Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

"Waaaaaaah!"

Dion, Luna, Cleo, Aria, Sheila, and Mei screamed at the top of their lungs as they plummeted down the pitch-black, seemingly bottomless pit.

"Kyuuuu!"

Gina swooped down after them, quickly overtaking the group and turning back to face the six of them falling right toward her.

"Levitate!"

Cleo cast her spell, immediately halting her fall and floating in mid-air. She zoomed past the others alongside Gina.

"Gina, turn big... hurry!" Cleo shouted.

"Kyuuuu!"

Gina gave a quick salute, and "puff" she expanded into a colossal dragon. "Thump!" Dion, Luna, Aria, Sheila, and Mei slammed onto her back.

"Gyuuu," Gina grunted, craning her neck around to look back at Dion and the rest.

"Thanks, Gina," Dion gasped out.

"I thought... I was going to die," Aria panted out.

"For once, I actually agree with you, airhead princess," Luna wheezed out.

"Thank goodness for Gina... thank you, Gina," Sheila said, hugging Gina’s back.

"Yeah, seriously... what a relief," Mei added.

"Hey... is everyone alright?!" Cleo yelled from beneath Gina, her voice muffled by the dragon’s massive body.

"Where are you?" Dion called down.

"Right under Gina! I’m going to cast levitate on all of you now. Poor Gina is crammed in here, and we’re totally stuck," Cleo answered.

"Alright... everyone get ready," Dion warned.

"On three, shrink back down, Gina!" Cleo shouted.

"Gyuuuu!"

Cleo raised her staff and counted down. One... two... three..."puff!" Gina shrank back to her tiny size. Dion, Luna, Aria, Sheila, and Mei began falling again, but this time,

"Levitate!"

Cleo cast the flying spell across all five of her friends. Their descent snapped to a halt, leaving them hovering safely in mid-air.

"Kyuuuu!"

Back in her mini form, Gina floated over to Dion’s head and perched right on top. Dion immediately patted her head.

"Great job, Gina," Dion praised.

"Kyuuu... kyuuu!" Gina chirped happily.

Luna raised her staff, illuminating the entire space with a bright light. They were still suspended halfway down the shaft. The trapdoor high above had already sealed shut, leaving the top in pitch darkness, while the bottom remained equally dark and unknown.

"Alright... where to now?" Dion asked.

"Down. We don’t have a choice," Cleo replied.

"Hmm... true. Going back up is out of the question since it closed on us," Sheila noted, looking up toward the ceiling.

"Fair enough, let me lead the way. Hopefully it’s not too deep and there’s light down below," Aria said.

"Don’t worry... you’ve got me," Luna said casually.

"Yeah... yeah... let me walk," Aria replied.

"Hey... what kind of reaction is that, you dumb princess?" Luna grumbled.

"Come on... let’s move," Cleo urged.

They descended slowly into the abyss. Thanks to Luna’s light, they avoided scraping against the shaft walls, which narrowed steadily as they went down. After descending for a while, they finally touched down on a soft surface. But as soon as Luna’s light illuminated their immediate surroundings,

"Waaaaaaa!"

Cleo, Mei, and Aria shrieked. The surrounding walls were embedded with countless skulls, and they had landed directly on top of a pile of corpses. They immediately scrambled off the pile. Luna shone her staff over the mound of bodies, pinching her nose shut.

"Give me a break... we landed in a really creepy spot," Dion said, covering his nose.

"Yeah... judging by their clothes... they were miners, adventurers... and slaves," Aria noted, holding her nose.

"How did they end up down here, though? Did they fall through the same trap door?" Sheila asked.

"That’s the big question," Mei answered.

"It’s not just humans... look... there are monster remains too... salamanders and mountain orcs from the high peaks," Cleo said, pointing toward the pile while covering her nose.

"Hmm... where even are we?" Dion asked.

"Kyuu... kyuuu!"

Gina suddenly pointed off to their side. Luna aimed her staff’s light in that direction, revealing a frameless doorway. The group started heading toward it, but Dion paused, taking in his surroundings. He felt an eerie chill looking at the skulls lining the walls and ceiling. It clearly wasn’t just human remains, someone or something had intentionally mounted them here, reminding him of underground catacombs back on Earth.

"Hey... stay sharp. Looks like something inside this place hoards skulls and stacks these bodies," Dion warned.

"Hmm... good point. There’s no way those skulls wound up on the walls naturally," Mei agreed.

"Alright... let me lead us out of this room, but keep your guards up. Move out, everyone," Sheila instructed, taking the lead.

"Right... I’ll keep the path lit," Luna added.

"Let’s move... no time to waste," Aria urged.

