The Next Day
The tension from the battle had eased, but the weight of it still lingered. Jinwoo and I sat at a small table in the corner of a quiet café. The distant hum of conversations and the soft clinking of dishes filled the space, yet neither of us touched our drinks.
Jinwoo stirred his coffee absentmindedly, the dark liquid swirling in the cup. His face still bore faint traces of bruises, though they were fading fast. Yet the exhaustion in his eyes remained.
"We were lucky," he finally said, his voice low. "If we stayed any longer…"
I nodded, my fingers tightening around the warm mug. "We would've died."
His gaze shifted to me, searching. "But we weren't supposed to survive in the first place. That dungeon — the one before the Demon Castle — it was never meant to let us out."
I frowned. "The double dungeon?" The words felt foreign on my tongue, like a memory I should've had but didn't. It was a blank space in my mind, one I hadn't dared to question. "I don't remember much. Just… fragments."
Jinwoo's expression darkened, the weight of the past reflected in his eyes. "That's not surprising. The System doesn't just give — it takes. Memories. Sanity. Whatever it needs to keep control."
"But you remember?" I asked.
"Every detail."
A chill ran down my spine. And then, as if the mere act of recalling it had loosened something, the memories stirred. At first, just flashes. Dim, fleeting glimpses of stone walls, glowing eyes, and the distant sound of grinding stone.
⸻
The chamber was massive, its ancient walls lined with towering stone statues. Their unmoving eyes burned with an unnatural light. The torches lining the walls flickered weakly, their flames unable to chase away the suffocating darkness.
We were a group of hunters, assembled for what was supposed to be a routine dungeon raid. Some familiar faces, others strangers. Jinwoo, the quiet E-rank that most dismissed, stood near the back. And I… I was just another D-rank with something to prove.
But the moment the massive stone doors slammed shut behind us, the air shifted. It wasn't just a dungeon. It was something else. A place that watched.
"Then the commandments appeared," Jinwoo's voice pulled me from the memory. He stared down at his cup, his voice flat. "The rules were simple, but the punishment wasn't."
⸻
Glowing letters hovered in the air, ominous and final.
1. Worship the Lord.
2. Praise the Lord.
3. Prove your devotion.
I saw it — the first moment someone refused. A tall, confident B-rank scoffed at the words, waving them off like some trick.
"We're not playing by the rules of some ancient relic," he sneered.
And then the Guardian descended.
It moved like a force of nature, a towering behemoth of stone and power. With one swing, the massive blade cleaved through the B-rank. The sickening crunch echoed through the chamber as blood splattered across the cold stone floor.
Screams erupted. Chaos. Panic.
"Run!" someone shouted.
But there was nowhere to run.
⸻
I blinked, my hand trembling against the ceramic mug. Jinwoo watched me, his expression unreadable. "You saw it too, didn't you?"
I nodded slowly. "The Guardian. The statues. They… they weren't just statues."
"They were watching," Jinwoo said. "Judging."
⸻
While the others ran, Jinwoo had stood still. His dark eyes locked onto the commandments, his mind working even as fear gripped the rest of us.
"Follow the rules," he murmured, his voice barely a whisper. "That's the only way."
I remember the cold stone beneath my knees as I bowed. Jinwoo did the same. One by one, the statues' glowing eyes dimmed. The grinding of stone ceased.
But not everyone followed.
The ones who refused to bow… they didn't last long.
⸻
"I can't believe I forgot all of this," I murmured, the fragments swirling, fitting together.
Jinwoo shook his head. "The System chooses what you remember. It let you forget — maybe to keep you obedient. But me? It wanted me to remember everything."
I opened my mouth to speak, but the memories pulled me under once more.
⸻
Hours passed. The trials twisted in meaning. Some tested our strength. Others demanded our devotion. There was no logic, only torment.
And that's when the betrayals began.
"There's no way we'll all make it," a C-rank growled. "The fewer of us, the higher our chances."
A blade flashed. Blood stained the ancient stone.
I saw it — the lifeless eyes of a man I'd fought beside. The others didn't hesitate. They believed the dungeon rewarded survival, no matter the cost.
"Prove your devotion."
The final commandment.
⸻
"That room," I said, my voice hollow. "The one with the throne. That's where it ended."
Jinwoo's expression hardened. "No. That's where it truly began."
⸻
The massive throne loomed before us, its twisted form exuding an almost sentient presence. The air grew thick, suffocating. And then, the Guardian emerged.
A giant of stone and shadow. Its burning eyes locked onto us, the weight of its judgment suffocating. The remaining hunters tried to fight, but their attacks were meaningless. The Guardian moved like inevitability itself.
Blades shattered. Magic fizzled. One by one, they fell.
