Chapter 309 (Patreon)

The doors slammed shut behind them with a sound that didn’t just echo through the hall—it settled into their bones, final and absolute, like a verdict passed by something unseen. The trio froze for the briefest moment, instincts flaring, weapons already drawn, eyes scanning for movement. The hall revealed itself slowly, torchlight igniting one after another along the walls as if awakened by their presence. Rows of metallic statues stood at attention, each gripping a sword and shield, their lifeless forms casting long, unmoving shadows across the stone floor. They did not stir. They did not breathe. And yet, there was something deeply unsettling about how they stood—too perfect, like soldiers waiting for a command that had not yet been given.

Then the pressure came.

It didn’t arrive all at once. It crept in, subtle at first, like the memory of the ocean clinging to their skin. But within seconds it grew, thickening the air, pressing down on their shoulders, their lungs, their thoughts. It was the same suffocating weight they had felt beneath the sea—but worse. This wasn’t natural. This was controlled. Deliberate. Each passing moment added another invisible layer, as though something was tightening its grip around them, testing how much they could endure before they broke.

Kana’s head snapped toward the center of the hall.

There, upon an elevated platform, sat a throne.

And something that had been resting upon it… was no longer still.

The figure rose slowly, almost lazily, as if time itself bent to accommodate its movement. At first glance, it might have passed for a man—broad-shouldered, tall, composed. But the illusion shattered the longer one looked. Its skin carried a faint, unnatural sheen, like something pulled from the depths of the sea. Where a mustache should have been, thin tentacles curled and shifted with quiet life, writhing just enough to remind anyone watching that this was no human feature. Its eyes—round, deep red, unblinking—fixed on them with a stillness that felt less like observation and more like judgment.

Kana felt it instantly.

That same presence she had once felt before—standing before the guildmaster, crossing paths with Zia. But this… this was heavier. Sharper. It didn’t simply exist—it imposed itself. Her instincts didn’t whisper caution this time. They screamed.

Run.

Before it’s too late.

The pressure intensified again, sudden and crushing. Boris let out a strained grunt, his boots grinding against the stone as his body threatened to buckle under the invisible weight. Even Suri, who rarely faltered, felt her breath hitch as her mana flickered uneasily around her, like a shield unsure of what it was trying to block.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Boris managed, his voice tight, forced through clenched teeth.

Kana didn’t wait.

“Retreat!” she shouted, the word cutting through the suffocating air like a blade.

They turned instantly—no hesitation, no argument. Survival over pride. But the dungeon had already made its move.

The massive doors behind them locked with terrifying speed, the impact shaking the entire hall. The gate then suddenly... gone. Not blocked. Not guarded.

Missing.

For a single heartbeat, silence followed.

Then—

A step.

The creature descended from its throne, one calculated motion, the sound of its foot touching stone echoing far louder than it should have. The pressure surged in response, as if the dungeon itself bent to its will, tightening, suffocating, demanding submission.

Kana’s grip on her dagger tightened, her heartbeat surprisingly steady despite the chaos rising around her. This wasn’t a fight they could win head-on. Not like this. Not now.

This was something else entirely.

Something ancient.

And for the first time since entering the dungeon, Kana understood one thing with perfect clarity—

They had not discovered this place.

They had walked into something that was not supposedly discovered.

No.

The word didn’t form so much as it struck, sharp and resounding, cutting through Kana’s thoughts like a blade finding its mark. Every instinct she had screamed the same thing, louder than reason, louder than pride. This wasn’t a battle to test strength. This wasn’t even a gamble.

This was death.

Even with everything she had recently gained, the recent breakthrough to lvl 30 she had clawed her way into—none of it bridged the distance between her and the thing standing before them. The gap wasn’t wide. It was endless. She could feel it, the same way one feels the depth of an ocean just by standing at its edge.

Even Zia…

Kana’s grip tightened. Even Zia might not survive here.

That thought alone was enough.

She moved.

There was no hesitation, no second guessing. Her hand slipped into her [Inventory] directly and pulled out the parchment in one fluid motion, the familiar texture grounding her for a fraction of a second. A [Teleportation] scroll. One of the few things in this world that ignored distance, and ignored skills or barriers. A simple promise: safely escaped wherever you were.

Kana snapped it open and dropped it to the ground.

The reaction was quick. Lines of light burst outward, weaving across the stone in a complex pattern that shimmered with layered mana. The air warped slightly above it, bending like heat over fire, the faint hum of space beginning to unravel and reconnect. It was working. It always worked.

“We’re going to leave,” Kana said, her voice sharp and cold, commanding, leaving no room for argument. “Now!”

