While they were talking, suddenly the echo of gunfire cracked through the night like thunder.

Amanda's head snapped toward the sound, her instincts kicking in instantly. She whipped out her radio, pressing it tightly against her mouth.

"What's happening out there? Report!"

Static burst through first, then the panicked voice of a woman officer on the front line.

"There are several groups of armed people civilians, no! They're armed like mercenaries! They've got rifles—!" Her words stumbled over the noise of bullets hammering metal. "We… we can't use our abilities on them."

The transmission broke off with a harsh screech of static. The radio fizzled, the connection severed.

Amanda's eyes narrowed. Her jaw tightened. Slowly, she lowered the radio, her other hand reaching for the pistol holstered at her hip.

"…They're here again," she muttered darkly, almost to herself. The words tasted like venom on her tongue. "Traitors."

Her fingers wrapped around the cold steel of her sidearm, pulling it free in one smooth motion. She cocked the weapon, her stance firm and unyielding.

Beside her, Lan Xinyue hadn't moved a step. If anything, she looked almost too calm for the chaos unraveling around them. Her eyes flicked briefly toward Amanda, then back at the shimmering gate.

That was when it happened.

A strange pulse, invisible yet undeniable, surged through the air. It pressed down on them like a heavy blanket, familiar and suffocating.

Amanda felt it first, her chest tightening as her connection to her own ability faltered, flickering like a candle in the wind.

Her breath caught. "…This… this sensation…"

Xinyue's lips curved slightly, her voice barely more than a whisper as she named it:

"An ability jammer."

The officers murmured in alarm, panic flickering in their eyes. Some tried summoning weapons or reinforcing barriers, only to realize nothing answered their will. The air felt… muted.

But Xinyue's eyes glimmered faintly, and then shockingly she smiled.

"We just lost our abilities. This might help us."

Amanda blinked at her. "Helps us? How—"

Before she could finish, Xinyue stepped forward. Her hand rose, steady as ever, toward the dungeon gate's rippling barrier.

Where moments ago the energy had rejected everything—burning, cutting, or knocking back whoever dared touch it—this time her palm passed through the shimmering surface with ease.

Her fingers disappeared into the glow as though she were slipping her hand into water.

The officers gasped. Amanda's breath hitched, her eyes wide.

"…You can enter?"

Xinyue drew her hand back, flexing her fingers as if testing them. Then she turned, her gaze cool and unshaken.

"Yes."

Amanda stepped forward, urgent now. "Then go. You and the others. The jammer won't last forever—if the enemy is here, then they planned this timing. I'll hold the perimeter, but you must clear what's inside before it spills out."

Her tone left no room for argument.

Xinyue, however, glanced past her—to the rest of her guild. Her guildmates stood tense, exchanging worried glances. Her eyes lingered on Lan Xue and the others who had been waiting for orders.

Her voice dropped, almost like a whisper to herself. "…Then we enter now."

Xinyue, being the absolute powerhouse, always worked alone despite being the leader of the Guild Sirius. But at this moment, even she knew that, cannon fodder or not, she would need every head and ability she could gather to control the dungeon's stampede.

But despite all these, Kyouka staggered forward, her body still trembling from the backlash of earlier. Her knuckles were white around her weapon as she forced herself upright.

"I… I'll go too," she said, her voice strained but steady. "I won't sit back while the others fight. I'm a Valkyrie—I don't need Sirius people protecting me. I can protect my own."

Amanda's gaze hardened. She stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"No. You can barely stand."

Kyouka's eyes flashed with fire. "So what? You think I'll hide while Nina might be trapped in there? While our sisters bleed? I don't care if I crawl—I'm going!"

And before Amanda could raise her hand again, Kyouka stumbled past, shoving herself toward the gate.

Her figure slipped through the barrier—her entire body vanishing into the dungeon's glow.

"Wait—!" Amanda's voice sharpened, but it was too late. She had to wonder when did she start getting involve with this Tachibana family so much.

The other Valkyrie members exchanged looks, their faces resolute.

One by one, they stepped forward.

"If Kyouka's going, then we won't leave her alone."

"We're Valkyries. We fight together. Always."

"Sisters don't abandon sisters."

Their voices overlapped, a chorus of conviction, as they all pressed forward into the gate.

