The final dungeon monster dissolved into drifting motes of mana, its form unraveling as if it had never truly existed.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Eryx lowered his weapon slowly. The wind around him—once violent, screaming—settled into a shallow, uncertain spiral before fading altogether.
His chest rose and fell, steady. Controlled.
Victorious.
"It's over," someone whispered behind him.
The dungeon did not respond.
No exit portal appeared.
No familiar sensation of clearance followed.
Instead—
The relic at the center of the chamber stuttered.
The deep-blue core, suspended in midair and bound by rotating chains of light, skipped a rotation—just once—like a heartbeat falling out of rhythm. The silver veins running through it dimmed… then flared sharply.
Eryx frowned.
"…That's not normal."
Before anyone could respond, the temperature dropped.
Not cold.
Pressure.
The air thickened, compressing inward, pressing against lungs and skin alike. Breathing became labor. Every inhale burned faintly, as if the mana itself had turned abrasive.
Someone staggered.
Another dropped to one knee.
"What—what's happening?" a mage gasped, clutching their throat. "The mana—there's too much—"
The relic pulsed again.
This time, the chains of light tightened violently, glowing brighter as they constricted around the core. Runes flared along their length—symbols of suppression, regulation, correction.
And then—
The core resisted.
A sound rippled through the chamber—not an explosion, not a crack, but something deeper. As if the dungeon itself had inhaled too sharply.
The blue glow faltered.
For a fraction of a second, the relic went dark.
Then crimson bled through the core.
Not gradually.
Not as a warning.
Red flooded the blue violently, swallowing it whole. The silver veins blackened and burned out as the chains of light began to vibrate, their perfect rotation collapsing into erratic motion.
'Dungeon anomaly?!'
'But it's not supposed to happen yet!'
Cold sweat ran down Theo's neck. The ring on his finger glowed faintly—the only thing keeping him from suffocating.
"No—" Eryx stepped forward instinctively. "Everyone, back—!"
The mana density spiked.
The chamber felt smaller. Heavier. The pressure crushed down on them, forcing breath from lungs, driving bodies toward the floor without a single enemy in sight.
Weapons rattled.
Magic circles shattered mid-formation.
Spells failed before they could even manifest.
This wasn't suppression.
This was overload.
People fell—not from wounds, but because existence itself had become too hostile to endure.
Eryx braced himself, wind flaring around his body on reflex—
Only for it to be shredded instantly, torn apart by chaotic currents that refused to obey.
"…Tch."
Even he was struggling now.
The relic's crimson glow intensified, pulsing like an exposed heart. With every beat, the dungeon groaned—walls trembling, ancient stone crying under strain.
Then—
A presence stirred.
Not the boss.
The dungeon itself.
From the depths of the chamber, something began to form—massive, distorted, fed directly by the unstable mana pouring from the core. The silhouette of the boss emerged incomplete and wrong, its shape warping as if it were being forced into existence prematurely.
Eryx felt it instantly.
This wasn't a fight he could win.
Not like this.
Not under these conditions.
Around him, the raid party was barely conscious. Some couldn't lift their heads. Others trembled violently, bloodless and pale, crushed by pressure alone.
This was beyond rank.
Beyond expectation.
Beyond survival.
And then—
[Warning: Dungeon Anomaly Detected]
The system finally appeared.
[Task incomplete.]
[Unable to stabilize dungeon.]
Theo stared at the red screen, horror widening his eyes.
'Incomplete… task?'
Memory snapped back into place.
[Task: Call upon the name of the Lord.]
[Condition: Honesty.]
'You've got to be kidding me.'
Theo clenched his teeth, the monster's distorted roar ringing in his ears.
[Loading…]
[Newtask: Call upon the name of the Lord.]
[Condition: Bless a character through touch.]
'Touch—?! How am I supposed to—'
[Target located.]
[Target: Eryx Beaumont.]
[Warning: 20 seconds remaining.]
Theo clicked his tongue and sprinted toward Eryx, who was barely holding the forming monster at bay with torn, unstable wind magic.
It wasn't enough.
The more mana Eryx forced out, the more blood spilled from his mouth.
"Eryx!" Theo shouted.
"Stay back!" Eryx barked, coughing violently.
Theo didn't stop.
The wind tore at his face as he closed the distance.
"Hold my hand!"
"What—?"
"Just do it!"
A flicker of hesitation crossed Eryx's eyes—but the situation allowed no delay. He grabbed Theo's hand, rough calloused fingers wrapping around his smaller, trembling one.
"Lord—bless us!"
[Dungeon unstable.]
[Greater intimacy required.]
[Warning: 10 seconds remaining.]
'You absolute bastard—!'
Theo leaned in without thinking.
Their lips collided.
Theo squeezed his eyes shut as Eryx froze, shock flaring through him.
'Lord—please!'
[Condition fulfilled.]
[Holy Buff activated.]
The contact flared.
Light didn't explode.
It poured.
Pure, steady warmth flowed from Theo into Eryx, threading through his veins like liquid clarity. The suffocating mana recoiled instinctively, parting as if recognizing an authority it could not defy.
Eryx inhaled fully for the first time since the anomaly began.
The pain vanished.
No—
More than that.
The world snapped into focus.
The dungeon's pressure remained—but it no longer crushed him. The chaotic mana no longer tore at his control.
It answered.
His wind stirred—hesitant, testing—then surged sharper and cleaner than it had ever been.
A white glow enveloped them, holy energy expanding outward and violently repelling the forming monster.
Theo stumbled back, gasping for breath.
When he looked up, Eryx's eyes burned with unfamiliar intensity.
Something had awakened.
"You…" Eryx's hand tightened instinctively at Theo's waist, his voice low and strained.
He looked like he wanted to say more.
But the monster was already reforming.
"…I'll deal with you later."
He released Theo and launched forward.
Theo's knees gave out.
'Ugh… I'm already at my limit…'
He collapsed unconscious onto the stone floor.
The monster swung.
Eryx vanished.
The air screamed as he reappeared high above, wind compressed into a blade so sharp it distorted space itself. The holy warmth still pulsed through him—not controlling, not guiding—
Only supporting.
He brought the strike down.
The wind didn't clash.
It passed through.
For a single, silent second, nothing happened.
Then the giant split cleanly from crown to core.
Mana erupted—but this time it dispersed harmlessly, unraveling as if its foundation had been severed. The monster collapsed inward, dissolving into light before it could strike the ground.
Silence fell.
Eryx landed lightly, the wind fading at last.
He looked down at his hands.
Then toward Theo—already unconscious.
The warmth was gone.
Yet his heart still echoed with it.
Eryx understood immediately.
That power was never meant to be held.
It was meant to be given.
And that power would bring either salvation—
Or chaos.
—
TO BE CONTINUED