The scent of blood still lingered in the air, but the battlefield had already shifted.
The Alpha was dead, finally dead.
By all logic, the remaining Dreadfangs should have fled. A pack without a leader would normally scatter, falling into disarray.
But these ones?
They stayed.
Their movements were sloppy, uncoordinated, but instead of running, they circled us warily, their glowing eyes still brimming with hunger.
"...Why aren't they retreating?"
Lyria murmured.
I frowned.
That was a good question.
This wasn't supposed to happen, in the game when they lost their leader they always retreating, heck even in every novel too, so why? Did they try to defend something or there something that control them?
Cedric cracked his knuckles, stepping forward with an eager grin.
"Heh. Who cares? That just means more fun for us!"
I should've agreed. The pack was leaderless, and we had already proven we could handle them.
But something felt off.
Then, I felt it.
A pulse of mana.
It was subtle, but it was there.
And the Dreadfangs responded to it.
Their movements, once uncoordinated, suddenly synchronized.
They didn't charge blindly.
They attacked together.
"Shit!"
I cursed, so there something that contol them, but who? Even Lilith not supposed to appear at this time, we still have long way before finally confront her.
"Formation!"
Elena and Lyria immediately took their positions. Cedric, thankfully, listened this time, raising his fists.
The first Dreadfang lunged, only for Lyria to meet it mid-charge, her sword slicing through its front legs with brutal precision. It howled, crashing to the ground, but before she could finish it.
Another one was already behind her.
"Lyria, right flank!" I shouted.
She reacted a split second too late.
The Dreadfang's claws grazed her side, slicing through fabric but barely missing flesh.
She shouldn't have been that slow.
"Lyria!"
"I-I'm fine!"
She insisted, gripping her sword.
She wasn't.
She was hesitating.
Why?
I clenched my jaw, refocusing on the fight.
We had to end this now.
"Elena, eyes!"
Elena sighed but followed through, her rapier piercing through the skull of one of the beasts.
Cedric blasted another with fire, its fur igniting as it shrieked and collapsed.
Lyria, too, managed to finish the one she had wounded earlier, her blade cutting cleanly through its throat.
And then.
Silence.
The last Dreadfang hit the ground.
Panting, I scanned the battlefield.
No more movement.
It was over.
But Lyria wasn't looking at the corpses.
She was staring into the darkness of the dungeon corridor ahead.
"Lyria," I said slowly, "what's he helll are you doing? Why kamu losing focus in the middle of the fight!"
She hesitated.
Then, she exhaled, gripping her sword tightly.
"...This didn't happen before."
A cold weight settled in my stomach.
"What? What do you mean?"
She bit her lip.
"It-it's not supposed to happen."
I stiffened.
"What?"
She turned, finally meeting my gaze.
"I-i never fought this many Dreadfangs before. And I definitely never felt this... pull."
Ok seriously what the hell is she talking about? Pull? What pull? Is she gacha game player before come to this world or what?
I followed her gaze toward the uncharted depths of the dungeon.
I don't know why, it's as if something was calling her.
And it not something that happened in the game, am i forgot about something? No, I'm pretty sure this test goals only bring dungeon core and there no some hidden secret at all.
"Lyria,"
I said carefully
"This could be dangerous."
"I know," she murmured.
And yet...
She took a step forward.
Deeper into the unknown.
And something in my gut told me that whatever she was about to find
And it was probably going to change everything, hopefully in the positive way.
The deeper we went, the quieter it became.
Without the Alpha, the remaining Dreadfangs were disorganized, scattered. We took down a few more stragglers along the way, but compared to the fight before, it was almost too easy.
Which was why I felt uneasy.
Lyria was leading the way, her steps sure and purposeful. She had been acting strangely ever since we entered this part of the dungeon moving faster, making decisions without hesitation.
And now she had taken us off the usual path.
This wasn't where the dungeon boss was supposed to be.
I frowned.
"Lyria."
She kept walking.
"Lyria."
She stopped, glancing back at me.
"What?"
I crossed my arms.
"You know this isn't the right way."
A flicker of something crossed her expression, hesitation? Doubt?
Then she steeled herself.
"It doesn't matter. There's something important here."
"And how do you know that?"
She hesitated again.
I narrowed my eyes.
I know Lyria hide something from us, or rather me? She knew what was supposed to happen in this world. But I wasn't supposed to know that.
And yet she was acting differently now.
Taking a different path.
Making a different choice.
I exhaled.
"You're know something aren't you?"
She flinched.
"I—I don't—"
"You don't what?"
I took a step closer.
"You definitely know something in this dungeon aren't you? Something that you must definitely get no matter what "
Her grip on her sword tightened.
"…That doesn't matter."
She turned away.
"We're going."
And just like that, she continued walking.
I exchanged glances with Elena and Cedric.
Cedric just shrugged.
Elena smirked.
"Seems fun."
I sighed.
Fine.
I didn't know what Lyria was looking for, but whatever it was.
It wasn't supposed to exist.
The air grew heavy as we ventured deeper. The rough stone walls of the dungeon twisted into unfamiliar paths, the torches lining the corridors flickering with an unnatural blue hue. This was… wrong.
Even if I didn't have Tristan's fragmented memories, I knew this wasn't how the dungeon was supposed to be.
Lyria was changing things.
And that was dangerous.
"Do you even know where we're going?"
I asked, breaking the silence.
Lyria didn't stop.
"Yes"
Cedric huffed.
"You sure? Cause it looks like you're just wandering aimlessly."
Lyria finally turned, fixing Cedric with a sharp glare.
"I know what I'm doing."
Her voice carried an unusual edge.
I studied her carefully.
She wasn't just guessing. She wasn't hesitating. She knew something was here.
Something important.
The problem was, whatever this was… it wasn't in the game.
I looked toward Elena, but she simply smirked, as if enjoying the chaos.
Typical.
We kept moving.
Eventually, we reached a dead end.
A massive stone wall blocked our path, ancient and weathered, with strange carvings etched into its surface.
Lyria approached it without hesitation, running her fingers along the symbols.
Then, she took a deep breath and placed her palm against the center.
The ground trembled.
A deep, resonating hum filled the air as the carvings began to glow.
"What the hell"
Cedric started, but before he could finish, the wall split apart.
A hidden passage.
My stomach twisted.
This wasn't in the game.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Lyria glanced back at us, her expression unreadable.
"Come on."
Then, without waiting, she stepped inside.
And against my better judgment.
I followed.