Destro stepped forward and drove his fist into the face of the first Nightclaw that lunged at him.

The impact detonated with a thunderous explosion, a flash bursting through the rocky hall.

The creature's body snapped backward, scorched and mangled, before tumbling into the dark.

The line steadied for a brief moment.

…

Kaiden's interface shifted as the dungeon responded to his will.

The system window expanded across his vision, crisp and clinical.

[Absolute Lockdown: The Successor may declare an hour-long confinement protocol. The duration scales with Dungeon Tier. During the lockdown period, no entity may exit the dungeon without the Successor's authorization. Safe Zones are overridden, and monsters may enter freely. Cooldown: 24 hours.]

Exactly as intended.

His consciousness remained anchored in Creation Mode, but his physical body reclined on his palace couch.

He could still feel the warmth of the girls pressed against him.

He could hear the small noises they made as they watched the screens.

Luna's gaze fixed on the tall, masked man fighting on the projected screens of Kaiden's system.

Her expression was dark and ominous. "That confirms it," she decreed with her eyes locked on the explosive force he had just unleashed. "These are the same people who attacked us. That man is the same cunt who nearly blasted Riven and Rae apart."

Nyx watched as another shockwave rolled through the corridor.

She nodded once, jaw tight.

Aria leaned forward as she, too, nodded. The council had made up its opinion, and they were in complete agreement. "Yeah… there's no way this is someone else. Robes and masks can be copied, so we were uncertain if these people were of the same origins, as pretending to be the same group is possible. But that power…?"

She shook her head. "We've studied the tapes of that encounter. He should be the same. Same powers, same battle style, even the way he leans into the punch is identical."

Kaiden, too, was in full agreement with his Valkyries.

So it was them. The ones who appeared out of nowhere, ambushing them by using the location a mole in the Awakened Association told them. They were as big a mystery as possible; not even Grace could tell them anything about who these people were.

Or at least the woman didn't do so. Kaiden and co were still a bit uncertain how much trust they could put into the association's words.

Nevertheless. Now was the time, finally. He could learn who they were by crushing them until they had no choice but to talk.

To do that, he had to overwhelm them.

His will shifted deeper into the dungeon.

…

First came the Nightclaws.

Then the bigger ones began to move.

Massive silhouettes pushed out from the few large chambers carved between the trap corridors. Their bulk barely fit the cramped spaces, limbs scraping rock, spines grinding against stone.

But these beasts could not cross the spike traps on their own; they were akin to elephants in a porcelain shop. It was simply not meant to be. Thus, Kaiden used his points, generously donated by the invaders, to create new Nightclaws specifically for transport.

These ones were not of a high level, as he already had enough of them for the time being. Instead, they were just strong enough to serve as transportation tools.

It was logistical brutality, efficient and direct.

Even the buffer creature glided forward, entering the hall that should've been a Safe Zone. It stayed behind the front lines, enjoying its shields made of their bodies. The monsters instinctively knew that it had to be protected at all costs, not even needing Kaiden's directions.

It beat its wings once and extended its jaws toward the broken Nightclaw Destro had crushed earlier.

Abyssal fire flowed from its throat.

The shattered ribs reformed.

Burned flesh regenerated.

The beast's eyes snapped open.

And it screamed.

…

The humans had already formed their barrier line, with shields outward, rangers inside, blades ready.

They looked shaken, but trained and ready.

Their front reacted fast.

A volley of spells cracked into the wave of Nightclaws.

Three fell in the span of a second.

Another had its leg severed, crashing into a trap plate that impaled it through the torso.

The bigger monsters slammed into the shield wall like boulders dropped from above.

A man in the front was knocked off his feet immediately and crushed beneath the sheer bulk of the creature; another tried to drag him back before a talon cleaved where his neck had been.

Even with panic clawing at them, they managed to kill a few monsters.

Kaiden watched it all with narrowed eyes.

The interface pinged.

[Warning: Abyssal Nightclaw Lv. 99 has been slain.]

[Resurrection time: 39 hours.]

By default, the Dungeon Core revived the minions automatically as long as it remained intact. Even the strongest creature would eventually return… but the process took time. Hours for weaker monsters and days for the stronger ones.

But…

[The Heavenly Demon discovered a method to force accelerated resurrection by rapidly draining the Core's reserves.]

[Accelerated resurrection available. Core drain: 5%.]

"Won't that hurt the Core?"

[Draining the Dungeon Core is damaging it, yes.]

Kaiden raised an eyebrow. "Then, as the Dungeon Master, whose job is to protect the Dungeon Core, shouldn't I decline?"

[If that is what the Successor wishes.]

"Wait, explain yourself better. I know you wouldn't have suggested it if you didn't think it was at least an okay idea."

[Just like the human body will recover from exhaustion with time, so will the Dungeon Core regain its drained energies. As long as it doesn't fall below 20%, it will remain stable and continue conducting its usual functions. That was the conclusion of the Heavenly Demon's research.]

"This… This is just getting into the pure unfair territory," Kaiden chuckled, feeling not even a semblance of pity for his enemies. But then he shook his head. "Scratch that, everything has been utterly broken from the very start."

With that, he chose the only option that made sense.

[Accelerated resurrection selected.]

[Dungeon Core drained: 5%.]

[Reconstruction initiated.]

A surge of raw mana tore through the tunnels.

The Nightclaw's corpse, still lying where it had fallen, spasmed and then dematerialized rapidly, its entire essence gone, atomized.

It rematerialized back where Kaiden had designated its patrol area in the tunnels.

Then it launched itself down the tunnel toward the humans who thought it was dead.

…

Time passed.

And the zone that should've been safe became a graveyard.

Corpses, both human and monster, lay in scattered heaps across the floor.

Burned. Torn. Crushed.

Only two humans remained breathing.

Destro, staggering on one knee, mask cracked, chest heaving, blood trailing down his arm in a steady drip.

And Signa, limp, exhausted, drenched in sweat, her robes torn, her expression wavering between rage and dawning horror.

Monsters circled them from every angle.

Nightclaws stalking above, teeth bared, and the larger beasts breathing hard, waiting for the order to pounce.

And the voice returned.

Cold. Calm. Almost gentle in how detached it sounded.

"I am willing to accept your surrender."

Both invaders paused.

"You will tell me who sent you. You will answer every question I ask. Then I will call the Association and have you arrested."

A pause.

"If you lie… I will know. And you will not merely die. My minions have grown restless since learning you believed you could waltz into the lands they protect and harm their master and his lovers. There's only so much disrespect one can take, you know?"

The tone dipped.

"So make your choice."

Signa let out a short, mocking laugh.

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