Into The Catacombs

There was a rarely a moment where she was not taking on one task or another and today, the purple haired woman was once again preparing herself to take on her next challenge. She had received a personal message from the guild master, similar to the one that had been delivered to her previously, which caused her to be slightly cautious. The mission aiding the Amazons had turned out to be rather difficult and she fully expected this one to be the same and that feeling only multiplied, when she actually read the message itself although it spiked her curiosity too. Her opponent today would be well beyond what she had faced before although given her magic, she should be especially effective against it. Her opponent would be a dragon, a crimson beast that had apparently destroyed a group of grunts that had been sent in to the underground tunnels below the guild. Yet, unlike most dragon slayers, Menka did not truly wish to actually kill dragons at all and with her friendship with Janet blossoming, that only made her task today more difficult. Still, the job would come first and it was with that thought in mind, she would begin the long trek through the temple and towards the stairs that would lead towards the catacombs that were scattered underneath.

There were a pair of Rakshasa members waiting for her when she arrived, both male and standing at about six feet tall, wielding long spears that were clearly magically powered. As she approached, they would briefly raise their right hands, showing off their guild marks, expecting the same from her. Menka would briefly turn around and lift up her cloak, revealing her own green mark that was placed at the small of her back. She felt no embarrassment by doing such a thing and although she caught the pair grinning at each other when the slayer turned around again, they did not make any smart comments and kept to the job at hand. "I wish you luck, Menka," the guard on the right would say, "The grunts' that returned were little more than gibbering wrecks when they came back and seemed to have lost their minds. Apparently, the dragon is capable of controlling blood, as well as raising the dead, which is far more than we expected. Be cautious down there and fight hard because I doubt that he is going to just let you speak to him. He attacked without warning and had already killed many of the group before they even knew what hit them. Make sure you come back though because it would be a shame to lose a beauty such as yourself."

He would grin at her but Menka would just give a blank look in return, failing to understand the compliment, her words as mechanical as ever, "I appreciate the warning and I will be certain to stay on my guard. Thank you for the information and I advise that you continue to stay here until I return. A few of his minions may well get past me and reach you, so beware."

With that, the guards would stand aside and let her pass and after a moment of preparation, the metal slayer would would walk by them and start to descend down the staircase, in to the darkness that awaited her.

(559/2000)

The first sensation that the slayer felt as she descended was the foul smell of death and decay, amplified by her dragon enhanced senses. The place absolutely reeked of it and as she reached the bottom of the staircase and attempted to find her bearings, it was almost overwhelming. To her surprise, there were old fashioned lanterns decorating the place, which at least gave her some sense of vision although she wondered just how many members had died in order to put them up. Without pausing, she would swiftly start to move through the long and confusing tunnels, relying on her senses in order to find her way. Given her mechanical mind and general lack of emotions, she was able to easily combat any slight twinge of panic and fear that she could have felt and with her considerable speed, the purple haired woman was soon moving carving through the tunnels swiftly.

However, as she turned a corner, the ground would suddenly shake and half a dozen figures would clambered out of the ground. They looked like dead humans, with completely pale skin that was peeling off and a staggering gait as they walked which made them move quite slowly. Their faces were completely blank and devoid of any sign of life, while they began to come towards her. Moving forward, Menka would sprint towards the group and smash her way through them, using her formidable physical strength to tear through them. They were slow and clumsy, making it easy for her to move around their strikes and attack in return. They would be rather frightening to most but to her, they were simply a different type of enemy to defeat and soon enough, they would be lying on the ground, becoming lifeless again and sinking once more in to the ground.

Quickening her pace, she would continue to increase her speed, wishing to get to the heart of the problem, before it could spawn any more opposition. Unfortunately, she was not quick enough and as she came out in to a massive great hall way, the slayer would be faced with a group of feral creatures, each one glaring at her with blazing eyes. These seemed far more alert than the zombies and they dashed towards her without a moment of hesitation. Spinning around in a circle, Menka would say, "Spines Of The Metal Dragon," causing a large amount of metal shards to fly in all directions around her, shredding through her enemies and causing them to roar with anger. Erupting forwards, she would then say, "Claws Of The Metal Dragon," causing a powerful pair of talons to appear from her hands and move in to her most effective range, up close and personal.

They were fairly swift and Menka had to rely on her senses more than ever to dodge and evade their strikes although she did feel some satisfaction, each time she struck them with a blow. A powerful right handed punch would fell one of the group, before slamming her foot on the floor and saying, "Might Of The Metal Dragon," which would cause a bed of powerful metal spikes to appear from her blow her opponents and pierce through her opponents, slaying three. In surprise, the final two would then attempt to swarm her but she would dodge underneath the blows and connect with a combination of strikes from her claws to defeat them and cause them to collapse to the floor and like their brethren, vanishing in to the ground.

As she took a moment to recover though, her attention would be captured by something else and as she looked up, the slayer would find herself face to face with the leader of the undead and it did not look pleased.

