“There’s a horde of skeleton archers outside! Hey, hey, brother. What are we going to do now!?”

  “Calm down, Lemon. In situations like this, is when it’s more important to keep calm–”

  “We’re going to dieeee!”

  “...sigh.”

  I shake my head as she shakes my whole body. No, is it me who’s shaking my head, or is her movement that makes my head shake…? I’m not sure myself, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that my head, as well as the rest of my body, is shaking.

  “You must think of a way to get out of here, brother! You promised me we’d win our first match! And I can’t lose our first fight against the cunning succubus…”

  Clara’s words enter one ear and go out the other as my brain recalls how we ended up in this situation.

  Through the small gaps in the wooden planks blocking the door, I can see a swarm of skeletons. Their empty eye sockets, replaced by the undead’s characteristic blue flames, make this a surreal scene. A scene that’s as enchanting as it is terrifying.

  Do you remember when, long ago, Ricard told me that in Dungeon Battles, one of the best things you can do is use ranged monsters because it guarantees they’ll have a chance to deal some damage to your opponents before dying?

  Well… it seems Ricard took his own advice very seriously for this match.

  Every. Single. Monster.

  Every single monster we’ve found so far was a ranged monster or one that had at least one ranged skill. Just look at the horde of skeleton archers clawing at what remains of the broken door and trying to get inside. They’re all holding a bow in one of their hands.

  The real problem is that they aren’t alone. If the skeletons were alone, I could easily deal with the horde by myself; just a single Chain Lightning would do. But since they aren’t…

  “Aaah, I don’t want to die like thiiiis! This was supposed to be an easy win!”

  “I never thought I’d live long enough to see this,” I say to myself, glancing at Clara’s horrifying visage.

  She has finally stopped shaking my body and is doing her best to hold what remains of the broken door in place, blocking the skeletons from coming inside.

  You’d expect that the mind-shattering tentacle monster would be the one trying to smash the door and come inside to eat you… What an unexpected turn of events.

  As they say, you can never know what the future will bring you.

  “Stop having stupid thoughts and come help me, brotheeeer!”

  How did she know what I was thinking? “When did you learn to read my mind–”

  “Do something useful!”

  Clara rudely interrupts me, which prompts me into action. But instead of doing as she asks, what I do is open a game screen in front of me.

  “It should be almost there… Come on… Ah, just hold on a bit more, Lemon…”

  “I’m doing what I can! It would be helpful if you did too!”

  “Aha...”

  I’m doing my best, too. I’m checking if our plan worked or not.

  On the screen, I can see Ricard and Laura’s Champions struggling against something invisible. There’s no audio, so I can’t be completely sure, but from Ricard’s face and Laura’s expression, I can guess what’s going on.

  “Our plan is working. It shouldn’t be long until they run out of SOU and die…”

  “That’s if we don’t die first! Can you help me already!? If they burst in, we’re done for!”

  “Fine…”

  I guess I’ll have to work. Aah, and here I thought I could have an easy time. What a shame. Indeed, what a shame.

  Somewhat reluctant, I approach my sister and put my back on the wooden planks. Reluctantly because I have to get close to her Champion, not because of any other reason. Immediately after, I can feel the skeleton’s claws digging into my back, trying to open a path forward.

  It isn’t a great feeling, but it’s bearable. I’d rather it be the skeletons than my sister’s minions. That I’d dread.

  “Haa… how did we end like this…” I shake my head at our situation.

  “It was your fault, remember!? Don’t feign ignorance!”

  My fault? I don’t recall such a thing… Yeah, it’s definitely not my fault. But just in case, let’s recapitulate.

  As soon as the Dungeon Battle started, I and Clara found ourselves in an apocalyptic scene. What was once a cozy and small fishing town was now a nightmare.

  Red sea and purple sky. Raging winds, threatening to send us flying and creating huge waves splashing on the coast. Decaying, shrivelled trees. The few houses still standing had the windows and doors shattered; and the castle sitting at the top of the cliff, was reduced to a pile of rubble.

  But that wasn’t the worst. Hordes and hordes of skeletons and lesser demons were treading everywhere. Led by their superiors, a mix of strong-looking undead and demons, they repeated the same useless menial tasks, like dragging a large boulder from one point to another, just to bring it back to the starting point again and again.

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  An open-field dungeon isn’t the best when your opponents might have flying capabilities, but since Ricard and Laura know we wouldn’t have, at least not our Champions, they decided to go with this idea.

  For some reason, the scene sent shivers down my spine.

  “Is this the Purgatory? I’ll start behaving from now on…” I remember saying something like that. Not that I intended to actually do it.

  We watched the undead and demons for a while, planning our next move, when we discovered a monster that looked like a boss; and that boss was holding a glowing stone, shaped like an amulet…

  I’m sure you know what that meant.

  So I pushed for killing it as soon as possible. Under my orders, we prepared an ambush and succeeded in killing that guy. But instead of dropping the amulet, it rose again from the dead, calling all the monsters around us for help. Chased by hordes of skeletons and other monsters, we had no choice but to run away and hide inside the single house that still had something that somewhat resembled a door.

