Is It Wrong to Want Luxury in a Dungeon? [17]

Dragged into the Dark

The air was thick. Heavy. Waiting.

Calista tightened her grip on her spear. The handle was slick with sweat, but she didn’t dare adjust her hold. Not when she could feel it—him—looming just beyond the shadows.

The Dungeon walls pulsed with an eerie, slow rhythm. Breathing. Not hers. Not Lefiya’s. Not Lili’s. Something else.

Lili shifted behind her, crossbow raised. “Are we gonna talk about the giant pair of glowing eyes or—”

A single step.

Not a stomp. Not a charge. Deliberate. Controlled.

Calista's stomach clenched. The lizards hadn’t swarmed by accident. They were following orders.

From him.

Another step.

Stone cracked beneath an unseen weight. A thick, humid heat rolled from the darkness, suffocating in its presence.

Lefiya swallowed. “Calista.”

She didn’t respond. Couldn’t. Not yet.

She knew this kind of monster. Not the species, not the name—but the type. The kind that didn’t just attack.

The kind that hunted.

A slow exhale rasped through the chamber, carrying the scent of dust, blood, and something acrid—like burnt bone.

The lizards stirred, slinking into the dim light. Low, slithering bodies. Forked tongues flicking out. They didn’t strike. They didn’t lunge.

They were waiting.

Lili’s grip tightened on her crossbow. “Okay. This is officially the worst dive I’ve been on.”

The yellow eyes didn’t blink. Didn’t waver. Didn’t attack.

Not yet.

He was watching.

Studying.

And that was worse.

Calista shifted her stance, forcing her body to relax—forced confidence, forced control. If he wanted a reaction, she wouldn’t give it to him.

The lizards hissed. They were jittery now, anxious.

They wanted the fight to start.

But the Variant didn’t move.

Lefiya tensed. “Why isn’t he—”

Calista clicked her tongue. “He’s thinking.”

And that meant one thing.

This wasn’t just a monster.

It was a predator.

And right now—they weren’t hunting it.

It was hunting them.

A rumble—

Was all it took for the Dungeon Lizards to attack.

It was like a dam breaking. One second, the chamber was thick with silence—the next, they lunged. A dozen snapping jaws. A flood of scaled bodies.

Calista moved.

Her spear shot forward, piercing through the first before it could reach her. She twisted, ripping it free, barely dodging a tail swipe as another lizard lunged from her flank.

Lili’s crossbow fired. A sharp thwip. The creature dropped mid-leap, bolt buried between its eyes.

Calista exhaled. At least she’s on point.

“Lefiya—!”

“[Arcs Ray]!”

A brilliant flash of light streaked through the air, homing in on a lizard scuttling up the wall. It screeched—then fell limply.

Three down. More coming.

Calista adjusted her grip. Tight. Focused. The floor trembled with movement. The lizards weren’t just attacking—they were swarming, a tide of scales and claws rushing from all sides.

This wasn’t a battle.

It was a siege.

And they were in the worst possible position.

She pivoted, spear flashing. Keep moving. Keep control. Her weapon tore through one, then another. Stab, withdraw, pivot. Again. Again. Fast, efficient—

A tail lashed toward her ribs. She twisted, narrowly dodging—only to feel claws scrape her back.

Shit—!

Lili fired. The lizard dropped before it could land the full strike.

“Oi!” Lili snapped. “Don’t get sloppy!”

Calista let out a tight breath. Noted.

More of them slithered forward, too many to count. The more they killed, the more that came. The air stank of blood and dust. Her arms burned. Her muscles screamed.

Lefiya’s voice rang out behind her—desperate. “I—I'll start to run low on Mind soon!”

Calista’s stomach turned. Not good.

...

The battle dragged. They weren’t cutting through fast enough.

Lili was down to her last bolts. Lefiya’s spells came slower—her casting faltered, movements sluggish.

And Calista—

Her fingers ached around her spear. Her arms felt like lead. She struck down another lizard, but her grip slipped for just a second.

It was getting harder to breathe.

Her heart slammed against her ribs, loud and uneven. Every step felt heavier. Her movements weren’t sharp anymore—they were reactionary.

She didn’t want to think about how many she’d killed.

