Chapter 790 - Sector 3B Floor 87 (Patreon)

"For the last time, we are not calling ourselves the Bandage Brigade!" Skyler protested.

"But why not!?" Vash gasped, "We either kill things easily and without any problems, or someone gets seriously beat up."

"When did that happen?" Roan turned to the harpy.

"Well. There is Nimbus. I don't have to explain that. Hera almost died when we fought the wendigo. There was also the whole thing when we first fought the moose and all the times someone got hit in a bad way during the dungeon runs," Vash explained.

"We would only get hit every once in a while," Flint protested.

"Yeah, but we never got lightly gazed, you know. It was always a hitless run, or someone would be beaten up," Vash continued.

"I mean. He does have a point," Hera nodded.

"Please don't agree with him," Neria sighed.

"What? I'm just saying he has a point. I also don't like the name. Even if it is a bit fun to say," the Empress shrugged.

They were currently walking towards their station. The cave in sector 3B is on the 87th floor of the spire. Then again, calling it a floor was a bit of a stretch.  There were so many tunnels and odd caves that almost every passage spanned multiple floors, according to what people had set up there.

Everywhere they looked, they would see another group of people moving around. It wasn't like they were staring at a massive crowd, but there were enough people to remind them of what was currently going on. Not that they really needed that kind of thing. No one could forget that a rampage was going on. Even the most callous of them all could feel the tangible tension in the air. Rampages were situations that anyone who lived in the MAZE already knew about. They knew how to deal with it and knew the many protocols that existed around them. However, it was also one of the most dangerous things anyone could participate in. The issue wasn't just the countless hordes of monsters that would continuously attack. Almost like being driven mad by something. Or the variety of creatures that worked together, or at least side by side, when that wouldn't be the case in the wild. No, the biggest danger of a rampage was the time it took.

Spending 2-3 hours in a fight nonstop was already a problem. Having that number go up to 8 was almost maddening. The number of mistakes people would make increased exponentially the more time it passed. In a perfect world, each shift would last for 6 hours at the most. But even in normal circumstances, that was a bit of a stretch. Having enough people to get that many shifts was always hard. Especially when people had to worry about the quest that would come on the last day.

Walking along the obsidian corridor, illuminated by a pale blue light that bounced off the smooth stone surrounding them, the group was getting close to their assigned location. The sounds of battle already echoed in the halls together with small flickers of mana. Those were mostly imperceptive to everyone, but one particular Ophidianite not only had stronger senses related to mana but also a title that made her more attuned to that kind of change. Whoever was fighting nearby wasn't pulling any punches.

"Fine, what is your suggestion then?" Vash asked the group.

"How about Whispering Winds? Kind of like a mix between my spell and Vash's," Skyler suggested.

"I think Cacophony Crew would be better if we were thinking about your music," Flint scoffed.

"HEY!" Vash and Skyler protested in a single voice.

"Let's avoid using a name that works only because of one or two people. We don't know how things will go down in the future, and maybe the team will change. If we end up with a name like that and no one uses sound or wind, it's kind of a mess. Besides, I don't like the idea of having the name of the team explaining what we do. It just feels like a trap," Neria added.

"I have two suggestions, " Roan said as something exploded somewhere. They were not in danger, but the blast was strong enough to let them feel a small rubble and the obnoxiously loud noise, boosted by the formation of the tunnel. They paused for a moment, just waiting to see if there was any other sound following that explosion, but nothing came. Roan then continued, "We could be the Zenith Guardians. Or the Unforged Fellowship"

"Both of them have a nice ring. But… I don't know," Flint crossed his arms before turning to Hera, "How about you? Do you have any ideas?"

"I could only think of one, and it's pretty bad. I'm not that good at naming things," the Empress confessed.

"Don't you have to name every single new court member?" Neria asked.

"Yeah. But I try to be practical. Their names are short, ideally in a single syllable. And the name has something to do with who they are or what they do, so it's easy to remember," Hera explained.

"Then what is the name you came up with?" Vash walked closer to Hera, his eyes full of expectation.

".... Band of Blades." the Ophidianite caved.

"Oh… That is really bad," Neria shook her head before fanning herself. The droplets from her fan were cold to touch, which helped a lot in this room. Despite the dark and well-cared-for appearance, they were still essentially inside a volcano. The heat would be one of the biggest issues they would have to deal with.

"Yeah. I'm sorry for your court. It must be rough," Skyler smirked.

"Hey! I'll have you know that every single one of them likes their names. Ok? No one ever complained."

"But would they?" Flint's question was genuine, and the way he spoke made Hera pause. She never thought about it, but it was true. If one of her court members didn't like their name, could they say anything about it? Or did the legacy make them like whatever they were called?

