Their eyes are now sullen, their stares empty, and their faces lay contorted with fear and shock. Katherine and Ludwig knew that they just lost a fourth of their meagre force of adventurers within a blink of an eye, among them Arron. Katherine stared at the darkness ahead of them, black shapes writhing just beyond the distance. They were taunting her, beckoning her into the shadows of the dungeon with the shadows of fallen Assassins. She clicked her tongue and looked at the wrathful Jared as he clutched his still steaming spear.

There was a fork up ahead and the trail of blood and gore turned right, away from the path that led to the center of the dungeon. Katherine, experienced as she is, knew better than to allow an enemy to cut them off from their retreat. To Jared, it's as if he was looking down a Goblin den with its numerous twists and turns all over again. If they ignored those things, he knew that they would get encircled and massacred by those things again. He turned towards Katherine and Ludwig, their gazes still glued on the severed arm of one of the Assassins.

"You don't have to tell us that you want to chase after them. Take Eric and a handful of men with you."

Katherine met Jared's intense gaze with her own while Ludwig silently prayed for his safety.

Jared, his eyes still filled with the burning sense of revenge, nodded at Katherine’s words. He didn’t say anything else as he walked away with his crackling spear. Eric followed after him, he overheard them earlier and he knew it was no use trying to squirm his way out of this predicament. Reluctantly, he and his small team followed after Jared and his party as they rushed into the darkness of the dungeon.

Katherine watched them disappear into the depths, their lights nothing more but distant orbs inside the black shadow that engulfed all. She sighed and turned her attention towards the other adventurers. Their numbers are still large enough for them to properly assail the dungeon, but the thought of losing a quarter of the force under her command unnerved her as much as the chill winds that came from deep below the dungeon did.

"It seems that we have underestimated this dungeon."

Katherine muttered out as she peered into the empty corridors before her. Her eyes glimpsed Azalia as she knelt beside a smouldering pile of foul, black liquid.

"Those Shadow Fiends were beyond my expectations. To think that one can use such magic for such purposes."

"Comrade Azalia?"

The Shadowmancer pointed at the melted puddle of black liquid.

"Shadow Essence. Material drawn from the Plane of Shadows, it is a foul material that needs the life of others to bind itself into this reality. And this dungeon has been providing the Black Mage with the primary catalyst to create such material."

"Alchemy, Necromancy, and Shadow Magic. The name "Black Mage" really does suit the Lich we are hunting."

"Ludwig, the Black Mage earned that name through other feats."

Azalia looked at Katherine in surprise.

"You know of the Black Mage?"

"Arel... I forgot his name, but I have read about him and his work with the defenses of the city. He was a Mage during the time when Arluk was in its prime, correct?"

"Ereldru'ash of the Black Tower. He made the walls of Arenhein, the great tower that overlooks the city, and this dungeon with his magic. He was an Arch Wizard and not an Arch Mage, and he was one of the greatest Spellcasters during the Age of Invasions."

"A Lich has survived for that long? Incredible..."

Ludwig gawked at the black liquid in astonishment while Azalia simply sighed at him.

"The Black Mage was known for his love of the city of Arenhein and the Kingdom of Arluk. I do not know why he binds himself willingly to this world, but I believe that it is our duty to free him from it."

A heavy silence fell upon the adventurers and Azalia looked at the trail of Shadow Essence that led into the darkness.

“Let’s move. We can’t linger here any longer.”

Katherine shrugged away the chill she felt down her spine and looked at the corpses strewn around them. Some of the Mages and the adventurers have taken to burning them with either oil or magic, while a handful gathered and prayed over them. She uttered a silent prayer, then she turned to face the dungeon while she gave the adventurers time to burn the corpses.

Perhaps a few minutes could be spared taking care of the dead.

Ilyana, Ella, and Mina followed silently behind Jared. He had a different look in his face while they followed a trail of black goo strewn across the floor. Only once did they see him like this, and that was when they had to clear a den of Goblins near a small village. The girls and the women they found were reduced to nothing more but playthings for the foul creatures, and they shuddered at such a memory. Behind them were Eric and his large team, silently taking note of the features of the passages they passed through.

