The woman's head fell to the ground.
Blood spurted from her still-standing body.
All the hunters in the chamber gasped, unable to breathe.
Because what they saw… was a nightmare.
Dozens of tall, humanoid creatures standing in unison. Each one was draped in white robes, a long scarf covering their face. Yet behind the fabric were twisted, distorted human features. And behind every one of them floated a scythe.
The one at the front held a scythe slick with fresh, dripping blood.
The Wraithborn.
"Run!"
Everyone turned and bolted, legs moving on instinct.
They were inside a dungeon, specifically, one of its deeper chambers.
The entrance to this chamber was small, only wide enough for two people to pass through at once.
With nearly fifty hunters present, chaos erupted.
They shoved, screamed, and scrambled toward the opening, desperate to escape.
"Hey! Don't push!"
"Me first, me first! I have a wife and children at home!"
"My life is more important than yours! I'm a higher rank, move aside!"
Swoooosh!
A spray of blood splattered across the crowd.
They turned toward the source, another man, or more accurately, half a man, had been cut down. His lower body was gone, lying several feet away. His upper half was still on the ground, one hand gripping the leg of a nearby female hunter. His eyes were wide open in pure agony.
The woman screamed, adding more chaos to the already frenzied scene.
One by one, more hunters were slaughtered in gruesome fashion. Almost none were left with whole bodies. Heads, torsos, limbs, even internal organs were scattered across the chamber like gore-stained debris.
Only half of them managed to squeeze through the narrow opening and reach the next chamber, which was wider than the last.
They ran as fast as they could.
Adrenaline numbed their wounds, abrasions, lacerations, deep cuts, none of it mattered. Their bodies screamed, but their minds focused only on survival as they pushed through the tight passage.
One of them, the largest among the group, was falling behind. He had long brown hair and wore expensive hunter armor, but his legs were starting to weaken, his pace slowing with every step.
How the hell are there S-rank monsters in this dungeon?
They said it was only B-rank at most! Those bastards lied!
Swoooosh!
"Aaarghh!"
He glanced back, the nightmare creatures were already slaughtering the rearmost hunter. Now, he was the last one.
The monsters were closing in fast.
As he ran, he spotted another man just ahead, black-haired, wearing a worn-out hunter garb, with a small dagger strapped to his left side.
"Tch. How is this weakest fella still alive?" he groaned.
The man in front of him was Helix, the lowest-ranked hunter in the guild. A nobody. Yet somehow, he was ahead of him, running faster, surviving longer.
To him, that was unacceptable.
Insulting.
With a burst of spite, he kicked off the ground and lunged forward. He grabbed Helix by the collar and yanked him back with all his strength.
Helix stumbled, crashing to the ground and tumbling across the floor, dust and blood streaking behind him.
The man didn't stop.
He kept running, grinning from ear to ear.
"Hehehe... Goodbye, Helix. I won't forget your sacrifice."
He then dashed forward.
Helix lay on the ground, his head bleeding, his limbs throbbing with pain.
"Gordon!" he shouted, watching the man disappear into the distance.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself up. Thankfully, his legs weren't badly injured. Wobbling at first, he forced himself to keep running.
His mind was spinning with questions and rage.
Why the hell did S-rank monsters appear in this dungeon?
If I knew this would happen, I would've never volunteered for this suicide campaign!
He ran while clutching his left elbow, the pain radiating through his body.
This expedition was sponsored by The Lumina Group, a well-known organization famous for funding high-reward dungeon exploration campaigns. Their payouts were so luxurious that even experienced hunters would flock to apply.
Whenever the Lumina Group announced a new campaign, countless hunters rushed to register their names because the group only selected a limited number each time.
After hundreds of failed applications…
Helix had finally been accepted.
But now—it looked like this would be both his first and last expedition.
His stamina wasn't exhausted yet, even after all this running, he was used to it. As a lowest-ranking dungeon hunter, a mere F-rank, stamina and speed were the only tools he had to survive in the brutal world of dungeons.
As he continued running, he spotted a woman struggling to walk ahead. It looked like she had twisted or maybe even broken her ankle. Her left hand braced against the wall as she limped forward, barely able to stay upright.
With the dungeon creatures closing in, she was next in line for death.
Helix didn't think twice.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward her and grabbed her arm. He ignored the pain in his elbow completely.
He refused to let anyone else die, not if he could help it.
"Helix?" the woman gasped, shocked to see him helping her.
"Alissa?" Helix blinked, equally surprised.
Alissa.
The most beautiful woman he knew. Beautiful and talented. A B-rank hunter, and nearly eligible for A-rank promotion.
She had long golden hair and piercing blue eyes. Her nose was sharp, her chin small, just enough to perfectly frame her large, expressive eyes. She wore a hunter's garb tailored to her rapid-movement style: a short combat skirt with lightweight armor plates designed for agility.
As Helix grabbed her arm and helped her move faster, she suddenly cried out, "Wait! My rapier, it fell behind!"
"No time for that," Helix said firmly. "It's either your rapier… or your life."
Screeech!
A bone-chilling screech rang out behind them. Helix dared to glance over his shoulder and saw the creatures slashing something on the ground. Their attention was focused there… for now.
Whatever it was that delayed them, he wasn't going to waste the chance.
