CHAPTER 157: CHAPTER 156: UNDERGROUND CHASE: DUNGEON OF FORGOTTEN CLUBS

The hostage situation escalated quickly.

One moment Rei was surrounded by forty-three knives in a ritual circle of death, the next Rosette had him slung across her shoulder like he weighed no more than a sack of slightly whiny potatoes.

"W-wait—!" Rei yelped as she marched with militant efficiency straight toward the far wall. "That’s not a door! That’s a—"

The wall clicked, swiveled and then opened. Then a hidden passage revealed itself with all the subtlety of a Scooby-Doo set piece.

Rei gawked. "You’ve gotta be kidding me—there are secret passages? In the academy?!"

Rosette’s expression didn’t change. "Every institution possesses forgotten wings. The Velvet Academy is... thorough."

"Thorough?!" Rei squeaked. "This isn’t ’thorough,’ this is illegal architecture! How many times did the headmaster approve blueprints while drunk?!"

[System Notification: Secret Dungeon Detected.]

[Name: Dungeon of Forgotten Clubs.]

[Warning: Contains "abandoned projects," "misplaced mascots," and "souls of extracurricular activities long forgotten."]

Rei paled. "...That’s not ominous at all."

The wall sealed behind them. Torches sputtered to life and a staircase spiraled downward into darkness. And so began the underground chase.

The Dungeon of Forgotten Clubs was less of a hallway and more of a fever dream carved into stone.

Rei bounced on Rosette’s shoulder like a ragdoll as she descended the winding stairwell, his muffled protests echoing in the stale air.

"C-come on, Rosette! Hostage-taking is one thing, but dragging me into some cursed student council catacomb is next-level insanity!"

Rosette didn’t look back. Her pace was steady, precise. "Containment requires distance. Noise above interferes. Underground... clean negotiations."

"NE-GO-TIA-TIONS?!" Rei’s voice cracked. "You call strapping me to a chair and parading me through a murder dungeon negotiations?!"

[System Advice: Do not yell at the kidnapper. Do not antagonize the maid. Do not question the knife-to-human ratio.]

Rei snarled, "Yeah, thanks for the help, System!"

[You’re welcome ♥]

At the bottom of the staircase, the dungeon expanded into a massive stone corridor. Dust choked the air, broken banners hung from the ceiling, and painted murals depicted forgotten student activities: fencing clubs, gardening clubs, competitive embroidery clubs.

Rei’s eyes bulged. "Wait a second... this is... extracurricular hell."

The corridor groaned, and something stirred in the shadows.

A giant papier-mâché tiger mascot head rolled forward. Its foam jaws squeaked open, and a hollow voice echoed:

"Rrrr—remember... SPIRIT WEEK."

Rei screamed. "KILL IT, KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

Rosette simply sidestepped, yanked a knife from somewhere, and flicked it.

Thunk!

The mascot collapsed with a death squeak, deflating like a balloon with asthma.

Rei gawked. "...Holy crap. Even the mascots are haunted."

[System Notification: You have encountered "Forgotten Mascot Spirit – Level 2."]

[Exp gained: 0 (Because you didn’t do anything).]

"HEY!" Rei barked. "I was emotionally traumatized! That counts!"

[Cry harder.]

Rosette continued deeper.

They passed through rooms that looked like time capsules of academic insanity.

One room was lined with mirrors and disco balls. A sign read "Velvet Ballroom Club – Forever Practicing."

Rei shivered. "This feels... off."

The mirrors rippled. A ghostly figure in a tuxedo floated forward, bowing elegantly. His head was transparent, his shoes tapped silently, and his voice echoed with eternal rhythm.

"Care to dance...?"

Rei shrieked. "NO I DO NOT CARE TO DANCE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH."

The ballroom ghost floated closer, extending a translucent hand.

Rosette’s knives sang—shing, shing, shing. She flung three in a row, each passing perfectly between Rei’s flailing limbs to pin the ghost’s bowtie to the wall.

The phantom sighed. "Rejected again..." before fading into mist.

