
I
can’t hold out like this. I need help.
— NOVA!
he yelled.
She
was already there. [Clone — Diversion]
Two
illusory copies of Nova appeared on either side of the Princess. The
creature pivoted, confused. The real Nova blinked above her, both
rune pistols pointed down.
[Rune
Shot — Fire and Ice]
BA-BANG.
Both
shots hit the Princess’s back simultaneously. Fire erupted into
flames; ice froze the shell. The thermal shock created massive
cracks.
[-620
HP]
[Burn: 25 HP/sec]
[Slow: 50%]
The
Princess shrieked, a high-pitched sound that made the walls tremble.
Vincent didn't waste a second. He lunged, his maw widening.
[Devastating Bite]
He
bit into the fissure Nova had created, tearing away flesh and shell,
sucking life into the void of his mask.
[Organic
Matter Consumed]
[+180 HP]
[HP Stock: 480 → 510]
[Psyche: 74% →
76%]
Hell
yes. That’s the stuff. Give me more.
The
Princess thrashed, her blades seeking his head, but Vincent clung on
like a starving parasite, claws buried in her flesh, his mouth
draining everything it could. Nova didn't stay idle. She danced
around the creature, her rapier finding every opening. Strike. Blink.
Strike. Clone. Strike. They were synced—perfectly. Like they’d
known each other forever.
They
didn't speak. They didn't need to. When Vincent bit, Nova hit the
joints. When Nova created a clone, Vincent used the distraction to
claw. When the Princess targeted one, the other attacked from behind.
Brutal. Efficient. Beautiful.
[HP
Princess #3: 8500 → 5200 → 2800]
Meanwhile,
Emet was losing ground against the other two. Even with his grey
corpse-skin and monumental slaps, he couldn't handle two bosses of
this caliber at once.
[HP Emet: 1650 → 1120 → 850]
VoodUwU
healed him frantically, her staff raised, draining what she could to
transfer life to Emet.
[Continuous Drain ×2] [+40 HP/sec on Emet]
Mélo
was strumming like a madman, buffs piling up. Then he pulled out his
mouth harp and made it vibrate against his teeth.
[ATK
+25% | DEF +20% | Regen +12 HP/sec]
[Harmonic Resonance]
[Crit Rate
+35%]
It
still wasn't enough. One of the Princesses feinted, avoided Emet’s
palm strike, and lunged at Mélo. The Troubadour didn't even have
time to scream. The blades caught him square in the chest.
[CRITICAL
HIT]
[-850 HP]
[HP Mélodream: 920 → 70]
Mélo
collapsed, virtual blood geysering from his chest. His pots clattered
against the stone floor. His harp rolled away.
— MéLO!
VoodUwU screamed.
Vincent
pivoted instinctively, saw Mélo fall, saw the Princess raising her
blades for the coup de grace.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
[Savage Rush — Maximum Speed]
He
slammed into the Princess head-on, knocking her five meters away
from Mélo. His claws tore through her side. [-240 HP]
But
in doing so, he left his guard open. The Princess he had been
fighting with Nova seized the chance. Her blades came down on his
back. [-180 HP]
Vincent
staggered but didn't fall. Doesn't matter. Mélo’s alive. That’s
what counts. He turned toward VoodUwU, who stood frozen over
Mélo’s body.
— VoodUwU!
he shouted. — Forget about us! Keep him alive! Two minutes! Just
two fucking minutes!
She
blinked, snapping out of it. Then she nodded, eyes determined.
[Continuous Drain — Maximum on Mélodream]
[Blood Conversion]
VoodUwU
sacrificed 400 of her own HP to generate mana, then poured it all
into Mélo.
[HP Mélodream: 70 → 120 → 180...]
It
was slow. Too slow. But it was all she could do.
Vincent
turned back to the Princesses. Two minutes. I have to hold for two
minutes.
Nova
was already beside him, rapier raised, eyes sharp.