And then, in that moment of utter despair —
[You have met the conditions for awakening.]
[Would you like to proceed?]
Jinwoo's voice echoed in my mind. "That was the real trial. The System was always watching."
I saw myself frozen. The words hovered, waiting. Jinwoo stood across from me, his bloodied body trembling. He had received the same offer.
[Accept and awaken the path of the System.]
Time seemed to stand still. The Guardian's blade was already descending.
We made our choice.
⸻
Back in the café, I exhaled sharply. The memory clung to me, the echoes of that decision still lingering.
"We weren't the only ones who entered that dungeon," Jinwoo said, his voice low. "But we were the only ones who were left."
I nodded, the weight of it settling in. "And now we both have… whatever this is."
"The System," Jinwoo said grimly. "It gave us power, but it took something too."
The scars it left weren't just physical.
"What now?" I asked.
Jinwoo's dark eyes burned with a familiar resolve. "Now? We get stronger. Whatever the System wants, we're not going to be its pawns."
He held out his hand.
I clasped it firmly. "Agreed."
A sudden chime from our phones broke the silence. I pulled mine from my pocket.
[Hunter Association: You are invited to participate in a C-Rank Dungeon Raid. Confirmation required.]
Jinwoo frowned. "You're going too?"
"Seems like it," I said, flipping the phone to show him. His screen mirrored the same message.
"Strange. They don't usually send out raid invites like this," Jinwoo muttered. "Especially not to D-Ranks."
I shrugged. "Maybe they're desperate."
We both knew the truth was rarely that simple.
⸻
The Association's briefing room was a boxy, windowless space, stale with the smell of cheap coffee. Rensei leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his usual slouched posture betrayed by the sharpness in his gaze. Jinwoo sat on the other side, still nursing the weight of what happened in the Double Dungeon.
When Kang Taeshik entered, the air shifted. His presence commanded attention — an A-Rank Hunter in a room full of lower ranks. He wore authority like a second skin, but there was something about him that twisted in Rensei's gut. A grin that never reached his eyes.
"Welcome, everyone," Taeshik's voice dripped with false warmth. "Today's raid will be a straightforward C-Rank dungeon. But we have a little… addition to the team."
The steel door creaked open. A group of men in worn prison uniforms shuffled in, chains clinking with each step. The air thickened. Rensei's fists tightened.
"Probational prisoners," Taeshik said with a smirk. "They reduce their sentences by assisting in dungeon raids. Rest assured, they'll be under my supervision."
Jinwoo shifted in his seat, but it was Rensei who spoke first.
"This is a joke, right? Bringing criminals into a raid?"
Taeshik's eyes flicked toward him, amusement gleaming. "You afraid, D-Rank?"
"No," Rensei said flatly, locking eyes with the A-Rank. "I just don't like babysitting people who could stab me in the back."
A tense chuckle rippled through the room. Taeshik's grin widened, but there was no mistaking the challenge in Rensei's voice.
"Noted," Taeshik said, his tone dripping with condescension. "But orders are orders. You're free to leave if you can't handle it."
Rensei said nothing. Beside him, Jinwoo's gaze hardened. Neither of them were the same people they had been before.
⸻
The gate shimmered with an ominous hue, its swirling darkness beckoning them inside.
"Last chance to back out," Taeshik taunted, amusement dancing in his voice.
Rensei rolled his shoulders, feeling the hum of his quirk beneath his skin. Earthbound had grown steadier, its connection to the ground sharper than before. And Mercury Requiem… well, that still burned like molten silver through his veins. He wasn't sure how much he could push it yet, but he'd find out soon enough.
"Let's get this over with," Rensei muttered.
Jinwoo nodded, his face unreadable.
They stepped through the gate.
⸻
The dungeon swallowed them whole, the air thick and damp. The twisted branches of a skeletal forest loomed overhead, blocking out any semblance of light. In the distance, guttural growls echoed.
"Stay in formation!" Taeshik barked. "Prisoners at the rear!"
Rensei kept his eyes on the shadows, every crunch of dead leaves beneath his feet setting his nerves on edge. Jinwoo walked beside him, his fingers curled tightly around the handle of his dagger. Neither of them trusted this setup.
The first ambush came swiftly. Lesser demons burst from the underbrush, their elongated limbs twitching with inhuman hunger. The other hunters panicked, some scrambling back, others fumbling for their weapons.
Rensei didn't hesitate.
Earthbound.
The moment his foot connected with the ground, he felt it — the pulse of the dungeon's terrain. The soil answered his call. Jagged stones erupted, impaling the nearest demon mid-lunge. Its screech was cut short, black ichor splattering the ground.
Jinwoo moved with frightening precision, his dagger flashing as he sliced through the remaining demons. Rensei watched, the memory of Jinwoo's growth evident. He wasn't the weak E-Rank they'd once labeled him as.
