Delilah also chose to escape through a window, avoiding a fight with Brooks over the wooden ladder—better one escape than none. She leapt from a different window, but had barely run twenty meters when a foul, fishy mist struck her back without warning or escape.
*"Cough!"*
The force slammed her to the ground, blood surging in her throat, organs twisted and displaced. She spat a mouthful of blood as her face hit the earth with a brutal crack. Her mind went blank.
A second later, some unseen power lifted her. Clinging to the edge of consciousness, Delilah managed to activate a healing kit and simultaneously triggered an item:
**\[Item: Rusted Scissors]**
As the item activated, the force binding her vanished. Delilah fled again—but only managed a few more steps before being struck down once more.
This cycle repeated four times before the scissors shattered in her hand, rendered useless. Her face turned as pale as death.
*Is this how I die?*
Suddenly, a shadow hurtled toward her—
A harpoon stabbed through the air, striking behind her—
Eyes widening, Delilah felt a surge of hope. *Brooks!*
He had come.
With the harpoon, Brooks forced the Dragon King to recoil.
The Dragon King withdrew its tail, sliding several meters back in visible apprehension.
"Get up," Brooks said, shaking the harpoon, eyes never leaving the mist-shrouded monster.
The black fog around the Dragon King's upper body thickened ominously.
"Hmph!"
The creature issued its first vocalization since coming ashore.
How to describe the sound?
It was a grotesque chorus of aged voices, youthful whispers, childish cries, and infant wails all blended together. Brooks felt his scalp tingle, his harpoon trembling violently in his hands. The weight of fury and dread bore down on him—he nearly lost his grip.
"Go!" Brooks gritted his teeth.
Delilah bought another healing kit and, with a breathless thank-you, turned and fled.
The Dragon King lunged at Brooks.
He was stunned. He had assumed the creature would hesitate before the harpoon's power—but it charged forward, undeterred.
He couldn't dodge. If he did, the Dragon King would chase after Delilah again.
So Brooks fought.
The Dragon King's tail was a weapon in itself—each swing cracked the air, cleaving the earth open. It wasn't just strong—it was fast. Brooks felt as though he were surrounded by a dozen Dragon Kings at once, their afterimages blurring the air.
All he could do was swing the harpoon in a dense arc, deflecting the lethal tail again and again.
Thanks to his martial training, he held his ground. But he knew it couldn't last.
His grip tore, bones fractured, the harpoon cracked—one prong broke clean off and clattered to the ground.
*This won't work much longer.*
Delilah should be far enough by now.
Seeing his chance, Brooks disengaged and ran.
Enraged, the Dragon King slammed the ground, leaving a deep crater before giving chase—straight in Delilah's direction.
The commotion drew Erik's attention, guiding her to the right path. Rounding a corner, she caught sight of Delilah ahead.
But just as she opened her mouth to call out, Erik froze. A chill ran down her spine as she turned her head, eyes dilating in horror.
*She was between Delilah and the Dragon King.*
The creature moved effortlessly atop the black mist, vanishing and reappearing in flashes. In a blink, it closed the gap by over ten meters.
*Damn it!*
Erik turned and fled. Panic gripped her. She didn't think she could escape.
But after running several meters—silence.
*No. This isn't right.*
Given the Dragon King's speed, it should have already overtaken her.
She stopped and looked back. No sign of the creature.
*It… passed me? It's still chasing Delilah?*
Confused and concerned, Erik couldn't just abandon her. Delilah had once saved her. Even if the Dragon King was far more terrifying than Nora's mother, she had to try.
As she sprinted back, her mind raced.
*Why had the Dragon King ignored her? What was different between her and Delilah?*
*Think. Think!*
Delilah had been struck down again. She lay flat, the Dragon King's massive tail raised high, poised to crush her skull.
She knew, once it came down, her head would be reduced to paste.
"Y-Yinghua... they're in the shrine," Delilah choked, blood bubbling from her lips. "Don't forget... seek vengeance on them…"
She closed her eyes. If Yinghua was the one to kill her, so be it. But to die as a designated sacrifice—that stung with regret.
Erik dashed into view just as the tail began to descend.
Her thoughts ignited.
