Catgirls And Dungeons (Yuri)

Just like that—without warning, without sensation—reality twisted again.

One moment, we were drenched in blood and fury on the battlefield of eternal darkness. The next, the carnage was gone, erased as if it had never existed.

And we were back, kneeling beneath the towering golden winged statues, beneath that blinding radiance, before that terrible, magnificent throne again.

The cries rose instantly. People collapsed to the floor in waves—some weeping, some shouting praises, others trembling with exhausted devotion. It was like watching zealots in the throes of divine ecstasy, each voice thick with desperation and awe.

I dropped to my knees with them. Head bowed low to the cold, gleaming floor.

After all… what else could I do? After everything that had happened, groveling came easily now, naturally, As if submission had been etched into our very bones—instinct carved from suffering.

And when I finally looked up, I saw him again.

The god sat upon his throne, towering and radiant, the very image of celestial majesty. He looked down upon us with a smile so wide, so pleased, it almost looked human.

Almost.

But there was something wrong in that grin—something off. It curled too far. Held too much glee.

And it chilled me.

Something deep in my chest twisted. My gut knotted. My heart pounded faster than it should have, faster than I could explain.

"Well done, mortals," the god thundered, his voice echoing like a war drum across the gilded chamber. "You have proven yourselves through the nine trials. And as promised… all of your crimes are now pardoned."

His words rang out like a divine verdict. Each syllable struck with weight, shaking us to the core.

"Now," he continued, "you shall all be rewarded accordingly."

A beat of silence.

Then chaos.

"Ahhh! Rewards!"

"REWARDS!!"

"REWARDS!!!"

Cheers tore through the chamber. Joy, raw and unrestrained, flooded the air. People screamed, laughed, and embraced each other. Some fell to the floor sobbing with relief.

The fear, the grief, the soul-crushing dread we had carried for what felt like months... gone in a heartbeat.

We were alive.

And we had won.

Yes, we had suffered.

We had walked through fire, faced monstrosities birthed from nightmares, lost friends—brothers, sisters, comrades, loved ones.

We had bled, and cried, and broken.

But it had all led here.

To victory.

And now… now we're rich!

Yes, RICH!

Richer than we could ever have imagined!

The fortune that awaited us defied belief. Mountains of treasure, ancient relics, enchanted artifacts—all promised to those who endured. Enough gold to last a dozen lifetimes, more than enough to buy cities, build our own guilds, live like legends!

And it wasn't just treasure we'd gained on that blood-soaked, seemingly eternal battlefield.

We had grown stronger too, totally transformed.

I entered the trial as a D-rank adventurer—barely above a novice, just scraping the bottom rung. Now, I stood tall as B-rank, power thrumming beneath my skin like a second heartbeat.

Carmien and Kailene had both surged ahead to A-rank a while ago, and now blazing with strength that hadn't been there before.

And Kerth, our eldest brother…

Kerth had ascended.

He was S-rank now. Truly, undeniably… S-rank.

And we weren't the only ones.

Other survivors had transformed too. No one remained below B-rank. And the ones who had already been strong? Their power now felt boundless, terrifying even. We weren't just adventurers anymore. We were monsters of our own.

There's no doubt about it. If we returned to our world, we'd live like gods among mortals!

And yet, that didn't seem to end there.

The god wasn't finished.

He looked down upon us with that maddening smile and spoke once more.

"There is more," he said.

More?

What the actual fuck?

He raised his hand.

A single, casual wave.

And the chamber exploded with light.

Then—

It rained.

Gold.

A downpour of gleaming coins burst from the air itself, cascading like a divine waterfall. They filled the sky in a storm of brilliance, clinking and chiming as they hit the marble floor in shining torrents.

Screams of joy erupted.

"YEEEEAAAAAAHHHH!"

"YESSSSS!!!"

People laughed, cried, danced under the golden rain, arms outstretched as if embracing a dream. Some leapt into the air, gold bouncing from their armor, eyes wild with disbelief. Others dropped to their knees, weeping as they gathered what they could, stuffing coins into storage rings, hoarding as fast as their shaking hands could move.

And some just knelt there, hands raised to the god, whispering prayers through trembling lips.

I could feel it.

The devotion, the madness, the euphoria!

It was a holy storm of wealth!

And we were drowning in it.

—----------------

"Brothers! We're rich! We're actually rich!" Kerth roared, throwing his arms around us, his deep laugh booming with disbelief and euphoria.

The four of us—Kerth, Carmien, Kailene, and me—collapsed into laughter like children drunk on joy. Gold rained from the heavens, and we jumped and spun beneath it, catching coins in our hands, in our cloaks, even in our mouths. It glittered in our hair, spilled into our boots, clinked down our backs like blessings from the divine.

"My mansion!" Carmien shouted, her eyes wild and sparkling. "My hundred maids! My hot springs and rose gardens and marble bathtubs!"

"I'm gonna eat everything!" Kailene twirled in the golden storm, arms wide. "All the food in the world! No more stale bread! No more rats in the pantry! No more eating soup with water and lies!"

I stood there, frozen. Laughing with them—but slower. A step behind.

Something inside me had stopped moving.

My mind short-circuited under the weight of it all. For so long, the dream had been survival. A warm meal. A clean bed. Now, with this much gold...

What would I even do?

Buy a house? A real one?

One with a proper roof, not patched with rags? A door that locked? Windows that closed?

A room without mold? Without fleas and gnats? Without that constant, sickly stench of rot and damp that clung to everything I owned?

Finally… I could breathe. I could rest!!!

And then—

As if this dream hadn't already pushed past the boundaries of reason—

It deepened.

A ripple of divine light shimmered across the chamber.

And gear began to materialize from the air itself.

Not just armor. Not just weapons.

Masterwork relics.

Legendary-tier equipment, far beyond mortal craft.

Swords forged from starlight, runes carved so finely they pulsed with age-old magic. Shields that could withstand the breath of dragons. Cloaks woven with strands of shadow and moonlight. Armor that felt like silk but could turn aside a thunderstrike. Rings that tingled with raw, sleeping power.

One by one, they appeared on us, fitting perfectly, as if we'd been born to wear them.

In the capital, a single piece like this would sell for hundreds of thousands of crowns.

One.

And we were now clad head to toe in them.

Each of us dressed like kings of forgotten empires.

Like war gods.

My hands trembled. My knees threatened to buckle. I couldn't stop shaking.

This was real.

This was happening.

My life… it was going to change! For real!

No more scraping by on odd jobs. No more skipping meals. No more cold nights in that tiny, pest-infested room that stank of death and mildew!

A sob broke loose from my throat.

And then the tears came.

Hot, silent. They streamed down my cheeks without warning, and I didn't care. I didn't care who saw.

We had made it.

We had survived.

And for the first time in my life… I had hope.

….

But then—

The god opened his mouth.

The chamber fell silent.

"Last trial," he said.

Just two words.

But they struck like a blade through our joy.

The laughter died instantly. The gold in our hands might as well have turned to ash. The air turned still and thin, like we were standing at the edge of a cliff no one wanted to look over.

Faces drained of color. Mouths hung open. No one spoke.

No one moved.

We had thought it was over.

We were wrong.