"So what do you decide?" Zaphyra asked, looking over her shoulder. The suffocating crimson light of the Pillar cast long, jagged shadows across the dungeon floor, illuminating the battered armor of her remaining ten guild members.
"We will continue!!"
"...?!"
Zaphyra was stunned, turning fully around to face the ten people. She had expected relief, a desperate scramble to escape. Instead, she found an unyielding wall of pride.
"What are you all saying?! Why--"
"--Leader... We already lost so many people on this mission! Going back now is dishonoring their sacrifice... If we go and die, at least, we tried and not hide back like cowards." The second-in-command said, staring at Zaphyra with a determined expression.
The others also nodded their heads, and took determined steps forward, their weapons drawn. The Eagle Empire had bred them for war; to return empty-handed after such a catastrophic loss of life was a fate worse than a dungeon wipe.
