34 The Hidarus Challenge Part 7 : Taint Of Hidarus (2/2)
As Hidara kissed Jordan, the room they were in began to shake, as if they were in the middle of an earthquake. As things began to fall and the ground began to shake, Jordan began to slowly lose consciousness. Hidara took her face away from Jordan as she licked her lips with satisfaction.
”I hope you enjoy the power! Don't go too crazy, darling!”, Hidara said happily.
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[Moments later]
”You think he'll be ok, Vargoz?”, Orai said.
”Yeah. Time in that space goes slower than out here so he should be up any secon-”
Suddenly, Jordan began to produce a large and deafening demonic roar, as his body began to emit a dark purple glow. Slowly, Jordan's armor was replaced by an armor set of black, red, and gold. His left eye was completely replaced by a red magic eye, which also began to glow. As if connected by some invisible force, Vargoz's eye also turned bright red as the sword reshaped into something more sinister. As Jordan's wounds began to exhibit rapid regeneration, he stood up from the floor and grabbed Vargoz. As Briggs and Orai were watching him, he finally began to speak. However, Jordan's voice sounded like he was possessed by a demon, as a demonic voice followed behind his every word.
”I can give you the power that you desire but you must be prepared to accept the risks of such power, especially for a summoner. Let the anger take over and you won't have to suffer”, Tainted Jordan said strangely.
”Hey, lads! What's going on over there? The mobs are acting strange!”, Briggs said worriedly.
”I don't...I don't know what's happening! Vargoz! Do you know what's going on?”, Orai asked.
”Stand...back”, Vargoz said faintly.
As Orai teleported over to Briggs, Tainted Jordan walked over to the Dark Knight. Around the same time that Tainted Jordan woke up, the Dark Knight was able to throw Obsidian off of his body. With the Dungeon Master in his sights, the Dark Knight began sprinting towards Tainted Jordan at superhuman speed.
”Why are these fools still breathing my air? Mass Sacrifice, 2nd Generation!”, Tainted Jordan shouted.
Instantaneously, all of the B+ units in the Dungeon were incapacitated by Hidara's thorny branches, as they were offered to her and Vargoz as a tribute. As multiple magic circles appeared under every hostile, the A rank Minotaur began sprinting towards the Dungeon Master as Tainted Jordan turned to face him.
”The best thing about being a summoner is being able to do this”, Tainted Jordan stated.
As Jordan opened his palm to the Minotaur, he began to slowly grab the air as his green summoning circles began to gradually turn red.
”Hidarus is an old fool who doesn't know the true power of a summoner! That's why it's time to change the rules in our favor”, Tainted Jordan said.
As Jordan increased his magic, the Minotaur began to slow down before dropping his weapon and grabbing his head in pain. Hidara was filling his mind with unknown horrors to break his Mental Fortitude.
”Your Mental Fortitude is high but I'm afraid it's not enough! Submit yourself to [Takeover] or die like the rest of your friends!”, Tainted Jordan shouted.
The roaring, crying Minotaur began to stumble around the Dungeon before falling onto the ground and taking a fetal position. For such a powerful foe to take a disgraceful form was not only surprising to Orai and Briggs but also terrifying to watch. It was clear that Jordan was not in control of himself.
Activating his altered summoning circles, Jordan placed his hand on the Minotaur's forehead as it began to shine a bright green. Once the Minotaur's eyes turned blue, Jordan took his hand off the Minotaur and watched it stand up. As the Minotaur picked up his weapon and looked at Jordan, he took a knee in front of him as Vargoz began to glow with numerous hidden runes. In an even more demonic voice, Jordan gave the Minotaur commands.
”You will kill that Dark Knight and every single sacrifice in this Dungeon with your own hands. You will then standby for additional orders. Do you understand?”, Tainted Jordan stated.
As the Minotaur nodded his head, he let out a large exhale as he walked over to the Dark Knight, who was beginning to get loose from the sacrificial circle.
