Catgirls And Dungeons (Yuri)

After swiftly destroying the last of the spider eggs, we finally step forward, onto the surface of the small frozen lake.

The air here feels different.

Thicker.

Heavier.

Colder.

Every breath I take feels like it's being filtered through frost. The silence is suffocating, wrapped in stillness so complete it almost hums.

Ahead of us, the frozen waterfall looms tall and unyielding. Its jagged edges glisten under the distant shimmer of the aurora overhead. The cascade is locked in time—mid-fall—like a thick curtain of glass hung between the rocks.

Eris and I come to a stop a few feet from its base.

She glances toward me, her face sharp with focus.

"You're sure it's coming from here?"

I nod once, firmly.

"Yeah… It's in there."

I don't even hesitate now.

The pressure….

The dread…

It's clawing at my chest, twisting in my stomach. It isn't just nearby anymore.

It's inside.

Or more precisely… behind this icy wall.

Eris exhales slowly, her breath curling visibly in the frigid air.

"Alright then. Step aside, Felicia."

Without a word, I retreat, taking several careful steps backward. Inky hovers beside me, small in his spirit form, his shadow fur bristling with tension. His ears twitch, and his glowing eyes remain fixed on the frozen veil ahead.

Eris takes a deep breath, then rolls her shoulders once. Slowly, she lifts her arm and clenches her fist.

A pulse of dark mana floods through her body.

Crackling lines of shadow ripple beneath her skin. Mana gathers around her arm like a swirling storm, wrapping tightly around her muscles—coiling, hardening—until it forms a jagged gauntlet of pure shadow.

And then—

BOOM!

Her fist slams into the wall of ice with explosive force.

The sound cracks through the air like thunder.

Shards of ice burst outward in every direction. A wave of wind and snow explodes from the impact point, throwing back my hair and making Inky flutter briefly in the air. The sheer force shakes the surface of the lake beneath our feet.

But—

As the frost settles…

As the mist clears…

The waterfall remains.

Unbroken.

"…What?"

Eris blinks in disbelief, her voice low with surprise.

I stare too, mouth slightly agape.

Impossible!

That punch—

THE punch.

The one that can collapse stone walls. Split boulders. Leave craters in solid ground.

It didn't even scratch this?

"Tch!"

Eris clicks her tongue. Not with irritation, but with interest. A slow, dangerous grin curves across her face.

Her eyes gleam.

"Interesting," she murmurs, voice filled with challenge.

"Well then, let's try this again!"

She plants her feet firmly on the frozen lake, spreading her stance. The ice beneath her boots cracks faintly from the pressure, a warning of what's to come.

Her body coils, every muscle winding like a spring ready to snap.

Black lightning begins to spark across her skin—crackling arcs of shadow-drenched energy dancing over her arms and shoulders. The air thickens, mana swirling around her like a storm. I can feel it from here—dense, suffocating. Every heartbeat of hers pulses outward in dark waves, vibrating through the air, through the ground, through my chest.

And then—

FWOOM.

The colossal hammer once again materializes in her hands.

Massive. Ominous. Heavy with power!

Veins of black-violet energy pulse along its surface, glowing like arteries feeding into something alive. Something hungry!

Eris draws the weapon back behind her, both hands gripping the hilt. Her entire frame glows faintly. Her breath fogs in the air as her focus narrows. Her body is a weapon now, one perfect moment away from release.

Then—

She swings.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The world shatters!

The ground quakes beneath us.

A deafening shockwave erupts outward, blasting shards of ice high into the sky like an explosion of crystal. The lake groans, splinters forming beneath our feet. Wind tears across my face, and I raise my arms to shield myself, teeth clenched.

Even from this distance…

The sheer force of the strike nearly knocks the breath out of me.

And then…

When the dust settles—

When the mist clears—

I slowly lower my arms, blinking through the haze.

The waterfall is gone.

Not broken.

Not cracked.

ANNIHILATED!!!

Reduced to glittering fragments that now rain down across the lake, sparkling in the pale aurora light like falling stars.

And behind where the frozen cascade once stood…

Something waits.

A vortex.

A swirling mass of dark energy twists in the air, humming with raw, unstable power. It pulses like it's alive, discharging bolts of red lightning that arc across the stones.

My mouth goes dry.

"What…?" Eris breathes, her eyes wide.

I can't speak.

My tail bristles.

Goosebumps race down my arms.

