[Content Warning: Contains depictions of violence, blood, and gore that may not be suitable for all readers. Proceed with discretion.]
***
"As you all know, the 09-F Dungeon isn't the same F-rank dungeon we used to raid as beginners. It's changed, but so have we. We've become stronger, faster, and better. The only thing that stands between us is ourselves. This dungeon doesn't stand a damn chance in hell against us!
Now, I know each one of us may be from different guilds and there'll be disputes over kills, today. So, let me make this clear, if you kill it, it's yours. Don't be children about it.
Let's also remember our secondary purpose: keeping two MRS Inspectors safe. I know some of us had bad blood with MRS before, but those two, over there, are the ones helping us get paid today. Which means, if I see a damn scratch on them, it's coming out of your paychecks. Do I make myself clear?!"
"Hell yeah!"
"Good! Then, prepare yourselves!"
The hunters were in high morale and battle-ready with the man's motivational, yet gritty rally. That man was Gilbert Blythe. He was a seasoned hunter under the Aetherion guild, with the most kills under his belt. Hunters both feared and admired the man. Within seven years, the man had successfully raided three S-rank dungeons, and many believed it was only a matter of time before he became an S-rank, himself. While Gilbert was still only an A-rank awakener, his reputation was enough for hunters to treat his words as law whenever he was present.
As everyone else chattered amongst themselves, Gilbert approached Leslie, who was sitting alone with his eyes pinned to Mira.
"Hey, Pipsqueak! For our party's healer, you sure got a lot of free time. And, why are looking at one of the MRS Inspectors? You interested in her, or something?"
"Yes? ... Ah, no, it's not like that..."
Snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden voice, Leslie jolted. Gilbert looked at him questioningly. Leslie hesitated, then spoke in caution.
"Have you received any updates about the dungeon, so far?"
"Updates?"
Gilbert sent Leslie an unpleasant look for his out-of-the-blue question but still answered him.
"Yeah, the Head Inspector said something about the insides of the dungeon changing."
"Is that dangerous?"
"Pipsqueak, all dungeons are dangerous. All that matters is how you take it. Now, stop daydreaming and do your damn job!"
Gilbert's voice was stern and unforgiving. He walked away before Leslie could say another word. Leslie was perplexed at first; then he sighed. He couldn't help but think that this day would be the longest day of his life.
"Alright, hunters. Let's get through this damn rift and get it over with. We're losing time." Gilbert declared, loudly.
The hunters, including Gilbert, were ready to enter immediately. Leslie urgently followed behind them. Gilbert entered the reflective liquid barrier first, followed by the others. Finally, Leslie, standing in front of the rift, suppressed his doubts and went in.
***
A pungent smell of rot with a sickly sweet undertone hurled at their noses. The floors were a mess, grime and black mold were everywhere, and the walls didn't help either. Splatters of dried blood were on every corner. There was barely any light to see with, and there was no sound of anything. He could only hear the breaths and footsteps of the companions he came with.
Leslie gagged at ... everything, here. The dungeon stank of death. He didn't like it, not one bit. What he didn't notice, like so many others, was the creature on the ceiling. It was lying up there, in patience, waiting and waiting, for a worthy prey. And, it found a flock of sheep. Stupid, Idiotic sheep that dared to came into its domain.
A blur of black fur landed in the center of the group. There was no time to react, no time to move, and no time to run. The floor below them collapsed. Leslie, the inspectors, the creature, and everyone else fell straight down the crumbling floor.
Leslie didn't know how long they were falling for, or how far they fell. He just knew he hit his head hard when they finally landed. His ears rang, his body in a world of pain, slumped over the ground, struggling to move, and his vision blurred over what was happening. Beyond the ringing, he could tell there were screams, shouts, and cries with what they were fighting. He wanted to help, he truly did, but he couldn't move.
The true horror only began when he saw something roll toward him, like a ball. It seemed rough around the edges and was oddly shaped. That's when he realized it wasn't a ball, it was a head, a decapitated head. The worst part about it all was that he recognized it.
Oh. It's Gilbert.
He couldn't believe his eyes, so he blinked again and again. There was no changing the fact that the head, in question, belonged to Gilbert Blythe. The strongest man amongst them all ... was dead, his head separated from his body. Dread filled up Leslie Wraiths. He couldn't help but think he was going to die today. That feeling only got worse when something heavy approached him.
"Thud."
"Thud."
"Thud."
It was that monster. Had it come back to kill him? It was facing him face-to-face. Having a closer look at it, that monster was large, very large. It wore a stag's skull for a face, bleached bone slick with dried blood, its jaw set with a row of jagged, unnatural teeth. The eyes where they should have been, was only void --- two pits of endless darkness. On its head were massive antlers, twisted like black roots. When it moved around him, he saw black fur thickened into a ragged mantle, coarse and bristled like a lion's mane around its shoulders. The creature's forelimbs bent like a man's arms, ending in long, clawed hands that flexed with quiet precision. The hind legs ---wolfish and sinewed --- pressed into the earth with weight enough to make the ground tremble. Behind it dragged a thick, furred tail, lined with needle-like ridges that gleamed faintly, like a row of needles.
