Time inside the Dungeon seemed to both drag and rush by all at once. Every corridor brought more shrieks, more footsteps running in the dark. Goblins emerged from the shadows, Imps flapped their wings like rabid bats.
The group stumbled forward in fits and starts, each pulling in a different direction, each shouting their own orders.
— Hold him from the right! — Daren snarled, sword in hand.
— Don't boss me around! — Kerren shot back, thrusting his spear and missing.
— You two are idiots! — Milo loosed another arrow that ricocheted off the wall.
They looked like strangers thrown together by force, no leadership, no unity. But in numbers, they managed to drive the monsters back. Goblins howled as they were surrounded, stabbed, crushed. Imps had their wings torn off, falling to the ground convulsing.
With each victory, sweat poured, breath waned… but their pride swelled.
Meanwhile, Lili was always there, one step behind.
— Move it, useless support! — Seth shoved her when she took too long to retrieve a mana stone.
— S-sorry… — she bowed her head, gathering the bloody remains in a cloth.
A goblin fell a few meters from her. Before it could be reabsorbed, Lili ran. The monster's eyes still blinked as she shoved her dagger into the soft flesh of its neck and then yanked the mana stone free.
— Faster, damn it! — Milo spat on the ground. — I'm not losing profit because you're slow!
She only murmured:
— Y-yes…
Another corridor. Another fight. An imp lunged at Kerren, knocking him to the ground.
— Argh, get it off me! — he yelled, trying to shove off the claws.
It was Lili who rushed over, grabbing a loose stone from the floor and hurling it at the creature. The impact made the imp screech, it didn't hurt even a little but wasa distracting enough for Kerren to impale it with his spear.
He got up, panting, chest heaving with rage and shame. His gaze fell on Lili, there was no gratitude there, only hatred for having been seen weak.
— You useless… — he spat, and before she could back away, his heavy hand struck her shoulder hard, nearly knocking her down. — If I'd died, it would've been your fault! Always in the way!
The next slap came quick, a sharp crack against her face.
PA!
— Don't ever interfere in my fight again! Got it?!
Lili held her burning cheek, eyes fixed on the ground.
— S-sorry, y-yes sir, it won't happen again…
She knew answering back wouldn't help. Any words would just bring more. The bitter taste of blood filled her mouth, but she swallowed it.
'That bastard! You're only alive because of me... of course it won't happen again, next time I'll let him get his guts eaten… just a little longer… just a little longer... Lili can endure it.'
The cycle repeated.
They fought.
They won.
They screamed at each other.
They hit Lili.
And she… adapted on her way. Fell silent. Collected loot like a shadow.
'Just a little longer…' she thought, when Seth shoved her toward another still-warm corpse. Goblin blood stained the hem of her cloak. 'Lili can endure. Just a little longer.'
The Dungeon seemed to laugh at them. Every victory brought no rest, only more hunger in the halls, more footsteps echoing behind the walls.
But Daren raised his sword, proud, sweaty, his arm marked with scratches.
— See that? Nothing can stop us! Let's go deeper!
And they did.
...
The corridor was damp and quiet, lit by magical lanterns. The group laughed loudly, as if danger no longer existed.
— Did you see that goblin's face? — Kerren cackled, twirling his spear. — Looked like it saw its mom naked.
— Yours, maybe. — Seth grinned, playing with his dagger. — That's probably why it died so fast.
Milo whistled. — I still prefer the redheaded receptionist at the Guild… I could break her easy.
The laughter burst, filthy, until Seth turned to Liliruca.
— Or this one back here. Tiny like that, she's gotta be nice and tight…
The cackling grew. Kerren was nearly crying with laughter.
— HA! True! Touch her and she melts into tears.
Lili tightened the straps of her pack, eyes on the floor. She swallowed the bitter taste. She already knew: reacting only made it worse.
Then Daren raised his hand. The laughter died.
— Silence.
Ahead, the corridor ended at a stone door. Simple, tall, unadorned.
Lili's heart raced.
'A door… right now, on the first floor? It shouldn't be here…'
Seth smiled hungrily. — Jackpot. That's treasure room!
Daren was already pushing the stone. — Let's go. Enough of these goblin pebbles.
The room revealed itself wide, lit by torches that ignited on their own. And at the center, solitary like a promise, rested a wooden chest.
— Am I dreaming? — Milo murmured, already stepping forward.
— Boss opens. — Kerren clapped Daren's shoulder.
Daren laughed loudly, kneeling. — Watch closely, you idiots. This is how you get real treasure.
Behind him, Seth, Kerren, and Milo adjusted their weapons, crooked smiles on their faces. Each sizing the others up, ready to pull the trigger on betrayal.
Daren lifted the lid.
Inside, there was no gold. There were teeth. A slick tongue lashed the air, and then...
