Chapter 5 — Dungeon answers
Floor 36. The level of high risk.
Far beyond the inhabited levels, where even experienced adventurers get lost, the group of Loki's Family moved slowly, cautiously. It was quiet here. It's too quiet.
Hulk felt the tension. Even his powerful body was shrinking inside, as if something was watching him.
"It's not fear. It's an instinct. There's... something here.
Finn signaled with his hand. Everyone stopped.
— Do you feel it?
Ais nodded. Her sword was ready.
— As if the Dungeon itself is breathing deeper. It's like he's... hoarding something.
The Hulk clenched his fist. The skin on his shoulders began to ripple as rage began to wake up, slowly but surely.
⸻
And then the walls began to move.
Something huge burst out of the stone like meat.
It looked like a monster, but its body…
It consisted of fragments of armor, bones, tentacles, and magic.
And in the middle is a face. The twisted, familiar... face of Taros.
"That's... impossible!" Riveria shouted. "Dungeon... created a creature in your image!"
Finn gritted his teeth.
— This is the answer. The Hulk is an anomaly. Dungeon created a monster to destroy it.
The creature roared—the roar was an exact replica of how the Hulk roared in battle. It rushed forward, moving like a replica: blows, roars, even gait — everything was a distorted parody.
⸻
The battle has begun.
Ais attacked first. Her sword pierced through the monster's body with lightning—and bounced off as if hitting steel.
"It's covered in an antimagic shell!" "Stop it!" she screamed.
Riveria tried to pierce it with magic, but the spell crumbled in the air.
"It reflects magic!" This is... a copy of your powers, Hulk! "Stop it!" she screamed, retreating.
The monster hit Gareth in the chest. He was thrown ten meters away. Blood from the mouth.
Finn tried to outflank him, but his path was blocked by tentacles growing out of the floor, as if Danj himself was protecting his new "son."
⸻
The Hulk was left alone in the path of the monster.
"You're my reflection, aren't you?" Dungeon made you to destroy me.
The monster growled.
—Come on, then. Show me what real rage is.
His eyes lit up.
Skill activated: Rampage.
The body is filled with anger. The limiters are removed.
The Hulk's power doubles.
He rushed forward.
First, a blow to the chest. The monster retreated. Then — from above, on the head. The cracking of bones.
The monster hit back — and threw the Hulk into the wall.
"Huh... a lot." Hulk croaked, getting up. "But... I'm not just a force. I am the will. I am a human being. And you're... a doll.
He lunged again.
Nearby, Ais and the others were already fighting off minor enemies that were climbing out of the walls, but no one could interfere in the duel.
Monster and Hulk — face to face.
— Skill activated: Inner Flame.
— For a short time, the power is tripled. The price is body wear.
Boom.
Hit.
One more.
The fist pierces the shell. The second one breaks the bone. The third one breaks his face.
The monster roars and explodes, shattering into pieces.
⸻
Silence.
The Hulk stood there, barely breathing. The whole body is full of cracks, as if it is bursting from the inside.
But he was standing.
Riveria approached him and cast a healing spell.
"You have defeated... the creature created by the Dungeon. It's... legendary.
Finn looked at him carefully.
"It's not over yet. But you've proved that you're not a mistake. You are a part of this world.
The Hulk looked deep into the tunnel.
—Dange... remembered me." Now I'll remember it too.
— Do you want to continue the descent? Loki asked later, appearing on the platform, waiting for him with a bottle of wine.
He nodded.
"There's truth down there. And maybe... the answer.