Helix gritted his teeth and pushed forward, pulling Alissa with him toward the dungeon's exit. Any delay… any help, no matter how small it was all welcome.
"Thank you, Helix," Alissa said softly, smiling through the pain. "I never thought you'd risk your life to help me."
"It's nothing," Helix replied flatly. "As fellow hunters, we help each other."
But in his heart, he was burning with joy.
Alissa. The girl he'd always admired… was thanking him. And now, he was holding her in his arms.
He had to restrain himself from slapping his own face, just to check if this was a dream.
Or a nightmare… if those creatures were still part of it.
As they neared the exit, they spotted the remaining survivors crossing a bridge up ahead. It was a natural stone formation, narrow and jagged, stretching across a deep ravine. The bottom wasn't even visible, just an abyss of darkness.
Helix's eyes narrowed when he saw someone on the far side.
Gordon.
He was standing just past the bridge, glancing around anxiously. The moment he spotted Helix and Alissa, he started walking toward them.
"You're like a cockroach, Helix! So damn resilient!" Gordon shouted with a laugh.
Tch.
He scoffed silently. He didn't dare say anything. Not to him.
"Alissa, you're safe!" Gordon called out.
"Gordon… Yes. Thanks to Helix. He's the one who helped me," Alissa replied.
As they drew closer to the bridge...
SCREEECH!
That awful sound echoed again behind them.
They instinctively looked back.
From the shadows, those wicked creatures appeared once more. But this time… they moved faster. Much faster.
Helix and the others froze. Eyes wide. Hearts pounding.
"Gordon! Alissa! Hurry! We're blowing the bridge!" a male hunter shouted from the other side.
The three of them reacted instantly. Helix grabbed Alissa again and began moving forward with her.
Behind them, the footsteps of the nightmare creatures grew louder and closer.
"Alissa, come on! We don't have time!" Gordon yelled.
Alissa looked at him. Then looked back again.
The creatures were terrifyingly close now. At this pace… they wouldn't make it. Death was certain.
She turned her gaze toward Helix,who was doing everything he could to move, carrying her weight, his face dripping with sweat. His jaw was clenched, eyes burning with focus.
Then, Alissa closed her eyes… and frowned.
"...Sorry, Helix," she whispered.
"Huh?" Helix blinked, confused.
And in that moment...
She pushed him.
Helix stumbled back and crashed onto the ground behind her.
With one final leap on her injured leg, Alissa jumped toward Gordon. He caught her mid-air, lifted her up, and bolted across the bridge.
Helix lay on the ground, dazed. Confused.
His eyes were stretched wide, not believed what had just happened.
Alissa.
The woman he had admired since the day he first registered as a dungeon hunter...
Had just abandoned him.
His body hurt. But not as much as his heart.
Still trembling, Helix forced himself to stand, staggering toward the bridge.
The bridge was about 50 meters long, spanning across the abyss between the chambers. A narrow path of rock between life and death.
He looked behind.
The creatures were getting closer and fast.
Helix was now halfway across the bridge when he spotted the faces on the other side.
Gordon. Alissa. The other survivors.
They were just… watching.
Expressionless and cold.
"Do it, Delg," Gordon said calmly.
"But… that boy's still on the bridge," Delg replied. He was a dwarf, stocky and strong, gripping a hammer nearly as large as himself.
Gordon grabbed Delg by the collar. "If you love that kid more than your own life, then go join him!"
Delg stared into Gordon's eyes, then sighed. He pulled free from Gordon's grasp and stepped forward.
The other hunters parted silently to let him through.
"Hey… What are you doing?" Helix muttered, voice shaky, as I saw the dwarf walking to the edge of the bridge… lifting his hammer.
CLANG!
The hammer smashed down.
The entire bridge trembled. He lost his footing and fell to one knee.
CLANG!
"What are you doing?! Don't you see I'm still here?!" he shouted in panic.
CLANG!
The dwarf kept swinging.
CLANG!
"Please! I don't want to die yet!" he screamed from the bottom of his lungs.
"Why are you doing this to me?!"
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
Behind him, the creatures were already on the bridge, their presence making the stone sway and dip, the structure growing more unstable by the second
"Get out of the way, you idiot dwarf! I knew you were just stalling to buy that useless guy more time!" Gordon growled.
He snatched the hammer from Delg and shoved him aside.
Then, with a wild grin on his face, Gordon raised the hammer. His body bent backward...
And with one full swing...
CLANG!
The sound echoed throughout the dungeon like a death knell.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the stone bridge. They spread rapidly, faster and faster, until the entire structure shattered beneath Helix's feet.
Chunks of rock exploded outward, tumbling into the darkness.
For a brief moment, Helix was suspended in the air...
Then gravity took hold.
He plummeted into the abyss.
In that final instant, he looked up.
Gordon's face, smirking with triumph.
Alissa's face cold and no trace of guilt.
And the others, expressionless.
'Why all of you hate me so much? What did I do to all of you?
Helix's face twisted with fury. His lips bled from biting down in rage. His eyes, bloodshot and sharp as blades, burned with hatred.
I will remember all of your faces, you bastards..
If I return… I swear on my blood…
I will become stronger and all of you will bow to me!
Tears floated above him, shimmering like glass.
But only for a moment.
Then he..
And the Wraithborn...
Vanished into the darkness below.