Ornament stood before Cain, rage radiating from every pore. "Now that you're down here with me, brother," the woman said, her voice dripping with venom, "now that I've told you everything—how gladly I would watch you die—it's time for the main show."
"Now, now, boys," a silky, slithering voice interrupted. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
A man emerged from the darkness, clad entirely in black. A single eye dominated the center of his forehead, grotesquely large, consuming nearly half the space. Both brothers froze, Ornament's fury faltering as he stared at the newcomer.
"And who do you think you are, getting in my way?" Ornament snarled.
The man smiled, raising one hand toward Ornament. "Let's not be hostile. Ruining such a family reunion would be a shame. Well, besides the fact that you'll both suffer." He paused, his smile widening. "Let's make a deal. I get both of you out of here, and you follow my plan. Refuse, and I kill you both on the spot."
The ultimatum left no room for argument—follow this stranger's plan or die.
"Does Cain die as well?" Ornament demanded, his voice sharp with desperate hope.
"Both of you die, so yes, he dies," the man confirmed.
"Do me a favor then," Ornament said, his words cutting like glass. "When you kill us, make sure to kill him first. Make his death as agonizing as possible. Then, when you're done with that, you can kill me—make it quick, though." His eyes blazed with malice. "I want to see my brother's face contort in pain. After all the good things I've done for him, after he manipulated me beyond belief, it's time I get a little revenge."
Cain's eyes widened, his face draining of color. "Brother, I said I'm sorry. I've changed—"
"You didn't change!" Ornament roared, spittle flying from his lips. "I know you didn't change! Stop acting like you did, Cain, and just accept your fate! Both of us are going to die, and I'm going to smile while you thrash in agony!"
Ornament's coldness shocked Cain to his core. He had thought—hoped—that beneath all the hatred and resentment, his brother might still care for him, even a little. But hearing these words from his own flesh and blood made him realize the depth of his brother's loathing.
Cain knew he had done wrong. He knew he had hurt his brother beyond measure, never truly appreciating all the good things Ornament had done for him. When Cain had no magic, Ornament still cared for him while the rest of their family dismissed him like a stray dog. And he had repaid that kindness with pain and suffering.
Maybe this was what he deserved.
Cain stepped forward, his voice breaking. "Fine. You're right. You've been right all along. I've done wrong, and it's time I take my punishment." His eyes glistened. "I just hope that when I die, you get to live a happy life, and that the anguish you've been feeling all this time disappears."
Ornament stared at him, unmoved. The attempted kindness didn't faze him at all. He laughed—a harsh, bitter sound that echoed off the stone walls.
"Brother, before this happens, before you die, do me a favor," Ornament said, his voice dripping with contempt. "Go straight to hell, because that's where people like you belong. If you can do that, I'll be happy. No person who has inflicted such damage on another human being should die and go somewhere safe and sound. You should be tortured for all eternity while I sit back and watch your suffering." He leaned closer, his breath hot against Cain's face. "And if I go to the same place you do, my suffering will be relieved knowing that you are suffering alongside me."
Ornament's laughter rang throughout the underground chamber, bouncing off the walls with manic intensity.
The one-eyed man straightened. "Well then, you've made your decisions," he said, raising his other hand. A small laser shot toward Cain.
Cain accepted it. The laser struck his leg and completely vaporized it.
Cain screamed, his body crumpling.
Ornament laughed harder, tears streaming down his face. "This is just what I wanted! You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes, brother!"
***
Meanwhile, Mason launched a ball of lightning toward several golems charging through the dungeon. The electric spheres shot forward, but the golems dodged every single one.
"Come on, guys, help me over here!" Mason shouted to his three party members.
Nemo instantly sprinted over, swinging his sword in a downward arc to slice the golem in half. The golem lifted its hand to block, but the blade cut clean through. The severed hand fell to the ground in two pieces.
The golem regenerated its hand and began shooting multiple fireballs at them. Nemo dodged. Mason dodged. Everyone scattered, but the fireballs kept coming. Nemo swung his sword, deflecting several fireballs as they careened across the dungeon. Mason, while dodging, continued launching lightning spells, but none landed.
Then one lightning bolt struck the ground. The current surged through the stone and shocked all four golems. Their bodies spasmed before they collapsed, dead.
"Nice!" Arthur called out.
Blake ran forward to help his friends, his face calm and composed. When he reached them, all the golems lay dead.
"You guys killed them all?" he asked.
Mason turned around. "Yeah, we did. But there might be more coming."
Nemo nodded. "Yeah, we have to be careful."
Arthur stood still as a system notification appeared in his vision—a black screen tearing through reality into his mind.
