Kruger’s scream was still ringing in their ears. His half-dead body lay on the ground, the sword still embedded in his stomach, and blood was flowing like a narrow stream beneath him.
Daniel and the others immediately jumped off the platform and rushed toward him.
Silo reached him first and, without a moment’s delay, placed both hands on his body. A green light glowed from her palms and wrapped around his wounds.
"Damn it, hold on... hold on, damn it!"
Meanwhile, Linor, Carlin, and two other Awakened charged at the attacking golden knight with furious screams.
The flashes of swords and magical skill explosions turned the field into a hell of light and impact in seconds.
But the golden knight didn’t even take a step back.
"Hey, aren’t you a priest?! Come help!!" Silo gritted her teeth, sweat dripping from her forehead.
Daniel, standing a few steps back, glanced at Silo’s desperate face.
"Actually... no. I don’t have any healing skills," he said with a bitter smile.
"Then what the hell are you doing here?!" Silo froze for a second. Her gaze darted between her blood-covered hands and Daniel’s emotionless face as she shouted.
She couldn’t understand. If this guy had no healing powers, what the hell was he doing here? What else does a priest can even do besides healing?
Before anyone could respond, a heavy sound came from the royal platform.
Four more golden knights stepped down one by one.
Same golden armor. Same massive swords. Same emotionless stares. They entered the field calmly, but with purpose.
The only one who hadn’t moved yet was the golden knight acting as the judge.
Linor looked around. His eyes trembled.
"No... no way... we were barely holding off one of them... and now there are five?!"
"Retreat! We need to find a way out!" Carlin, one of the Awakened, shouted.
But there was no way out. The arena had been sealed.
The knights walked calmly like angels of death, closing the circle tighter and tighter.
Daniel stood firm. His eyes locked onto each of the knights one by one.
"Each of them is at least peak rank D... maybe even C. With things , even I can’t take them all on alone. But... if I use my Fallens...hmmm"
"Defeating even these knights is nearly impossible for rank C Awakened. Defeating their king? Now I understand why no one’s cleared this dungeon before."
Because of the ranking system, Awakened above rank C can’t enter a green-ranked dungeon. And in Daniel’s view, clearing this dungeon with only rank C or lower Awakened was practically impossible—
Unless a once-in-a-century genius comes here and tries it
"Noooo help me!! I don’t wanna die—aghk!" A sudden scream shattered the tension in the field. A choked cry—and then silence.
Daniel turned back and saw Carlin’s body collapse like a lifeless puppet, a golden sword pierced through his chest.
His eyes were still open...
"We’re running! Screw clearing this fucking place!" Linor shouted while Carlin’s body was still warm.
He realized they couldn’t clear this dungeon. It had always been false hope.
And the result? Two teammates dead, one on the verge of dying, and the rest badly injured.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward Kruger, struggled to lift him onto his back.
"Run! Now’s the time!" he shouted at Daniel and Silo.
At that moment, from the corner of his eye, Daniel saw movement. One of the golden knights lunged at another Awakened—his glowing sword raised and ready to strike.
Daniel let out a breath and stepped forward, appearing right in front of the knight, catching the sword with his bare hand.
The clash rang through the arena like two mountains colliding.
"Go! Run!" Daniel shouted angrily. The Awakened stared at him in terror, nodded, and dashed toward the exit of the Colosseum without hesitation.
Daniel followed right after, hearing the heavy footsteps of the knights behind him.
On the other side, the golden knight judge remained standing with elegance. But he cast a curious look at Daniel.
It seemed that among these slaves, someone was worthy of attention
Then his gaze shifted to Linor and Silo, who were running with Kruger on Linor’s back.
"Slaves do not have permission to escape without the king’s consent," he said softly and coldly.
Linor and Silo heard him—but ignored it and ran even faster.
Normally, exiting a dungeon requires specific conditions—it must be cleared, or a key must be used.
That same key needed to enter the tower could be used to leave an uncleared dungeon.
But unlike the tower, which only needs a key to enter, a dungeon key is consumed upon exit—used like a disposable item.
They’d probably get harshly scolded by their guilds afterward. It was a huge loss, but they had no choice.
[ Are you sure you want to use a to leave this dungeon? ]
Without hesitation, they all pressed , and the keys vanished from their inventories.
[ Ding... Exit request confirmed ]
[ Exit portal opens ]
A glowing blue portal opened just ahead.
At that moment, the golden knight raised his right arm. Mana twisted and thickened in the air. A glowing golden spear materialized, floating midair—
He threw it without hesitation.
Linor noticed the spear. But the portal was right in front of them. Just a few more steps. If he stopped or veered off course... it’d be over.
He held his breath. Readied himself for impact—even if the spear hit him. With Kruger on his back, the spear would likely hit Kruger, but given the knight’s power, it would pierce through him too.
As long as they made it out of the dungeon, survival was still possible.
But something appeared between him and the spear.
Blood splashed in the air. No—it wasn’t his. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked back and saw Daniel, kneeling with a spear in his chest, blood pouring from his mouth.
"No... no no no no!" Linor screamed. But Daniel gave a faint smile.
With the last of his strength, he pushed them toward the portal—and they escaped the dungeon.
His body collapsed to the ground. The sound of it hitting the cold, merciless stone echoed.
Before his eyes shut, A glint of mischief and amusement sparked in them
The golden knight stepped forward, glanced at Daniel’s lifeless body, and sighed. Then he spoke, his voice echoing across the field:
"Your sacrifice is worthy of respect... human."