The moment Belle and Kai stepped inside the dungeon, a suffocating wave of miasma washed over them, thick and cloying like an unseen force pressing down on their shoulders. The stifling darkness of the cavern was broken only by the faint glow of eerie red eyes reflecting from the jagged stone walls. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth, decay, and something more ominous—something unnatural.
Then, the ground trembled.
A monstrous horde stood before them, their grotesque forms shifting in the dim light. Twisted beasts of all shapes and sizes—fanged wolves with matted fur, reptilian creatures with razor-sharp claws, grotesque humanoids with deformed limbs—all of them crowding the entrance, snarling, hissing, and ready to break free from the dungeon's confines.
Their hunger was palpable, their claws digging into the ground as they tensed, waiting to strike.
Kai clicked his tongue. "Tch. Looks like they were just about to spill out into the open."
Belle smirked, unshaken by the overwhelming number of enemies before them. "It's good that they waited for us to come in."
With a slow, deliberate motion, she raised her hand. Heat surged around her, and in an instant, a roaring inferno erupted from her fingertips. The flames swirled like a living beast, twisting and expanding in a deadly arc that engulfed the entire front line of the horde.
The wave of fire roared through the cavern, consuming everything in its path. The monstrous shrieks of agony filled the dungeon as the creatures were instantly reduced to ash, their forms disintegrating before they could even take a step forward.
The entire wave of monsters was annihilated in an instant.
Only a few remained—those too large to be completely incinerated.
Armored boars, their thick hide blackened and smoldering, stumbled forward, their charred tusks scraping against the stone floor. Massive ogres, their grotesque skin seared and peeling, let out guttural roars of pain, barely able to remain standing.
Kai didn't let the opportunity slip past him.
In one swift motion, he drew his katana, the blade humming with latent energy. With a flick of his wrist, flames ignited along the steel, coating it in brilliant orange fire.
His eyes sharpened, and in the next heartbeat, he dashed forward, his figure blurring with speed.
The first armored boar barely had time to react before Kai was upon it. His katana carved clean through its burned hide, slicing through flesh and bone with precision. The beast let out a strangled cry before collapsing in a heap.
Without missing a beat, Kai pivoted on his heel, bringing his blade around in a wide arc. The fire-infused strike met the nearest ogre's midsection, cutting through its already weakened flesh.
The creature howled, staggering backward before Kai delivered the finishing blow, a vertical slash splitting its chest open. The flames engulfed the wound, ensuring no regeneration would occur.
The last remaining monsters, already on their last legs, collapsed under the force of his final strike.
The first floor was cleared in mere moments.
Kai exhaled, flicking the blood and ash off his blade before sheathing it with a satisfied smirk. "Not bad for a warm-up."
Belle, already turning toward the deeper depths of the dungeon, glanced over her shoulder. "Don't get comfortable. We're not here to clear floors one by one."
Kai quirked a brow. "Oh?"
Belle's silver eyes gleamed in the dim light. "We're running straight to the twelfth floor."
Kai blinked, then let out a short laugh. "You're serious?"
"Stopping to fight every wave is pointless. The dungeon will keep regenerating monsters as fast as we cut them down. Our goal is the core. If anything escapes, I trust the Dungeon Suppression Squad and the Perimeter Defense Squad to handle it."
Kai stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders as he took a few jogging steps forward. "Fine by me. Let's get moving, then."
Without wasting another second, they bolted toward the stone staircase leading down to the next level.
The air around them thickened, the presence of the dungeon growing more oppressive the deeper they ventured. Shadows danced along the walls, shifting unnaturally as though watching their every movement.
The moment Belle and Kai set foot on the second floor, the dungeon itself seemed to react to their presence. The thick miasma pulsed around them, distorting the air like a living entity whispering in the darkness.
Then, the monsters surged forward.
The ground quaked beneath the stampede of grotesque creatures—warped beasts with glowing red eyes, their bodies twisted by the dungeon's influence.
