[Chapter 312. Echoes of Power]

Vanessa, Lana, and Carmen stood near one of the tunnel walls while Sarah stood on her tiptoes, craning her neck to look through the opening into the space beyond. The air inside the volcanic passage was thick with sulfur, each breath searing their lungs despite their distance from the main caldera. The orange glow from the molten pits cast dancing shadows across their anxious faces as they strained to catch any glimpse of the battle.

"You stay right here," Vanessa said, watching Sarah. Her voice was tight with tension. She reached out instinctively, her fingers hovering just above Sarah's shoulder before she thought better of it.

Sarah said nothing, remaining on her toes to catch a glimpse of what was happening. Suddenly, a brilliant light washed into the tunnel, illuminating everything in a harsh, white-violet glare. A blast of superheated air shoved into the passage, tossing their hair around and carrying the sharp scent of ozone and burning stone. The light was so intense that individual dust particles dancing in the air were illuminated for a split second before vanishing again.

"What was that?!" Lana called out, her head snapping toward the entrance. Her hand flew to the hilt of her blade, her muscles tensing as if expecting an attack to immediately follow the blast.

In the next moment, orange light and blistering heat flooded the tunnel, far more intense than before. The temperature spiked dramatically; sweat beaded instantly on their foreheads and dripped down their temples. The volcanic rock walls seemed to groan under the thermal stress, tiny cracks spiderwebbing across their surfaces.

"Searanox?" Carmen asked softly, her voice barely audible above the low rumble that vibrated through the stone floor beneath their feet. Her knuckles were white where she gripped her staff, the polished wood creaking under the pressure.

Every few seconds, the tunnel shook, each tremor stronger than the last. Dust and small pebbles rained down from the ceiling, forcing them to cover their heads. The distant sounds of combat echoed through the passage—metallic shrieks, roars far too immense to belong to any ordinary creature, and the distinctive whine of Searanox's weapons charging.

"By the sounds of it, it was for the best that we stayed behind," Vanessa said, her gaze fixed on the tunnel entrance. Her usually composed expression had given way to undisguised awe mixed with dawning terror. "The more I see him fight, the less I believe he was ever human." She glanced at her own hands as if seeing them for the first time—insignificant compared to the sheer power being unleashed beyond.

"Me too... Do you think Iris will be okay?" Carmen asked, her voice trembling slightly. Despite her misgivings about the wolf-kin's cold demeanor, the thought of her being overwhelmed out there was deeply unsettling.

"Does it matter?" Vanessa scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "If either of them dies, it won't end well for us." The cold practicality in her tone cut through their fear, reminding them of their precarious position in Searanox's world.

The rumbling stopped for a few seconds before another violent tremor shook the tunnel. This one was so strong that Sarah lost her balance, stumbling backward into Lana, who steadied her with a firm grip on her arm. The silence that followed was somehow more terrifying than the noise—a suffocating void of expectation before whatever came next.

Lana took a step back, pressing her shoulder against the cool volcanic rock behind her. The heat had been a constant presence since they entered this hellish place, but now it felt different—charged with raw, destructive energy that made her skin prickle with unease. Sarah, still stretching to see, finally dropped back onto her heels with a frustrated sigh, the tension in her shoulders evident even in the dim light.

"I can't see anything from here," she grumbled, crossing her arms beneath her chest. Metal clanked softly as her gauntlets made contact with her breastplate. "All I see is rock wall and some pretty orange light. Not worth breaking my neck over." Her tone was petulant, a desperate contrast to the primal terror that had gripped them all moments before.

Carmen's gaze remained fixed on the tunnel opening, her dark eyes narrowed in concentration. She had been counting the tremors, analyzing the patterns of vibration traveling through the stone beneath her boots. The sequence was wrong—it wasn't random, but it wasn't following the rhythm of a sustained battle either. The vibrations felt heavier, more final with each passing moment.

"The patterns are inconsistent with a prolonged engagement," Carmen said quietly, more to herself than the others, her voice barely audible above the distant bubbling of lava. "The tremors are decreasing in frequency but increasing in amplitude. It suggests..." She paused, choosing her words carefully as her fingers tightened around her staff. "...It suggests the end of something."

Vanessa's head snapped toward her, a flicker of surprise in her green eyes before she masked it with her usual disdain. "They won't die. He cleared this dungeon alone before, and now he has that beast with him," Vanessa said. There was a slight tremor in her voice—a hint of uncertainty beyond her cold pragmatism that she quickly suppressed.

