Floor 34 should have been quiet. Instead, something had changed.
Serenya Korvelle noticed it first.
The crystals along the walls flickered without pattern, bright one moment then dull the next. The pools on the ground rippled even without wind, the water shaking like something pushed under it.
Her party slowed. They were all Gold-rank adventurers, but the tension stayed.
The tremor from days earlier wasn't natural. Serenya called it old magic, and the party accepted it without question.
They spent the next days pushing into deeper paths, cutting through narrow caves and tight tunnels. The lizard creatures fell quick, but the air pressed heavier each time they advanced.
Serenya led the way. Her golden hair was tied high, her greatsword across her back. Kaelen followed with low chants under his breath. Derrick moved at the side with spinning daggers. Liora stayed near the back with her charm raised. Garron remained at the middle with his shield up.
The crystals flickered again.
Derrick clicked his tongue. "I don't like the atmosphere here."
His body stayed tense, shoulders tight and fingers firm around his daggers.
"You never do," Liora said. "But this time, you're right."
Serenya raised her hand. "Quiet. Something's coming."
A scrape echoed across the corridor, rough and deep. The ground shook.
Then the creature stepped out of the dark.
It was lizard-like but twisted. Black scales covered its body with bright orange lines running across its limbs, glowing with heat. Two long horns pointed forward. Each step left claw marks on the floor.
Kaelen stiffened. "That variant belongs two floors below."
"It climbed up," Serenya said. She pulled her sword free. "Form up."
The brute roared, shaking dust from the walls.
Garron planted his shield on the floor.
He breathed in deep and shouted, "Iron Wall Guard!"
The shield hardened with a visible burst of force.
His stance locked right before the brute rammed into him. The impact pushed him back three full steps.
"Hold the line!" Serenya said.
Derrick grounded his feet. "Quickstep Veil."
He shifted fast to the right and slashed, but the scales were too thick. The strike bounced off and sent a jolt up his arm. Pain shot through his wrist and forced him a step back. He rolled away as the tail whipped across the floor.
Kaelen continued his chant, voice steady as he traced the runes in the air.
"Hold the flame.
Shape the arc.
Draw the heat to my hand.
Seal the point of impact.
Bind by my command."
Mana flowed around his staff and gathered at the tip. "Flame Bind!"
The flame burst forward and hit the brute's chest, but it barely flinched.
"My magic isn't hitting hard enough!" Kaelen said.
"Aim for the weak points," Serenya said.
The brute lunged.
Serenya lowered her stance. She tightened her grip on her sword. A crescent light formed on the blade's edge, weak at first then steady.
"Moon Slash."
She cut upward, the crescent snapping forward. The impact cracked one horn at the base and shook her arms.
The brute pulled back and roared, claws dragging across the floor as it tried to steady itself.
Derrick let out a breath. "Now it's angry."
The tail swept across the floor. Derrick dodged fast. Kaelen wasn't quick enough. He raised his staff to block, but the impact was too strong and threw him backward. His staff slipped from his hand and rolled away.
"Kaelen!" Liora ran toward him.
The brute rushed toward Kaelen, aiming to finish him while he was still down. Garron stepped in and planted his shield on the floor. He breathed in deep and shouted, "Iron Wall Guard!"
The charge slammed into the shield and cracked the stone under Garron's boots.
"I can't hold this forever!" Garron shouted.
Serenya stepped to the side, eyes locked on the joint. She held her stance and waited.
Derrick pulled a dagger and threw it straight at the brute's eye. The brute closed its eye just before it hit, making the blade bounce off the scale above it. The brute's eyes flared red, locked on Derrick.
"Quickstep Veil."
He dashed right and shouted, "Over here!"
Serenya moved.
Serenya took another breath. The crescent light formed again on the blade, flickering at the edges from strain.
"Moon Slash."
She cut the joint. Scales cracked. Blood spilled across the floor.
The brute screamed.
"Again!" Serenya said.
But this time she didn't use Moon Slash.
Her feet anchored. Her wrist dropped slightly.
A heavy pressure settled along her blade.