Boris and Suri didn’t question her. They had learned better than that. Both of them stepped in without hesitation, trusting the circle, trusting her. Survival had always been simple between them—if Kana said run, they ran.

For a brief, fragile moment, hope flickered.

Then Kana felt it.

A coldness. Not around her—but through her. Like something unseen had reached in and brushed against the very mechanism of the dungeon item itself.

Her eyes shifted downward.

And froze.

The text of god hovered above the glowing circle—not part of the dungeon item, not part of anything natural. It was wrong just by existing here, sharp and clear against the dim light.

[Error!]

[Teleportation has been blocked]

The glow stuttered.

Like a breath that refused to continue.

The intricate lines dimmed, flickering once as if trying to recover, then collapsed into faint motes of light that vanished before they could touch the ground. The hum died with them. The warped air settled.

The circle was gone.

So was their escape.

Silence followed—but not the empty kind. This silence had weight. It pressed in from all sides, thick and suffocating, as if the dungeon itself had just acknowledged something.

Boris let out a shaky breath, staring at the spot where the circle had been. “That’s… not supposed to happen,” he said, though the words sounded hollow even to him,”Why are we still here?”

Suri didn’t speak at all. Her usual sharp confidence had narrowed into something tighter, more focused, her mind racing, searching for patterns, for reasons—anything that could explain what had just failed so completely.

Kana didn’t move.

Slowly, almost unwillingly, she lifted her gaze.

The creature was closer now.

Not by much. Just a few steps.

But those steps hadn’t been rushed. Hadn’t been aggressive. They had been patient. 

The pressure deepened again, heavier than before, pressing down on Kana’s shoulders, her chest, her thoughts. But it wasn’t just force anymore. There was intent behind it now. 

Authority.

Kana’s fingers tightened around her curved sword, though it suddenly felt far too small for the situation. For the first time since arriving in this world, since gaining strength, since learning how to fight and survive and win—

She felt it.

Not fear alone.

But something colder.

The realization that the rules she relied on… the ones that had always given her an answer, a way out—

Didn’t exist here.

And for the first time—

Kana didn’t see a path forward.

Only something waiting for her to take the next step… so it could decide how this would end.

Even as the crushing pressure settled deeper into their bones, the creature did something far more unsettling than attack.

It spoke.

There was no mouth to form the words, no lips to shape the sound—only those thin, writhing tendrils where a beard should have been, shifting with faint, deliberate motion. Yet the voice came clearly, resonating through the hall as if the air itself had decided to carry it.

“I am King Rut’er Lez,” it said, each word measured, heavy, ancient. “From the world called Sedna.”

Kana’s breath caught.

Not because it spoke but because she understood it.

Perfectly.

The words weren’t twisted, weren’t filtered through the strange logic of this world. They were clean. Familiar. English. The realization struck her harder than the pressure pressing against her chest. For a moment, the dungeon, the danger, even the suffocating presence before her—all of it dimmed beneath a single, impossible question.

How?

Kana’s eyes widened, her thoughts scrambling to catch up as instinct warred with curiosity. This wasn’t just another monster. This wasn’t even something that might not belong here.

Still, she forced herself to speak.

“Why are you here?”

The words left her without hesitation, steady despite everything. But the moment they did, she felt it—the change in atmosphere beside her.

Boris and Suri had both turned toward her, their expressions mirroring the same stunned disbelief. They hadn’t understood a word. To them, it must have sounded like she had just spoken into silence… or worse, into something that hadn’t yet proven it could answer.

The creature’s gaze sharpened.

Those deep, red eyes glowed faintly, something within them stirring for the first time since it had risen from the throne. The pressure in the room changed—not heavier, but focused, like a weight suddenly directed instead of spread.

“You can understand me?” it asked.

Kana didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

The single word echoed, fragile and firm at once.

For the first time, the creature reacted.

Not with movement. At least not yet with violence.

But with something almost… thoughtful. The tendrils along its jaw shifted slowly, as if tasting the moment. The silence stretched, thick, before it spoke again.

“You must be loved,” King Rut’er Lez said, his voice lowering, carrying something deeper now—something that felt uncomfortably close to recognition. “By the creator of this world.”

Kana’s heart skipped. Loved by the creator?

Before she could grasp the meaning, before she could even form another question, the creature continued, its presence pressing forward like a tide that had finally decided to move.

“Pity,” it said.

The word fell softly.

“You meet me.”

And somehow, those words were far more terrifying than any threat.

Post note:

Looks like talking will not work.

Have a great weekend!Fifth chap of the week.Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂

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