Raiden's storm-colored eyes narrowed. "We don't get stronger by turning away."
Gabriel gave a short nod, his golden aura brightening like a dawn resisting the endless night. "If we back off now, whatever's behind that door will find a way out eventually. Better to meet it head-on—on our terms."
Ezekiel, fingers gliding across his gauntlet interface, issued a silent command. His floating drones expanded outward, locking into a rotating formation around the gate, analyzing the energy structure. "Stabilizing the perimeter… ready when you are. But once that thing opens, don't expect a second chance."
Ji Seong-Ho stepped back from the door, drawing his blade again. It shimmered faintly with silver light—an edge forged not just from skill, but absolute resolve.
Then, Leon took a deep breath and stepped forward.
With a slow exhale, he pressed his hand against the ancient, abyssal door.
KRRRRRRRRRRRRK.
The engravings flared to life with a deep violet glow, tendrils of abyssal energy curling around Leon's arm like it recognized him—or acknowledged him. For a split second, the door whispered. Not in a language anyone could understand… but a feeling.
BOOOOOOM.
With a thunderous shudder, the gates began to part.
A maelstrom of darkness surged outward, pressing against the hunters like a tsunami of sheer presence. Even the National-Level Hunters, who had faced countless disasters, felt a cold wind crawl across their souls.
From the outside, even I flinched.
Christa looked toward me. "You felt that, right?"
I didn't respond immediately. Through the shadows hidden in each of the National-Level Hunters, I felt it too—like the dungeon had just breathed in… and was about to exhale something unspeakable.
My hand curled slightly as I focused. If something beyond comprehension was inside, my link to the shadows would serve as our only lifeline.
As the colossal doors fully opened, a vast void stretched before the hunters. The room beyond wasn't just dark—it was empty, a silence so suffocating it drowned even the sound of their own steps.
And then… a single light bloomed in the distance.
Leon took the lead, stepping across the threshold. "Stay sharp. Whatever's waiting for us… it's already aware we're here."
Gabriel raised his hand, casting orbs of holy light forward to illuminate the abyss.
Alexander cracked his knuckles again. "Hope it hits harder than the last one. I'm just getting warmed up."
Raiden's form blurred into static, vanishing and reappearing at intervals like lightning crossing the sky.
Ji Seong-Ho walked forward in silence, but his blade was poised, ready to react to even the faintest movement.
Ezekiel's drones hovered silently, gathering visual and mana data from every direction, scanning the space between dimensions.
THRUMMMM.
From the far end of the dark throne hall, something shifted. Just slightly.
And from the moment it moved, even the dungeon itself seemed to quiver.
Leon's eyes narrowed. "This isn't just a monster."
Raiden growled. "It's a presence."
Gabriel muttered a quiet prayer, golden runes circling his fingers.
From my vantage, I focused every ounce of mana through my shadow tether. I still couldn't see clearly what waited at the end of that vast chamber.
The moment the hunters crossed the threshold into the vast chamber, the atmosphere shifted.
Not just in temperature or pressure—but in weight.
Every step echoed like thunder, swallowed almost instantly by the oppressive silence. A thick mist clung to the ground, twisting and coiling like it was alive. At the far end of the enormous hall stood a throne forged from black stone and laced with abyssal veins glowing faint violet. But it wasn't the throne that commanded their immediate attention. It was what stood before it.
Three towering figures loomed in the dim light—massive silhouettes cloaked in shadows and power. Each of them radiated an aura that sent even the National-Level Hunters on edge.
One stood like a knight carved from void-forged armor, its helm crowned with spiraling horns. In its hands was a blade that pulsed with a heartbeat of its own, a rhythm that felt out of sync with reality itself.
The second hovered slightly above the ground, wreathed in broken chains and a cloak of living fog. Its face was hidden behind a fractured mask, and its presence carried the unmistakable chill of something that should not exist.
The third… was larger than both. A giant cloaked in abyssal flame, with molten cracks running across obsidian skin. Its arms were crossed over a chest that resembled a volcanic core, smoldering with restrained destruction.
Behind them… the throne remained empty.
Ezekiel's drones struggled to maintain a feed—static flickering across his interface. "Their energy signatures are unstable… This is getting more dangerous."
Raiden's eyes narrowed. "Are they a guardians?"
Gabriel's holy light pulsed faintly around him, trying to resist the corruption pressing in from the chamber. "They were left here. To protect something—or someone."
Ji Seong-Ho raised his sword, its silver glow intensifying. "We cut through them. Whatever's behind that throne… it's not ready to show itself yet."
The moment Ji Seong-Ho's foot slid forward, blade ready to strike, the silence shattered—
"Have you come… to prove your worth?"
The giant, third figure stepped forward. It echoed through bone and blood, threading itself into the minds of all who stood in the vast chamber.
Each movement cracked the floor beneath it with molten reverberations. The obsidian cracks on its body pulsed, glowing like lava veins under volcanic pressure. Its eyes—if they could be called that—were pits of swirling fire, staring down at the hunters like they were nothing more than insects beneath a boot.
The air grew heavier.
A tremor rippled outward—not from the ground, but from the sheer pressure of the creature's aura. Even the National-Level Hunters staggered slightly, their bodies reacting instinctively to the overwhelming force radiating from the abyssal guardian.
Alexander Graves clenched his fists, steam hissing off his skin as he tried to stand firm. His muscles bulged in protest. "What the hell is this pressure!?"