In the Shadow of the Dragon: Isekai Adventure

Descent into the Third Layer

With excitement brimming in their hearts, Li Ran, Darkmoon Dragon Princess, and Neo stepped into the third layer of the Forbidden Abyss. Unlike the previous levels, the atmosphere here was oppressive, thick with the scent of sulfur. The walls bore deep scorch marks, remnants of violent battles or the presence of a powerful terrified-based creature.

"The energy here… it's far more chaotic than the previous layers," Darkmoon Dragon Princess murmured, her piercing gaze scanning the darkened corridors.

Li Ran narrowed his eyes, gripping the Boundary Severing Blade tightly. "This presence… I recognize it." His voice was steady but tense. "Hellhounds."

But something was different.

Unlike their previous encounters with packs of these beasts during the S-rank guild mission, the hellhounds here did not move in groups. Instead, they roamed individually, as though patrolling their territory, searching for prey.

"Their behavior has changed," Li Ran muttered under his breath, his mind racing to analyze the shift. "They're not acting like wild monsters… They're following a pattern."

Beside him, Neo diligently recorded everything on his enchanted map, carefully noting the positions of the wandering hellhounds. The more he observed, the more he realized—these creatures weren't just randomly patrolling. They were forming a natural perimeter.

"If we don't deal with these monsters in time, their numbers will overflow. Once they run out of space inside the labyrinth, they'll spill out into the world," Li Ran stated, his voice carrying a weight of certainty.

Neo's face paled at the implications. "If that happens, the human kingdoms will be in serious trouble." Without hesitation, he made a special annotation on the map, marking critical areas where containment would be necessary.

"We need to clear this layer before that happens," Darkmoon Dragon Princess affirmed, her expression unreadable but firm.

Elemental Variations: A Tactical Discovery

As the battles unfolded, Darkmoon Dragon Princess noticed something peculiar—these hellhounds were not identical. Their eyes glowed in different colors, indicating elemental variations.

Red-eyed Hellhounds – Fire Attribute: Capable of spewing scorching flames, incinerating everything in their path.

Purple-eyed Hellhounds – Poison Attribute: Released thick, paralyzing poison mist that could cripple an enemy's movements.

Blue-eyed Hellhounds – Ice Attribute: Unleashed bone-chilling frost, freezing targets solid.

"This information is invaluable!" Neo exclaimed, feverishly scribbling down notes. "If we can categorize their traits, we can revolutionize how future adventurers handle this labyrinth!"

Armed with this knowledge, Li Ran and Darkmoon Dragon Princess adjusted their tactics, exploiting each hellhound's weaknesses to eliminate them in three precise moves.

The Fire-Eyed Hellhound: A Battle of Speed and Power

The first hellhound crouched low, its glowing crimson eyes burning like embers. With a deep snarl, it lunged forward—a storm of fire bursting from its jaws, engulfing everything in its path!

Spatial Barrier – Defense

Without hesitation, Li Ran slashed the air with the Boundary Severing Blade, creating an invisible spatial rift that tore the flames apart, snuffing out the hellfire before it could reach them.

Moonshadow Claw – Counter

Darkmoon Dragon Princess extended her hand, shadows swirling around her fingertips. "Moonshadow Claw!" Black talons materialized, slicing through the hellhound's forelegs, crippling its movement. The beast let out a pained snarl, its movements sluggish.

Dimensional Rift Slash – Fatal Strike

Li Ran seized the moment, gripping his sword tightly. A void-black slash erupted from the blade, cleaving through the beast's throat in an instant!

With a final, guttural growl, the fire-eyed hellhound collapsed into a smoldering heap.

"Next," Li Ran exhaled sharply, his gaze already shifting to the next opponent.

The Poison-Eyed Hellhound: A Battle of Cunning and Deception

The next beast did not charge. Instead, it stood at a distance, opening its massive jaws. A wave of purple-black mist erupted from its maw, spreading like an eerie fog.

"That mist… It's not just poison," Neo realized, "it's laced with paralysis magic!"

Dimensional Fracture – Dispersion

Li Ran's blade carved through the air, sending a violent shockwave that ripped the toxic mist apart, clearing the battlefield in an instant.

Shadow Devour – Ensnare

Darkmoon Dragon Princess whispered an incantation, her shadows surging forth like serpents. The hellhound found itself ensnared, its limbs locked in place by writhing tendrils of darkness.

Spatial Severance – Execution

Appearing behind the immobilized beast in a blink, Li Ran brought his sword down in a final, decisive arc. A single precise cut silenced the creature forever.

The Ice-Eyed Hellhound: A Battle of Endurance and Precision

The final enemy howled, and from its mouth erupted a blizzard-like frost, coating the entire battlefield in ice.

"It's trying to limit our movement!" Darkmoon Dragon Princess realized, already moving into action.

Spatial Step – Evasion

Li Ran vanished in an instant, reappearing just outside the frost zone, completely untouched.

Shadow Chains – Immobilization

Darkmoon Dragon Princess lashed out with black chains, binding the beast's legs and stopping it from launching another attack.

