Catgirls And Dungeons (Yuri)

"Then take this. You'll need proper equipment, won't you?"

As soon as the ring touches Alter's hand, I feel its power.

And Alter, of course, feels it too.

"This is…" she whispers, eyes widening slightly, like she has recognized something significant..

Eris steps forward and gently places her fingers over the ring.

Then she taps it once.

Twice.

"Awaken, guardian of the abyss," she says softly, her voice like a prayer.

"Rise from silence and cloak the soul in shadow…"

As she starts her chant, the ring responds immediately.

A faint glow seeps from its surface, soft and pulsing, like the heartbeat of something long forgotten.

And then, the light deepens, shifting into a rich violet hue as ancient glyphs begin to shimmer across the band. One by one, they flare to life, intricate and sharp, glowing brighter with each beat.

The air grows thicker, charged.

And then—

"Please," Eris says, her voice trembling with emotion. "Protect them for me. Don't let anything harm them. Rise, Sacred Armor of the Endless Night… Azazel's Guard!"

In that instant, the ring erupts.

WWOOOSSH!

A blast of black smoke explodes outward, spiraling in every direction. It surges toward Alter, wrapping around her like a living storm. The shadows coil tightly around her shoulders, her chest, her waist. They slither down her arms and legs, like dozens of serpents made from pure darkness, circling tighter and tighter.

The smoke pulses once, then begins to liquefy—rippling across her body like molten night.

It clings to her form, flowing with supernatural grace. As it stretches and tightens, it begins to shift, shaping itself with eerie elegance and deliberate precision.

Then, with a final pulse of shadowlight, it hardens.

A masterpiece of darkness.

A flawless armor dress, sculpted from shadow itself. Layers of black metallic sheen shimmer faintly beneath ghostly violet glyphs. The bodice is sleek, regal, reinforced with ridged plating that moves like silk. The skirt flares just slightly at the edges, edged with whisper-thin, weightless fabric that flutters despite the stillness of the air. Gauntlets curl over her hands, and elegant, winglike fins sweep back from her shoulders—like feathers crafted from midnight.

For a moment, Alter is stunned.

She stares at her hand, at the fingers now wrapped in the same shadow-forged armor that covers her body.

"Hmmm… not bad," she mutters with a small smirk.

She closes her hand into a fist.

Instantly, sparks of black lightning dance across her knuckles, snapping with power. A sharp pulse of force ripples out in a tiny shockwaves, disturbing the air.

Damn…

The whole armor looks incredible! Dangerous and cool as hell, yet somehow, completely weightless.

Perhaps… because it's made out of darkness itself?

"Eris, this is a Sacred Armor." Alter says, still admiring the armor as it settles around her. "Well, it's only a piece of the whole thing though. But still… where did you get this?"

But Eris is already moving, busying herself with the next step.

"Here. Take all my potions and items."

Without hesitation, she hands over everything.

Health potions; magic scrolls; stat boosters; elixirs.

She activates each scroll, one after another, infusing Alter with layer after layer of enhancements.

Power Up.

Speed Boost.

Stamina Boost.

Mana Regeneration.

Mind Fortification.

Elemental Resistance.

Magic Ward.

Reflex Enhancement.

Debuff resistance.

And even… Poison resistence —because why not?

In seconds, Alter's body — my body —— is glowing from head to toe.

It shimmers with a rainbow of arcane auras, each enchantment swirling like translucent ribbons of color. Even the tiniest strands of her hair seem charged, sparkling with condensed energy.

"Woah…" Alter blinks, her expression brightening with a rare, grateful smile. "Thank you."

However, Eris isn't finished.

"Wait," she says, stepping back. "One final thing."

She reaches into her pack and pulls out a small storage box.

With a steady voice, she speaks the password, and the box clicks open with a soft hiss of released enchantment.

Then, without hesitation, she turns it over.

Clang.

Clink. Clang. Clang…

A cascade of black orbs spills out, bouncing across the ground before settling into a glimmering pile at Alter's feet. Hundreds of them. Smooth, round, and pulsing strongly with magical energy.

Wait—

I recognize those.

These aren't just any orbs.

They're Monster Core Collectors! Every single one of them filled to the brim with refined mana harvested from the monsters Eris has defeated over time.

Tens?

No, hundreds of thousands worth of the average C rank darkness attribute monster's mana!

Even if we kill every frogs in Lake Vanessa every single day, it would still take years to gather this much!

——————

"Hmmm… what are you doing?" Alter tilts her head, eyeing the pile of black mana orbs, clearly wondering what Eris plans to do with them.