"I wonder why they have such a large party."

Ilyana whispered to the girl beside her. Ella just shrugged and continued walking.

"They're probably a group meant for clearing large monsters. Griffons and Wyverns, probably."

"They look more like a mercenary group than a party, to be honest."

The three girls glanced at the uneasy Eric once again as his large party followed Jared's lead.

Eric was used to going into cramped caves to hunt down Wyverns and Wyrms, but the dungeon was different. Its walls were unnatural and the shadows and the darkness within was clearly a work of the dungeon's magic. They were supposed to clear the rooms and serve as support, they weren't supposed to do this!

"Excuse me..."

"Hm? Oh, hello."

The girl holding a large staff over her shoulders smiled at him.

"Is there a problem?"

"N-No, I was just wondering why Jared's so silent. Is he usually like this when he's angry?"

"Not at all. Jared rarely gets angry, and he's pretty noisy when he's angry."

The girl frowned as she looked at Jared's back. The girl beside her heard their whispers and joined in on the conversation between the two of them.

"He's just worried for our Healer that got taken by one of those shadow things. My name's Ilyana, by the way. The girl beside you is Ella, she's our Priest."

"Eric. I'm a Swordsman. W-Wait a minute... Healer, Priest... I'm guessing by your robes that you're a Druid?"

"That's right. I'm their Druid. The girl over there is Mina and she's our Archer but she's pretty shy."

Eric could just barely understand her due to how quick she spoke, but he decided to ask some more questions.

"Why does his team have two supports and two ranged attackers?"

The two girls glanced at each other uneasily. Eric raised a brow at this and was about to as kwhat's the matter when Mina broke the silence.

"We used to have someone else..."

She looked older than the other two, and she had a different look in her violet eyes that Eric knew well.

"She was Jared's sister. Believe it or not, Jared's only been with us for a year but he's pretty much like his sister and he became a Gold Rank in such a short amount of time because of his determination."

Her voice was deep yet still captivating. It was like the purr of a cat and Eric couldn't help but listen closely as she talked.

"She was the original owner of the spear he used and she was also pretty annoying at times. Both were brash, hot-headed, and swore like sailors whenever they're angry. But Samirra's much more familiar with the dangers of our work than Jared."

"She was also overly protective of Jared. She didn't want him to become an adventurer, but..."

All three of them looked at Jared and at the spear he held with a tight vice.

"It was the hardest day of our life... When we brought the bloody spear back with us after a Goblin quest that went wrong, we knew that Jared will definitely try to avenge his sister."

"Of course he will... He's as stubborn as his damned sister. Only a rock to the head will stop those two when they made a decision."

Ilyana and Mina chuckled softly at the memory of their friend.

"Both of them shared their damned belief that the leader should do the heavy lifting. Both were great at fighting and leading, but they were horrible at coordinating and working with others! Jared's worse than his sister and he's pretty annoying when he's trying to show off!"

"I can hear you, you know?!"

Jared glanced at the woman walking beside Eric with an annoyed look on his face.

"Good! You damned brat! Do you know how dangerous this is?! What the hell are you thinking?!"

"Argh, shut up! Those guys are a bunch'a cowards anyway, Auntie Mina."

"A-Auntie?! You- I'll kill you after we find Lea! And who the hell do you think you are?! Acting so arrogant?!"

Eric, Ilyana, and Ella just watched form afar as Mina stormed over towards Jared before giving him an earful about respecting others and women.

"D-Don't worry about the two of them. They're usually like that."

"At least he's no longer sulking. I think."

Eric just stared at the Archer twisting Jared's ear painfully while he shouted cusses at her. He's probably fine, probably.

The corridor led to a large chamber that opened up in front of them. Eric's men were the first to enter the room while they all stared at the strange tree in front of them. Black shadows crept all over it and its leaves had strange veins made of smoke all over its surface. It took ten of Eric's men to surround the tree while the handful of archers he had at his rear set their sights on the strange pods that dangled from the tree's large branches. Jared and Eric approached it carefully with their weapons drawn as the mages readied a [Light] Spell from behind them.

