Akko and Diana's hands were interlocked, grasped as they trudged through the halls, trying to make some sense of the layout. The area was… peculiar, to be frank. The dungeon had only recently opened its doors, and had become quite a large deal to the witch community. It even made its way towards news outlets for the general public.

Diana compared the dungeons to the magical mirrors; the dungeons themselves often had a mind of their own, and while (most) weren't devious enough to change their layouts for the poor unsuspecting dwellers inside, they were clearly purposed for challenging anyone who entered.

Artifacts could often be found in such dungeons, and there was the fact that it was good practice and training for more advanced students, so Luna Nova often allowed students to make these kind of trips, under supervision. This one had been explored before, so Diana figured that there wasn't much pressing danger to their lives.

So upon seeing that larger beast that almost crushed Akko to death, she was shocked, to say the least. There was absolutely no info regarding any larger or more dangerous creatures in this dungeon, so how did they even encounter such a monster?

She had her hand to her chin, deep in thought, until she felt a light prodding of fingers wason her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Diana?" Akko asked as Diana glanced back, slight concern in her voice. "You're grip's getting kinda firm."

Diana slowed her pace, and lightened her grip; she reached over with her other hand and patted the back of Akko's hand, offering an apology. She hoped that Akko didn't notice the faint flush of her cheeks.

After some thought, Diana made intense eye contact with Akko. "I was just thinking…" she began, "How we hadn't heard of any large monsters in this dungeon."

The brunette tilted her head, not really understanding what Diana was getting at.

Elaborating, the blonde continued, "I suppose that I'm… I'm a bit concerned of the true nature of this dungeon."

Now, Akko's grip seemed to be the one to tighten. She hadn't much experience with dungeons, before. Her one and only experience was when Diana had accidentally released a dragon that promptly escaped the dungeon and caused chaos on Luna Nova's campus. That dungeon was on Luna Nova property, however, and wasn't very intense or magical of a dungeon; Akko, Lotte, and Sucy hadn't even gotten to explore the dungeon to its fullest, either.

It was now that the Japanese student nervously considered the glowing yellow markings in the wall, depicting magical runes, to potentially be more malicious than the decorations she originally thought. She considered, too, the minor stains of blood on her cheeks. She generally didn't care much for danger, nor injuries, though a strange sense of claustrophobia seemed to be settling in.

Diana looked back at Akko, trying to comfort the girl with another grip of the hand and a soft smile.

"Don't worry, Akko. I was mentioning it solely for your awareness," the blonde assured. It was the least she could do, after all, since Akko had only minutes ago reassured her. "And I certainly am in the mood for some hot chocolate!"

Akko managed to genuinely smile, happy that she scored some time with Diana. "'Course!" she beamed!

Diana certainly was on edge, though she made sure not to let any anxiety seep through her attitude. She was worried for Akko still, if only a little, as she wondered how well the girl could move. They were fortunate enough not to have encountered any more enemies, but she felt as though enough time had passed that they were pushing their luck.

Turning a corner, Diana could only huff as she proved herself right.

In the wall was an entrance to another stairwell, exactly what the two had been searching for. Except this one went down.

She glanced at Akko, who slid her finger across the cut of her cheek. She was nervously looking into the darkness of the stairwell, its walls lit only by those same yellow runes in the wall. They seemed to grow ever so slightly larger as they approached the lower levels.

Akko gulped, and nodded curtly to Diana. They were running out of options, and since every path in the dungeon intertwines the further down you go, they would be more likely to find a stairwell up if they searched in a lower floor. Pulling out their wands to each cast a spell to better light the area, they slowly stepped down the stairs together, moving further down into the dungeon's levels.

Neither noticed how their own minor scratches and cuts re-opened as they cast the spell.

A/N: Hiya! Decided to slow the pace a little with this really short chapter and provide a bit more exposition now that I (hopefully) have established what kind of tones will be consistent throughout this story! Thanks for reading, I hope you guys are enjoying. As always, constructive critique is welcomed, too!

Also, as for the titles of the chapters, I want to mention that they don't necessarily regard the substance of the story, but rather encourage tone. If you understand where I'm getting the chapter names from, too, then that's awesome!