The night was terrible. Due to his nervousness, Klein could not sleep, and then it was time for him to stand guard. Frightening sounds were heard all around all the time, and, as a result, none of the group was able to rest properly. And this despite the fact that the young paladin had the best situation of all: he did not hear the voice, which at night became even stronger than usual, bringing nightmares to the adventurers.

The worst hit was Isabella, who almost turned into a werewolf during the night, losing control. And when Klein realized that he was sleeping next to a man who could turn into a monster at any second, the whole dream vanished.

However, sleep also had its advantages. After a long rest, Liah woke up. When Klein stood up, she sat and looked into emptiness, and Robert sat next to her, holding the girl’s hand.

- Um, good morning? Lia, are you awake? How are you

The elf squeaked in fear and, retreating, hid behind the magician, looking warily at the young man. Klein looked questioningly at Robert, who sighed heavily and stood up. Lia immediately reacted to this, asking worriedly into the air:

- Dad? Are you here? Where are you?

- Yes, I’m here, everything is fine. Be a good girl and wait a little. – Robert answered, stroking the sorceress’s head, which made her calm down a little.

Klein looked at this picture with a complex expression on his face, and in the end, he still asked:

- What the hell is going on here?

The magician sighed heavily again and explained the situation:

- Lia is delusional. She keeps calling her father... Occasionally, her mother. She thinks she hears their voices, and they are here. And... Yes, she doesn’t recognize us.

- Just wonderful. – Anya commented as she approached. – And what are we going to do with a mentally ill person?

- Glad you came to your senses too. – Robert greeted the girl and answered her question. - Lead and protect. I hope that if we get out of here and she stops hearing that voice, she will feel better... So let's eat and move on.

Thus began the wanderings of the adventurers. They walked and walked, stopping from time to time to fight another squad of monsters. It was much more difficult than the previous day. Then people would at least come here full of energy. Now, due to a terrible dream, no one could even restore full mana. After awakening, Klein had a little more than half of it, which was absolutely not enough for a whole day of battles.

However, there was some good news. Lia, despite her condition, was able to walk. She had to be led by the hand, which Robert did all the way, sometimes responding to her phrases addressed to his father. True, Klein was not sure that the girl could even hear them in this state. However, sometimes her mind cleared, she talked, ate, and even tried, as usual, to laugh and joke. But it was clear that all this was difficult for the elf. Sometimes, when the voice in her head receded, Lia even took an active part in the battles. True, only with low-level spells, but still.

Many more hours passed like this. In constant wandering, fighting, fatigue and irritation due to the inability to concentrate due to voices. Klein was the only one who did not suffer from the effects of the voice, and therefore took the main initiative. Temporarily, he became almost the head of the squad, leading everyone forward and coordinating his comrades when they lost concentration, forgetting what needed to be done.

Finally, the detachment stopped for a new halt. Everyone tiredly built some barricades for at least some illusion of safety, lit a fire, breaking several chairs, and prepared sleeping places.

People sat wearily and looked at the fire in fascination, waiting for it to cook the stew. Everyone was silent, not wanting to waste energy on conversation. Except that Lia was having a conversation with an invisible interlocutor, which was pretty stressful for everyone. Klein bustled around doing most of the work.

Finally, when the food was ready, the paladin began to pour the stew into bowls when he suddenly heard the sound of a cube in his head. The young man straightened up sharply, having passed the attentiveness check. In his mind, the sounds suddenly became an order of magnitude clearer, painting a clear picture of what was happening behind the door. Right now, a new squad of enemies was approaching them in silence. There were even a few ghosts there. Fortunately, having learned from that difficult battle with the banshee, everyone who had magical abilities began to leave mana in case of such a meeting.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

- We are being attacked.

The adventurers jumped up, standing on opposite sides of the door, ready to attack anyone who entered. We didn’t have to wait long, and a battle ensued, in which the passages littered with all sorts of rubbish showed their usefulness. Thanks to them, the monsters could not, upon entering the room, scatter to the sides, realizing their numerical advantage. However, this did not make the enemies simple. Especially the ghosts, who didn't care about these obstacles.

When the battle finally ended, the tired warriors returned to their places to find that the stew had already cooled, and some had spilled onto the floor during the battle. However, no one had the strength to cook again, so people ate what they had and went to bed. To wake up again an hour later from a new attack. And a few hours later - another one.

