n

n

nAs they began descending down the stairs towards the 5th floor, his two-party members had their eyes on him.

nJohn hadn't said a single thing after, he just put the magic stone in his ring, and moved on.

nIt was already strange enough that he was being quiet, but he also had a different air around him, Master Sylvia on the other hand seemed to have noticed but didn't say anything about it.

nIt was awkwardly quietly

n

"H-Hey Serena... Shouldn't we mention it?

" Ariel whispered to Serena

n

"I don't think that's a good idea... Let's just watch for now.

" Serena replied

nAs they got further and further down the stairs, they could feel a change in the air around them. The pressure was much stronger, the air felt thinner and everything felt heavier.

nJohn and Master Sylvia looked unaffected while Serena and Ariel while Serena and Ariel were disturbed

nAs they got closer and closer to the bottom of the stairs, Serena got more and more annoyed

n

"Change of plans, quiet John, is intimidating.

" Serena whispered

nShe then moved in closer to John before asking.

"John, let's cut to the chase, were you cursed?

"

nSerena wasn't joking, she was genuinely worried but at the same time annoyed that he was keeping it to himself. Especially when they were about to have a battle they had never experienced before on the last floor.

nRather than keeping away from each other, they had to at least try to understand each other and come up with a plan. That was what Serena believed.

n

"Cursed? Hm... Not really.

" John replied as he continued going down the stairs

n

"Not... Really? Stop joking around, I'm being serious! If you're not in top form, we're turning back.

"

n

"After coming all this way? Didn't you say you didn't want to re-do everything?

" John asked

n

"... forgot about that. If we have to re-do it once more then we will.

" Said Serena with a serious look as she stared straight at him

nSeeing this, John started to laugh

n

"Hahaha, Serena, that was unexpected.

" Said John as he continued to look down while descending

n

"Wha-

"

nSerena was interrupted by Ariel who with an also serious face asked

n

"John, just tell us, are you cursed or not?

"

nAt first john wasn't taking their worries lightly but after looking at their expressions, and seeing how genuinely worried they were, he decided to come out with it

n

"No, I'm not possessed, but...

"

nJohn looked over at Master Sylvia who nodded before he said

n

"I'm having trouble controlling possession.

"

nJohn's emotions and thought process was unbalanced, he himself didn't know why, it was almost as if, the dark spirit which he had conquered was trying to possess him just like Master Sylvia had said.

n--------------------------------

nIn the middle of the fourth-floor boss room after dealing with the other parties Issue, Master had called out to john.

n

"John, have you talked to the dark spirit inside of you?

" Master Sylvia asked

n

"Dark spirit? You mean the one from the trial?

"

n

"Yeah.

"

n

"No, not yet.

"

nHearing this, for a moment, Master Sylvia's expression got colder, seeing this, John could tell that it was a bad sign.

n

"You are forbidden from using possession. I told you not to over rely on it, just because you've completed the trial, doesn't mean it's over. you don't have control of it yet.

"

nI'm not in control...? Could it be trying to possess me or something?

n

"W-What... What happens if I were to keep using possession despite that?

"

nMaster Sylvia seemed hesitant to reply but went out and said it

n

"You'll be eaten.

"

n------------------------------

n

"That ability you gained from the trial right? The one where it lets you borrow power from the evil spirit that went inside of you?

" Ariel asked

nHearing this John quickly glanced over at Master Sylvia who let out a sigh

n

"I told them about it at the trial.

"

n

"Okay, so if you can't control just don't use it?

" Said Serena

n

"Just don't use it? It's the last floor. I may not have needed it for the previous ones, but this is the heart of the dungeon... Can't you feel all that magic power in the air?

" John asked

n

"Of course, we can! But no one's asking you to sacrifice yourself over a dungeon, If things get bad, we run away and try again after some rest. Isn't that how we do things?

" Ariel asked

n

"Ariel's right, you're always going overboard even when we keep telling you not to. Come on, John... Grow up.

"

nHearing this, John could tell that his friends were genuinely worried for him, even if he already knew that, with everything that had just happened, hearing this caused tears to start to form in his eyes

nHuh? When did something get in my eye he wondered as he began to wipe it away with his worn-out gloves

n

"Grow up... I never thought I'd hear that from you...

" Said John as he covered his face with his hands

n

"Wha-! What's that supposed to mean?!

"

nJohn moved his hands away from his eyes and turned to the two with a few tears formed on his puffy eyes as he let out a laugh and with a smile said

n

"Pfft, Haha, You two are just... Thank you... Really, Thank you.

"

n

"W-Well, as long as you're better...

" Serena muttered as she lowered her head and hat to cover her embarrassed face

nW-What's with this guy... How can he look so...

n

"You can make it up to us by being more careful in this floor...

" Said Ariel as she quickly turned her head to hide

nW-Why am I hiding...

nThe emotional face of the recently resilient John was a face both Serena and Ariel couldn't get out of their minds

n

"I didn't mention this earlier but, this stare case leads straight to the boss room.

" Said Master Sylvia as the four had reached the bottom

n

"Say that earlier!

" The three shouted

nIn front of the platform was a single giant door, there were mossy stone walls around every stair case, but this one in particular, including the platform was a pure white colour, exactly like concrete.

n

"Beyond this door, is the final boss.

"

nAs Ray heard this, he couldn't help but gulp down the little air he had in his mouth, he was nervous, he had no clue or idea of what to expect.

n***

n

"Sorry... Everyone...

"

n

n

n

n

n