*She had to save Delilah. They had to beat the dungeon and return together. She still owed Delilah a meal!*
Then, inspiration struck. She screamed:
"Destroy your ID! Delilah—break your ID card!"
She clung to the flash of insight, not knowing if it would work—but praying it might.
Delilah didn't hesitate. Even on the brink of death, players were trained by countless dungeons to seize any shred of hope.
Hearing Erik's desperate cry, Delilah abandoned her resignation. Summoning her last strength, she reached into her pocket, pulled out her ID card, and smashed it against the ground—
*Snap.*
The card snapped clean in two.
At the same moment, the Dragon King's tail descended.
*Boom!*
Erik's eyes flew wide as she stared at the spot where the tail struck. Sand and gravel flew, then slowly settled. The Dragon King turned and slithered away.
Delilah, half-buried in dust, coughed uncontrollably. Relief flooded her face as she choked out laughter, blood bubbling from her lips. In her mind, she purchased another healing kit.
By the time Erik reached her, Delilah was already sitting up.
"Thank you," she said, smiling through bloodstained lips. "You saved my life."
"You saved me too. Are you okay?" Erik offered a hand. Delilah took it and stood.
"How did you know the ID was the key?"
Erik gave a wry smile. "Pure guess. When the Dragon King ignored me earlier and went after you, I kept thinking what the difference was. Then I remembered—my ID card was stored in a storage item. Maybe it couldn't sense mine."
"And you were right. The ID is how it identifies sacrifices," Delilah said, her voice tinged with awe. "When we enter the dungeon, we still have our real bodies—but it's the ID that sets our identity here. Who would've thought the little starter kit they give us hides a trap like that?"
"Have you seen Brooks?"
"He saved me just now. Let's go—we need to warn him!"
The two of them chased after the Dragon King's trail—and soon saw it striking Brooks's harpoon, snapping it in half.
Brooks was about to be killed.
Erik shouted, "Break your ID! That's the only way!"
Brooks's eyes lit up. He raised another item to block the fatal strike, then pulled out his ID card.
**\[Item: Flat Coffin Lid]**
The Dragon King froze mid-swing.
In that single, suspended second, Brooks snapped the ID card in two.
Cracks spread across the coffin lid. It was on the verge of breaking. Brooks winced—the item had only been used twice before, with no damage. The Dragon King, born from countless grievances, truly possessed terrifying power.
Looking back, the harpoon had held out surprisingly well. No wonder it was considered the shrine's sacred treasure.
Still, surviving was worth the cost.
Once the ID broke, the Dragon King withdrew its tail. Night had fully fallen. The mist thickened, even obscuring part of its tail.
It no longer looked at the players. Within seconds, it slid dozens of meters away and vanished from sight.
"That's the direction of the shrine," Delilah said, wiping blood from her face. "It really went to take revenge. Where do we find the portal now?"
"I think it's across the river," Erik replied. After everything, she was certain it wasn't in Dahe Village.
If the Dragon King still attacked after the ID was destroyed, it meant that even without the sacrifice status, players were still considered villagers. But the creature had lost interest.
That could only mean: their identities had reverted to players. They no longer belonged to this cursed village.
And so, the escape route would not be here—in a place twisted by decades of vengeance.
"You're right," Delilah nodded. "And the Dragon King's busy with NPCs. Now's the safest time to cross."
She turned to Brooks. "What do you say?"
"I'm with you."
The three returned to the dock and found the fishing boat they had hidden earlier. Erik did have a yacht in her inventory, but it wasn't worth the attention it would draw.
Together, they rowed, leaving Dahe Village behind.
There was no sound. Yet Erik felt certain something horrific was happening in the shrine.
No danger appeared. Nor did the rumored whirlpool. Erik was now convinced they had made the right call.
After two hours, they spotted lights from the far shore.
Hope ignited. They redoubled their efforts and, twenty minutes later, reached land.
Circling the bank, they found a dock. To their delight—a glowing portal shimmered into view.
"We were right!" Delilah cheered. "Let's go. Time to leave this nightmare."
She stepped into the portal. Brooks and Erik exchanged farewells. Erik glanced one last time at the river, as though hearing phantom waves, then followed.
**\[Player Erik has cleared the paranormal instance: Dragon King's Festival. Points earned: 44]**