Catgirls And Dungeons (Yuri)-Chapter 125: A big jump

So… my thoughts were right.

This sprawling, crumbling castle—it is Luminaris.

And this entire S-rank dungeon? It's actually what's left of Princess Felicia's home. A piece of her world, torn from the past and trapped inside a twisted pocket dimension.

"What happened?" I ask. "Why is it like this now?"

However—

"I'll tell you later. Right now, I'm in a hurry." she replies coldly.

And then, she moves. No—we move.

Her hands, her legs, my body.

Running forward, sprinting fast.

And though her expression is composed, there's something beneath it.

Ba-dump! ba-dump! ba-dump!

I can feel her heart hammering in her chest. Or maybe it's mine. Or both.

She's anxious, worried.

A deep pit of unease coils inside our gut like a cold knot.

There's something here. Something dangerous. Something waiting for her inside the shattered walls of Luminaris.

Felicia skids to a stop near the cliff edge.

And I blink.

Huh?

"Felicia… there's no way across!"

The bridge connecting this cliff to Luminaris is gone, crumbled, destroyed.

And thus, before us is nothing. Just a massive chasm, yawning wide, filled with swirling darkness below.

My mind is getting dizzy just by looking down towards the bottom already.

I can't even see what's at the bottom.

And looking from where we are standing, the other side is so far away. A dead tree looks no bigger than my pinky.

Yeah, we can't cross this.

There's no way—

But then, I feel it.

Felicia crouches low, our muscles tensing, coiling tight like a spring. She draws in a deep breath, concentrate.

Power surges through our limbs, charging with energy.

A determined fire ignites inside our chest.

"Wait a minute—WAIT A DAMN MINUTE—DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE—!"

But she does it anyway.

BOOM!!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

We fly.

Launched like a cannonball across the void!

Wind tears at our face. My mind is filled with my silence screams.

FUCK! Am I going to die like this?

No! NOT LIKE THIS!!!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! YOU'RE INSANE! YOU'RE A LUNATIC!"

My stomach flips six times in a row.

FUCKKKK!!!

But then—

The other side suddenly appear much closer, and finally—

CRASH!!

We land.

Stone cracks beneath our boots. Dust flies up in a thick cloud.

But… we're standing.

Somehow, we made it.

"…No way!"

I gape in my mind, speechless.

She just jumped that.

She just freaking jumped that?!!!

Like it was nothing?

What the hell?

"Tch. Can you be quiet?" Princess Felicia mutters coolly. "I'm trying to focus here."

"O-Okay…" I croak.

Phew!

I seriously thought we were going to die.

This person, this princess, she's goddamn crazy!

But well… now that I've peaked through her memories though, I'm not surprised.

That's just who she is.

Unapologetically bold.

Utterly reckless.

Terrifyingly strong.

Haahhh… I guess… there's nothing I can do now except hold on for the ride, as she's totally in control of the body right now.

I just hope, and pray that we will survive.

So now that we're here—at the gate of what used to be a glorious palace, and is now a dungeon of death and mystery…

I can't help but wonder..

What's her plan? What is she going to do?

I'm half terrified, half curious.

————————————-

Step step…

Felicia steps forward, our boots sinks into the snow.

A giant boulder is in her way, but with just a slight push, it got blasted away, over the cliff, into the abyss.

And then she stops—just ten meters from the shattered gates of the castle.

The gates loom high, or at least, what's left of them. Twin towers rise crookedly into the grey sky, their stonework cracked. The once-grand iron doors hang crooked from twisted hinges—one torn clean off and lying in broken slabs across the ground, the other leaning inward like a drunk at death's door.

Flanking the gate, two statues of knights once stood guard.

But now…

One is headless and missing both arms, jagged stone stumps jutting out where limbs should've been.

The other has only half a torso remaining—its upper body lost entirely, leaving just a cracked, armored waist frozen mid-step. Their swords are long gone, their glory… crumbled with the rest of this cursed place.

Then, suddenly—

Whoooosh.

A sudden gust of wind scrapes through me like claws.

Cold, unnatural.

And with it—grunting sounds.

"Urrrghhhhh…"

A low, guttural, inhuman grunting noise echoes from somewhere deep inside the ruined castle.

There's even some sounds of something metal scraping across the ground.

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"W-w-wait, wait, wait, DO YOU HEAR THAT?!" I stammer, tail flaring straight up like a broom. Panic hits me like a lightning bolt.

"Of course, we share the same sense!" Princess Felicia growls.

"…Ah. Right."

"Tch…" she clicks her tongue in annoyance, and clutch her chest, irritated.

Badump. Badump. Badump. Badump.

Our heart pounds like war drums. Cold sweat clings to our skin. Goosebumps rise like tiny needles along my arms. My tail's stiff as a rod.

"Wait, you are… scared too?" I ask.

That's totally unexpected.

Honestly I didn't expect her to be afraid of anything!

In fact, she, herself, is more like the ultimate source of terror!

"Tch, not me! YOU! Honestly, can you not be terrified of literally everything?" she groans, frustration leaking through every word. "Your fear is leaking into me, you idiot!"

"WHAT?" I blurt. "Wait… so even when I'm not in control of the body, my mind can still affect it emotionally?"

"DUH!"

Shit…

This is … not good, isn't it?

"So if you keep being like this, it will affect my combat abilities! Honestly, do you want to live or not?"

"I-Im sorry…" I . ""W-Well excuse me for being normal! This place is creepy as hell, okay?!"

"You! Ugh…" she growls in annoyance.

Then…

Smack. I watch—helpless—as my hand facepalms our face.

"It's not like I can do anything about your fear, can I…" she sighs… "Tch… forget it then.

"Well, we can go back!" I stammer quickly. "Y-yeah, we should go back! We should call Eris! S-She'll help us!"

Yeah, that seems like a very reasonable thing to do!

However…

"…Her?" Princess Felicia sneers. "Too bad. I don't trust her."