Dale looked around with a bnk expression. “…We did it. We’ve won.” His barely audible voice trembled in disbelief. His armor was blown off, and his shield brutally cracked. His whole body was screaming in pain. Blood dripped from his shaking fingers, staining the ground beneath him as he just stood there. He was too tired to move his body.

  The situation of the surviving members was more or less the same. They were barely standing. Their bodies aching and their lungs burning from exhaustion. For a few moments, no one spoke. Then, with a breathless ugh, Alex threw his head back and let out a roar. It wasn’t just a shout of victory but a shout filled with relief, exhaustion, and sheer disbelief. One by one, the others also came to the realization.

  Dale did not join with them. Instead, he dragged his feet toward Cynthia’s unresponsive body. Her body was lying in crumpled form like a discarded doll. Dale sank to his knees beside her, his hands hesitating before brushing against her bruised cheek. “Will she make it?” he asked in a daze.

  Frederick was kneeling opposite Dale, his hands glowing in healing magic. “I can’t say for sure. She suffered a lot of internal damage,” Frederick responded. I am doing as much as I can, but it will take time.”

  Dale said nothing. He slumped onto a nearby stone. His eyes remained locked on Cynthia’s pale face, watching for any flicker of life.

  Nearby, Throne extended a hand towards Lisa to help her get up. “At this point, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said this to you. You are amazing, Lisa!” he said with an exhausted smile.

  Lisa’s cheeks flushed as she clutched his hand and stood up. She struggled to find footing as she felt no strength in her legs. Throne helped her to sink back down and lean against a rock. “You have exhausted your mana. Here, drink some.” Throne gave her a portion of mana.

  “I will be fine. Don’t worry.” Lisa gulped the portion. It tingled down her throat. A faint buzzing sensation spread through her veins as she felt her strength trickle back. Throne left her side and went to check on other members.

  From her vantage point, Lisa’s gaze drifted to Dale. He hadn’t moved, his eyes still fixed on Cynthia’s face. Cynthia was not a founding member of the guild. She was a junior recruit, wide-eyed and eager to perform. Ever since she joined the guild, she practically idolized Dale. Who, on the other hand, always waved her off as annoying. But now, Lisa saw the truth: an unspoken bond had formed between them. A bond Dale would never admit—maybe never even recognized—until this moment.

  Throne’s voice cut through her thoughts as he approached Frederick. “Don’t overexert yourself. Take this. You must have used yours up long ago.” Throne gave Frederick a mana portion. Then, he turned towards Dale, observing the state of his armor and shield. “You are a mess. Let me check if someone has a spare health portion. I’ve used mine already.”

  “Let me heal you.” Alicia spoke as she cast “[Healing Mist]”. A green-colored mist covered Dale’s body and started healing his injuries.

  “I… I am fine. Don’t worry about me. Please heal Cynthia.” Dale spoke.

  “It’s okay. Frederick is healing her already.” Throne spoke.

  Minutes crawled by, each one an eternity as they waited with bated breath. Then, Cynthia slowly opened her eyes, revealing her dazed and gssy eyes. Her eyes met with Olivia and Frederick’s worried stare. Relief washed over their faces like dawn breaking through storm clouds. With a groan, Cynthia pushed herself up. Her arms trembled as she did so. “Wh… where am I?”

  “Thank the Gods you are awake,” Olivia said softly as she steadied Cynthia against the wall. “How do you feel? Is there any pain?”

  “I feel fine. What happened to the boss? Did we defeat it?” She asked in a dizzy voice.

  Dale’s shadow fell over her, “Yes,” he said sharply, “we did. But we lost some of our members.”

  Cynthia’s eyes widened as the realization sank in. “It’s my fault.” She whispered in a cracking voice. “I couldn’t block those blows.” Tears spilled over from the corners of her eyes as she crumpled inward, sobbing.

  “Yes. It was.” Dale replied.

  “Dale!!” Olivia protested. “She just woke up. Is it really necessary to bme her the second she’s conscious?”

  “A defender’s duty is to keep their teammates safe. If the defender falters, the party members die. It’s as simple as that.” Dale replied in the same harsh voice. “And you have failed to perform your duty today.”

  Cynthia parted her lips, but nothing came out. Suffocating guilt choked her words. She bit down on her lower lip, hard enough that blood trickled down her chin to mix with her tears. Her body quivered as she sobbed silently.

  Dale knelt before her, “Is your heart aching for the fallen?” he continued, “Do you see how weak you are now?” His voice is as harsh as ever.Cynthia could not meet his eyes. She couldn’t even utter a single word. A jerky nod was all she could manage.

  “That’s enough, Dale!! Stop this right now.” Frederick spoke up in a firm voice.

  Dale raised his hand, indicating not to interfere. “Burn this feeling of sadness into your soul, and never forget it.” He said, “Remember that as a defender, you are not fighting for yourself but for all the members of your party.” Dale paused for a moment. He rested his hand on Cynthia’s head, his fingers carefully threaded through her tangled hair. “You survived today. That means your duty is to rise stronger tomorrow. For all of us.”

