---
The crack on Floor 19 widened another inch overnight.
Anya's webs still glowed undisturbed, but everyone felt it—a pressure in the air, a weight in their minds, a presence pressing against the edges of awareness. The Watcher was pushing. Testing. Waiting.
"They'll come tonight," Velvet predicted at the morning council. "The scouts failed, so he'll send something stronger. Hunters."
"What are hunters?" Tobin asked.
"Scouts gather information. Hunters gather prey." Velvet's multiple eyes were grim. "They're rger, faster, and designed for one purpose: to find fragments, kill witnesses, and consume cores as quickly as possible. If they breach our defenses, we'll lose fragments faster than we can protect them."
"Then we don't let them breach." Lilith's voice was steel. "Every fragment chamber gets double guards. Every corridor gets web traps. Every monster girl stays alert."
"And the younger ones?" Ruri asked quietly.
Everyone fell silent.
The younger generation—slime children, spider children, the future of the dungeon—had proven brave during the scout attack. But hunters were different. Deadlier. If they got through...
"They stay in the deepest chambers," Lilith decided. "Protected by our strongest. If the worst happens, they survive. They're our future."
No one argued.
---
The day passed in tense preparation.
Mel's kitchen worked overtime, producing energy-rich food for defenders. Shiny's forge never stopped, crafting weapons and armor for anyone who could fight. Ember and Frost created environmental traps—pits of fire, sheets of ice—that could be activated remotely.
Bubbles trained her children in emergency protocols. "If you see a shadow that moves wrong, you run. You don't fight. You don't hide. You run and you scream. Understand?"
"Yes, Mama." Puddle nodded solemnly, her siblings echoing.
Nearby, Dusk gathered Drip and Drop close. "You two stay with me tonight. No arguments."
"But Mama, we can help—"
"You can help by surviving." Dusk's voice brooked no argument. "I've lost you once. I won't lose you again."
Drip and Drop exchanged gnces, then nodded.
---
Night fell.
The dungeon darkened—not completely, but enough. Glimmer's crystals dimmed to their lowest setting, conserving mana for emergency use. Shadows stretched and deepened, creating perfect hiding pces for things that shouldn't exist.
Dusk patrolled constantly, her shadow form moving through darkness like a fish through water. She felt them before she saw them—a wrongness in the shadows, a hunger that didn't belong.
"They're here," she whispered into the web network.
Instantly, everyone tensed.
The first hunter emerged from the crack on Floor 19.
It was rger than a scout—twice the size, with a body that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Multiple limbs ended in razor-sharp cws. A mouth that shouldn't exist opened in its chest, revealing rows of teeth. And its eyes—dozens of them, scattered across its surface—glowed with hungry intelligence.
Anya's webs screamed warning.
The hunter moved.
It flowed through the corridor faster than anything that size should move, cws scraping stone, mouth gaping. Two spider guards intercepted it—and were thrown aside like toys.
"FLOOR 19! HUNTER!" The warning echoed through the dungeon.
Lilith arrived within seconds, her power bzing. She struck the hunter with concentrated force—enough to kill a scout ten times over.
The hunter barely staggered.
"What IS this thing?" she shouted.
"Hunter," Velvet's voice came through the network. "They're designed to absorb attacks. You have to overwhelm them."
"Then we overwhelm."
She struck again—and again—and again.
---
[Hunter Breach: Floor 19]
[Hunter Durability: Extreme - Absorbs Attacks]
[Lilith's Engagement: Going All-Out]
---
While Lilith fought, more hunters emerged.
Two on Floor 18. Three on Floor 17. One on Floor 16, slipping past defenses entirely and heading straight for the fragment chambers.
"FLOOR 16! HUNTER BREACHED! TOWARD FRAGMENTS!"
Ruri's squad responded instantly—Mel, Shiny, Ember, and Frost, moving as a unit. They met the hunter outside Fragment Chamber 7, where four young slimes stood guard.
"Get inside!" Mel shouted to the guards. "Lock the door! Don't come out!"
"But we can fight—"
"YOU'RE F-RANK! INSIDE! NOW!"
