Swordsman struggled to keep his balance as he ran across a swaying suspension bridge. When he finally reached solid ground, he sped up as much as he could toward the nearest tunnel.

Above him, Dragoon leaped from one side to the other, barely dodging the Dragon's claws and blasts of fire, while dozens of dice fell through their minds so quickly that neither of them paid any attention to the results anymore.

"This one might work!" Swordsman shouted after confirming that the tunnel met the requirements for his plan.

Cleric fell in front of him from an upper level. Spinning his hammer, he generated a divine light that grew until it was as large as the Dragon's head, then launched it toward the beast.

Cleric's powers did no damage to the enormous red Dragon, but they seemed to annoy it, at least enough to make it turn its attention away from Dragoon and dive toward Cleric and Swordsman.

The beast's impact took away a large portion of the stone surface, along with several bridges attached to it. Cleric nearly fell as well. His run hadn't been enough, so he had to jump toward the cave entrance to save himself.

"Quick! Quick!" Swordsman shouted as he helped Cleric to his feet.

The Dragon, meanwhile, scraped its terrible claws against the small ledge where half its body was hanging, trying to pull itself back up and charge at the adventurers.

Frustrated, it spat out a blast of fire. Swordsman and Cleric barely managed to avoid it by taking refuge inside the tunnel. It took less than ten seconds for the enraged Dragon to smash through much of the stone entrance with its head in an attempt to reach the boys.

Swordsman and Cleric had been waiting for exactly that, keeping a safe enough distance that its jaws couldn't reach them and preparing to attack as soon as it stopped. Cleric's hammer blows bounced off the monster's hide, while Swordsman's sword seemed ready to break as it vibrated from the first contact with its target.

The Dragon snapped its jaws, lunging much farther into the tunnel than the boys had expected it could. Swordsman watched the beast's teeth descend toward him, paralyzed by how intimidating the situation was. But although he waited for it... the bite never came.

Cleric reacted quickly, placing his hammer vertically between the enormous jaws in an attempt to hold them apart. And it worked... for at least a second, before the wood of the weapon began to creak.

"That was close," Swordsman said, recovering somewhat from the shock and taking a couple of steps back to distance himself from the imminent danger. "Hopefully that's enough for it to..."

A spark appeared in the Dragon's throat, generating a flame that grew larger and larger. Swordsman grabbed Cleric by the arm and made him run toward the next tunnel junction. Only then did he realize he'd miscalculated. It was about six meters away. They could cover that distance in a matter of seconds. But the fire would surely reach them faster.

Outside the cave, Dragoon was carrying out his part of the plan. He positioned himself on the highest platform he could reach, then leaped downward in a concentrated spear attack. At that moment, he was halfway through his descent, falling toward the Dragon's neck with his weapon accumulating enormous amounts of energy. The energy manifested as flames that threatened to engulf their own wielder.

Leaving trails of black smoke behind him, Dragoon covered the distance in a matter of seconds. When he struck the Dragon, he did so with such force that he was sent flying through the air, almost losing consciousness on the spot.

The already damaged surface beneath the Dragon shattered under the force of the attack, causing the creature to fall just as the flames erupted from its mouth. The impact deflected the blast, causing most of the fire to hit the ceiling of the tunnel instead. Cleric and Swordsman avoided certain incineration with nothing more than several parts of their clothes and hair smoking.

The Dragon, meanwhile, crashed down with tremendous force, destroying several levels of platforms, bridges, and tunnels and devastating the foundations of other structures above.

Dragoon managed to recover before hitting one of the cavern walls and landed safely on a platform several meters above his companions. To his astonishment, the only thing still in his right hand was the back half of his spear. Or rather... a burning, charred piece of wood.

"Did you see that?!" Dragoon exclaimed excitedly when he managed to rejoin his friends. "I must've broken it in half! I fell at a speed I've never felt before! I thought I was going to disintegrate!"

Swordsman and Cleric congratulated him, relieved that they had survived by such a narrow margin.

"Do you think we defeated it?" Swordsman asked.

"My dude, I'm telling you, I broke it in half!"

"Are you sure? Did you see it? Our attacks didn't even scratch it."

"The important thing is that we're rid of it," Cleric said. "At least for a while."

----------------------------------------------------

"Why so long? Is taking much!" Gortlabr shouted impatiently. "Gortlabr hungry!"

Three goblins hurried over and carried another piece of meat over his head, similar to the one Archer had seen the chubby ruler eating when she arrived.

"Thatn't!" Gortlabr exclaimed, swatting the meat and his subjects away. "Want adventurers! Human feed Gortlabr! Only human feed!"

In his outburst, Gortlabr yanked at his velvet vest, ripping the buttons off and exposing his chest. Right there, in the middle of it, was the symbol resembling an "H"—the same symbol they had found earlier in the Temple of Immortality in Alfíteres. The flesh around the symbol glowed intermittently with a silvery light, so intense that it could even be seen through the orange fur.

"Do you think that's the artifact Master came here looking for?"

"I'm sorry, Archer," Rogue began answering her. "But honestly, I don't care."

"Always as grumpy as Master, aren't you?"

"Spend who knows how many days in a cage surrounded by goblins, and then tell me you wouldn't be grumpy too."

"One day," Archer clarified, unable to help herself.

"It felt like months... Or hours. I don't know. Honestly, it's all been very confusing. There have been moments of absolute darkness. Others when everyone seemed to freeze. I don't understand any of this. I thought I'd lost my mind until Master arrived and... Damn it, I don't even know if I stopped believing it. Master just disappeared out of nowhere."

"Calm down, Rogue. I've already told you..."