Then, it circled back to staring at his face. It opened its mouth, ready to kill. However, the moment Leslie saw the insides of its mouth, he fainted on the spot.
***
Life is full of mysteries.
That's what Mira An thought when her intuition brought her back to the site where they all fell. Apparently, it was now a safe spot. There was still plenty of corpses and remnants of stone left behind.
In the chaos, she was separated from the group and used her intuition to keep her safe, and, so far, it's been working. At this point in time, she was counting the screams of the victims of the monster. As of recent, there were three people to go before she was next. She had no idea where her deadbeat superior was or where the exit rift was. They had fell down about two stories, and it was impossible to climb back up. Ironically enough, the return call devices the MRS had given them didn't work. She had tried it seven times before she gave up.
Facing the events that occurred, she didn't why she was bidding her time for. Perhaps she didn't want to die, or that she wanted to pass peacefully before her time came. She couldn't tell. She was too tired to, and the dungeon had drained out most of her energy to care. There was no way she could exit the dungeon, and she wasn't strong enough to beat the monster for an exit rift to appear. It was funny. It's was almost like fate told her she was going to die today, but that wasn't the real reason she ended up here. It was because of her choices that she ended up where she was.
"Crunch."
Oh. She stepped on something. Mira looked down. She stepped on a girl's face. Oops. She hadn't meant to step on her face. The girl's nose was bleeding. Mira bent down. The girl was indeed beautiful, she had lustrous blonde hair, and the face of an angel. It was a pity someone young had to die here.
Though, perhaps the girl wasn't dead. Mira checked for a pulse on the girl's neck. Would you look at that? There was a pulse after all, and an Adam's Apple. So, this girl was a boy. Mira remembered she had brought a MRS minor health compound, an edible mana-chemical mix that restored a bit of someone's health. She probably wasn't going to use it.
Why not use it on him?
***
Someone was trying to chug something down his throat. Leslie didn't know what, but he felt that his body getting better, and lighter. On the other hand, his nose hurt. Did someone step on him?He slowly opened his eyes, and saw a blurred face. It seemed like he was still drowsy.
He couldn't believe it, he was still alive.
He couldn't help but to count his lucky stars. Then, his vision got better. Leslie saw Mira An's face. He blurted out the first thing on his mind.
"Why are you still alive?"
"Don't know, kid. One of life's mysteries." she quickly responded, although surprised that was the first thing he said.
He groggily got up, and thanked her for rescuing him. Afterwords, he tried using return call. It didn't work. There was an awkward moment of silence between them.
"Yeah. It doesn't work, kid."
"... So, what do we do now?" Leslie said fearfully.
"I don't know. Maybe walk around some more and accept our fate?" Mira suggested.
"What! Are you crazy??? Haven't you tried finding the exit rift?!"
"Yeah, I did, but the entire place is a maze, and the only rift I could find is about two stories above us. We could also try defeating the monster who's roughly an S-rank to trigger an exit rift. Although, you're a B-rank and I'm a D-rank, kid. It's not gonna go well."
"... Are there stairs?"
"None I could find."
"Is there any hope of getting out alive?"
"There's about a 0.01 percent chance, kid."
"That's terrible!"
"Hey, at least we have each other, kid."
While Leslie Wraiths respected this woman, he couldn't help but to question her sanity. Moreover, he'd rather die in his sleep than get torn open.
"Ughh. Why did you resuscitate me?!"
"I was curious to see if the health compound was defective or not."
"Is that even a reason?!"
"... Yes?"
"Ughh. We're so screwed!"
"That's a lot of Ugh's you said, kid"
That's when Mira An stood up abruptly, her expression hardened.
"We have to go, kid." she warned.
"Huh?"
Leslie didn't have enough time to react when she ran straight past him. He was confused. Was she really going to leave him here after saving him? He ran after her.
"Hey, don't leave me here!"
It seemed like she knew where she was going. If she went left, he went left. If she went right, he went right. She stopped at a dead end. When he met up with her, there was something on the wall, something disturbing. It looked like a rift , but it wasn't a rift he'd ever seen before. It was black, and nothing could seen on the other side. It was an abyss.
"... Is that the exit rift?"
"No, it's not."
"Then, what is it?"
"It's... a world rift"
"Does it lead us back to New York at least?"
"No."
"Then, where does it lead us? Is it safe?"
"Kid, I don't know what happens to us if we go through here."
"Why did you come here?"
"Because, kid, we have to decide. Do we want to die, die, or roll the trigger on fate?"
"What the hell that's supposed to mean?"
Leslie was genuinely confused, he didn't know what she meant, nor did he want to know. Upon that, he heard it again, the sound of the monster.
"Thud."
"Thud."
"T-
In that single instant, Mira pushed him into the abyss. The last thing he saw was her face, indifferent and calculating.