CHAPTER 60 — THE MOMENT WE WERE MEANT TO BE LATE

  (Finn & Bell — Parallel Descent)

  — FINN (Knossos, After the Ambush)

  The corridor finally stopped breathing.

  Not because Knossos relented.

  Because Evilus chose to.

  Finn stood amid broken sigils and blood-slick stone, spear resting against his shoulder. Around him, survivors regrouped in silence. Shields were dented. Armor cracked. Faces pale with a realization no one wanted to speak aloud.

  This fight had not been meant to end in victory or defeat.

  It had been meant to consume time.

  “Airmid,” Finn said quietly.

  She knelt beside the last stabilized adventurer, hands trembling faintly as holy light faded from her fingers. She looked up.

  “He’ll live,” she said.

  Then, softer, “But they knew exactly how much I could heal before breaking.”

  Finn nodded once.

  That confirmed it.

  He turned to the runner holding the damaged communication stone.

  “Try again.”

  The stone flickered. Static. Then a voice cut through, distorted but unmistakable.

  “—Finn—! Ryuu Lion—off route—signal unstable—tracking lost—”

  The message cut.

  Silence followed.

  Gareth’s jaw tightened.”

  “She went alone.

  Finn didn’t answer immediately.

  He stared down the corridor Evilus had opened for them. Not a retreat. Not an escape.

  A path.

  “They never intended to stop us,” Finn said at last.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Airmid looked up sharply.

  “They intended to make sure we didn’t arrive.”

  The realization settled over the group like frost.

  Every trap.

  Every cruelty.

  Every second stolen.

  All of it had been purchased with Ryuu’s blood.

  Finn gripped his spear harder.

  “Move,” he said. “We advance now. No hesitation.”

  “But Captain,” one fighter said hoarsely, “what about the wounded?”

  Finn’s voice was calm.

  Too calm.

  “We bring who we can. We leave nothing else behind.”

  His eyes burned.

  “If Enyo wants Ryuu Lion dead—then Hell has already started.”

  — BELL (Lower Dungeon, Moss Huge)

  Bell ran.

  Not blindly.

  Not panicking.

  With purpose.

  Marie’s directions echoed in his mind as the cavern shook around him. Vines smashed into stone. Water surged violently as the Moss Huge roared, its massive form tearing through the flooded corridors.

  Bell slid under a snapping tendril, came up with Hestia Knife blazing, and slashed clean through a vine at its base.

  The blade sang.

  The strike wasn’t desperate this time.

  It was timed.

  The Moss Huge recoiled as energy detonated through its core, its regenerative magic destabilizing under the focused blow.

  “NOW!” Bell shouted.

  Aisha and Welf crashed in from the flank, blades and magic tearing into exposed growth nodes. Mikoto’s spell anchored the creature, pinning its bulk in place just long enough.

  Bell leapt.

  Not higher.

  Closer.

  He drove the knife straight into the heart-knot Marie had shown him.

  "ARGO VESTA!"

  The Moss Huge screamed—a wet, tearing sound—and collapsed into inert sludge.

  The Dungeon went still.

  Bell stood there, panting, chest heaving, hands shaking.

  Alive.

  They regrouped quickly after that. Bruised. Exhausted. But intact.

  And then—

  They descended.

  — THE 18TH FLOOR (Rest)

  Green light welcomed them like forgiveness.

  Warm air brushed Bell’s face as they emerged onto the 18th Floor. The sight of open space, grass, and distant waterfalls hit harder than any victory cry.

  Several of them sank to the ground immediately.

  Aisha laughed once, breathless. “Still alive. Damn.”

  Bell sat heavily near the edge of the clearing, staring at his hands.

  They were still trembling.

  Not from fear.

  From everything he didn’t know yet.

  Marie surfaced quietly at the edge of the water nearby, watching from a distance. She didn’t approach. She only smiled softly, relief shining in her eyes.

  Bell felt it again then.

  That wrongness.

  That pull.

  Like the Dungeon itself holding its breath somewhere else.

  He looked up toward the canopy, heart tight.

  “…Ryuu,” he whispered, without knowing why.

  Above them, far beyond the safety of the 18th Floor—

  Steel hunted flesh.

  And Hell closed in.

  — TEA TIME (AFTERWORD)

  Bell — 18th Floor

  Bell sat in the grass with a warm cup of tea, shoulders finally lowering.

  He opened the journal.

  We’re resting on the 18th Floor for a bit.

  Everyone made it, but… this expedition is harder than I thought.

  I’ll be careful.

  — Bell

  The page glowed once.

  Bell closed the journal and exhaled.

  Alise — Knossos

  Alise read it.

  She nodded, like she’d expected those words.

  She wrote back.

  Good.

  Hard doesn’t mean wrong.

  Stay sharp.

  — Alise

  She closed the journal, fire steady at her core.

  Aiz was already moving forward.

  Alise followed.