"Yeah, yeah... They'll come rescue us. Of course."

"TALK NOT!" Gortlabr shouted, kicking Rogue's cage again. "FOOD TALK NOT!"

Suddenly, the leader stopped in the middle of his outburst. He put a hand to his chin and seemed to start thinking.

"Oh no"Did he realize he doesn't have to wait for the others to eat us?" Archer asked in her mind, communicating with Rini.

"Dangerous thoughts, Cat. Especially being the owner of the Dimension."

"Are you still going on about that? I don't understand what you're talking about. Be more specific."

"You know I'd like to, but..."

"FOOD YOU!" Gortlabr exclaimed, as though he'd reached a moment of revelation. "Eat you I." He crouched down to stare at them intently, then hesitated. "Two little, but two more than no one... Think".

He put a hand to his chin and began thinking again.

"Yes! COOK THESE! OTHERS COOK LATER!"

The group of goblins surrounding them immediately scattered. Some surrounded the cages to lift them, while others went in search of a huge cauldron and several pieces of firewood.

"I hope your friends get here soon," Rogue said.

Archer wanted to keep believing, but she wasn't so sure anymore. She looked away from the makeshift fire the goblins were trying to light and closed her eyes, trying not to let fear consume her. When she opened them again she was flying through the air.

The crash was deafening. Spinning through the air left her disoriented, and the hard impact against the ground was so violent that it destroyed the cage and made her swear she'd lost consciousness.

And now, right in front of her was an enormous red Dragon.

"Move!" Rogue shouted.

He reacted in record time and pushed her aside, barely avoiding the creature's tail as it moved erratically, destroying everything in its path.

"What happened...?"

"I don't know, but stay alert. Watch out!"

They both ducked just as a blast of fire passed over their heads.

Hundreds of goblins ran in every direction, dodging claws, swings of the tail, and flames spewing from the Dragon's mouth as it lay on its back, struggling to get up.

Gortlabr rose to his feet, wielding a gigantic golden battle-axe that had been resting beside his throne.

"INTERRUPT NIGHT BREAKFAST, BECOME NIGHT BREAKFAST!" he exclaimed, leaping fearlessly onto the Dragon.

"Do you know where Cleric and the others are?" Rogue asked while helping her to her feet.

"I have no idea. We were in a cavern, and some shadows dragged me here. They must be coming..."

As she spoke, they began moving with no goal other than getting away from the chaos. But they had to change direction when Gortlabr, engulfed in flames, was thrown in front of them, destroying columns and walls.

"Rini can't locate them!" Archer shouted.

"Rini? Who the...?"

"She could only follow you because of your Angelino!"

"My what? What are you suddenly talking about?"

The Dragon had managed to get back on its feet by the time Gortlabr emerged from the rubble. The goblin's fur was singed, but otherwise he seemed more than fine. Wielding his battle-axe, he charged toward the creature without hesitation or fear. Both roared before engaging in combat.

"Your Angelino! A voice in your head! Rini says you have one!"

Rogue hesitated for a moment. His expression revealed that Rini was right. He had heard something before.

"You too? I thought I'd gone crazy. Master doesn't want..."

Guided by what seemed like a sixth sense, Rogue pushed Archer backward and then ducked, avoiding the goblin ruler's axe as it flew through the air and embedded itself in the wall behind them.

"We have to get out of here!"

"And the others? We can't leave, especially without completing the mission, can we? Master..."

"The mission doesn't matter! None of this is real! This is just..."

The sound of shattering glass that announced the breaking of the bond overlapped with the noise of the battle. But they did not return to

reality

. Instead, Cat and Jacob found themselves in absolute darkness once again.

"We can't leave without Mica, Hugo, and Tomás."

"Cat? Cat, are you there?" Mica's voice came from somewhere in the darkness. "Cat! What's happening?"

"I don't want to abandon Tomás either, but there's nothing we can do. If we stay and don't die during the fight between those two monsters, the winner will finish us off anyway."

"Rogue? Are you with Cat?" Tomás asked this time.

"Stay where you are. We'll come to you. Just give us a few minutes," Hugo said.

"No, Jacob. You're wrong. I understand what's happening now."

Cat smiled, even though no one could see her in the absolute darkness.

"Rini, I know what to do. Take us back."

As it had come, the darkness vanished. Cat and Jacob were once again facing the violent clash between the Dragon and the goblin. With the patience that only complete confidence could give her in that situation, Cat drew an arrow from her quiver and aimed at her opponents.

"Cat," Jacob began, drawing his daggers. "Not to contradict you, but I don't think an arrow is enough to..."

Enormous wings made of radiant feathers of light appeared behind Cat. The arrow began to glow, and thousands of wisps of the same golden light surrounded it.

"Don't worry. I learned this by watching Master."

She fired. The projectile flew from the bow. As it traveled through the air, it multiplied a hundredfold in size, becoming an enormous golden arrow of light that destroyed everything in its path.

Before them, the goblin and the Dragon vanished, completely consumed by the attack. Several walls behind them vanished as well. Jacob was left speechless. But it wasn't over.

Without warning, Cat grabbed him by the forearm and took flight, passing through the opening the Dragon had left in the cavern's ceiling. It took her less than two minutes to cross the destruction the creature had left in its wake before she found Mica, Tomás, and Hugo descending as best they could to meet her.

"Hey, it's Sar...! What?! Cat?!" Hugo blurted it out when he saw her.

"What's wrong, Hugo? Surprised?" She smiled.

"Jacob! You're alive!" Tomás exclaimed while the other two boys continued staring at their friend in shock.

"Now we can leave," Cat said.

And in an instant, they were back in the alley behind Tavern