The small rabbit suddenly transformed into a wolpertinger—a giant brown rabbit with wings and horns. It looked nothing like any beast they had ever seen. It was… unique.
Selena used her fire magic, launching multiple fireballs—but the rabbit didn't even flinch.
It immediately set Selena as its target and rushed toward her. Unlike its original form, it couldn't control its speed—it was moving too fast.
Pears jumped in and saved Selena just in time. The rabbit crashed into the wall, causing cracks to spread across it.
It turned back—and charged straight at Maria.
Goth caught it and tried to hold it back, but it was too strong. It knocked him away instantly.
The rabbit focused on Maria again and rushed at her with full speed. She jumped to the side, and it slammed into the wall once more—but it didn't stop.
Pears used his wind slashes, but they had no effect.
The rabbit was too strong.
Rudo got an idea. He cast a water magic spell, flooding parts of the dungeon floor. It slowed the rabbit slightly and helped them react to its sudden attacks.
But the rabbit spread its wings and flew up.
It began launching beast balls—purple-colored magic projectiles—aimed directly at Rudo.
One hit him, but he quickly cast a shield, reducing the damage.
The rabbit then started firing those beast balls all around the dungeon.
Rudo and the others dodged again and again—but some still hit them.
The rabbit felt invincible.
After a while, a white magic ball began forming between its horns.
Rudo realized immediately—this one would be far more powerful.
He quickly cast a shield around everyone and shouted,
"Cast your shields—layer them!"
The rabbit fired.
The attack shattered three shields instantly…
slowed at the fourth…
and finally broke at the fifth.
The energy seemed to drain the rabbit—it couldn't use that attack again for now.
But its purple attacks were still dangerous.
Rudo and the others didn't know what to do.
They were completely stuck.
"Pears—cast your wind slashes. I'll layer my fire magic around it."
The combination created scorching wind blades—far stronger than before.
This time, the attacks actually started hurting the rabbit.
Selena and Pears continued casting their spells, one after another. Their combined attacks kept the rabbit busy.
Meanwhile, Rudo was thinking of a plan of his own.
He called Goth over, and the two quickly started discussing.
While Selena and Pears held the rabbit back, Pears unleashed his special spell—Sonic Boom Wind. Selena immediately infused it with her fire magic.
The attack turned into a continuous stream of blazing slashes, cutting into the rabbit again and again.
The rabbit tried to descend—but suddenly, it got stuck.
It was trapped in thick clay mud, created by Rudo's water magic and Goth's earth magic.
It struggled—but couldn't move.
Goth jumped high into the air, preparing to deliver the final blow—
But suddenly—
The rabbit shrank back to its original form…
And escaped.
The rabbit tried to escape, running back toward its hiding place—where it could steal their energy again.
But Maria knew it would come back.
She was already waiting.
As the rabbit rushed in at full speed—
She cast her spell.
A magic circle formed in the air, glowing brightly.
"Containment Seal."
The spell activated instantly, capturing the rabbit like a gentle net.
After a long battle, Rudo and his party finally defeated the rabbit and moved on to the next level—Level 5 of the dungeon. Pears sighed and dropped to the ground. "Guys… I'm too tired. I think I need some rest." "Me too," the others agreed, and they all decided to stop there and rest for a while. Before entering the dungeon, Holy Lady Marona had given them food rations—bread and hot soup—and they started eating. Goth was devouring his portion like he hadn't eaten in days. "Hey, big guy!" Pears shouted. "We need that food for the whole mission—don't finish everything now!" Goth paused mid-bite. "…Sorry." Everyone laughed, but Maria didn't. She looked uneasy. Rudo noticed and asked, "What's wrong?" Maria hesitated. "That rabbit on the fourth floor… it was at least S-rank. It's scary to think something that strong appeared there… who knows what's waiting in the next levels." Rudo nodded. "Yeah… I was thinking the same. It took all five of us just to defeat one rabbit. That's insane." Maria looked at him again. "Then why didn't you use your holy sword? It would've been easier if you had." Rudo froze. "…Sword?" He forced a laugh. "Ah—yeah, that sword. I… forgot." He quickly looked away as Pears' earlier words echoed in his mind—"The real Rudo uses a holy sword. But you can't use it. So think of a good explanation." After thinking so much, the only explanation Rudo came up with was this. "…I forgot." …What the egg?
Suddenly, they heard someone screaming from inside Level 5.
Rudo frowned. "What…? Who's screaming inside a closed level?"
"Guys—dig faster!"
They immediately started digging faster and faster.
The voice became clearer… louder… desperate.
Finally, they broke through to Level 5 and rushed inside.
What they saw—
A massive blue spider beast was moving toward someone trapped in thick webbing. They couldn't see the person clearly.
"Selena—!"
But she had already acted.
She cast a fireball, aiming at the web, trying to burn it away.
The flames spread quickly.
"You idiot! Stop the fire—or I'll die!" the trapped voice shouted.
Selena snapped back, "What?! I'm trying to save you here!"
"Fool—you're trying to kill me!"
Rudo reacted instantly.
He used his water magic and extinguished the flames.
The web loosened and collapsed.
The person inside fell to the ground.
It was a lizard demon.
Rudo's eyes narrowed.
Lizard demons hate fire…
Oh.
That explains everything.
The spider turned again—this time chasing the lizard demon.
The lizard demon ran straight toward Goth—
Then suddenly jumped over him.
In the next moment—
The spider shot its web and captured Goth.
But unlike the rabbit, the spider was not a mythical beast—it was just a normal beast.
So all it took was one powerful spell from Selena to defeat it.
Selena then helped Goth, burning away the web and freeing him.
The lizard demon stood up and spoke.
"Thank you… humans, for saving me."
It was a girl.
The demon was a girl.
Rudo nodded. "No problem… but what are you doing here? How did you even get inside?"
He frowned slightly.
"Usually, only magical or mythical beasts exist in dungeons. There's no way a demon should be here…"
The demon looked at them calmly.
"My name is Yuna. I'm from the southeast lizard tribe."
Rudo's expression changed.
"Southeast…? I've heard of that place before."
He thought for a moment.
"But that tribe disappeared long ago. I think my father even went there himself to investigate… but he couldn't find any trace of the village."
He looked at her carefully.
So… is she really from that tribe?
Rudo asked,
"Are you telling the truth?"
Yuna looked at Rudo and nodded slightly.
"I know why you're asking that…" she said.
"Our tribe didn't just disappear from the surface… we were taken."
Maria blinked in surprise.
"Oh… but it's interesting that you know so much about demons, Rudo."
Pears grinned.
"That's why he's the hero."
Somehow, Pears had saved Rudo again.
Rudo let out a small breath and turned back to Yuna.
"So what really happened? Why did your tribe disappear… and how did you end up here?"
Yuna's expression darkened.
"We didn't disappear…"
She paused.
"We were captured."
Rudo frowned.
"Captured? By whom?"
Yuna looked straight at him.
"By that holy woman… Marona."
- To be continued -