(Elaine Vaelthorne's POV)
The ancient chamber stretched before us, its towering stone pillars casting long shadows under the dim, rune-lit glow.
At the far end, the massive door stood silent—carved with glowing glyphs, pulsating as if waiting to be awakened.
The Boss Room.
And around us, more examinees arrived.
We weren't alone anymore.
****
Two other groups had already stepped forward, emerging from the tunnels opposite ours.
I recognized a few faces immediately.
Sylara Ilthariel—the High Elven Princess.
Clad in elegant silver armor, her bow and sword glowed with divine energy, her piercing green eyes locked onto us like a hunter sizing up her prey.
Beside her stood several elven warriors, each one radiating noble grace and deadly precision.
And then, stepping from another passage—
Veylen & Lunara Nightshade—the Vampire Twins.
Their dark crimson eyes shimmered in the dim light, their presence exuding an aura of silent menace.
Veylen rested a hand on the hilt of his blood-forged sword, while Lunara simply smiled.
I could already tell—they weren't here to negotiate.
Morganna hummed. "Well, this is a lively gathering."
Dain spoke "I hope they're not expecting us to just walk away."
Evelyn exhaled, gripping her sword. "They wouldn't be here if they weren't planning to fight for it."
But my thoughts someone else.
Where Was He?
Despite the tension, my mind drifted to one thought.
Alistair.
He was still nowhere in sight.
The thought sent an uneasy sensation curling in my chest.
I knew he was strong—probably handling whatever came his way.
But…
This was a battlefield.
And even the strongest warriors could fall.
****
The tension in the chamber grew thick.
No one made the first move—yet.
We all knew what this was.
A game of patience.
Everyone waiting for other team to fight. So they can take down winning team with minimum enegy. To third party the winner.
Sylara's voice cut through the silence.
"This door doesn't belong to you," she said coolly, gaze shifting between me, Dain, Morganna, and Evelyn.
Dain let out a low chuckle.
"And who does it belong to? You?"
Sylara's bow hummed with energy.
"If necessary."
Lunara smirked, stepping forward, her vampiric aura thickening.
"I agree with the elf," she mused. "There are too many people here. I say we trim the numbers down."
A crackle of tension.
Mana flared.
Weapons were gripped tighter.
One move.
That's all it would take—
For this chamber to become a war zone.
I tightened my grip on my twin swords, heart pounding.
The real fight hadn't even started.
And yet—blood was already about to be spilled.
The tension in the cavern was suffocating.
Weapons were drawn. Mana surged. The battle for the boss room was only seconds away from erupting.
And then—
More arrived.
****
A booming voice broke the standoff.
"You're all too impatient."
I turned, my eyes narrowing as a tall figure emerged from another passage.
Leon Valerius.
(The so-called "protagonist" of this world.)
His golden hair gleamed under the dim light of the runes, his greatsword resting lazily on his shoulder.
Beside him, a girl with short golden hair and silver eyes stepped forward, radiating an aura of divine light.
Selene Brightward.
The saintess canditate god of Light and Purity.
As soon as they entered, I could feel it—
The way the air shifted.
They had natural charisma, a presence that made them feel larger than life.
Leon smirked, glancing around. "Looks like all the strongest made it here."
He turned his gaze toward me and Evelyn, his smirk widening.
"Princess," he greeted Evelyn, before his eyes flickered to me. "And… the little sister of the fallen heir."
I clenched my fists.
I didn't respond.
I wasn't here to waste words.
Leon, of course, took that as an invitation to keep talking.
"Since we're all here, how about we handle this the smart way? We all want the boss kill, but—"
His words were cut off.
Because more arrivals were coming.
***
From another cave entrance, Kieran Azurios stepped forward—his blue hair and blue eyes reflecting the glow of the runes.
The Merfolk Prince of the Abyssal Kingdom.
Trailing behind him were several water-aligned awakened, their tridents humming with mana.
Yet from another entrance, Rael Thunderfang, the Beastkin Prince, strode forward, his golden fur bristling with excitement.
His sharp amber eyes scanned the competition, his claws twitching with the desire for battle.
"Finally," he growled, cracking his neck. "I was getting bored."
And then—
A lone figure stepped from the shadows.
The moment she entered, the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Her raven-black hair cascaded down her shoulders, her red eyes glowing with a sinister fire.
Cassandra Everwyn.
The Avatar of goddess of Envy and Wrath.
Her presence alone was enough to send a chill through the cavern.
She strode forward, eyes sweeping across the gathered contenders with thinly veiled disdain.
"Oh, look," she sneered. "All the little noble heirs, clinging to their titles, thinking that makes them strong."
Her gaze landed on Leon, her lips curling into a smirk but her eyes filled with hate.
"I hope you're ready to die"
Leon exhaled dramatically. "You never change, do you, Cassandra?"
She tilted her head. "Should I? May be after i kill you."
The atmosphere was a ticking bomb.
One wrong move—one insult too far—
And the cavern would turn into a bloodbath.
But before the battle could erupt—
BOOM!
The massive stone doors of the boss chamber shuddered—
And then—
Something slammed into them from the inside.
CRACK!
The ancient stone splintered before the force—
And then—
The doors were blown apart.
A massive, grotesque creature was sent hurtling out of the boss room, its body crashing into the cavern wall near us.
A twisted amalgamation of flesh and mana, its body bulging with pulsing veins of corrupt energy.
Its mutated limbs twitched, its once-humanoid form barely recognizable beneath the monstrous transformation.
A Dungeon Boss.
Or rather—
What was left of it.
The moment it hit the wall, it let out a horrifying gurgling noise, its body convulsing—
Before it collapsed into a heap.
Silence filled the chamber.
None of us moved.
None of us spoke.
Because standing in the now-ruined doorway of the boss room—
Bathed in shadows and eldritch corruption—
Was a man.
Dark tentacles coiled around his body like living shadows, pulsing with abyssal hunger.
His raven-black hair framed his emotionless face, his cold, void-like eyes sweeping across us with eerie detachment.
It was him.
Alistair!
My brother.
I opened by mouth to speak but, No words came out my mouth.
The room was frozen—every contender in the cavern staring at him in shock.
Leon was the first to recover, stepping forward with an arrogant grin.
"Well, well," he mused. "Look who finally decided to show up."
Alistair's gaze flickered toward him, but he didn't respond.
He didn't acknowledge any of us.
He simply stepped forward, his tentacles retracting, his black aura flickering like devouring flames.
He had been here before us.
And instead of waiting—
He had entered the boss room alone.
And now…
He was the only one left standing.
A terrifying thought gripped me.
Just how strong had he become?
TO BE CONTINUE...