A heavy silence blanketed the group as they stood before the monumental doors of the treasure hall. Ancient runes shimmered faintly across its surface, pulsing with the breath of long-forgotten magic. The air was thick with tension—an unspoken acknowledgment that they were on the edge of something extraordinary.
Klaus, who had been loudly declaring their victory moments earlier, now stood pale and quiet. His bravado crumbled as he stared at the massive, enchanted doors.
"E-Erm… H-How do we get in?" he stammered, adjusting his glasses with a shaky hand.
Mimosa stepped forward, examining the glowing inscriptions with a pensive expression. "It's likely a sealed mechanism… Something tied to the dungeon's magical frequency."
Noelle nodded, her arms crossed. "Yeah. Typical layered enchantments. We'll need to be careful."
"You all talk too much," Saru muttered, cleaning his ear with a pinky finger. He yawned dramatically. "Especially Four-Eyes. All that big talk and still useless."
Klaus spun toward him, indignant. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
"Baa baa baa, I can't hear you," Saru mocked, sticking his tongue out and leaning back on Noelle's shoulder again.
Luck, who had been standing closest to the door, turned back toward Asta with a grin. "It's magic-based. Just cut it open, Asta."
"Huh?" Asta blinked.
"Yup. Slice it."
"Alright! Don't have to tell me twice!" Asta summoned his sword from the grimoire with a whirl of anti-magic and brought it down with a ferocious yell. "GRRRAAAAAHHHH!!"
The blade crashed into the door with a shower of sparks, cleaving a massive chunk out of the enchanted stone. The structure trembled as the doors collapsed inward with a heavy boom.
Then came the light.
A radiant, golden light spilled from within the chamber, nearly blinding them. They shielded their eyes, blinking rapidly until the brilliance faded—and what awaited them took their breath away.
The treasure hall stretched out before them like a dream. Towering piles of gold coins glittered under the light. Treasure chests overflowed with gems. Ancient relics and mystical accessories hovered in stasis. There were emeralds, rubies, diamonds—wealth beyond imagination.
"Whoa…" Asta murmured.
"No way…" Noelle whispered, stunned.
"This is…" Mimosa blinked, speechless.
Klaus, mouth open, could barely hold his glasses steady. "I-I must be dreaming…"
"JACKPOT!!!" Saru shouted, launching himself headfirst into a pile of gold coins with glee.
"No, wait—SARU!" Noelle cried, reaching for him too late.
"I'M A TREASURE GOD!!" Saru howled, tossing coins into the air as he swam through them. He popped up with a crown on his head, necklaces tangled around his neck, and rings covering each finger. "ALL SHALL WORSHIP THE MONKEY KING OF GOLD!!"
Luck dove in right after him. "I'm gonna find a magic sword that electrocutes people!!"
"IDIOTS! GET OUT OF THERE!" Klaus shouted, his voice cracking.
Yuno, unfazed by the chaos, moved deeper into the room. His eyes locked onto a single object—a scroll suspended above a stone pedestal, swirling with wind mana. Drawn to it as if by instinct, he reached for it and unfurled it.
The moment he opened the scroll, a vortex of wind exploded outward, centered around Yuno. Ancient glyphs shone in blinding green before vanishing in a flash. Everyone paused, shielding their eyes again as the magic swept through the chamber.
Unnoticed by Yuno, his grimoire trembled beside him, responding faintly to the surge of power.
Saru and Luck froze mid-chaos.
Both of their heads snapped toward the entrance at once, eyes narrowing. "This magic…" they both thought, sensing a sudden, sinister presence.
CRACK—BOOM!!
The treasure hall's massive gates shattered as an immense force crashed through. Rubble exploded inward. Stone fractured. Golden shards of the door scattered across the room.
From the smoke emerged a monstrous figure.
It was the Diamond mage Saru had defeated earlier—but now, only his upper body was visible, embedded into the chest of a towering golem made of jagged black minerals and obsidian. The construct loomed like a titan, its limbs glowing with infernal runes.
The mage's body was engulfed in flame—not burning, but healing. His twisted grin was reborn, and his eyes now gleamed with unnatural clarity.
"I… will not fall… until my mission is complete," he rasped.
Saru dropped the mountain of treasure with a sigh, catching his staff as it whirled into his hand.
"Back again, huh?" he muttered, voice flat.
Noelle stepped protectively in front of Mimosa. "What is that thing…?"
