Chapter 26 - The Complacent extra

Morning came quietly.

Elowen had taken the last shift of the night, and by the time Luca stirred from his light doze, the sky beyond the illusion dome was already tinged with hues of amber and soft gold. Birds chirped distantly—a strange contrast to the dungeon’s eerie calm.

Luca blinked slowly, sitting up.

He must’ve moved by now.

The traitor.

He wasn’t worried.

Everything still seemed to be on track. The dungeon’s pace, the behavior of the beasts, the timing of events—it was all as he remembered. If the traitor had acted, the ripple hadn’t reached them. The story was still following its script.

They packed up the dome and moved as a group—Elowen taking point as usual, Lilliane quiet beside him. The deeper sections of the dungeon loomed ahead, cloaked in blue mist and hanging moss. The air grew denser, mana particles drifting like slow snowfall.

Then Elowen’s voice cut through the haze.

"Once the dungeon boss is defeated, we’ll be able to leave."

She glanced back at them, her eyes sharp with ambition.

"Let’s hurry. If we’re fast enough, we can end this before noon and score high enough to beat other teams."

Luca offered a nod, relaxing just a little. Everything seemed to be unfolding just as it should.

They pressed forward.

The moment they crossed into the final chamber, the temperature dropped.

A low, vibrating growl shook the earth. The beast emerged from the mist like a nightmare given form—a wolf, twice the size of a horse, with matted shadow-fur and molten eyes that dripped steam. Mana bled off it in unstable pulses, warping the air around it.

Stronger than yesterday. Much stronger.

Elowen instinctively drew her bow and narrowed her eyes. Then—her body stiffened.

"This isn’t right."

Lilliane frowned. "What is it?"

Luca didn’t speak. He already knew.

Elowen answered after a moment of tense silence.

"It’s corrupted. Something is augmenting its core. This... shouldn’t be happening."

She stepped forward, planting her feet, drawing her bow.

"I’ll handle it. Stay back and cover me."

Luca didn’t argue.

Elowen’s skill was exceptional. This kind of beast—while strong—shouldn’t have been a problem for her.

Shouldn’t.

But five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Fifteen.

He remembered this beast. Its type. Its stats. Its behavior. It wasn’t supposed to be this strong. Not this early. Not here.

The chamber echoed with relentless clashes—mana arrows flaring against shadow-claws, the ground breaking beneath their feet. The beast howled, unfazed, wounds regenerating too fast, each spell only irritating it instead of maiming it.

Elowen was sweating now.

Her breathing no longer calm. Her footing less graceful. She was being

pushed back.

Luca’s heart sank.

Terribly wrong.

He turned to Lilliane, his voice a whisper laced with urgency.

"We’re going in."

She blinked. "But she said—"

"Something’s off. She should’ve finished it by now."

His tone tightened. His grip on his saber mirrored it.

"This isn’t part of the plan."

For the first time in a long time, Luca felt the familiar cold press of panic.

He stepped forward, voice firm but respectful.

"Elowen, we’re backing you up."

Elowen gritted her teeth, still loosing arrow after arrow. "I said—"

"You said something’s wrong."

Luca cut her off gently, sliding into position beside her.

"So let’s beat it before more show up."

She hesitated.

Then nodded. "Fine. Be careful."

The beast lunged again, eyes burning with violent instinct.

Luca moved first.

His sabers flashed in a whirl of steel and wind, intercepting the beast mid-pounce. One blade carved through its shadow-cloaked fur, the other redirected its weight just enough to avoid a direct impact. Lilliane followed instantly, her wand glowing with swirling frost.

"Freeze!" she shouted.

A torrent of ice surged forward, locking the beast’s limbs for a split second—just enough for Elowen to fire a mana-infused arrow directly into its eye.

The beast roared, flailing. The ground cracked under its weight. Shadow-mana spilled from its wounds, sizzling against the chamber floor.

It twisted unnaturally, rushing Elowen.

Luca caught its shoulder with a rising slash, sparks flying as his blade scraped the hardened fur.