"Hmm... I have a really bad feeling about this," Cleo muttered from the rear.

They carefully filed out of the room. Before them stretched a ruined corridor lined with brick walls, but this section featured intricate reliefs and carvings etched into both sides. As they walked, Dion closely examined the carvings brought to light by Luna’s staff. They seemed to tell a story: reliefs depicted a floating crystal palace in the sky, alongside dense scenes of people farming, feasting, and going about daily life.

What caught Dion completely off guard was that the figures didn’t look like an ancient, primitive civilization at all. It was the exact opposite, people were depicted carrying device-like tools, structured handbags, and wearing clothes that looked suspiciously like dress shirts and ties. Meanwhile, the farmers, construction workers, and soldiers carried weapons that closely resembled rifles. The whole relief mirrored modern life on Earth, yet it clearly wasn’t Earth.

"Huh... this is... weird. Am I dreaming?" Dion asked in his head, clearly recognizing that civilization.

As they ventured deeper, the group suddenly halted as the light illuminated a relief showing humans working alongside iron golems, golems that looked identical to the ones in Dion’s domain.

"Golems?" Sheila asked.

"Wait... these ruins... could this be the ruined Kingdom of Xandor?" Cleo wondered out loud.

"Wow... really?" Aria asked.

"It’s just a hunch... but look, watchtowers, soldier golems, and those cute round utility golems," Cleo pointed out.

"Hmm... don’t we have real ones just like these at home?" Mei asked.

"Yep... tons of them, actually," Luna replied.

Sheila, Cleo, Aria, Mei, and Luna all turned to look at Dion, who was staring intently at the reliefs with wide, sparkling eyes. Feeling their collective gaze, Dion turned toward the five girls.

"What?" Dion asked.

"Nothing," Luna spoke up for the group before they all turned their faces back toward the carved walls.

"Let’s keep moving. We still need to find a way out," Dion said.

"Kyuuu," Gina added.

"Right... let’s go, everyone," Sheila agreed, turning to lead the way once more.

They resumed their trek with Luna lighting the path. Dion kept his eyes glued to the wall carvings. As they went deeper, he froze in surprise. The reliefs now depicted the Black Knight, followed by the Shadow Assassin right beside it, then the Berserk Monk, the Mechanical Crafter and Gunner, and finally the Ancient One. Right past the Ancient One, Dion stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at a carving of a man in battle armor wearing a crowned helm, backed by a massive, roaring dragon.

"Kyuuu," Gina squeaked, noticing the relief as well.

"Your mom was huge, huh?" Dion said softly, lifting Gina off his head and cradling her in his arms.

"Kyuu... kyu."

"I know you miss her, but I promise you’re safe with me, so don’t be sad," Dion said, gently stroking Gina’s head.

"Kyuu... kyuu," Gina whimpered sadly, burying her tiny face into Dion’s chest.

"Hey... Dion!" Mei called out.

Dion looked up to see the five girls standing far ahead, waiting for him. He turned back to take one last look at the relief, then walked forward while holding Gina tight.

"Come on, Gina. Let’s head home," Dion whispered.

"Kyuuu," Gina replied from his arms.

Once Dion rejoined the group, they continued down the passage until they reached a cavernous doorway glowing with ambient light. As they stepped through the threshold with weapons drawn,

"Huh..."

Dion, Gina, Luna, Cleo, Mei, Sheila, and Aria all froze in place. The cavern was bathed in light because right in front of them stood a pyramid-like tomb made of colorful crystal, guarded by two tall obelisks flanking its entrance. Sprawled out around it were the ruined blocky shells of modern-looking buildings, resembling a post-apocalyptic cityscape. Dion stood completely dumbfounded, subconsciously taking a step past the stunned girls.

"This is... impossible... this city looks just like the cities back on Earth," Dion thought in his head.

"Incredible... this is absolutely mind-blowing. I’m positive this whole place is a relic of the mythical kingdom of Xandor," Cleo gasped from beside Dion.

"Okay... I get that you two are thrilled and amazed, because I am too, but... we’re surrounded," Sheila warned, pulling out both her axes as she closed in beside Dion.

Dion scanned their surroundings, and sure enough, they were encircled. Mountain orcs were emerging from behind the city’s crumbling buildings, it turned out they were standing right in the middle of a mountain orc settlement.

"Okay... even if they’re only B-rank, dealing with a horde this big is going to be a hassle," Luna noted, stepping up back-to-back with Dion.

"Yeah... looks like these ancient ruins are their turf, and we landed right in their burial grounds earlier," Mei said, fully alert with her back to the others.

"Brace yourselves, everyone. Here they come," Aria warned, stepping into a combat stance to cover their flank.