The smell of death permeated the room, rocks rumbling and tentacles trembling, the sound of squelching joints and inglorious tentacle tearing filled the air with its cacophony of audio. Ryo and the bronze Goblin fell over in the palm of Aragoth's hand as he began to stand up, the tentacles that made up the throne on which he resided returning back to his body, a smear of blue, black and purple. All that was left behind was a regular throne, measly in comparison to the one made of tentacles.
Aragoth grew taller, reaching about thirty-six metres tall, his head nearly touching the ceiling. The tentacles that had previously laid upon the walls, pulsing with an unnatural life that did not seem to be their own, had now retreated back to their host, increasing his power by an unknown figure, but the air got tenser in comparison to before.
"So, Human. I never got your name."Aragoth said, shuffling his legs forward, clearly stiff after not moving for presumably hundreds of years. The sounds of squelching keep going, this time somehow wetter, the extra tentacles providing an extra cushioned sound. Monsters moved out of the way around Aragoth, not wanting to get crushed.
"I'm Ryo Kyoji." Ryo answered, looking at the size of the Monster that held him. "I'm not sure if you'll fit inside the library, Aragoth." He told the hulking Aragoth, the eyes from the Monster moving from its head down to its arm, still copying Ryo's eyes, the brown arc underneath his right pupil and all.
"Nonsense. I know the library that you're talking about. I visited it before I became a Lord, and I was still short enough to fit through the massive door." Aragoth shot back, before stopping, his left foot slightly in the air. "Although, this massive size of mine could prove unwieldy in the journey to the library."
Aragoth put his foot down, slowly crouching as he lowered his hand to the ground, placing Ryo and the bronze Goblin on the floor. The sound of something being compressed filled the air, like pushing air out of a vacuum. Aragoth rapidly got smaller, his tentacles changing size to suit, the blood that seeped from his body seeming to dry up.
Not thirty seconds later, Aragoth, the hulking Infestation Lord, was no taller than himself. "There, now I can move around much easier." Aragoth said to nobody in particular, spinning his right arm from the elbow down in a circle. All that Ryo could see was a consistent circle of blue, black and purple. "I might have to stay in this form more often, I feel so much more agile." Aragoth commented, bouncing up and down on the tips of his feet. "Quite light, as well."
Ryo looked around, noticing that all the Monsters present were looking around, bewildered. "Do you think they'll need someone else to follow while you're not in the dungeon?" Ryo asked Aragoth, who looked at him with a shocked expression, as if he'd forgotten.
"You're right! I should give someone the power to manage the dungeon while I'm gone." Aragoth replied, looking throughout the swarm of varied Monsters, debating on a new person to rest upon the throne left behind. Ryo lifted up the hand of the bronze Goblin, shocking it.
"Why not this guy? It brought me to you, convinced you to spare me, and has stayed with you at all times while here. There's nobody more loyal in the dungeon, I'd be willing to bet." Ryo explained. Aragoth looked shocked, but then his two eyes grew slightly, almost in recognition.
"You know what, that works." Aragoth admitted, putting his hand on the bronze Goblin's left shoulder. The Goblin's eyes opened wide as it fell backwards, its face twisted with pain and contorted into an expression that Ryo hadn't even seen. It was almost a mix of pain, satisfaction and dread in one face. Tentacles shoved themselves into the Goblin's left arm, as well as the left side of its torso, ripping out purple chunks as they embedded themselves.
"Christ, Aragoth. Were you going to do that to me?" Ryo asked, wincing as he watched the Goblin spasm slightly, the tentacles now coating its arm, like a protective layer.
"I would've probably been a little more careful about it, but yeah. That's my own little Mutation. It might be in one of the books inside the library, provided it was written over three hundred years ago." Aragoth replied, almost brushing it off. "He's now a good bit stronger, although I forget the actual amount. For you, I would have made it give you more power the stronger you became. What would've happened after, I don't know."
'I'm so glad I didn't take his offer.' Ryo told himself, still staring down at the Goblin, who had stopped spasming, but his body had turned stiff. "Are you sure it's alright?" Ryo asked out of actual concern, never thinking he'd ever feel bad for a Monster.
"Oh yeah, he'll be fine. Just give him a minute." Aragoth told him, brushing off his concern. To his credit, about forty seconds later, the Goblin sprung to its feet, sprinting around the room at a speed that Ryo could not comprehend. It was like watching someone teleport right in front of his eyes. The speed was almost blinding, as the wind that was blown up sent some of the slimes into the air.
"Calm down, Goblin." Aragoth said, and from across the room, you could see the bronze Goblin come screeching to a halt, turn to face Aragoth, and then appear at his legs like some form of hyperactive child. "You're in charge of the dungeon while I'm gone, okay? You can control the other monsters while I'm not here, so make sure to keep everyone patrolling around in case some cocky Demons come around." Aragoth told the Goblin, who bowed, slowly making its way to the throne that was left behind.
All the monsters that were originally praying to Aragoth slowly turned towards the bronze Goblin, waiting for him to take his seat. Once he did, and only then, did each monster there begin praying, treating him as they had Aragoth, with reverence. "And with that, we're sorted." Aragoth told Ryo, turning to face him. "Ready to leave?"
"Sure, but how are we going to get out? It's not like either of us can teleport." Ryo replied, causing Aragoth to grab him by the shoulder, pulling him towards himself. "No, but I can do this."