Skeletal hounds with blackened fangs lunged from the shadows, their movements unnatural and jerky. Winged abominations circled above, their leathery wings slicing through the air, screeching hungrily.
Belle didn't hesitate. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a wall of fire that roared to life, a blazing inferno that stretched across the corridor like a burning curtain.
The shrieks of the lesser monsters filled the chamber as they were swallowed by the flames, their charred remains collapsing into ash.
Kai darted forward, his katana gleaming in the fire's glow. He moved like a shadow, cutting down anything that managed to slip past the inferno.
A lizard-like beast lunged at him, jaws snapping, but Kai twisted mid-air, bringing his blade down in a perfect arc. The creature's body split apart before it even realized it was dead.
They advanced without stopping.
Belle switched tactics as the next wave rushed in.
Raising her left hand, sparks crackled at her fingertips, arcs of electricity coiling around her arm like living serpents. She thrust her palm forward, and in an instant, a jagged bolt of lightning erupted, cutting through the swarm ahead. The sheer voltage sent the creatures convulsing violently, their smoking bodies collapsing in twitching heaps.
Kai let out a low whistle as he cleaved through another beast. "You are not holding back, huh?"
Belle didn't reply. Her gaze was already locked onto the next cluster of enemies forming in the distance.
Another surge of flames roared to life. Then, another burst of lightning.
Fire, then thunder.
A relentless cycle of destruction as they carved through the dungeon's defenses with ruthless precision.
The monsters barely had time to react. They were too fast. Too deadly.
Floor after floor, they tore through the opposition, their pace never faltering. The deeper they went, the more grotesque the creatures became. Limbs grew in unnatural places, eyes bulged and multiplied, and bodies stretched beyond their natural limits as if the dungeon itself were mutating its creations in real-time to stop them.
The experience was different from their last visit to the dungeon when they were sent by the guild to rescue Trinity Blade.
Yet, it was futile.
Belle's silver eyes burned with determination as she pressed forward. The oppressive force that would have slowed others to a crawl barely registered to her. Her fire magic flared with even greater intensity, the heat warping the air as she incinerated wave after wave of enemies.
Kai, despite the growing resistance, remained undeterred. His footwork was flawless, his strikes precise. With each floor they cleared, his movements grew sharper, his katana slicing through enemies with effortless grace.
He adjusted to the increasing difficulty with ease, never missing an opportunity to cut down anything that survived Belle's initial attacks.
They were a force of nature—unstoppable, unrelenting.
The dungeon itself seemed to recognize their power. The walls trembled, the air hummed with an unnatural energy, as if the very structure of the labyrinth was growing desperate.
Then, at last, they reached Floor Seven.
The shift in scenery was immediate and jarring.
Instead of the damp, stone-walled corridors they had been traversing, they now stood in an open wasteland.
The air was thick with dust, the ground cracked and barren. Jagged rock formations jutted out in random directions, stretching endlessly in all directions. A crimson sky loomed overhead, devoid of a sun or moon, yet still casting an eerie, unnatural glow.
Kai let out a low whistle. "Well, that's new."
Belle's brows furrowed as she observed their surroundings. "This… doesn't feel like it belongs inside a dungeon."
Kai nodded. "Make sense. Each dungeon floor exists in its own isolated dimension. Some are simple tunnels, others… well, this."
He gestured to the vast wasteland before them. "There's no telling how big this place is, but one thing's certain—we need to find the staircase before the dungeon decides to throw something nasty at us."
As if on cue, the ground rumbled beneath them.
A low, guttural growl echoed across the wasteland.
Then another. And another.
From the horizon, massive silhouettes began to take shape, emerging from the thick, swirling miasma like wraiths.
The hulking forms of minotaurs, but twisted beyond recognition. Their once-mighty frames were now bloated with corruption, black veins of miasma pulsing across their exposed muscles. Their horns had grown jagged and asymmetrical, their eyes glowing an eerie, unnatural red.
Then, they moved.
