(Curator Pov)

Well, well, well. What will you do now, my darling adventurers? Faced with the greatest unknown, by far? Will you crack? Or will you claim victory?

... Uhm, let’s shelve this monologue for a hot minute. After Beast’s boss fight, it’s a straight shot to my core room. Tssssss, I should probably prepare some precautionary measures, just in case. Getting Red and Alice on the line, I ask them to gather a couple individuals residing throughout the dungeon.

Not that I think the A-team will cause trouble and send me on a bender like ‘that man’ did with G, but better safe than sorry.

Ahem. Now onwards! With a click, the last claw-headed key snaps into place. Completing the jeweled mural of an amorphous monster adorning the great gate. With a startle, the doors decouple, unleashing a thick musk of decay on the unsuspecting group.

Destroying any assumptions that this would be the same unsettlingly sterile cage they’ve come to know. Gone were the gilded edges and blinding opulence. Gone was the fairytale-like veneer, dispersed by the stern grip of time. This grand palace had been under the witch’s curse for months? Years? Decades? And yet it stayed spotless, not a speck of age to be seen.

Perhaps the golden gleam was an idealized reflection of the castle’s hay day akin to tall tales of passing bards. A shining utopia, cursed, laid claim on by a witch.

Regardless, this was the castle’s fate. Decay, rot, and despair, seen and felt, the wood eaten black, the once proud pearly walls sagging with age, a squish in each step as the group marched onwards.

A reminder that in the end, when all is said and done, the elements will come reclaim its due. That the indestructible legacies man dreamt of building was folly from the start. Unaware that nature does not destroy. It consumes with a boundless maw.

An unintelligible specter, chewing at the nerves of our adventurers. Countless plants had torn apart these once decadent halls. Roots upending the floors, vines stitched haphazardly from the ceiling, breaking windows in ravenous pursuit of the moon, the only source of natural light on this floor.

Yet, with foundations claimed and food hoarded, these irrefutable strong-arm’s of life sired no fruit nor bud to call its own. The first step in the cycle of life was gone. There was death and growth but no fruit to perpetuate the cycle.

Only shriveled attempts, numbering hundreds, maybe thousands, adorned the dry skin of these lumbering giants.

And at the heart of this stagnant hall was a simple door choked shut by the inundation of roots flooding through.

The source, the boss, was close. Zhenya, Fredrica, Nick, Antonia, Tsukiko, Huntsm- Belle, steeled themselves as Sushila placed a hand on the misbegotten door, cracking it open. The unmistakable thrum of music resounded within each party member.

Setting the stage was a ballroom made brighter by energetic couples dancing merrily under a colossal arched window framing the moon-backed city that lay beyond.

A joyous affair imbibed by all. Even by the shy wallflowers who ogled from their shadowed corners. Meanwhile, hushed onlookers gossiped and fraternized from mezzanines on high. Held in heaven by six great pillars creating a U shape. Running from the back of the hall, where the entrance resided, ending a respectful distance from the ever-changing painting of the skyline.

A sight many would see as mundane, except one word had been omitted when describing this scene, people.

As Sushila would point out to her fellows. The prancing pairs, the wallflowers, the gossiping vines were all facsimiles, inanimate actors pretending to be human. Puppets formed from rotted roots tracing back to a solitary figure standing center stage. A tyrant amongst his wooden marionettes. Philandering a dance for two alone as the moon spotlighted his lonesome figure.

Beast, the vain heart, tyrant of the castle, ruler of straw men. The group rounding a pillar took in his form.

Sporting a wolfish constitution like the bosses who proceeded him. Beast’s proud nature demanded he towers above his animalistic peers. Straightened-back, the vain tyrant could almost be mistaken for a human if it wasn’t for the mahogany fur and dainty maw of a snout marking his heritage.

Wearing his regal dark blue military jacket open, the group froze as their gaze landed on his heartless chest. Replaced with a beating mass of plant life. the origin of this rampant growth and Beast’s warden. Its roots slithered out of the tyrant’s chest to shackle his body, causing the afflicted areas to distend unnaturally.