"That's impossible…! He was crushed!" Klaus said, backing up.
"Not anymore," Asta said, stepping forward with sword in hand.
The golem's massive arm slammed into the ground with a quake. Five ripples of sharpened mineral energy surged forward—one for each of them.
"DODGE!" Saru shouted.
He flipped backward over the wave effortlessly. Yuno, Luck, and Klaus, caught off-guard, were thrown into the walls by the impact. Asta tried to leap away but was intercepted by the golem's fist and smashed into the far end of the hall, crashing through treasure and stone.
"Saru…!" Noelle yelled.
Saru landed gracefully and looked around. "Heh… You guys really are useless."
He turned toward the battered trio and smirked. "You got caught, you got caught~!" he teased in a singsong voice.
Saru twirled Nyoi-bo and rested it on his shoulder, eyes now sharp.
"Man, you're stubborn like a cockroach," he said, frowning. "And I really don't like cockroaches."
The Diamond mage grinned, flames licking around him as the golem's runes flared.
"I admit… You are powerful. I still don't understand your strange magic. But it doesn't matter anymore," he said, voice amplified by the golem's chest. "You cannot defeat the current me."
Saru's gaze darkened.
"I was weakened before… But now—" The flames roared around the Diamond mage, his injuries sealing rapidly. "Now, I'll end this."
The golem raised its massive arm—and so did the mage.
From the golem's palm, hundreds of razor-sharp mineral blades began to materialize, floating in the air like a sea of spears. They glowed red-hot, humming with fatal intent.
"This dungeon will be your grave," the Diamond Mage snarled, his voice low and venomous as he hurled a barrage of glinting blades toward Saru. The obsidian weapons spun at high speed, each one imbued with concentrated mana, their edges sharp enough to cleave stone and bone alike.
Saru's body tensed, knees bending in preparation to dodge—until the mage raised a hand, halting him with a cold threat.
"Don't even think of dodging... or the ones behind you die."
Saru's golden eyes flicked toward Noelle, Mimosa, and the others, still recovering. He clicked his tongue.
"Tch."
The blades closed in fast. A death storm of cutting steel.
Then—his grimoire flared open in a radiant flash. Swirling celestial script lit the air, and with a spin of his staff, Saru dropped low, slamming it into the ground.
"Celestial Magic: Divine Clone Mirage."
In an instant, the space around him bent like rippling water. Dozens of afterimages split off from Saru, each moving with fluid, unnatural grace. They dashed and spun in perfect synchronization, forming a dome of illusion and movement.
The spinning blades met the storm of mirages—then shattered.
With synchronized sweeps of their staffs, the illusory Sarus deflected, redirected, and shattered the blades mid-air. Each fragment exploded in a burst of sparks. The clones weaved through the assault, striking down projectiles before vanishing like smoke.
From the rear, Noelle gasped. "He… he's actually using his grimoire…?"
Mimosa watched in awe. "He always fights with pure instinct and staff skills. But this spell—it's beautiful."
When the last blade clattered to dust, the clones faded, leaving only the real Saru standing amid a shimmering ring of broken steel.
He rested his staff on his shoulder, grinning.
"Yeah, it's a little unusual for me to fight while protecting people," Saru said, eyes glowing softly. "But don't mistake that for weakness."
His grimoire glowed again. Saru raised a hand.
"Celestial Magic: Nimbus Veil."
Dozens of palm-sized clouds formed out of thin air, coalescing with a soft hum. They spiraled around Noelle and Mimosa, forming a tight barrier of radiant white mist. Though ethereal, the clouds vibrated with dense mana—harder than steel and immune to penetration.
"Try touching them," Saru said with a smirk. "Bet you break your fingers."
Then, in a sudden burst of energy, Saru flipped Nyoi-bo high into the air. The staff spun end over end—before vanishing into the open pages of his grimoire in a flash of gold.
He cracked his knuckles.
"Now I'm bored again. Let's finish this."
A golden aura bloomed at his feet. The ground beneath him fractured as light surged through his limbs. Then—he vanished.
BOOM.
The impact crater where he once stood smoked with residual energy.
Before the Diamond Mage could react, Saru reappeared in mid-air—right in front of his face.
"Celestial Magic: Crescent Kick!"
Saru swung his leg in a gleaming arc. A radiant crescent of light surged outward, slicing the towering mineral golem clean in half. The curved blast tore through the obsidian armor, splitting the golem from shoulder to hip. For a moment, silence followed.
