The demon lord was lying on the ground when he slowly transformed himself into a dragon. The beast inside him was awakened by the blood that was oozing from his chest. His skin turned red; he grew tough wings on his back and a long tail full of thorns.
His handsome face had gone thicker and darker, and his short blonde hair was nowhere to be found. He slowly rose up from the dead, ready to swallow everyone who'd blocked his way.
In this world, demons were the toughest and creepiest creatures feared by everyone. Even death couldn't take them easily. As what happened to the demon lord, even if he was pierced by a holy sword, he still had the capability to transform into a dragon.
Shawn thought that it was the end of their battle, but in truth, it was just the beginning. The demonic dragon has come back, as he was about to spread fear and terror once again. 
"I returned as I promised." The demonic dragon laughed jarringly as it flew outside the dungeon without giving them a glance. He seemed like a bird being freed from his cage after eons.
Boris was eager to smell the scent of despair and to hear the screams of people from fear once again, so he didn't hesitate to make his way to the Diamond Kingdom and kill everyone he met.
Ava and the old man were shocked by what they saw. They couldn't believe that a dead demon lord could still transform into a dragon like a venomous cobra that used its reflexes to bite after dying.
"We should stop him!" Ava shouted, knowing that the dragon would attack their kingdom again, as he had promised eight thousand years ago.
"But what about Shawn?" The old man panicked. He wanted to follow the dragon right away, but he couldn't leave them. "He's a hero, and he should be the one to kill that demon, but look at him now."
"Let's stop arguing for now, master. Can you use teleportation?" Ava asked.
"Don't underestimate your mentor's power, Ava, especially now that the demon lord has gone wild." The old man used a magic circle and sent themselves back to the adventurers' guild.
After they left, the dungeon was shaking as if there were an earthquake. The red dragon, known as Boris, came out and started flying towards the Diamond Kingdom. The sky turned dark violet, indicating another tragedy would arrive.
Ava, the old man, and Shawn appeared inside the adventurers' guild. Ava was carrying Shawn; she had covered his wounds with her ripped-off clothes to stop the bleeding.
Leo, Emma, and Ash were glad after seeing them manage to come back alive regardless of their situations. Ava's clothes were ripped off, while Shawn was unconscious.
The old man was the only one who looked fine because he didn't have any scratches, except for his mana, which he needed to recharge.
"Emma, do you still have some healing potions left?" Ava asked immediately, like a doctor in an emergency situation, not thinking of how she looked. "Can you lend me some for Shawn?"
"Yup, of course," Emma replied and hurriedly disappeared. She came back with a bottle of healing potion. "Here, take this."
The wounds on Shawn's body slowly healed as Ava used the healing potions. She was glad that he was still breathing. Shawn slowly opened his eyes, and the first person he saw was Ava.
"What happened?" Shawn asked as he suddenly stood up, as he didn't want to be thought of as a pervert looking at Ava's breasts. It seemed like he had a concussion, bumping his head against a hard object and forgetting what happened.
Ava stood up and asked Emma if she could borrow some clothes because she was ashamed that people were looking at her. Emma told Ava to follow her into a room where she could change.
"Though we have managed to survive the dungeon, there's one more important thing we should do because the demonic dragon is coming to our homeland," the old man said.
Even though the old man didn't want to surprise them with Boris' comeback, he knew he had to inform them about it so that they could prepare.
"What?" Ash and Leo exclaimed simultaneously, wondering how the old man could act so calmly even though the demonic dragon was coming.
"What?" Shawn added. "I thought I already killed him with the holy sword. Didn't he die? How could he be still alive after that?"
"Perhaps your damage wasn't that deep," the old man replied, taking a deep breath to relax his nerves. "Whatever the reason is, let's focus on protecting our homeland for now."
Although everyone was still confused about what really happened, they agreed with the old man, knowing that everyone's safety was more important than the questions they wanted answered.
Leo, the guild boss, ordered his adventurers to spread the news that the demonic dragon was coming, and they had to be prepared for it. He sent them in different directions to inform the people as well as to ask for their help in protecting the land of dusk if they didn't want to experience the same tragedy again.
Alice, on the other hand, had successfully gotten out of the dungeon before it collapsed. She was clueless about what was happening, but she decided to go back instead. She didn't know if Shawn and the others were still alive.
"What's going on in this world?" Alice asked herself as she used her superspeed skill to arrive quickly at the Diamond Kingdom. She noticed that the sky, as well as the surroundings, became dark, so she wondered if it was going to rain.
As she continued, Alice met some adventurers at the gate of the Diamond Kingdom. It seemed like they were waiting for something. They were positioned in a way that made them ready to attack.
Alice was confused about what was happening, so she asked the adventurers. Then she was shocked when she heard the news about Boris.
"The guild boss told us to prepare and guard the gate because the demonic dragon is coming with other evil dragons and monsters," the adventurer said.
Although she wanted more information about the dragon, Alice decided to go back to the Adventurers Guild to verify if it was true that Boris had returned. She thought that perhaps the darkness of the sky was caused by the demonic dragon.
As a hero, Shawn knew that it was his responsibility to prevent this war from happening. He was disappointed in himself that he hadn't successfully finished the dungeon before the demon lord could transform.
"What a useless hero I am!" Shawn scowled, thinking that his hard work in fighting those monsters all along was now in vain.
"No, it wasn't your mistake, Shawn." Ava tried her best to convince him. "We all did our best. The most important thing is that we still have a second chance to prove that we can do better."
"Ava is right. Please don't be discouraged. The real fight is just about to start. Let's work together to defeat the demons," the old man added.
"Who wants to fight dragons with me?" Ash asked, raising his right hand and taking it down to show his cooperation.
"Count me in!" Emma replied as she put her hand on Ash's.
"Me too," Leo added, putting his hand over their hands, and so did the old man and Ava.
Shawn smiled at how optimistic his friends were. He had no choice but to add himself, as he knew that he couldn't make it alone. He had to cooperate in defeating the demon lord because two minds are always better than one.
Shawn put his right hand on the others' and said, "It will be my pleasure to work with you all."
"How about me?" Alice asked as she suddenly appeared inside the room. She put her hand on the others. It was so heavy that Ash couldn't handle their weight, so he let go, and they all laughed together, not caring if it would be their last laugh.
"I'm glad you're alive, Alice. I don't know what to do if you didn't make it," Ash said with a smile on his face, grateful for what the woman did for him.
Ava was surprised by what she heard from her brother. It seemed like he had heard those lines before; she just couldn't remember from whom. She couldn't believe that her brother sounded like a mature man in love.
"Can you tell us what you did, Ash?" Ava asked sternly as she misinterpreted things again.
"The truth is, Ash asked Alice to follow you to the dungeon," Emma replied. "We're just glad that everyone managed to survive, and we haven't lost any adventurers."
"Why did you—" Ava tapped her forehead in disbelief. She was about to scold her brother for putting Alice in trouble, but then she realized he was just trying to help them.
"Emma is right," Leo added. He slowly became emotional, as if he were about to cry. "You don't know how worried I was that all of you entered that dungeon. I am so delighted that you came back."
"Stop being so dramatic, my friend," the old man said, giving Leo a tap on the shoulder. "What we have to do now is to focus on protecting our homeland."
"Of course, guild master. I didn't forget my promise to go back no matter what would happen. Also, we have a lot of information to share with you," Shawn replied.
"That's enough for now, Shawn. Let's get outside to see and prepare for what can happen first," Ava said as she made her way out of the adventurers' guild. She saw that the sky was darker than before.