Blinding light illuminated high above the ground, casting the monsters' shadow across the walls, as

  the group was battling through what seemed like an endless number of enemies. The basilisks began leaping down from the walls and the small hollows in them, charging at anyone in sight.

  “There are too many of them!” Vidar shouted, fighting off several lizards at once, knocking their large, green-scaled bodies to the ground using brute strenght.

  “UGH! They better hurry up! This wave won’t stop until we either kill them all or they get to the Wyrm!” Mallory yelled back, swinging her huge hammer wildly, not even paying attention to whether she hit any of the enemies.

  On the other side of the cavern, Sif, Corym, and Syviis were struggling to fight the giant monster that was tossing its yellow flames in all directions. Its green scales were still partially covered in ice, remnants of Lirian’s devastating attack.

  "Nothing's getting through! Why is this thing that strong?!" Syviis shouted, leaping onto its twisting tail, trying to find its weak spot... if it even had one.

  Sif continuously lunged at its head with her greatsword, trying to pin it to the ground, which, given the size difference, was no easy task.

  “It’s teeth are alone the size of Mallory! This makes no sense!” the woman shouted, throwing upward blows at the monster, which still had problems with moving around thanks to the ice and Corym's spells.

  “If we could just keep it pinned to the ground!” Corym said, raising his hands, trying to maintain a bunch of magical circles around the Serpent, which definitely made it harder for the creature to maneuver properly.

  The Serpent writhed it's tail around the cavern, occasionally hitting the basilisks and the walls as it tried to attack the group, making the cavern even bigger with every blow.

  "Damn it!" Syviis shouted, jumping off the beast's tail and rushing to Corym. "Wouldn't it be better to just run away?! In this space, they have the advantage over us!" Her gaze shifted to the exit tunnel adorned with mana lanterns.

  "We can't be sure..." Corym muttered, clasping his hands, causing the magical circle around the Wyrm's neck to tighten, eliciting another roar. "...That there aren't more of them in the tunnel."

  The elf's eyes wandered across the battlefield, where he managed to spot everyone including Lirian and Niall, who had earlier disappeared amidst the chaos.

  They stood against the wall, surrounded by a group of hissing basilisks.

  Niall deflected their minor fire attacks with his arrows, protecting Lirian, who sat behind him, clutching his likely broken and slightly frostbitten shoulder.

  "Ugh... Syviis, go help Niall. He won't protect Lirian alone." He commanded, lowering his hands, which caused the magical circle to shatter, releasing the Serpent.

  "...Are you sure? Can you guys handle this on your own?" The woman asked cautiously, glancing at Sif, who was fighting with all her might.

  The elf gave a slight nod, taking his grimoire in hand and flipping through its pages.

  As Syviis set off to search for the others, the Serpent, taking advantage of its brief freedom, began lunging at Sif, effortlessly countering her attacks.

  Chunks of rock bounced off its scales, ricocheting straight toward the woman.

  "AGH... Damn it! Corym, what are you doing?!" Sif screamed, forcing herself to endure the relentless attacks.

  "Just a moment!" he yelled back, his voice focused as he continued flipping through the pages.

  Sif continued battling the monster, dodging the heavier attacks and blocking the lighter ones, but her endurance had its limits, and as she felt the movements of her body slowing down and a wave of nausea hitting her, she knew that she was quickly reaching them.

  The Serpent thrashed its massive body around the cavern, leaping between walls, bouncing her between rocks and slamming directly into her.

  "UGH!" she gasped, coming to a stop against one of the boulders thrown by the Wyrm, which now charged at her with full force.

  "DAMN IT!" she shouted, barely managing to get back on her feet, her trembling hands raising her massive sword toward the beast.

  Suddenly, just as the Serpent was about to collide head-on with her, a wave of ice struck its maw, knocking it sideways and pinning it to the ground together with many of the basillisks.

  Sif didn’t even need to turn around to know that Lirian had saved her yet again, despite his critical condition. Before she could fully regain her composure, Corym’s voice echoed through the cavern.

  "Sif! You have the green light! I'll replenish the mana, so give it everything you've got!" His shout reverberated through the cave, accompanied by the casting of a spell.

  "...Are you... sure?" she muttered, turning toward him.

  Corym stood with one his hands outstretched, while the other was wrapped around Lirian's shoulder, keeping him in place.

  He nodded in response to her question and then closed his eyes, causing a wave of pure energy to starts shooting rhythmically out of his hand, right before he murmured. "Do it."

  In an instant, Sif's mind cleared of all unnecessary thoughts, leaving behind only one sentence—a sentence she had feared to speak for many, many years.

  "Oh, great Ignis-Vythera, flame of chaos and wrathful inferno......Hear my plea as I stand before the unyielding storm......Lend me the fury of your eternal blaze, so I may burn away the shadow that defies us...

