[POV: Luki Bryan]
The hissing stopped the instant the spears should have pierced me.
They froze.
The tip of the closest weapon hovered less than a meter from my armor, suspended midair.
I was paralyzed with terror, but the Lizardmen's behavior was even stranger.
Suddenly, the olive-green of their scales faded, almost paling to a whitish gray. The murderous fervor vanished, replaced by sudden, primal fear.
Before I could even think to move, several of them dropped to their knees, bowing and pressing their heads against the cold stone floor, worshiping nothing.
They weren't silent; they were speaking... in their own language, at least.
It was a rhythmic hissing, rising and falling in clear patterns. I didn't understand the words, but that cadence could only belong to communication.
For a moment, the idea that they were Xenos crossed my mind, but as far as I knew, there shouldn't be that many of them, nor so many of the same species.
Looks like I underestimated the monsters' intellect. They must be almost on par with normal people, if not already there.
But more than that, something else caught my attention. My gaze locked on one of them.
He stood out among the confusion. He looked older than the others, his scales drier, and he held a strange staff.
What is he? Some kind of variant I don't know about, maybe a Lizardman Mage? Or just a monster that somehow survived long enough to grow old?
Either way, he was the leader. While the others fell silent, he continued the dialogue, gesturing with his staff toward the empty air.
My body froze. I think I already knew who they were speaking to.
And as if to prove me right, the entire Dungeon began to tremble. It wasn't an earthquake, but a suffocating pressure spreading outward, weighing down the air and the mist.
It was a massive, invisible force crushing the atmosphere of the chamber.
The strangest part was that I wasn't affected. I could feel the pressure in the air, but it avoided me, as if deliberately steering clear.
This was so absurd that even I could barely believe it.
'What the hell is this? Did I just end up in a Xianxia world and no one told me?'
But that was exactly what was happening.
I looked back and saw Lili. She was frozen too, eyes wide, clutching her wound, watching the scene unfold. The pressure ignored her as well.
Seeing that snapped me back to reality. This was not the time to question anything.
Opportunity.
While the monsters were absorbed in whatever was happening, I crouched silently, taking care not to let the armor's metal scrape against itself.
— Lili, now. We have to get out of here... — I whispered, barely audible, before scooping her into my arms.
— Luki-sama, what... what's happening? — she asked, fear making her voice just as low.
— I don't know. But I don't want to be here when they snap out of it.
I fastened my sword at my waist, carrying her like a bride, and began to move stealthily along the edge of the petrified crowd.
My heart hammered in my throat, one wrong step, one creak of metal, and it'd all be over.
Slowly, yet with desperate urgency, I slipped past the mass of motionless bodies. I needed to be fast, but speed was a luxury that would make my armor echo through the chamber.
I reached the exit, a long corridor that branched left and right.
— Luki-sama, the bag! We forgot my bag, all our things are in there... — Lili whispered, her voice filled with panic over the loss.
— Screw the bag! You're more important than anything inside it.
Lili tightened her arms around my neck, her face burning. Her cheek pressed against the curve of my neck, suddenly scorching my skin. She squeezed her eyes shut, visibly embarrassed.
'This is NOT the time to act like some lovestruck anime girl, Lili!!!' I screamed internally.
— B-but, there are so many potions... all our extra supplies
— Just shut up...
I sped up, turning sharply right and plunging into the corridor's darkness.
The silence lasted only a few seconds.
— KSSHHH! GRRRR-HAAK!
The sounds came from behind, no longer the rhythmic hissing of communication, but feral roars, like enraged crocodiles. The sound of awakening left no room for doubt.
— Shit! They woke up! — I snarled, and bolted with everything I had.
I glanced over my shoulder, about a dozen of furious Lizardmen are running toward us.
I had gained only a fraction of a second, but they were faster. Within moments, the distance began to shrink.
The corridor ahead wasn't straight or simple.
It twisted into sharp turns and split into branching paths. I already could barely see, no time to plan, so I just ran straight ahead.
Suddenly, a long set of stairs appeared, leading both up and down.
'Up or down?' The thought flashed for only an instant, no time to think. I just went.
— Hold on, Lili! — I yelled, diving down the first descent, my armor's weight helping me accelerate.
The Lizardmen, with their digitigrade legs, could sprint down stairs effortlessly, while I practically threw myself forward to move faster.
They were nearly on top of me when the corridor leveled out again, into a horizontal stretch lined with old, rotting wooden columns, ready to collapse.
— Luki-sama! The pillars! The ceiling could fall any second! — Lili warned.
— Oh, come on, seriously?! — I growled.
No time for caution. I just ran along the side, taking minimal care not to hit a column.
The Lizardmen behind me didn't share that restraint. The first pursuer slammed straight into a column in a blind attempt to flank me.
CRACK!
The pillar gave way instantly. The monster's guttural scream was drowned out by the crash of falling stone and a cloud of dust. The ceiling collapsed on a bunch of them.
But the remaining monsters didn't stop. They just trampled over the crushed bodies of their kin, eyes blazing with unshakable fury.
I'd bought myself five more seconds of life.
I turned a sharp corner, only to find another staircase, long and steep, leading upward into darkness.
— More stairs? Seriously? Does this Dungeon not believe in ramps?! — I grumbled, but started climbing desperately.
The Lizardmen, after clearing the debris, were on our tail again, their reptilian legs carrying them fast. Each step I took, I could feel their claws almost brushing my heels.
I was nearly at the top when the stairs — rough, solid stone — suddenly changed.
The steps vanished, turning into a perfectly smooth, slick ramp. No traction at all.
— DUNGEON, SON OF A BITCH!!!
The floor disappeared beneath me. My heavy body and armor betrayed me, I lost my footing instantly.
Lili and I screamed together as we slid toward our deaths.
The monsters, too focused on the chase, were caught off guard by the sudden shift. With my weight and momentum, I turned into a bowling ball of death.
BAM! CRASH!
I slammed into the first Lizardman, then the second, the third... The sound of scales hitting metal and bones cracking echoed down the ramp.
STRIKE!!!
I and the dozen Lizardmen crashed together back onto the lower platform we'd come from.
It took me a moment, dizzy and disoriented, to regain control of Lili and my body. But instinct kicked in fast.
Barely catching my breath and balance, I started running again, leaving the stunned, battered monsters behind.