Aragoth's body fell asunder, leaving a pile of tentacles with one arm still attached to Ryo. The tentacles quickly began moving, and, much like with the bronze Goblin, Ryo was pulled along behind. They made their way to the pit that Ryo had originally come from, and Aragoth's tentacles propelled themselves up, using their own mass as a spring in order to send themselves vertically. Ryo, now actually unable to be surprised, allowed his body to go limp. 'It'll probably be easier to do this than try to pry any control'. He thought to himself.
Soon enough, they reached the top, but Aragoth didn't reassemble himself. Instead, he used his tentacled body to move along at a rapid rate, breaking the speed of sound with alarming ease. They easily moved around corners, turning with precision and speed that no other monster could dream of. Ryo felt his blood begin to pool in the bottoms of his feet, his legs going numb, so he quickly kicked his legs out, trying to restart circulation.
"Aragoth, slow down for a second!" Ryo yelled at him, attempting to get past the wind rushing between them. Aragoth, who had heard him, due to a unique genetic feature where he could hear through his tentacles, came to a near halt, allowing Ryo to flick his legs a bit in order to regain feeling.
"Are you alright?" Aragoth asked, remaking his humanoid form, taking a look at Ryo's legs. "I don't think Human legs are meant to go at that speed, now that I think about it."
"Yeah, not unless you get strong enough." Ryo told him, cracking a small smile. "Plus, we're so close to the exit anyways." Ryo showcased while walking forward, wincing a bit as his right leg was still a slight bit numb. Around the next turn, around five metres away, was the entrance to the cave, as well as the corpse to the green Goblin he had killed.
Thinking about that Goblin, Ryo remembered what he'd obtained from the chest in the wall behind it. The gloves, which were on his hands, and the knife which was no longer in his hand. "Damn it, I left my knife behind." Ryo cursed at himself. "Could've used that as a replacement for my old staff."
"You mean this thing?" Aragoth asked, the dagger dangling off of one tentacle, its gemstone in the centre perfectly matching the colour of one of Aragoth's purple tentacles. "These things are common around here, so I don't mind letting you have this one back. Those gloves, however," Aragoth explained, taking Ryo's hand for a second. "Are quite unique."
"How so?" Ryo asked, remembering how electricity didn't follow over them, and blood didn't splatter on them. "I know they don't conduct magic, and so far haven't gotten any blood on them. What makes them special besides that?"
"These gloves do not allow anything to touch them. Blood, magic, swords. They're like a wearable shield. It uses mana to block or deflect any attack, so as long as you wear them, and have access to mana, you can use your hands to deflect things." Aragoth explained. "They're one of the three Relics in my dungeon. It's crazy how you found one."
"Holy shit." Ryo said to himself, looking at his hands, the black gloves covering his fingers like a skintight shirt. "I never expected anything like this to exist. Although, to my own credit, I've never heard of a dungeon before today." Ryo explained, starting to walk towards the exit, passing the dead green Goblin. "I hope you don't mind that I killed one of your Goblins."
"Don't worry about it. You can't run a dungeon without expecting some casualties." Aragoth responded, patting Ryo on the back. "Plus, I'm sure some strange and interesting things will happen to you regarding dungeons in the future."
"God, please don't wish that upon me. I'd like to be strong, sure, but what I really want to do is read a bunch of books. I can live a peaceful life inside the library." Ryo sighed back, the light from outside breaching the Dungeon. It was still bright, which shocked Ryo. "Inquisax! Are you there?" Ryo called out, the figure of a familiar Demon turning the corner
"Still here. You're out fast. Did you get scared and run out?" Inquisax asked, his scarf flowing behind him. "I sent you in there to get stronger, so let's hope something interesting happened."
"Something interesting happened, alright. I managed to use Psychokinesis once, and I found someone who wants to visit the library!" Ryo replied, Aragoth walking beside him.
"The library…?" Inquisax asked, his eyes falling upon the tentacled Monster that was Aragoth. "Oh my god, Aragoth?!" Inquisax yelled, rushing up to him.
"Holy shit, Inquisax?! I didn't recognise your name! If I had known it was you that Ryo was travelling with, I would've invited you in myself! How many years has it been since you visited me in my dungeon?" Aragoth inquired, extending his hand for a handshake.
"It's been, what, eighty years? Far too long!" Inquisax responded, taking his hand and shaking it with an intensity like no other handshake that Ryo had seen before. It made him feel like a third wheel, which was weird, as he was used to not being a wheel at all.
"Sorry to interrupt the reunion, guys, but how do you two know each other?" Ryo asked, genuinely confused. The two of them looked at each other, before Inquisax explained.
"I was the last person to bring him books to read. I had a stash left at my old house, so I brought them for Aragoth to sink his teeth into! Now that he's coming to the library, he'll be able to read so much more!" Inquisax explained, his eyes beaming with excitement.
"Well, this got a whole lot more interesting." Aragoth stated, looking at Ryo and Inquisax. "One Human, one Monster, and one Demon. We're all at least acquainted with each other, if not outright friends. This goes against so many things that I bet you were taught, Ryo." Aragoth joked.
"You're right," Ryo sighed, lifting his head up, a small smile on his face.
"But I don't care what others think anymore."