"Breaking Edge."
She swung with full weight, the blade cutting deeper into the same joint. The impact pushed her back half a step, her arms shaking from the recoil.
Kaelen grabbed his staff and planted it. His breath turned cold. "Frost Hold!"
Ice spread and locked onto the brute's feet.
"Now!" Kaelen shouted.
Serenya pushed forward and drove her blade into the wounded joint. The brute shattered the ice through force alone and stood again, limping. Red light filled its eyes. Steam rose from its skin. The wound began to close.
"It's trying to regenerate," Liora said.
"Don't let it," Serenya said. "Keep pressuring it."
Garron shifted his weight and burst forward. "Shield Ram!"
His shield slammed into the brute's side.
Derrick tightened his hold on the dagger, wrist firm. "Piercing Fang!"
He drove the blade into the gap behind its front leg. The brute snapped back and struck with its hind leg. Derrick pulled away late, the claw catching his side and dropping him to the floor.
"Derrick!" Liora called.
"I'm fine!" he said through clenched teeth.
The brute swung its arms. Serenya stepped forward and raised her blade sideways.
A thin crescent arc wrapped around the edge.
"Crescent Guard."
The brute's strike hit the arc and dispersed across the blade, letting Serenya stay upright.
She stepped on Garron's shield and vaulted.
Midair, her breath shook. The crescent light formed again, weaker than before.
"Moon Slash!"
She brought the blade down on the brute's back. The force sent a jolt up her arms. She landed hard, sliding across the floor, teeth clenched from the strain.
Kaelen ended another chant. "Flame Bind!"
Fire snapped into the open wound and forced the brute to jerk.
It swung its horns. Serenya dodged one, but the second hooked her sword and ripped it out of her hands. It skidded across the floor.
Garron blocked the next charge. "Iron Wall Guard!"
The shield dented deeper.
Serenya rolled, grabbed her sword, and cut across the brute's snout. Blood spilled.
Derrick pushed up. Liora raised her charm. "Radiant Mend."
The light sealed the worst of Derrick's wound. He rolled his shoulder, testing it. Still sore, but he could move.
He ran forward. "Piercing Fang!"
He stabbed into the wounds Serenya opened and jumped clear as the brute slammed the wall.
The brute spun, damaged and wild. Its tail nearly hit Kaelen.
"It's losing control!" Kaelen said.
"Good," Serenya said. "Wounded beasts make mistakes."
The brute slowed. Its breath turned rough. Blood spread across the floor. Healing stopped.
Then the air shifted.
A heavy pressure dropped from above. The crystals darkened. The pools rippled hard.
The brute froze.
It lowered itself until its horns touched the floor.
It was kneeling.
Derrick stared. "Did it just bow?"
Kaelen raised his staff, but the cast broke midway.
He snapped his head toward the tunnel ahead, confused.
"This has never happened."
Liora gripped her charm. "Goddess protect us."
The pressure doubled. Then tripled.
Derrick fell to one knee. Kaelen collapsed. Garron was forced down. Liora gasped, unable to move.
Serenya stayed standing. Her legs shook, sweat sliding down her face.
Serenya held her stance as the weight pushed harder.
"This presence isn't normal," she said. "This is aura."
She turned her eyes toward the tunnel ahead, jaw tight.
"A boss?" Derrick said, voice breaking.
The tunnel to Floor 35 shook. Stones fell. Light rose from below.
Footsteps followed. Slow. Heavy.
Kaelen's voice broke. "We're dead."
Liora prayed fast.
Derrick spat to the side. "We can't fight that."
A tall figure walked out of the firelit path.
He had silver hair.
He wore a noble coat, black with silver threading and a deep crimson sash.
The clothing stayed clean, untouched by dust.
His eyes glowed faint red.
Each step increased the pressure.
Derrick whispered, "That's not human."
Kaelen pressed his forehead to the ground. "I don't want to die here. I haven't even fulfilled my mentor's wish yet."
Serenya kept her stance.
The ground trembled under her boots, but she refused to kneel.
Her golden eyes met his.
"So. You've come."