Laying waste to what would have been the golden ratio of bodies. Years of incarceration cut deep trenches into the wolf’s flesh, leaving it red and bloated. Rending fur from skin, depriving him of sight as the wooden restraints ran head to toe. A majority of the bondage was obscured behind his clothes.

A hollow chest, replaced by a ravenous plant. His vaunted beauty disgraced. Kept prisoner, unable to die, unable to bear life. This was the curse that the moonlight witch saw fit for a vain man who saw only beauty.

Discussing a course of action, the group quickly composed themselves, making peace with the pitiful creature before them. One last commendation of camaraderie before the storm. The six adventurers and one princess joined Beast’s lonesome dance.

W-wait, is that a lasso?

(Zhenya Pov)

I’m getting Felschonheit flashbacks. “Belle, I swear to your barely thought-out backstory, pull!” Our opening move was to get my lasso around the boss’s neck. Wish I could say that I pulled my fair share, but baring the two juggernauts taking on the prancing roots, Belle’s strength is downright stupid! Let the fact we’re barely keeping the boss pinned be a testament to that.

Dammit, Nick. Whatever you’re doing, it better work!

While we wrangled the boss still, the armored duo opened a path for Nick, cutting down the prancing roots barring the way with their thorn-ridden bodies. But as with all boss fights, this was where complications started to arise.

Amidst the cracking of wood and echoing howls. It was the soft murmurs from above that dominated the hall. Words spewed haphazardly to jab barbs at our insecurities, it was a mystery how they knew, but one thing’s for sure. Those empty insults were starting to grate on my nerves.

Stolen story; please report.

There was no tact in what they said, just barbed insinuations like they knew me. Pointed at a drifting feeling that crossed my mind as I left home. Relief at getting away from that frozen wasteland where the main form of entertainment meant putting your life on the line.

That feeling of relief may have been true. But still, my reason for leaving stands even now. I left in hopes of a better life for my family. Hell, maybe even for everyone else up north if things went well.

Ignoring the voices, I watched as the gossiping vines wreaked havoc on our group. The murmurs sent Freddie into a rage. While Su fell limply from the ceiling only to be caught by Nick before she hit the ground. Even Tsukiko, her eyes glassed over, crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

Alongside Belle, who was going strong, and a struggling Antonia, we were the only ones in fighting shape.

“Belle, hold on! I’ll help Nick clear out topside.” The front lines should hold as long as Antonia keeps Freddie from overextending.

As Nick and I got to taking the damn vines down, something caught my eye as I flung a knife into one of the bastards. Below the mezzanine, in the shadows, creeping on the walls. It was then my vision went black.

“Everyone! Look away from the walls. the damned wallflowers will blind you if you look at them! Keep your eyes on the boss at all times!” I shout out. Nick must have been the first to notice my condition as he uttered my name in a panic.

Tch, stumbling for cover, I almost trip on the root-covered floor. Belle should be this way. But all I felt was a wall of spikes piercing my body. ‘Fuck!’ keeping the swear to myself, pushing off the dancing prick. Tipping over, I almost fall backwards, a strangely cold embrace catching me before I could. As another hand slipped a bottle into my mouth.

“Shhhhh, It’s okay. it’s fine.” Su... Nick must’ve taken out the rest of those vines. Devoid of sight, I took comfort in those reassuring arms. As her almost motherly voice soothed me. Only to sit up in a jolt of panic as a loud flush of wind explodes nearby, followed by my sight returning.

A green glow surrounded the now lucid Tsukiko as she leaned on her staff for support, a heavy breath trying to compose herself.

The situation wasn’t great. Belle lost grip of the rope in the ensuing chaos, leaving the boss free to wreak havoc if Antonia and Nick didn't intervene. The latter somehow able to control the raging beast, grabbing its attention with a single word. Luliceil, was it?

“Su, Belle. You’re with me. Tsukiko, cover our advance. Freddie, you got our backs, right?” Swallowing the annoyance at getting goaded by a goddess-damned plant, Freddie calmed down a bit before answering with a chuckle. “Heh, that’s what I’ve been doing since day one.”