  At last, the monster destroyed the ice, and with another roar it immidately rushed towards Lirian and Corym, completely ignoring the power that emanated from Sif.

  For a single moment, the cavern grew silent, just for a crackle of flames to escape with her final words.

  "...Jaal-Vythera.

  The platform shook under the pressure of the basilisks pressing in from all sides, and the chains supporting it were stretched to their absolute limit.

  Water-type spells flew in every direction, cast by Lukius as he tried his best to defend the kids.

  “…The upper level should have called for reinforcements by now.” he muttered under his breath, holding his staff aloft as he prepared for the next wave of monsters.

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  The boy nodded back. "… but do you know how things are going below?” he asked, leaning out from the back of the carriage and scanning the walls for any threats.

  “Not exactly… but it doesn’t sound good.” Lukius replied, and as those words left his mouth, the platform began to quake again, and another group of basilisks leaped out of the holes they had created.

  Lukius immediately swung his staff, releasing a wave of mana that transformed into a shimmering water shield around the carriage.

  “They’re here too!” the boy shouted, retreating back inside in an attempt to escape the next group, which had started to slowly surround the carriage.

  After firing another series of spells from his staff, Lukius was slowly losing hope.

  With each attack, his mana was running dry, and the number of enemies showed no signs of decreasing.

  “W-What’s h-happening?!” Zara stammered, terrified, curled up in a corner of the carriage with her tail wrapped tightly around her waist.

  “Nothing,” Lukius replied, his obvious and far-from-comforting lie being all he could offer the girl.

  “How many?!” he shouted, casting a few more spells directly onto the surface of the barrier, which deflected them backward, taking out a handful of monsters.

  Sylleth moved from the center of the wagon to its rear exit, observing the swarm of massive lizards dangerously closing in on them. “About eighteen!” he shouted back, retreating inside and kneeling next to Zara.

  “Damn…” Lukius muttered as it slowly dawned on him that they were surrounded by at least thirty bloodthirsty creatures that, if not for the protective barrier, would have torn them apart in an instant.

  “How… h-how much longer?” Zara stammered, glancing at the boy kneeling beside her with tear-filled eyes.

  “...Not much…” he murmured, his words less an attempt to reassure Zara and more an effort to calm himself—his racing heart, his dark thoughts, and his trembling left hand, which he had been supporting with the other for some time now.

  "Agh!" Lukius shouted, firing more and more water projectiles at the monsters while wiping sweat from his forehead.

  "Sylleth... p-please..." Zara mumbled, covering her ears to block out the guttural sounds made by the basilisks.

  "Zara..." The boy tried to wrap his arm around her, but she recoiled, shivering and muttering again.

  "P-Please... do something... don’t let them in." Her voice was strangely soaked in terror, but the boy had no time to dwell on it.

  With a forced nod, he quickly returned to the front of the carriage, standing beside Lukius, who was fighting desperately for their survival.

  "...This isn't working," he muttered in a broken voice, tearing his gaze away from the horde of monsters completely ignoring Lukius’ attacks, simply waiting for the barrier to fall.

  "I _noticed_! But I don’t have a better idea!" Lukius' voice, filled with more desperation than fear, echoed through the cavern, blending with the sounds of battle from below.

  "…Damn it, of all times for that Wyrm to show up," the man continued muttering under his breath, his eyes closing as he slowly lowered his staff. With a sharp movement, he ripped the dagger from his belt and threw it to the ground.

  "Shit! We’re going to die! We’re _fucking_ going to die!" he shouted in sheer panic, unwilling to accept the fate awaiting them—his outburst only dragging Sylleth and Zara further into the depths of despair.

  And yet, despite everything, Sylleth did not feel fear—not like the others.

  The terror that should have brought him to his knees, begging the gods for mercy, had been replaced by something else… though he couldn’t quite tell what.

  It wasn’t fear, not even close. It was more like a numbness spreading through his mind, beginning as a simple tingling in his limbs.

  His gaze drifted, almost instinctively, to the dagger lying at the foot of the carriage.

  And in his mind, only one thought echoed—"The chains."

  Involuntarily, he muttered the word, drawing Lukius' attention.

  “What?” Lukius asked in a despairing voice. He had already resigned himself to his fate, barely managing to keep his grip on his staff, which was half-pressed against the ground.

  “…Chains.” Sylleth murmured, his gaze shifting to the thick chains that held the platform in the air. “If we got rid of them…”

  Lukius shook his head, his fingers slipping from his staff, nearly letting it fall. “I thought about that, but we’ll never get through this many enemies, and even if we do—”

  Sif's distorted scream echoed from below, cutting him off. The sound was immediately followed by a series of deafening impacts and the enraged roar of the Wyrm.