Didn’t want to count how many were left.

Because more were coming.

Lili’s voice shook with frustration. “They’re not stopping—why aren’t they stopping!?”

Calista’s jaw clenched. “Because we’re not dead yet.”

A lizard leapt from the side, fangs bared. She spun—barely deflected it, the impact rattling her bones.

Too slow.

Too damn slow.

Calista’s breath came sharp, shallow. Her body wasn’t listening.

She dodged left, barely slipping past snapping jaws. Her footing wavered. She adjusted. Kept moving. Don’t stop. Don’t slip.

Another lizard lunged. She speared through its throat. Fast. Efficient. A flick of her wrist, and the body collapsed into with the others.

Her fingers almost lost their grip.

She tightened her hold. Not yet.

Lefiya’s voice was strained, but steady. “That was the last of my Mind… I can’t cast anymore.”

Lili cursed. “I’ve got two bolts left. And we’re still surrounded.”

Calista forced a smirk. “I dunno. I think they’re slowing down.”

That was a lie.

The lizards weren’t stopping. They weren’t even hesitating.

And neither could she.

Her pulse thundered against her skull. Every muscle burned. Her shoulders ached from swinging too hard, too fast. Her legs felt like stone, but she kept moving.

They couldn’t know.

Lili, Lefiya—they were still watching her, still depending on her.

And Calista didn’t lose.

She never lost.

So she forced herself forward.

Another strike. Another dodge. Another kill.

Her vision swam.

Her knees nearly buckled—almost—but she made it look like a feint. Another dodge, another thrust. Keep the rhythm. Keep up the pace.

A lizard lunged low. She tried to pivot, but her foot caught the uneven stone.

She stumbled.

A sharp gasp.

Lili. She heard it.

Calista gritted her teeth and forced herself upright before they could say anything. Before they could notice.

She exhaled slowly. "Yikes. Slippery."

Lili scoffed. “Yeah, sure. That’s what happened.”

Lefiya’s hands clenched into fists. “Calista, are you—”

“I’m fine.”

Lies.

But they didn’t question it. They couldn’t afford to.

Because finally—finally—the lizards stopped coming.

Silence.

As the last lizard fell. Silence settled.

Calista didn’t let herself exhale.

Not yet.

Her spear tip wavered. Just a fraction. Just for a second. She forced it still.

Her lungs burned. Every muscle screamed. Her legs felt like stone.

But the yellow eyes in the dark—they were still watching.

Don’t let it see. Don’t let it know.

Lefiya let out a ragged breath. “I—I think that was the last of them.”

Lili groaned, dropping her arms, crossbow slack at her side. “Oh, thank the gods—”

Calista almost did the same.

Almost.

But then—

A shift.

A breath.

A rush of air.

Her stomach flipped. MOVE.

Calista twisted, instincts screaming—too late.

The air rushed past her as a massive shape lunged from the dark, yellow eyes burning.

Not at her.

At Lili.

Shit—!

Her legs burned, her body screaming in protest as she threw herself forward. No time to think. No time to plan. Just move.

A heavy impact—she slammed into Lili, knocking her clear.

Then—

Pain.

A flash of fangs. A vice around her arm.

Her world yanked sideways as momentum ripped her from the ground.

The chamber blurred—walls, torchlight, Lili’s wide-eyed horror—all of it vanishing in a rush of movement.

Then—darkness.

Cold, deep, suffocating. The Dungeon’s embrace.

Her stomach lurched. The ground was gone.

She was dragged, fast and hard, stone scraping against her back. She clawed at the floor—gravel, dirt, anything— but her fingers slipped uselessly.

Her spear—gone. She didn’t even know when she lost it.

No. No, no, NO—!

The jaws tightened. A pulse of white-hot pain lanced up her arm.

She tried to kick, twist, thrash— but the Variant was too strong.

She caught a glimpse of it—jagged muscle, darkened scales, claws like blackened steel.

Not a monster.

A predator.

It had waited. It had watched.

And it had picked its moment perfectly.

She couldn’t stop it.

She wasn’t strong enough.

A sharp, ugly realization slammed into her gut.

I lost.

And then—

The shadows swallowed her whole.

---

Calista was gone.

