Chapter 27 Back in Paradise

Chapter 27 Back in Paradise
The next morning, the couple rose with haste. There was no lingering this time, no quiet teasing, no softness left from the night before. Both of them checked over their supplies, making sure every strap was fastened and every sword was sharpened.

Once everything was secured, they left the inn without breakfast, deciding they did not have the luxury of time on their side.

The turtle god had to be saved.

The streets were already restless. The town square was filled with people going about their day like any other morning, unaware of what was unfolding beneath their feet and beyond the town walls.

By the time Jax and Mira approached the dungeon gates, the Ironwind Triage squad was already waiting.

Alexander stood beside them with his arms folded, his gaze fixed on the darkening sky above the entrance.

They moved quickly and entered the dungeon without looking back.

Once inside, the offensive team made quick work of the monsters in their path. Steel flashed as the front line cut down beasts at close range while spells detonated through the back ranks. The team moved like a single organism, clearing floors packed with monsters as if they had always fought together.

Their objective was clear.

Get back to the warp gate, figure out what the demons were after, and save the turtle god.

When they reached the corridor that led toward it, Clouse glanced back. “Where is this warp gate?”

“It’s near the end of this floor,” Mira replied. “We’ll get you there as fast as we can. Jax has a good handle on the layout, so don’t worry.”

Jax guided them through the twisting passages while the Ironwind squad and Mira focused on clearing the way ahead. They cut through the remaining resistance and reached the gate’s location, tucked behind a section of stone most adventurers would never notice, arriving in just under two hours.

After a brief inspection and a short discussion among themselves, the team made their decision.

“You’ve brought us far enough,” Clouse said. “From here, we take it. Do not, under any circumstances, follow us in.”

“But—”

“Mira, stop,” Jax said quietly. “What do you think we could realistically do in there besides get in the way? These people are professionals.”

With that, the team stepped onto the platform and vanished, leaving no trace behind. Not even a stray thread remained where they had stood.

Mira exhaled sharply. “I wanted to go in and help. Why wouldn’t they let us?”

“Last time we were in there, it was chaos,” Jax said. “Were you not listening to a word Clouse or I said earlier?”

She sat with that for a moment before nodding. “You’re right,” she said quietly. “We should probably stay here and watch the gate.”

Several tense minutes passed. Mira spent most of them complaining about being bored, but Jax’s eyes never left the platform. Then, just as the two of them began to relax, the gate began to distort.

The air above it warped, light bending inward as if the circle itself were collapsing.

“Jax,” Mira said sharply. “The gate’s acting funny.”

Jax didn’t hesitate. “We go in. No second-guessing. We found the turtle god, and if it’s getting worse, we can’t stand here.”

The couple stepped onto the circle together, steady and calm, ready to support the other team however they could.

The warp gate tore them through space and released them onto stone.

Mira landed first and immediately recognized the curve beneath her boots. “Same place,” she said quietly. “It’s worse back here.”

The air was thicker than before, heavier in her lungs. The emerald glow that once traced faint lines along the turtle’s shell now flickered unevenly, pulsing like a failing heartbeat.

More Void Anchors had been driven into the creature.

Black obsidian anchors jutted from every ridge and seam, each one radiating dense black aura. Jax saw them immediately. There had only been a handful before, but now they studded the shell in widening rings, driven deeper between the plates. Dark veins spidered outward from each anchor point, spreading farther than the last time they had stood there.

Demons crawled in tight clusters near the embedded anchors, far denser than before, like filth being forced onto the land. The turtle shifted beneath them, but not violently. The movement felt weak, as though every motion required effort.

It was dying.

Far ahead, the massive eye opened again, but it looked strained now. The clear emerald half dimmed as shadow crawled slowly toward the center.

“Why are you two here?” Clouse barked from across the way, hunched over and inspecting one of the Void Anchors. The one nearest him flickered with dark pulses.

“It’s forcing the corruption in faster than before,” he said. “Ana, I need time to study these.”

Ana’s jaw tightened. “We don’t have time for caution.”

The ground tremored again, slower this time. Jax felt the mana drag sideways through his body.

“It’s worse,” he whispered.

Mira didn’t take her eyes off the nearest anchor. “I know. It’s spreading everywhere.”

“We told you to stay behind,” Clouse said, deflecting a few dark blasts from the enemy ranks.

“Sorry!” Mira yelled as she cut down a lesser demon with ease, her blade slicing through it like a hot knife through butter. “We figured you could use the backup anyway.”

“Us? Need backup?” Clouse said, gesturing to himself with obvious pride. “Really? You think you can help? Hilarious.”

That moment of pride nearly got him killed. A corrupted spear of bone and shadow shot toward his back, and a giant stone shield formed behind him just in time, shattering the spear into fragments.

Clouse regained his composure. “Thank you, Jax,” he said evenly. “I can see now that you are not entirely incompetent adventurers.”

“I hate to say it, but you two deserve to hear it,” Clouse added as he adjusted his glasses and readied another volley of attacks. “Just make sure you don’t get in the way.”

Then he took off toward the danger.

Toward the demon that had embedded itself in the flesh of the god.

“We’ll do our best to provide backup,” Jax replied as several stone spikes launched from his hands. Each one struck with deadly precision, blasting craters straight through the demons’ centers and splitting their cores apart.

Mira noticed immediately how much stronger Jax had become since their last dive. His stance was steadier, his casting cleaner, and his magic no longer trembled at the edges. He wasn’t forcing it anymore.

He was commanding it.

“What the hell is that thing?” the large man growled as he drove his fist through a demon’s chest.

In the distance, the original demon they had encountered towered above the others, swollen to a massive size. Corruption pulsed from its body while obsidian Void Anchors erupted around it in jagged clusters.

“We think that thing is trying to kill the turtle!” Mira shouted as she split two demons down the center in a single blinding slash, frost exploding in her wake. “We have to help it!”

She laughed despite the chaos. “That thing is massive. I can’t wait to try cutting it down.”

“Stay safe and yell if you’re in danger,” Jax replied. “Even with the other team here, we are far outnumbered.”

“That thing has looked like something that needed to be killed for a long time,” she answered, readying several pristinely formed ice spikes.

“No,” Clouse snapped. “You stay defensive, not offensive. We’re here to deal with the problem. You’re here because you didn’t listen.”

“There you are.”

The voice cracked across the shell like lightning splitting a tree. Filth and despair rang through the tone so clearly that Mira’s breath hitched.

“That’s the demon that almost killed us,” she said. “How did it get here so fast?”

The massive figure blurred. It launched forward with terrifying speed, claws of condensed shadow and bone tearing straight toward Mira’s throat.

“GET DOWN!” Jax roared.

He slammed both hands forward.

The strongest stone shield he had ever produced erupted between them.

The demon’s strike collided with it.

The impact detonated like a siege engine smashing into a fortress wall.

The shell beneath their feet cracked.

Mira and the shield were hurled backward, stone grinding under her boots as the barrier splintered into a web of fractures. Jax staggered, blood running from his nose. Mira stumbled back beside him a heartbeat later.

The demon landed slowly.

Smiling.

Behind it, the Void Anchors pulsed in unison.

And the turtle screamed.