I ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED A DUNGEON

The serpent returned through the tree line swiftly, tearing scales off the trunks with each crawl it took. It went straight for Jackson.

He dodged to the left. Its jaws snapped shut on air where he’d been standing only a few seconds ago. He got up and immediately moved forward, swinging his spear low and making a shallow cut on the top of its nose. His blood welled up there, diluted by the serpent’s, as the point of his spear had pierced its skin. He snapped his fingers together.

The small blast went off directly on the spot, turning the serpent’s head to the side momentarily.

It recovered quickly, swinging its tail around, but Jackson already got rid of the spear in his hands and jumped over it, landing heavily on the other side of the serpent. He kept going, rushed towards its side and leaped on top of it, jumping from a low branch, spear in hand, hitting its body between two ridges.

The scales held, and the point slid rather than puncturing, but Jackson managed to ride the bucking motion of the serpent and got off it when it tried throwing him on the ground.

Felix remained where he was, behind the treeline, watching everything happening in front of him while holding his deck in his hands. He flicked one card to the left, and the serpent’s head jerked to the side in response. That was more than enough; Jackson had only half a second to rush closer to the serpent and strike it with his spear at an angle underneath its jaw.

He did not manage to pierce it, but he made the serpent rear up, its whole body leaving the ground.

"Move!"

Felix was already in motion, launching himself sideways as the serpent’s body crashed back down where he’d been standing, sending clouds of dirt and rocks flying in all directions. Felix scrambled to his feet and flicked another card into the air, further this time, and the serpent’s eyes followed it, its head turning sharply at the sound of it landing on the trunk of a tree.

Jackson ran the length of a fallen log, launched himself off the end, and speared the base of the serpent’s skull, where his previous strike had left an opening.

This time the spear went deeper into the brain, and the serpent screamed, a sound so loud it echoed throughout the clearing. The serpent lashed out wildly with its body, striking Jackson and flinging him across into the trunk of a nearby tree. He landed hard and stumbled to his knees, still gripping the spear tightly in his hand.

Felix took a step forward but halted himself in place, clenching his jaw and keeping himself steady, holding his cards ready.

Jackson forced himself to his feet, blood streaming down from a cut over his brow. He wiped his bloody palm across his forehead and looked down at the smear of blood on his hand, smearing it quickly across the spear shaft in a thick layer and then hurled the entire spear down into the serpent’s neck.

The spear found its mark and stuck. A shockwave emanated from the spear point larger than those before it and louder than anything else thus far, causing Felix to recoil even where he stood, and it threw the head of the serpent back, scales breaking away in a circle around the open wound.

But the serpent didn’t fall. It rocked back and forth briefly and then righted itself and lunged after Jackson again, moving faster than ever before, its body coiling and striking like a whip.

Jackson dived under it and rolled before coming up sprinting at full speed toward the spear in the serpent’s neck. He seized it with his hands and jerked it free, twisting his whole body. The serpent let out a roar and thrashed, sending two nearby trees toppling.

Felix tossed another card at its eye and hit it. Jackson seized this opportunity and rammed the spear in through the hole created by the previous impact.

The snake froze. Its body stiffened, tail stopped moving and jaws remained open, while Jackson held the spear with both hands and kept pressing forward.

Jackson’s muscles ached from the effort. Sweat trickled down his cheek, mixing with blood that gushed from the cut above his eye.

"Come on," he said, gritting his teeth. "Go down."

Its tail twitched, and Jackson stood firm, not allowing the spear to move an inch.

The snake started shaking, banging its head against trees and the stone ridge to its right. Jackson felt his eyes blurring with the shockwave, but his grip on the spear only strengthened, pushing it in further.

"Just a bit more, and this is done." Felix stepped out of cover, relaxing.

Then the sound reached them, trees cracking and falling towards the right side, one after another. Jackson’s brows shot up and his head snapped toward the noise. Trees were going down in a straight line, and behind them, two more Blackstone serpents were closing fast.

"We have company." These words were barely out of his mouth when the snake under him jerked its head up, trying to get away and pulling itself from his spear.

A small silhouette was already rushing ahead of the serpents.

"Girl?"

Dune ran full speed, clearing fallen trunks and torn roots without slowing. She reached Jackson’s side and jumped, hanging in the air just above the snake’s open mouth, and drove her fist straight into it.

Shockwave rippled through the clearing, throwing Dune flaying in the dirt.

"Dune!" Felix was already dashing towards her.

The serpent crashed to the ground, as if a giant tree was felled in its stead. Jackson used the crash to extract the spear from its neck, and the massive body quivered and became motionless.

He shook the blood off from the spear and turned around. "Didn’t know she was this strong."

Felix fell to his knees next to Dune and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Wake up. Wake up!"

The cracks along her face had begun to glow, faint light bleeding out from the lines.

"I told her, dammit. Do not do that again. Why is she so reckless?"

"I’m... good..." Dune managed to reply, her voice weak.

"No, you’re not." He lifted his head, noticing the serpent stopping suddenly and staring at its fellow. "Now get up!"

"Just... need some time." She coughed, and slowly pushed herself on her elbows.

"Why did you make her run when she can do that?" Jackson asked, still holding the blood-covered spear. "That’s not a joke, that much raw Numen."

"Yeah. She’s good." He helped her up, gently removing the bag from her shoulders before she could trip. "We just have to run—"

The ground started shaking under his feet, sending a wave of tremors in all directions. He looked around and they had been encircled by the serpents. The two had separated quietly, each going to different sides of the clearing.

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