OP Absorption
Chapter 34: Won But At What Cost

Chapter 34: Won But At What Cost

Sam, Jolly, and Fin sat at the edge of the crater where the dragon had fallen. The battle’s aftermath spread around them—scorched earth, shattered debris, and an eerie silence that had replaced the chaos.

Fin stared at his hands, still processing everything that had happened. The dual cores inside him had gone quiet after the explosion, leaving him hollow.

"You should eat something," Jolly said, offering him dried meat from her pack.

He shook his head. "Not hungry."

Sam sighed, adjusting his damaged shield. "It’s been three hours. You need to keep your strength up."

"For what?" His voice came out harsher than intended. "The mission’s over. The dragon’s dead."

"And you nearly died killing it," Jolly replied. "That was... I’ve never seen anything like that before."

Fin closed his eyes, trying to block out the memory of Juliana’s face as she faded away, her life force pouring into him. The warmth of her sacrifice still lingered somewhere deep inside.

"We should head back soon," Sam said, breaking the silence. "The other survivors need to know it’s safe."

"What about Juliana?" Fin asked, finally looking up. "We can’t just leave her out there."

Jolly nodded. "We’ll get her. But first, you need to tell us what happened."

He took a deep breath and explained everything—finding Juliana with the zombie guardian, offering himself as a replacement, and how she had given him her core to save him.

"She didn’t even know me," he said, voice cracking. "Not really. And she gave up everything."

Sam’s expression softened. "Some people are just like that. Heroes in ways that don’t make sense to the rest of us."

"She wasn’t trying to be a hero," Fin said. "She just... cared."

"That’s what makes it matter," Jolly replied quietly.

They sat in silence for a while longer, watching the sun sink toward the horizon. The distant ruins of the city seemed peaceful now, as if the zombie threat had diminished with the dragon’s fall.

"Do you think that zombie guardian is still out there?" Fin finally asked. "The one guarding Juliana?"

"Maybe," Sam said. "But it didn’t stop you from leaving, did it? Its purpose might have ended when the dragon died."

Fin stood up, wincing slightly as his body protested. "We should find out. And we need to bring Juliana back."

"Are you sure you’re ready?" Jolly asked, concern evident in her voice.

"No," he admitted. "But I owe her this much."

The three of them gathered their remaining gear and headed toward the clearing where Juliana’s body lay. The walk was slow, each step reminding Fin of his mad dash back to the battlefield just hours before.

"What will happen to the cores inside you?" Sam asked as they walked. "Two cores in one body—I’ve never heard of such a thing."

He shrugged. "I don’t know. I can still feel them, but they’re quiet now. Drained."

"The Guild will want to examine you when we get back," Jolly said. "This could change everything we know about Hunters."

"I don’t care about that right now," he replied.

They reached the clearing as the last light faded from the sky. Juliana lay exactly as Fin had left her, hands folded over her chest, face peaceful. The zombie guardian was gone.

He knelt beside her, gently brushing hair from her face. "I’m sorry," he whispered.

"We should make a proper carrier," Sam said, looking around for materials.

Sam fashioned a stretcher from fallen branches and torn cloth from his pack. They laid Juliana’s body gently onto it, her peaceful expression unchanged.

"Ready?" Sam asked, gripping one end of the makeshift carrier.

Fin nodded and took the other end. The weight felt lighter than it should, as if Juliana had already begun fading away. The thought made his chest tighten.

They moved through the ruins in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Jolly walked ahead, clearing debris from their path and keeping watch for any remaining threats.

Halfway back to the survivor camp, the ground beneath them shuddered.

"What was that?" Jolly stopped, hand moving to her sword.

A second tremor, stronger than the first, nearly knocked them off their feet. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground.

"The dungeon’s collapsing," Sam said, eyes wide with disbelief. "We need to move. Now!"

Around them, buildings began crumbling as the very fabric of the dungeon started folding in on itself. Walls melted into the ground, trees withered and vanished, and the sky above darkened unnaturally.

"This isn’t possible," Jolly shouted as they broke into a run. "Dungeons don’t just close. Only rifts do that!"

"Tell that to the dungeon!" Fin called back, struggling to keep Juliana’s body steady as they ran.

An exit appeared—a wavering tear in reality that had allowed them entrance—pulsed with unstable energy ahead. Other survivors were already racing toward it, panicked shouts filling the air.

"It’s shrinking," Sam warned, picking up speed.

They pushed harder, ignoring burning muscles and ragged breath. The ground continued to buckle beneath them, threatening to swallow them whole.

With one final sprint, they leaped through the closing rift, tumbling onto solid ground as the dungeon entrance snapped shut behind them with an otherworldly sound—like reality itself exhaling in relief.

Fin rolled onto his back, gulping down clean air. The stretcher had broken in their desperate escape, but he’d managed to keep Juliana’s body from hitting the ground.

As his vision cleared, he realized they weren’t alone.

Far from it.

The field outside the now-vanished dungeon entrance was packed with people. Hunters stood in tight groups, many looking shell-shocked as they counted their losses. Guild officials in formal attire argued in heated circles.

And on the periphery, news vans with extended antennas and camera crews jostled for position.

"What the hell?" Fin muttered, sitting up.

Jolly helped him to his feet. "This is your first time right? Great work in there, enjoy the spotlight."

A reporter spotted them—three battered Hunters, one carrying a body—and her eyes lit up with the unmistakable gleam of a breaking story. She signaled to her cameraman and rushed over, microphone extended.

"Excuse me! You just came out of the dungeon! Can you tell us what happened in there? Was that a Class S threat? How many casualties?"

More reporters noticed the commotion and swarmed toward them, shouting questions over each other.

"Is the threat neutralized?" "Who’s responsible for the Guild’s failed response?" "Who’s the dead girl?"

That last question made Fin’s blood boil. He clutched Juliana’s body closer.

"Back off," he growled, but the crowd pressed in, cameras flashing.

"Are you a senior Hunter? What’s your name? How did you survive when so many Guild Masters fell?"

Something snapped inside Fin. "I said BACK OFF!"

His voice carried an unexpected power, pushing the reporters back a step. The sudden silence felt like a physical thing.

"She has a name," he said, voice lower but no less intense. "She’s not your story. Now piss off and let us through."

The shock on their faces might have been satisfying under different circumstances. He pushed past them, cradling Juliana in his arms, heading away from the chaos.

Sam and Jolly flanked him, creating a protective barrier against the renewed attempts by reporters to approach. They headed toward a Guild medical tent set up on the edge of the field.

As they walked, Jolly leaned close to Fin, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Something’s not right," she whispered. "If she was born in the dungeon like you said..."

"What?" Fin asked, not slowing his pace.

Jolly glanced down at Juliana’s body, still intact in his arms. "Why is her body still here? Dungeon-born creatures always disappear when they die, returning to the mana stream. And they definitely disappear when the dungeon collapses."

Fin stopped walking, the implication hitting him like a physical blow. He looked down at Juliana’s peaceful face, questions multiplying in his mind.

"Then what was she?" he asked quietly.

Jolly shook her head. "I don’t know. But whatever she was... she wasn’t just a dungeon born."

Sam gestured toward the medical tent. "We should keep moving. Those vultures are regrouping."

He nodded, but his mind raced with new possibilities as they continued forward, away from the reporters and the vanished dungeon that had changed everything.

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