Chapter 56

Even as they held their ground against the wyvern that had survived six Tier Actions, a new tremor rippled under their feet. The vibration grew stronger, and then came a distorted, dragging shriek—like a tail being pulled endlessly through the air.

Startled, everyone turned their heads. From the cross-shaped corridor ahead, Party Four and Party Seven suddenly burst out, their screams stretched thin and eerie as they sprinted through. Their gazes briefly met, but neither group stopped. They shot past, vanishing into the opposite hallway. Behind them, dozens of wyverns thundered in pursuit.

“……”

An awkward silence settled between Aslan’s party and the wyvern in front of them. Both sides hesitated, as if unsure whether to resume fighting. Then, with a thunderous blast, part of the castle wall blew apart. The building groaned as it began to collapse.

Their screams were swallowed by the roar of crumbling stone. As everyone stared wide-eyed at the ceiling falling in a chain reaction like dominoes, Blaine caught a glimpse of a hand at the edge of his vision.

A sleeve with a finger loop. He didn’t need to confirm it—he knew it was Theo.

“Hy—!”

Before he could even turn, he was shoved hard. His body hit the ground as debris came crashing down on the very spot where he’d been standing. Even the wyvern there was crushed instantly, unable to resist the sheer weight of rubble.

“Ah…”

Theo exhaled a hollow breath. In saving Blaine, he had left himself stranded on the other side of the collapse.

“Should’ve pulled instead of pushing.”

Muttering under his breath, he looked at the pile of debris with anxious eyes. He tried pressing against it, but it didn’t budge an inch. Beneath the rubble, the wyvern lay motionless, seemingly unconscious.

[Party] [Blaine: Hyung, are you okay?!]

[Party] [Aslan: Hey, you alright?!]

“Party, yeah, I’m fine. I’ll look around, see if there’s another way.”

[Party] [Aslan: No, just stay there—we’ll come to you.]

[Party] [Aslan: Moving alone is more dangerous.]

“Party, got it.”

[Party] [Blaine: We’ll be there soon, hyung.]

“Party, okay.”

He answered and started to glance around—but another explosion shook the ground beneath him. Cracks spidered across the floor, spreading rapidly before it collapsed entirely under his feet.

“What?!”

Theo felt the ground drop away. Falling with the rubble, he clenched his eyes shut against the imminent impact.

He slammed into the first floor, the crash wringing a groan of pain from him as he forced his eyes open. And then he froze.

Above him, the wreckage of the second floor plummeted in a torrent. His body stiffened, mind blank. There was no time to dodge, no time to think. He curled into himself, arms covering his head, bracing for death.

But before the impact came, a deafening explosion ripped through the air. A violent blast of wind tore across him, scattering the falling debris to dust.

“Wahhh!”

Theo let out an undignified scream, cringing further into himself. The air filled with choking dust, so thick he could barely breathe. The rubble had shattered midair, reduced to fragments that now rained down like sand. Coughing and hacking, Theo staggered back to his feet.

The grand interior that once held dignity was now a ruin. Walls caved in, holes punched through everywhere. He frowned at the devastation, scanning his surroundings. And through the murky haze, he began to see figures.

His instincts pulled him toward them. They were standing at the opening of a wall blown apart by the blast. As he pushed through the dust toward the hole, he felt the stale air inside being pulled outward, sucked away into the open beyond.

As Theo’s ragged breathing steadied and the dust cloud began to thin, the shapes ahead sharpened into view. It was Party Ten.

They spotted Theo’s battered figure at once and hurried over, asking if he was alright. Theo coughed and assured them he was fine, then stepped out through the hole in the wall. He needed to assess the situation.

What greeted him outside in the rear garden left him speechless. Party Ten clearly had members specialized in explosive weaponry.

Craters pitted the ground, the terrain gouged open in every direction. Scattered across the ruined garden were wyvern corpses, broken and lifeless. The building walls were riddled with gaping holes, barely standing and ready to collapse at any moment. Thankfully, not a single wyvern was still moving.

Theo and the members of Party Ten exchanged information. From what they shared, he pieced together the current picture: Party One, his own group, was still inside, as were Parties Four and Seven. Somewhere within the inner fortress lurked a massive wyvern that could transform into the first boss. And tucked away in the far corner of the rear garden stood a tall, ominous tower, said to have a high chance of holding treasure.

