[As you can see, the rules of the dungeon are absolute.]
The cold, unfamiliar voice echoed in their minds, snapping them out of their shock.
"Gulp… that monster's really dead?!" Jade Chan's hand finally slid out of her pocket, her earlier casual stance replaced with wide-eyed wariness.
"Jade, this is dangerous. Stay close to me and don't wander off," Viper warned, her voice low but serious.
They might never even make it back home. But even so, Viper wasn't about to let a kid get caught up in this mess especially not one she'd just reunited with.
"Viper! Look the monster's gone! Not even a body left!"
Viper turned toward the sound of her voice… only to realize Jade wasn't beside her anymore.
She whipped around again and found her standing exactly where Gyokko had been obliterated, eyes sparkling with excitement rather than fear.
"Let's go in the dungeon! I want to level up!"
Yami, watching from his throne above, couldn't help but smirk. "As expected of her."
Unlike the others still reeling from Gyokko's execution, Jade had already poked through her personal status panel.
She understood enough to know that defeating monsters meant growth and upgrades.
[All adventurers — actively conquer the dungeon!]
His finger extended toward the towering spire at the heart of the City of Bones.
Beneath that tower lay the entrance to the dungeon proper.
The shadowed figure began to fade into the surrounding darkness.
"Lord of the Dungeon!" Rei Miyamoto called out, her voice tight with urgency. "How do we return to our own worlds?!"
The question was one everyone else wanted answered.
Yami's eyes flicked to her, his reply calm and unhurried:
[All the answers lie in the dungeon.]
And then, his form melted completely into shadow.
It wasn't a lie, the path home was indeed hidden somewhere inside the dungeon.
But whether reaching it would be a blessing or a curse… was another matter entirely.
The figure vanished, leaving silence in his wake.
Their minds churned with unease.
Especially Shinobu Kocho.
An Upper Rank demon was erased so easily…
She knew how powerful the Upper Moons were. Her sister had died at the hands of one.
The thought of Kanae's death stirred a deep ache beneath her usually calm demeanor — an ache laced with quiet, simmering anger.
"Shinobu, do you think the dungeon can really grant wishes?" Mitsuri Kanroji's voice broke through her thoughts, nervous energy spilling into her words.
"If it can… then maybe I could wish for a man who truly loves me!"
Shinobu's eyes lowered. Wish…
Her mind went back to the first rule she'd seen.
[Anyone who clears all dungeon levels will be granted one wish — any wish.]
…Could she wish for Kanae to live again?
If this strange, all-powerful dungeon could do that…
For the first time in years, a fragile thread of hope wound its way through her grief-hardened heart.
"Mitsuri."
"What is it?"
Kanroji Mitsuri blinked at Shinobu Kocho, who had suddenly spoken.
"Let's… go conquer the dungeon."
"Oh ho, they're moving."
In the real world, Yami lounged comfortably, head resting on Ella's lap as he watched the adventurers' every step through the dungeon's perspective.
When Shinobu and Mitsuri began walking toward the dungeon entrance, Viper and Saeko Busujima soon followed.
The towering gate at the base of the spire loomed before them, easily tens of meters tall. Intricate patterns shaped like a great ring covered its surface.
But instead of swinging open, the ring's lines lit up in a deep blue glow. The light spread outward like ripples on still water and then, without a sound, the scene beyond shifted, revealing a swirling, blue, hypnotic portal.
[Enter the portal to access the dungeon directly.]
"…Huh?" Saeko tilted her head slightly, exchanging a glance with the others. The voice had come from nowhere, and no figure had appeared.
"Are we being watched?" she asked quietly.
"Don't think too hard about it... let's just go!" Jade Chan said, already breaking into a run toward the light.
Before she could leap in, Viper's hand shot out, catching her by the collar.
"Jade, now's not the time to act reckless."
At that moment, a new prompt flickered across each of their personal panels:
[Ding! Please choose: Single Player Mode or Team Mode.]
"A few friends, for safety's sake… why don't we work together?" Viper suggested, turning toward Shinobu and the others.
The logic was sound in a place like this, numbers meant survival.
It was then they all noticed something strange. Viper and Jade's words were in an entirely different language, yet the meaning reached them perfectly, as though it had been translated directly into their minds.
Even so, trust didn't come so easily.
"…We'll see once we're inside," Shinobu replied coolly.
With that, she and Mitsuri stepped through the portal without another word.
"The same goes for us, cooperation depends on the situation."
Saeko Busujima's tone was calm but decisive, echoing Shinobu's sentiment.
"Viper, they've all gone in," Jade urged, glancing toward the swirling blue light.
"Oh, fine… we'll take it one step at a time," Viper sighed.
Staying outside wasn't an option. One of the dungeon's rules was clear, adventurers had to enter.
Refusing meant obliteration, and she wasn't about to risk Jade's life on a gamble like that.
With that, the two of them stepped into the portal.
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