I Don't Need To Log Out-Chapter 299: The Pit

And it became clear that this wasn't a carriage at all.

It looked like one—roughly—but it was massive. At least four times the size of their own.

It was being pulled by a group of strange, bird-like Keldars with elongated beaks and claws scraping the ground like talons.

But even that wasn't the strangest part.

The carriage itself… it moved. It pulsed. The wood shimmered like skin under moonlight. The frame breathed.

It was alive.

"What the hell is that?" Evan asked, leaning out the window to get a better look, one dagger already in hand.

No one answered.

Because no one knew.

"Is there… is there such a thing as a carriage-Keldar?" Zack muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "Maybe it's, like… a hybrid? Like, a Keldar born from a carriage and… something else?"

"That doesn't make any sense," Carole said flatly, not even looking up.

"Still," Zack said with a shrug, "we've seen weirder."

"It doesn't matter," Pierre cut in. His tone was clipped, focused. "We're not here to catalog monsters. We're here for the Demon."

Right. That was the priority.

Arlon had made it clear: they could win this fight easily, but only if they intercepted Vlora before he reached his own territory.

If they failed that… things could get ugly.

Vlora was already dangerous, but his strength would multiply within his domain.

So they moved.

Carmen and Maria summoned wind spirits to push the carriage forward, their forms trailing behind like silver-blue banners.

Pierre lightened his armor and shield with an ability. He made it seem easy to carry his shield and armor, but they were heavy.

Carole tapped into her divine reservoir and layered holy reinforcement over the carriage wheels, reducing friction and keeping the speed stable.

The world blurred around them as they gained ground.

And then—movement.

Something shifted in the window of the massive carriage ahead.

A single eye appeared in the rear glass.

Dark. Reptilian. Intelligent.

And the instant they saw it, they knew.

Vlora.

The Demon had seen them.

His gaze lingered only a second. Then it vanished.

And the impossible happened.

The monstrous carriage began to rise.

"Wait—he's flying?" Carmen said, stunned.

The bird-like Keldars screeched as they strained against gravity, their wings spreading wide.

The massive structure—this thing that should never have left the ground—lifted into the air.

It was absurd.

The carriage itself was four times as big as their carriage.

The bird-like Keldars pulling it were too small to make the carriage fly.

But here it was, flying.

"It must only be possible for a short duration, otherwise, he would fly all the way back," Maria suggested.

And she was correct.

Vlora was forcing the Keldars to carry something they couldn't carry while flying.

So, they would all die soon.

However, this was more than enough.

Before the birds died, Vlora was already at his destination.

---

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

The Gamers found themselves standing at the edge of a massive pit.

It wasn't deep—not really. They could see the bottom without much effort, and if needed, they could probably climb back up the sloped edges.

But it wasn't the depth that caught their attention.

It was the scale.

The pit was wide. Too wide. A perfectly circular depression carved deep into the earth, with smooth stone walls rising all around it.

From where they stood, the other side was barely visible through the faint haze of dust and heat drifting upward.

This wasn't a natural formation.

It had been built—crafted.

The stone walls weren't eroded by time or weather. They were cut. Clean. Etched with strange, angular markings that shimmered faintly in the sunlight.

It looked like an arena.

A massive, subterranean ring, carved for one purpose.

Combat.

"So this is it," Pierre said under his breath. "This is Vlora's territory."

They all understood what that meant.

They'd heard it from Arlon himself—Vlora was stronger here. The domain empowered him. Entering meant stepping into enemy terrain, where every advantage would belong to the Demon.

But they had no other choice.

If they wanted to end this—if they wanted to stop Vlora before he could rally the Keldars—they had to face him here.

There was no safe way forward.

Only down.

No one spoke as they glanced at one another. A few exchanged silent nods.

Then they jumped.

One after another, they slid down the sloped walls, boots skidding across stone until they landed at the bottom.

Their feet hit solid ground with a thud.

The air down here was different—heavier, still, and strangely warm. It pressed against their skin like a held breath.

Now that they were inside, the space looked even wider. The pit expanded outward with no obstacles, no terrain, no cover. Just flat stone stretching out in every direction.

It was the kind of battlefield where nothing could hide.

And yet... Vlora was nowhere to be seen.

Since they couldn't bring the military carriage into the pit, they had to continue on foot. Not that it made much difference anymore.

Pierre scanned the walls.

"He's not going to run," he muttered. "Not here. Not in his own territory."

They walked to the center, steps slow, deliberate.

And still—nothing.

No shadows. No movement.

The silence was stretching just a little too long.

Lei exhaled sharply. "If he dragged us all the way down here just to—"

Then it began.

A voice echoed through the arena—loud and metallic, as if amplified through some invisible megaphone.

[You made a mistake coming after me!]

It was unmistakably Vlora.

His voice wasn't deep, but it carried weight. Arrogance. Pride.

[I've been watching you. The strongest saviors. The hope of Trion. The heroes.]

[And now, it all ends here. Because you entered my domain.]

The Gamers went still for a second.

Then they burst out laughing.

Not just a chuckle. Full-bodied, unstoppable laughter.

It caught even them by surprise.

Zack doubled over, trying to breathe. "Are you serious? Is this guy for real?"

Evan shook his head, grinning. "He's giving us the full 'final boss speech.' Like we're on some stage."

"This feels illegal," Carmen added, wiping her eyes. "Since when do we get actual villain monologues?"

"I didn't think anyone talked like this outside cutscenes," Maria muttered.

It wasn't even about arrogance. It was just weird.

They had spent one year in EVR, and while Keldars had been terrifying, brutal, horrifying—none of them had spoken like this.

None of them had sounded… scripted.

And maybe that's what threw them off the most.

This wasn't a game. This was reality. And yet—here they were, getting a speech pulled straight from every villain's playbook in existence.

If Vlora was trying to intimidate them, it was having the opposite effect.

Their laughter echoed through the pit.

And Vlora didn't take it well.

A sharp pulse of energy crackled through the air, and his voice returned—louder now, more distorted.

[Let's see you laugh after this!]

The stone beneath their feet began to tremble.

A deep rumble echoed from below, low and steady at first, then building like a storm rolling in from the underworld.

The ground was shaking.

"Here we go," Pierre said, voice tightening. He reached for his shield and braced his stance.

Carole's hands lit with magic.

Lei stopped smiling.

This time, no one laughed.

They were still in Vlora's domain.

And they wouldn't leave anything to the flags Vlora raised with his villainous speech.