Leon’s sound echoed through the dense jungle as if amplified by a giant speaker. At that mont, the jungle seed to stretch infinitely, offering no way out.
Kely couldn’t hold back anymore and began sobbing, while Taylor’s face grew grim. Right now, she also wanted Matthew to put Leonard down, but she was just ordinary. Matthew held their survival in his hands—they had no right to make demands of him, especially one that ant abandoning another person’s life.
Matthew stood still, brows furrowed, his eyes filled with confusion and hesitation.
He knew the reason they couldn’t escape wasn’t entirely because of Leonard. It was because there were five of them. According to the vision Nerio had drawn, one person could only take three others.
"Plop, plop..."
A sound, like sothing erging from water, rippled through the air. The atmosphere suddenly felt damp. Tree branches and leaves dripped with moisture, and the fading sunset grew dimr and dimr.
A chill crept up everyone’s spine.
Leon scread, "Drop him! Drop him!"
Kely sobbed, her voice barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz, "Please... I want to live, I want to live... huhuhu..."
The overlapping voices felt like they were crushing Matthew’s mind.
There was no ti left.
Matthew shut his eyes tightly before letting Leonard’s frail body fall. "I’m sorry. I can’t save you."
The mont he spoke, his body shot forward like the wind—he didn’t even dare to et Leonard’s gaze. Even as he ran several ters away, it felt as though he could still hear Leonard’s agonized, despairing cries.
At that mont, a strong gust of wind swept through the forest. The trees rubbed against each other, accompanied by the eerie sound of sothing wading through deep water—even though no water was nearby.
"Ha... ha... ha... ha!"
A high-pitched, echoing laughter shook the entire jungle—a woman’s voice, shrill and filled with hatred and malice.
At the sa ti, the wading sounds grew closer and closer, making it impossible not to imagine a thin, tentacled creature slicing through the unseen waters.
Kely squeezed her eyes shut in terror, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Save ... save ... don’t go any further, don’t enter the village... don’t attend the wedding... don’t beco xxx... don’t end up like..."
At that mont, a faint yet familiar voice floated by Kely’s ear, so close it felt as if it had erged from within her mind.
Her eyes snapped open. Shivering, she instinctively turned to look behind her.
Then, her eyes suddenly snapped open—wide, filled with terror and disbelief, as if she had seen sothing beyond comprehension, sothing so horrifying it defied imagination.
"Aaaaaaaa!" Kely let out an almost imdiate scream. "NO! THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!"
Taylor reacted instantly, rushing to turn Kely’s head away. But Kely’s neck was completely rigid. No matter how much strength Taylor used, she couldn’t move even an inch—it was as if an invisible force had locked her in place, forcing her to keep staring at whatever horror had gripped her.
Instinctively, Taylor felt the urge to turn around and look.
But just then, Matthew’s voice bood through the air: "DON’T LOOK BACK!"
Taylor jolted awake, a cold sweat breaking out on her skin. Just monts ago, she had already begun turning her head—halfway there, even.
She quickly shut her eyes tight and reached out to cover Kely’s.
"Plop, plop, plop... drip, drip..."
The sound of sothing slicing through water grew louder.
Matthew and the others couldn’t see behind them—but if they could, they would have witnessed a pale, emaciated arm stretching toward them. The skin, wrinkled and swollen as if subrged in water for too long, bore grotesquely long fingers—unnatural, inhuman. And it was reaching straight for Taylor, poised to grab her.
But at that mont, blinding sunlight suddenly flooded the area, drenching everything in golden light.
The eerie hand recoiled instantly like it had been electrocuted before vanishing with the water surrounding it.
None of them had realized just how close they had been to death.
The scorching sunlight enveloped them altogether, a stark contrast to the creeping darkness of the jungle. The sudden shift in scenery left them frozen for a brief mont.
Matthew hunched over, gasping for breath as the others scrambled off his back.
Taylor was just about to express her gratitude when Leon’s sharp voice cut through the air: "Damn it! We almost died because of your hesitation! We wouldn’t have been in danger if you had dropped Leonard earlier!"
Fury surged through Taylor. She shoved Leon to the ground. "Is this how you talk to the person who saved us?!"
