My bumpy descent into the dungeon was abruptly interrupted by Eld's cold water magic. He had created a cushion between us to prevent me from slamming into him. Fortunately, he could remove it after casting, so I wasn't left soaking wet.

Hovering above us, he had a small flame orb floating by his head. It was a shame to have to drain even more magical energy before fighting, but it was the only way if we wanted to see. Nonmagical light used underground would make us pass out for some reason, and my energy was too important to use on anything but the fight.

Aric was using his fists to bash the wall of dirt in front of him. Evidently, the demon had realized he'd fail to escape the Guild's watching eyes if he tried to leave, so he just caved himself in.

It wouldn't be the first time a demon knew the Guild planned to get rid of the dungeon and tried desperate measures. In the end, such acts would usually just gain them a little more time before the inevitable. Normally, they'd block off the Guild path and create new underground tunnels to try and go as far as they could away from their original location.

With a thud, the wall was punched cleanly through, sending mounds of dirt flying ahead.

*Whish*

Time seemed to slow down. An arrow pierced through the falling debris and instantly appeared in front of my face. It was inches away from penetrating my eyes. Instant death. I was this close to dying then and there, if it wasn't for Eld barely forming an ice shield in time.

Still, the hastily formed ice wasn't thick enough to fully block it. The ice shattered and the change in the trajectory of the arrow just made it scrape past my face, splashing some blood in the air.

The demon hadn't left; he intended to fight.

"Eld, give us more light!"

Aric was furious. If I could see his face, I'm sure it would be twisted by wrath into something unrecognizable. I knew. I knew that if he could see the enemy, he would've charged ahead without even thinking.

I was right.

Eld threw out more orbs of fire into the room ahead of us, and at the other end, two zombified demons holding bows were revealed.

Aric gave a guttural roar, and with his shield and sword drawn, he dashed to meet them.

They, on the other hand, just turned around and ran through another passage.

"Aric, wait!"

Seraphina desperately called to him. She could easily keep up, but Eld and I certainly couldn't.

I hated it. I kept trying to analyze his mentality on the entire trip here. Was he able to be his cautious and rational self, or would he be impulsive and reckless? My mood would fluctuate with each action I took as a sign indicating one conclusion or the other, but I held out hope the whole time that he'd be the Aric I always knew. I finally got my answer, and I hated it.

He got to the passage first and turned the winding corner. Seraphina was about to enter right behind him before slamming her feet down and dropping to the floor in an attempt to slow her momentum.

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She slid across the ground right to the edge of the hole Aric had fallen into. With no time to feel relief, she agilely side-rolled and backed away from the entrance, nearly having been hit by two arrows that flew over.

Out of the entire party, only Aric would be able to brush off attacks from skeletons and zombies. They were of a lower tier, but none of us excelled in defense. The mana rogues accumulated developed their bodies in ways that would make them nimbler and allow for powerful and quick strikes. As for clerics and mages, we needed to use spells to protect ourselves from any form of attack.

This being the case, it wasn't that awful for Aric to run ahead, since the typical harm that could be done to him was limited unless he was overwhelmed.

However, being careful was always our motto in case of the unexpected, and now the unexpected occurred.

It was no surprise for demons to be cunning in their tactics, but the lower-tier ones tended to be younger and less experienced. Dug-out pits and traps were something more likely to be found in more advanced dungeons. However, it seemed this demon was an exception.

Still, again, I only saw it as delaying the inevitable. I was nearly done for in the beginning, but after the surprise attack, there was only so much they could do against our party.

We caught up to Aric as he jumped out of the hole he fell in. The spikes set up at the bottom were crushed after failing to penetrate his defense.

The zombies were nowhere in sight down the passage, having likely retreated again to the next ambush.

Aric took a deep breath, probably realizing how rash he was being. This time, he just started silently walking down the passage.

*Rumble*

I got chills. What I experienced was the same feeling I'd have in the dungeon without my energy protecting me, but a thousand times worse.

The whole planet seemed to shake, and we all felt something incorporeal pass by us.

When things calmed down, Eld, Seraphina, and I had hesitant looks on our faces. Something seemed to have happened, and we weren't sure how to proceed.

Aric didn't share our concerns. When he regained his balance, he just continued walking ahead.

Having no choice, we followed after him.

What we saw should've sent us running immediately. Maybe then, we would've survived.

The skin of the zombies was bubbling and popping, expanding and distorting in irregular directions as they grew in size. Behind them stood a few skeletons that were shrouded in a dark mist of evil energy being sucked into them. Both undead types seemed to be growing stronger at a frightening rate.

We were too stunned to even think of a response. We just stood there and watched in a daze.

In mere moments, what faced us was no longer low-level undead. Skeletal Knights and Zombie Knights stood before us with overbearing auras.

It all happened in an instant. Before anyone could react, the Zombie Knights passed right by Aric and Seraphina. Eld likely expended all of his energy on the wall of ice that suddenly blocked my vision, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

One second I was standing, and the next I was against a wall.

"NOOOO!!!"

A man screamed. It must've been Aric because, to my utter despair, I saw through blurry vision Eld's head lying on the ground not far from me.

"Aric, behind you!"

Seraphina seemed to be warning him. I did my best to focus my attention to where he was, but it had grown quite dark. The fire magic Eld was using hadn't fully dissipated, but it was on the verge of doing so.

I could hear the sounds of metal and bones clanging in the air. It seems the skeletons joined in the fight.

"Arghhh!!"

What I could only think to be a sound from Aric was made before everything became silent. I couldn't hear him or even Seraphina anymore.

My breath was getting shallow, in my line of vision I could see a pool of blood forming around me. Ah, I found a hole in the center of my chest.

My body felt numb. My mind even more so.

Was this what Aureon had in store for us all along?

My eyes could no longer see, but the image of Eld's severed head remained in my mind.

Was this what it meant to be an adventurer? Was it always going to be our fate?

Perhaps, it was best for the Lord to take us now. Yes, this is what I needed to tell myself.

There was no need for us to go and face hardships to survive anymore. We wouldn't need to live with the losses of our loved ones weighing on our shoulders.

In the home of the Lord, there'd be no more fighting.

No more suffering.

I laid my head back, my consciousness drifting out of its final moments

At least now, we'd be in His Grace.