"Are you worried for him?" Sarah asked with a sly grin, her platinum blonde waves catching the flickering light as she leaned forward, her curiosity momentarily overriding her fear.

Vanessa's face hardened, her green eyes flashing with irritation. "I'm worried about what will happen to us if he dies," she countered, her voice sharp as broken glass.

Another bright flash of light bathed the tunnel in a white-violet hue, so intense this time that it bleached the colors from the stone walls. The entire tunnel shook even more violently than before, the sound a deafening roar that tore at their eardrums. Dust and small rocks cascaded from the ceiling like a grim rainfall.

"Is he going all out again? If this keeps up, the entire dungeon might collapse!" A cold shiver ran down Lana's spine as memories of his manic laughter came rushing back to her. She remembered the thirst for violence he held as he fought the giant turtle that towered over the city ruins—his face a mask of ecstatic cruelty that had haunted her nightmares ever since. She pressed herself harder against the wall, as if she could somehow merge with the stone and disappear.

Carmen shifted her weight, her armored boots scraping softly against the volcanic floor as her analytical mind struggled to reconcile the sheer power of the tremors with the calculated efficiency she had come to associate with Searanox. He was not one for gratuitous displays of force; every action she had witnessed served a deliberate purpose—like a surgeon's scalpel rather than a sledgehammer. This level of destruction felt... excessive. Almost desperate, a word she never would have associated with him.

"He's not being inefficient," Carmen murmured, her gaze distant as her fingers unconsciously traced patterns on her staff, as if calculating vectors of force. "This isn't random destruction. He's using an overwhelming amount of force to end the fight quickly, to minimize exposure. The boss must be significantly more powerful than the initial beasts—perhaps beyond what his usual tactics can handle." She looked from the entrance to her companions, her expression grim in the flickering orange light. "He values his resources above all else. To expend this much energy means the alternative was catastrophic failure."

The silence that followed was heavy and suffocating, punctuated only by the distant, muffled roar of something dying—a sound that vibrated deep within their bones. Even Sarah had lost her teasing smirk, her face pale in the dim, fiery light of the tunnel, her usual bravado replaced by wide-eyed disbelief. They were all thinking the same thing, though none dared voice it: what manner of creature required this much power to subdue?

Just as the last tremor faded, leaving behind an eerie stillness that felt more menacing than the chaos before it, a blue system window opened in their vision.

Sarah took a step forward before Lana reached out and yanked her back. "Where do you think you're going?" Lana's voice was firm, her armored gauntlet closing around Sarah's upper arm with surprising strength.

"It's over!" Sarah answered, confused, gesturing toward the tunnel entrance where the violent tremors had finally ceased. "The notification appeared—the dungeon's cleared!"

"He said we wait here until one of them comes back to get us." Lana's grip tightened slightly, her jaw set in a grim line. Even through reinforced armor, the tension in her muscles was evident.

"But the boss is dead," Sarah protested, pulling slightly against Lana's hold, her platinum blonde hair catching the fiery light as she turned to face her. "There's no reason to wait anymore."

"That doesn't matter," Lana retorted, her voice dropping to a low, serious tone. "There could be a reason he told us to wait—stragglers, traps, or maybe he just doesn't want us witnessing whatever comes next. His orders were clear."

Sarah froze before her shoulders slumped. She sighed, nodding slowly as she leaned back against the wall. "Alright," she conceded, the fight draining from her posture. She crossed her arms beneath her chest, the metal of her armor making a soft scraping sound against the volcanic rock.

A minute or two later, Searanox appeared at the entrance of the tunnel, his dark form silhouetted against the brilliant orange glow of the caldera. "Come on, it's time to go." His gaze lingered on Sarah, who was leaning against the wall, before shifting over to the other three. Each of them seemed on edge, their bodies tense and their expressions carefully neutral. "Something wrong?"

"It's nothing. We're fine," Vanessa answered, her gaze avoiding his while her fingers unconsciously tightened around her leather-bound tome. The distant sounds of settling rock were the only response to her lie.

"Fine," he said, turning around. "Follow me." His voice was even, betraying nothing of the violent confrontation that had just occurred.

The four of them followed after him, their footsteps echoing in the now-quiet tunnel, each step a reminder of the raw destruction that had filled the space moments ago. They stepped into the open caldera, the sudden expanse feeling vast after the confinement of the tunnels, and all of them looked up into the sky.