Chapter 305: Shattering Roar
"Sentinels ready!"
"Ready!"
Team Captain Oscar steps forward, leading twenty-nine Sentinels into the dungeon.
The moment they cross the gate, chaos greets them.
The roar erupts.
People scatter in every direction.
Tongues lash through the air, snapping, striking, dragging victims away.
For a brief second, TC Oscar takes it all in.
The scale.
The speed.
The danger.
Then he moves.
His eyes lock onto Arthur and Liam, both already in motion, pulling people away from the tongues.
He spots another man nearby, struggling, running with someone slung over his back while a tongue chases him.
Speed is everything.
"Some of you, help that man!" TC Oscar shouts. "Take down the tongue. Make sure he gets away. Get both of them to the medical tent!"
He turns, scanning the rest of the field.
"Rescue teams, focus on civilians! Move them out!"
He points forward.
"The rest, with me! We support Mr. Arthur and Mr. Liam!"
His voice sharpens.
"Stay together! Watch each other’s backs!"
"Go!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Sentinels split instantly, each group moving toward their assigned task without hesitation.
J.C. runs with a man slung over his back as five Sentinels rush in to support him, drawing the tongue’s attention away.
It snaps at them instead.
Giving him an opening.
J.C. exhales loudly as he pushes forward.
His lungs burn.
This dungeon has been a nightmare.
Even as a Sentinel, he rarely enters a level six dungeon with so few people. And now, without magic, it feels even worse.
He feels exposed.
Stripped.
Naked without it.
The realization unsettles him.
He never thought magic would become this essential to him. Now, without it, he feels almost powerless.
As he runs toward the exit, he glances to the side.
Arthur and Liam.
They are doing the same thing.
Moving.
Rescuing.
Carrying civilians out.
But there is a difference.
They do it without hesitation.
Without complaint.
And they are faster.
Much faster.
A new respect settles in his chest.
He accepts it.
They are stronger than him.
No excuses.
No denial.
J.C. lets out a short breath.
Then he smiles.
And pushes forward, sprinting toward the gate.
------------------------------
Arthur and Liam welcome Team Captain Oscar’s support without hesitation.
TC Oscar steps forward. "Sir, I can hand over command if needed."
Arthur shakes his head immediately. "No. You stay in command of your team. Your job is search and rescue. Get the civilians out."
He pauses, then adds, "Even if it’s just a limb."
His tone is firm.
"That way, Liam and I can focus on taking down the haelions."
"Yes, sir!" TC Oscar responds without delay and moves to carry out the order.
Arthur opens Resya and connects to Liam.
"We need to contact Thea. Find out where she is and whether she needs help."
Liam answers almost instantly. "Agreed. I was about to say the same. Now that civilians are being handled, we can shift focus. Hey, Alicia is coming."
Arthur glances toward the gate.
Alicia is already sprinting toward them.
"Lutherford reporting for duty, sir. What can I do?" she says with a grin.
Arthur is about to respond.
Then the ground shakes.
He frowns. "What’s going on?"
He looks around.
It is not localized.
It is everywhere.
The ground trembles violently, as if something massive is pushing from below.
People lose their footing and fall.
"Everyone out of the dungeon!" Arthur shouts.
"Out!" Liam echoes, his voice cutting through the chaos.
The three of them move, directing people toward the exit.
The ground continues to shake.
Cracks begin to form.
This is not a good sign.
"Arthur. Liam. Can you hear me?" Theo’s voice comes through Resya.
"Thea! Are you okay?" Arthur responds immediately.
"Yes. I am. I’m flying back toward the camp. I assume you’re inside?" Theo asks.
"We are," Liam answers. "The ground here is shaking like something is about to break through."
"Since you’re both there, Julian must have opened the gate. Get everyone out. Ground movement like that is never good," Theo says.
"Already on it," Liam replies. "Arthur gave the order."
"Do not come in flying. There are still people here," Arthur adds, his voice low but firm.
"Got it. I’ll... what the hell is that?!" Theo suddenly exclaims.
"What?" Arthur and Liam exchange a quick look.
Alicia stands beside them, trying to follow the one-sided conversation while keeping her balance as the ground continues to shake.
"Thea?" Arthur pushes, when Theo doesn’t respond.
"I’m here. Just can’t believe my eyes." Theo answers.
"You guys won’t believe this. It’s the King. The King is coming out of the ground. That’s why I can’t find him. Damn it!" Theo adds.