CRUNCH!
Daren's right arm vanished up to the shoulder, swallowed whole in the monsters mouth..
— AAAAAAAHHHHH!!! — his scream echoed in the chamber. Blood gushed, dripping to the floor.
— Quick! Pull! — Kerren jammed his spear between the teeth.
— Idiot, you'll lose your hand! — Milo tryed to sever the tongue with a knife.
Nothing gave. The arm snapped with a dry CRACK!, and Daren staggered, howling. Now, with only a bloody stump at the base of the shoulder.
Meanwhile, the chest shook its lid, swallowing flesh and bone with CHOMP! SPLASH!, roaring: GRRRAAARRHHHH!
The chest rose. It was no longer a chest. With a sickening CRACK!, a jointed, wooden maw split open, revealing rows of jagged teeth, and a long, slick tongue lashed out like a whip. Then, from beneath, two grotesque, lanky arms, made of splintered wood and taut sinews, unfurled from its sides, ending in razor-sharp claws that scraped against the stone floor. It stood tall, a monstrosity of timber and muscle, its dark, empty eye-slits glowing with malevolent intent between the planks of its body.
— C-curse… — Kerren stepped back, pale.
And then — BAM! — the stone door slammed shut behind them, along with a strange gust of wind that extinguished all the torches, leaving the place in deep darkness.
Lili backed away, trembling, joining the group. Nausea burned inside her.
'Oh no, oh no, oh no! This isn't a treasure room, this is… this is…'
— It's an ambush! — one of the adventurers shouted.
CRACK!
A dry sound echoed through the stone floor. Cracks began to spread between the ancient tiles. Dust rose in clouds, and from the darkness of the fissures, massive, hooked claws emerged, scraping at the surface with bone nails.
From the ground, slowly, the Skeletons began to rise. They weren't fragile, dried-out corpses of humans as in stories. Instead, they were monstruors, manikin-like shapes, formed from interlocking plates of dense, pale bone. Their structure was unnaturally thick; ribcages wide as barrels, shoulders fitted with bony spurs like grotesque armor, and limbs thick as tree trunks.
This wasn't the skeleton of a once-living being brought back to life; they were true monsters, two-meter aberrations of pure terror.
Their empty, massive eye sockets suddenly glowed a spectral green, slits burning with profane energy.
— U-u-undead… — someone stammered, voice breaking with fear.
The space was far too small. The mimic still roared at the back, chewing Daren's torn arm — CHOMP! CRUNCH! GLURP! — spitting blood and chunks of flesh across the floor. The metallic stench mixed with the tomb dust.
The skeletons took their first steps. Each footfall resounded heavy, THUD… THUD…, as if they were purposely trying to plant the seed of panic in the hearts of intruders.
Lili gripped the handle of the knife she kept for protection, but it gave her no safety, tears streaming from her eyes.
'They're going to kill us… there's no way to fight in here…'
The first skeleton lifted its head, staring at them. Its jaw opened, and a high-pitched, piercing whistle, laden with an unholy cold, tore through the air, rattling in their very bones:
— SSHHHHHHHH!!!
The sound echoed through the chamber, and it was as if all the others awoke at once. A chorus of rattling bones and hollow snarls filled the place.
The adventurers were cornered. On one side, the hungry mimic. On the other, a legion of colossal bones rising, ready to crush living flesh.
...
Chaos swallowed the room like a storm.
The mimic roared, its cracked wooden limbs striking the floor with force enough to make the stones tremble. Daren bled nonstop, his lost arm spilling rivers of red across the floor. The metallic scent filled the air, mixing with the dry reek from the skeletons.
— Kill that thing first! — Kerren yelled, spinning his spear at the monster.
— You kill it, idiot! — Seth backed away, trying to carve space with his dagger, slicing bone fingers reaching for him.
Milo's arrows whistled, some embedding in the skeletons' joints but with no power to break them. The archer cursed with each wasted shot.
— Damn it, damn it, they don't break!
The mimic leapt. Its chest-like mouth opened like a trap and snapped shut mere inches from Kerren's head, who rolled on the ground, sweating cold. The impact cracked the floor, scattering shards of stone.
Lili shrank into a corner, trembling. Her hands clutched the useless knife, her heart pounding like a drum in her ears.
Perhaps for being the weakest, no monster focused on her, preferring to deal with the adventurers first, but that doesn't mean it was any less terrifying.
'I'm going to die, I don't want to die, I'm going to die, I don't want to die, I'm going to die, I don't want to die, I'm going to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I'm going to die, I don't want to die, I'm going to die, I don't want to die, I'm going to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I'm going to die, I don't want to die, I'm going to die, I don't want to die, I'm going to die, I don't want to die…' She was panicking, her mind a chaos so deep she couldn't think straight.