The ground cracked under their monstrous weight as they charged, their hooves pounding against the barren earth like war drums. Their massive axes gleamed with a malevolent energy, their distorted roars shaking the very air.
Belle and Kai barely had time to react before the first one reached them.
Kai leapt back just in time as a corrupted minotaur brought its axe down, the sheer force splitting the ground where he had just been standing. The impact sent a shockwave through the area, dust and debris erupting into the air.
Belle's flames erupted once more, but the moment the fire touched their bodies, the miasma surrounding them reacted violently, snuffing out the blaze before it could fully consume them.
These weren't ordinary monsters. The dungeon had adapted.
Kai clicked his tongue. "Figures."
Belle's gaze hardened. "Then we adapt, too."
Electricity crackled at her fingertips as she thrust her palm forward. A massive bolt of lightning shot toward the nearest minotaur, but just as it struck, the beast let out a deafening roar. The miasma around it surged, dispersing the lightning's force, causing it to barely flinch.
Kai exhaled sharply, gripping his katana. "Guess we're doing this the hard way."
The minotaurs charged again.
Kai met them head-on, his blade a blur as he weaved between their monstrous forms. Every strike was precise, aiming for their weak points, exploiting the smallest gaps in their armor.
But these creatures were unlike anything they had fought before. Even when wounded, they pressed forward, their corrupted bodies refusing to succumb so easily.
Belle, shifting tactics, raised both hands, channeling her magic into something more concentrated. Sparks erupted around her as she drew the energy inward, refining it into something far more potent.
Then, she unleashed it.
A piercing lance of white-hot plasma erupted from her hands, slicing through the battlefield like divine judgment.
The air itself screeched as the energy tore through the first minotaur, then the second, the intense heat bypassing their miasma defenses entirely. Their bodies convulsed, then crumbled into charred remains.
Kai wasted no time. With a final, flaming arc of his katana, he severed the head of the last remaining minotaur, the corrupted beast collapsing with a heavy thud.
Silence.
Then, Belle exhaled. "We need to move."
Kai nodded. "The dungeon's only going to get worse from here."
A cold wind howled across the vast, desolate expanse. Belle and Kai stood at the edge of the barren wasteland, the seventh floor of the dungeon stretching endlessly before them.
Belle closed her eyes, activating Aura Sense. Her awareness expanded outward, scanning the wasteland in search of the staircase to the next floor. But what she sensed instead made her breath hitch.
A deep, guttural roar shattered the silence once more, followed by another—and another.
Then, the wasteland responded.
The ground trembled as a pulse of miasma rippled outward, slithering through the land like a living force. The corrupted energy coiled and churned, pressing against them like an unseen weight, chilling the very air.
Then they appeared.
From beyond the jagged rocks, hulking figures emerged, their monstrous forms bathed in the crimson glow of their own corrupted energy.
More miasma-corrupted minotaurs.
Their glowing red eyes locked onto Belle and Kai, filled with something beyond simple rage—a predatory intelligence. They did not move mindlessly like beasts.
They watched. Calculated. Assessed.
Then, one of them let out a thunderous bellow. The roar ripped through the wasteland like an explosion, shaking the very ground beneath them. Dust and debris kicked up as the miasma surged in response.
They charged.
Belle's muscles tensed. Time seemed to slow as she analyzed the incoming threats.
Five in total.
Their movements were coordinated, their heavy footfalls shaking the earth as they bore down on them like a stampede.
Too fast!
She barely managed to sidestep as the first minotaur's axe cleaved down, missing her by mere centimeters. The impact sent a shockwave through the ground, shattering the cracked earth beneath her. Rock fragments exploded outward, forcing her to shield her face as she leaped back.
Kai was already airborne. His katana ignited in brilliant flames as he twisted midair, bringing his blade down in a perfect arc aimed at the minotaur's exposed neck.
CLANG!
The minotaur blocked it.
With unnatural speed, it raised its massive, spiked forearm, intercepting the strike. Sparks erupted as metal met hardened bone plating, the sheer force sending a vibration up Kai's arms. His momentum was shattered.
