Dungeons and Dalliances Ch. 190-199

"Hmph," the Hellhound finally said, her surprise fading to be replaced with ... amusement, almost? She stood lazily, hands going to her hips as she looked down at Natalie's party—Jordan in particular, perhaps because she had fired the arrow—with a nearly arrogant demeanor. "So. That's the sort of challenge I have in store, today?"

Talking monsters weren't unheard of, but the words still sent a little jolt through Natalie. It was simply strange, hearing monsters talk.

How sapient were these creatures, anyway? Even as a baseline, before a transformation like this? Communicating with the more intelligent dungeon creatures was all but an impossibility, as far as Natalie knew, with never more than a few sentences exchanged before it turned into a fight to the death.

But bizarrely, this time, it almost seemed like the Hellhound was waiting for a response. Actually opening a dialogue with them, rather than a few poignant threats before launching into combat.

Seeing how her orange eyes had fallen on Jordan, Natalie took an instinctive step to the side, placing herself between the Hellhound and Jordan. The arrow's description said that only a single person could engage the Carnal Boss, but it didn't say the person who fired the arrow had to be that person. Seeing how Natalie's aim was atrocious, she had left the task to Jordan. But Jordan wouldn't be the one actually ... well, engaging, whatever that meant.

"Oh?" the Hellhound asked, eyes easily settling on Natalie. "You, instead?" She snorted. "It's not like it matters. It'll be a swift defeat no matter who you send."

The continued dialogue put Natalie further off guard. "Can you ... understand us?" she asked slowly.

"Understand you? What kind of stupid question is that, human?"

Okay. Yeah. That was an actual response. Speaking monsters weren't extraordinarily rare—like the dryad—but one that replied? That would hold a conversation? It was definitely a first for Natalie. In her shock, Natalie failed to find a response.

The Hellhound snorted, then pointedly ran her eyes up and down Natalie—snagging briefly between her legs, at the cup of metal there.

"Fighting like that, though," the Hellhound said. "Hmph. A strange task to be given. But I suppose I won't mind making you my mate. You're easy on the eyes. And have a few surprises, too, it seems." A wolfish grin spread across her lips. Natalie's heart beat faster, half at the truly sapient nature of the Hellhound, and half at ... the words themselves. The implication of what was coming.

There was a truly predatory look in her eyes, too. Whatever this encounter was going to be, it was a level-two boss. It wouldn't be easy.

"So, come play, won't you?" the Hellhound finished, a hand leaving her hip to point playfully—yet menacingly at the same time—at Natalie. "I'm excited to see what you can do. Though, it certainly won't be enough to beat me."

She curled the finger forward, gesturing 'come-hither'.

And thus, the fight began.

The entire cavern rumbled. Some unexpected force seized Natalie, yanking her forward with enormous strength—sending her flying in an uncontrolled stumble toward the Hellhound, and she barely kept a grip on her hammer. The moment Natalie was within a ten-foot range of the boss, the earth split beneath their feet, and a platform fifteen feet wide started to raise in the center of the cavern.

Either of the enormous wolves to the boss's throne howled, raising onto their feet and—in a burst of speed—charged toward the rest of Natalie's team, which Natalie had been separated from.

Planned or not, Natalie's heart skipped in concern. But she had to trust her teammates could handle themselves. It shouldn't be too bad. The real boss, as Sofia had mentioned, Natalie had to deal with. The other four just had to handle the two add-ons.

Stumbling to keep her footing, Natalie quickly got her bearings. The elevated platform was well off the ground, at least ten feet tall, creating a private arena for her and the Hellhound. It afforded some privacy for whatever was coming—which was unexpected. Natalie had been ready to go at it in full view of everyone.

Having steadied herself, the Hellhound walked toward Natalie with an exaggerated sway of her hips. Excitement gleamed in her orange eyes, and Natalie wasn't sure whether it was lust or bloodlust.

Maybe both.

Stopping only a few feet away, the woman dropped suddenly into a combat stance, arms held up and feet spread. Her muscles tensed—and Natalie's did too. She gripped her hammer tight, readying herself—though she was also confused by the aggressive posturing. Wasn't this supposed to be, well, not a regular fight?

By the woman's position, Natalie was suddenly doubting that. Natalie might have misread the situation, or at least assumed a few things incorrectly.

