They quickened their pace, running toward the end of the corridor where the voice pleading for help had co from. As they drew closer, an incredibly strange pressure erged. It wasn't like a monster—it felt more like a catastrophe.
Alvaric even gulped. "Whatever's in there... it's stronger than the Giant Sandworm."
Niva quickly turned to him in shock. She swallowed hard, knowing her master would never lie. If he said that, then it was the truth. A chill ran down her spine. Her legs felt frozen, unwilling to move toward the end of the corridor.
The closer she got, the more intense the pressure beca. Even breathing was difficult for Niva. She didn't know what awaited them, but she knew her master had spoken the truth.
"Are we still going in there, Master?" Niva asked. She felt it would be better to turn back.
Alvaric swallowed again. Fear gripped him too, but he nodded. "Of course."
Alvaric kept walking forward without any hesitation.
***
Marie and Kael were completely exhausted. The rest of the Hollow Fang mbers were gone. Only the two of them remained. Their condition was dire—there was no way they could keep fighting.
Marie couldn't even move her body anymore. "We're going to die here."
She gave a faint smile. For a mont, she pictured her childhood friend. That thought gave her a strange sense of peace, though it saddened her that she wouldn't live to see her childhood friend beco awakened. That had been their dream since they were little.
They had wanted to save the world and rid dungeons of all monsters. But that dream would end today.
"I'm sorry."
Just as Marie was about to close her eyes and accept death, a teor suddenly appeared above. A massive one, engulfed in scorching flas. Marie let out a soft laugh. She was already dying, and now sothing even more powerful was coming.
"They really want to turn us into dust."
The teor descended rapidly. All the monsters bowed down in fear. Kael, beside Marie, had already lost consciousness. He had pushed far past his limits. Blood poured from his stomach, pierced by the sharp claws of the monsters.
As the teor got closer, Marie slowly shut her eyes, awaiting death. She kept them closed for a long ti... but never felt any pain. Only unbearable heat. When she opened them again, she saw soone standing in front of her, about ten ters away.
For a mont, that figure reminded Marie of soone she knew. "Who are you?" she asked.
But at that very mont, the portal behind them reopened. Several people rushed in, grabbing Marie and Kael. They had no ti to waste, so they acted fast. Marie tried to resist. She wanted to run toward the person who had stopped the teor.
"Wait a second!" she begged.
"I'm sorry, miss, but we don't have ti."
Marie's body was pulled in and the portal was quickly shut. Marie and Kael were saved—but their condition was terrible, especially Kael, who had lost a leg and had a broken left arm. His bones were bent.
He would live with permanent injuries. Life wouldn't be the sa, but if he adapted quickly, he could still move forward.
***
Alvaric turned back and gave a small smile. "Thank goodness I was on ti."
But as he looked around, he realized... he hadn't been on ti at all. He was far too late. Countless human corpses were scattered around. It ant the others had already been killed by the monsters.
Alvaric saw that many monsters were still there.
"Niva, this is bad. Are you ready to die?" Alvaric asked.
Niva nodded. "Of course. For you, I will."
She ant it.
Alvaric nodded. Then he slashed the teor he had held back. The giant fireball split in two. Its pieces slamd into the ground, crushing dozens of monsters.
Only one woman remained standing in front of him. Her hands were bound, her stomach impaled by a sword that had pierced through her body.
"She must be the Demon Girl the Giant Sandworm ntioned."
Niva thought the sa. From the features—horns, dark skin—it matched the description. But there was one thing that didn't align with what she had imagined.
"I thought we'd be fighting to save her. Turns out... we're going to fight the Demon Girl herself," Niva said.
The Demon Girl let out a terrifying roar. A gust of wind pushed Alvaric and Niva back. They could feel the ominous energy emanating from her. Just from her aura alone, they could tell—this enemy was overwhelmingly powerful.
"Let's go!" Alvaric called.
Niva nodded. The two charged toward the Demon Girl. The battle began.
***
As her body was thrown from the portal, Marie collapsed to the floor. Her breath ca in gasps, her body trembling. Pain still wracked her, but as she realized what had happened—
She stood up.
"Open the portal again!" she shouted.
The staff exchanged glances. So approached her, but Marie brushed them aside.
"Just now... that person..." she panted, "...that was Alvaric. I'm sure! He's in danger. I have to save him!"
A man in uniform stepped forward. "Miss, please calm down. You're injured. The portal has—"
"I don't care! You have to open it again!"
She pointed to the place where the portal had been. The last image inside was still frozen—a silhouette standing in front of a massive teor.
"That's him. I know it's him. My childhood friend..."
"The portal is completely closed," another technician said. "The energy link collapsed. It can't be reopened."
Marie fell silent.
Her expression turned blank. Her fists clenched. Then she dropped to her knees.
"So... I just ran away... and left him behind?" She shook her head repeatedly, unable to believe what had happened. "I have to save Alvaric. Please, open the portal again."
The staff were confused. They didn't know what had truly happened inside that S-rank portal. All they had ti for was to grab whoever was closest and pull them out before the portal shut completely. There hadn't been any ti.
The dical team approached. They injected her with a sedative. Marie's body slowly relaxed. But before she lost consciousness, she whispered:
"I'll co back... Alvaric... wait for ... I'll save you."
The staff imdiately rushed Marie to the hospital for treatnt. They assud she was traumatized from the recent events in the S-rank portal.
That was common. They had to treat her quickly—or she could lose her mind, or even take her own life due to trauma.
"Quick, get her the best treatnt available!"
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