The young slimes fled into the chamber, sealing the door behind them. Mel turned to face the hunter, honey already streaming from her body.
"Together," she said quietly.
Her sisters nodded.
The hunter charged.
Mel's honey met it first—not to trap, but to blind. Thick streams covered its eyes, disorienting it. Shiny followed, her metal form smming into its legs, disrupting its bance. Ember and Frost combined their powers—fire heating the honey, ice freezing it, creating a shell around the hunter's body.
It thrashed. Screamed. Burned.
But it kept moving.
"More!" Ruri arrived, her queen's power flooding the corridor. "EVERYONE TOGETHER!"
They hit it with everything—honey, metal, fire, ice, and Ruri's command energy, compelling it to stop, to yield, to die.
The hunter colpsed.
Not dead—but down. Temporarily disabled.
"Secure it," Ruri ordered. "Move to next breach."
---
[Floor 16 Hunter: Temporarily Disabled]
[Fragment Chamber 7: Protected - Guards Safe]
[Ruri's Squad: Effective - Coordinated Attack]
---
Other floors weren't so lucky.
Floor 18's hunters reached their target before defenders could intervene. Fragment Chamber 4's door shattered under their assault. Inside, two young slime guards stood before the fragment they'd sworn to protect.
"Run," one whispered to the other. "Warn everyone."
"But—"
"GO!"
The younger one ran, screaming for help. The older one turned to face the hunters, alone.
When help arrived minutes ter, they found the chamber empty. The fragment was gone—consumed. The young slime who'd stayed was nowhere to be found. Only a small puddle of shimmering slime remained on the floor.
Mel found it first.
She knelt, touching the puddle gently. It was warm—still warm—but fading.
"She was E-rank," Mel whispered. "Barely more than a child. She stayed so the other could escape."
Ruri arrived, saw the puddle, and closed her eyes.
"Her name?"
"Does it matter?" Mel's voice cracked. "She was ours. She was family."
Ruri pulled her close. "It matters. We remember. Always."
They stood together, mourning a nameless hero who'd given everything for her duty.
---
[Casualties: 1 Young Slime - E-Rank, Unnamed]
[Fragment Lost: 1 - Consumed by Hunters]
[Heroism: Young Slime Sacrificed Herself for Warning]
[Dungeon Grief: First True Loss]
---
The battle raged for hours.
Hunters fell. Defenders fell. Fragments were saved or lost in equal measure. By dawn, the dungeon was exhausted, bleeding, and changed.
Final tally:
· Hunters Destroyed: 11
· Hunters Escaped: 3
· Fragments Lost: 4
· Defenders Lost: 3 young slimes, 2 spider children
· Defenders Injured: Dozens, including several Originals
The cost was devastating.
Dawn worked nonstop, healing wound after wound, her light dimming with each patient. She found Drip and Drop hiding in their mother's shadows, terrified but alive. She found Puddle and her siblings huddled together, crying for their fallen sister.
She found Baldo, injured but alive, and colpsed against him.
"I couldn't save everyone," she whispered. "I tried. I tried."
"You saved everyone you could." He held her close. "That's enough. That has to be enough."
"Is it? Is it ever enough?"
He didn't have an answer.
---
[Battle Aftermath: Heavy Casualties]
[Fragments Lost: 4]
[Defenders Lost: 5 Young - Unnamed Heroes]
[Survivors: Grieving, Traumatized, Determined]
[Dawn's Burden: Couldn't Save Everyone]
---
In my core room, I pulsed with grief and fury.
Five children. Five young lives, cut short protecting their family. They had names—I knew them, even if the story didn't record them. I'd felt their light, their ughter, their love. Now they were gone.
Lilith.
She appeared, exhausted and bloodied. "Master."
We can't keep losing them like this.
"I know."
I'm going to do something. Something risky.
"What?"
I pulsed with ancient power—the same power I'd used to manifest during the goblin war. But this time, I wouldn't manifest physically. I'd pour my essence into my family. Into every monster girl, every defender, every child.
I'm going to empower them. All of them. Give them a piece of my primordial strength.
"That could kill you."
It could. Or it could save us.
"Master—"
I won't watch more children die while I hide. I won't.
