As soon as we crossed the entrance of the dungeon, the temperature changed immediately.
The air became heavy.
Hot.
The natural light disappeared just a few meters past the entrance, giving way to a reddish darkness that came from the walls themselves. Small dark crystals grew between the stones, emitting a faint light that pulsed slowly as if it were alive.
I gripped the hilt of my sword as we advanced through the corridors.
The silence was strange.
No sound of wind.
No natural movement.
Only the distant echo of our footsteps.
Liriel looked around attentively.
"The demonic mana here is much stronger than I imagined."
Lyannis ran her fingers across the stone wall.
"These crystals are absorbing energy."
Elara frowned.
"So this dungeon is growing on its own?"
"Probably."
Scarlet walked at the front beside me, keeping her sword ready.
"The deeper we go, the worse it will get."
Rai'kanna slowly exhaled as she looked at the high ceiling of the corridor.
"This place smells awful."
Vespera followed farther behind in silence, watching every dark corner of the dungeon.
She always did that.
Even when she seemed calm, she was analyzing everything around her.
We continued advancing slowly until we reached a large open area. The floor was covered with dark cracks, and pieces of armor were scattered everywhere.
I crouched near one of them.
Deep marks.
As if some creature had sliced through metal with ease.
Scarlet looked around.
"These belong to the adventurers who disappeared."
Liriel closed her eyes for a few seconds.
"They died here."
The atmosphere immediately grew heavier.
I stood up slowly.
"Stay alert."
The next instant, a roar echoed through the chamber.
A creature emerged from the darkness, charging directly at us.
Its body was covered in black armor-like plates, and its eyes glowed with an intense red light.
More began appearing behind it.
Demons.
But different from the usual ones.
They were larger.
More aggressive.
Scarlet was the first to move.
She crossed the distance in seconds and slashed horizontally through the first demon. The creature was cut in half before it could even attack.
At the same time, Vespera disappeared into the shadows along the sides.
Two demons that tried to surround us fell almost instantly to precise cuts across their necks.
Elara raised her hand.
Several wind blades shot through the corridor, striking the monsters coming from behind.
Rai'kanna entered the fight next using brute force.
Her punch completely crushed one of the demons' chests against the stone wall.
Lyannis began casting magic from behind us.
Blue magic circles appeared around the group while small streams of mana increased our resistance.
Liriel raised her staff.
"Holy Light."
A burst of radiant energy swept across the entire area, consuming several monsters at once.
I quickly observed everything as I moved through the middle of the battle.
The group's movements were far more synchronized than before.
Faster.
More precise.
The training of the past few days was truly paying off.
A demon charged at me from the right.
I easily dodged and cut off the creature's arm before driving my sword through its chest.
But another appeared immediately behind it.
And another.
They were appearing far too quickly.
"Does this ever end?" Elara asked while dodging an attack.
Lyannis remained calm.
"The dungeon is producing an excess amount of demonic mana."
Scarlet spun her sword, bringing down two monsters at the same time.
"Then we'll destroy everything."
The ground began to tremble slightly.
I looked ahead.
More creatures were coming from the lower corridors.
Hundreds.
I slowly took a deep breath.
It was an absurd number.
I felt the power of the Dragon King react inside my body once again.
Flames began to appear around my right hand.
It was still strange trying to control them.
The heat increased too quickly.
But this time I tried to maintain my concentration.
Lyannis noticed immediately.
"Control the mana first."
I nodded slowly.
I closed my eyes for a second and slowly concentrated the energy around my arm.
The fire began to stabilize.
The flames stopped exploding uncontrollably and instead wrapped around my hand more evenly.
Scarlet smiled slightly while fighting.
"You finally did it."
I opened my eyes again.
Then I advanced.
The first strike pierced through three demons at once.
The draconic flames exploded at the moment of impact, completely consuming the creatures' bodies.
The entire corridor lit up with an intense red glow.
Rai'kanna looked impressed.
"That fire..."
Another group charged toward us.
I immediately extended my hand.
For the first time in real combat, the flames shot forward.
It still wasn't a perfect attack.
But it worked.
A stream of fire tore through several monsters at once, burning everything in its path.
Heat filled the entire chamber.
Liriel took a step back.