Amanda's breath caught at the sight, but Xinyue merely exhaled, closing her eyes for one fleeting second before following them in.

The dungeon shimmered again, swallowing their figures whole.

For a heartbeat, the world outside the gate felt unbearably still.

Amanda lowered her pistol, exhaling through her nose. Then, without missing a beat, she pulled out her mobile phone, her fingers flying over the encrypted codes.

She pressed it to her ear.

"This is Officer Amanda. Initiate the protocol."

A mechanical voice on the other end confirmed, "Protocol starting."

Amanda smiled faintly, the expression more steel than warmth.

"…I didn't think you'd attack so soon again." Her tone was calm, almost mocking. "But since you came right on time… I'll welcome you properly."

The sound of gunfire grew louder. Shouts and screams echoed from beyond the barricades. The officers' formation was starting to bend.

Amanda holstered her phone and raised her pistol again, her eyes hard and unyielding. She turned once, glancing back at the gate.

The glow pulsed faintly, swallowing her friends deeper into its depths.

"…Let's just hope," she muttered under her breath, "that both our parties won't be annihilated by this war."

Her lips curled slightly, a bitter smile crossing her face.

"This guild war."

And with that, she marched forward, pistol raised, barking orders to her squad as the night roared with the chaos of battle.

***

Nina stumbled forward, each step heavier than the last. Her greatsword, usually swung with pride and power, was now nothing more than a walking stick. The blade's tip dragged along the dungeon floor, leaving a faint scratch behind her. Blood trickled down from her forehead and dripped onto the stone, marking her path with every stagger.

"Damn it… damn it all…" she muttered, her voice hoarse.

Her left arm dangled uselessly at her side broken. Every breath she took came with a sharp stab of pain in her chest.

"What… what the hell was that thing?" she hissed, half talking to herself, half trying to stay awake.

She stopped for a moment, leaning against a heavy rock. The stone was cold, almost soothing against her burning skin. But she didn't dare stay still. She pushed herself forward again, teeth gritted.

"If… if that monster was the boss of the floor…" Nina let out a hollow laugh, shaking her head. "Then… then we're doomed. All of us. That's only the first floor. First!"

Her legs wobbled, nearly giving out. She slammed her greatsword into the ground, using it to keep herself upright.

"Pull it together… Nina… pull it together," she told herself, dragging her feet.

The blood she'd lost was catching up to her. Her head felt light, her body heavy. The edges of her vision started to blur.

"So this is it, huh…" she whispered, her voice trembling. "This is how I go… not in some glorious fight… not slaying a beast to the end… but from wounds I couldn't handle. Overshadowed. Completely…"

Her knees buckled, and she dropped to the ground. She could feel her strength draining away. The sword clanged against the floor as she tried to hold on, but her grip was slipping.

Her thoughts grew hazy. Maybe this is better. No more fighting. No more pain. Just… close my eyes…

Then, from the corner of her blurry vision, something moved. A figure. Someone walking toward her.

"...Huh?"

Her eyes strained to focus, but it was no use. Everything was smeared in red and black. Yet one thing stood out vividly red hair, bright as flame, swaying with each step closer.

Nina's heart skipped a beat. Even half-delirious, she recognized that hair.

"That… that's…" she muttered, her lips barely forming the words.

The woman's footsteps echoed lightly in the dungeon's silence. She came closer, the blur sharpening slightly in Nina's fading sight.

Nina tried to laugh, but it came out like a cough. Her eyes rolled as she forced herself to whisper.

"Astrid…"

The name left her lips like a prayer, like a drunk speaking in a dream.

She blinked slowly, fighting to keep her eyes open. The red-haired figure crouched in front of her, lowering herself until their faces were almost level.

Even in her near-unconscious state, Nina could see Astrid's sharp eyes and the faint look of worry crossing them.

"…You idiot," Astrid's voice came, soft but clear. "Look at you. You can barely stand."

Nina's lips trembled. She wanted to say something back, but her strength was gone. Her tongue felt heavy, her throat dry.

Astrid reached out, brushing away a streak of blood from Nina's cheek with her gloved hand.

"Now I'm here. You don't have to worry, my friend." The voice whispered. The last sensation Nina felt was her body being lifted from the floor before she fully fainted, leaving her fate to whoever or whatever it was that had rescued her… or placed her in even greater danger.

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