Chapter 3 The Last Dungeon Core

Vaelith’s POV

The chains shot toward me faster than arrows. I barely raised my sword before they wrapped around my arms, waist, and legs violently.

“What the…?!”

The force dragged me straight toward the abyss beneath the ruined city. Stone shattered beneath my boots as I struggled desperately against the chains tightening around my body.

The remaining adventurers screamed in terror around me. Some tried to run.

Others begged for mercy. None escaped.

The monsters tore through them mercilessly while the dungeon collapsed around us. Another chain wrapped around my throat.

Panic surged through me for the first time in years. I slashed at the chains immediately.

CLANG!

My blade bounced off uselessly. Impossible. Nothing was indestructible.

But these chains… They weren’t physical.

They were made of mana. Ancient mana.

The crimson symbol burning beneath my skin pulsed painfully again.

“You…” the ancient voice echoed through the ruins.

“…have returned…”

Returned?

I had never been here before in my life.

The chains suddenly yanked downward.

My footing disappeared instantly. Then I fell.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

Wind roared in my ears as I plummeted beneath the underground city. Crimson light flashed across the endless abyss around me while broken ruins rushed past at terrifying speed.

I tried grabbing onto something. Anything.

Nothing worked. The chains kept dragging me deeper.

Until suddenly, I crashed violently against stone.

Pain exploded through my body.

For several seconds, I couldn’t breathe.

Blood filled my mouth.

“…Damn it…”

I forced myself upright slowly, gripping my sword tightly despite the pain shooting through my ribs.

Where was I?

The chamber surrounding me was enormous.

Crimson crystals illuminated ancient black walls covered in glowing symbols, while countless broken statues lined the circular room like silent guardians.

But none of that mattered. Because at the center of the chamber…

A massive crystal floated in the darkness.

My breath caught. A Dungeon Core.

It pulsed slowly like a living heart, radiating enough mana to suffocate the entire room.

No dungeon core should’ve been this large. This powerful.

The chains binding my body slowly loosened before retreating back into the darkness. I stared cautiously at the crystal.

Then the voice spoke again.

“You carry… our blood…”

The chamber trembled faintly.

I tightened my grip around my sword. “Show yourself.”

Silence answered me.

Then suddenly, memories exploded inside my head. Screams. Fire. Blood.

An underground kingdom collapsing beneath holy light.

Monsters being slaughtered. Children screaming. Humans marching through crimson streets beneath banners of the Holy Dominion.

I staggered violently.

“What… is this…?”

More memories flooded my mind.

A throne. A king made of shadows.

And at the center of everything, the same crimson crest burning beneath my skin.

The pain became unbearable. I dropped to one knee, breathing heavily while fragments of memories continued tearing through my mind.

This wasn’t imagination. These were real. Ancient memories.

The voice echoed once more.

“The last… heir…”

My head snapped upward.

“…heir?”

The Dungeon Core pulsed brightly.

Then something emerged from the darkness beside it.

A figure. Tall. Covered in black armor cracked with crimson light. An ancient knight.

Its hollow crimson eyes locked onto mine.

Every instinct screamed danger.

The creature slowly knelt before me.

“I greet… the successor…”

I froze completely.

Successor?

“What are you talking about?”

The undead knight lowered its head further.

“The bloodline of the Monarch… has awakened once more.”

My chest tightened. Nothing about this made sense.

“I’m human.”

The creature finally looked up.

“No.”

The single word echoed heavily through the chamber. Before I could respond, unbearable pain exploded through my chest again.

AAAAARGH!

I collapsed onto the stone floor, clutching myself violently. It felt like something inside me was burning alive. The crimson mark spread rapidly across my skin.

“What’s happening to me?!”

The Dungeon Core pulsed faster. The undead knight stood silently nearby.

Then glowing crimson text suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[Compatible Vessel Detected]

My breathing stopped. The words hovered in the air like illusions.

A system?

[Dungeon Core Assimilation Beginning]

Cold terror flooded my body. Assimilation?

“Stop it!” I shouted.

No response. The crimson light surrounding the chamber intensified violently.

Pain tore through every nerve in my body as the mark continued spreading.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!”

The ancient voice answered calmly.

“Saving… you…”

The Dungeon Core suddenly cracked.

CRAAAAACK!

A pulse of crimson energy exploded outward and slammed directly into my chest. Agony unlike anything I’d ever experienced consumed me instantly.

I screamed.

My sword slipped from my hand as the mana flooding my body became uncontrollable.

Everything mixed together inside my head.

Then the system appeared again.

[Dungeon Core Integration: 12%]

[Host Survival Rate: Critical]

[Warning: Vessel Rejection Detected]

Blood poured from my mouth. My vision blurred badly. I was dying. Actually dying.

The undead knight suddenly stepped closer.

“For the Monarch to rise again…”

Its crimson eyes burned brightly.

“…the human called Vaelith Drakar must perish.”

Fear gripped my chest instantly.

“What?”

The knight raised its blade slowly.

“You cannot remain both.”

Cold realization hit me like lightning.

The assimilation wasn’t transforming me.

It was replacing me. I forced myself backward weakly. “Stay away from me…”

The undead creature lifted its sword fully.

“Resist if you wish.”

Crimson mana exploded through the chamber.

“But your death has already begun.”

The system pulsed before my eyes again.

[Integration: 31%]

[Warning: Human consciousness deteriorating]

My breathing became uneven. No… No, no, no.

I wasn’t dying here.

Not like this. Not after surviving betrayal. Not after everything.

The undead knight stepped closer.

Then suddenly, a distant explosion echoed somewhere above the ruins.

The knight stopped moving instantly. Its head turned upward sharply. The Dungeon Core pulsed violently. Another explosion followed.

Then screaming. Human voices.

The undead knight’s expression darkened.

“They have returned…”

My eyes widened slightly.

Seredin? Impossible. Why would they come back?

Then I heard Gareth’s voice faintly echoing from above.

“Search every corner!”

The knight gripped its sword tightly.

“The humans cannot discover this chamber.”

The Dungeon Core pulsed harder.

Faster. The system flashed violently before my eyes.

[Emer

gency Protocol Activated]

[Host Death Imminent]

[Alternative Survival Method Available]

My heartbeat slowed. Alternative… survival method? Then new words appeared.

And the moment I read them…

True fear finally crawled down my spine.

[Would You Like To Become The Dungeon Core?]