"Just don't submit too fast," the Hellhound said. "That makes it boring."

The wolf-girl shot forward, black hair streaming behind her, orange eyes blazing maniacally.

5.36 - Ranked Competitive Sex II

So. Apparently Natalie wasn't going to fuck the boss for dominance. She had assumed that would be the case, because—well. Carnal Boss. What else would it mean?

She didn't get to contemplate the misunderstanding for long. With a second-level boss streaking toward her, fist pulled back as she readied herself to deliver a devastating punch, Natalie could only worry about one thing. The fight. Surviving it.

Heaving her hammer forward, she swung the massive block of stone in a vicious arc at the Hellhound, intending to meet the surge of movement with her own. But even the quarter-second delay born from her surprise meant she was a hair too slow. The Hellhound dipped beneath the attack, barely avoiding it, then rocketed back up, crashing her fist into Natalie's stomach. A burst of flame accompanied the blow, heat licking across her exposed skin.

Natalie grunted, staggering several steps backward with the force of the attack. But something strange happened: it wasn't painful. Nor did she feel her HP dip. While HP was an enigmatic force, she could usually feel, in a vague sense, how healthy the resource was—how healthy she was. But the attack hadn't left her even slightly worse for wear. Not even in a mundane way; her stomach didn't ache. It was as if she hadn't been hit at all.

She doubted it was because the Hellhound's blow had simply been so insignificant. Something else was going on. A suspicion that was confirmed shortly. Steadying herself, a symbol blinked into existence above her opponent's head: the outline of a heart, filling up from the bottom with pink light.

As if the Hellhound's attack had increased some hidden gauge, rather than hurting Natalie.

What in the world was going on?

Where the Hellhound apparently intuited the rules of this game simply from having been transformed, Natalie was fumbling around in the dark.

Regardless of the specifics being unknown, though, the current goal was simple. Fight. And win.

The Hellhound followed her initial punch with a rapid step forward then a vicious kick. She was clearly a martial artist of some kind. Natalie hadn't fought many of those during Tenet spars, with most students wielding weapons. The only reason to not have one would be if one's class facilitated otherwise. But she had some experience, at least.

Experience or not, it was difficult dealing with a close-range style when Natalie herself was handling a supremely cumbersome hammer easily seven feet long.

In a split-second decision, Natalie released her grip on her hammer. Even with her skills making the weapon more effective, her current circumstances prevented her from using it well. Natalie caught the Hellhound's leg, then, grunting, swung, tossing her off balance. The Hellhound clearly hadn't expected the maneuver. She went tumbling sideways, landing back-first on the ground with a hard 'oomph'.

Re-grabbing her hammer, Natalie quickly slammed it down, the giant block of stone hurtling for the Hellhound like a meteor. But while Natalie had been fast, she hadn't been fast enough: the Hellhound recovered, rolling to the side, and Natalie's hammer crashed impotently down where she'd been a second earlier, splintering stone.

The two of them locked eyes for a moment, Natalie's hammer embedded into the floor, and the Hellhound lying on her back, looking up at her. She grinned, orange eyes wild.

Natalie hefted her hammer, reorienting herself and getting her brain fully into gear for the upcoming fight. The Hellhound leaped back to her feet in a coordinated, effortless manner. The heart symbol above her head was still one-fifth full of pink light. But now, another symbol had appeared to join it: a shield, which had only a trickle of silver light, perhaps one-twentieth filled.

"What are those?" Natalie asked warily, keeping her distance. The Hellhound had, thankfully, not immediately rushed her after recovering. Natalie got the feeling she had just been testing her out—getting a feel for her. By the grin, the Hellhound liked what she'd found. Natalie sympathized; she also lusted for a good fight. They were kindred souls in that regard.

"What are what?" the Hellhound asked.

"The symbols. Above your head."

The Hellhound paused, then tilted her head. Her wolf ear twitched, as if agitated, interested, or—whatever twitching wolf ears meant.

"These are your abilities, human. How do you not know them?"

"They're not mine. It was an arrow. An item dropped by the dungeon."

The Hellhound snorted. "It's still the fault of your patron. Her influence, your class, it's all the same."

