Chapter 114: The Seals of Apocalypse

  The air in Nireen was thick with tension. Though the battlefield was momentarily silent, the distant howls of unknown creatures echoed from beyond the ruined city. The fires from the earlier battle cast long shadows across the stone streets, illuminating the grim expressions of the warriors gathered.

  Sylven stood at the center, several Voxiacere stones hovered in front of him, buzzing with magical energy as reports flooded in. His long ears twitching as he listened intently, and when he finally spoke, his voice was low but firm.

  “Nireen has several dungeons within its borders, but three in particular stand out as our immediate concern.” He retrieved a map from his satchel, marking three specific locations. “Two are Labyrinth Dungeons, and one is an Elemental Dungeon.”

  Vira frowned, arms crossed. “Labyrinth dungeons? Those aren’t supposed to open unless someone deliberately activates it?”

  Marcus exhaled sharply. “Same goes for elemental dungeons. They definitely don’t just stay open on their own, and nothing is ever supposed to come out.” His fists clenched. "If these dungeons are actively spawning monsters, then something is overriding their natural order."

  Syl theven nodded, face grim. “Exactly. And there’s something else—you’ve all fought in Nireen’s dungeons before.” His gaze flicked between Marcus, Vira, Thalron, Arixa, and Vealeth. “Tell me—have you ever seen anything like these creatures before?”

  A heavy silence settled over them.

  No one answered.

  Because the truth was, they hadn’t.

  Not in any dungeon. Not in any battle. The monstrous insectoids they had just fought were utterly foreign. Unnatural.

  Marcus let out a slow breath, his thoughts racing. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught Vealeth’s expression.

  The man was uncharacteristically tense.

  Then—softly—Vealeth stepped forward and muttered, “I think I may have caused this.”

  Marcus’ head snapped toward him. “What?”

  Vealeth hesitated, scanning the faces around them before lowering his voice further. “Before all of this started, I came across a dungeon unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It had an Orcish number four engraved into its entrance.” His fingers curled into a fist as he continued. “When I entered, I didn’t find monsters. I didn’t find a boss. I found… something called a seal.”

  The group tensed.

  Vealeth’s jaw tightened. "And something was inside. Something ancient. When it woke up…" His voice turned bitter. “I never stood a chance. It defeated me effortlessly. And just before leaving, it simply said: ‘It has begun.’”

  A tense silence followed.

  Then, Stem’s voice cut through Marcus’ thoughts.

  "Marcus, the Orcish number four is likely an order designation. In some ancient cultures, numerical seals represented the sequence in which catastrophic events would unfold."

  Marcus stiffened. “Like a countdown?”

  "Precisely. Consider the human religious text Revelation 6:7-8. The Fourth Seal unleashed Death upon the world. If this follows a similar structure…"

  Marcus' blood ran cold. If this was the fourth seal… how many more were left?

  He exhaled sharply, turning to Vealeth. “This isn’t your fault.”

  Vealeth’s eyes darkened. “If I hadn’t—”

  Marcus cut him off, voice steady. “We don’t have time for guilt. We handle this now, then we talk.” He clamped a firm hand on Vealeth’s shoulder. “Right now, we stop this before it gets worse.”

  Vealeth took a shaky breath before nodding.

  Marcus turned back to the group. “We divide and conquer.”

  The decision was made.

  Each team would take on one of the three dungeons.

  Sylven, his small army, and Thalron would handle the first Labyrinth Dungeon—one positioned deep in the ruins of Nireen’s forgotten districts.

  Arixa and Vealeth would take on the second Labyrinth Dungeon—located near the ancient Colosseum ruins, a known high-tier dungeon zone.

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  Marcus and Vira would head straight for the Elemental Dungeon, positioned just outside Nireen’s southern gates.

  The warriors exchanged nods.

  “Don’t die,” Arixa grinned at Marcus, gripping her warhammer.

  Marcus smirked. “Ditto.”

  With that, they split.

  Marcus and Vira were the first to arrive.

  The dungeon entrance loomed before them—a massive stone portal pulsing with unstable energy. Unlike standard dungeon portals, which were a controlled, steady glow, this one flickered erratically—as if something was breaking through.

  The ground trembled as creatures poured out in steady waves.

  The moment Marcus took a step forward, his gauntlets BUZZED violently, arcs of energy crackling along his arms.

  Marcus immediately froze.

  Vira noticed. "Marcus, what’s wrong?"

  Marcus lifted his hands, watching the faint symbols glow on the gauntlets’ surface. "This... happened before."

  His mind flashed back. The Res Orc Seals.

  During their previous battle, when the massive demonic red orc had been unleashed, his gauntlets had reacted.

  But why?

  "Marcus." Stem’s voice was steady. "If I had to make an educated guess, the gifts we received from the Boss Rush Dungeon may be the key to stopping the Seals."

  Marcus’ heart skipped a beat.

  That dungeon. The brutal, non-stop gauntlet of bosses they had fought before escaping with their lives. The rewards they had received…

  They weren’t just random rewards.

  They were preparations.

  Marcus turned his gaze toward the portal, his resolve hardening.

  "It means we stop this now."

  His aura flared, Ki, Mana, and Psycha crackling along his skin.