"Paying the fees," Eris replies, her gaze focused. "This is three years of my life. I hope it's enough."

She takes a step back, draws a slow breath in, and exhales steadily.

Then she claps her hands together.

Closes her eyes.

And begins to chant.

The air shifts. A deep rumble rolls through the ground beneath us.

"As a descendant of the NightWhizkersz clan," she intones, her voice steady and rising, "I call to you."

A pulse of energy surges outward.

"Darkness that swallows the light,

the abyss that separates life and death…"

The black mana from the orbs begins to stir.

It rises in thick streams, twisting together into a churning cloud above us.

"Ruler of the shadow realm…

he who judges beyond the veil…"

The air tightens. A sudden silence, deep and suffocating, falls over everything.

And then—

"Come.

SHEOL!"

Reality tears open!

A rip in space appears above us, swallowing all the swirling mana into a single point of collapsing void.

And then—

BOOM!

It spits out a sword.

A big sword!

With a thunderous impact, a massive greatsword crashes down from the sky, embedding itself in the ground before us.

The sword towers over us, impossibly tall. The blade is broader than Alter's entire body, dark as night, its edges pulsing with shadow.

Orbiting the blade are six eyes, each floating in slow rotation. Three of them are open, unblinking and eerie, glowing different dark colors. The other three remain closed, still dormant.

"Tch. Only three eyes?" Eris mutters, visibly disappointed.

Alter, however, is struck speechless.

Her eyes widen as she steps forward, stunned.

Her finger traces down the night-colored blade.

And suddenly, something sparks inside my chest.

A familiar feeling. A quiet pulse of recognition.

Nostalgia.

It's like… I've known this sword for an eternity.

Or rather… Alter knows it.

"To think you could actually summon this bad boy…" she murmurs. "Eris, does the name Azraphael mean anything to you?"

"Azraphael?" Eris blinks, thinking for a second.

But then…

"No. Never heard of it," she replies.

"I see…" Alter murmurs.

She stares at the blade for another moment, then shakes her head slightly, recovering.

"Anyway," Eris says, frowning slightly, "even if this thing isn't fully awakened yet, it's still better than nothing."

"Hah. Nothing?" Alter lets out a quiet laugh. "That's already a divine relic you just called down! How absurd…"

"Divine… relic?"

"Yeah. But forget about that for now. I'll ask you more about it when I return."

Alter then steps closer, reaching out toward the weapon.

And the moment her fingers touch the hilt—

The sword pulses.

A shockwave of magic ripples outward. I feel it in every part of our body, like touching something that was never meant for mortals to hold.

It's terrifying.

It's beautiful!

It feels like holding a piece of a dying star, giving me a feeling of invincible. My mind is now calm and quiet, like the dark, starless night.

So this… this is what Alter meant by divine relic?

I can't wait to see how she uses it.

With a steady breath, she lifts the massive blade from the ground with ease and rests it on her shoulder.

Its weight vanishes in her grip. Like it belongs there.

——————

"That's it," Eris says quietly. Her voice is calm, but her eyes betray the storm behind them. "That's everything I can do for you."

"That's more than enough," Alter replies, her tone warm and steady. "Thank you."

Then Eris takes a step forward, her voice almost a whisper.

"Please… stay alive."

Alter doesn't answer with words.

She simply smiles.

Then she turns, her boots crunching against the scorched ground, and slowly walks toward the towering wall of energy before her. Its surface shimmers like liquid fire—deep red, threaded with pulsing veins of black and violet.

As she reaches it, she raises her hand and places her palm against the surface.

For a moment, nothing happens.

Then the flames erupt.

The barrier lashes back, burning, swirling with angry heat as it tries to reject her presence. It roars, licking up her arm, ready to consume.

But then… something shifts.

As if the barrier remembers her.

As if it recognizes the soul now trying to return.

The flames begin to die down. The light dims.

And her arm slips through.

One hand, then part of her shoulder.

The rest follows, inch by inch, until she stands half-submerged in light and shadow.

Then she stops.

She turns her head and looks back, allowing me—just for a moment—to see through her eyes.

To see Eris, standing there with Inky at her side.

Her hands are clenched. Her shoulders trembling, but she doesn't say anything, she just watches us.

And I know. I know she's holding everything in. Every word she still wants to say, every fear she can't bring herself to voice.

"Ready to go?" Alter asks, softly.

(Nn.) I respond from within, preparing myself mentally.

We face forward again.

And then, together, we step through the barrier.

Into the prison that's holding Morvena.