Before he could react, a massive fist shot forward—faster than he could dodge.
BAM!
Kai was sent hurtling backward. His body crashed into the ground, skidding across the dirt before he managed to flip himself upright. He hissed in pain, shaking out his stinging hands.
"Tch," he muttered, rolling his shoulders. "They're faster. Stronger."
No time for rest.
The minotaurs closed in. Their bodies pulsed with miasma, the corruption feeding their monstrous strength. They moved with terrifying efficiency, their coordinated attacks forcing Belle and Kai onto the defensive.
Belle thrust her hands forward, flames roaring to life in her palms. A torrent of fire erupted, surging across the battlefield like a fiery tidal wave, swallowing three of the minotaurs whole.
But they didn't burn.
The miasma cloaking their bodies pulsed, absorbing the fire, suppressing its effects. The flames crackled harmlessly against their skin, unable to consume them. Their eyes gleamed with something chilling.
Belle's breath hitched. "Again with that defense."
One of the minotaurs lunged.
Belle barely managed to flick her wrist, and lightning crackled in response. A jagged streak of energy shot forward, colliding with the minotaur's descending axe mid-swing. The electricity surged up the beast's arm, forcing it to recoil momentarily.
A brief opening—but only a fraction of a second.
"Kai!"
Kai dashed forward, a blur of speed, his katana burning with blue-hot intensity. This time, he didn't hold back.
A rapid flurry of slashes tore into the minotaur's exposed side, flames igniting upon impact. Deep gashes carved through thick muscle, burning away the flesh beneath.
The minotaur roared, staggering from the onslaught—but it did not fall.
The others attacked.
A second minotaur swung its massive arm like a club, aiming for Kai's exposed side. He twisted at the last second, barely avoiding a fatal blow, but the sheer force of the wind pressure sent him tumbling.
The third went for Belle, its blood-red axe cleaving downward. She raised her arms instinctively, and her flaming chains shot out, wrapping around the beast's wrist, stopping the attack just before impact.
But the minotaur yanked.
Belle gasped as she was pulled off her feet, her body slamming into the ground with bone-rattling force. Her vision blurred for a moment as pain flared through her back.
Damn it—!
The minotaur raised its foot, ready to crush her beneath its hoof.
Summoning every ounce of strength, Belle thrust her hands forward just as the beast's foot descended. A pillar of flame erupted beneath it, blasting the minotaur back just in time for her to roll away.
Her breathing was ragged. This was bad. They were outmatched.
Kai recovered, wiping blood from his lip. "We need to end this. Fast."
Belle forced herself to her feet. The remaining minotaurs loomed before them. But they didn't charge this time.
They were changing.
Their muscles swelled. The red glow in their eyes intensified. The air around them became heavier, charged with pure malice.
The dungeon was responding. It wasn't going to let them pass.
Belle clenched her fists. "The dungeon is fighting back."
Kai exhaled slowly, rolling his neck. "Guess we'll have to break through anyway."
Belle summoned her flames once more—but this time, they didn't simply burn. They twisted, coiled, and slithered like living serpents, forming into chains of fire that lashed outward, constraining two of the minotaurs.
"Kai!"
Kai closed his eyes, drawing in a slow breath. His katana pulsed, flames intensifying into something beyond fire—something white-hot, pure, lethal.
He vanished.
For a single, breathless second, the world froze.
BOOM.
The minotaurs froze in place.
Belle barely had time to register what happened before their bodies split apart, precise, burning slashes cleaving through them with impossible sharpness. A beat later, their massive forms collapsed. Flames erupted from within, consuming them entirely.
Belle exhaled, staggering slightly as her chains dissipated. She turned toward the remaining minotaurs.
"Two down."
Kai smirked, adjusting his grip. "Who's next?"
But the final minotaurs did not attack. Their glowing eyes narrowed. Their bodies pulsed with something darker.
The final round had just begun.
End of Chapter 55