Lilith stared at me for a long moment.
Then she nodded.
"Do it. And whatever happens—I'm with you."
---
The empowerment ritual took three days.
I reached into the deepest part of myself—the primordial core, the ancient power that had slept for millennia—and pulled. Energy flowed through my crystal, through the dungeon, into every monster girl who called this pce home.
They felt it.
Bubbles gasped as power flooded her, her bubbles turning from crimson to brilliant gold. Mel's honey gained a shimmering quality, healing properties she'd never had. Shiny's metal form became almost unbreakable. Ember and Frost's powers deepened, expanded, evolved.
The younger ones felt it most. Those who'd been F-rank surged to E. E-rank touched D. The fallen children's siblings gained strength in memory of their lost family.
And the queens transformed.
Lilith's wings grew, her power quintupling. Ruri's command over slimes became absolute—she could now sense every slime in the dungeon simultaneously. Anya's webs gained prophetic properties; she could now see seconds into the future, anticipating attacks before they happened.
By the third day, the dungeon was transformed.
[Empowerment Ritual: COMPLETE]
[MC Status: Weakened - But Alive]
[All Monster Girls: Rank Increased by 1]
[Queens: New Abilities Unlocked]
[Younger Generation: Strengthened Significantly]
---
But the empowerment came at a cost.
I was exhausted—more exhausted than I'd ever been. My crystal dimmed. My awareness flickered. For hours at a time, I slipped into darkness, unable to perceive the world around me.
Lilith stayed constantly, holding me, talking to me, keeping me anchored.
"Stay with me, Master. Don't go where I can't follow."
Trying... so tired...
"I know. But our family needs you. I need you. So stay. Fight. Live."
I pulsed weakly.
For you... always...
---
[MC Status: Critical - Recovery Days/Weeks]
[Lilith's Vigil: Constant, Unwavering]
[Dungeon: Stronger Than Ever, But Core Vulnerable]
---
Deep beneath the dungeon, the Watcher felt the empowerment.
Its hunters had failed—mostly. Four fragments consumed, yes, but dozens remained. And now the little dungeon's defenders were stronger. More united. More dangerous.
It should have been frustrated.
Instead, it was pleased.
Because the core had revealed itself. Poured out its power. Weakened itself to save its family.
And a weakened core was a vulnerable core.
The Watcher pulsed with anticipation. Soon—very soon—it would send something the little dungeon couldn't stop. Something designed specifically for one purpose:
To reach the core room.
To consume the primordial.
To win.
It settled back into darkness, patient as ever, dreaming of vengeance at st.
---
END OF CHAPTER 17
---
[Chapter 18 Preview: The Watcher's Champion]
The Watcher sends its ultimate weapon—a champion forged from consumed cores, designed specifically to breach the dungeon's defenses and reach the core room. It's faster than hunters, stronger than anything the defenders have faced, and immune to most forms of attack.
The queens unite against it—Lilith, Ruri, and Anya fighting together for the first time. The Original Nine join them, pouring every evolved power into the battle. Even the younger generation contributes, using their new strength to protect fragment chambers and evacuate the vulnerable.
But the champion isn't interested in fragments. It ignores them completely, heading straight for Floor 20, then Floor 10, then Floor 1—toward my core room.
Toward me.
Lilith makes a choice that will change everything. And in my weakened state, I can only watch as my first queen faces the Watcher's champion alone.
Not all will survive the night.
---
Author's thought:-
This chapter marks a turning point for the dungeon.
Until now, the family had managed to survive every threat without losing anyone important. But war against something as ancient as the Watcher was never going to stay bloodless.
The unnamed young defenders who fell protecting the fragments represent the heart of this dungeon — courage, loyalty, and sacrifice. Their strength is the reason the dungeon continues to stand.
Because of them, the core made a dangerous choice: sharing its primordial power with the entire family.
But power always comes with a cost.
The Watcher has noticed the core’s weakness… and the next attack will be far more dangerous.
If you enjoyed the chapter and want to support the story, consider following and favoriting the novel. It really helps the dungeon grow.
Also, I’m curious:
Do you think the dungeon can survive the Watcher’s Champion?
