As the monsters appeared, I quickly woke Aisha up, and we hid together—for now.
Undead wandered blindly through the halls. Skeletons skittered along, their eyes glowing and sockets rattling as they searched.
And the spirits… they drifted along silently, passing through walls and ignoring all barriers.
> "What are those…?" Aisha whispered, eyes wide.
> "Undead. Skeletons. Spirits," I replied calmly.
> "Darling… where is everyone?" she asked again, her voice filled with worry.
> "We've been separated," I answered.
> "Separated?!" Aisha gasped. "What are we going to do now?"
> "Find the dungeon boss. If we defeat it, maybe we can reunite with the others."
Before entering the dungeon, we had formed an adventure party. I opened the party window and checked everyone's status screens.
Thankfully—they were all still alive.
But before I could relax, a spirit spotted us and lunged.
Aisha swiftly unsheathed her axe and cleaved it in half. The spirit vanished—but it screamed as it did, attracting even more monsters.
I cast Order Traps in the hallway and grabbed Aisha's hand.
We ran.
The undead and skeletons triggered my traps—exploding into ash. But the spirits, levitating above ground, floated right over them.
Aisha sprinted beside me, but one of the spirits latched onto her.
She struggled, unable to swing her axe while being held.
> "ORDER BURST!"
I cast my magic, disintegrating the spirits.
Aisha fell into my arms, breathing hard.
We kept running.
Eventually, we stumbled into a secret section of the hallway—and found a chest.
Empty.
Exhausted, we leaned against the wall, catching our breath. But the monsters didn't stop. They just kept coming.
> "Argh! Can we at least get some rewards or something!?" I groaned, half out of breath.
> "Darling…?" Aisha tilted her head, thinking.
---
At the Dungeon Maker Room…
> "Hmmm… alright then. Have it your way," said Serdeck, the Evil Goddess of Charity, responding to my plea.
> – RANDOM TREASURE UPDATED –
> "WHAT!?" Cynthia, the Evil Goddess of Love, stood up, fuming. "Why did you do that, Serdeck?!"
> "Because they're just… so persuasive this time~" Serdeck replied innocently.
> "Do you have any idea how easily they could get powerful items?! They might even find Artifacts!"
> "Teehee~" Serdeck playfully knocked her knuckles against her head and stuck her tongue out.
> "DON'T 'TEEHEE' ME!!" Cynthia roared.
> "Calm down, Cynthia," Dengka muttered, still staring at me from afar. "Let's see what happens next…"
---
Back to Us
I couldn't track how much time had passed in this chest room. I had hoped it was a safe zone—but I was wrong.
Suddenly… the floor sprouted hands.
The walls grew hair.
The air became thick with moaning.
> This… was the spirits' doing.
From the cracks in the ground, undead hands clawed their way up.
Aisha trembled beside me—this savage warrior who had never shown fear before.
For the first time… she looked genuinely terrified.
I didn't have room to summon the full Bone Blade here, so I conjured a weapon that matched Aisha's—a Bone Axe, thick and heavy.
I stood tall and fought, slashing the creatures down.
> "Stand up, Aisha! Fight with me!"
Aisha looked into my eyes, drew a shaky breath, and nodded.
Together, we fought back-to-back, swinging our axes and clearing the room.
Then—the empty chest glowed.
Treasure shimmered inside.
We rushed to it. Potions, gear, …and one item. It shimmered with an aura—ancient, unreadable, pulsing like it was alive. I didn't dare inspect it yet—I just stashed it for now.
With the monsters temporarily gone, we sprinted out of the chest room again.
But something was wrong.
We kept running, fighting, turning—and somehow, we always returned to the same chest room.
> "The dungeon's messing with our minds…"
I began carving markings into the walls with my Bone Axe so we could tell if we were going in circles.
---
Back to the Evil Gods…
> "Look, Serdeck! They got something from that chest!" Cynthia snapped.
> "What can I do? I can't undo it now," Serdeck shrugged.
> "Argh…! I hope you give and give until you go broke, Serdeck!"
> "Impossible~ My Fat of Charity grants endless fortune," Serdeck teased.
> "Watch your mouth, you two," Dengka warned. His eyes narrowed.
"I'm giving him something myself."
Dengka cast a silent, ancient spell from the Dungeon Maker Room.
He had been watching me and Aisha closely since we entered.
---
Back to Me
I carved, ran, fought.
Everything looked the same.
Time lost all meaning.
The monsters… never stopped.
Then—my mind went blank.
What I saw next…
was horrifying.
---
I collapsed on the stone floor.
Aisha turned in panic.
> "Darling! Wake up!"
"DARLING!!"
She shook me, tears in her eyes. I didn't respond.
As monsters closed in, Aisha stood over me protectively.
She swung her axe with raw fury, casting Hellfire Magic, creating a burning circle around us.
She used her Axe of Suzaku to carve a sigil on the floor, igniting a Hellfire Barrier that engulfed us in flames.
> "Please… don't die on me…" she whispered, clutching me tight. "I'm not strong without you… not like this… Darling....!!"
---
> As flames roared around Aisha and I lay unconscious…
Far away, Ion's dungeon—sunken and flooded—boiled with aquatic horrors.
The nightmare was only just beginning.