Open the Gates of Hell and let even demons tremble and curse their weakness. None may rise in Halas's eyes, but all shall fall. Like stars plucked from the Heavens.

The door groaned as it swung open, the symbols on its surface flashing in protest. The Edicts of Heaven may have forbidden the door from ever opening, but what are Edicts when the True Lord of the Dungeon demands acquiescence? They are nothing.

The sound was like a volcano erupting. The whole dungeon shook like a sickly tree under gale-force winds. As the door revealed the first glimpse of hell beyond, a suffocating atmosphere poured into the Dungeon Lord's chamber. It was oppression.

A million-million demons lay beyond the Gate, all plotting their eventual return to the ripe lands of Creation for millennia. Some of them have found other ways; like leaving behind instructions to be summoned, or teaching foolish mortals how to create a Breach.

But the Gates of Hell had not been blown open even once since the times when the First Calamity walked the world.

It only made sense that the Last Calamity this world would ever know would open the Gates of Hell once more.

Alessia screamed - literally howled when she saw the Gates open. The world ended on her watch, right in front of her. There was nothing she could've done. Halas was not a creature of Hell anymore. It could not be killed with the Demon-Slaying techniques.

Though, to say that Halas was not a creature of Hell, was incorrect. It was forgiven for being one. Not that Halas wanted forgiveness. Or knew what to do with it. Forgiveness needed forgiveness for thinking it could comprehend what Halas was capable of. Forgiveness did not exist in the world Halas sought to create.

Furthermore, to say that Halas was a creature of Hell was to say that Hell was an existence above its. No, Hell was a creature of Halas. At least, that would be true if Hell was a creature.

The world on the other side of the Gate was eerily similar to the one before it. There was a large chamber beyond the Gate, and humanoid figures stood on the other side.

They numbered in the dozens, their figures forming a half circle, blood red eyes focused on Halas. Many of them had horns, wings and tails.

Their leader stood in front of the gathered formation, and her skin was pale ash. Completely black eyes with white pupils observed Halas. A crown hovered above her head, like rippling flames of pitch black. The crown revolved around its axis like a malevolent wheel.

"Thank you for letting us out. You shall be rewarded," the demon spoke.

Let them out?

"Khhhhsssssssshrrrrk," the sound boomed from Halas's sonic weapon. It was laughing. It was dying on the inside. Let them out?!

The static pulsed to the cadence of a maddened cackle. As if saying, 'No, silly demons. I didn't let you out. I let myself in.'

"What is your desire? Can you speak?" the demon asked. Her voice was distorted by suspicion and caution. That noise the creature made, it made her suspicious. She felt like she was being laughed at; Ridiculed even. Deep in her heart, she felt humiliated. She thought it was because she had already prepared herself for all manners of concessions and sacrifices. She was even ready to give her body to whoever opened that Gate, if they so wished.

This felt different.

"Do you have metal?" the creature asked, its booming voice echoing off the chamber walls. The chamber was an exact replica of the one on the other side of the Gate.

"Metal? Yes. We can give you gold, platinum, mythril, oric--"

"Do you have iridium and palladium?"

"Yes." Iridium? Palladium? Those were worth nothing! The demon was confused. Her followers showed the miniscule but tell-tale signs of caution.

"Who is your leader?"

"I am," the demon responded.

The Gates of Hell behind Halas slowly began to close.

"What are you doing?!" the demon shouted, panicked and angry. They needed that Gate!

"Taking leadership," the creature said. "Kneel or kill yourself."

Adventurers had been appearing outside of the Iscar dungeon, in a flash of light. Groups of wounded at first arrived using the [Recall] spells, but at one point, even the completely unharmed arrived as well. At least, they were physically unharmed.

Though the casualty recovery divisions outside saw many horrifying things, like wounds inflicted by the debilitating acid of basilisks with special physiques, none of those jarred them as much as the mindlessly afraid group of adventurers that arrived last.

"Asher!" Rium screamed. Rium held on to the White Priest who used the [Recall] spell. "Asher! Asher!"

"What?" Asher ran out of the tent when he heard Rium's voice. "What happened? Where is Alessia?"

"We were wrong!" Rium said, tears rolling down his cheeks. "She is still down there... she... sacrificed herself... so that we can escape."

Asher grabbed Rium's collar. "What. Happened."

"It was... Class K. Level 2."

The words struck Asher like lightning. His mind went blank. At first there was terror. Class K was pretty bad. Then there was joy. Level 2 was pretty lucky. But then there was dread. Why were they back? Why did Alessia sacrifice herself? It didn't add up.

"Yeah. You are thinking what we were thinking. Level 2. Torre, Zia, Alef and Brom disappeared in an instant. It took off Zin's head in a heartbeat and Jenfar... Poor Jenfar... You killed us, Asher. This is your fault," Rium said, hatred burning in his eyes. "You killed Alessia."

Asher released Rium's collar, and put both his hands on the man's shoulders. "It is not too late. We'll go look for her. The King's men... the Annihilation Squad, it will be here soon. We will avenge them, I promise."

Rium pushed Asher's hands away. "You promise? Your promises mean nothing to that thing. We are all going to die. This is the end for us. You will see, Asher. You will see and you will know. I promise you."

Asher swallowed. He understood. He was in this place before. Rium was hurt. Alessia was important to him. These kinds of wounds... they never healed. This one time, Asher would forgive Rium for his behavior. But deep in that kernel of forgiveness, there was worry about the meaning of Rium's words.

Just how terrifying was this Calamity?