Camp Stymphalian stayed quiet for a long time after Em vanished.
No one moved at first.
The lime-oak creaked softly in the wind, its huge branches swaying over the clearing. Steam from the hotpot slowly thinned into the cold night air, and the broth had long since stopped bubbling.
Dominic broke the silence first.
"…Well."
He scratched the back of his head.
"That was new."
Janet shot him a look.
"That's what you got from this?"
Dominic shrugged helplessly.
"I mean, what else am I supposed to say? We just negotiated with… whatever the hell that was."
No one argued.
Phong stayed near the chili perimeter, staring into the forest where Em had disappeared.
After a while, he finally exhaled.
"Alright."
Everyone turned toward him.
"The Halloween plan stays."
Jake blinked.
"You're serious?"
"Yes."
Phong nodded firmly.
"We're not changing our lives because that thing showed up."
The others exchanged looks.
Alex crossed her arms.
"You're saying we just… ignore it?"
"As much as possible," Phong said.
Dominic grinned a little.
"Spite strategy."
"Exactly."
That drew a few quiet laughs.
Even in the face of cosmic horror, stubbornness was still a valid human response.
Alex wasn't fully convinced.
"What happens if it tells Josh and Olen the truth?" she asked.
That settled over the clearing like weight.
Everyone knew what she meant.
If their enemies learned the truth about this place—
The plants.
The defenses.
The alliances.
The monster network protecting this territory—
Then armies would march into Floor One.
Governments.
Corporations.
Private militaries.
Every major power on Earth would want a farmer who could weaponize dungeon ecosystems.
Phong rubbed his chin.
Then shook his head.
"It won't."
Dominic frowned.
"You sound pretty sure."
Phong looked back toward the forest.
"That thing understands humans."
"Too well."
Then he turned back to the group.
"And that's exactly why it won't leak anything."
Janet raised a brow.
"Explain."
Phong gestured around camp.
"If the truth about this place gets out, what happens?"
Dominic answered right away.
"Every superpower on Earth storms Floor One."
"Exactly."
"And that would wreck the dungeon ecosystem," Phong said.
"The Sky Emperor wouldn't allow that."
They all remembered the roar.
The authority in it.
Even Em had backed off at once.
Phong nodded slowly.
"That thing acts like it doesn't care."
"But I saw it."
"It still fears the dragon."
Alex's eyes softened a little.
"You're saying it won't risk being punished."
"Right."
"It wants entertainment," Phong said.
"And getting its face smashed by the Emperor probably wouldn't be entertaining."
Dominic snorted.
"Fair."
Phong finished calmly.
"So it won't leak anything."
"And Josh underestimating me stays my biggest advantage."
That, everyone agreed with.
Josh saw Phong as weak.
A harmless farmer.
A disposable nobody.
And that mistake had already saved Phong more than once.
Séline stretched her arms with a satisfied smile.
"Well."
"Then Halloween in Lyon it is."
Camille nodded fast.
"You all come."
"Our city will love you."
Dominic grinned.
"I already have costumes planned."
Janet sighed.
"Please tell me you're not forcing couple costumes again."
"Too late."
Laughter slowly returned to camp.
The tension loosened.
Bowls were refilled.
Jokes came back.
One by one, people drifted toward bed.
Late that night, camp grew quiet.
Most of them slept soundly.
Alex didn't.
She could feel it.
Phong had held himself together during the talk.
Kept everyone calm.
Acted like this was manageable.
Now that they were alone…
The mask cracked.
He was trembling a little.
Not enough to see.
But enough to feel.
Cold sweat.
Uneven breathing.
Alex wrapped her arms around him tighter.
"You don't have to pretend with me," she whispered.
Phong didn't answer.
He just pulled her closer.
His heartbeat slowly steadied against her chest.
That thing—
Em.
For the first time since the Phoenix incident…
Phong had felt truly powerless again.
Alex gently ran her fingers through his hair.
"You're not alone," she murmured.
Eventually his breathing evened out.
He fell asleep.
Still holding her.
No one noticed when Little Fireball slipped out of camp.
The tiny chick hopped quietly through the grass, wings fluttering a little as she left the safety of the chili perimeter.
She followed a trail only she could sense.
Mana residue.
Ancient.
Alien.
It led deep into the dungeon.
All the way to the edge of Floor Three.
Where Em was waiting.
The chick chirped sharply.
Clear.
Annoyed.
Em turned.
Still wearing Emma's face.
"Oh?"
"You came all the way here just to complain?"
The chick chirped again, louder.
More offended this time.
Em burst out laughing.
"Oh, Suzaku."
"I didn't expect you to get sentimental."
The chick's feathers bristled.
Em leaned casually against a broken stone pillar.
"You used to hate the test subjects."
"And now you're protecting them?"
That did it.
Flames burst outward.
The tiny chick vanished.
In her place rose a colossal figure of burning red and gold.
Six wings spread wide across the cavern.
Nine peacock-like tail feathers blazed with divine fire.
The Monstrous Phoenix.
Suzaku.
Her eyes burned with fury.
The dungeon floor shook.
Em's illusion shattered.
Emma's shape dissolved.
Its true form spilled out.
A grotesque mountain of pulsing purple flesh.
Countless eyes opened.
Mouths split across its body.
A living nightmare.
And the two Pillars attacked.
The battle was catastrophic.
Floor Three shook under every impact.
Flames turned whole forests to ash.
Reality warped where Em's monstrous flesh slammed against Suzaku's fire.
Stone melted.
Mountains cracked.
Whole stretches of terrain were erased.
Neither held back.
The fight escalated too fast.
Then—
A roar thundered across the dungeon.
Everything froze.
The Azure Dragon arrived.
The Sky Emperor.
Its immense jade-scaled body coiled across the sky like a living storm.
Golden eyes glowed with pure irritation.
Without a word, it ended the battle.
Reality bent.
The Emperor raised one claw.
And the dungeon answered.
A massive Shifting hit instantly.
The scorched battlefield of Floor Three—
Charred earth.
Molten rock.
Burning ruins—
Was ripped from where it stood.
And dropped half a mile from Camp Stymphalian.
On Floor One.
The Azure Dragon looked down once.
Then vanished.
Back at camp, Phong's menu flashed.
A new request appeared.
Simple.
Polite.
Almost absurdly polite.
Request Received
Please fix this land.
— Sincerely, the entity you call the Sky Emperor