She knew there was no escape; this was her end, there was simply no solution.
Daren, even pale, still gripped his sword in his remaining hand. Roaring with pain and hate, he charged.
— Die, you bastard!
The blade struck the mimic's side. Sparks flew as steel cut living wood, cracking part of its carapace. The creature roared, staggering back.
Compared to its slender but surprisingly strong body, the chest head, which was made of simple wood, was much more fragile.
— IT WORKS! — Seth shouted. — Hit the joints, cut the wood!
The adventurers gathered by instinct. Kerren drove his spear into one of the monster's sides, pinning it for an instant. Milo shot arrows straight into the cracks opened by Daren's sword. Seth scrambled onto the creature's back and, screaming, plunged his dagger over and over into the weak spot.
The mimic screeched, writhing. The slam against the ground raised dust. Another strike from Daren, more arrows, more stabs — until the wood splintered and the monster's chest burst open in an explosion of deformed viscera.
— Aaaaaaarghhh! — Seth was thrown back, drenched in viscous blood.
The mimic toppled sideways, roaring low, and finally fell silent. A heavy stillness settled for an instant.
But it was brief.
THUD… THUD…
The skeletons advanced, heavy, green flames in their skulls lighting the room like macabre torches.
— It never ends! — Milo nocked another arrow. — We can't, we can't!
A skeleton raised its arm, bones thick as tree trunks, and smashed at the archer. Milo rolled back, but the blow knocked his bow from his hands, shattering it on the floor.
— Son of a-! — he drew a short knife, but the bones didn't give. The counterattack came fast: the monster's fist struck his chest. CRACK! A horrible snap echoed, and Milo spat blood, hurled against the wall.
— MILO! — Kerren shouted, but another skeleton blocked his view, jaw clattering.
Milo sat slumped, eyes glazed. He tried to rise, but blood already spilled from his mouth.
— N…no… — he murmured, before collapsing on his side, motionless.
Lili bit her lips, the taste of iron filling her mouth. Tears blurred her sight.
'They… they're really dying…'
Daren roared, sweat and rage coating his face. — Hold strong! We… we can do this! With one arm, he swung his sword as if it were his whole life. But his blade screeched uselessly across the colossal ribs of the first skeleton, barely leaving a scratch. The blow only served to draw its attention.
— We can't break them! — Seth screamed, hacking frantically at a creature's leg. His small dagger bounced off the bone plates.
— From behind! — Kerren drove his spear into a skeleton's back, targeting its spine. The reinforced bone shattered the wooden shaft of his spear instead of giving way. A sickening snap echoed, and Kerren staggered back, left only with the broken splinters in his hand.
The skeletons advanced, heavy, relentless. Their massive, pale bodies absorbed every blow. Each wasted attack fed the adventurers' panic. Cuts and bruises blossomed on their skin, and the metallic stench of blood mingled with the tomb dust.
Lili only retreated farther and farther, trembling fingers gripping the knife but unable to use it. 'I can't… I can't… just a little longer… I can endure…'
A skeleton lunged at Seth, a claw thick as a shovel blade slicing through the air. The boy managed to dodge, but the creature's sheer mass still slammed into him, knocking the wind from his lungs and sending him sprawling.
Before anyone could react, a second skeleton raised its enormous bone fist and brought it down on Daren. The arm-stumped leader screamed a soundless, horrifying shriek as the impact CRUSHED his chest against the stone floor. He gave one final, bloody cough before his body went slack, the sword clattering from his remaining hand.
Daren was dead.
Silence returned. Not of triumph, but of pure dread.
Kerren leaned on the useless splinters of his spear, limping, eyes wide with incomprehension. Seth spat blood and scrambled back, covered in cuts, his broken dagger falling from numb fingers.
In the corner, Milo lay motionless. Daren was now just a crimson stain beside the pulverized mimic.
Lili stared at the survivors, hands trembling, face wet with tears. 'They're gone… two are dead… and they accomplished nothing…' The sound of footsteps returned, but now they were heavy, like drums presaging the death of all, THUD... THUD...
The remaining skeletons advanced, slow and inevitable, like a verdict.
The silence weighed heavier than the fight. Seth hunched, broken, while Kerren sobbed silently, his back pressed against the wall. Milo and Daren lay discarded like trash in the blood-soaked corner.
Lili stood frozen, knife still in her hands, tears blurring her vision.
Then the air changed.
The mist thickened, rising fast, as if the Dungeon itself wanted to erase the scene. The smell of blood mixed with the cold, heavy air.
And then suddenly-
BAAAM!!!
The door burst open, leaving a wall of dense mist in its place.
In the same instant, everyone's eyes lit up with hope.
— The exit! — Kerren cried, stumbling toward the open door.
