Chapter 6 — The Shadow from the Colosseum
Floor 42.
There was no light here. Even the torches were extinguished, as if the space itself was suffocating the flames.
The air was heavy, like before a storm.
And only one sound echoed through the tunnels.…
The sound of footsteps. Slow ones. Heavy ones. Conscious ones.
"They're coming,— Finn said softly, clutching his spear. "But they're not monsters. These are... people.
He came out of the darkness.
Two and a half meters tall. Massive muscles. Armor forged from black steel.
He wears a gladiator mask with a crack running from his forehead to his chin.
The Hulk took a step forward.
"Grey?"
The man took off his mask.
Beneath it is a face that is painfully familiar.
"You survived...— the Hulk whispered. — You were burned during the uprising. I... I thought…
Gray nodded.
"I'm dead." But she resurrected me. She showed me who I really am. Not a slave. Not a human being. And the weapon.
"Who?" Ais asked.
"The goddess of shadows." Ciel.
The figure of a woman appeared out of the darkness—thin, with black wings like a bat. The eyes are like an abyss.
"You've gone too deep, wild giant,— she whispered. "You're upsetting the balance. Dungeon can't destroy you, but I can. Through the one you abandoned.
— I didn't leave anyone! Hulk barked.
"Do you remember how you got away?" How did the walls collapse when you went on a Rampage? Do you remember who was left under the rubble?
The Hulk froze.
"He survived... because of her."
Gray raised his sword. His armor shone with a gloomy purple light.
"I'm sorry, brother. But I have to destroy you.
⸻
The battle has begun.
Gray was moving fast. Too fast for his size. His sword struck with a force comparable to that of the Hulk himself.
Every blow was like a hammer.
The Hulk caught the blows on the axe, but it began to crumble. The magic in Gray's armor suppressed the rage—as if someone was stealing the Hulk's power directly from his soul.
— The Rage Absorption skill. Ciel's voice sounded. — Everything that makes you strong is now against you.
The Hulk staggered.
Gray hit, and the Hulk was thrown ten meters away.
⸻
—Don't... do that...— he croaked. —I won't... lose."
Flash.
Skill activated: Rampage (second stage).
Cost: bleeding, tissue damage, risk of death.
The Hulk's eyes lit up. His body began to emit a green aura.
A flame of rage, purified by pain.
He stood up.
"If you've forgotten who you are... I'll remind you."
He crashed into Gray, and Gray's sword shattered from a blow to the Hulk's chest. With a second blow, he blew off the helmet. The third one destroyed the shield.
But Ciel held out her hand.
— Your rage! Mine!
She tried to draw the energy out of the Hulk's body. But…
It didn't work out.
He raised his head, and humanity flashed in his eyes.
"You can't take away the will.
He struck. Into the ground. To the Dungeon itself.
The ground shook. The floor split. The light broke through the stone.
Ciel screamed and disappeared into the shadows.
Gray fell to his knees. His armor cracked.
"You... still remember."
"You're a brother, Grey. Even if you've forgotten, I haven't.
⸻
Later, upstairs in the camp:
—Gray survived. He... can change. — said the Hulk.
Finn nodded.
"We'll take him up with us." But you have to understand... the Dungeon is becoming alive. He's learning. And now he's afraid of you.
"Let him be afraid. — the Hulk replied. "I'm not a slave anymore. I am anger that has become freedom.