The first step downward felt like stepping through a threshold between worlds.
Rage, Vaelith and the ten maids down the stairs. The air grew heavier with each step. Then, without warning, the path became flat.
A gate stood ahead. Its iron bars groaned as they unlocked and slid apart.
Beyond the gate, the sight made no sense.
Sunlight spread over wide fields. Warm light touched the grass. Clouds drifted slowly across the sky. It looked like open air that went on forever.
"Sure. Totally normal."
The moment he stepped forward, the first howl pierced the air.
Then another. And another.
Shadows moved at the edge of the field. Dark shapes slipped through the tall grass. Eyes glowed from the trees. First a few, then many. It was a pack, not a group of wolves, but a large force moving together.
Rage flexed his fingers over his weapons and watched the shapes draw closer.
"Man... if I had Balmung, this would be over in seconds," he muttered.
He had lost Balmung. He dropped it in the fight with Genma, buried somewhere in those ruins.
That blade could change shape in a moment. It could grow longer for reach or shorten for speed. It could shift in the middle of a fight.
Rage looked at the curved sword and dagger at his belt. They were good weapons, strong and balanced, but they were not Balmung.
The thought faded as another wolf came.
He tightened his grip.
"Guess we do this the old way."
He glanced over his shoulder.
Vaelith had not moved an inch.
A table, a chair, and an umbrella stood in neat order. The maids were setting a clean tea set as if it were an ordinary afternoon. Vaelith sat down without concern and lifted a small cup to her lips.
The pack howled in unison. The ground trembled beneath the weight of movement.
A wolf lunged first.
Rage moved on instinct, ducked low as its teeth cut through the space where his neck had been. He twisted and struck across its side before it landed. The beast fell with a sharp cry.
Another came from the side, then three more followed.
Rage activated Null Veil.
Rage turned aside from the next attacker. His sword cut through fur and flesh in one smooth motion. Another wolf leapt at him. He met it with a dagger to the throat and twisted. Blood sprayed into the air.
Bodies fell around him as he moved through the pack. Each strike was quick and sure.
Then he saw a flash of movement. It was too fast.
Rage barely moved in time as a huge wolf lunged at him. It was almost twice the size of the others. He slid back, his boots cutting into the dirt as he steadied himself.
There was no time to think. Another wolf rushed in from the side, its jaws were wide. Rage caught its snout with his free hand and held it tight.
He pushed a deadly code into the point of contact and activated Eclipse Convergence.
The beast convulsed. It collapsed mid-motion.
Another wolf attacked. Rage moved fast. His blade cut through its side. His dagger followed, sinking deep between its ribs before he pulled it out.
More wolves came. He did not stop them.
One jumped for his throat. He caught it by the chest.
He sent a code through the point of contact and activated Eclipse Convergence.
A soundless scream. The creature buckled, eyes wide with something beyond pain before it dropped lifeless to the ground.
The rest slowed. They felt something was wrong, but their instincts pushed them on.
Rage met the next with his sword, cutting deep into its side. He twisted his dagger into another's throat. The last fell and did not move again.
He breathed hard. Blood slid from his blades as he lowered them.
They lay still around him. Yet the ground shook under his feet.
Something larger was coming.
This one was not like the others.
The pack moved aside as it stepped forward.
Muscles shifted under thick fur. Scars marked its body.
Its eyes locked on him.
The Alpha.
[SYSTEM] Dreadfang Lv.48
[SYSTEM] class : Beast
[SYSTEM] Hostile
Rage let out a breath as the Alpha stepped closer. The smaller wolves stayed back and formed a loose circle.
The beast snarled and lowered itself. Its claws dug into the dirt. Then it attacked.
Rage moved just in time. The Alpha's claws cut through the air where his ribs had been. He turned and struck upward with his sword. The blade cut its flesh but not deep. The wolf twisted in the air and landed out of reach.
Rage shifted his stance.
The Alpha charged again.
Rage ducked low and rolled under its jaws. Claws tore across his back, cutting his clothes and sending pain down his spine. He hissed and pushed off the ground to gain space, but the Alpha kept coming.
A swipe came. He dodged. A bite followed. He stepped aside. Claws cut across his arm, and blood hit the grass.
It was too fast and too fierce.
Rage thought quickly. He had to slow it down.
He moved left to fake an opening. Then he turned sharply and reached out with his free hand.
His fingers brushed the Alpha's hide. The wolf twisted at the last second and broke the contact.
It hit him with a charging attack. He skidded back across the grass.
"Alright, scratch that plan," he muttered, spitting out blood.
The Alpha moved closer, its muscles were tight and ready to strike.
Rage did not wait.
He rushed forward, his blade flashed. The wolf leapt to meet him, but he was ready this time. He dropped low under its jaws and drove his dagger into its eye.
A furious howl split the air.
The Alpha thrashed, but Rage held on and twisted the dagger deeper. He pulled it free as the beast reared back in pain.
That was his chance.
He raised his curved sword and swung in a clean arc.
The blade cut through flesh. Blood sprayed.