”Whew! I haven't had that much fun in a long time! I wonder what we should do next, Jordan!”, Tainted Jordan stated.
”...Jordan? Is that really you?”, Orai asked.
”Yes...and no. I mean, I'm Jordan but not Jordan at the same time, you know? What matters most is that we cleared out the Dungeon, right? I'll give darling his body back since I gave him a taste of what I'm made of. I need to harvest those sacrifices anyway if I'm going to be powerful enough to take on those behemoths. It's a pretty good time to take Jordan out of [War Mode] so we shall meet again, Dungeon Core Orai! Jordan is my Champion Of War! Remember that Jordan belongs to Hidara and Hidara only!”, Tainted Jordan said.
As Jordan began to slowly lose consciousness, Orai ran over to him so she could catch him. After telling the mobs to assist the Minotaur, Orai took Jordan back to D1 and placed him on the bed. As Orai checked his body for wounds, she felt his light but incredibly strong armor as she took off his chest plate and lifted his shirt. Surprisingly, Hidara was telling the truth, as the giant Dark Ice infused wound was nowhere to be found. Mind you, Dark Ice is a material that is not removed lightly so only high-ranking mages and healers can even hope to remove such material from the body. As Orai moved her hand over Jordan's chest, she stared at his face with one of desire.
”I almost lost you, Jordan. We were on the brink of losing this challenge as well as our lives. If one of us dies, we both die together. That's what it means to be a Dungeon Master. Even if that wasn't how it worked, I'm not sure I could live without you. I'm not sure what to do with these repressed emotions either but I have a temporary solution”, Orai stated.
As Orai's face turned beet red and her heart began to pound intensely, she slowly moved her face towards Jordan. Unsure what to do with her previously repressed emotions, Orai began to shake nervously, as she touched her lips and pondered if this was the right decision. However, as you would expect, her judgment was clouded by emotions that a Dungeon Core shouldn't have. Seconds before Orai got the chance to give Jordan a kiss, he sprang up as if he woke up from a nightmare. Since Orai's head was close to his, they both collided.
”Ow! What the hell? Who's hitting me on the forehead...huh? Orai, why are you on the floor? And why are you dazed?”, Jordan asked.
”My guess is as good as yours, Dungeon Master Jordan. How did the meeting with Hidara go?”, Vargoz asked.
”I see why you made her our last resort but the power that she gives is unreal. I was only half-conscious when she took over but she demonstrated her power. Her looks are definitely deceiving and her true personality is hidden. Despite that, she fulfilled her promise, right?”, Jordan said.
She may have fulfilled her promise but at what cost? That's what Jordan thought as he placed Orai on the bed and planned to meet back up with Briggs.
The Dungeon's System was still on emergency autopilot but Jordan decided to leave it on. However, as Jordan looked at his reflection on the monitor, he noticed that his left eye was completely red and featured a rather complex red magic circle in place of a pupil. He could still see out of the eye but it felt...different to him. He remembered that Hidara claimed his left eye but he didn't know what the consequences of her doing that were. Despite that, Hidara offered more substantial passive buffs than Vargoz, making Jordan even stronger than he was before.
As Jordan grabbed his chest plate to re-equip it, he noticed that the back of the chest plate had a similar pattern to Hidara's room and featured a message that was surrounded by hearts and thorny branches:
”For My Champion Of War And The One That I'm Searching For”.
While Jordan equipped the chest plate, he thought about Hidara. Her scent, beauty, and charming voice were hard to forget. However, as Jordan slapped his face, he also knew that Hidara could have been Honey trapping him to get what she wanted most: his mind. Jordan was a rising star at a prominent institution. His mind was essentially a gold mine for a person like Hidara.
However, Jordan was willing to accept any risk if it meant the Dungeon would survive. To prevent the use of [War Mode], Jordan knew that he had to become powerful enough so he didn't have to rely on it. But the Hidarus Challenge was an exception, as Jordan felt that it was finally time to end this.
Hopefully, with Jordan in full control of the Taint.