The three of us took off as Tsukiko crushed a blue gem in her hand, providing a slew of cover fire, able to concentrate, knowing Freddie was there to guard her.

Plowing our way through droves of frozen enemies even more bounded in front of us only to be eviscerated by Su. I know why the A.A forbids fire, but damn. Wouldn’t it be useful right about now?

An ice crystal, solidified ice mana. Tsukiko should possess enough to last us the fight, but we need to be quick.

Seeing our approach, Nick called out for the Beast one more time, forcing his attention. Just in time for Belle and I to tackle the tyrant off-balance. As Antonia caught the whipping lasso hanging from his neck, bringing him to heel, with the two of us quickly moving to help her.

Seeing the opportunity, Nick lobbed a bottle of that residue Rudi used to detain the bandits. Leaving... Luliceil’s(?) knees glued to the floor.

Wanting to finish this quickly. Belle, Antonia, and I jumped into the fray. Stabbing and slashing until the boss whipped us off, breaking free from his bonds, permanently this time.

This is where things get dirty. With a strangled howl, Luliceil reformed his legions of puppets just as Tsukiko and Freddie arrived center stage.

With a hoard descending upon us, Freddie and I were forced on the defensive as the prancing roots threw themselves at us. While right behind us, Antonia, Nick, and Belle danced with the king. Tsukiko worked on pruning away the wall floors as Su mercilessly chopped the revitalized gossiping vines, making it up there just in time before the murmurings resumed.

It was slow and excruciating. Driving my nerves up the wall, having no idea what was happening behind me. But sure enough, like against the plant chimera, Nick was a reliable sort. Luliceil’s fast-paced angered steps started to slow. Coming to a stop, heralding the hoard’s demise.

There he was, the tyrant, dead on his feet. Battered from Antonia’s might, baring deep gashes courtesy of Belle, and made into a pincushion by Nick. It was honestly a sight to behold.

But before we could breathe a sigh of relief, the barked core stripped wide, showing a cluster of green as the boss started to deform further, his form shifting.

(Curator Pov)

Even as the king stood proud in death, his core feverishly pulsed with life before consuming its prisoner. Sinking his body in its lush embrace, Belle acted according to script.

Sprinting past Antonia, a pale blue rose in hand, freed from its glass prison. Belle gently planted the flower into Beast’s core.

A blooming flower. The continuation of life had taken root in the sterile core. The cycle had been completed. The curse broken, and Beast freed.

Soon the pulsing core grew calm. A deep-seated rumbling could be felt as the roots withered before the groups eye’s and the first flower bloomed.

A garden of life. As flowers similar to the pale blue rose blossomed forth from the shriveled remains one after another.

When all was said and done. The group stood in awe at the garden that materialized before them. Watching as pollen wafted on the wind, carried beyond the destroyed grand crescent window, given blessing by the moon to continue the cycle and pave the way for new life.

(Zhenya Pov)

That’s another sight to add to the books, isn’t it? That winter dream, the top of the world tree, and now the moonlight gardens... Yeah, I like the sound of that.

Gathering samples of the newly blossomed flowers, we approached the hulking pale blue rose. Having devoured the boss entirely, it now dwarfed everything else in the hall, even shooting past the mezzanines.

And in the center of it was the mangled body of a wolf curled around a book and key. “Hey, Nick. You okay?” I noticed Nick looking out of it, but-. Well, not all things need to be explained.

Collecting the items, we let Nick do what he wanted to do in private before moving on.

We exited the castle scaling down the shattered ramp created from the grand window’s destruction. Into the gardens now brimming with the same flowers that blossomed in the ballroom. Through the dilapidated rusted gates into the castle town.

Strangely empty would be my first assessment. Trekking upon the stone bricked roads, we were still on guard even if none of us could feel any monsters eyeing us up.

Ending at a large door, we inserted the wolf’s head key and the newly obtained flower-headed key. As the aged door opened, we were met with the sight of- Oh.

Alice, the librarian...