"What the fuck is that?"

"I don't... know. Look at it, it's surely not from this damned world."

Eric remarked with a slight tremble in his voice as he stared at the pitch-black pod in front of him.

"You could probably fit a man inside of one... Wait, what are-"

"Hah!"

With a swift strike, Jared struck down one of the pods with his spear. It landed in front of them with a wet and disgusting sound while black liquid oozed out from the bottom.

"W-What the fuck are you doing?! Why did you do that?!"

"It fucking moved! Didn't ya' fucking see that?! It looked like a pregnant woman's belly!"

Eric and Jared glanced at the pod and waited for it to move again. Eric stared intently at the pod, his eyes glued at the slit slowly appearing at its top while he waited for any signs of movement to appear. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other end of Jared's spear as he gently prodded at the strange thing.

"W-What are you trying to do now?!"

"I was gonna poke it!"

"Idiot! How the hell are you a leader in this expedition?!"

Jared put away his spear and was about to ask why he was so on edge when the strange pod suddenly jerked violently.

The two of them cussed and watched as the pod split open like a fresh Mouyano and revealed what was inside. Its insides were a disgusting mix of pink flesh and black veins that pulsated every other second. Inside was a familiar shape that looked half-devoured by whatever the thing was. Its matted fur and pointy snout was horribly disfigured with thick, black veins wrapping around it while its long tail was now fused with the pod. It let out a distorted shriek as it convulsed violently under the light of their torches. Jared immediately stabbed the dying Giant Rat with his spear while Eric looked at the other pods around them.

"C-Cut it down! Cut the whole tree down!"

He yelled frantically as he sliced at another pod that was dangling near him.

"Gods! It's turning them into those things!"

"Arron! Lea!"

Jared sliced apart the branches that held up the strange pods while Eric joined his men in their efforts to fell the horrible abomination.

It only took them a few minutes before they were able to bring down the tree, and they immediately burned it with fire while the others took the large pods from the burning mass. They could hear a faint scream coming from the tree itself amongst the crackling of wood and the roaring flames. Jared and his team tore apart one cluster while Eric and a few of his men opened and burned the pods one by one.

"B-Boss! I think I found something strange!"

One of Eric's men yelled out as he pointed at a strange pod.

"Why? What's wrong with it?"

"It's-"

The man didn't even finish his words as the tip of a dagger pierced through his neck.

Blood spurted everywhere as the thing that emerged from the pod beheaded the man with a pair of daggers. It let out a roar as a third limb that came from its abdomen wrapped around the headless man's torso before it flung it into the flames. Everyone looked as the familiar form of a man stood before them wrapped in a cloak of living shadow while holding a pair daggers. Eric gasped as the creature locked eyes with him, and he immediately knew that they weren't going back with Arron.

"A-Arron... What happened to you?"

The creature gave no response to Eric's question. It simply tilted its head at him while it stared at him with its soulless eyes.

"Mages! Burn it!"

He yelled out as the archers behind him rained down arrows upon it. It let out a shrill laughter as the arrows lodged itself deep into its body.

Then it disappeared.

Eric whirled around and found the thing that used to be Arron as it emerged from the shadows casted by the Mages in his party. They noticed his prescence too late. Eric could only watch in horror as the former Assassin tore the Mages into ribbons with both his daggers and the shadows that emerged from his body. Eric's archers fired into the creature in an effort to protect the remaining Mages, but Arron roared and revealed shadowy spines that ran along his back.

It shot out from his body and impaled a handful of the Archers. It let out a roar as it more limbs flew out of its body in a seemingly painful manner. Eric gripped his sword as Arron's distorted and now unfamiliar face glared at him with bloodlust in its eyes and fresh blood on its hands. It threw away the dismembered bodies of his comrades as it approached him with a menacing snarl.