— Go! — Seth dragged his mutilated body.
Lili ran after them, heart racing. It was the chance. The only chance.
But Seth stopped. The rattling of skeletons came from all sides now, bones knocking together, green eyes appearing in the mist like macabre stars. His desperation turned to a quick decision.
— We can't! — he spat, teeth clenched. — We won't make it out alive with this dead weight!
Before Lili could react, his rough hands seized her shoulders.
— What?! — she screamed, voice strangled with terror.
Seth lifted her off the ground effortlessly.
— You want to live, useless support?! Then be useful!
— P-please! No! — Lili struggled, legs kicking in the air.
Kerren laughed, spitting blood:
— HA! Finally found a use for her!
— No! — her voice came out in desperate sobs. — No! No!
And then Seth threw her.
The small body flew like a sack of bones, landing on her knees in the blood-soaked floor. The impact knocked the air from her lungs. Her hands slid in the red sludge. The skeletons advanced, green eyes blazing, jaws clattering.
Behind her, the heavy stone door creaked under the adventurers' pushes, their muffled shouts quickly fading into the mist. She knew they were escaping. That they were using the seconds she'd "purchased" with her life. They didn't just leave her; they used her, discarding her like a broken tool.
Lili's chest burned, each heartbeat echoing like a drum inside her skull. Her tears were no longer just fear. They were hate. They were everything.
'Those bastards… after everything I endured… they're going to leave me here. Leave me to die, like garbage…'
The skeletons roared. Heavy steps pounded the floor in cadence, THUD, THUD, THUD, like a funeral march. The mist rose, thick, snuffing out the light, muting the sounds.
Lili drew a deep breath, but no air came. It was as if the whole world pressed on her chest, crushing her very being. And then the words began to form. Not in her mouth — in her mind, wild, spitting like venom, boiling over the precipice of sanity.
'I hate all of you. I hate this filthy, blood-soaked Dungeon. I hate Orario and its gilded towers. I hate every single bastard who ever stepped on me, who used my loyalty as a leash, who left bruises where only kindness should be. I hate God Soma, sitting on his throne, smelling the money while pretending not to see. I hate the adventurers who pass the gate of my Familia and call me "cheap support," because they were right. I hate you, Seth, Kerren. I even hate Milo and Daren who are dead over there in the corner, because they were weak and useless, just like I'm about to! I hate you all! May you rot in the deepest pit!'
Her throat let out a sob that was almost a laugh, a sound of raw, destructive catharsis. The noise came out hoarse, broken, a sound stripped of humanity.
— Hhhhhh… ah… ahh…
...
...
...
'But I also hate myself. I hate myself for never screaming, for never fighting back. For bowing my head. For believing that if I were useful, someone would someday treat me like a person. I hate being weak, being a shadow. I hate not being a real adventurer… I wanted to be like them, even while hating them… I wanted to be strong…'
The skeletons drew closer, skulls blazing green. The sound of claws scraping stone felt like a chorus of laughter.
'It's ironic, isn't it? What I hated most, I wanted. I always wanted to fight. I wanted their power. But all I got was carrying weight, collecting stones, being kicked. A redhead from Soma. A thief. A scammer. That's what I am.'
She dug her fingers into the blood-soaked floor. The knife she held fell, rolling with a faint clink.
'Where do I go when I die? Heaven? No… I lied. I stole. I betrayed innocent people. I used others as bait, tricked old men, cheated honest adventurers. I'm filthy. Rotten. Just like them. Maybe worse. Hell is my place. That's where I belong...'
The Skeletons advanced. She could feel the cold emanating from them. She could hear the jaw bones clattering, dry snaps, as if fate itself were applauding her downfall.
Lili closed her eyes. And, for the first time, she took a deep breath without feeling fear.
'So this is it. Enough. I won't run anymore.'
The tears ran hot, but there was a different weight to them now. It wasn't just fear. It was a cruel relief, an acceptance that stung.
'I accept it. I'm going to die. I deserve this. I deserve to pay. I don't know if there's reincarnation, if there's forgiveness... but, if there is...'
She lifted her face to the mist-covered ceiling, her eyes cloudy but shining. 'If there is... give me a second chance. That's all. I don't know how. I don't know where. But give it to me. I would do things differently. I swear. I would do things differently.'
The Skeletons were so close now that she could smell the ancient dust and old bones. Their hiss vibrated inside her, the whole world pulsing green.
One of them was about to strike her with a bone blade.
Lili let out a shaky sigh. Her body relaxed. Her shoulders slumped. Her hands lay open in the blood. Her chest rose and fell, but she was no longer fighting.
'Bring it on. It's over. I won't scream. I won't beg. It's over.' She then closed her eyes, her last tears falling before her eyes dried, and fully waited for the inevitable.
...