"My patron?" The Hellhound knew about that? Was it confirmation, then, about that theory? Or just the dungeon again feeding information that may or may not be false through one of its monsters?

"Yes, your patron," the Hellhound scoffed impatiently, bushy wolf tail swishing in annoyance. "You reek of her. Her aspect all but drips from you."

"What are you talking about?"

The Hellhound settled back into a combat stance, posturing to rush forward again.

"Wait! What do the symbols mean, at least?"

For a moment, Natalie didn't think she would answer. Why would she? The tactically correct move would be to leave Natalie in the dark. Why help her by giving her knowledge on how the fight worked? But that wasn't the mindset the Hellhound had, apparently, because after a second, the Hellhound sighed irritably and replied.

"It's how close you've gotten to a guard break. And how close your guard is to being broken."

"Huh?"

"Are you serious, human?"

"Apparently, you got an instruction manual! I didn't." Natalie appreciated the woman was even humoring her questions. She didn't expect that would last long. The wolfgirl seemed antsy to get back to the action.

The Hellhound huffed. "When I break your guard," she said, impatience growing by the second, "I'll have an opportunity to make you submit. The fight ends when one of us chooses to lose. To become the other's mate. Willingly."

"... Really?"

So, there was the explanation for the 'Carnal' part of a 'Carnal Boss'. The heart symbol represented Natalie's nearness to guard-break. The shield, how far through her opponent's guard she had worked. The heart was notably more filled up because Natalie had taken a more severe hit; she'd only caught the Hellhound's leg and tossed her, so the shield was far less full.

Natalie digested that. The whole, 'create an opportunity to make her submit'.

"You're ... okay with all of that?" Natalie asked.

The Hellhound tilted her head. "Okay with it?"

"You know," Natalie said. "This type of fight? Both parts of it?" Seeing exactly how sapient this woman was, Natalie kind of had to ask the question, to settle her own concerns. For obvious reasons, transforming a boss and then fighting to dominate her—both physically and then sexually, apparently—was a bit of a disorienting situation to be in.

The Hellhound stared at her. "What?"

Natalie shifted in place."I just wanted to make sure."

"Are you asking if I want to be mated by you?"

"Uh," Natalie said, her face heating up. "Maybe not exactly that." She hadn't ever expected to find herself awkward about a boss fight, but here it was happening. "Not me, specifically. But all of this, in a general sense."

For a long moment, the Hellhound looked at Natalie incredulously. Then, abruptly, she laughed. "It doesn't matter if I am or not. It's the nature of the encounter given to me. My assignment." A grin slowly split her face, showcasing sharp canines. "But, if you have to know, I'm not displeased. It's a more interesting task than what I'm usually given. I've already told you—I'm looking forward to making you submit." The grin grew. "And you are in return, I can tell. It's in your eyes. The lust. You really are one of hers, aren't you?"

Well. That was a relief. The Hellhound really did seem to be fine with all of this, strange as it was. And she had a point: Natalie was also excited. About the whole, forcing her opponent to submit part, maybe not as much. That was kind of weird.

But fucking? Natalie was rarely against that, when it involved beautiful women.

"Now, enough talking," the Hellhound growled, her amusement disappearing in an instant. Her tail swished as she crouched, muscles growing tense, bracing herself to rush forward. "It's time for action, human."

5.37 - ❤ Ranked Competitive Sex III

The fight started again, and this time, Natalie was ready.

The Hellhound shot forward, but Natalie responded instantly. She hefted her hammer upward, then brought it down in a crushing arc. The Hellhound dodged to the side, but Natalie anticipated the movement. She curved her weapon's momentum to the side, pivoting from her waist, predicting the direction the wolf-girl would dodge—and her prediction held true. The block of stone caught the woman right in the shoulder.

The Hellhound grunted as she was flung to the side. Natalie might have difficulty landing blows considering her cumbersome weapon, but when she did, they held power. Far more than the Hellhound's, even. The wolfgirl nearly flew through the air, in a trajectory that would have taken her careening off the relatively small elevated arena. But something odd happened—she slammed into the empty air, a ripple of pink light coursing around the impact area. Like she'd hit a force field of some kind. Enclosing them in, preventing Natalie, or her opponent, from leaving.

As the arrow had said, this was a one-on-one. An enforced one. There was no way off the platform until one of them won.