And while Eric and the thing that has taken over Arron's body faced each other off at the other side of the room, Jared and Mina pulled out the unconscious body of their Healer from one of the pods. She was still breathing and she didn't look like the thing that emerged from Arron's pod, but she was in a bad shape. Jared clutched her hand tightly while Ilyana pulled out a potion from her bag.

"For the love of the Goddess, please wake up..."

She poured the potion into her mouth while Ella casted blessing after blessing on their Healer.

"Come on, come on, we need you right now. Please, wake up."

Jared watched as the potion pooled in her mouth.

"Damn it! Move!"

Jared tilted her chin before he pressed his lips against hers with no hesitation. He pinched her nose as he forced the liquid down her throat while the others prayed for her to wake up.

After a moment, Jared pulled away gasping for air. He wiped away the saliva and potion on his mouth while they waited anxiously for anything to happen. For a moment, the world around them came to a halt as the Healer began to convulse. Then, black liquid spewed out of her mouth as the girl began to cough violently. Lea opened her eyes as she threw up the remaining black liquid before gasping for fresh air. It felt good to breathe again, but the feeling was short-lived for the other three girls smothered her with a tight embrace.

"L-Lea! Lea! Lea! Lea!"

"W-What's hap-p-pening?! W-Wha- Ilyana?! Mina? W-Why are you guys here?! W-Waait! I-I can't breathe! Can't breathe!"

"Shut up! We were worried sick for you! I had to cast two Blessings on you!"

Jared let out a sigh of relief and was about to embrace Lea himself when he heard a shout coming from the other side of the room.

Their eyes turned towards the figure that crashed just beside them. Eric's body was covered in gashes and a large dagger stuck out from his shoulder. He let out a groan as he stood up with the help of his now cracked sword. He gritted his teeth after he spat out a tooth from the back of his mouth. He glanced over at Jared and at the Healer by his feet.

"Done with your reunion? I really need your help with Arron over there."

Their eyes turned to the shadowy form that loomed over the cinders of the tree that birthed it.

Arron's arm on his right was gone, replaced by a shadowy limb after Eric managed to cut it off with a well placed thrust. His legs were now like that of a beast, bent in angles that no limb should make and the bones of his back and chest protruded out of him in unnatural angles. Jared just stared at the person that saved his life and cussed at the creature that wore his form.

"W-What is that thing?!"

"That... Would've been you if we didn't save you."

Jared whirled his spear around him as he stood in front of Eric.

"Leave this to me."

"I was planning to."

Jared scoffed and turned towards the shadowy horror as it crawled towards them with its black tendrils.

"Hey! Arron! Are you there?!"

The creature hissed at Jared as black liquid poured out of its jaw. Jared recoiled at the sight of it and shook his head.

"Can't fucking believe that you'd turn into this... thing."

It screeched at him as a black appendage shot out of Arron's body. Jared clicked his tongue just as he sliced the long tendril with his spear.

"You guys take care of Lea, I'll handle him."

"J-Jared!"

"What?"

He turned towards Eric as the creature warily approached the Warrior.

"Knock some sense into him."

"Heh, will do."

With his flashy smile, Jared turned towards the creature with his spear in hand.

"I wonder who's faster. You with your daggers or me with my spear?"

He muttered to himself as he approached the creature fearlesly with a smile on his face an a firm grip on his spear. The only reply he received from the creature was a snarl and two spikes he deflected with his spear.

He laughed softly as he wondered how Arron would've probably responded to that. But he was no longer Arron. He was just a monster. A monster that he must kill.

But before he could charge at it, they saw a shadow emerge from behind the creature. Through the darkness, the saw a pair of eyes filled only with contempt towards the living as a skeletal hand pointed towards all of them. The creature retreated into the shadows of the portal while the thing behind the veil of shadows uttered a single word.

“[Fall].”

Jared was about to throw his spear at the Lich when he felt the ground beneath them all give way.

He looked down and saw not the solid floor of the room but the depths of his own shadow. But before he could understand what was happening, he heard the screams of Eric's men around him as their own shadows engulfed them. He whirled around at the screams of his friends and found only black shadow as the sensation of being pulled down through thick sludge assailed him.