5.44 – Capture Core

While Natalie nudged Malice's shoulder to get her to wake, Liz ran around and collected the wolfgirl's discarded armor, which Natalie had peeled off with some gusto; the separate pieces were scattered around in a decent radius.

Slowly, Malice came back to consciousness. She blinked up at the five girls crowded around her. Her eyes naturally settled on Natalie. Their gazes met for a moment, then Malice sighed.

"I really lost. To a human. How embarrassing." She grunted, rising into a sitting position. "I suppose it's not the worst fate. At least you're strong."

"Good morning to you too," Natalie said, amused. The Hellhound didn't sound especially perturbed at her defeat—though definitely somewhat. Natalie understood. She was competitive herself. She hated losing.

Natalie held a hand out, and Malice clasped it and stood.

Malice's nakedness didn't apparently bother her. She scrutinized Natalie's teammates with her earlier confidence, arms crossed and shoulders square, pushing her breasts out. The haziness in her eyes created by Natalie's thorough fucking had mostly faded. Her legs wobbled a bit as she found her footing, though.

"Hmph," Malice said, her attention settling on Liz. "Why are you holding my armor?"

Liz twitched in surprise. Blushing, she held the bundle of metal out. "Thought you'd want to put it back on. Sorry."

Orange eyes flicked up and down the blushing Liz, before Malice held a hand out. Liz passed the gear over. Malice slipped into it.

"So," Malice said, turning to Natalie. "You plan to claim me, then?"

"You know about that?" Malice had spoken vaguely about what defeat meant, but Natalie hadn't gotten the impression she knew about the Capture Core itself.

"Of course. It was the terms of the duel." She sniffed. "Or, rather, I know that it's your choice. That you could discard me. But you won't do that. Obviously, I'm more than a suitable addition." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Natalie's team. "Especially in relation to the rest of your group. Perhaps you defeated me, but not all of you could have. I won't be the weakest fighter, here." Her eyes fell on Liz, again, who, hilariously, made a squeaking noise as those intense orange eyes bore into her. Malice snorted, probably assuming the timidity proved her point. In reality, Liz might be the most skilled of all of them. Healers just didn't have the flashiest role.

Natalie ignored the Hellhound's arrogance. She'd already seen plenty of it during the fight, so she wasn't surprised. Plus Natalie was pretty sure it was mostly posturing. Setting up her hierarchy in the group. Like an actual wolf might.

"I'm glad we don't have to explain it all, then," Natalie said. "But do you want that to happen? To be claimed?"

Malice turned an incredulous look at her. "Didn't you just force me to submit? Must I do so twice, for you?"

Natalie blushed. "That was during the fight, though. As part of a duel. Obviously, I'm not forcing you to do anything you don't want to."

The incredulous look stayed on her. Natalie shifted uncomfortably. Clearly, this woman didn't have the same sensibilities as Natalie herself. The idea of her own thoughts on the matter being relevant seemed ridiculous to her. She was a dungeon monster; Natalie shouldn't assume the creature thought like a human. Malice was literally throwing the word 'human' around like an insult.

If the tables had been turned, and Natalie had been defeated, she wondered how considerate Malice would have been in return. She didn't particularly want to consider it. Regardless, how Malice would act in this situation didn't change how Natalie would.

"And do you know what happens if we don't?" Natalie added.

Malice's expression morphed into something she couldn't fully decipher. She looked away.

"I prefer this form," Malice said, a bit quietly. "The others forced onto me are …" she grimaced. "Not as pleasant. I dislike being a dullard. My mind crushed in on itself. Forcibly guided by …" her lip curled up, and she didn't finish the statement. Instead, she faced back to Natalie and glared. She even took a step forward and poked aggressively at her chest. Apparently, her defeat hadn't made her any more subservient. "Why wouldn't you accept my service? I'll remind you that you barely won, human. I'll make an excellent warrior to call on."

Barely won? That was only true in the combat section. Natalie had definitely outclassed her in the other phase. To be fair, being able to summon an illusion of herself was kind of cheating.