(WC: 628)

(Total WC: 1187/2000)

It was enormous, with a red set of scales covering its entire body and head, with a powerful crimson eyes gaze that seemed to try and pierce a hold through her. The expression on its face was difficult to read although judging from the swishing of its tail, it was definitely annoyed to say the least. After looking at the death and destruction that Menka had caused by sending its minions back in to the ground, it would return its gaze to the slayer, "Well, it would seem that you are at least more skilled than the fools that came in here before. You have a ruthless yet measured approach, which they seemed to lack. I find that somewhat curious, given your groups' fondness for the primal and natural. I was planning on just devouring you now and adding you to my beautiful pile of corpses but there is something about that piques my interest." It would move closer to Menka, leaning in so that its massive head was right up against her, taking a sniff of her, before moving its head back, "Your scent is familiar to me, human, almost as though that you are like myself, rather than a mortal. Perhaps you one of these fabled dragon slayers? A foolish title if I have ever heard one."

"I am a metal dragon slayer," Menka would answer, looking up at the dragon, having to admire the sheer size and scale of it. The voice sounded masculine and so she assumed that it was male. "I have no desire to kill you, dragon, nor any of your kind. The term dragon slayer is not one that I am fond of, yet that it was what I am referred as, none the less. Yet, you arouse my curiosity as well. You claim that my scent is familiar to you. Why? What is it about my scent that could possibly be familiar to you?"

The dragon would suddenly laugh, a wild chortle that caused the hairs on the back of Menka's neck to stand up, before it would turn its gaze back to her, "Fascinating, you wield the powers of a dragon and yet do not know which. Very well, if it will satiate your curiosity then I will let you in to a secret, before I end your life. You see, I am well aware of the dragon whose powers you use in combat. I suppose that you could say that we were childhood friends although that was eons ago. She fights with metal, as you do and has the same mechanical way of speech too. Her name is Shaylynn, the metal dragon and the most beautiful member of our race that I have ever met. Unfortunately for you, that knowledge will be of little use to you. Now, stand your ground or run. Those are your only options."

Saying that she was stunned by what she had just heard was an understatement but there was little time for it, as before the slayer could even ask a question, the dragon had reared up on its back legs, before sending a powerful roar of blood in her direction.

(WC: 528)

(Total WC: 1715/2000)

Opening her mouth, Menka would say in answer to the attack, "Roar Of The Metal Dragon," causing a burst of liquid metal to emerge from her mouth and collide with the bloody roar of the dragon. The two attacks would collide in an explosion of power, causing the catacombs to shake, before returning still again. Charging forwards, the slayer would state, "Body Of The Metal Dragon," followed by, "Fists Of The Metal Dragon." The two abilities would coat her body and fists with liquid metal, enhancing her physical attributes greatly. Leaping up towards the dragon, she would unleash a powerful punch that struck the massive beast in the side of the head, causing it to growl, before countering with a powerful head butt that sent Menka flying backwards, followed by a powerful strike of its mighty tail that sent the slayer crashing in to the catacomb wall. With a laugh, the beast would then channel and unleash a powerful roar, which struck the metal slayer directly and splattered her body with blood. It would then inhale again, about to strike again but the blue eyed woman would recover and roll out of the way, returning to her feet.

"Chain Of The Metal Dragon," she would then say, creating a chain and hurling it towards the dragon, which managed to hook itself around the neck of the beast. Surprised, it would rear back and then pull the slayer in. Expecting it after her fight with the dinosaur in a previous mission, Menka would end up on the dragon's back and start to pull on the chain with all of her might, trying to choke the life out of the beast. It would roar and shout, slamming itself against the walls to try and dislodge her, before eventually running out of oxygen and dropping to the ground. Rolling off of him, she would then strike at his head with a powerful barrage of punches to his massive head, causing his crimson scaled to fly in all directions, before finally delivering the finishing blow or so she thought.

Just as she was about to walk away, the dragon's eyes would burst back open and rise back up to its feet although there was an almost smile like expression on its face. It did not attack her though and simply spoke, "I am impressed by your skills, daughter of Shaylynn and I am impressed enough with you to discuss terms. You see, I am unable to actually die and no matter how many times that you are able to beat me, I will simply recover to fight you again. So, it would seem that we are at a stalemate. What do you propose that we do?"

Menka would briefly tilt her head to the side and after a moment, gave a simplistic answer, "All I ask is that you allow the members of my guild to use these tunnels as a base and to leave them be. We will not touch your corpses nor treasure and if you wish, I am certain that we could come to an arrangement and increase your supply of undead, if you wish it. On a personal note, I would simply ask for your name and to learn of what you know of Shaylynn. My name is Menka, by the way."

The dragon would muse for a time, before replying, "Very well, I agree to your terms. My name is Serkan, dragon of blood. As for my knowledge on Shaylynn, well, that could take some time so I suggest that you take a seat and listen well, metal slayer."

So, with a nod of her head, dragon and slayer would take a seat and begin to talk. A conversation that would last long in to the night and by the time that Menka left the catacombs, she would have a level of knowledge to rival most when it came to dragons. What was most important though was that the mission had been completed and somehow, a new partnership had been formed.

(WC: 673)

(Total WC: 2388/2000)

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