Before she could find an answer, they arrived at the gates. It was a large set of metal double doors embedded into the actual stone around it. There were also a few bells and whistles that would warn people on the other side when someone was arriving. It was clear that this place was already built with the rampages in mind.

Flint got closer and knocked on the door five times with the same wait between each knock. This was a signal that the command center warned them about. A way to confirm that yes, you came to help, and the people on the other side could try to leave. The worry was that if they just opened the door right away, a creature could sneak by and head inside in this particular corridor. That wouldn't be much of a problem. Another large set of metal doors would block anyone trying to reach the Core Spire. However, this was a universal signal, and some places being defended didn't have the same backup barrier as they had.

After a few moments, the door opened. A group of three beastmen and two elves came limping out. One of the beastmen was being carried by another while one of the elves leaned on the other with her arm around his neck.

"Are you ok?!" Neria gasped and rushed over, ready to heal them.

The beastman carrying her friend nodded, "We are fine. This is just exhausting. The last wave lasted for almost a full hour, and Brak here had to use a big spell to wipe them out. The problem is that the spell makes him pass out. Can you handle this? It should be clear."

"We got this. Go rest and take a shower. Actually, shower first," Roan took two steps back.

"Tell me about it. I don't know why those damn imps like to jump on you before they die," the male elf grumbled.

Neria still used a couple of healing spells, but they didn't take hold. There was nothing for her to heal, not like she was trying to do, at least. They passed through the doors and closed them behind them, being now in the large cave where they would stop any monsters.

The floor and the ceiling of this place were also made out of obsidian, but the walls and pillars weren't. Or at least they had a layer of cooled magma covering them. Several lights were spread around the area, all of them white and very bright, almost like an attempt to go against the overwhelming black color that covered the entire place.

There were a total of four entrances to this place, but one of them shouldn't be a problem. Three tunnels on the opposite end would lead outside. To where the monsters were coming from. The fourth passage was to the left, near the door. But it was, in essence, just a mine shaft. They were supposed to drop any of the corpses that were still around there. This would lead them to a large cave where people had already set up a few spells and skills to keep the freshness of the bodies. Just to stop them from rotting. After the rampage, or when it became full. Someone would go there and clear, harvesting every useful material they could find.

Only a few monsters could be tossed there since the shaft wasn't that big, and the command center asked people not to cut the creatures before sending them down. There would already be enough blood in there as it was. In fact, some of the larger monsters had to be pushed to the side, completely obliterated, which wasn't that hard to do since a lot of monsters here were made out of fire or lava or flung out of the spire entirely.

Hera instantly called her entire court out, except for Nimbus, since he was still recovering. The Sentinel couldn't come back for another 6 days. Either way, the Empress sent her blades to the tunnels, trying to see which ones were clear.

"The one on the left, Flint. There is nothing getting close, even from the outside," Hera said.

"Got it. I'll start there," the dwarf rushed over and started making some traps. Nothing major, just some spikes and small explosives. Together with some concussion mines and snares, they were able to stop some of the stronger creatures. Or at least, that was the hope.

Vash and Skyler were playing their instruments on a low note, using the sound waves to map the area and scout ahead. Roan simply sat down in the center of the room and placed both his hand axes to his side. He closed his eyes in almost a meditative state and just stayed there.

Neria paced from side to side, feeling a bit useless. Her buffs and shields were great for quick battles. But for something more prolonged, she would have to conserve her mana.

"Something is coming from the right!" Skyler called.

Roan pulled his weapons and jumped into a fighting position. But Hera had something else in mind. Some of her court was still around her, and she sent her blades to the tunnel. After that, she overlapped two spells. The Spore field forced anyone in there to sneeze, and the slow net made people move slower. In addition, she rushed over and activated a skill she had yet to test. One that was with her for a while already. Opening her mouth, a pair of orange-green droplets flew from her exposed fangs. Those drops reached the ground where she placed the spells and exploded into a mist of orange and green poison. In less than a minute, her court saw a group of Gloom Bats, Ash Gremlins, and Magma Crawlers, scorpion-like monsters with their bodies covered in magma. All of them saw the spells pushed through, only to be found by the [Toxic Mist], which, thanks to the [Ailment Mastery] skill, killed them all in seconds.

Hera smiled, seeing what had happened, and Neria walked over to make sure she was okay. After a moment of silence, the Healer said, "You know, I was more scared before this all started. Maybe this won't be-"

The Empress quickly covered Neria's mouth, "Don't say those words. Not here. Not right now. We can't handle a flag."

"What's a flag?" Neria asked,

But the answer came in a roar together, with Skyler and Vash gasping, "We have a lot in coming. Can't even tell how many."

"That! That's a flag. Why did you have to start by saying this would be easy?" Hera gasped and called her court to surround her team. They would have to be the defensive barrier for a moment, and she could only hope that this wave wouldn't be that long.