  …Yep. I don’t see why it’s my fault. I didn’t make any mistakes.

  “Hyaah! They’re insiiiide!”

  Clara pulls my arm close to her and starts shaking my body, dragging me further inside the house.

  Just in time, right when the skeletons break the few remaining planks and start pouring inside, we hear the music that announces the end of the Dungeon Battle, and a screen pops in front of us.

  “Aah, here it is. See, Lemon? I told you it was a guaranteed win,” I mock her.

  “We almost died!”

  I tilt my head. “Is that so…?”

  For some reason, I feel like the hundreds of skeletons in front of me are nodding at Clara’s words, silently laughing with their hollow throats.

  Nah, that’s not possible. It must’ve been my imagination.

  “It’s yet another flawless victory. Fufufu! Hahaha!”

  When the teleport light disappears, the two players immediately start looking around, analyzing what they see.

  “No immediate danger as expected.”

  The first to talk is a tall man. His pale skin and glowing blue eyes are a telltale of his race.

  “Don’t lower your guard, Baldy. With him, you never know.”

  A woman with horns, a pointed tail, and a revealing outfit. With just those traits alone, a certain kind of demon immediately comes to mind.

  “Oh, come on. Why do you have him in so high regard? Do you think I can’t do what he does?”

  “Shht! Now isn’t the time to argue.”

  “...fine.”

  The two players stop arguing and observe the looming building in front of them. Sudden lightning falls from the night sky, hitting an old lightning rod on the building’s roof. Thanks to the light provided by it, the massive structure fully reveals itself.

  They scan the windows barred from the outside, crusty walls with plaster falling everywhere, and the plants growing wild, reclaiming long-lost terrain.

  Coming from who knows where, they can also see a slight purple glow illuminating the roof. It’s the sign of the dungeon core.

  Hanging over the entrance, there’s a large banner. The first part, the name of the company, is blurry, impossible to read, but the words that follow aren’t. It says, ‘Come, and we’ll put a happy smile on your face!’

  Strangely enough, the building’s interior, although abandoned for years, isn’t dark. Light comes out of the gaps between the barred windows and the main entrance.

  “It’s kind of creepy.” Says the woman.

  “Bah, this is nothing,” the man shakes his head. “You haven’t seen a true scary undead dungeon if you feel this is creepy. This is child’s play in comparison with what you can achieve if a good player puts all his effort into–”

  “Baldy. Now isn’t the time.”

  “...fine.”

  After a short exchange, the two players decide to step inside the building and cross the squeaking entrance door. Two zombies and five imps follow after them.

  “Okay, I’ll admit it. It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like this,” says the man.

  From the black mold growing everywhere, to the stains on the ground, to the otherwise immaculate interior and furniture, everything catches his attention. Even the source of light is unusual. Pouring out of long cracks on the walls, floors, and ceiling, a white glow with a slight purple tint provides enough light to see.

  “I told you.”

  The two players split up while staying close to the entrance. Monsters, traps… any clue of what they’re about to face will do.

  It is during this time that the woman suddenly feels someone stroking her shoulder.

  “Now isn’t the time to fool around, Baldy.”

  “...huh? Did you say anything?”

  The woman slaps the hand away and continues to try to decipher the paper she’s holding. But the man’s response, coming from far away, makes her realize something is wrong.

  She feels the hand on her shoulder a second time and turns around. And what greets her almost makes her scream.

  A pair of eyes looking straight at her… as well as another dozen pairs or so.

  “The fuck…!?”

  What was touching her shoulder wasn’t her teammate’s hand but a monster’s tentacle.

  The woman immediately blinks away, taking some distance. She takes out her whip and uses it against the monster.

  The monster, a floating mass of mouths and eyes, starts approaching her. Due to its nature, it's no wonder she didn’t hear any footsteps getting closer.

  “Baldy, come here! We’re in trouble already!”

  “I’m coming! The great undead will defeat all monsters, hahaha!”

  Luckily for them, the monster isn’t that strong and goes down with a few basic attacks. But by then, the monster is the least of their troubles.

  “Can you feel it, Lily?”

  “I can.”

  Now that they’ve fought the first enemy, they start to realize what’s going on. They can feel eyes on them, observing their every move. From the black patches of mold, from the cracks on the walls… They can even see something invisible walking away, thanks to the slight distortion caused by its movement against the background.

  “Hey, Lily. Please tell me you have an idea of what’s going on.”

  “Not yet.”

  The woman suddenly has a realization and makes a screen appear in front of her.

  “Ooh, shit… Not only my MP but also my EP and HP are getting drained.”

  “What!?”

  The man tries to confirm if he’s suffering from the same thing, too, but before he can, the woman pushes him forward.

  “We can’t waste time while being drained like this. Not until we know what we’re facing. Let’s leave this place for now. Come, Baldy!”

  “O-okay, sure.”

  She then grabs one of the imps, shouting ‘Bait!’ before throwing it towards the center of the room, to grab the attention of any nearby monsters. To their surprise, several figures start moving simultaneously towards the poor imp, but by then, the two players have already left the room.

  That was just the start of their nightmare.