"The demonic mana is being consumed."
Lyannis observed carefully.
"His flames are purifying as they destroy."
That was new even to me.
The monsters continued coming without end, but now the group was advancing much faster.
Scarlet led the assault from the front.
Vespera eliminated any creature that tried to surround the group.
Elara controlled the battlefield with wind magic to limit enemy movement.
Rai'kanna destroyed larger monsters through sheer strength.
Liriel purified the demonic mana around us.
Lyannis maintained everything with support magic.
And I advanced through the center, using the draconic flames whenever an opening appeared.
The entire dungeon seemed to react to the fire.
The walls began vibrating slowly.
The red crystals pulsed faster and faster.
Lyannis looked around.
"Something is wrong."
The ground shook again.
This time more violently.
Then we heard it.
A much larger roar echoed from the depths of the dungeon.
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
Scarlet tightened her grip on her sword.
"That is definitely not a normal monster."
The lesser demons began retreating slowly.
As if they were obeying something.
Or someone.
Vespera stared at the main corridor ahead.
"It's coming."
The magical pressure suddenly increased.
It was heavy.
Dense.
Far stronger than any creature we had encountered so far.
The shadows at the far end of the corridor slowly shifted until a massive creature appeared.
Its body was covered with black plates resembling volcanic stone. Its arms were enormous, and several red markings glowed across its body like lava flowing beneath the surface.
Its red eyes stared directly at our group.
The creature opened its mouth, releasing dark smoke.
Rai'kanna frowned.
"That's an elite demon."
Lyannis immediately became serious.
"No... it's stronger."
The monster took a step forward.
The ground sank instantly.
Scarlet smiled slightly.
"Now it's getting interesting."
Before anyone could respond, the demon vanished from sight.
Its speed was absurd.
It reappeared in front of Scarlet, attempting to crush her with its gigantic arm.
She managed to block at the last moment, but was dragged several meters backward.
The impact shattered the ground beneath her.
"Scarlet!"
She slid several more meters before stopping.
Even after blocking, the attack had been heavy.
The demon roared again and charged.
This time everyone attacked together.
Elara launched several wind blades.
Liriel fired holy magic.
Rai'kanna struck the monster from the side.
Vespera appeared behind it, aiming for the neck.
But the creature endured everything.
Only minor damage appeared on its black armor.
Lyannis analyzed quickly.
"The demonic mana is protecting its body."
I looked at my hands wrapped in draconic flames.
Maybe that fire truly was different.
I took a deep breath.
Then I charged.
The demon tried to strike me directly, but I dodged before the impact and leaped off the side wall for momentum.
I concentrated as much flame as possible into my sword.
The heat immediately intensified.
My entire arm began to burn.
But I continued.
I came down with a slash directly across the creature's chest.
The flames exploded upon impact.
For the first time, the demon roared in pain.
Its black armor began to crack.
Scarlet noticed immediately.
"The flames work!"
The entire group advanced once more.
Now we had an opening.
Rai'kanna grabbed the creature's left arm while Scarlet attacked from the front.
Vespera disappeared into the shadows and reappeared behind it, striking the cracks opened by my attack.
Elara used wind magic to throw the monster off balance while Liriel cast holy magic directly into the open wounds.
Lyannis reinforced my mana.
"Takumi. One more time."
I nodded.
The flames began concentrating around my sword once again.
This time they were more stable.
Stronger.
The power of the Dragon King reacted violently inside my body, but I controlled it better than before.
Fire completely engulfed the blade.
Then I charged one final time.
I drove straight through the demon's chest.
The draconic flames exploded from the inside out, consuming the demonic mana that sustained the creature's body.
The roar echoed throughout the entire dungeon.
And then the gigantic body slowly began to collapse.
Silence.
Heavy.
Only our breathing could be heard.
Scarlet cleaned her sword.
"So that was only the beginning."
Lyannis looked toward the depths of the main corridor.
"There's still something deeper in here."
Liriel tightened her grip on her staff slightly.
"The demonic mana is still increasing."
I looked ahead.
The dark corridor seemed to descend even deeper into the depths of the dungeon.
And at that moment, I became certain of one thing.
We had not even come close to reaching the true core of that place.