Lilliane launched a burst of wind to knock it off-balance again.

"Circle it!" Elowen commanded. "Don’t let it regain footing!"

They moved like a unit. Slash, blast, arrow. Step, pivot, strike.

Elowen took a heavy blow but stayed standing, retaliating with three rapid shots to its exposed side.

Luca darted in, aiming for the beast’s core, only to be thrown back by a surge of wild mana. He rolled, coughed, then rose again.

"It’s losing stability!" he called.

"Finish it—NOW!" Elowen shouted.

Lilliane raised both hands, a dual-cast forming—fire and lightning swirling together.

Luca sprinted forward again, a final dash.

The beast opened its maw—only for Luca’s sabers to plunge deep, crossing at the core.

At the same moment, Lilliane’s spell collided with its chest in a thunderous blast.

The beast howled—then shattered into light, its corrupted mana dispersing with a piercing screech.

Silence returned.

Elowen dropped to one knee, panting.

Luca stood, chest rising and falling.

Lilliane blinked, stunned.

They’d won.

But something had changed.

And they all felt it.

"Something’s wrong,"

Elowen murmured again, her voice lower now, more troubled.

"The beasts are stronger than expected. Something’s been tampered with... We need to move and investigate further."

Luca nodded silently.

What the hell was I thinking? I knew things could shift—but I still let myself believe the plot was solid."

He clenched his jaw.

I should have known. I should’ve suspected something the moment the teams were rearranged.

As they moved forward, the terrain grew increasingly unstable. More traps. More misdirection. Elowen, who had navigated flawlessly yesterday, took wrong turns now—twice nearly walking them into monster nests.

Not like this.

Not when things were spiraling.

Luca stepped up.

"Hold on," he said suddenly, catching Elowen’s wrist before she could step into a clearing.

She frowned. "What is it?"

Luca pointed. "See that shimmer beneath the moss?"

Elowen narrowed her eyes—and then she saw it. A barely-visible glyph, ready to explode with concussive force.

Lilliane’s eyes widened. "A trap?"

Luca nodded. "Pressure-based. Meant to scatter a group. We’d have been separated instantly."

They backed away and circled around.

Later, as they reached a fork in the tunnel, Elowen began to turn left—the path she had taken the day before.

"No," Luca said quickly.

She paused. "That leads to the clearing."

"It

did.

" Luca knelt, brushing aside the vines at the entrance. Beneath it, cracked stones and dried blood marked where a monster had recently torn through.

"They’ve rerouted the flow. That path’s crawling now. This one"—he pointed right—"cuts around and avoids the corrupted zone."

Again, they exchanged looks.

Again, they listened.

"...Thanks. That would’ve been messy."said Elowen.

Luca walked ahead, clearing traps, predicting turns, keeping them intact. The questions would come later. For now—they followed.

They continued—working seamlessly. Luca in the front, sabers flashing, carving through beasts before they could strike. Elowen from the rear, long-range cover with rapid mana arrows. Lilliane providing devastating area magic and crowd control.

The deeper they went, the more corrupted the environment became—trees twisted, mana unnaturally thick, and creatures snarling with dark energy.

Then—

A scream echoed through the mist.

It was sharp, panicked, cut short.

Elowen snapped to attention.

"Someone’s fighting up ahead. Let’s move!"

They rushed through the trees, weaving between ruins and collapsed stones until the scene opened up:

A massive clearing.

A monstrous beast—one they hadn’t seen in the manuals—raged in the center. Its body was plated with jagged obsidian, smoke pouring from its gaping maw.

Two figures fought it, one of them bloodied, the other nearly overwhelmed.

And behind them—

A motionless body lay sprawled in the grass.

Luca froze.

The standing figure—torn uniform, eyes blazing with fury—was Kyle Drayden.

And the body...

Luca’s heart sank.

This isn’t right. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

In the original plot, there were injuries.

Grim moments.

But

no one

was supposed to die.

Yet here they were.

And someone already had.