— We
kill them, she said simply. — Now.
Emet,
bloodied but still standing, chuckled.
— Finally,
some real action.
The
three of them threw themselves at the Princesses. Emet, at the
center, inhaled a phenomenal amount of air, his grey chest swelling
unnaturally. Then he slammed his palms together.
[Pressure
Wave — AoE Cone]
The
impact shook the arena. Princess #3, already cracked from Nova’s
shots, was lifted and slammed to the ground, paralyzed. But the other
two only stumbled back a step, their mantis heads twitching under the
stun.
[ELITE
RESISTANCE: Paralysis effect reduced to 1.5 seconds]
— DAMMIT!
Emet yelled, arms shaking.— THEY’RE TOO TOUGH! I CAN’T LOCK
THEM DOWN!
The
two Princesses recovered almost instantly. Their compound eyes burned
with cold fury. They ignored Emet, judging him temporarily
neutralized, and lunged together at Nova.
— Vincent!
Kill the paralyzed one! Nova cried. — I’ve got these two!
Vincent
didn't hesitate. Minimal words, total brutality. [Savage Rush]
He fell on the immobilized Princess like a predator on a carcass. His
claws weren't just slashing now; they were dismantling. He dug his
fingers into the cracks in the shell and pulled. The sound of
breaking chitin filled the air.
[Devastating
Bite] [Critical Hit] He buried his face in the open wound,
sucking flesh with a frenzy he’d never felt before. His Psyche was
boiling.
[Organic
Matter Consumed] [+220 HP]
[Psyche: 76% → 79%]
Meanwhile,
Nova was in hell. She wasn't dancing anymore; she was surviving. She
was a whirlwind of smoke and steel, chaining [Shadow Steps] and
[Clones] just to keep from being shredded. The katana-blades hissed
millimeters from her throat.
— I...
can't... hold... she groaned between blinks. Her stamina bar was
cratering.
Emet,
too exhausted to charge, pulled himself up. He spat a mixture of
black blood and green bile.
— Oh no, you don't touch the boss!
He
didn't use his fists. He used his voice.
— HEY,
YOU WALKING TRASH-CANS! YOUR MOTHER USED TO GET B*NT BY DUNG BEETLES
FOR A SIP OF CORPSE-JUICE!
[Elite Taunt — Targeted]
The
Princess about to take Nova’s arm had a spasm of pure rage. Her
movement hitched for a fraction of a second, her insectoid muscles
seizing under the system-coded insult. Her blade veered off, only
scraping Nova’s armor.
— NICE
ONE, OLD MAN! Vincent roared, tearing off the third Princess’s head
in a spray of black fluid.
[Princess
#3: ELIMINATED]
Vincent
leaped, a trail of black blood flying from his hands. He slammed into
one of the two remaining Princesses, knocking her off Nova.
— Let's
finish this, he said, his voice echoing with a cavernous boom.
It
was now a 2v2. Vincent and Nova, back to back. Whenever a Princess
tried a combo, Emet threw out a foul insult or a guttural war cry.
[Micro-Vocal Stun] [Micro-Seizure]
Every
shout from Emet broke the bosses' timing. An extra second to wind up
a strike. A hesitation in a parry. It was all Vincent and Nova
needed.
Nova
vanished in smoke and reappeared above them. [Rain of Rapiers]
Vincent, below, dove into the diversion. He was nothing but a
white-and-black-veined shadow, passing between the centipede legs,
severing joints, biting every time an opportunity appeared.
The
synchronization was terrifying. Nova hitting high, Vincent hitting
low. Emet managing the rhythm with his Scavenger roars. The two
Princesses, though superior in stats, were trapped in a tactical meat
grinder until their last breath.
The
first fell, thorax pierced by twelve rapier strikes and belly
hollowed by Vincent’s claws. The last Princess roared in defiance,
her blades spinning one final time before Vincent lunged for her
throat, while Nova finished the job with a precise rapier thrust
between her compound eyes.