Leon yelped in pain but glared at her furiously. "What the hell is your problem?! Am I wrong?!"
Taylor stord toward him, fists clenched as if she was ready to knock his teeth out.
But before she could throw a punch, a lilting voice suddenly interrupted.
"No need to get so worked up. He’s right, you know."
It was Julia.
"If Matthew had let go of Leonard from the start," she continued with a smile, her beautiful face carrying an almost mocking air, "you all would have arrived here much sooner."
Only now did they realize—they weren’t alone.
Ace’s group was a short distance away, standing under the shade of a massive tree.
Leon, sensing an ally, imdiately rushed over to them.
anwhile, Maya stepped forward and asked, concern lacing her voice, "Are you all okay?"
She didn’t ask about the missing person. She knew so things were better left unsaid.
Matthew steadied his breathing and shook his head, asking, "Why are you all still here? And what’s with this weather?"
As he stepped under the tree’s shade, he realized that even though he had only been in the sunlight briefly, his skin was already red and burning—like he was being roasted alive. The scorching pain made his breath hitch.
Alexis scoffed. "Who the hell knows how the weather inside a dungeon works? As for why we’re still here—obviously because you guys were too damn slow!"
He was annoyed—why did the captain insist on waiting for Matthew?
Ace chuckled lightly. "Well, of course, we couldn’t leave without our leader, now could we?"
Matthew ignored the mocking tone and glances Ace threw his way.
At that mont, Elena’s hesitant voice broke the silence.
"So... Leonard is dead?"
Dead. A word that carried a heavy weight, especially for newcors.
Matthew pressed his lips together, saying nothing.
Leon, however, waved a hand dismissively and laughed mockingly. "That useless idiot? How could he have survived? He hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for three days before coming here. Hahaha! His death is a good thing—less bad luck for the rest of us!"
Taylor turned to Matthew, fury burning in her eyes. "You’re not even human!"
Leon snapped back. "What the hell do you know?! He was bad luck—a damn freak!"
"Is he dead?"
A soft, childlike voice suddenly interrupted them.
Nerio looked up, his expression filled with a strange mix of confusion, pity, and fear.
Matthew’s first thought upon seeing the subtle emotions in the boy’s eyes was:
So, this kid does feel things.
He let out a strained chuckle.
Maya quickly reassured Nerio, "But we’ll be okay. We’ll be fine."
At that mont, Julia suddenly crouched down, her fox-like eyes curling up with a gentle smile as she spoke to Nerio in a saccharine, child-friendly tone.
"That’s right. He died because he was useless. But don’t worry—you’re not useless so that you won’t die."
Nerio tilted his head in confusion, his innocent voice asking, "So... all useless people die?"
Julia nodded firmly. "That’s right. They deserve to die."
"Don’t teach him such twisted things!" Maya yelled, stepping forward to pull Nerio toward her.
But before she could reach him, Nerio stepped back, his head slightly lowered, lost in thought.
Matthew spoke up, "Don’t listen to her, Nerio. Everyone has the right to live."
Alexis snickered. "Sure, in the outside world. But this is a dungeon."
Everyone’s eyes were now locked on Nerio, waiting for his reaction.
The boy suddenly lifted his head.
Tears—transparent and round like pearls—spilled from his beautiful eyes, rolling silently down his cheeks and onto the ground.
His face remained utterly expressionless. He didn’t sob or whimper, but sohow, his silent crying felt far more heart-wrenching.
"I won’t let anyone die," Nerio whispered, his voice steady despite the tears continuing to fall.
[Oh my god, I thought Nerio looked familiar in the livestream—it turns out he’s my long-lost son!]
[Huhuhu, his tears make want to give him EVERYTHING. How can soone be this beautiful and pure?!]
[That purity will be even more stunning when it’s soaked in blood. I can sense the dark espers brewing sothing. Could you hurry up and make it happen!]?
[If the script kills off Nerio, I’m burning the writer’s house down.]
[Nerio, my sweet baby, why are you only appearing now?!]
[If he had shown up earlier, he’d probably already be buried in this dungeon, lol.]
[SO. DAMN. CUTE. HOW CAN A CHILD BE THIS BEAUTIFUL?!]
[I want to turn him into a bit of ornant and wear him around my neck. Sighhh.]
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