The final floor of the lower dungeon levels.
A place known as the Fallen Kingdom.
The ruins stretched far and wide, an abandoned kingdom consumed by time and overrun by monsters. At its heart stood a colossal black castle, looming over the landscape like a tombstone. But it wasn't the castle that made this floor infamous, it was the creatures that infested it.
Lizardmen.
Hordes of them.
With scales as tough as steel and strength rivaling a Minotaur, they were among the most dangerous creatures in the lower floors. Their razor-sharp claws, inhuman speed, and keen senses made sneaking past them impossible. Trapping them in fire was the usual strategy, as flames gradually weakened their scales. But with their extreme mobility, even that was easier said than done.
Yet, as the Blood Wolf Party arrived at the Fallen Kingdom,
There was nothing.
Not a single lizardman in sight.
"Where the hell are they?" Elara muttered, scanning the desolate landscape. Her brows furrowed. This entire floor should be crawling with lizardmen. But instead, there was an eerie silence.
Something was wrong.
The air itself was heavy. Thick. Polluted. Adrian's chest tightened as he breathed it in, feeling a strange sensation in his lungs. The flow of mana in the atmosphere was sluggish, like it was poisoned.
"Whatever is happening, we'll find our answers at the castle," Rod declared, striding forward. No hesitation.
No one argued.
The castle was forty floors high, and by the time they reached the top, Adrian was panting like a dog in heat.
"Damn it…" He hunched over, gasping.
"Geez, Adrian," Marla teased. "Even Elara looks fine, and she's a mage. Why the hell are you struggling so much?"
"Oi, did you forget that I can't circulate mana?" Adrian snapped, still out of breath. "I'm just a normal dude. You guys are freaks."
"Hah! That's true," Kleines chuckled, "but this is normal for us. Back in our homeland, we trained while carrying weights up mountains-"
A sharp crack interrupted the conversation.
Everyone froze.
It had come from the throne room ahead.
Cautiously, they stepped inside.
The throne room was exactly as it should be—a grand hall filled with crumbling stone pillars, tattered banners, and a broken throne at the far end. But there was something else.
Something wrong.
A crack.
A literal crack in the air, floating mid-air, its edges glowing pure white like shattered glass suspended in reality.
"Am I imagining things, or is that…?" Rod's voice was uncertain.
"No," Elara murmured, eyes narrowing. "That's a tear in space-time."
"If left alone, it will widen into a portal," Frey added. "To whatever world lies beyond."
Her voice was tight. This was serious.
"So this is why we're here?" Elara asked.
"Unfortunately," Frey sighed. "I was hoping I was wrong."
The rift pulsed, its edges flickering. It was still small, which meant they had time to seal it before it became a disaster.
"It's just a minor tear. A white one. That means it's still in its early stages," Frey explained, reaching into her bag. "We just need to set up a sealing spell. I'll provide the scrolls-"
CRACK.
A deafening shatter ripped through the room.
The tear widened.
A massive, scaled arm emerged, claws scraping against the stone floor. Three times the size of a human.
Then, another arm.
Then, a leg.
Then—
A face.
And it wasn't a normal lizardman.
A monstrous reptilian creature dragged itself through the rift, its body covered in obsidian scales that shimmered under the dim torchlight. Purple fog seeped from its form, filling the air like a living curse.
Then, it spoke.
"Foolish humans. Easily dead. Even before brothers came. King will be born."
The room descended into chaos.
Rod reacted first.
"Elara, immobilize it! Frey, you're with me! Veryn, wait for an opening! Adrian, get the healing potions ready! Marla, buff us!"
Rod charged, sword flashing. Frey moved in a blur, flanking the monster's side. It was the perfect strategy, a combination they only used against true threats.
And it didn't work.
Rod's blade, which had slaughtered countless lizardmen, barely scratched its scales.
A moment later—
BANG.
The monster backhanded Rod, sending him crashing into a wall, blood splattering across the stone.
Frey followed next, knocked aside like a ragdoll.
Veryn stealthed, attempting to strike from behind. But before she could reach the tendons
CRACK.
The monster's tail moved faster than a whip, slamming into her and sending her flying into a column.
"I can't conjure magic!" Elara's voice trembled. "The fog, it's destroying the mana in the atmosphere!"
Kleines, the immovable fortress, took a defensive stance.
The monster turned its gaze toward him.
And then, it moved.
A blur.
A single strike.
And Kleines was sent flying, his massive shield shattered on impact.
This was no ordinary monster.
It wasn't just strong.
It was intelligent.
It had battle sense, strategy, and perfect timing. It knew how to fight humans.
The monster laughed, a deep, mocking sound.
Then, it raised a broken pillar, aiming at Marla, only one left standing
The Blood Wolf Party is not weak. In fact, they are stronger than most adventurers. Maybe the strongest currently in Vermaris. And in a few seconds they were rendered unconscious. Due to a monster with higher intelligence than others and a mysterious force that rendered them unable to utilize mana. A totally unexpected situation that they have never even heard of before.
Right here, in this forsaken place, Blood wolf party met their end. At least that's what should've happened. But there was that strange anomaly that fate never expected. Anomaly that was guided by a "transmigrator" with his dying breath.
Marla neither moved nor flinched.
She simply stared at the monster, calm and unshaken.
And smiled.