Cease the Suffering - Etrian Odyssey II (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 30

AN: Shit, really? 30 chapters? My god! I have never paid so much attention to one thing in my entire life! And it’s not close to being finished yet.

Anyway, thanks so much Irish_Moon_Dreamer and SakuraiYoake for commenting on the previous chapter! This chapter is a long one, so I hope you’ll enjoy it!

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Chapter 30:

Lynus instantly felt a nauseating sense of light-headedness when he stepped from the swirling column of orange light. He also felt slightly disorientated. So, that was a Geomagnetic Pole, huh? It certainly was a…experience, for a lack of a better word.

Macerio turned to him, giving him a slightly wary smile. “You don’t really get used to it,” he said, looking rather dishevelled himself.

Taking a moment to gather his wits, Lynus glanced around. He was mildly surprised by how different this floor was in comparison of the first. They were standing in a vast hall, almost daunting, room like area. The leaves were golden and brown, like the season of autumn.

“This is the Second Stratum?” Lynus muttered, looking around in a slight sense of awe.

“Over there,” Magnus pointed toward a set of doors seen far off in the distance. “I think they’re behind those doors.”

“So,” Macerio muttered, his demeanour unnervingly serious as he drew out his weapons. “The Hellion is there.”

“The Hellion?” Lynus didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Is that the name of the monster they’ve been sent to destroy?”

“Yeah, I don’t know all the details,” Macerio admitted, frowning. “All I know that it’s been attacking explorers, making it dangerous to explore the Labyrinth.”

“Enough,” Rahas said as he cracked his whip, getting himself prepared. “Get yourselves ready. Stay behind me, Lynus.”

Lynus took a deep breath to settle his nerves. “Ok.”

Magnus gently nudged him. “…Let’s go.”

Lynus turned to look at Magnus and saw fear in his eyes. He was worried by what they could possibly encounter, that they may be too late. But there was also determination in his gaze. His resolve was strong, unflinching. They came this far. There was no turning back.

“Right,” Lynus nodded, his own resolve strengthening.

Without another word, the five mismatched explorers broke out into a sprint, heading for the ominous doors.

Throwing them open, they were immediately assaulted by the sounds of monstrous roars, spoken attacks and desperate clanging of metal. A colossal battle was raging, and had been for some time if one took in the damaged walls and earth into consideration. In the middle of this carnage was a hideous creature, orange, yellow and red in colour. It looked almost piggish in appearance, to be perfectly honestly.

But none of that mattered to Lynus. For the first thing he saw was Axel lifting his shield in order to block he was unable to avoid, only to take the full force of the hit and thrown back a few feet, hitting the ground hard. He landed on his side, his back toward Lynus, his axe tumbling from his grip.

And he didn’t move.

Lynus almost stopped breathing. But he quickly found his voice a split second later as he pushed himself forward, completely ignoring any possible danger in his need to simply get to Axel.

“Axel!” Lynus cried as he skidded to a halt, immediately kneeling down next to Axel. He placed his hands on him and forced him to roll on his back. The moment he did, Lynus saw the large tear in his armour and smelt the sicking scent of blood.