Rei panted. "This isn’t a hostage crisis anymore. This is a survival horror minigame."

[System Notification: Ballroom Ghost temporarily neutralized.]

[Honestly, you dance like a corpse anyway. Btw good dodge.]

"STOP INSULTING ME IN MY TIME OF SUFFERING."

They turned into another chamber. This one contained... a booth. A dusty, rickety carnival booth with faded paint and broken lanterns. A sign above read: "Marriage Club: Free Eternal Vows! Certificates Printed on the Spot!"

Rei froze. "Oh no. Nonononono."

The booth rattled. The printer inside whirred to life with the horrible groan of a dot-matrix demon.

BZZZZZZT—KRRRK!

A slip of paper ejected. Rosette plucked it calmly before Rei could stop her.

She read aloud, her tone still perfectly flat: "Certificate of Marriage: Rei Velvet... Rosette d’Velour."

Rei’s soul left his body.

"WH-WHAT?! NOOO! THIS DOESN’T COUNT!"

The booth whirred again. Another certificate spat out.

"Certificate of Marriage: Rei Velvet... Lilia Faithsong."

"WHY IS IT STILL PRINTING?!" Rei howled.

Then another one.

BZZZT!

"Certificate of Marriage: Rei Velvet... Drakana Flamecrest."

Then Seraphina, then Emilia, then Rosette again, then all five in various permutations.

The papers poured out like cursed confetti until the floor was knee-deep in fake wedding licenses.

Rei kicked and screamed. "This is a NIGHTMARE FACTORY! SOMEONE SHUT IT OFF!"

Rosette calmly severed the booth’s cord with one precise knife swipe.

Then silence fell.

Rei sagged in relief—until he noticed the top certificate in his lap again, his name and Rosette’s name. Ink is still drying.

He twitched. "...System. This doesn’t legally count, right?"

[System Notification: Error. Local Dungeon Law Recognizes All Certificates.]

[Effect: You are now "Dungeon-Married" to Rosette.]

Rei SCREAMED but Rosette didn’t react. She simply tucked the certificate neatly into her apron pocket.

Meanwhile, aboveground...

The four remaining wives tracked Rei’s screams like bloodhounds.

Drakana slammed her fist through a brick wall, sniffing the air. "He’s close. I smell... paperwork and despair."

Seraphina wrinkled her nose. "Yes. Unholy matrimony rituals. Sin layered upon sin."

Lilia beamed. "Ooooh~ a dungeon wedding? Darling’s first will be mine!"

Emilia chuckled softly, parasol tapping against the stone. "Ara~ what fun. A chase through memory’s graveyard. The maid is competent, but... obsession makes her sloppy."

They descended and the hunt was on.

Back underground, Rosette had stopped in another chamber.

Rows of dusty desks filled the room. Chalkboards still bore faint scrawls: "Conspiracy Theory Club: Dragons are Just Big Lizards???"

Rei blinked. "...This was an actual club?"

The chalkboard glowed faintly. A spectral hand began scribbling on its own.

Rosette’s eyes narrowed. She shifted Rei off her shoulder, set him on a desk, and drew three knives at once.

Rei flailed. "H-hey! Don’t put me down in a haunted classroom!"

The chalkboard hand scrawled rapidly: "TRUTH: REI IS ALREADY MARRIED."

Rei’s eyes bugged. "WHAT KIND OF FAKE NEWS IS THIS?!"

Another line appeared: "SOURCE: DUNGEON PRINTER."

Rei screamed. "I’M BEING SLANDERED BY AN UNDERGROUND PHOTOCOPIER!"

[System Notification: Dungeon Gossip Level Rising.]

[Warning: Rumors may become permanent.]

Rosette flicked three knives—SHK! The chalkboard cracked, the hand vanished.

Silence.

Rosette turned back to Rei, expression calm. "Proceed."

Rei groaned. "...At this rate, my reputation will need resurrection magic."

The dungeon stretched endlessly. Mascots. Ghosts. Haunted clubrooms. Cursed marriage paperwork.