  Vira inhaled, she allowed her Grimoire to float. The runic symbols etched upon it blazed to life, resonating with the portal’s unstable magic.

  She nodded.

  "Let’s shut this thing down."

  The sky above them churned unnaturally, thick black clouds spiraling in a way that defied logic. The very atmosphere crackled with instability, the telltale sign of spatial distortions.

  Marcus and Vira didn’t need to exchange words—the entrance to the Elemental Dungeon was in sight. But it wasn’t just its presence.

  Something inside was already pushing through.

  In the distance, beyond the skeletal remains of watchtowers and war-torn walls, the Dungeon Portal loomed. Unlike standard dungeons, where the entrance shimmered like a mirage, this one flickered erratically—as if its existence was being forcibly sustained by some greater force.

  The ground beneath their feet trembled.

  Then, the monsters came.

  A wave of unnatural horrors surged forward from the dungeon’s unstable rift—not just insectoids this time, but creatures of pure elemental fury.

  Golems made of molten rock, their bodies wreathed in fire, stomped forward with seismic force, their ember-like eyes locked on Marcus and Vira.

  From the left, fluid monstrosities of coagulated water surged across the battlefield, their shapeless forms slithering unnaturally, their very existence rejecting physical form as they lashed out with tendrils of razor-sharp liquid.

  And from above—the wind howled.

  The air itself twisted into living cyclones, spiraling masses of cutting gales that shrieked like tortured souls.

  Marcus’ eyes narrowed. “We need to move. Now.”

  Vira barely had time to respond before a fire golem lunged—its massive fist, wreathed in roaring flames, crashed down toward them.

  Marcus vanished.

  BOOM!

  The impact cratered the ground where he had just stood, sending debris flying.

  He reappeared above the golem, his fists already coated in crackling Ki.

  "Floating Butterfly, Stinging Bee."

  CRACK!

  His fist slammed into the golem’s stone-like head, shattering molten rock and sending lava-like blood splattering across the battlefield.

  But the creature didn’t fall.

  Instead, it roared, its very body reconstructing, molten metal reforming as it twisted toward him.

  Marcus cursed. “Regeneration?”

  Vira, still on the ground, slammed her staff down, sending a shockwave of Mana surging outward.

  “Duck!” she shouted.

  Marcus, trusting her blindly, teleported out of the way.

  A column of lightning erupted from the earth, blasting through the fire golem’s core.

  It let out a horrific wail, the pure elemental force overwhelming its unstable form—then it exploded into a shower of molten shards.

  But there was no time to celebrate.

  The air beasts struck next.

  With a deafening screech, the living cyclones descended, their whirling bodies slicing through stone as if it were nothing.

  Vira barely had time to raise a wind barrier before dozens of invisible blades tore through the air, slicing through her spellwork.

  She gritted her teeth.

  “Wind magic… doesn’t work against wind magic,” she muttered.

  Marcus landed beside her, his eyes locked onto the approaching creatures.

  "Then we hit them with something they can’t counter."

  Before she could ask, Marcus took one step forward.

  Then vanished.

  “Spatial Footwork: Second Step.”

  In an instant, he was everywhere at once, reappearing and vanishing mid-motion, his fists collapsing the air around him with each strike.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  The air creatures faltered.

  The force of Marcus’ blows disrupted their very form, distorting their core magic structure.

  They convulsed, twisting unnaturally, before shattering apart into dissipating wind.

  Vira exhaled sharply, scanning the battlefield.

  For every enemy they defeated, more poured from the portal.

  This wasn’t normal dungeon behavior.

  Dungeons didn’t pour out monsters indefinitely.

  Vira clenched her jaw. "Marcus. We can’t keep this up. We have to get inside."

  Marcus wiped black ichor from his cheek. "Yeah. I was thinking the same thing."

  The Elemental Dungeon’s entrance loomed just beyond the battlefield—but a horde of creatures blocked the way.

  There was no clearing a path.

  Only one option left.

  Marcus turned to Vira. “We blast through.”

  Vira’s golden eyes gleamed. "I thought you’d never say it."

  She lifted her staff, the runes on its surface pulsing violently.

  Marcus braced himself, his Ki surging to its limit.

  Then, at the same time—

  They unleashed hell.

  Marcus teleported straight into the thick of the horde, his gauntlets sparking with unstable energy, their silver-blue glow intensifying.

  Each punch rippled outward, causing delayed chain explosions—sending elemental creatures crashing into each other.

  Vira, from a distance, whispered a spell—

  Then unleashed it all at once.

  Ten pre-stored incantations burst forward.

  A storm of elemental fury engulfed the battlefield—lightning arced violently, hurricanes spiraled outward, and the earth itself split open, swallowing entire waves of monsters into the abyss.

  The destruction was absolute.

  And in the chaos, Marcus and Vira sprinted for the dungeon’s entrance.

  Behind them, the battlefield collapsed into a storm of raging elements and carnage.

  And as they crossed the threshold, Marcus’ gauntlets hummed with resonance, a deep pulse of power echoing through his bones.

  The Dungeon Portal shifted.

  The unstable flickering calmed.

  But Marcus felt it.

  Something was waiting for them inside.

  Something far worse than what they had just faced.