Natalie glanced at her team. They hadn't actually confirmed that they would risk the ire of the dungeon by using the capture core, but seeing how Malice clearly did want to be 'claimed,' they didn't have much choice. They couldn't refuse, and thus, by the sounds of it, have Malice reclaimed by the dungeon to be—what, reshaped? That was how she made it sound. Like the dungeon used her soul or something, changing her form and mind to suit whatever purpose was needed inside the dungeon's ever-changing landscape.

And all of that deserved a long conversation with the wolfgirl, too. Who knew what they could learn about the dungeon's nature, speaking to one of its actual inhabitants?

Or would she be wary of delving into those topics? Or even supernaturally restricted, somehow?

She would find out later.

Natalie's attention went primarily to Sofia, who had been the most vocal about the dangers of using the capture core. But her teammate nodded after only a moment.

"You're sure?" Natalie asked Malice.

Malice crossed her arms. "It was the terms of the duel."

While not a direct answer, the response had a clear interpretation. Natalie nodded, then turned and walked over to the pedestal holding the capture core. She grabbed the item, pulling it from the pedestal's clawed grasp. It was smooth and cold to the touch, like all monster cores, but a fair bit larger: it sat heavily in her palm.

Returning to Malice, Natalie asked. "I'm not sure what this'll do, and there might be problems, afterward, so we'll have to act fast."

"Problems?"

"The item description says the dungeon will be upset if we use it. If we capture you."

Malice seemed smug at that announcement. "I'm not surprised. I am one of her most valuable warriors." She waved her hand. "But, her moods are ephemeral. They pass quickly."

Natalie—and the rest of her team—stared at the wolfgirl.

"What?" Malice asked.

"You know the dungeon? What do you mean 'she'? The dungeon is a she?"

"She, he, it, the dungeon." Malice waved her hand as if it was a stupid question. "Yes. The Keeper of the Crypt. Whatever you wish to call her."

"The Keeper of the Crypt?" Liz repeated incredulously.

All at once, the ground beneath their feet heaved, the entire chamber bucking violently. It was so sudden that Natalie barely kept her footing. Liz and Ana actually fell, tumbling to the floor before scrambling back up.

Malice warily eyed their surroundings, no longer seeming as dismissive. "Perhaps I shouldn't be so loose with my lips. Such topics aren't meant for humans."

Natalie's mouth opened and closed. The casual words had staggering implications, ones she couldn't even begin to untangle.

This day was really turning out to be something else.

"Are you going to claim me or not?" Malice asked. "Don't you need to save those other humans I captured?"

Again, Natalie jolted in surprise. She'd halfway forgotten about that. The four keys, each labeled with the names of Leah's teammates.

"They're alive?" Natalie asked.

"Imprisoned in the loot room, yes."

"Loot room? Where's that?"

"Behind the throne. A trapdoor."

"Oh." Natalie considered that new information. "Well, since we don't know what's going to happen when we capture you, we should wait until we're ready to leave to do it."

Malice frowned. "I believe you need to make your decision now. If you don't, the dungeon might simply reclaim me."

"It works like that?"

Malice shrugged.

Which was fair enough. Still, claiming Malice right away wasn't ideal. They needed time to loot and save the prisoners.

But they didn't have much choice. Natalie wouldn't play games when it came to accidentally surrendering Malice's soul back to the dungeon.

Natalie looked at her teammates. "Capture her, then sprint in, free everyone, and grab the loot?"

"Be ready for whatever happens," Sofia grunted in agreement. "'Ephemeral moods' or not, I don't think an unhappy dungeon is going to be pleasant."

Malice grinned, a toothy smile baring her canines—which were inhumanly long and sharp. "It'll be an opportunity to prove my worth." She cracked her knuckles, then her neck. "Perhaps you are afraid of such a challenge, human, but I am not."

At the theatrics, Natalie rolled her eyes.

Holding the orb up, she pressed it into Malice's chest, an action that felt intuitive.

"Here we go, then," she muttered. "One wolf-girl teammate, coming up."