The Alpha fell, heavy and still. The rest of the wolves stopped, unsure after seeing their leader fall.
Rage let out a breath and wiped the blood from his face.
***
The next floor was a thick forest. The air smelled of wet soil and moss. The ground was uneven and covered with roots.
As he took his first step, the brush moved. Goblins came out from the shadows, small and bent, holding rough weapons. Their cries filled the air but ended fast. Rage moved through them with quick strikes. His blades flashed, and the goblins fell one after another.
When the last one dropped, Vaelith was already sitting down. Her maids were setting up tea and pastries as if nothing had happened.
Rage let out a breath and ran a hand over his face.
"Enjoying the show?" he said to Vaelith.
Vaelith raised her cup and smiled without a word.
***
Third Floor.
The door opened to another forest. The air felt heavy. The trees stood close together. Their twisted branches reached toward the sky. The air smelled like wet fur. Low growls came from the shadows between the trees. Then there was movement.
Kobolds.
They attacked in groups. They moved with more order than the goblins. It did not matter. Rage moved through them, avoiding their strikes and answering with sharp blows. One fell. Then another. Then another. The last tried to run away. He did not let it.
Behind him, Vaelith turned a page in a leather book. Her maids poured her new tea.
She looked up from her book. "Do you want to rest for a while?" she asked.
"Maybe later," Rage said. "I'm rushing this tower."
***
Fourt Floor.
The wooden door openned to jagged cliffs stretching under an open sky. Winds howled through the towering peaks, carrying the scent of distant storms.
At the center, three hulking figures waited. Ogres, each easily twice his size, their thick hides were marked with scars.
Rage cracked his neck. "Alright, big guys."
The first charged, shaking the ground with every step. He ducked beneath its swing, blade carving deep into its exposed side. Another followed fast, swinging wide with a club. He barely rolled away in time.
No room for mistakes. One hit, and he'd be flattened.
A dagger to the knee sent one staggering. A well-placed strike to the throat silenced another. The last, blinded by fury, swung wildly. He used that, slipping behind it before driving his blade through the base of its skull.
The wind howled. The corpses faded.
Vaelith adjusted the lace of her glove, glancing at him with idle amusement.
Rage shook his head, stepping toward the next set of stairs.
***
Fifth Floor.
Rage stopped before the large door and paused. He remembered a painful episode from an anime.
He muttered, "Please no minotaur."
He looked back at Vaelith. "There's no minotaur out here, right?"
Vaelith smiled slightly. "You're too excited."
Rage pushed the door.
There were no hulking beasts, no pounding hooves. Instead, the first shape to rise from the fog was skeletal, hollow-eyed and silent. More followed, dragging themselves from forgotten graves, their movements were jerky and unnatural.
Rage let out a sharp breath and held his weapons tight. "Alright. Not what I expected, but dead is dead."
The first ghoul jumped at him, its sharp claws were reaching out. He met it with steel. His moves were quick and exact. Another came, then another. He cut them down just as fast. Each strike was clean. In a short time, the last one fell. It lay still, as dead as the dead could be.
Rage looked at Vaelith.
"You happy now?"
Vaelith gave a small smile.
"You're more than you look."
***
And so it went on.
Floor after floor. Descent after descent.
The places kept changing. There were thick jungles filled with reptile creatures, broken cities with wandering skeletons, and deep caves where shapes moved under the water. Some floors swarmed with monsters. Others were silent. But it was always the same. Rage fought. Vaelith and the maids watched. Their picnics never stopped.
The gates became heavier. The air, denser.
By the time they reached the thirtieth floor, the doors no longer creaked when they opened. They were huge and covered in layers of iron. The carvings on them had worn away with time.
As soon as they entered the chamber, Vaelith and her maids moved with steady grace. They set up their usual table with clean cloth and porcelain cups. It had become a quiet routine. No matter where they were, they stayed untouched, their small gathering separate from the fight that was about to begin.
Rage did not look at them. His eyes were fixed forward.
This time, only one enemy waited for him.
[SYSTEM] Duskmane Centaur Lv.65
[SYSTEM] class : Centaur Charger
[SYSTEM] Hostile
The centaur stood tall and covered in armor. Its horse body was wrapped in torn banners. Scars marked its large frame. Its upper body was that of a veteran fighter. It held a great halberd.
The goblins, the kobolds, the ogres had been fights. They were hard and wild but easy to read. This was different.
Rage held his weapons tight. "Yeah, this one's gonna suck for sure."
He activated Null Veil and rushed forward, covering the space in an instant. His hands held his weapons tight. His body was ready to strike first.
Then everything stopped.
The world blurred. A moment was gone from his mind.
The next thing he knew, he was not standing. He was not fighting.
He was looking up at Vaelith. Her face showed nothing. The air smelled of perfume and candle wax.
His head rested on something soft. Her lap.
"...Did I fall asleep?" he asked. His voice was rough and slow. His thoughts felt scattered, as if they had been broken and put back together the wrong way.