*20 out of 50 XP gained.*
*Wait a minute, how do I get XP? Killing monsters?* Arthur thought. *I need 30 more XP to get to level two. Then I can get that skill.*
More golems appeared, accompanied by goblins and other unknown beasts. One goblin grabbed its staff and shot multiple fireballs and lightning spells toward the group. Mason extended his hand and absorbed the lightning bolts into his body. Nemo deflected every fireball that came toward him or any party member who couldn't dodge. Arthur simply weaved through the attacks, rolling and ducking. Blake deflected them all with his bare hands.
One lightning spell arced through the air toward Blake. Mason leaped forward, throwing his body in front of the attack. Blake had been too close to dodge, unable to absorb lightning like Mason could. Mason's entire magical affinity was lightning, after all.
Mason landed as the lightning struck his chest with astounding force. He was pushed back several feet, his legs dragging across the stone floor. Mason gritted his teeth as his chest absorbed the energy.
*Man, that was strong,* Mason thought.
But then they heard rumbling—massive tremors that shook the fourth floor dungeon. All of them nearly lost their footing as the walls and ceiling began to tremble. The other parties nearby scattered, and even the remnants of the Golden Slayer party moved back.
Caden jumped back. "What is that?"
Gordon walked forward. "I have no clue. This is the third floor dungeon boss."
Caden stared at him. "No. The third floor dungeon boss can't affect the fourth floor."
He paused, his expression darkening. "That makes me wonder—did Leed ever find Cooper?"
"Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing," Gordon replied. "What if Cooper died during the fall or to a monster? What if Leed was unable to do anything?"
Caden stopped, his body going rigid. "No. Cooper couldn't have died. He's strong. Let's just hope—"
Things got worse. Way worse.
Rocks tumbled from the immense vibrations, and everyone could see it—a massive stone golem. The golem gripped a staff in its hand, but those staffs were reserved for goblins. How did this thing have one?
"Is that really your biggest worry right now?" one student's party member snapped.
"You're right," the first student admitted.
"Everyone," Caden said, walking forward, "do as I say."
Murmurs rippled through every party member still on the fourth floor.
"And why should we listen to you?" One man stood up and walked toward Caden, his voice dripping with accusation. "Aren't you the guy who wanted to sabotage all the other parties just so you could be the first to beat the floor boss? Why the hell should we listen to someone like you?"
Caden stood firm, his jaw clenched. "Because I'm the only one who can get you out of this. None of your spells are powerful enough to even defend yourselves, let alone beat this boss. I'm one of the top-tier mages in my year, and I'm most likely the strongest one here."
"That doesn't make you able to lead an entire group," another man challenged.
"Fine," Caden shot back. "All of you stay back. Let me handle this thing."
The boss stood, raising its staff. The staff glowed with energy, and a massive lightning strike erupted from it, flying toward Caden.
Caden ducked. The lightning strike blasted past him and struck the wall behind him, sending debris everywhere and creating a large hole leading down to the third floor.
Caden stood up. That one energy strike alone made him feel like his bones were breaking, and the attack hadn't even hit him.
Ignoring the sensation, Caden charged up a large fireball in his hand and hurled it with maximum force toward the boss. The boss easily deflected it with one hand, throwing it right back at Caden.
Caden leaped over his own attack, grabbed the fireball, compressed more mana and magic into it, and threw it back.
The fireball was deflected, grabbed, thrown, deflected, grabbed, thrown—like a deadly game of ping-pong with actual stakes.
Eventually, the fireball exploded beneath the boss's leg. The explosion barely cracked the stone and hardly damaged the boss at all.
The boss roared, raising its staff and unleashing a barrage of lightning strikes and fireballs toward Caden.
Caden was overwhelmed by the attacks. He couldn't dodge all of them, and each one was devastatingly powerful.
Mason leaped forward. This wasn't his particular group, but he had to do something or else Caden would die. Even though Caden was arrogant, even though he only cared about getting that armor from the blacksmith, Mason still had to act.
He leaped forward and deflected all the lightning strikes, absorbing them into his own body, making his lightning magic stronger by leaps and bounds. That was how his power worked—he was immune to any lightning attack, and the energy absorbed could make his power exponentially stronger.
But it wasn't enough.
One lightning strike hit him in the hand. He should have absorbed it, but it burned some of his skin before being absorbed. The strike was far more powerful than the others. Mason flew back, smashing against the wall behind him.
This boss was too powerful for anyone to defeat.
Caden stood up. He wasn't going to accept defeat that easily.
"You think because you're a boss monster, you can take me down like that?" he yelled.
His body began to spasm as he dropped to the floor. He laughed while screaming in pain as blue fire erupted from his body.
The true fight had begun.