Party Ten hadn’t known about the potential boss wyvern inside the fortress. Their plan, after clearing out the wyverns in the garden, had been to climb the tower and search for loot.

Now they debated whether to enter the inner fortress and join the others, or head for the tower first. If they fought the boss alongside the rest and then hunted for treasure together, the rewards would be spread too thin. But if they went for the tower now, seven people could divide the loot among themselves.

One by one, their gazes fixed on Theo. Their eyes gleamed with greed and expectation, all silently urging him to agree.

“……”

Theo was still broke and desperate for money.

In the end, they chose to climb the tower rather than head into the inner fortress. Gaining a vantage point to survey the castle from above would also help their strategy.

As they ascended, Theo busied himself brushing dirt and debris off his ragged clothes. Dust clung everywhere, itching and uncomfortable.

“Want me to clean that off for you?”

One of the players came up beside him, staff in hand—clearly a magic-user. Theo gave a silent nod. The man cast a wind spell, sweeping a cool current over him that blew away the grit and dust clinging to his body.

Theo ran his fingers through his hair, now tousled by the gust of magic, and flicked away the fine grains of sand caught between them. His face was still far from refreshed.

“Don’t you have water magic?”

“Oh, I do. Want me to rinse you off?”

“Yes, the wind alone just feels grimy.”

With a grin, the mage nodded and unleashed a torrent of water over Theo’s head like a waterfall. Drenched from head to toe, Theo finally felt clean. He didn’t mind being soaked—he’d dry soon enough.

As they climbed higher, the tower rose above the castle walls, and the view outside the open brick windows spread wide. White cumulus clouds drifted lazily across the blue sky, sunlight glittered over the horizon, and the sea shimmered in restless waves beneath the light.

The breathtaking scenery sparkled in the sun, so dazzling it left them all silent, their only response a few gasps of awe. Theo was no different. Yet, as he stood there drinking in the view, he suddenly felt a pang of regret. If Blaine were here to see it with him, it would have been even better.

With a sigh, Theo decided he’d at least take a screenshot and show him later. Just as he lifted his system window, a deafening crash erupted behind them. The sound of something massive collapsing thundered through the air.

All of them flinched violently, shoulders stiffening. Slowly, with creaking necks, they turned toward the opposite window. The inner fortress—already weakened and unstable thanks to Party Ten’s explosives—was finally giving way. It collapsed completely, crumbling into dust and ruin.

They stood in stunned silence, watching the disaster unfold. Then, through the massive clouds of dust, a tall figure burst out, dragging a long tail as he sprinted forward at incredible speed.

It was Aslan.

He shot ahead like he was flying, and in his wake, dozens of wyverns poured out, screeching as they dove and lunged at him.

But suddenly, those flying wyverns slammed to the ground, pinned down as if crushed by invisible weight. Behind them emerged Blaine, Theo’s other party members, and the survivors of Parties Four and Seven.

Together, they unleashed a barrage of attacks on the wyverns chasing Aslan. Shriek after shriek filled the air as the beasts fell one by one. A few survivors still lunged at Aslan, but he dodged their snapping jaws with effortless precision.

Annoyed more than afraid, Aslan kicked one square in the snout. The wyvern flew helplessly from the single strike, crashing and rolling across the ground until it vanished into the clouds of dust from the fallen fortress.

Theo watched as Aslan, Blaine, and the others regrouped at the center of the rear garden. Then, from within the swirling haze, a savage growl rumbled. Something massive rose high into the air before plummeting down into the garden’s center.

It was a player—downed, his body sprawled and broken.

And from behind him, a wyvern emerged, wings spread wide as it surged upward, creating a storm of wind. Its leathered hide was shredded in places, and clutched in its maw were the corpses of dead wyverns.

It was the same massive wyvern Aslan’s party had faced inside the fortress hall.

Hovering arrogantly above the survivors gathered in the garden, it gazed down at them. Then it began to chew and swallow the wyvern carcasses in its mouth.

As it fed, its torn skin began to slough away like an old husk. Beneath, a harder, darker, far more colossal form revealed itself—emerging like a new creature entirely.