<h4>Chapter 519: A Rock Solid n</h4>
The three girls proceeded to kill time for a while. It was hard for Kat to distinguish how long it actually was. Theck of sky made things feel drawn out yet the pleasant chatting between the three helped pass the time quickly… there might also have been a few patrol rat massacres that helped ease tensions
Eventually, the girls could here the sound of something approaching rapidly. They panicked for a second, before remembering that the fact they could hear the approach at all meant that it was someone with a set of earmuffs and they held out hope it was Stone.
When his tall rocky form rounded the corner, the three couldn''t help but smile which caused a confused look to appear on Stone''s face. "I get you''re happy to see me… but why? You don''t seem to be working at the moment, so I''m not super impressed"
"Don''t put on the tough guy act Stone" said Sue from the floor, "we found the big bad at the end of the tunnel and honestly, it sounds like a bit much for us. Didn''t spend long looking but we know enough to know we''d be screwed without you, and gangbang still isn''t one of my fetishes."
Stone narrowed his eyes and held a hand up in the stop position before jumping in the air. His form blurred for what was just a fraction of a second before he set himself back down. "Well damn. This is a problem and we really do need to deal with it now." Said Stone in a serious voice that set the girls slightly on edge
"Why?" asked Sue "I mean, sure we thought it best to deal with, but you look like we told you the mine profits were down three whole percent or that your wife decided not to make you lunch for the week because of a misunderstanding?"
Stone smiled for a second before grimacing again. "The issue is the Summoner type corrupted. I don''t know what will happen if she were to lose herselfpletely to the demonic energy. If nothing kills her… the rats might go out of control and rampage. Killing her should still stop everything, but now that I''ve seen that big Crystal Rat I''m not sure we can sit on this for long.
"I''ll need you all to help me. It isn''t that I couldn''t destroy everything in that room myself, it''s that I can''t destroy everything in that room without causing a cave in. With all the connected tunnels if things go real bad we could be experiencing a small earthquake and a big section of the mines would go with it because of the location.
"I need to spend most of my energy on stabilising the room and fighting the Crystal Rat and hopefully the Summoner. How will you three stack up to the rest of the room?" said Stone. His tone was still very serious and as the words were uttered the weight in the room seemed to increase.
*Shit. I didn''t even think about the structural integrity of the room. The Crystal Rat, if it''s as strong as we think it is… it could bring this whole ce down on us with no trouble. Heck I might be able to with a bit of effort so Stone will have to be very careful. At least we made the right call waiting. If Stone is scared… damn. I''m d we didn''t cause a cave in. Suffocation would get me eventually I know that.*
"Why can''t you just set the lot on fire?" asked Sue "The two firebugs here with me seemed to think it was a great idea, and the rats can keep most of the fire from spreading to the rocks."
Stone shakes his head vigorously. "NO!" shouted Stone causing Sue to flinch. "Sorry… I didn''t mean to shout just… that glowing crystal is highly reactive to demonic energy. The same stuff the giant fuckin rat is made out of. It''s a huge risk to use demonic fire at all in that room and I''ll need to forbid it."
"What about the small rats?" asked Kamiko "While Kat can deal with them, they make the shield setup with Sue a massive issue. She can''t keep it on me due to the risk of them triggering it with little bites."
Stone started drumming his fingers on his arms making a soft impact sound when they hit like tapping two rocks together. "Hmm… I can certainly kill the lot with other abilities when I first get in… but I''m not sure if I''ll be able to after that.
"Just looking at the stupid Crystal bastard makes me think I''m going to have to hold it in ce with my earth maniption. Because it''s crystal and not normal stone I''ll need my hands IN it. The fact it''s probably got at least some mind of its own is anotherplication. It''ll be fighting me so I doubt I can do much else once the fight really starts.
"Any reinforcements you''ll need to deal with. Honestly, depending on how hard it is to keep reinforcing the room and keeping the Crystal rat pinned I might not be able to spare the attention for the Summoner. I''ll obviously try taking them out in the first volley, but I don''t have a lot of hope in that. Probably get blocked by the Crystal rat or one of the ten."
*Hmm. That''s… manageable I suppose. Not being able to use demonic fire is a big reduction in firepower and I''m not really sure what else we have. If the rats are stupid… maybe I should get more than just half to try and attack me. I can take a bunch of damage from them. Not sure how I''d managed to gather more though. Five is probably enough to surround mepletely. Even if they''re a bit stupid, I doubt they''d stack ten or even eight around me. Best I can hope for is maybe six.*
"What should I be doing?" asked Sue "I''ll probably be in the back line with Kamiko just within sight but is there something better I could be doing? Can''t let them have all the fun" despite Sue''s wording though, her concern was easy to see. Nobody wanted to mention it thought.
Stone bit his lip causing a soft grinding sound to be emitted as he clearly thought the idea over. "Hmm… I really didn''t bring anything better than the coat you''re wearing for the cold. It''s got no protection against blunt force, none at all, but just because of the materials it should be sh resistant for everything except the big one in that room. I don''t think you should go further in honestly.
"Your hammer is nice, but you aren''t going to be fast enough for the medium sized opponents, and if more of the little rats manage to attack in force, either from being summoned or if they can be recalled from the other tunnels it might still be a struggle even if you''re by yourself. Perhaps you should whistle for help if you need it. That should be a good signal." Said Stone
"Isn''t there anything better?" asked Sue
"Could you put Sue on the ceiling?" asked Kat. The group turned at one, the same question on their minds, ''what?'' "Er… um… well I was just thinking with Stone''s earth maniption it might be safer to make a little alcove and put her there. Either have Stone throw her there, or I can fly her there before the fight really gets going. I don''t think anything can fly and only the Crystal Rat could possibly reach the ceiling. Plus, Sue can glide down if things get that bad."
Stone nodded and said, "Very good catch Kat. That''ll keep her much safer and prevent the need for you to worry about reinforcementsing for her. They might still be an issue for you two, but with Sue safely away I think things will be much simpler."
"Guess I''m ying the princess in the tower for this mission. Go forth my knights and y me a killer rat. I shall surely gift you with suitable rewards for your services to my personhood" said Sue in a fake royal ent.
"Hmm… should Stone throw as all?" asked Kamiko
"What?" said Kat and Sue at the same time, the confusion forcing them to put it into words.
"Now, hold on" said Kamiko with a cating gesture, "I''m just saying that maybe it''s a good way to set up. I''m sure Stone knows how to regte his strength and if we''re empowering ourselves we can take decently strong impacts with our legs. Throwing us at one of the Guard Rats could take two extra rats out of the fight at the start."
Stone smiled wide, revealing? a full set of rocky looking teeth that were slightly paler than the stone of his body. His back waspletely straight, and his hands were also twitching with anticipation. "That might just be crazy enough to work"