Needless to say, no one was able to rest during the night, and the squad woke up even more weakened than before. Only Klein, the tireless Glen, and Isabella, who walked around half-transformed almost all the time, had any strength.

Progress has become even slower than before. Hour after hour flew by unnoticed inside these walls of an endless underground complex. Hour after hour of continuous pathfinding and battles.

And this endless string of rooms was of incredible size. Klein even began to sketch the map. However, it soon had to be thrown away when the squad once again came to the place of the dead end to see several new doors there that were not there before. This place was constantly changing. Or someone changed the perception of reality of the people who came here, and even Klein.

No one knew how long they had been inside. Hours, days, weeks could pass. The entire building was built in such a way that not a single ray of light could penetrate inside. No windows, no passages between rooms without a ceiling. Endless dark rich tomb.

To be honest, Klein now wasn't even sure whether they were still underground or had already come to the surface. The corridors twisted in all directions, constantly changing heights. One day, Glen, wanting to get out, broke the wall with his hammer, which caused a huge rubble that almost buried the entire team and attracted a whole horde of monsters. It was decided not to take any more risks.

The adventurers slept in this place for the sixteenth time. And this “night” was the same as the previous ones - terrible. All this time people did nothing but lose strength. Every day they walked and fought, walked and fought. Moreover, most of the time they just walked, as if the monsters were deliberately avoiding people. But as soon as they stopped to rest, wave after wave of new and new opponents came in an endless, exhausting stream. And all this time there was a voice that said the worst things, non-stop talking about how helpless, weak and untalented adventurers are, what suffering awaits them and their loved ones. Night and day.

Need I say that each subsequent halt became closer in time to the previous one? Klein worried that by doing so, at some point they would simply remain in place, unable to advance even immediately after awakening. Each time people had less and less strength.

At some point, it was decided to give Klein the opportunity to rest more than others. He, as the only, in theory, fully combat-ready member of the squad, had to restore his spells to the maximum. Especially considering how powerful [Exorcise Undead] was in that damned crypt full of ghosts and skeletons. Thus, everyone began to suffer even more for the sake of the paladin, and even more responsibility fell on him, for which he was not ready.

Another problem was the lack of food. Very soon it ended. The adventurers expected to simply teleport back to the city if they needed to replenish supplies, so they did not take too much stock.

When the food came to an end, Glen and Isabella walked away from where the adventurers stopped. After a while they returned, carrying in their hands considerable supplies of tough meat. They didn't say where it came from and no one wanted to know. Only Anya vomited several times until she realized that she was losing energy and restrained her urges by swallowing this meat. Moreover, since then, Isabella also had no strength, and there was almost no mana left for [Regeneration] in battle, which slowed down the squad even more.

And finally, the squad's journey came to an end. Klein stood in front of everyone, looking at the exquisite large doors. He felt that behind them was the goal of their journey. That's where the boss was...

Behind these doors was the strongest monster in the entire dungeon, which probably sent illusions to the adventurers. And if this is true... Then he is strong enough for his abilities to affect the entire dungeon...

Klein sighed heavily and looked around at his comrades. They were all exhausted. Weak, hungry, tired. Everyone has sunken cheeks and bags under their eyes. The group of adventurers was a pitiful sight. And in this state they will have to fight...

- You are ready? – asked Klein.

- What do you think, moron? – Anya snapped, and Glen added:

- Clearly, no one is ready. But what should we do? Come on, let's finish this. – The dwarf grinned and finished sadly: - We’ll finish one way or another.

He decisively walked to the door and opened it. The heroes entered the room, looking around. It was a gorgeous tomb. Many golden columns supported the ceiling of the extremely large room. The floors were covered with beautiful carpets, and the walls were decorated with ancient mosaics. In the middle of the room, on a raised platform, stood an ornate coffin.

In complete silence, its lid was thrown back with a roar, and with an unnatural movement, a figure in the exquisite attire of an ancient aristocrat silently rose from the coffin. He could have seemed like an absolutely healthy and normal person, if not for his deathly pallor and bright scarlet eyes. The vampire politely bowed to those who entered and introduced himself:

- Hello ladies, hello gentlemen. My name is Victor von Geir, former royal advisor, current owner of this residence. Nice to meet you. Sorry, it will be short. Well, shall we begin?