Worthy Core

The stands in the Floor Ten exhibition arena had occasionally been packed before, when the fights were new or a particularly popular Challenger team was about to fight. Those numbers would pale in comparison to the number of people pouring into the place now however, as new firing points and defensive positions are quickly molded all across the arena. The formerly open, sand-covered arena floor is now filled with low stone walls to slow down attackers and provide some cover, while the walls of the cylindrical chamber have begun to sprout like flower petals with all of the new archery and mage galleries. The floor mostly maintains its open-air design, but only so that every single Challenger and monster in the chamber can get a good view of the opening that's been torn into one wall.

Up front, arachnid warriors stand prepared to take the brunt of the Domain's opening attack. Abyssal horrors skitter into position above the entrance, ready to drop down on anyone foolish enough to step foot within the dungeon bounds. Further back, companies of melee-focused adventurers and heroes stand ready behind the walls, prepared to halt any attempt to push further into the arena. Even now more parties rush to take their places, quickly recalled from other assignments within the tunnels below or pulled from their rest on Floor Five.

Up above, eight-limbed mages dance across wires and netting, setting up secure points and tightropes so that they can fire on those below while still keeping on the move. To the left, right, and rear, archers and mages with the longest-ranged spells check their ammo and their wands. In the center, the dungeon's champions gather. Pizola remains in the lowest section of the floor, prepared to guard her boss arena, but an impressive collection of dungeon guardians have been called together for this particular fight. Valkyrie Brightsky, Parker, Sevastion, and succubus-form Yulia lead from the front while Taly joins with the archers above, prepared to cloak their allies in shadow while providing some fire support of her own.

Seeing that things are just about set, Brightsky spreads her metal wings wide so that she can attract the attention of each of her allies. The elf gathers her strength, and with a bit of channeled divine power she speaks to those who have chosen to defend Worthy Dungeon alongside her. "Hear me, friends and companions! The enemy may be at our gate, but - "

"They're coming." Yulia nudges her colleague, uncaring of the interruption to the valkyrie's big moment.

"They may be - " Brightsky attempts to recover, but turns to the false demon to speak in a lower voice. "What do you mean they're coming? I haven't even given our speech yet! Warriors need a great speech before they can fight a battle of this import!"

"Well, can you speak and fight at the same time, then?" Yulia nods towards the breach in the wall, and sure enough there's signs of something moving in the dim tunnel beyond. Considering her options the warrior curses and raises her voice once again.

"...As Xenia would say, kick them in the balls until they're spitting marbles! Fuck the doomed fools up!"

There's a bit of cheering at that very abbreviated speech, but it dies down again as insects swarm through the open wall. Not giant, monster-sized bugs as they might expect, however. Instead it's simply a very, very large swarm of apparently mundane flying insects. That doesn't mean the defenders are about to let them enter unopposed, though. "Open fire!"

A few archers do loose their shots but largely it falls to the mages to strike at this particular foe. Fireballs, globs of acid, and shards of rock smash into the swarm...to limited effect. At long range most elemental spells lack much in the way of an area-of-effect attribute, and in most cases the swarm simply splits and swerves to avoid the projectiles. It doesn't take long until they reach the monstrous warriors making up the first line of defense, but as the arachnids find themselves bit and stung by their prey one mage shouts out from above.

"They're conjured insects! I've seen dungeon monsters with this magic before!"

"Conjured or not, they'll still die in alchemical flame!" Brightsky soars into the air, yelling her next command to the arachnids defending their webs above. "Release firebombs! Mages, keep them pushed back towards the gap!"

There's a few quick affirmative responses, then the women and men get to tossing bottles and jars marked with the symbol of the Valleylands army. Meanwhile those elementalists within range begin summoning walls of wind, scattering the vicious-looking bugs and tossing them back the way they came. Soon enough bonfires of chemically-fueled flame form a semicircle around the wall's breech, and pyromancers entice the flames to grow even higher. A few arachnid defenders do fall to this particularly intense defense themselves, but the tactic achieves its purpose of destroying the vast majority of the insects.

Unfortunately, the insects themselves also achieved their purpose of distracting the defenders while the first wave of true invaders storm their way into the dungeon. Enemy dungeon guardians push their way forward, shielded by a wall of distorted space, while ripples in the sand smother many of the flames - or worse, toss them back into the line of defenders. Wolfmen, lamia, death knights, and sword-wielding felines charge their foes. Meanwhile flying monsters soar in after them as dire bats and wyverns join the fray - all led by a woman with the body of a wasp.

"Spiders have woven their web, have they? But even spiders can find themselves to be the prey! Secure the air!"

It's not long before the open firing lines of the chamber have already become a chaotic mess. Ranged combatants attempt to shoot the fliers out of the air, but there's only moments before those opponents have engaged the acrobats securing the top level of the arena. The arachnids here lack the ability to spin webs of their own, but that doesn't keep them from attempting the next best thing. Grappling hooks get tossed at foes whenever they pass by, although in some cases those same hooks are used to save a warrior's life when the rope they're standing on gets sliced through by razor-sharp claws. Still, their spider instincts are well-suited for this sort of engagement, and despite the greater individual strength of the Dungeon Legion members the defenders make a good accounting of themselves.