Then came the crash.
Yuno's eyes widened. "That power…"
Klaus's jaw dropped. "He just cleaved through that? Like it was nothing?!"
Luck cackled beside them. "Told ya! His magic's weird. It's like the sky listens to him! Clouds, light, clones—you name it! He mixes raw strength with magic like he's dancing!"
Suddenly, a loud rumble echoed across the chamber.
The group turned as a blur of movement ended with a THUNDEROUS crash. Saru was flung backward, slamming into a stone wall with a concussive boom, debris exploding outward.
"SARU!!" Noelle shouted.
Dust cleared—and Saru leapt from the rubble, laughing like a maniac, debris flying off his body.
"HAHAHAHA! Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!"
Across from him, the golem had regenerated completely. The cleaved halves had fused again, but now with even denser minerals. Black diamond layered its exterior like living armor, glittering with eerie light. The Diamond Mage stood within its chest, now wielding a two-story sword forged of jagged crystal and fire.
He swung it downward in a blinding arc—
—and Saru met it, fist cocked back.
"Celestial Magic: Sky-Crushing Fist!!"
A swirling vortex of clouds and light coiled around Saru's arm as he threw his punch. The moment fist and sword met, time seemed to freeze.
Then—
BOOOOOM!!
A white explosion erupted, wide as a canyon and bright as the sun. The sword shattered into dust, the golem cracked down the middle, and the Diamond Mage was launched like a comet, sent hurtling into the far wall. He hit with enough force to crater the stone, his mouth agape and eyes rolled back.
The golem disintegrated, turning to a storm of glimmering dust.
The chamber trembled.
Everyone stood in stunned silence.
"Did he… really do that?" Klaus whispered.
But before anyone could process it further—
CRUMBLE.
The walls shook. Cracks spread. Ceiling tiles plummeted.
"T-The dungeon is collapsing!!" Noelle screamed, clinging to Mimosa.
Yuno's grimoire flew open, and a swirl of wind encircled his feet, lifting him into the air.
"Everyone, get on! Now!"
"Let's gooo~!" Saru yelled cheerfully, still humming as he scooped Noelle and Mimosa onto each shoulder like sacks of treasure. Their combined shrieks echoed through the chaos.
"S-SARU PUT US DOWN!!"
Luck grabbed Asta by the collar. "Up ya go!" Asta flailed as they launched upward.
Even Klaus jumped, coughing in dust. "We have to hurry! The exit might collapse at any moment!"
Yuno steered the wind vortex toward the tunnel, dodging falling boulders. Asta slashed debris with his sword, Luck punched through collapsing stone, and Saru, with a grin, summoned dozens of mini-clouds around them.
"Celestial Magic: Skydancer Shield!" he called.
The clouds darted ahead, bouncing debris away from their path, carving a tunnel of safety through the chaos.
"I—I don't know the way out!" Yuno shouted, eyes wide with panic.
"GO RIGHT!!" Luck screamed. "TRUST ME!"
Without hesitation, Yuno veered right.
"I'll guide you!" Luck said, planting his feet beside him and helping steer the wind flow.
"Hehehe… then I'll keep protecting us!" Saru laughed, clouds bouncing more rubble away as he carried Noelle and Mimosa like golden princesses through the falling hellscape.
Moments later, with a final blinding rush, they burst through the collapsing entrance—just as the dungeon behind them imploded, sending a shockwave through the surrounding forest.
They landed, panting, on the grass, staring as the massive ruin crumbled into dust.
Silence.
Then Asta dropped flat onto the ground. "We… we made it…"
Klaus coughed violently. "Remind me… to never… go dungeon diving… with you people… again…"
Noelle pushed herself off Saru's shoulder and smacked him on the head. "Don't carry me like that again, you little monkey!!"
Mimosa flushed crimson and slid off his other shoulder, bowing quickly. "T-Thank you for the rescue…"
Saru just grinned and flopped onto the grass. "Hehehe… I love field trips."
But high above, drifting silently through the clouds, two cloaked figures watched the collapsing dungeon from a distance.
The Diamond Mages. Battered. But alive.
And between them floated a handful of enchanted relics and spellbooks—plundered treasures from the vault that had gone unnoticed in the chaos.
One of them sneered. "Let them celebrate… For now."
They vanished into the clouds.