00824
“…I won’t accept it.”
Basement Level 2.
I had no idea how much time had passed. Actually, it was more accurate to say I didn’t have the luxury to care. Each step I took felt like I was dragging a thousand-pound weight, my shoulders sagging with exhaustion. Our faces were etched with fatigue. The expedition party’s expressions looked grim. The tiny seed of hope that had briefly sprouted was now bowed down again.
Ever since the monsters started appearing in full force, our marching pace had slowed drastically. It was only natural, but the extent was severe. We barely covered a hundred meters before another monster appeared, forcing us into battle. Even when we barely survived the fight, we had to carefully navigate traps lurking everywhere. Every moment was a battle, and the slightest lapse meant plunging headfirst into a trap.
And if we tried to rest even a little, monsters would swarm us from all directions as if they sensed it. Everyone secretly felt it.
The monsters’ behavior had become strange. Until recently, they had been cautious, but at some point, they flipped 180 degrees. Like broken machines, they relentlessly searched and charged without pause. And there were so many of them. We’d already cut down over four hundred. It was almost strange that we weren’t completely worn out.
“How’s the comms?”
“Still nothing… huh?”
It was right after yet another battle, though I’d lost count of how many. Go Yeon-ju, who had been quietly fiddling with her crystal, suddenly snapped her head up. Her wide-open eyes quickly narrowed to slits. The meaning behind that expression was clear.
“Ugh…”
Jeong Ha-yeon, staring pale-faced, sighed and pushed herself up. Maybe from overusing magic—her hand gripping the staff trembled.
“…We’re surrounded again.”
Im Han-na, gulping down a potion, wiped the liquid that had spilled onto her chest and muttered. She looked too drained to speak, but she gritted her teeth and gripped her bow.
“Damn it!”
Clang! Jin Soo-hyun, also drinking a potion, snapped the bottle down irritably and stood up. The melee fighters who had been on the front lines looked even worse. No serious wounds, but their bodies were smeared with dark red fluid. Jin Soo-hyun’s clothes were scorched black and torn in places, showing they’d taken some hits.
We were already resting in a defensive formation, so there was no need to move. The clan members who stood up gripped their weapons and scanned the surroundings. Soon enough, dark shadows crept in from all sides. At the same time, a faint rustling sound echoed through the space, like something scraping.
“They’re coming.”
We already knew, but instinctively, we raised our magic power. Behind Im Han-na, three or four spheres floated up, and several voices quickly began chanting spells. Soon, not only the open passage but even the ground beneath us started to stir. The creatures, at least four meters long, slithered through the earth like snakes, rapidly closing the encirclement.
Then—
“────. ────. Ice Lance! Repeatedly!”
Dozens of ice spears shot out in all directions as a long, black wave crashed down on the expedition party.
Moments later, wild screams and explosions shook the dark underground corridor.
As the “Phantom Doppelgänger” vanished, the smoke gradually thinned. Through the dissipating mist, the scene hidden beneath became faintly visible.
The deepest chamber of the “Abyss of Annihilation” was definitely unlike any other room. The arched ceiling, about ten meters high, curved smoothly, with more than half of the glowing orbs still shining. The gray walls, built from angular bricks, were old but showed no signs of crumbling.
Inside, besides the main hall we entered through, there were six more doors. Considering this was a hideout, it seemed designed for multiple purposes. Though the floor had some holes and a musty smell lingered, the rooms had preserved their original form despite the passage of time. After all, this was a royal refuge—it wouldn’t have been carelessly built.
Having come this far, it would be rude not to check. Surely, one of these was a storage room.
“Hmm. Was this the food storage? It’s completely empty.”
“Ugh! Ughhh!”
“Oh~ This must be the bedroom. Hey, look at this! There’s a bed and even what looks like a bathroom?”
“Waaah… Waaah…”
Each time I opened a door, I deliberately exaggerated my amazement. I gave the door a little shake to draw their attention, but soon sighed.
“Sniff, sniff…”
“Waaahhh!”
Kim Han-byul sat down in a mermaid pose, tears streaming like a tragic heroine. Lee Yoo-jung had completely collapsed, burying her face and sobbing uncontrollably. Their crying showed no sign of stopping. Since waking up, they’d been bawling nonstop, and I was at my wit’s end. No matter how much I tried to soothe them, it didn’t help. Eventually, I gave up on exploring and sat back down.
“Stop crying already, okay? You’re not chicks—you’re fourth-year users…”
One strange thing was that whenever I sat down, they both did the same. Just now, after crying their eyes out, they crawled over to me. Not only that, when they bumped into each other, they pushed and pulled each other with their shoulders—behaviors I couldn’t make sense of.
Eventually, the two buried their heads in my lap and started crying again. Did they think I was their mother? What adorable little kittens.
— Just accept it. They’re different from you. They’ve probably been through hell. How else could they act like that?
I knew that. But when I asked what kind of hallucinations they’d seen, they wouldn’t say a word. In fact, every time they tried to speak, their crying only got louder. It was counterproductive. So I quietly patted them again. Then—
Vrrrrrr!
