Worthy Core

A sound of roaring fills the suburban sky, although the sound seems to have no specific origin point. At least, not at first. For a moment it appears as if the Dragonlord's very shadow is being ripped away from them, but as it gains some distance the new form becomes more distinct. It's faded, transparent, and tinged in blue...yet the new entity still has something of a golden luster to them, glinting despite the somewhat overcast sky.

Eventually, the roaring concludes with a very definite source - the throat of the original Dragonlord's soul. "Tttttrrraitor! Deceiver! Thief!" Despite their ghostlike appearance, the new entity is in almost every other way an exact mirror of the Great Dungeon's form. The one glaring exception is the expressions on the faces of the mirrored dragons. While the Great Dungeon's face shows a draconic version of irritation and disbelief, the Dragonlord's is sheer rage. "You betrayed me!"

"You were a fool!" The dungeon's tone is more controlled, yet somehow no less furious. "You were a failure of a leader in every meaningful respect! Fine enough perhaps when your 'nation' was a few tribes of worshiping kobolds and descendants. But you never had the intelligence or the capability for handling enemy nations!"

"Not your decision to make!" As if with great effort, the Dragonlord tears their attention away for a moment to glance at Xenia. "You have granted me this moment to take my revenge? I shall heap rewards upon you, once I have slain this stone and reclaimed my body."

Xenia gives the reptile an awkward grin, not wanting to be the one to tell them that it's probably far too late for that. If their flesh-and-blood brain's been hollowed out to the extent that Xenia imagines...at this point the two are symbiotically linked, and neither can survive without the other. Fortunately, that's not what she needs from the raging spirit. "That'd be great - but right now, all we really need is for you to keep them here for a lil bit."

"Oh, is that all?" The Great Dungeon scoffs before tapping the core implanted in their chest. "In that case I shall simply leave, and allow you two ancient ghosts to - hrnng!"

The dungeon twists in agony as their form appears to take on a metaphysical ripping even more disturbing than the one cast by the children's ritual. It's almost as if strips of the dragon's body are torn off of them in alternating slices, slicing away parts of their skin, their limbs, even an eye. And yet, impossibly, the dragon's form seems to remain functional. Still standing upon its four legs, still speaking - if with an obvious undercurrent of pain. "Raaagh! What have you done now, reincarnator?!"

It's the Dragonlord who answers this one. "You are not leaving until I say you leave, worm."

Xenia smirks, although she is privately a little disturbed at exactly how the effect played out. "O-G DL here's got a fifty-fifty claim on your body, you know. If they say you're staying here...looks like you're sticking around. Or at least...half of you, anyhow."

"Hells take you!" Sparks of flame begin to glow in the back of the dungeon's throat. "I am more powerful than you, more powerful than the former Dragonlord ever was! If need be I shall slay you both here, and shatter your core in reality at the same time!"

With the help of Nix and Nox, Xenia quickly summons a full armory onto her form. Full plate, a light buckler, a helmet with its visor raised...and of course, a sword. "Try it, then. I've been knocked down by bigger lizards than you, and I got back up! I've learned a thing or two about humility - time for momma to give you a lesson on it!!"

Roars cry out from three different throats as the battle begins.

When the Dragonlord returns to the Floor Eleven arena, gasps fill the room. Although none of the dragon's many wounds bleed, the sovereign still appears to have been torn to absolute shreds by some dragon-sized blender. An empty eyesocket whirls back towards their followers, and when their mouth opens their fangs are visible through tears in their cheeks. "Trickery! There shall be no more negotiations! The core must be destroyed now!"

Despite the urgency in their voice, it still takes a few moments for the Scale Wardens and soldiers behind them to begin to react. The first voice to speak up however does not belong to any member of those squads.

"Think we might have a thing or two to say about that."

The Dragonlord quickly turns back to look at the door to the dungeon's core chamber, and finds it open - yet not unblocked. In the lead stands a heavily-armored woman, sword at the ready, although she's not alone. Every dungeon guardian who had not already been spent had apparently been gathering within the chamber beyond for exactly this moment, as have no small number of mortal warriors. Some still bear the marks of wounds from battles an hour before, but with the likes of Lollyp and DEATH himself leading the way, they seem to lack little in the way of morale. Of course, seeing their great foe in such a state likely aids in that quite a bit. The woman in the lead still has more to say, however.

"You stand here in a divinely-blessed place of the gods, where all may challenge themselves and find their true natures! When fear has been stripped away, when hubris has been shattered, when preconceptions of strength and pride have been cracked and shattered, will you find a truly worthy core of willpower and determination still within you? Or will you be tossed upon the ash heap of history?" The warrior raises her sword high, along with her voice. "I am Lady Beatrice, the Dragon Slayer! And today - I shall be your challenge!"

