Chapter 36 - [Wolf's Den (8)][Strange Monster (4)]

As Thomas arrived in front of the large, ominous black portal, he was met with a sense of urgency and concern.

A group of people, their faces etched with worry, surrounded an individual dressed in a sleek black suit.

The man, Edward, stood out with his neatly combed hair, black-framed glasses, and serious disposition.

He exuded an air of confidence and authority, his eyes locked onto Thomas as he began his briefing.

"Reporting, as you can see, the energy levels of the portal spiked suddenly," Edward started, his voice crisp and clear.

He gestured to a nearby console, where a graph displayed the portal's energy levels.

The line had skyrocketed, indicating a massive surge in power.

Thomas's eyes narrowed as he listened, his mind racing with the implications.

Edward continued, "We tried contacting the boss room team through the communicator, but there was no response."

"Noticing that something was strange, we tried sending other individuals inside, but we've gotten no response as well."

Edward paused, his eyes flicking up to meet Thomas's gaze before continuing.

"Currently, we are prepared to send in a team into the dungeon." The air was thick with tension as Thomas nodded, his eyes locked onto the portal.

As a Level 6, Thomas could sense that something was amiss.

The raw energy emanating from the portal was unlike anything he had experienced from a black grade portal before.

He turned his attention to the team assembled before him. Two Level 3s and eight Level 2s stood ready, their faces set with determination.

Thomas's eyes lingered on the team, his mind weighing the risks. Ideally, he would have liked to send a team of Level 3s, but he knew that would be suicidal.

This was a black-grade portal, and sending too many high-level individuals would cause it to implode, killing everyone inside and outside in the nearby surroundings.

He then nodded at the team, instructing them to head inside the portal.

************

As Ryuk lay there, his battered body poised on the brink of destruction, the monster's crushing blow mere moments away, he received a notification from Ella, his trusty AI companion.

The message flashed before his eyes, a jarring, digital intrusion into his desperate, fading consciousness.

[Permission to t....#$##&$]

Ryuk's gaze faltered, his mind struggling to comprehend the cryptic message.

"Huh?" he muttered, his voice barely audible over the sound of his own ragged breathing.

"What is this?" he asked, his words slurred by pain and exhaustion.

[Do you accept]

[Y] or [N]

The notification hung before him, a tantalizing, digital lifeline in a sea of despair.

Ryuk's eyes, sunken and haunted, locked onto the message, his consciousness steadily fading like the ebbing tide.

A faint, defeated smile crept onto his lips as he gazed at the notification. "Haa," he sighed, his breath a mere whisper. "Why the hell not."

With a sense of resignation, he chose [Y], his finger hovering over the digital affirmation like a condemned man signing his own death warrant.

As his consciousness went black, the notification vanished, leaving behind only the faint, flickering glow of uncertainty.

The monster's crushing blow never came, replaced instead by an eerie, unsettling silence.

*************

Whoosh.

A group of individuals, clad in black combat-oriented suits, moved through the forest with a sense of purpose, their footsteps quiet on the forest floor.

However, something was amiss. The forest, normally teeming with monsters, was eerily silent. It was as if the creatures had fled in terror, leaving behind an unsettling stillness.

As the group approached a clearing, they were met with a scene of utter devastation.

The trees were splintered, their trunks shattered, and the ground was scorched and blackened.

The air was heavy with the acrid smell of smoke and ozone. It was clear that a fierce battle had taken place here, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

"Spread out. Search for any clues," one of the two Level 3 leaders ordered, his voice firm and commanding.

The others immediately fanned out, their eyes scanning the ground for any signs of what had transpired.

The leader, meanwhile, surveyed the destruction, his eyes widening in shock.

"Haha. This kind of destruction was caused by a Level 3?" he asked, his tone almost depreciating. "This is... unbelievable."

Just then, one of the team members called out, "Sir, we've found another clearing a few meters from here. There's also what appears to be the Level 3 monster and a survivor."

The leader's expression turned serious. "Lead the way," he ordered, his voice firm.

The group made their way to the new clearing, their footsteps quiet on the forest floor. As they entered the clearing, they were met with a sight that took their breath away.

The clearing was a scene of utter chaos. Ice and fire traces scarred the ground, and the air was heavy with the smell of smoke and ozone.

In the center of the clearing stood an ice statue, its body pierced by an ice spear.

The statue was none other than the Level 3 monster that Ryuk had fought, its black, fluid-like body frozen solid.

Even the ground around it was frozen, as if the very earth itself had been turned to ice.

The team's eyes scanned the clearing, taking in the destruction.

That was when they saw him - a boy, around the age of thirteen, with red hair and a touch of silver peeking through.

He lay unconscious on the ground, his body still and lifeless.

The team's leader approached the boy cautiously, his eyes scanning his body for any signs of injury.

As he drew closer, he noticed that the boy's chest was rising and falling, albeit shallowly. He was alive, but only just.

The Level 3 leader approached the ice statue, his eyes fixed on the frozen monstrosity as he muttered, "What the fuck is this thing?"

The words had barely left his lips when the entire portal began to shake violently, the ground trembling beneath their feet.

"Shit," the leader cursed, his voice low and urgent. He had been in portals enough times to recognize the warning signs.

The shaking was a clear indication that the portal was about to close, a phenomenon that occurred when the boss of the dungeon was defeated.

The leader's gaze dropped to the boy, his mind racing with questions. 'Was it him? Did he kill the boss after killing this creature?' He thought inwardly, his eyes narrowing as he studied the boy's unconscious form.

Shaking his head, the leader immediately sprang into action, his voice ringing out across the clearing.

"We need to get out of here, now! Carry the boy and the statue outside the portal, immediately!"

His team quickly scrambled to obey, their movements swift and efficient as they carefully lifted the boy and the ice statue, carrying them towards the portal's exit.

The leader followed close behind, his eyes fixed on the portal's entrance, his heart racing with anticipation.

As they emerged from the portal, the leader's team quickly set the boy and the statue down, their faces set with concern.

Then Thomas came to them. He gazed at the boy before he turned to the team, his voice firm and commanding.

"Get the boy to the medical team, now. I want to know what happened in there, and I want to know now."