Forsaken Choir Crypt—Entry Point
The dungeon entrance yawned open like a tomb too tired to stay shut. Stone steps disappeared into shadow. The air was thick with incense and the faint sound of… singing?
Leo's glowing drone hovered behind him, livestreaming in wide-angle mode. "Welcome to Death Tax's first official raid! I'm Leo Gravemarch, and behind me is the Godkiller of Chains—who is currently not thrilled about being filmed!"
Ryu walked past without a word, armoured in reinforced combat gear and his soul-pulsing blade slung across his back.
Leo jogged after him. "Hey! Smile for the intro shot!"
"No."
"Come on, it's good for brand visibility."
"Leo, this is a cursed crypt run by undead choirboys who flay souls with music. Nobody's smiling."
Leo pointed at the drone. "That's why it's premium content."
[System Alert: Dungeon Confirmed – Forsaken Choir Crypt]
Status: Active
Threat Type: Undead/Divine Hybrid
Entry Seal: Broken by [Death Tax]
Party Strength: Imbalanced
Danger Probability: 72%
Special Note: Music-based curses. Wear spiritual ear protection.
Reward: Tier-4 Clearance & Guild Sanctioning
They moved deeper into the crypt.
Rows of stone pews lined the corridor, each one holding skeletons with hymn books clutched in brittle hands. Faint choral humming filled the air—no mouths moved, but the sound was omnipresent.
Leo muttered, "This place is a walking Spotify horror playlist."
Ryu held up a fist to stop. "Shhh."
From the darkness, a procession of ghostly choirboys floated toward them. Hollow-eyed. Voices raised in angelic unison.
🎵 "Let flesh be unwound, let souls be tuned…" 🎵
Leo immediately started sweating. "I feel like my kidneys are crying."
"Don't listen," Ryu growled. He ripped a strip of cloth and stuffed it in Leo's ears. "Soul frequency enchantment. If it syncs to your memories, you die from nostalgic regret."
"That's… so metal."
"Shut up."
The spirits circled them, harmonising in a language that felt like it belonged before time. Ryu's blade pulsed in warning.
Then—BOOM.
A spectral priest descended, robes torn by centuries, face split open like a cracked mask. He raised a sceptre shaped like a tuning fork and screamed:
"DISSONANT! DEFILERS!"
The choir stopped.
And then all hell broke loose.
Battle Initiated: Warden of the Silent Song
Ryu was already moving.
He lunged forward with unnatural speed, S-class regeneration allowing him to absorb glancing hits without slowing down. His sword crashed into the priest's barrier, sending sparks flying like celestial firecrackers.
The priest retaliated with a sonic lash, splitting air and stone with a whip of cursed hymns.
Ryu dodged, but part of his coat was vaporised.
"Leo, suppress the choir—!"
"I'm on it! I brought grenades!"
"WHAT?!"
Leo tossed what looked like a candy-wrapped ball.
Ryu dove behind a pew.
BOOM!
Colourful smoke erupted, followed by…
🎵 "It's Raining Men" blasting from enchanted speakers.
The spectral choir shrieked in confusion.
Even the priest paused, turning slowly toward Leo like a disappointed exorcist.
"Oops," Leo said. "Wrong playlist."
Ryu yelled, "Switch it before I bury you in this crypt."
Leo fumbled with his tablet. "Hold on! Let me find the Gregorian Noisecore mix—ah, got it!"
He activated a counter-frequency program.
Low, thunderous sound waves pulsed through the crypt, disrupting the ghostly resonance. Several choirboys disintegrated into musical ash.
Ryu used the break to impale the warden through the heart.
But the priest didn't fall.
Instead, he smiled.
"You… bear the father's mark."
Ryu's breath caught.
The priest's corpse shattered, but his voice lingered:
"He waits above. And below. You are his crescendo."
[System Update: Divine Recognition Triggered—Link Confirmed to Seraphim Operative: Daemon Verus]
Dungeon Difficulty: Escalating.
Leo was panting. "Please tell me that was the boss."
Ryu looked at the door ahead, which was now glowing with divine seals.
"No," he said. "That was the doorman."
Sanctum of Screams—Final Room
They stepped through.
The room opened into a massive cathedral chamber, lit by stained glass windows that filtered in no light—just memories.
Leo shivered. "This whole dungeon feels like a bad break-up song."
At the altar stood a being robed in silence. No face. No eyes. Just a gaping mouth across the chest, closed tight.
Final Boss: The Cantor of Binding
The being raised its arms. The entire crypt began to tremble as thousands of echoes filled the chamber—each one a memory stolen from Ryu.
He saw Miyuki laughing.
His mother is holding his hand.
Daemon walking away in the rain.
"No…" Ryu fell to a knee, his soul screaming.
Leo staggered. "Hey—HEY! You're bleeding through your ears!"
The boss began to chant.
🎵 "Let him weep. Let him break. Let the chain of man unmake." 🎵
[System Trigger: Soul Attraction Resonance—Manual Override? Y/N]
Ryu's vision blurred. The Soul Attraction pulsed.
Inside, Miyuki's flicker reached out.
"You can still stand, Ryu."
He gritted his teeth.
"You don't have to do it alone."
Ryu rose slowly, blood dripping from his mouth. "Not this time."
[Manual Override Accepted—Binding Break Protocol Initiated]
Chains burst from his back—ethereal, divine-forged, glowing red. They wrapped around his limbs like armour, powered by sorrow and fury.
The cantor lunged.
Ryu caught it by the mouth.
"Sing that again," he snarled, "and I'll rip your voice out."
The chains extended, slamming the boss into the wall.
"Leo!"
"On it!"
Leo threw a crystal into the air—it exploded, casting a reverse-harmonic barrier that suppressed the echoes.
Ryu dragged the Cantor in close.
"This is for Miyuki."
SLASH.
The cantor disintegrated, wailing one final note—
Then silence.
[Dungeon Cleared]
Tier-4 Complete
Guild "Death Tax" Approved
Founder: Leo Gravemarch
Commander: Ryu
Affiliation: Provisional—Under Divine Scrutiny
Bonus Rewards Unlocked
Ryu staggered, barely staying upright.
Leo caught him—sort of—more like slowed his fall by tripping over him.
"We did it!" Leo grinned, his face smeared with dirt and glitter from one of his own traps.
Ryu groaned. "You smell like divine incense and fried electronics."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
They looked around at the ruined cathedral. Silence had returned—but it wasn't peaceful.
It was waiting.
Back at Their Guild Hall
Ryu sat with a cloth around his shoulder, wounds closing slowly thanks to his regeneration. Leo handed him a soda.
"You did well today."
"I almost got mind-melted by my trauma," Ryu muttered.
"Still counts."
They sat in silence for a moment. Then Leo pulled out a form.
"What's this?" Ryu asked,"
"Guild member applications. We're official now. Gotta hire a healer, a tank, a PR manager…"
Ryu raised an eyebrow. "PR?"
Leo nodded. "For when you inevitably tell a god to go shove a star up their divine rear. We'll need damage control."
Ryu actually chuckled.
For the first time since Miyuki died, since he escaped the dungeon, since he heard Daemon's voice—he laughed.
Maybe Leo wasn't wrong.
Maybe, just maybe… This was the beginning of something that could heal and destroy him at the same time.