"The King?" Liam responds.
"Coming out of the ground?" Out of reflex, Arthur looks at the craters that are now on the ground.
"You can’t see it from where you are?" Theo asks.
"The King is massive!"
------------------------------
Theo floats about five meters above the ground, watching the scene unfold.
The earth splits open.
A massive tortoise rises from beneath, like a hatchling breaking out of its shell.
Except this one does not stop.
It keeps rising.
Higher.
Higher.
Until it nears Theo’s level.
Theo can only stare as it ascends, his eyes tracking its endless form.
"Holy Mother Nature," he gasps.
"The King is massive."
It takes up nearly half the dungeon.
That is how large it is.
"No wonder it stayed underground all this time," Theo mutters, a bitter chuckle slipping out. "It would not be able to hide like this."
The King moves slowly, its size making every motion heavy and deliberate.
But it is not idle.
Theo watches closely.
Focused.
Waiting.
Trying to understand.
"Guys, anything unusual on your end? The King is still moving into position. For what, I do not know. But it is doing something," Theo says, frowning.
"Unusual?" Liam echoes, scanning his surroundings.
Arthur answers, "Aside from the ground cracking, trees falling, and the terrain collapsing, nothing else."
Theo keeps watching.
At the campsite, Arthur and the others continue pulling civilians out while staying alert for the tongues.
"There’s something different," Liam suddenly says.
"I don’t know if this is what you mean, but every haelion here has stopped. They are no longer roaring or lashing their tongues."
Arthur glances around.
"...He’s right," he confirms.
Alicia frowns. "What are they doing?"
Arthur narrows his eyes, watching closely. "They... look like they’re forming a formation..."
Even he is unsure.
None of this feels right.
Theo’s voice cuts in. "None of that is a good sign. Get those people out."
In front of him, the King slowly opens its mouth.
Wide.
Too wide.
Theo does not hesitate.
He pulls back, flying away quickly. He does not know what the King is about to do, but he refuses to stay close enough to find out.
"It’s opening its mouth," Theo reports.
Liam’s expression darkens. "The haelions here are doing the same."
Arthur’s eyes widen.
"Shit."
Realization hits him.
"I think I know what they’re about to do. And Thea is right. This is bad. Everyone needs to get out. Now."
He moves immediately, rushing toward TC Oscar and his Sentinels.
"Get them out! Stay out!" he orders.
Theo is already pulling away when he senses it.
Behind him.
He glances back.
His eyes widen.
He has no time to warn his friends.
The King lets out a roar.
A single sound.
But far stronger than anything before.
It hits like a nuclear shockwave.
Like an explosion made of sound.
It tears through the dungeon, shatters the air, and ripping through everything in its path.
------------------------------
Arthur is completely shocked. He sees death coming for him.
Everything slows.
The world around him moves in slow motion.
The King’s roar is so powerful that Arthur can see the shockwave moving. Human brains are not meant to follow soundwaves. They are too fast.
But for a split second, as he believes he is about to die, he sees it.
He sees it travel.
Coming toward him.
Toward Liam.
Toward Alicia.
Toward everyone.
Toward the gate.
The gate.
Arthur somehow manages to think about it, even at the verge of death.
What would happen to the world outside if the roar gets out?!
So this is how I die.
And I fail to protect everyone.
That thought weighs heavier on him than death itself.
He feels his body lift, carried by the force of the shockwave.
Liam and Alicia are lifted as well, their bodies suspended in the air, just before they begin to disintegrate.
And then—
Something his mind cannot process.
Theo appears in front of him.
Out of nowhere.
As if he has teleported.
His white hair flows behind him, moving with a strange calm against the chaos.
Theo moves faster than the rest of then. He steps forward and casts his magic, raising a barrier, forcing it into place to block the King’s roar.
Time snaps back.
Everything returns to normal speed.
Arthur drops onto the cracked, uneven ground, his legs unsteady, his mind struggling to catch up.
Theo’s massive shield does not fully block the soundwave.
But it weakens it enough.
Enough that it is no longer instantly lethal.
A split second.
That is all it took.
If Theo had been even a moment later, they would have been erased.
"Wake up!" Theo barks at Arthur.
With a flick of his other hand, a surge of force spreads outward. The remaining Sentinels and civilians are blasted away from the campsite, thrown out of the dungeon as if by the King’s roar itself.