I reasoned that Terra’s role as guardian differed from what we had assumed. She wasn’t actually a part of the dungeon at all. Rather, she was more like Celeste. She was just a young soul trapped within the dungeon, unwilling or unable to leave it. She created a grave for her family, and she remained here to guard it. There was just one thing I wasn’t clear on.

“Why didn’t you stop us?” I asked. “If your goal is to protect the dungeon, you should have stood in our way.”

She blushed. “I only decided to stop you when you revealed you were going to take over the dragon and help it escape. If you destroyed the dragon, why would I be upset? I planned to impede your progress. I even made you carry me… ah… I mean… I would have definitely prevented her from taking over the dragon! Except, you agreed to destroy it! She cheated! You didn’t do what you agreed to do!”

That was right. She didn’t choose to follow us until we started talking about controlling the dragon. As far as strength goes, I had a feeling that out party could defeat her. She was strong and seemed to have a good constitution, but she was also not exactly athletic or fast. If she just tried to attack us head-on, she would be defeated and accomplish nothing. Instead, she tried to slow us down. Plus, I couldn’t forget she had an inherent fear of the dragon that once defeated her. It couldn’t be easy returning to his grave.

“Terra, this dungeon was created by you. You seemed to be able to control parts of it before. You shut the boss’s door on the 10th floor, right? You may not be the final boss or a manifestation of the lore, but you have guarded this dungeon for many years.” I said. “Is there some way you can free us?”

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She thought about it for a second and then nodded slowly. “I can open the treasure room.”

As she said this, she walked over to the door that remained closed because of the presence of the Lore. She lifted her arms, and the door began to rise. I realized that she wasn’t manipulating the dungeon at all. Rather, she was using her Earth magic to forcefully open the door. Since this dungeon was composed of earth, she was able to make changes like this. In another dungeon, if the door was made of something else, she wouldn’t be able to repeat this feat.

I walked into the treasure room. It was extremely sparse. It looked like the lack of mana in the dungeon also effected the growth of treasures. As the dungeon shriveled up, so did the wealth of the dungeon. Of course, I didn’t care about getting rich. The only thing that mattered was the return formation on the ground. I breathed easier seeing it there. That was our way out.

“Terra… will you come with us?” I asked.

Terra looked away. “I… this is my home. My family…”

“It’s crumbling. With the lore gone, it’ll be gone in a week.” I said, trying to keep my voice gentle. “If you come with us, together, we might be able to finally destroy that clockwork dragon.”

Her eyes widened. “You plan to go after it?”

I hadn’t been thinking about it until I knew we had a way out, but now that the immediate problem was solved, I realized that this was exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to fight the dragon and figure out what was Carmine’s problem. Part of me just wanted to finish this story. I wanted Terra to have her closure. The other part of me just didn’t like to be betrayed, and didn’t want the church to have some powerful monster at the expense of the women in my life. I nodded softly.

“We’re going after that dragon.” I said with confidence.

As I looked back to see how the other girls felt, they all had looks of determination as well. They had started this fight. They wanted to end it on their terms!

“Alright…” Terra held out her hand. “Please take care of me.

{Terra has joined your party.}