Dragged to Another World… and I Took the Goddess with me!

The entire guild lurched as Moistvile itself began to tremble. The floorboards groaned, tables rattled, bottles clattered off shelves and shattered. It wasn't just shaking—it was the kind of deep quake that made your stomach feel like it wanted to crawl out your throat.

Conversations died instantly. Fear spread faster than the vibrations. Even the cockiest adventurers went pale as the walls moaned like they might collapse.

Finn instinctively grabbed onto Silvara's shoulders. She glanced at him in irritation but didn't shrug him off, balancing with inhuman steadiness while everyone else scrambled like drunk toddlers on a trampoline.

Across the room it was chaos. Adventurers crashed into villagers, villagers toppled into tables, and one domino effect nearly sent a whole row of chairs collapsing. It was a messy, groaning tangle of limbs.

And in the center of it all stood Big Tim—the human anchor.

Unmoving. Unflinching. The man was built like a cathedral foundation. Adventurers clung to his arms, villagers wrapped around his legs, and even RahRah was perched on his shoulders like a panicked parrot. It looked absurd, but Tim held firm, steady as a mountain.

"A very sweet giant," Finn muttered, clutching Silvara tighter as the tremors intensified.

The shaking only grew worse, a pounding rhythm deep beneath the earth. Then it came—

A roar.

Not the kind of roar that came from a beast's throat. This one was vast, subterranean, echoing through the swamp's bones. The sound vibrated through everyone's ribs, like a voice too big for the world itself.

The guild froze. Every breath hitched. Every hair stood on end.

Then—

Silence.

The tremors stopped mid-quake. The bottles stopped rattling. Even the crows outside seemed to shut their beaks at once.

It was like the whole swamp had exhaled and was waiting.

Everyone stood frozen, staring at one another with wide, frightened eyes. No one wanted to be the first to move, as if shifting a single muscle might trigger whatever horror lurked beneath the swamp.

The ones who'd toppled earlier finally began climbing to their feet. Finn caught sight of a stack of adventurers peeling themselves off Lickthorn, who still lay sprawled on the ground with a blissed-out look. She hadn't moved an inch.

"She definitely had the time of her life…" Finn muttered under his breath.

"You can let go of me now," Silvara said flatly, shrugging her shoulder until Finn released her grip. He backed off quickly—he wasn't about to test her patience after everything she'd already done for him.

"Everyone!" Finn raised his voice, drawing the room's attention. "We need to get out of here—now! If we don't, whatever made that roar is going to catch us all in it!"

It was the kind of line that should've galvanized the room. Should've.

Instead, he got nothing but skeptical stares. Adventurers squinted at him. Villagers whispered nervously. No one moved.

And then Majestria shoved her way into the middle of it, dramatically pushing someone out of the way.

Her dress was pristine—fresh, spotless, not a single trace of grime on it. Finn blinked, confused at how she'd managed it, but decided his sanity couldn't afford to dwell on it.

"There you are!" Majestria barked. "Do you have any idea how annoying it was being stuck in here with these people while you ran off?!"

Finn just blinked at her. Not a single word made it through his brain.

He turned back to the crowd. "We all need to leave, now!"

"Don't ignore me!"

Finn ignored her. "Let's go, guys!"

Majestria snarled, balling her fists, looking one bad impulse away from hurling herself across the room to strangle him.

Finn turned and started walking away, only to stop after a few steps. He glanced back.

No one followed.

He sighed. Why had he expected these people to follow him anyway? They weren't reliable. They never had been.

Maybe the smarter move was to just ditch them—take his party and Elise, and leave the townsfolk to whatever swamp nightmare awaited them. They were idiots anyway.

His eyes drifted to Seraphina, still sitting apart from the others. Technically, she wasn't part of Ardin's group anymore—or at least he thought so. Maybe he could bring her along. Yeah… maybe.

His thoughts broke when loud stomps thundered across the hall, shaking chairs and making the floorboards creak.

Finn snapped his head toward the noise.

Majestria.

She was stomping her feet, one after another, with the kind of childish fury reserved for a toddler denied candy.

The villagers recoiled in horror, terrified her stomps might trigger another quake.

"What the hell are you doing?" Finn asked, baffled. In that moment, he was ready to add her to the "ditch list" too.

"You want to ignore me? Think you're better than me?!" Majestria shouted, stomping harder. "Then I'll destroy this whole place!"

The crowd panicked, some covering their heads, others backing away in terror.

Finn just stared. He'd never seen Majestria act this petty before. It was… new. Worth filing away in the mental archives.

"Please stop stomping!" someone begged.

"It'll make the thing come back!" another cried.

"And I'll just beat that thing too!" Majestria yelled, stomping harder, puffing her chest out like a spoiled goddess throwing a tantrum.

Finn's brain short-circuited.

'Hot…'

"You do not know how to handle anything at all," Silvara's flat voice came from behind Finn. She walked past him, stopping just ahead, her presence cutting through the panic like a blade.

She lifted her head toward the crowd. "Every citizen in this building is now obligated to evacuate immediately. Failure to comply will result in fines and charges."

The hall went dead silent.

Then, as if she'd just flipped a switch, everyone scrambled to their feet. Villagers, adventurers, even Ardin's broken crew—none of them dared argue. They hurried to gather their things, tripping over each other in their rush to leave.

Finn's jaw dropped. 'No way… she just… abused her authority and it worked?!'

Silvara turned back to him, her expression unreadable. "That wasn't difficult. Perhaps you should rely on others instead of fumbling alone. It really makes you look more like an idiot, idiot."

Finn raised his hands in surrender. He wasn't even going to argue. If she could do in ten seconds what he'd been failing at for ten minutes, fair enough.

But before he could even enjoy the small victory—

A roar tore through the ground beneath them, louder and deeper than before. The building shook violently, sending bottles, chairs, and terrified people crashing to the floor. This time, it didn't stop. The trembling grew worse, relentless, as if the very earth was preparing to rip apart….