Beatrice's sword has one additional comment of her own. "And I, Lady Nalina of House Evervein, loyal servant of House Highbranch, will be her instrument! Now, let's get to finishing the skinning of this overgrown beastie, shall we?"

Beneath her enchanted helmet, Beatrice grins. "Yes...let us."

To an uninitiated observer, the battle between the Great Dungeon and the Dragonlord would appear to be a truly awe-inspiring sight. The two giants blast each other with magical flame, and swipe at each other with claws that could tear a bus in half like butter. The Dragonlord's flame breath has a ghostly tinge to it, a green-blue hue that seems to be not quite there, yet it's still quite effective against the Great Dungeon's wounded form. The dungeon meanwhile has tricks beyond that of simple dragon magic, and alternates their attacks with spells gained from a lifetime of hoarding knowledge and skills.

To Xenia...it feels a bit like watching two grandparents fighting with their canes in a senior citizen's home.

Oh, sure, it's still an incredibly deadly fight where a single misstep might kill her without warning, or at least dissipate her avatar from this pocket realm. Even with the Dragonlord's attacks and supporting spells from her children, it's extremely difficult for her to actually get close enough to land blows.

But Xenia's fought dragons before.

The Dragonlord is a shadow of their former self in more ways than one. Even if the ritual spell could bring them forth at full power, the dragon's soul is one that's been rotting away within a puppet form for over a century. Even at their peak, had they ever had to fight a true peer? The armies of their day were smaller and less well-equipped, and even then the dragon could not win their wars. Left alone, Xenia has little doubt that the Great Dungeon would once again prove the victor in their contest.

But the Great Dungeon has been literally torn in two. Half of their power and half of their focus has returned to the real world, but that's only the start of it. Even if their magical wounds don't bleed the way they ought to, they still leave massive gaps in the dragon's natural armor. Although Xenia struggles to get close enough to land a blow, every time she does her blade sinks deep in a way that really should not be possible in a fight with a true dragon.

As the Dragonlord literally slaps the Great Dragon in the face, Xenia has to grin when a thought occurs to her.

I wonder if Beatrice is having as much fun as I am?

"This is the greatest day of my life!"

Beatrice smiles as her sword shouts out loud, and she can't disagree. "It's pretty good, yeah?"

Nalina is currently covered in blood in a way that might have been somewhat distressing back when she was a dwarf. To their credit, several of the Scale Wardens had stepped forward to defend their lord when Beatrice and the others had charged forward. Vaunted, elite Scale Wardens...who had been trudging through tunnels and dungeon floors for two days, fighting for their lives and constantly on the watch for traps. Beatrice meanwhile had been conserving her energy specifically for this fight...save perhaps for a brief respite with Sincere, which had been recharging in other ways.

Point being, the magic-enhanced Dragon Slayer with her spatial rings full of enchanted goodies is not one to be deflected by a few jumped-up bodyguards. A few blasts of magic and a toss of an enchanted grenade had disrupted the already-dismayed elites, and Beatrice had carved her way through the draconics and demons with barely a second glance. Perhaps not all of them are actually dead - yet - but if so they can be handled by the others. Beatrice has her eyes on larger prey.

"Another offworlder champion!" The Great Dungeon roars, their face looking nightmarish with its wounds and missing flesh. "Like roaches, you are! When this continent answers to me, I should put up a barrier against more of your kind!"

The warrior grins - after all, if the dragon is talking, they're not breathing flame at her, and that's precious moments she can use to get closer. "Ah, can you blame me? The tourism industry on this world is just exactly what I was looking for! Although I might need to find new hunting grounds after you're gone!"

The dragon does attack then, and it's only a complete drop to the stony floor that keeps the warrior from being knocked into the distant wall like some sort of toy. She's back on her feet within moments though, and when she truly begins her attack on the dragon directly, it seems...almost easy?

It's hard not to recall her first battle with a true dragon, several decades previous. She'd lost more than one friend in that fight...but she had been much younger in those days. Far less experienced, much less well-equipped. She'd had a good sword, certainly, but the rest of her gear was laughable compared to the literal fortune she walks around with now. Not to mention that whatever Xenia had done to the dragon in that other reality, it had done much of the work for her. There's weak spots for her to strike at every few feet, and while few allow for actual critical damage to be done, they all allow for her to cause some serious pain and distress to her opponent.

As her enchanted armor shrugs off a blast of dragonflame as if it were just a simple summer wind, Beatrice can't help but grin.

I hope Xenia's having as much fun as I am...

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