Ooooo it was, can they -?

Knock knock.

Still busy, go away higher thought processing.

Yeah, so, no.

Because the higher thought processing thinks that, actually, that side project of burning the dungeon down?

Yeah, it worked.

"Tae-gun," murmurs Hye-jin, "I think - ah! - I think we might've gotten the core. Of the dungeon."

?

Core. Dungeon. They got it...

Oh.

Right.

He summons an ice cocoon around them, shaped like a teardrop with a sharp point above, and then they shoot up.

(oh that felt good, he should mess with acceleration more often)

There isn't lava, anymore, just solid rock, so even if Tae-gun's ice weren't up to the task of dealing with the heat (it is) he'd have no trouble with it.

And then he reduces the cocoon to a flying platform and lifts his head up to look around curiously.

(The only reason he even has this much ability to think is the number of times he's come, already. It's starting to push the ludicrous even for him.)

There are still some volcanoes in the distance. It's unclear if they're real, though, because the parts that very definitely are real are...

...it's not a thermonuclear wasteland, but that's the image that might be conjured. The place has been nearly flattened, the lava rivers dried up, the monsters turned to rubble or worse. There are ashy impressions here and there shaped like dragons, near their exit point—clearly the dungeon was trying to congregate its forces on them, and just as clearly Hye-jin was perfectly capable of dealing with those—while the corpses of foes more distant than these are merely molten or charred, not literally reduced to dust.

And it's all crumbling down and falling apart before their eyes. There are cracks forming along the ground, but the more impressive ones are the cracks in the very air, the dimensional stability of the dungeon shattered with its core. They need to leave very quickly if they don't want to find out what happens to people who stay inside after a dungeon is destroyed.

Um.

Okay, that's a mood killer if there ever was one. The combination of the thermonuclear wasteland (at her hands, apparently!!!) and the fact that they really need to leave right this instant. She gives Tae-gun an apologetic kiss to his cheek, then disentangles herself from him and begins muttering to herself. Hey, navigator, which way is out?

"We were, um... south... east or was it west? ... The group before us was the first to start using quadrants this round, they started north-east and south-west, we're the second - we're south east. Which would mean that the exit is..." The landmarks are somewhat toast right now, but there's a shell of a volcano that looks like it was once their stand in for north. "... that way. Exit's that way." She points.

He lets out a pitiful whine when she pulls away but, but, but fine he'll nyoom.

(Also: more light outside! Still kind of reddish and not the best to see by but better than Hye-jin's flames in their cocoon of darkness and he can appreciate her body more.)

Good, good, then she just has to hope she didn't forget everything related to navigation and cartography in the, uh, however long they were.... doing what they were doing for.

Absently, eyes watching the horizon to pick out further landmarks to judge the accuracy of their chosen heading, she pets him. What? He's stressed and unhappy and right there, there's no reason not to pet him.

She doesn't have much trouble; the portal on this side is just as big as the one on the other side, and once they're close enough it's easy to see.

The danger was in being so far away that any even mildly incorrect heading would send them off on the wrong angle and they'd completely miss the portal. But this is no longer a concern! Hooray! They are going to be able to leave the dungeon and live!

....... Aaaaaand be immediately seen by international media. In. Their current state of dress. Which is absolutely nothing. Um.

"............ Tae-gun honey can you make us some ice pants or something," she says, suddenly confronted with something that is in fact even more of a mood killer than a thermonuclear wasteland.

Bwuh?

...ah, right.

.................well, for Tae-gun's current mood it's not a mood killer at all, he's never really been an exhibitionist but when he's in this state he's everything.

But, well, he doesn't want Hye-jin to be sad, so, she can have an ice bikini and he can have some ice speedos, why not. It'll mostly be a blurring effect, it's not like ice is fully opaque, but they can be sufficiently thick for it to be a good blurring effect, how about?

That'll. That'll have to do. Death is not literally better, but it's sure looking tempting. Couldn't they have just stayed in the obsidian cocoon forever, they were having a great time in there. This would have ended in their deaths.

Then she takes him by the hand and tugs him through the portal after her to have a fate that is, objectively speaking, not actually worse than death. It'll just feel like it.

Hiiiiiiii media, they're not dead, can they have blankets or something please.

Smiiiiiiiile.

Holy shit??????

So the scene that's awaiting them on the other side is several very confused espers and support staff. Given the way Tae-gun and Hye-jin didn't run into anyone on their way out, either Hye-jin accidentally killed everyone or, more likely, they evacuated. The team waiting for them is much larger—twenty-five espers all told, most but not all A- or S-ranks—but the mood is one compatible with it having been assembled to try to go in and figure out wtf and then having seen the portal's edges turn green just before they were meant to do so. Now that Tae-gun and Hye-jin are stepping out of the dungeon they know—or have an idea of—what the fuck even happened, even if they're fuzzy on the detiails.

This is actually the level of surprising that does make the support staff take a little bit to get back on their game, but they're all trained for this shit and yeah Tae-gun and Hye-jin can have some blankets.

Oh good!!! Blankets!!! Her dignity can be somewhat preserved!! And also this ice is fucking cold!!!

Also they would like to be squirreled away to a place without media reporters, and maybe get checked over by medical professionals, please and thank you.

Furthermore, they are not fielding questions at this time. The dungeon is dead. That is what matters most.