Catgirls And Dungeons (Yuri)

And so… I waited.

At first, I wasn't alone. Thirty others, all the souls shattered by the loss of comrades swallowed by the dungeon, stood with me before that sealed gate.

We clung to the same fragile hope, our breaths fogging in the chill, our eyes fixed on the unyielding stone.

Together, we whispered their names into the wind, as if our voices could call them home.

One hour bled into two. Then three. Then more.

The sun sank below the jagged black peaks, painting the barren sky in crimson, like the blood we feared had been spilled within.

Still, no one came.

No one.

When night's bitter cold gripped the earth, I collapsed onto the stone, my body broken by exhaustion, hunger, or the weight of despair, I couldn't tell.

I was barely conscious, a husk of myself, but the others carried me. They pressed stale bread to my lips, held me upright, kept my heart beating.

They were my tether to life.

And yet… the moment I could stand, I returned.

To that same cursed gate.

Its surface gleamed like a cruel mirror, reflecting my hollow eyes, my trembling hands.

Every day, I came back.

Every day, I pressed my palms against the gate's icy stone, only to be hurled back by its merciless shockwave.

Every day, I screamed to the gods, to the heavens, to anyone who might hear—

Please…

Please bring them back.

But nothing answered.

Nothing stirred.

Only the silent vortex within the gate, mocking me with its stillness, as if it had devoured their souls and left me to rot.

And then… three months passed.

One by one, the others drifted away.

They buried their dead in their hearts, accepted the silence, and walked into new lives.

They left me behind, alone with my vigil.

They called it acceptance.

I called it betrayal.

Because I still believed.

I had to.

They were my family, my siblings.

They never broke a promise to me. Not once.

They said they'd return.

They said they'd come back victorious.

They wouldn't lie to me.

They couldn't.

And so… I stayed.

Time churned on, relentless.

Seasons turned.

Snow blanketed the cliffs, burying my footprints.

Desert winds howled, scouring the stone clean, as if erasing my existence.

And still, I remained.

One year passed.

By then, the world had forgotten us.

Adventurers and merchants sneered as they passed, their laughter cutting deeper than the winter's frost.

They whispered behind my back, branding me the Crazy Lizard, a lunatic chained to a dead dungeon gate, a fool drowning in hope.

But I didn't care.

Let them mock me.

Let them pity me.

Their words were dust against the fire of my faith.

I still believed.

I still waited.

Because if I let go of that hope…

If I admitted, even for a heartbeat, that they were gone forever…

What was left of me?

Just an empty shell, clawing at memories, lost to a world that had moved on without them.

And yet…

And yet…

As Guildmaster Karlogen speaks, his voice catches—

Then breaks.

A shudder runs through him. He chokes on a breath, shoulders trembling as the sobs rise, raw and sudden. One hand covers his face, as if trying to hold it all in, but it's no use. The other hand clenches into a tight, shaking fist against the table.

The tea in his cup ripples from the tremor.

The entire table shudders with him.

No one says a word.

We all understand what this means.

His siblings never returned.

They're gone.

Lost to the final trial—claimed by that merciless dungeon.

"Guildmaster…" I whisper, reaching across the table, gently placing my hand over his clenched fist.

I want to help him… to steady him… to share even a little of that weight he's been carrying alone for so long.

But when I see him like this…

His mask shattered… his grief laid bare…

I can't hold it in either.

Tears well up, spilling past my lashes as my voice cracks.

And before I know it, I'm now sobbing too.

"Hic… hic…"

Eris lends me her handkerchief, and I wipe my eyes.

"I'm sorry," Karlogen says hoarsely. "I… got emotional again."

He pulls out a handkerchief too and dabs at his eyes, but the tears still come.

"Hey, don't apologize," Eris says softly. Her voice wavers, just a little though. But when I glance at her, I see it, the shimmer of tears gathering in her eyes.

"You've been through so much. I understand how you feel." Eris continues, placing her hand on Karlogen's.

Karlogen meets her gaze, holding it for a long, quiet moment.

Then… he gives her a faint, almost weary smile.

"Right," he murmurs. "I suppose you do."

"Yes," Eris nods, her voice like glass.

"Back then… I felt the same."

And hearing that, something finally clicks inside me.

Wait…

Of course…

Of course!

They're the same, more than I ever realized!

Eris lost her father.

Karlogen lost his siblings.