  “Sif…” Lukius whispered, his last bit of strength barely keeping his fingers wrapped around his falling staff, fighting to maintain the barrier for just a little longer.

  “L-Lukius.” Sylleth’s unsteady voice broke through the tension, forcing the exhausted mage to focus on him. “…You have someone to protect too… We can’t stay here, and if there’s even the slightest chance that this will work…”

  His hands clenched into fists, a sharp stinging sensation spreading through his skin.

  “…Then we have to try. Even if defeat is certain.” Lukius cut him off, tightening the grip on his staff and shaking his head. "I heard it once before... you truly do resemble him."

  Sylleth, despite not understanding the context of his words, nodded, not wanting to waste any more time.

  "...We need to weaken the chains so we can cut through them," the man continued, grabbing the dagger from the ground and handing it to the boy. "I'll take care of that—you cut them."

  The boy quickly took the dagger, positioning himself at the front of the wagon, standing face-to-face with one of the larger monsters, which hissed directly at him.

  His previously steady breath began to waver slightly, and his grip on the hilt tightened.

  "Don't be afraid... I'll clear a path for you, so don't stop," Lukius whispered, slowly preparing to lower the barrier.

  The boy glanced back at Zara, who was still terrified, before turning his gaze forward again.

  “…I’m ready,” he muttered uncertainly, slightly bending his knees and leaning forward.

  Lukius nodded, sweeping his hand in a fluid motion to dispel the barrier, exposing them to the basilisks' attack. Without hesitation, he began bombarding the creatures with his magic, partially directing his water-based attacks toward the chains.

  Sylleth sprinted forward, weaving between the disoriented monsters thanks to his small frame.

  Lukius’ magic had begun to swirl around the two thick chains holding up one side of the platform. The water encircling them started to churn violently, releasing a mass of oxygen bubbles.

  “AAAAAAhh!” the boy shouted under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut and letting his instincts guide him toward his target.

  “Watch out!” the man yelled from behind.

  Sylleth skidded to a stop and opened his eyes—standing before him was one of the larger basilisks, roughly his size, its mouth glowing yellow as it opened wide.

  With a swift movement of his staff, Lukius unleashed a barrage of water projectiles at the beast, creating a burst of steam that spread across the platform. “Keep running!” he shouted, leaping from the carriage and fighting off the creatures not just with magic but with his staff itself.

  The boy dashed forward again, dodging the fallen monster and racing toward the slowly rusting chains.

  “I can do this…” he muttered, pushing his legs to their limit. His mind spun as the hisses of basilisks and splashes of water surrounded him, while in the distance, the echoes of battle—clashes and the furious roars of the Wyrm—resounded from below.

  Already close enough, the boy pushed off the ground lightly, swinging his left hand forward as he lunged toward the now partially orange-tinted chains.

  "I can do this!" he shouted, finishing his swing and slicing through the stream of water with the dagger's blade. With a sharp cut and a loud snap, the chains shattered—just before the tail of one of the basilisks struck him, sending Sylleth crashing to the floor beside them.

  “AAAGHH!” he gasped, clutching his stomach, the dagger slipping from his grasp.

  The platform trembled, but instead of plummeting as expected, it remained suspended in the air, emitting only faint creaks and groans.

  “Wha…?” the boy choked out, his gaze darting to the chains.

  Then he saw it—he had only managed to break **one** of them. The second remained completely intact.

  The basilisk slithered closer, hissing, its mouth slowly opening as it prepared to strike.

  “N-No…” The realization struck Sylleth even harder.

  If he had aimed better, the platform would already be falling, and maybe they would have had a chance to survive. But because of his lack of skill—because he had never trained in swordsmanship—their fate was now sealed.

  His breathing grew shallow and rapid, and a sharp pain began to spread through his body.

  His tear-filled gaze flickered between the chains and the approaching basilisk, his vision growing blurry.

  Sylleth's breath became erratic as the basilisk’s hissing grew louder. The sharp pain in his side intensified, but his gaze remained locked on the remaining chain, the heavy weight of his failure pressing down on him.

  Seconds passed, the monster was getting closer and closer, and Lukius' shouts grew louder.

  The boy's mind was in a panic, his hand trembling right next to the dagger.

  Suddenly, from deep within his head, a soft and calm voice echoed, quickly clearing his mind and calming his breath, leaving only a tingling sensation in his left arm. "Throw it."

  He blinked, his heart racing. The voice was like a pull from deep within him, instinctive yet unexplainable.

  Without a second thought, the boy grabbed the dagger once more with trembling fingers, and as he swung to throw it, time seemed to slow down.

  The blade shot toward the chains with desperate, almost instinctual precision, and when it finally embedded into the last one, a loud crack echoed through the cave. The chains fell to the ground, and the earth began to tremble.

  This time, he succeeded, and the platform started to fall.