Silence
returned to the arena.
[VICTORY]
[XP Gained: 8500]
[LEVEL 10 REACHED]
[Sub-Class Quest Unlocked]
Vincent
collapsed to his knees, panting. His black veins pulsed violently
under his translucent skin. His Psyche wavered—not from loss, but
from sustained mental effort.
[Psyche: 76% → 72%]
Breathe.
Control. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Hold.
[Controlled Breathing]
[Psyche: 62% → 63%]
There.
Rising again. Slowly.
He
dragged himself to Mélo, who was breathing weakly, stabilized by
VoodUwU’s constant care. [HP Mélodream: 320 / 920]
Mélo
sat up slowly, wincing.
— Do we... do we keep going? The Queen
is right behind that door.
Vincent
shook his head.
— No. VoodUwU, you go with Nova and Emet. I’m
staying with Mélo.
Silence
fell. Everyone knew what that meant. Vincent was sacrificing the
Queen—the elite heart he’d negotiated for—just to stay with
Mélo.
Emet
raised an eyebrow.
— You’re giving up an elite boss heart to
stay with the Troubadour?
Vincent
turned toward him, his three black holes staring into Emet’s milky
white eyes.
— Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m doing.
Emet
looked at him for a long moment, then smiled. He walked over and
threw a heavy arm around Vincent’s shoulders, pulling him close in
a way that lasted a bit too long.
— You’ve grown up, pup.
Really. — He patted Vincent’s waxy head—no hair, just the
smooth, unsettling fusion of mask and skull. — You’re almost
touching, you know that?
Vincent
pulled away, embarrassed.
— Emet, seriously...
— What?
Emet said with an innocent grin. — Can’t I be proud of my
favorite pup?
Nova
nodded slowly, ignoring the exchange.
— We’ll be back soon.
Hold the line.
Emet
turned to Nova then, his smile shifting. Something more...
interested.
— Hey, boss. You’re even sexier when you’re
covered in blood, you know?
Nova
stared at him, brow furrowed.
— Emet.
— What?
It’s a compliment. — He leaned in a little too close. — We
should farm together more often. Just you and me. We’d make sparks
fly.
Nova
didn't answer, but her cheeks flushed slightly beneath the grime. She
turned away quickly.
— Let’s go.
VoodUwU
knelt beside Mélo, her staff raised.
— We’ll be waiting for
you, Zero-kun, she said softly. — Kill that bitch of a Queen for
me.
Vincent
looked at her, confused.
— But... I’m staying here.
VoodUwU
shook her head.
— No. You’re going. I’ll stay with Mélo.
You negotiated for that heart. You’re taking it.
— But...
— Zero-kun,
she said firmly. — Go kill that Queen. We’ll see you on the other
side.
Vincent
nodded, still confused but... grateful. He followed Nova and Emet
toward the gate of the Queen’s chamber.
[Interlude
— Mélo and VoodUwU]
Mélo
leaned against the stone wall, breathing hard. VoodUwU healed him
steadily, her hands stable now. The silence stretched. Then Mélo
gently placed his hand over VoodUwU’s.
She
pulled her hand away immediately, looking awkward.
— Mélo...
she whispered.
He
looked at her, glasses crooked, a weak smile on his face.
— You
know... I might actually die here.
VoodUwU
shook her head firmly.
— No. You’re not dying. — She looked
him in the eye. — And don't go getting any weird ideas, okay Mélo?
Mélo
suddenly felt very stupid and uncomfortable. He looked away.
—
Okay. Sorry. Must be the exhaustion.
VoodUwU
laughed—a real, light laugh.
— Forget it. Close your eyes and
get some sleep. I’ll stay here and keep you healed.
Mélo
closed his eyes, smiling despite himself.
— Okay.
Silence
fell again, comfortable this time. VoodUwU was still thinking about
Vincent. He had really changed. And me... I’m just waiting
to see how far he can go.