The damp, musty air of the Dungeon pressed heavily against Bell and Welf, as they moved cautiously through the shadowed corridors. Their footsteps echoed softly, accompanied only by the distant sounds of dripping water and the faint rustle of unseen creatures lurking just beyond sight. For hours, they had fought side by side, dispatching monsters with swift, practiced motions—word less communication forged by countless battles and a shared determination to survive.
Despite their skill, exhaustion tugged at their limbs. Bell's breath came in shallow bursts, sweat dampening his brow beneath his hood. Welf's grip tightened around his weapon, every muscle tense with anticipation and readiness. The oppressive silence was suddenly broken by hurried footsteps echoing off the stone walls.
Bell glanced to his side just in time to see a group of adventurers rush past them, their faces set with grim determination—or was it desperation? There was no acknowledgement, no glance of recognition. They moved as if driven by a singular purpose, pushing forward on a collision course with fate, oblivious to Bell and Welf's presence.
At first, it seemed the strangers were simply on their own path, but then the unmistakable sound of snarling and claws scraping stones echoed from the same tunnel they just came out.
Bell's eyes widened as monstrous shapes burst into view—feral, snarling beasts with gleaming teeth and blazing eyes. The very same monsters that had been chasing the adventurers moments before now redirected their fury toward Bell and Welf.
Welf's grip on his weapon hardened. "They just used us as bait."
The monsters charged without hesitation, claws raking the air, fangs bared in hunger. Bell and Welf responded immediately, their blades flashing in the dim light as they fought back fiercely, but the sudden onslaught forced them into a desperate retreat. Each step backwards was fraught with danger,the monstrous pack pressed relentlessly.
The air grew thick with tension, the cacophony of snarls and clashing steel filling the tunnels. The Dungeon's oppressive darkness pressed in on all sides, shadows shifting as more creatures stirred from their lairs. Bell's mind raced, calculating the best course of action, when ahead of them, a solitary figure came into view.
Liliruca, battle-worn and exhausted, stood her ground amid the chaos. Her armor bore scratches and dents from recent combat, and dark circles shadowed her eyes. She raised her lasgun, which was already an overused weapon. Her fingers tightened on the trigger, and the gun flared one last time.
A sharp hiss filled the air as the weapon began to sputter violently, sparking flying erratically from the barrel. With a frustrated growl, Liliruca tossed the weapon aside, the lasgun exploded behind the monsters.
"Damn it! How unlucky I have to be," she muttered, breath ragged.
Bell hurried to her side, panting from exertion. "Lili! We're running out of time! Come with us!"
Liliruca's tired gaze met his. Despite the exhaustion etched into her features, a half-smile flickered on her lips. "You guys are a bad luck group," she muttered, shaking her head. "Next time, if I saw you guys, I would just run away."
She gripped her chainsaw tightly, the cold steel gleaming faintly in the low light. "No more lasgun for me—only cold steel now."
Bell noticed the strain in her movements. "You okay? You look beat."
She exhaled deeply, rubbing her sore arms. "Exhausted doesn't even cover it. Been fighting non stop since yesterday."
Welf turned in a slow circle, eyes scanning the branching corridors with growing unease. The howls of monsters were growing louder from behind—the direction they had come from—and now, faint echoes began to stir from the front as well.
Bell's hands tightened on his dagger. "We… we need to go back. We can't stay here."
Liliruca shook her head. "I bet monsters are at every passage. If we go back now, we're walking into a trap."
Welf cursed under his breath, gripping the hilt of his sword tighter. "We're already trapped."
Bell's brow furrowed, his expression uncertain. "Then what do we do? We can't just stay and fight everything."
For a moment, none of them spoke. The tension thickened as distant screeches echoed closer, a clear sign that time was running out.
Before they could think about their next step, Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled violently. Cracks spiderwebbed across the floor, and before any of them could react, the stone gave way. With a collective cry, the trio plunged into the darkness below, debris and dust engulfing them as they fell.
The fall seemed endless.
Stone, dust, and debris rushed past as Bell's body tumbled through the dark. His mind spun as wildly as his limbs, disoriented by the weightless descent. He hit the ground with a hard, jarring thud, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs. For a moment, all was still—only the soft echo of shifting rubble and faint growls above remained.
He groaned, rolling onto his side. "Welf…? Lili?"
"I'm here," came Welf's strained voice, followed by a sharp exhale as he shoved debris off his chest. "Dammit, that was too close."
Bell pushed himself upright, blinking rapidly as his vision adjusted to the dim glow of the phosphorescent moss that clung to the rocks. The chamber they had landed in was wide and jagged, the floor uneven and scattered with broken stone.
"Lili?" Bell called, his voice tightening.
"I'm… alive," came the faint reply.
He spun toward the sound and rushed over. Liliruca were half-buried under a slab of stone, her breathing shallow. Bell immediately dropped to his knees and began lifting the chunk off her. Welf joined without hesitation, the two of them grunting with effort until the weight shifted enough for her to slide free.
She coughed, her body trembling with exertion. "Again... with the falling floors."
Bell helped her sit up. "Are you hurt?"
"Just… sore. Bruised. Nothing broken," she muttered, running a hand through her sweat-matted hair.
Welf offered a flask of water, which she took, gulping down the contents. "We must be on the 15th… or maybe even lower," he muttered, glancing around the cavern. "That fall wasn't short."
"Looks like we can't go back up that way." Bell said wiping grime from his forehead.
The collapse above had sealed the path with boulders and fractured rock. Faint howls could still be heard in the distance—but muffled, trapped above.
For now.
Bell pulled out a glow stone and cracked it, the soft white light casting shifting shadows across the rough walls. The cave split into several paths, each one sloping deeper into darkness. They were in the Dungeon's throat now—too far from help, too deep to retreat.
"let's rest first ," Liliruca said, struggling to her feet. " I guess I really need a little rest."
Welf nodded. "It's okay we can move after sometime to safe zone, if I remember it should be on the 18th floor, right? Maybe we can make it there."
Bell hesitated. His instincts screamed that this wasn't the right call, but logic—and desperation—overrode it. They couldn't survive another assault, not in this state. "Okay," he finally said.
"Agreed," Liliruca murmured, pulling her chainsaw free again and resting it on her shoulder.
After a rest they moved slowly, cautiously, into the deeper gloom. The atmosphere grew colder, the air heavier. Sounds became distant—whispers of movement, the occasional echo of dripping water, and the ever-present, unsettling thrum of the Dungeon itself. Their footsteps were quiet, their breathing shallow, as if even the smallest noise might bring unwanted attention.
As they pressed forward, the silence between them was not born of fear but of understanding. They were tired, battered, and far from any hope of rescue. But they were alive—and that was enough for now.
They would survive. Because they had no other choice.
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