Brightsky engages in some of the aerial skirmish, but it's not long before she's focused on her primary foe. Pointing her sword at the woman who led the assault, she again shouts out loud in a clear voice. "Insect! If you have the valor of a warrior, fight me and prove your mettle!"

"Bird!" The wasp-woman grins as she responds. "I have the sting of a monster - I think you'll find that to be good enough!" With that said the two charge each other in the air, and from their first clash their respective strengths become clear. Thena's insectoid wings are far more agile than Brightsky's heavy metal feathers, but at the same time the valkyrie's shield and armor are more than a match for the wasp's claws. Narrowing her eyes at their lack of effect, Thena judges that she'll need to focus more on precision for this match. Precision, and positioning.

The two joust a second time, and already their movements are showing the lessons they learned. Brightsky flares her wings wide as they approach, both slowing her down and making it harder for Thena to dodge past her. Thena on the other hand forgets about attempting to do a quick slash-and-run, and instead grabs on to one of those heavy wings and swings herself onto Brightsky's back. Were their flight capabilities not more magical than physical this would likely send both of them fluttering to the ground, but as it is it mostly serves to annoy the divine agent.

"Damned hornet! Fight me face to face!"

Her blade and shield swing quickly to try and scrape off the bug clinging to her back, and Thena dodges left and right to maintain her position.

"No." With that simple statement she begins her own attack, scratching at the front of Brightsky's armor and attempting to find the weak spots.

Both of them find their target at nearly the same moment. As Thena's talon-like fingers stab their way into one of Brightsky's armpits, that success pins her down long enough for the Valkyrie to claim the offending arm with her blade. Thena quickly abandons her position, clutching at her stump as she returns to the air under her own power, but despite the amputation the woman is laughing. "Hah! Sometimes a wasp must lose its stinger, but the battle is won regardless!"

As Opal rips the severed hand from her flesh she can already feel what it is her opponent is talking about. Poison courses through her inelven veins, slowing her with a likely aim of total paralysis. Were she a normal mortal this might truly be the end of the fight for her. However, while she may be many things 'mortal' is not one of them. With a cry, the divine undead flings the limb at a passing bat, knocking it into a jet of flame from another mage. "Poison! The weapon of cowards and the low! Trade me more poison for limbs and we'll see which of us is left with a leg to stand on by the end, shall we!?"

Thena's expression is somewhat concerned as Brightsky charges her once again, but the effect of the sting does at least seem to be having some impact. The woman's shield arm is much more sluggish to respond now, forcing her to use her wings more as a form of defense. That in turn further decreases her agility, and Thena again works on finding her way into her opponent's blind spot. The loss of a hand does hinder her as well, but her feet are well-suited for grabbing and she eventually finds herself perched on Brightsky's shoulders. The talons that make up her toes squeeze hard, trying to force their way through Opal's armor, but the damage they do is light. Worse, the attack puts Thena into a riskier position than she realizes.

Although she grimaces slightly as her already-injured arm is stressed further by the opposing guardian, there's a grin on the green-skinned elf's face as she looks up at her foe. "Hrng! Seems it's time to squash this bug."

"You'd have to move faster than that for - ung!"

Although Thena had years of experience fighting adventurers of all kinds, even winged demons, there were still a few particular habits the woman had picked up along the way. The wasp's eyes were on Opal's hands, waiting for a swing or perhaps the activation of a magical artifact. She was not anticipating the sudden movement of the valkyrie's wings and their thick, shield-shaped feathers. The two limbs slam into Thena from both sides, jagged edges tearing into her chitinous flesh. One of her wings is sliced entirely off while on the other side a feather finds itself jammed into her eye, and the fight goes out of the monster entirely.

...Her feet do not release their death grip upon Brightsky's shoulders, though. As the monster begins to plummet to the ground she drags Opal with her, attempting to maneuver her so that at least the warrior takes the worst of the landing. Thena's not expecting one more trick though, and when Brightsky uses the magical weight-shifting effect of her newly gifted shield the monster gets thrown entirely off balance. Rather than flinging Opal into the ground the wasp over-corrects and instead it's her skull that ends up slamming into the hard sands first. That doesn't mean the landing is soft for Brightsky either though, considering the tangle of limbs. Indeed, her numbed arm lands poorly upon the arena floor and with a sickening snap it's soon bending in a very incorrect manner.

Valkyrie Brightsky is a professional though, and it doesn't stop her from rising to her feet to survey the current situation. From the corpses lying around her which consist of monsters from both sides and even a few mortals, it's clear that she was not the only one engaged in a life or death struggle. Fortunately, she's still around to make sure that at least a few more people land on the right side of the exchanges still to come.

"...Once more into the fray. For Worthy Dungeon!"

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