Suddenly, a vibration buzzed inside my arms. I reached in and pulled out the communication crystal, which was flashing a bright blue light. With just a little magic, I could see who was trying to contact us. No, I didn’t even need to look—it was obvious.
“……”
For a brief moment, a thousand thoughts raced through my mind. Time passed, but the crystal showed no sign of dimming. I stared at it for a while before slipping it back into my pocket. Kim Han-byul and Lee Yoo-jung stopped crying, their eyes wide with surprise.
“…Huh?”
“…Waaah?”
So now they’re crying in words.
Ignoring the call, I put the crystal away, and their tears slowly dried. They looked around with wet eyes, finally starting to grasp the situation. After a long pause, Kim Han-byul quietly spoke.
“This place is…”
“The end.”
“…The end?”
“Do you remember being dragged here while you were asleep?”
They nodded cautiously.
“I’m not sure, but… I think this room might be the deepest part of the ruins.”
Lee Yoo-jung had been blinking blankly for a while, but Kim Han-byul furrowed her brow and suddenly gasped. She must have quickly pieced things together from what I told her during the alert.
“No way…!”
“Don’t worry. This isn’t the monsters’ food storage.”
“What about the boss?”
“We already took it down. That’s why you woke up.”
Kim Han-byul closed her eyes gently and let out a long sigh of relief. But then she looked at me with a complicated expression, still curious. Probably wondering why I hadn’t answered the call.
“Well then…”
I had expected this, but I was at a loss for words. I hadn’t anticipated these two tagging along. I planned to come alone and handle things solo. But now the situation was complicated. How should I explain it?
“Oppa, shouldn’t you contact them? The others must be really worried…”
Lee Yoo-jung twisted a strand of hair around her finger as she spoke. Kim Han-byul agreed.
“That’s right. Or should I do it? Tell them we’re alive. That we’re okay…”
“Well… I don’t think it’s necessary.”
“…What?”
“Would anything really change if we contacted them? We don’t even know the way. It’s better to just wait here quietly.”
I half-expected this, but sure enough, they both frowned at once. Even I thought it was a ridiculous excuse.
“Oppa, do you enjoy having people worry about you?”
“Am I some kind of pervert?”
“Then why? Think about it. How many people are left now…”
“So they’ll search even harder.”
In the end, I admitted a little truth.
Silence fell. I deliberately avoided looking at them. Lighting a cigarette, I tilted my chin up and gazed at the ceiling. The faint glow of the orbs blurred in my vision. Closing my eyes gently, voices echoed in my mind.
‘Ah, whatever. I worried for nothing. So this time, we just have to trust hyung again, right? Hehe.’
Why do they lean on me? They should be able to trust themselves. They’re skilled, after all. The “Mage Hunter” who single-handedly wiped out the mage squad on the first run—the one I admired most.
‘Me…? Yeah, I guess I have to.’
Why? I’m a melee fighter, and you’re archers. Normally, the archer leads the expedition. So why do you look at me so awkwardly?
‘Maybe? Well, if it weren’t for oppa, we wouldn’t have made it this far.’
Why do you think that? Even without me, you could have made it here just fine. Especially you—you’re the Sword Empress, after all.
‘Yeah, that’s right.’
Why, why, why, why?
Why take it for granted?
The moment I thought that,
“…I won’t accept it.”
I found myself speaking without realizing it.
“Damn it, I just can’t accept it.”
A growl escaped me. My eyes were closed, but my pupils kept tightening. I caught myself, but since I’d already started—
“There are eight of us.”
“……”
“The Shadow Queen, the Sword Empress, the Spell Sniper, the Twilight Priestess, two Legion Summoners, the Super-Intelligence Collective, and even Jegal Haesol. Five secret-class members, one so-called rare that’s barely rare, and two genuinely rare mages. You’re telling me this team can’t break through the Abyss of Annihilation? Do you really think that makes sense?”
“……”
Once I started talking, the words poured out like a dam breaking. I’m not saying this dungeon is easy. It’s almost as infamous as the mountain range where dragons once slept. But in the end, it was conquered. By the users.
Kim Hanbyul and Lee Yujeong didn’t say a word after that. I knew they were watching me closely. All I needed was to say I was alive. They probably couldn’t understand me. But honestly, I felt just as frustrated.
Suddenly, the whole situation struck me as a little ridiculous. Ever since I chose to start a second run and began preparing one thing at a time, something about it had felt off. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but as time passed and the end drew near, it became clearer. More precisely, I’d felt it since I was dragged into hell—or maybe from the moment I started thinking about it this way.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have skipped the Warring States period…’
To be honest, I realized this a little too late.
I assumed everyone would handle things well on their own and drew a line around what I could do for them.
On the other hand, maybe I was just turning a blind eye, even though I knew better.
Perhaps, from the moment I regretted it, it was no different from admitting defeat.
…So, I was hoping.
Hoping my clanmates would prove me wrong—that my doubts were unfounded.
Without me, how far could they really go?
I wanted to find out once and for all.
Whether this Mercenary clan was truly the right group to carry out the ‘plan’…
Or if it was doomed to fail.