The battle with the orcs wasn't anything worth mentioning. Since the monsters were D rank, our party massacred them in a few minutes. The only problem was their numbers. They covered the entire cave that led to the first floor.
We ran into the same problem after we cleared the first floor and arrived at the stairs leading to the second floor. This time it was a group of primate monsters.
It was strange that the monsters were camping right below the stairs leading up to the floors.
We finished with the 19th floor so we took a break for a while. The break lasted ten minutes before we decided to start heading out. The last floor of the dungeon was right in front of us.
I felt chills when I looked at the large circular space past the door covered in runes.
The entire cave gave off an eerie feeling.
"Let's go."
Even Sylvia looked a little hesitant to go in.
Her party members followed after her. I stood a few seconds before deciding to go as well.
There was no reason to hesitate. I might not have been able to do anything even if I tried. Anything stronger than a goblin would be too much.
I felt a weird sensation when I stepped through those doors.
'Huh?'
"What's this?"
"Why is the area suddenly different?"
We were standing on a gigantic platform. The sky above was yellow instead of blue. A large glass dome surrounded the platform. I could see strange landscapes outside that differed from our world.
'Are we still inside the dungeon?'
The horizon that I could see was unlike anything I'd seen before.
"Miss Sylvia, where are we? The scouts never mentioned any of this."
"..."
Sylvia was blankly looking towards something and ignored her teammate's question.
I followed her gaze.
'Huh?'
What I saw was two large stone statues that looked like knights. They were standing next to a throne. On the throne was a woman statue. Her eyes were closed.
'Why does that look so creepy...'
I didn't know what it was. They were statues. Inanimate objects so I shouldn't have felt so creeped out just because of that.
!?
Its eyes opened up a little and landed on me.
"Is that thing moving?"
I pointed at the statue.
"Huh? Is this porter losing his mind? Stop talking while we're in a discussion."
I was slapped on the head by one of the raid members. They were standing in a circle while talking amongst themselves. Sylvia was showing them a map that was drawn by the scouts.
"Tch..."
I clicked my tongue and made my way over to the statues. The other porters were picking up the treasure strewn across the room.
'Maybe it was my imagination...'
That was my thought before I heard a cracking sound.
A strange shadow suddenly appeared above me as I was about to pick up a coin. A wheezing sound caught my attention. I realized the room suddenly became a bit colder.
'Huh?'
I turned my head.
"...!!"
The statue was right in front of my face. It was the one that sat on the throne. It tilted its head at me.
A disgusting grin emerged on the female statue's face.
I got chills.
I could see the team members realize what was happening.
"Ethan!"
Sylvia's voice didn't register in my head.
Fear engulfed my body.
I couldn't even sense the limit of that thing's power. It was like a god looking down on my tiny existence.
Was it an SS rank being? In a B rank dungeon?
No, that couldn't be. Maybe we were seeing an illusion.
The thing's disgusting grin grew wider before it opened its mouth. It looked at the raid party who were frozen.
I could see Sylvia running towards me.
Its mouth finally stopped opening.
--!!!!
A high pitched scream came out of its mouth. The knights that were protecting the throne moved after hearing the scream.
One of them attacked Sylvia by swinging its sword. Sylvia caught its blade with her own sword.
BOOM...!
"Prepare for battle!"
Everyone snapped out of their daze when Sylvia shouted.
Before they could move, the statue let out another deafening scream.
!!!!
My ears felt like they would burst and I couldn't remain standing. The other knight that hadn't moved until now began to move.
He was the one with the shield and long sword.
'Shit...! Why are these things down here? We couldn't have entered a warp gate, right?'
Warp gates were gates that have floors that can teleport people towards another dungeon. It's completely random so it wasn't uncommon to be sent inside an S rank gate.
Looking at those beings, I could tell that my guess wasn't completely incorrect. They could literally hold their own against an A rank party.
There never existed a 20th floor in the first place. We should've seen the signs. The monsters that were on the lower floors didn't dare to approach this floor. They knew the threat that loomed beyond the stairs of the 19th floor.
I could see that even Sylvia was having a hard time fighting the other knight. The entire cave was filled with the clanking of metal.
--!!!
The shield bearer ran towards the raid party. It squashed the other porters who were trying to run away.
'Shit... What do I do...?'
My back was up against the wall. I could see the other world through the glass.
'Maybe if we jump through...'
The woman's head turned towards me again. That disgusting grin surfaced on its face again.
I hurriedly pulled out my dagger.
Its red blade reflected the light of the two suns in the sky.
The thing stopped moving for a few seconds while its eyes was on my dagger. My knees wobbled. I didn't know what else to do.
"Maybe the thing will get frightened by the level of my dagger... Ha-Haha..."
I waved the dagger around in a threatening manner.
"Stay away from him!"
I heard Sylvia's voice. She tried to come towards me but was blocked by that knight again.
I saw the female being lift up her hand before swinging it down.
It was a split second that I felt my body was weightless. Sylvia was screaming but I couldn't hear her voice.
The being retracted its hand. I saw blood all over its hand.
'Huh? Is that mine?'
I looked down at my body.
My limbs were bent in all the wrong ways. I could even see the bare bones of my legs.
"...?"
A terrible ringing sound assaulted my senses followed by an onslaught of pain.
"!!!!!"
I screamed my lungs out at the excruciating pain.
I saw the dagger in that being's hand through the blood coming out of my eyes. It looked at the dagger with interest.
"N-No..."
Give it back.
I crawled on the dungeon floor with my chin.
"...G-Give... it back..."
Despite the pain in my body, I had to get the dagger back. It was the only thing my shitty father left behind. It was the only thing that I could remember him by.
The being lifted its foot above my body. All I could do was pitifully lie there.
Its foot came down.
"...Kugh...!"
My bones were crushed again.
I knew that if I closed my eyes right there that I would die.
My eyes met Sylvia who was lodged up against a wall after being thrown by the knight.
She began to glow with a white light. Her eyes, mouth and body was covered by the glow. A sword of light manifested next to her.
Second awakening. Something few people have achieved in our world. One thing was certain. She would become a splendid adventurer in the future.
But I wouldn't be able to see that day.
The last thing I saw before my consciousness faded was four wings extend out of Sylvia's back. When she jumped, everything behind her was blown away by the sheer power of her jump.
My consciousness grew dimmer and dimmer until my eyes finally closed.