As Arther and his party entered the dungeon, James took the lead. "Only the first floor of this dungeon has been explored. No one knows how deep it goes, so stay alert," he warned.

  They advanced cautiously, sying Orcs and Giant Poisoned Centipedes along the way. After clearing the first floor, a mysterious crystal emerged. The moment they touched it, they were teleported to the second floor.

  Darkness consumed the surroundings. "Arther, Ena, use fire magic for light," James ordered. The fmes flickered to life, casting eerie shadows across the stone walls. They walked forward until they reached a massive stone bridge spanning across two cliffs.

  As Arther led the group, an intense killing intent surged behind him. Where is it coming from? Instincts fring, he spun around only to see James greatsword sshing toward his back.

  Arther barely managed to step back, avoiding a fatal wound, but blood dripped down his back. "James you bastard, what is the meaning of this?!" he growled, his voice ced with fury.

  James and the others chuckled. "It’s nothing personal," he sneered. "Your dear brother, the duke’s first son, ordered us to kill you. Since you're already a Gold-ranked adventurer, we figured this unexplored dungeon would be perfect to get rid of you. We’ll just say you died protecting us."

  Arther clenched his fists, seething with rage.

  James smirked. "Oh, and your little girlfriend, Yamikage… that beauty will be fun to py with once you're gone or should I turn her in my personal whore and sell her to sve merchant...."

  Something snapped inside Arther. My bastard brother… I should have killed him that night. But these traitors will die here first.

  "You fuckers I will definitely kill you all..." Arther voice in raged,

  With no hesitation, he unleashed a fire spell without incantation. Ena’s eyes widened. "How can he cast spells without chanting?!" But before she could dwell on it, she countered with an S-rank water spell, nullifying Arther’s attack.

  Arther moved with unnatural speed, his agility honed from training with Yamikage in her dragon form. He fought ferociously, pushing the party back, but they overwhelmed him with sheer power.

  An arrow from John pierced his arm. Swords sshed across his chest. Blood poured from his wounds as he staggered back. James and the others smirked, thinking he was finished.

  But then… Arther started ughing.

  "AHAHAHA… I wasn’t pnning to use this… but since you're all going to die, let me show you the true power of the Dark Dragon."

  His dark mana surged, a suffocating pressure filling the dungeon. In an instant, he vanished then reappeared behind Sylva.

  "Eclipse Fang."

  A fsh of compressed wind magic, imbued with dark energy, severed Sylva’s head cleanly from her shoulders. The healer was the first to fall.

  Kael roared in fury, lunging at Arther. His sword sshed clean through Arther’s arm, severing it. Blood gushed out, but Arther didn't scream he only grinned, his mind consumed by battle.

  "Doomfall."

  A catastrophic bst of dark and eclipse magic erupted from Arther, sending his enemies reeling. His mana expanded wildly as he unlocked his dark mana chamber.

  Ena's face paled. "D-dark magic…! You bastard, the kingdom will execute you for this!"

  Arther chuckled darkly. "That’s assuming any of you leave here alive."

  The moment his dark mana chamber fully unlocked, James and his party felt it. Arther’s power was monstrous something beyond their comprehension.

  "He's… a monster," James muttered, gripping his sword tightly.

  They charged at him in desperation.

  "Eclipse Devour."

  A dark magic spear manifested in Arther’s hands. The moment he thrust it forward, it erased James from existence. His body vanished, leaving nothing behind.

  Kael and John pressed forward, attacking in sync. Kael cshed with Arther at close range while John provided cover fire with his arrows. Ena, in the distance, was chanting a powerful spell.

  Arther noticed but was too preoccupied with Kael.

  "Shadow Tempest Strike."

  Dark energy engulfed Arther’s fists as he unleashed a barrage of rapid, high impact strikes. With a final thrust, he ripped Kael’s heart from his chest and crushed it in his hand.

  Ena finished chanting.

  "Astral Oblivion!"

  Celestial sigils formed around her, absorbing all surrounding mana. A colossal beam of divine and arcane destruction erupted toward Arther. The sheer force cracked the very foundations of the dungeon.

  "Die, you monster!" she screamed.

  Arther countered with Tenebris Nova, a powerful anti-magic explosion but Ena’s spell was too strong. It couldn’t be fully nullified.

  The attack struck Arther head on. His half burned face, his right leg obliterated, a gaping hole in his torso he was barely alive.

  The dungeon shook violently. The stone bridge beneath them fractured, threatening to colpse.

  Arther coughed blood, but his lips curled into a grin.

  "Oblivion Cataclysm."

  The air itself warped as a vortex of destruction formed above him. Fire, ice, lightning, wind, earth, and dark void energy spiraled together into a massive sphere of annihition.

  When it detonated, the entire floor was engulfed in absolute ruin.

  John and Ena were erased.

  But the recoil was devastating. Arther colpsed, blood covering his vision. The st thing he saw was the bridge crumbling beneath him.

  He was falling.

  As his consciousness faded, images of Yamikage and Yuki appeared in his mind. I’m sorry…

  Then, a voice echoed in the darkness.

  "It was fun watching you fight. But don’t worry… I will save you, my child, the warrior trusted by Yamikage."

  As Arther’s broken body fell into the abyss, a surge of dark energy enveloped him.

  He awoke in a vast chamber, dimly lit by eerie bck fmes. A skeleton sat upon a throne, its hollow eyes glowing ominously.

  "Welcome, Arther… to my dungeon."

  To be continued…..