Vaelith gave a quiet laugh. Her gloved fingers drew small circles on Rage's chest. "Hardly."
Rage looked past her toward the battlefield. The centaur was still there, waiting.
He pushed himself up, ignoring the dull fog in his head. He was not finished.
He activated Null Veil again.
He took a sharp breath and rushed forward, closing the space between him and the centaur in an instant. This time he was steady. His grip tightened. His stance shifted.
Then he saw it.
A tear in his coat, a clean cut near his ribs. Traces of blood marked the fabric. His thoughts jumped back. He had not seen it before, but now he remembered. It had happened earlier. It had been real.
The realization barely had time to settle before the halberd came down.
A blur. A brief feeling of weightlessness. Then darkness.
Rage opened his eyes.
Soft fabric was under his head. A scent he knew filled the air.
Vaelith. Again.
His head rested on her lap, just as before.
He stared up at her, eyes adjusting. A small smirk formed. "So I come back every time I die?"
Vaelith said nothing, only watching him with the same quiet amusement.
Then, ever so slightly, she smiled.
Rage sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. The repetition was starting to settle in, but something felt... off. His gaze flicked toward the maids, standing in their usual formation.
There were fewer of them.
He counted. Once. Twice.
Eight.
"...Weren't there ten of them?"
Vaelith tilted her head slightly, her expression as composed as ever. "They left."
Rage narrowed his eyes. "Left?"
She gave no answer.
He let out a slow breath and shook his head. "Alright. Whatever. Let's run it back."
And so it went on.
He rushed the centaur with Null Veil already active. The halberd fell. He woke in the same place.
He tried again. And again. Each time ended the same.
His body learned more each run. He remembered how the centaur moved, the swing of its weapon, the small signs before each strike. But no matter how he changed his approach, the outcome stayed the same.
Each time he woke, there were fewer of them. Seven. Then six. Then five. The number dropped quietly, four, three, two, until only one was left.
Rage sat up after another failed attempt.
His stomach twisted. He didn't know why. But he didn't like it.
A single clap. Sharp, deliberate.
Rage barely had time to process it before movement filled the space.
Rage's eyes opened. His head rested on Vaelith's lap again.
Around them stood ten new maids, identical to the ones before. They moved with smooth, steady grace. Their faces were calm and blank.
Rage let out a breath and sat up. His body still felt the ghost weight of the centaur's halberd and the dull ache of too many losses.
Then, he saw it.
A trail of blood.
Thin lines of blood marked the stone floor, faint but clear. They ran from the place where he had fallen toward the dungeon's entrance, then disappeared beyond the doors.
His jaw tightened. "And that?" He gestured toward the crimson path, gaze flicking back to Vaelith.
She met his eyes, her smirk unwavering.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with."
The words came smooth and sure, leaving no room for questions.
Rage tightened his fists. He could not tell what felt worse, the answer or knowing he should not ask again.
He stood and moved forward. No more rushing in. No more blind swings. He had seen this fight too many times to not understand it. Each loss had carved the centaur's moves into his mind, like learning a boss pattern in a game.
The centaur watched him, unmoving, yet Rage knew exactly what came next.
The moment he stepped closer, it lunged.
The halberd came down in a brutal arc, but Rage was already moving. He sidestepped early, letting the strike carve into the dirt where he had stood a second ago. The centaur pivoted immediately, using the momentum to bring the weapon around again. This time, he ducked low, slipping past its reach.
His blade flashed. A quick strike across its leg. It staggered but recovered fast.
Too fast.
The halberd swung low. He barely had time to react. The blunt side struck his ribs and threw him across the ground. His hold on the dagger slipped, and his breath came out sharp.
No time to recover.
The centaur advanced and brought its weapon down.
Darkness.
Then soft fabric. The scent of perfume. A quiet hum.
Rage opened his eyes.
Vaelith's lap. Again.
He let out a slow breath and rubbed his face. His eyes moved to the maids nearby.
One was gone.
Ten. No more, no less. Another one missing.
He said nothing. He did not look at Vaelith. He stood, stretched his neck, and rolled his wrists.
Without a word, he walked forward.
Another attempt.
Another fight.
The centaur charged. He was ready.
He activated Null Veil.
The halberd came down, but this time he did not dodge away. He stepped into the strike, the blade cutting through the air just inches from his head. His sword moved fast, slicing deep into the centaur's open side before he turned clear.
The centaur stumbled, but Rage did not stop.
A precise step. A feint. The next attack passed close as he cut across its flank. It staggered, muscles tight with anger.
Then an opening.
Rage moved in. His dagger drove deep into its chest. The centaur's breath caught, its body shaking. He pulled the blade free, then cut across its throat and held its face.
He injected codes and activated Eclipse Convergence.
A final, broken breath left the creature before it fell still.
Rage let out a slow breath, easing the strain from his body as the centaur lay motionless. The silence lasted for a moment, heavy and complete. Then the iron gates at the far end creaked open, calling them onward.
[SYSTEM] Queen Vaelith : Loyalty 72.5%
[SYSTEM] Corruption : 22.7%