The muffled thump from the floor above sent a wave of cold dread through my core. The adventurers on the first floor heard it too. Gilda, her face a mask of grim realization, bellowed, "He's on the second floor! Move!" and charged for the staircase, her team close behind.
They were fast, but the assassin was faster.
A shower of dust and pebbles rained down from the ceiling of the Hibernation Hollows. A dark, cloaked figure dropped silently from the newly-created hole, landing with the grace of a cat on the soft floor. The assassin, whom my system had simply labeled 'The Shade,' rose to their full height. They were slender and wrapped in dark fabrics that obscured their features, with two sharp, gleaming daggers held in a reverse grip.
Their head tilted, scanning the room. The soft lullaby, the twinkling starlight, the sleeping tourists in the private alcoves—they ignored it all. Their focus was absolute, their senses searching for the faint tell-tale hum of a hidden Dungeon Core.
FaeLina's psychic voice was a high-pitched scream of pure terror in my mind.
'It's over, Mochi! He's right on top of us! We have no traps, no guards, no pollen! He's going to find you and turn you into gravel!'
She was right. I was vulnerable. But I was also extremely annoyed.
'Rude,' I thought with a flash of irritation. 'Doesn't even use the door. Now I have a hole in my ceiling that I have to repair. This is going to be so much work.'
The heavy thud of Gilda's boots echoed from the floor above, a frantic, thundering countdown. My main damage-dealers were on their way, but they were hopelessly out of range. Ten seconds. For a high-level rogue like Klarg, ten seconds was an eternity. I had to act now.
I did a quick mental inventory of my available units on this floor: a handful of low-level, non-combat Pillow Fiends, a few Dust Bunnies with a 'Tidy' skill, and my own limited environmental controls.
It wasn't an army. It was a housekeeping staff.
But it would have to do.
'FaeLina,' I projected, my mental voice sharp and focused, cutting through her panic. 'I need a distraction. In the far corner of the room. Make a flash of light. Now!'
For the first time, she didn't question me. A brilliant, startling flash of pink light erupted in the far corner of the Hibernation Hollows, accompanied by a loud, magical POP.
The Shade's head whipped towards the sound, their professional instincts taking over. They moved with impossible speed, a black blur darting across the room to investigate the source of the magic.
And they ran right into my trap.
As The Shade moved, they didn't notice that the floor in their path had changed. The sleeping Dust Bunnies, acting on my silent command, had worked with frantic, silent speed. They hadn't built a wall. They had gathered all the thick, plushy floor rugs from the various alcoves and piled them one on top of the other, creating a deep, deceptively soft patch of floor. It wasn't a spike pit. It was a plush pit.
The assassin's foot landed on the pile of rugs. And sank. Their next step also sank. Their momentum carried them forward, and suddenly they were waist-deep in an incredibly soft, yielding pile of enchanted carpets and textiles. Their swift, deadly movements were now bogged down, like trying to run through deep, fluffy mud.
They were stuck.
The Shade let out a frustrated hiss and tried to pull themselves free, but the rugs were like quicksand. This was the moment I had been waiting for.
'Code Snuggle,' I commanded, my voice resonating with grim satisfaction. 'Maximum efficiency.'
The eight Pillow Fiends, who had been hiding in the alcoves, launched themselves. There was no slow dogpile this time. It was an avalanche. They flew through the air, a squadron of fluffy doom, and slammed into the struggling assassin.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
The Shade was buried. A mountain of wiggling, happy pillows completely covered the flailing assassin, the sheer weight and fluffiness pinning them deep within the plush pit.
Gilda and her team finally burst into the room, axes and swords at the ready, only to find... a giant, silent pile of pillows and rugs in the middle of the floor. The only sign of a struggle was a single, black-gloved hand twitching feebly before being covered by another happy, wiggling Pillow Fiend.
Gilda stared at the scene, her battle-ready expression melting into one of absolute, slack-jawed bewilderment.
A triumphant notification appeared in my consciousness.
[EXTREME THREAT neutralized!]
[Method: Advanced Comfort-Based Immobilization.]
[Bonus DP Awarded for 'Creative Environmental Trap Design': +300 DP!]
[New Title Unlocked: The Soft Tactician.]
The threat was over. The assassin had been defeated by a combination of bad interior decorating choices and a strategic pillow assault.