SSS-Class Overlord: My Harem Rules the Realms (18+)
Chapter 103: The Battle to Save the Dragon.

Chapter 103: The Battle to Save the Dragon.

The blinding glow hit their eyes like a sudden gust of wind.

Ethan and Daniel stepped into the light, shielding their faces for a second as they adjusted.

The oppressive darkness, the foul stench, and the slick, rotting floor of the tunnel were suddenly behind them—replaced by a realm of startling contrast.

They stood in a massive corridor made of smooth, white stone blocks.

The air here was crisp, sterile, and eerily still. The walls shimmered faintly, pulsing with a pale, ambient light that came from no visible source, as though the stones themselves were alive—breathing.

The place felt unnatural. Not magical—manufactured.

The white bricks were almost clinical, like something built not to intimidate... but to observe.

Ethan’s steps echoed faintly, his boots tapping against the glossy floor as he scanned the hall. His voice dropped into a whisper. "Where the hell are we...?"

Daniel’s eyes swept the far corners, his new weapon—a steel-gray axe with crimson edge lines and serrated curves—held tightly in his grip. "This doesn’t look like any dungeon area I’ve seen. Too clean. Too... perfect."

Ethan gave a slow nod. "Feels like a lab. Or a testing chamber."

The two kept walking cautiously. Their nerves, still raw from the fight with the chamiras, twitched at every flicker in the corner of their eyes.

Somewhere in the distance, the faint hum of an arcane mechanism pulsed like a heartbeat beneath the walls.

Then—footsteps.

Soft. Deliberate. Multiple pairs.

Ethan’s instincts screamed. He dropped into a crouch, drawing Warlord’s Fang in one fluid motion. The jagged obsidian blade gleamed hungrily under the white glow, its dark energy already beginning to stir.

Daniel mirrored him, lifting his axe. "You thinking enemies?"

Ethan’s voice was flat. "Don’t care. First thing that jumps, we slice."

He shifted his stance slightly, calling on Battle Focus, feeling the familiar tingle as his perception expanded.

The corridor became sharper—every flicker of movement, every tremor of sound was heightened. His heartbeat slowed, thoughts cleared, and adrenaline sharpened his reflexes to the edge of a knife.

Daniel cracked his neck. "I got your back. Let them come."

The footsteps grew louder, echoing closer from the far end of the corridor. The tension coiled between them like a wire pulled taut—one spark away from snapping.

And then—two shadows emerged from the opposite end.

Ethan surged forward, blade raised, fury behind every muscle. Daniel roared and followed, axe swinging for the kill.

But just as their weapons struck—

CLANG!

A silver longsword slammed into Daniel’s axe, forcing it sideways with sparks.

Warlord’s Fang was halted mid-swing by a shimmering wall of blood magic—dense, writhing like a crimson serpent coiled between Ethan and his target.

"What the—?!"

"WAIT!"

Two voices shouted at once—female, familiar, and strained.

Ethan’s eyes widened. "Reyna?"

Daniel blinked. "Liora?!"

The four of them stood still, weapons pressed against each other, breathing hard from the sudden clash. Slowly, recognition washed over their faces, draining the tension.

Liora withdrew her hand, her blood shield slithering back into her palm. Reyna stepped back, lowering her sword, her breathing shallow.

"For fuck’s sake, Ethan," Reyna said, brushing hair from her face, "you almost took my head off."

"You were sneaking up like a ghost!" Daniel said, shaking his head, though a grin began to form. "That’s on you."

Liora laughed softly, her voice smooth and low. "I felt your mana signature just before your blade reached me. You’re lucky I did."

Ethan sheathed Warlord’s Fang with a sharp metallic click. "Didn’t expect to see either of you. We thought we were completely alone."

Reyna let her sword rest over her shoulder. "Same. We were separated when the floor behind us collapsed. No way back."

"Let me guess," Daniel said, gesturing at them, "you two got dropped into some monster pit too?"

"Worse," Liora replied. "A chamber full of undead. Skeleton warriors. Then a lich."

"A lich?" Ethan’s brows rose. "They’re not common in these regions. Definitely not in the lower dungeon levels."

"It wasn’t natural," Reyna added, her voice tightening. "It had inscriptions on its bones. Enchanted by something older. The way it fought... it was watching us, not just attacking."

"Same vibe with the chamiras," Daniel said, pointing toward the tunnel. "They didn’t just lunge at us. They flanked. Used the terrain. As if something—someone—was guiding them."

Liora’s expression darkened. "So we’re being tested."

Ethan exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Or studied."

The four stood silently for a few moments, the gravity of their experiences weighing the air.

Then it happened.

BOOM.

The sound rocked through the corridor. Low. Echoing. As if a mountain had exhaled in the next room. The floor vibrated beneath their feet.

Everyone snapped toward the sound.

"That wasn’t magical," Reyna said quietly.

Daniel tilted his head. "Mechanical?"

Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Something big. And close."

They remained frozen for several heartbeats, the silence afterward somehow louder than the boom itself.

Finally, Ethan took a step forward. "We can’t turn back. Whatever this place is—it’s drawing us in. We finish this. Together."

He looked at each of them, one by one.

Reyna nodded firmly, eyes cold but determined.

Liora adjusted her gloves, crimson aura pulsing softly around her fingertips. "Lead the way."

Daniel grinned. "Been a while since we all fought side by side."

And with that, the four warriors fell into formation.

Ethan at the front, steps steady and eyes scanning.

Reyna flanked his left, her longsword held with graceful precision.

Daniel and Liora walked at the rear—one gripping Ravager’s Grin like a predator, the other walking like a quiet storm.

As they moved deeper into the corridor, the light seemed to grow harsher—more clinical. A faint hum began to build in the walls, like a machine awakening.

Every so often, they’d pass strange indentations in the stone—runes, partially etched diagrams, and old bloodstains scrubbed almost clean. Daniel reached out to touch one.

"Wait," Liora said, stopping him... "Those aren’t just decoration."

Ethan took a closer look. "Ritual patterns. But they’ve been... deactivated. Someone was using this place as a forge. Of creatures. Or of trials."