One second, she was there—cocky, annoying, unbreakable—and the next, the Variant ripped her into the dark.

Lili’s breath hitched.

Her fingers curled too tight around her crossbow. Too tight. Too stiff.

Her mind screamed at her to move—to do something—but her legs wouldn’t work.

She was frozen.

And that—that should’ve been her.

The Variant had gone for the weakest.

That was her.

Not Calista.

But Calista had moved first.

She’d shoved Lili out of the way. Thrown herself in front of it.

Why?

Lili’s breath came too fast, too shallow.

She hated adventurers.

She’d spent years hating them.

The arrogant, reckless idiots who only cared about themselves. The ones who saw Supporters as tools, disposable, worthless.

Adventurers didn’t protect people like her.

They didn’t risk themselves for someone weaker.

So why—why did she do that?

Why did she act like she cared?

Calista was selfish. She was arrogant. She was an overconfident, spoiled lunatic.

But she wasn’t—

She’s not selfish.

She’s just—

Lili gritted her teeth. Her chest felt tight, hot with something she didn’t want to name.

Anger. Frustration. Guilt.

She’d misjudged her.

And now—

Calista was gone.

Lili’s heart slammed against her ribs.

The darkness had swallowed her whole, dragged her into the depths like she’d never existed.

For a moment, all Lili could do was stare.

Then—

Lefiya screamed.

“CALISTA—!”

She surged forward, nearly tripping over herself, hands shaking, voice cracking with panic.

Lili moved on instinct, grabbed her wrist, yanked her back.

“Don’t!” she snapped, voice raw. Too loud. Too desperate. “You’ll just—”

A rumble.

A low, reverberating growl from the tunnel. Deep. Hungry.

It sent ice down Lili’s spine.

That THING hadn’t left.

It was still down there.

And they were wasting time.

Lefiya whipped around, wild-eyed, shaking. “We have to go after her!”

Lili’s stomach twisted. Yes. Yes, they did.

But—

She looked at the tunnel. At the jagged, open maw of the Dungeon.

The air felt wrong.

Like it was waiting.

Like it wanted them to follow.

Lili had seen this before.

Supporters didn’t get second chances.

She knew what happened to the reckless ones. The ones who didn’t think. The ones who ran back because they couldn’t accept reality.

They died.

And Lili refused to die here.

Her hands shook, but she forced them into fists. Forced her voice steady.

“We can’t.”

Lefiya froze.

She turned—face pale, breath sharp, eyes burning.

“What—”

Lili’s throat felt tight. “We can’t go after her.”

Lefiya stared at her. Disbelief. Fury.

“No. No, we can’t just—just LEAVE HER—”

“We have to.”

Lefiya shoved her.

Hard.

Lili stumbled, barely caught herself.

Her pulse roared in her ears.

Lefiya’s voice broke. “She’s my friend.” Her hands fisted in her robes, chest heaving. “I can’t—I can’t just—”

Lili knew. Gods, she knew.

Her throat burned.

Her fingers dug into her palms, nails biting into skin.

But she forced it out. Forced the words she hated.

“We’re not strong enough.”

Lefiya flinched. Like the words had physically hit her.

She shook her head, frantic, desperate. “No—no, we—”

But she knew.

They both knew.

Lili clenched her fists. “If we go down there, we’ll just die too.”

Lefiya’s breath hitched. Her entire body tensed—then collapsed.

She sank to her knees.

Shoulders shaking.

Fists clenched.

Tears fell.

She didn’t sob. Didn’t scream.

Just—shook.

Like she was trying to hold herself together and failing.

Lili turned away, because if she looked too long, she might break too.

She forced herself to move.

One step. Then another.

Her whole body shook.

It felt wrong.

She felt sick.

Leaving someone behind—she’d hated adventurers for doing this to her.

But this wasn’t abandonment.

This was survival.

Even if it felt like the same damn thing.

Lefiya still hadn’t moved.

Then, a whisper.

A plea.

“We’re abandoning her.”

Lili closed her eyes.

No.

They were surviving.

Even if it felt like the same damn thing.

---

A/N: DAMN YOU WISE!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!!! THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A LIGHTHEARTED COMEDIC ADVENTURE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHY DO YOU LOVE ANGST