[The Descent Begins]
The entrance to Gloomfang Caverns yawned before them like the maw of a sleeping titan—humid breath, stinking of wet stone, ancient moss, and monster blood, drifting out.
Naofumi adjusted his shield. "Everyone stay sharp. We don't know what's waiting down there."
Thorfinn casually sat cross-legged on a floating rock he conjured with blood magic.
Thorfinn: "I'm vibing."
Takimaru: "Please don't 'vibe' us into another cave collapse."
Flapworth the Familiar hovered overhead, sipping shadow-tea. "Should I prepare your escape coffin, master?"
Thorfinn: "Not yet, Flappy. Let's see how spicy this dungeon gets."
[All Squads, One Mission]
The heroes split into four teams, each squad diving into one of the dungeon's cursed arms.
Team Naofumi: Naofumi, Thorfinn, Raphtalia, Filo, Takimaru
Team Ren: Ren, Takimaru's tracking mage friend, and two silent sword bros
Team Motoyasu: Motoyasu and his three bunny-girls in armor
Team Itsuki: Itsuki and the Justice Scouts, with overly long titles and cloaks two sizes too big
They agreed to rendezvous in the central chamber where the wave readings had spiked. It was supposedly the heart of the nest.
[Into the Depths]
The deeper they went, the stranger things got.
Naofumi's shield glowed more fiercely with each step. The tunnels pulsed. Magic was alive down here.
They encountered:
Living fog that whispered memories
Shadow wolves that bled moonlight
A mimic chest that bit Thorfinn's leg and complimented his taste
Thorfinn (wrestling the mimic): "A talking chest wants my blood. I'm flattered."
Takimaru: "Please stop feeding it."
[The First Betrayal]
Back with Team Itsuki, things took a dark turn.
One of the Justice Scouts, Primo, suddenly turned on the party. He blasted Itsuki into a wall with dark magic.
Primo: "You fools. The Wave brings evolution. The strong shall ascend. And I choose the winning side."
His eyes glowed violet. Monster corruption. He'd been compromised.
The echoes of betrayal traveled through the dungeon, sensed by Naofumi's shield and Thorfinn's blood magic.
Thorfinn: "Corruption... classic betrayal arc. I called it."
They picked up the pace.
[Reunion in the Ruins]
In the heart of the dungeon, the heroes regrouped—bruised, bloodied, but standing.
Itsuki, supported by Ren, coughed and gritted his teeth. "One of my own... betrayed me."
Naofumi: "We'll deal with him later. First, we stop the wave."
A vortex of swirling black and red opened in the center of the chamber.
The Wave was arriving. But this time, not in the overworld.
This was an early, underground surge—a prototype wave. A test.
Monsters began pouring through—fused beasts, spectral knights, mutated slimes that screamed in ancient tongues.
[The Underground Battle]
Filo morphed and went airborne, dive-bombing enemies with electrified feathers.Raphtalia danced between shadows, slashing with grace and fury.Takimaru unleashed a barrage of crimson fire runes, shielding allies and obliterating waves.Naofumi stood tall, his shield absorbing, redirecting, reflecting.And Thorfinn?
Thorfinn grinned.
"Let's get unholy."
He leapt into the air, casting a forbidden vampire sigil that summoned a rain of blood spears. Then, mid-air, he summoned Flapworth as a giant spectral bat and rode him like a nightmarish steed, dive-kicking a corrupted ogre into the stone floor.
Motoyasu: "That's... actually kinda awesome."
Ren: "It's terrifying."
Itsuki: "Still looks dumb."
[New Power – Bloodlink]
During the heat of battle, Takimaru and Thorfinn accidentally triggered a magical resonance—Bloodlink—a vampire-mage synergy.
Their spells merged, creating a giant ethereal wolf with runes on its back that tore through waves of enemies.
Takimaru (panting): "Did we just... combo?"
Thorfinn: "I knew you had main character energy."
[Aftermath]
With teamwork, raw power, and pure chaos, they closed the wave gate—barely.
But the damage had been done.
The Queen's envoy, who had been watching via scrying mirror, appeared with a grim face.
"The waves are evolving. Changing. They no longer follow the rules. From here on... the battlefield is everywhere."
The heroes looked at each other.
Naofumi: "We can't go back to the castle."
Thorfinn: "Road trip arc?"
Motoyasu: "Finally!"
Ren: "Let's get stronger. Together."
Itsuki (still holding a grudge): "Fine. But only if I lead next time."
Thorfinn: "Only if you stop naming your arrows."
[Next Chapter…]
Chapter 12 – Wandering Heroes: Guild Quests, Monster Contracts, and Vampire Taxes