And through it all, Rosette carried Rei with unflinching determination.

Behind them, faint roars, hymns, laughter, and parasol taps echoed closer.

Rei’s blood chilled. "They’re coming. THEY’RE COMING."

[System Notification: Incoming Pursuers Detected.]

[Threat Level: Maximum.]

[Encouragement: Start praying.]

Rei whimpered. "...I already live in hell. What’s the point?"

The torches flickered and shadows danced.

The Dungeon of Forgotten Clubs was awake again—its halls filled with leftover dreams, cursed relics, and the screams of one unfortunate hostage.

And the chase... was only just beginning.

[System Main Quest Updated: Survive the Underground Chase.]

[Optional Bonus: Prevent further Dungeon Marriages.]

[Failure Consequence: Eternal extracurricular activity.]

Rei sobbed. "Why is my life an after-school special from hell?!"

Rosette marched on. The halls twisted into a side wing lined with old banners: "Origami Appreciation Club," "Competitive Tea Brewing," "Dueling Poetry Society."

Rei groaned. "Oh no. They locked up all the useless clubs down here."

The next door creaked open by itself. A faint spotlight lit up a podium. A dusty sign read: "Dramatics Guild: Auditions Every Day, Forever."

From the shadows, cloaked figures shuffled out. They held scripts, their eyes glowing faintly.

One croaked, "Line 42... Page 7... Speak your soliloquy."

Rei shrieked. "I DON’T KNOW ANY LINES!"

The cloaked figures thrust a script into his lap. The cover read: "Marriage Proposal: A Tragedy in Five Acts."

Rei’s eyes widened in horror. "...Of course it’s about marriage."

[System Notification: Side Quest Offered – "Perform the Lead Role."]

[Reward: Applause.]

[Failure: Eternal casting as ’tragic groom #1.’]

"NO THANKS!" Rei yelled, thrashing in his ropes.

Rosette, unfazed, hurled two knives into the stage ropes above. The backdrop collapsed in a thunder of dust, crushing the ghostly actors into silence.

Rei coughed through the haze. "Great. Just great. You’re not only kidnapping me, you’re ruining my shot at Broadway."

[System Response: You can’t sing, dance, or act. This was mercy.]

"STOP ATTACKING MY SELF-ESTEEM."

They trudged further until a broken stairwell forced Rosette to pause. She adjusted her grip on Rei, lifting him bridal-style this time.

Rei stiffened. "W-wait, wait, WAIT—why bridal-style?! There are other perfectly valid ways to carry hostages!"

Rosette blinked at him once, then descended the stairs without answering.

Rei wailed. "SHE DIDN’T EVEN DENY IT."

[System Notification: Affection Gauge – Rosette +1.]

[Tooltip: Being treated like a bride counts.]

"I HATE YOU, SYSTEM."

Behind them, the noises grew louder.

Drakana’s roar shook the walls. Seraphina’s hymns vibrated with holy static. Lilia’s drunk giggles echoed like a banshee with a crush. Emilia’s parasol taps ticked closer, steady as a clock.

Rei’s stomach dropped. "They’re catching up! I can hear their theme music!"

Rosette didn’t break stride. She was calm, silent and efficient.

The torches guttered as they passed into yet another chamber. This one bore a cracked sign: "Dungeon Storage – Dangerous Relics of Defunct Clubs."

Shelves stretched into the dark, stacked with bizarre artifacts: enchanted lacrosse sticks, cursed bake-sale brownies, a brass tuba that seemed to breathe.

Rei whimpered. "...We’re gonna die here, aren’t we?"

[System Notification: Correction. You’re going to die here and after that everyone else will be fine.]

Rei’s scream rattled the relic jars.

The Dungeon of Forgotten Clubs pulsed with life again, its relics stirring, its ghosts whispering. And somewhere above, four obsessed rivals descended faster and faster.

The hostage crisis was no longer just Rosette versus the world—

It was Rosette, Rei, and forty-three knives against the entire weight of abandoned extracurricular madness.

And Rei? He was not ready for Act Two.

To be continued...