The fear is back—but not just fear. Dread.

Because I recognize it for what it really is.

We both do.

A gate.

A dungeon entrance!

And its color… is dark red.

Blood red.

Ominous and Deadly.

I clutch my coat tightly around me, staring up at it in stunned silence.

For a long moment, neither of us says a word.

Because we know what this means.

"I-Is that…?" I finally whisper, barely able to form the words.

Eris doesn't answer at first. Her hands tremble. Her lips curl into a grin, but her eyes remain locked on the gate, sharp and wary.

"Yeah," she says under her breath. "An A-rank gate."

Then she pauses.

Her gaze narrows.

Her expression tightens.

"Actually… no," she mutters, voice dropping to a whisper. "From that aura alone… it might be worse."

My heart skips.

"S-rank?"

"Yeah, I think so."

…

…

"S-So… what should we do with this?" I ask, my voice barely more than a whisper.

I can't believe it…

We're standing in front of an actual S-rank gate.

A FREAKING S-RANK GATE!

One of the most dangerous dungeon classifications in the entire Adventurer's Guild system—places where even elite teams vanish without a trace!

"Isn't it obvious?" Eris says with a dry, uneasy laugh. Her grin holds a thin edge of tension. "We go back and report it. Yahaha, I literally cannot wait to see that old man's face when he hears another S-rank gate just showed up out here!"

"Nn." I nod shakily.

Right. Yes. That's the only thing we can do.

This is not something even Eris can just stroll into and clear. Not alone. That would be suicidal, utterly stupid.

Yeah, there's no way in hell we are entering that.

We should leave.

We have to leave.

"Still…" she murmurs softly, her eyes wide as she stares into the swirling vortex. "Felicia… isn't it kind of beautiful?"

I open my mouth to respond—to say something like, Yeah… it really is.

But—

Suddenly, for some god-knows-what reasons…

The words never come.

Eh???

My voice freezes in my throat.

My chest tightens.

My limbs lock—no, worse…

They move—but not because I'm tell them to!!!

My breath catches as my legs begin stepping forward.

One step.

Two steps.

Toward the gate.

W-What…?

Wait…

WAIT A MINUTE—

Oh no.

OH NO NO NO—

Eris is still watching the gate, lost in quiet wonder, unaware.

And I—

I keep fucking moving!!!

Closer.

And closer.

My body keeps walking, steady and slow, like I'm sleepwalking!

STOP.

STOP RIGHT NOW!

WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!

ERISSS!!!

ERIS HELP MEEE!!!

I try to scream.

Try to call her name.

But my lips won't move!

My throat won't open!

My voice is trapped inside me, silent and screaming.

Panic crashes over me like a tidal wave.

Cold. Suffocating.

I can't blink. I can't even tremble.

My fingers twitch.

My hand lifts.

And slowly… it reaches for the S-rank gate.

…

"No—Felicia?" Eris finally notices. She blinks, confused. "You should step back—it isn't safe!"

But I don't stop.

I can't!!!

She blinks, realizing something's wrong. Her brow tightens. She steps forward quickly and grabs my arm.

But then—

What the hell the thing controlling my body is—

It snaps.

I can feel it emotions…

Irritation.

Oh fuck…

My head jerks unnaturally to the side.

I seize her wrist.

And twist it.

CRACK.

Breaks her bones.

Her eyes widen in shock.

But before she can react—

In one violent, inhuman motion, I flip her over my shoulder.

BOOOOM!!!

She crashes into the ground hard enough to shatter the ice beneath her. Frost sprays into the air like glass shards.

"ERIS!!!" I scream—inside, voiceless and desperate.

Eris coughs blood, eyes wide with pain—but she doesn't let go.

She holds onto my arm, gritting her teeth, refusing to release me.

But I feel my other hand rise.

No…

I try to stop myself…

NO!!!

But… it's futile.

I SWING.

Eris's body is launched through the air like a rag doll!

BOOOM!!!

She crashes into a boulder two hundred meters away, and it explodes, stone and snow scattering like ash.

I scream again.

Internally.

Desperately.

"NO! ERIS!!! ERISSSS!!!"

But my voice is useless. I'm literally a prisoner in my own skin.

A puppet. A spectator!!!

And with Eris out of the way, what I fear the most comes.

My body take a step, into the gate.

And just like that, the gate swallows me whole.

Transporting me into that S rank dungeon.