  Cynthia’s sobs grew wilder, her body jerking with each ragged breath as she nodded again and again. Tears streamed down faster, flooding her cheeks and soaking the ground below her.

  Frederick and Olivia both exhaled a sigh of relief. Their shoulders eased as she caught the flicker of tenderness in Dale’s gesture. Throne was silently watching the events unfold. He smirked as the air settled around them. He faced the other party members and announced, “We will set up our camp here. We also need to mine that chunk of mana stones. But first…” He paused momentarily. “Please help me perform the st rites of our fallen brothers.”

  Silence filled the chamber as they grieved their fallen comrades. Alex and Raul helped out Throne as they gathered the remains of the two unfortunate members who lost their lives in that nightmare of a battle. Others helped construct two makeshift graves along the edge of the cavern.

  Once the bodies were buried, Frederick stood before the graves, his voice steady despite the exhaustion weighing on his soul. He traced a symbol of peace in the air and whispered a solemn prayer. “May their souls find rest beyond the darkness. May they walk in light and feast among the honored ones.”

  *************************************************************************************************

  Ethan observed the fight from his throne on the third floor, leaning back as the battle unfolded on the second floor. When the fight concluded and the boss fell, he let out a disappointed grunt. The Twin Gargoyle boss was no easy opponent. He had expected the monster to take out at least half of the party members, but they only lost two. The way they managed the health bars of both monsters was impressive.

  He was particurly fascinated by the spell that the mage Lisa cast to defeat both gargoyles. The spell, [Annihition Ray], had a slow charge time. It took her ten seconds to power it up, but it was incredibly powerful. “If it were to hit me directly in my current state, it would inflict significant damage. I need to learn it. It could be a valuable addition to my collection of spells," Ethan thought.

  Ethan watched as they paid their respects to the fallen and started setting up their camp. "Given the number of injured and their exhaustion, they would certainly rest for at least a few days, so I have a couple of days to spare,” Ethan murmured. "I need to consider how I would defend myself against them.”

  Ethan was lost in thought when something caught his attention. The adventurers had finished setting up their tents and divided into two groups. One group was mining a cluster of mana stones that grew unnaturally from one side of the boss’s chamber. Meanwhile, another group had started a fire and was preparing to cook. Olivia stood apart from both groups, behind a tent they had set up, gazing aimlessly at the dungeon’s ceiling as if searching for something. Suddenly, she looked directly at Ethan, squinting her eyes as if trying to see through the [Observe] spell, but in the opposite direction.

  Ethan was startled. He looked closely. It didn’t seem to him that Olivia could see him. Instead, it felt like she could sense his presence. “No way! Can she really sense me?” Ethan muttered to himself. “Does she have some kind of detection skill that can see through my [Observe] spell? But it’s part of my legendary spell. If she has the ability to sense through that, she could be a real threat to me.”

  Ethan sent a command to Alicia via [Mind Link], who was assisting with the food. She carefully separated herself, trying to avoid attracting anyone else’s attention. She picked up a sword lying near a tent and moved toward Olivia. She silently approached Olivia, hiding herself in the shadows to strike a fatal blow. Ethan was about to give her the go-ahead, but suddenly, Lisa called out to Olivia from nearby.

  “Hey, Olivia. What happened? What are you staring at?”

  Olivia blinked, startled. “Uh… nothing.”

  Lisa stepped closer. “What is it?”

  “I… I don’t know. Since entering the dungeon, I have been getting this weird feeling that we are being watched.”

  “Haven’t you felt the same before as well?”

  “Yes. I don’t know what it is. But something seems weird about this dungeon.”

  “Hmm. That’s weird. I don’t see or sense anything. We have already defeated two of the bosses. Only one is remaining. So, I would say don’t worry too much about it.” She paused briefly and said, “Come, we are about to start the feast.”

  “Yeah. You go ahead. I am coming.” Olivia let out a sigh.

  “Oh. Miss Alicia. What are you doing with the sword?” Lisa turned and saw Alicia pointing the sword toward Olivia. Olivia also turned and saw her.

  “Shit!!” Ethan thought. “I need to come up with an excuse. I didn’t see Lisa approaching from the side.” He sent out another instruction to Alicia to make an excuse and abort the mission for now.

  “Ah… nothing. I found this sword lying around here. I was checking. It feels heavy.” Alicia spoke.

  “Oh, ok. Please join us, Miss Alicia. A victory like this deserves to be celebrated.”

  “Yeah sure. Let’s go.”

  Alicia and Lisa started walking towards the camps the party had recently set up. Olivia quickly gnced around once, trying to look for something unusual one st time, but found nothing.

  Ethan let out a sigh of relief as he watched them go. “That was close. I’m gd I didn’t make any rash decisions. I can’t reveal Alicia’s identity yet; she still has one more task to perform. Additionally, it seems Olivia is unaware of what’s actually happening; she only senses something odd. So, I don’t have to kill her, at least for now,” he thought.

  The adventurers gathered around the fire to celebrate their victory, unaware of what y ahead for them in the future.