But the deeper they ventured, the heavier the air grew.
"Something's not right," Jinwoo whispered.
"I know," Rensei muttered. His pulse quickened. The dungeon had grown too quiet.
Then, from the shadows, a monstrous presence stirred.
⸻
The next moments blurred in chaos. Kang Taeshik's smirk twisted into something far crueler. The prisoners, once cowering, now moved with a terrifying purpose.
"They're not here to help," Rensei growled, realization dawning too late. "They're part of this."
A cry rang out. Blood splattered the ground. Hunters fell.
Taeshik's laughter echoed. "Welcome to the real test."
Jinwoo's eyes darkened, the rage barely contained. Rensei's fists clenched, the silver veins of Mercury Requiem beginning to pulse beneath his skin.
"Stay close," Jinwoo said, his voice low.
Rensei nodded.
The coppery tang of blood thickened the air. Corpses of hunters littered the ground, eyes wide in disbelief. The prisoners, now unchained and grinning like wolves, circled what remained of the raid party. Rensei's breath came heavy, the hum of his quirk still thrumming through his limbs. But the unease ran deeper than that.
"You knew," Jinwoo's voice was cold, his dagger gleaming with demon blood. "You planned this."
Kang Taeshik's grin twisted. "What can I say? Some hunters are more useful dead than alive." He tilted his head toward the prisoners. "And these gentlemen are simply paying off their debts. A few hunters gone, a few sentences reduced. Fair trade, don't you think?"
Rensei's fists clenched. "You're sick."
"Maybe," Taeshik said, his eyes narrowing. "But I'm also alive. And in the end, that's all that matters."
The remaining hunters were barely holding on, some clutching bleeding wounds, others too paralyzed by fear to fight. But Rensei's gaze never left Taeshik. The man wasn't just an B rank hunter — he was a predator, and this was his hunting ground.
"We end this now," Jinwoo murmured, stepping forward. The shadows around him shifted unnaturally.
"Agreed," Rensei growled. The ground beneath his feet pulsed in response.
But Taeshik laughed, the sound echoing through the twisted forest. "You think you can stop me? You barely survived the last dungeon. Whatever power you think you've gained won't be enough."
"Then let's find out," Rensei snapped.
The fight erupted.
⸻
Rensei moved first.
Earthbound.
The ground answered his call, stone pillars shooting upward to intercept the approaching prisoners. Some stumbled, crashing into the jagged spikes, while others leaped over with frightening agility. Rensei ducked low, his hand slamming into the earth. A shockwave rippled outwards, sending debris flying.
But Taeshik was already in motion.
The B rank hunter blurred forward, his speed unnatural. Rensei barely managed to twist away, the air slicing apart where Taeshik's blade had passed. A deep gash marred the ground.
"Too slow," Taeshik sneered.
"Try me," Rensei spat.
The silver veins of Mercury Requiem pulsed through his skin. The air warped around him as liquid metal flowed from his fingertips, forming twin crescent blades that gleamed like polished mercury.
Taeshik's grin faltered.
"That's new," he muttered.
Rensei didn't give him time to react. He lunged, the twin blades trailing silver arcs. Taeshik's sword clashed against them, the force of the impact sending sparks flying. But Rensei felt it — the difference in power. Even with his quirk, Taeshik was stronger.
But he wasn't alone.
Jinwoo appeared from the shadows, his dagger striking for Taeshik's exposed side. The B rank twisted, but not before the blade grazed his arm, drawing blood.
"You little—" Taeshik growled.
"Focus on me," Rensei interrupted. He slammed his foot down, sending a jagged spike of stone toward Taeshik's chest. The hunter leaped back, but Jinwoo was already there, his movements swift and relentless.
The two worked in tandem — Jinwoo's shadows weaving through the battlefield, forcing Taeshik on the defensive, while Rensei's control over the ground ensured no escape. For the first time, TaeShik's grin faltered.
But Taeshik was far from defeated.
With a snarl, he unleashed a wave of raw energy, sending both Rensei and Jinwoo skidding backward. Blood dripped from the gash in his arm, but his eyes gleamed with twisted amusement.
"You think this changes anything?" he growled. "I'm still stronger."
"Strength isn't everything," Jinwoo said coldly.
"And we're not done yet," Rensei added, the mercury blades reforming in his hands.
The battle raged on.
⸻
Amid the chaos, the remaining prisoners turned on the weaker hunters. Rensei's heart pounded, but he couldn't lose focus. Jinwoo had Taeshik locked in combat, their blades clashing in rapid succession. The air cracked with the force of their strikes.
"Stay alive," Rensei growled to himself. "That's all we have to do."