The Hellhound rolled across the ground and quickly regained her footing, dodging Natalie's follow-up swing. She retreated back, her orange eyes flashing with excitement. She grinned at Natalie, then charged her again.

Natalie swung her weapon to meet her. This time, Natalie failed to make contact. The Hellhound ducked beneath the attack, then swept out Natalie's legs with her own, sending Natalie tumbling to the ground. She grunted, rolling to avoid the Hellhound's stomp, and recovered by leaping back up to her feet and re-grabbing her hammer.

Natalie didn't have time to raise her weapon in defense before a flurry of punches slammed into her—the blows coming faster than she could track. Little bursts of orange flame accompanied each punch, licking across her bare skin. Natalie grunted with each hit as she tried to escape from the onslaught. It was strange, the experience of being punched in this type of duel—not painful, the magic governing the combat muting all real damage, but she felt the power behind the attacks nonetheless. The blows kept coming, relentless, forcing her further back with each strike. The barrage culminated with a final hit that sent Natalie staggering, almost losing grip on her hammer. She kept her footing, but only barely.

"Still standing?" the Hellhound asked, panting as she retreated—the barrage having clearly been a skill that had winded her. "You really are strong. Not nearly as strong as me, but you won't be embarrassing to make into my mate, I suppose."

Natalie's eyes flicked up to the two symbols floating above the wolfgirl's head. The heart was two-thirds full of pink light, and the shield nearly halfway.

That meant she was losing. Not by much, but still losing. Her slip-up from earlier, her surprise and slow reactions to begin the fight, had cost her. She needed to perform at her best if she wanted to win.

What did a loss even entail? Seeing how fast the heart was filling up, she doubted it was outright defeat, then and there. Maybe this encounter was broken up into rounds? Or phases?

A roundhouse kick was rocketing toward her before Natalie could finish processing the thoughts. Natalie brought her hammer's shaft up in time to block it. The force of the blow still sent her staggering away. The Hellhound followed up with an elbow strike, which Natalie negated with [Hunker Down]. She quickly canceled the skill, and the opening created gave her the opportunity to deliver her own harsh kick forward, which hit the woman's stomach and sent her stumbling back. She didn't lose her footing, though, and immediately rushed forward to meet her again. They exchanged a series of blows, and when they separated, Natalie's eyes flicked up to the symbols. The heart barely had a sliver of pink left. The shield, a full twenty-five percent left.

It seemed Natalie would be finding out what a 'guard break' meant, and not in her favor. The margins of this fight were too close against the level two boss.

Even trying to misdirect the Hellhound with a few clever illusions couldn't help Natalie close the gap. Her earlier missteps had been too crucial. The next exchange resulted in a vicious jab from the Hellhound that hit Natalie square in the stomach—and sent her tumbling across the stone floor, into the arena's wall, the blow stronger than it should have been.

The heart filled up with pink light, then pulsed once in a bright flash.

Natalie felt the fight go out of her.

She collapsed onto the ground, her muscles going suddenly limp. Her hammer clattered uselessly to her side. She stared at it in shock. Despite trying to urge her limbs to move again, for her to scramble for her hammer and resume the fight, she couldn't.

So. That was what a guard-break did. Rendered her unable to continue. And apparently, using some intuition, vulnerable to her opponent's whims.

The Hellhound took a few slow steps forward, looking down at Natalie as she advanced, face smug with her victory in round one.

"You're surprisingly fast, for swinging that huge thing around. And those illusions are irritating. A coward's tool, in my opinion, but I won't hold that against you. We get what we get." The grin widened into something predatory. "But now, for the next few minutes, you're mine. I wonder what I'll do with you?"

Again, Natalie tried to stand, but her body refused to cooperate. She felt herself flush in embarrassment—and other feelings she couldn't quite identify, being slumped on the ground, unable to resist even if she wanted to.

This was what she'd explicitly signed up for, using the arrow. And indeed, she'd been the one to initiate the encounter. But still. Her heart started to race at the total helplessness inflicted onto her by the guard-break status.

The Hellhound stopped in front of her, then knelt down, cupping her chin and forcing her to meet her blazing orange eyes. At the excitement so obvious there, Natalie's heart really started to slam.