Let’s Go Together

Fortunately, the dungeon wasn’t far from where they were.

The coachman who had brought Luce Fennigan here had just left a short while ago. Though he was visibly terrified of the dungeon, he kept bowing repeatedly to Luce, expressing his gratitude to the very end before reluctantly departing. He hadn’t been able to stop the man who had saved his life from walking straight into what was essentially a suicide mission.

But Luce, the moment the carriage pulled away, felt only relief that the bothersome human had finally left.

Standing at the dungeon’s entrance, Carlo and his knights exchanged a final look with Luce. Entering the dungeon might be a choice—but coming back out again could be impossible, no matter how strong one’s will. Carlo gave a firm nod to his knights, his expression composed.

Every one of them was prepared to stake their life on making it through this dungeon.

As he watched, Luce found himself thinking that humans truly were an extraordinary species. In their fleeting lives, they sometimes threw everything away for a single goal—something even dragons couldn’t fully understand. Carlo’s crimson eyes turned toward Luce, who stood quietly beside the knights.

Luce gave him a disinterested nod. Taking that as the final cue, Carlo stepped forward, the first to cross the threshold of the dungeon.

The knights and the dragon passed through what felt like a transparent, indescribable barrier blocking the mouth of the cave. No sooner had they entered the darkness than they all grimaced at the pungent stench that assaulted their noses.

One of the knights grumbled.

“Ugh, smells like something died in here.”

“That’s not the smell of a corpse. It’s sulfur.”

The dragon calmed the group, deciding it was better for them to think of it as sulfur than death.

“Sulfur? So… is that dangerous?”

Luce looked at Carlo’s face.

“Of course it is.”

The dragon responded with a tone that implied why even ask something so obvious? In this little “game,” Luce was playing the role of a mage. He intended to offer a decent amount of help to the group.

“If you smell sulfur in a dark, underground cave…”

Drrrrrr—

The dungeon suddenly trembled in a fine, rapid vibration. Everyone inside instinctively lowered their center of gravity to avoid falling.

“…it means it’s a perfect place for golems to live.”

Just as Luce finished his sentence, the quake stopped. But a different, booming rumble continued to echo from deeper inside. Rocks and boulders were rolling on their own, as though following some unseen logic, moving purposefully toward a specific point. Then, they began to cluster and assemble into a shape. It wasn’t just a pile of rocks.

The mass took form—stones grinding and clashing as it began to move.

It looked as though a living mountain had just awakened.

“It’s a golem! Everyone, form ranks!”

At the very front, Carlo slowly raised his sword. Luce lifted both arms, mana rising around him in a steady current. The shimmering energy gently enveloped the entire group.

Carlo recognized the glow of magic and gave Luce a subtle nod. Luce, as if he’d simply done what was expected, immediately prepared his next spell. The golems were already in motion. There was no time for gratitude.

Stretching one arm forward, Luce cast an enhancement spell on every sword the humans held. Ordinary blades would never be enough to cut through solid stone. As if well-practiced, Carlo and his knights moved into formation with perfect coordination. Carlo was the first to charge the nearest golem. His magically enhanced sword sliced cleanly through the creature in a smooth horizontal arc. It had been a massive hunk of living rock—several times the size of a man.

It didn’t take long to dispatch the entire swarm of golems.

The dungeon entrance was still just behind them.

“From here on, we take the shortest route.”

Carlo brushed the golem debris off his blade as he spoke. Time was not on their side. Though still young, the man possessed a natural charisma that effortlessly drew the group’s attention.

***

They continued their descent underground. Whatever waited for them at the end, the deeper they went, the stronger the monsters became.

The gold dragon walked alongside them, constantly scanning their surroundings.

To Luce’s surprise, reaching the bottom of the dungeon had been remarkably easy. As Carlo had said, the group was made up of some of the finest knights on the continent. And Luce’s own capable spellwork had contributed significantly as well.