Different people, different stories.

But they both share the same pain!

That grief, that hole left behind by someone you love who never returned…

That's something they both carry.

No wonder they're so close, no wonder the Guildmaster goes to such lengths to help us, especially Eris.

Because he sees himself in her, because only someone who's lived through that kind of loss could truly understand.

"But in the end… some people did walk out, right?" Eris asks, her voice gentle but steady.

"Oh, of course," Karlogen says with a nod. "There were three who completed the final trial… and lived to tell the tale."

He leans back slightly, eyes drifting, as if pulling their names from a place carved deep into memory.

"I still remember them. Every single one."

He lets the silence linger for a moment longer before speaking.

"The first was Arianna. Arianna Hooke."

Eris blinks. "Wait… Arianna? As in the Arianna? Golden Rose Guildmaster? The SS-rank, one-armed swordswoman who solo-cleared that volcanic S-rank dungeon a few years back?"

Karlogen chuckles faintly. "That's her. She lost her arm in that final trial. But in exchange, she kept her SS-rank strength… and all the relics she'd earned. A few years later, she founded the Golden Rose Guild. I wouldn't be surprised if the name itself was inspired by that cursed golden dungeon."

"I see…" Eris murmurs, her fingers brushing her chin in thought. "And the second survivor?"

Karlogen's tone shifts, softening further. "A Lion Furren. His name was Alexander Valin Leohart."

Eris frowns. "Alexander… Valin Leohart? Huh. Why haven't I heard of him? Are you sure?"

"I'm not surprised," Karlogen says. "The guy died just two years after that dungeon."

"What?" Eris blinks, startled. "But… he survived, didn't he? He completed the trial. He should've been stronger than ever."

"Oh, he was stronger," Karlogen replies, eyes dark. "But strength and fortune… they can turn against you just as easily as they save you."

"Ah…" Eris breathes. Her eyes lower, understanding dawning in the quiet between them. She nods once. "I see."

Meanwhile, I sit there, frowning.

"Wait—hold on. What do you see? What do you mean?"

Eris gives me a little smile and shakes her head. "Silly Felicia. Think about it. If you suddenly became filthy rich and strutted around bragging about it… what do you think would happen?"

Ehhhh?

What would I think… will happen?

…

"Ohhhhhhh!" I finally get it.

Right!

People would probably come after me, rob me, maybe even kill me!

"And it didn't help that he spent most of his fortune on women and addictive substances," Karlogen adds with a sigh. "He already had a history with it—deep addictions, even before entering that dungeon."

"Wait, what? Even SS-rank adventurers can die of drug addiction?" I blink rapidly. "I thought their bodies were, like… indestructible or something!"

Karlogen gives me a very serious look, narrowing his eyes. "Felicia. There are many ways to die. So many, you can't even imagine. Never, ever mess with that kind of thing. Understood?"

I gulp hard.

"Y-yes…! I promise! I'll be careful!"

I sit up straight like a scolded child, heart pounding.

Eris hides a small smile behind her hand, then gives me a gentle nod.

"Anyway…" Karlogen continues, his voice heavy. "It wasn't the drugs themselves that killed him. But they dulled him. Made him careless. Left him wide open. And in the end…" He lets out a long, slow breath that seems to drain something from his chest. "…he was stabbed in the back. By his own best friend. The same friend who, as it turned out, was sleeping with his wife."

I stare at him, mouth falling open.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

"Yeah…" Eris murmurs, shaking her head softly. "To think that someone strong enough to survive a death dungeon would end up destroyed not by monsters or magic… but by betrayal."

"I know, right?" Karlogen shakes his head too. "Sometimes, the greatest threats don't come from dungeons at all… but from the people beside us. The ones we think we know."

The room then falls silent.

Not awkward.

Just… still.

Long enough for those words to settle inside us.

Long enough for us to reflect.

Then, finally, Karlogen straightens, his voice softens.

"All right. The last survivor… I'm sure you can guess."

"Yup," Eris says quietly, though there's a faint spark in her eyes. "The Celestial Hounds' Guildmaster. Valentia Falangor, isn't it?"

"Correct." Karlogen nods slowly. "Not only did he survive the trial… but he walked out carrying a Divine Weapon. You've probably heard of it already—it's practically legend now."

"Yes, I know." Eris nods. "The golden bow — Euryphaessa."