Dimensional Rupture – Annihilation

With an emotionless gaze, Li Ran lifted his sword. One final slash. A void tore through space itself, shattering the frozen hellhound like brittle glass.

An Unexpected Presence in the Depths

With the three elemental hellhounds defeated, Neo quickly sketched their characteristics into the map, overwhelmed by the wealth of new knowledge.

"This data alone will change how adventurers approach the labyrinth forever," he murmured, barely containing his excitement.

But just as they thought their battle was over, a heavy, suffocating pressure filled the air.

The ground trembled.

A deep, guttural growl echoed from the unexplored region ahead.

From the darkness emerged a colossal three-headed hellhound, each of its heads bearing a different elemental glow—fire, poison, and ice combined into one monstrous entity.

The Hellhound King: A Battle Against an Apex Predator

"This thing… is at least twice as strong as the ones before," Neo stammered, gripping his map tightly.

Li Ran exchanged a glance with Darkmoon Dragon Princess.

This was going to be a real fight.

Elemental Onslaught: The Final Battle Against the Hellhound King

The chamber trembled as the Hellhound King unleashed its devastating onslaught.

The Fire Head roared, releasing a torrential inferno, turning the entire battlefield into a blazing hellscape. The scorching heat distorted the air, and the stone floor cracked under the sheer intensity of the flames.

The Poison Head followed suit, exhaling a dense, venomous fog that spread rapidly, choking the atmosphere with a noxious miasma. The sickly green fumes clung to the air, burning the lungs of anyone who dared to breathe it in.

The Ice Head raised its snout to the ceiling and howled, summoning a storm of razor-sharp ice shards. The frozen daggers rained down, covering the battlefield in an unforgiving tundra, making movement treacherous.

The sheer combination of fire, poison, and ice made escape impossible. There was no room for hesitation.

Barrier Severance – The Counterattack

"Together!" Li Ran shouted, his Boundary Severing Blade shimmering with a haunting glow as he prepared to counter the relentless assault.

Darkmoon Dragon Princess extended her staff, shadows coiling around her fingers like living tendrils. "Moonshadow Barrier!" she commanded.

A massive black dome of lunar energy erupted from her staff, expanding outward like a shield of the night itself. The raging inferno crashed against the barrier, its searing flames swallowed whole by the darkness, leaving behind nothing but dying embers.

But before they could catch their breath, the venomous mist crept closer.

Li Ran moved without hesitation. A single slash of his sword sent a shockwave through the air—"Dimensional Rift Slash!" The very fabric of space distorted as his blade tore through the toxic miasma, parting the deadly fog like a curtain.

"Not good enough!"

The Ice Head lunged forward, its frozen breath condensing in the air, threatening to encase them in an icy tomb.

Darkmoon Dragon Princess gracefully pivoted, raising her staff once more. "Moonshadow Claw!" Ethereal black talons materialized, ripping through the frozen mist, shattering the deadly ice shards before they could reach them.

Even against a three-pronged assault, they had held their ground—but the Hellhound King was far from finished.

Its three heads howled in unison, dark energy swirling around its body.

It was preparing a final, devastating attack.

Ultimate Dimensional Slash + Abyss Devour – Overpowering the Beast

The Hellhound King's entire body surged with raw elemental power, its aura expanding, distorting the space around it. Fire ignited along its mane, poison seeped into its claws, and frost coated its fangs—it was preparing to unleash all three elements at once.

A cataclysmic explosion was imminent.

But Li Ran and Darkmoon Dragon Princess were already moving.

Li Ran vanished in an instant, reappearing midair above the beast. His Boundary Severing Blade pulsed with unrestrained power, a rift of black void splitting open around him.

"Ultimate Dimensional Slash!"

With a single downward swing, the very laws of reality fractured—an abyssal cut sliced through the air, aimed directly at the beast's core.

At the same time, Darkmoon Dragon Princess stood firm, her staff raised high. "Abyss Devour!"

The shadows beneath them surged like a tidal wave, forming a bottomless abyss that swallowed the Hellhound King's legs, binding it in place.

The beast thrashed violently, but it was too late.

Li Ran's blade met its mark—the severing force ripped through the monster's chest, shattering its three elemental cores in one decisive strike.

A moment of silence.

Then—

BOOOOOOM!

A deafening explosion of pure, uncontrolled energy consumed the entire chamber. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air, making the labyrinth walls tremble as if the abyss itself was screaming.

As the dust settled, all that remained was the smoldering pile of ashes, the Hellhound King utterly obliterated.

Li Ran exhaled sharply, his blade still humming from the sheer force of the battle.

Darkmoon Dragon Princess lowered her staff, the blackened shadows dissipating into the void, her eyes locked onto the remnants of their fallen foe.

Neo, who had been watching in stunned silence, finally collapsed onto his knees, gasping. "You… you two… are monsters."

Li Ran smirked, resting his sword against his shoulder. "You'll get used to it."

But as the silence stretched on, an unsettling realization crept over them.

The Hellhound King was not the final threat of this labyrinth.

Somewhere deeper within the abyss, something far more terrifying was waiting.

And it had just felt them coming.