Still… it was too easy. The idea that humans hadn’t been able to clear this dungeon in centuries didn’t add up. Brow furrowed, Luce stared at the massive door of the temple hidden beneath the dungeon. From the entrance golems to the handful of monsters they’d faced, everything had fallen swiftly beneath the combined strength of Carlo’s group and Luce’s magic. Just like the rumors said, there were definitely monsters here—but they’d been far too weak.

This is really it? This is the end?

The group stopped just outside a building that emerged from the cavern wall.

It was a temple. Built of white marble, it radiated a soft light in the midst of the vast, shadowy cave. At the front of the temple stood an enormous set of doors. Luce narrowed his eyes as he studied them. One of the knights stepped forward and pressed both hands against the marble surface, his expression grim. He didn’t have to exert much strength—almost as if it had been waiting for them, the temple’s door slid open with an effortless, smooth motion.

“…This is way too easy.”

One of the knights muttered under his breath. Faced with a pristine temple and a door that opened without resistance, it wasn’t just the dragon who started to feel uneasy—the humans were beginning to suspect something too.

But the suspicion didn’t last long.

Because as the temple doors swung wide, the interior came into view.

White marble floors, towering columns, and a grand hallway stretching deep into the building—and there, clearly visible even from a distance, was the gemstone they had been searching for.

It sat far down the corridor, glowing faintly.

“We found it…! We finally found it…!”

“Wait, that’s really the treasure? We actually did it!”

“No.”

Luce quickly calmed the group, who had burst into cheers as if they already owned the treasure. The dragon kept his gaze fixed on the glimmering jewel deep within the dungeon, twinkling in the distance, beckoning the humans forward. Narrowing his eyes, he furrowed his brow, as though trying to judge the treasure’s authenticity.

“Don’t let your guard down until the very end. If we don’t make it back alive, it’s all a failure anyway.”

“Shit. If we fail here, what a damn waste, huh?”

…If they died here? They’d have to gather another team and try again.

But unlike the detached musings inside the dragon’s mind, his outward appearance played the part of a human perfectly. Which meant, just like the others, he looked around the inside of the temple with an awestruck expression.

“If we succeed this time, we’ll change the fate of the entire continent!”

One of the knights shouted with conviction.

Carlo, resolve hardening in his eyes, took the first step into the temple. The grand hall silently accepted the four humans and one dragon into its depths.

As they cautiously advanced toward the gemstone, it happened.

“Whoa. Look at that.”

One of the party members pointed up toward the ceiling. Luce lifted his head. There, a mural adorned the ceiling—a painting so realistic it made the subterranean temple feel as though it were open to the sky. Blue sky and soft white clouds stretched across the stone, and seated above it all was an angel, holding an enormous bow in one hand. It was only a painting, but the artist’s skill was so extraordinary that the angel looked truly alive. The compassionate expression and smiling eyes seemed to warmly welcome all who entered.

“It’s beautiful. What a breathtaking painting.”

The humans came to a stop. No one could keep walking after seeing something like that. After a brief moment admiring the ceiling mural, they began moving again.

“…So we just walk all the way down there?”

“Thank god nothing’s happened so far.”

The knights chatted among themselves as they proceeded ahead.

But the dragon remained rooted to the spot, eyes still locked on the mural above.

Luce raised his head and stared at the angel. The moment his gaze met the painted angel’s eyes, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over him—something he had never experienced before. Was it because the artwork was too lifelike? No. This sensation went beyond that.

This feeling…

It was as if… that really was an angel.

The moment he tried to look away from the smiling angel, the dragon sensed something chilling.

The angel’s eyes moved.

They shifted—toward the party walking deeper into the temple.

But the unbelievable didn’t stop there.

The angel in the mural lifted the bow in its hand and pulled the string taut. It aimed—solely at the humans. This movement transcended any magic known to man. It was something far beyond the mana the dragon often wielded. Purer. Stronger. Unfathomably refined.

The moment the dragon felt that mana, a crushing sense of helplessness overcame him.

There was no stopping it.