Chapter 98: Cha.98 Last Standing (3)

Qasim rushed toward Valen, but immediately turned around when he heard the goblins screaming.

He glanced back at Valen and saw the others rushing to help him.

Qasim gritted his teeth before returning to his position and protecting their guides.

To his surprise, the moment he stepped forward to attack the roots, they all disappeared, leaving the path completely clear.

Qasim stared at the scene in confusion.

Then he quickly ordered the goblins to stay close to him as he made his way toward the others.

Yasmin was protecting the front.

Doran was barely holding the back while Levia was checking on Valen.

Qasim tried to join Doran and help him, but the moment he stepped closer, the roots backed away again, leaving him and Doran standing there.

At the same time, the pressure on Yasmin increased.

Qasim looked around, trying to understand what was happening.

Then an idea slowly formed in his mind.

"Doran! Follow me! Stay extremely close!"

Doran looked at him in confusion but followed.

Once they got close to Levia, Qasim shouted toward Yasmin and the goblins.

"Stay close to me! They won’t attack us!"

"How do you know that, kid?" Doran asked, unsure whether he should believe him.

Qasim bit his lip.

"I’m not sure why, but they don’t attack me. Look!"

He pointed toward the roots.

They were slowly retreating from him.

Valen gently pushed Levia away from him before shouting,

"Let’s keep moving! Just stay close to Qasim!"

Levia stopped him.

"Y-Your wound will get worse! P-Please, let Doran carry you!"

Valen shook his head and showed her his side.

Levia gasped.

Her hand immediately covered her mouth.

Doran’s eyes widened.

Blood wasn’t leaking from the wound.

Instead, a sickening stench filled the air, similar to rotten meat. The skin around the wound was pale and mottled with purple, while the flesh itself had begun turning fluid and sloughing away. Its texture looked brittle, almost as if the body itself was falling apart.

"Did you get cursed? Or is this some kind of poison?" Doran shouted. "We need to get you out of here now!"

Valen stopped him.

"No. It’s fine. Just keep moving forward."

"N-No, Valen! With an injury like that, you might... You might—"

"I said I’m fine."

Valen’s voice became firmer.

"I’m not poisoned or cursed. Please, let’s keep moving. We don’t know how long these things will decide to stop attacking."

Qasim looked at Levia’s face.

His heart ached.

She was only trying to help him.

He stepped closer to Valen and spoke quietly.

"Valen, I think you should..."

He hesitated.

*He doesn’t want them to know. But in this situation...*

Suddenly, a voice behind him interrupted his thoughts.

"Valen is dead."

Yasmin spoke in her usual cold, emotionless tone.

"That wound is just his body collapsing."

She looked at him before continuing.

"He’ll tell you everything. First, let’s make sure we’re safe."

She looked ahead.

"I see some kind of building."

No one spoke.

For five seconds, silence took over the team but those few seconds felt like an eternity.

Finally, Valen spoke in a low voice.

"I’ll explain everything."

He lowered his eyes.

"Just... please, let’s keep moving."

Doran and Levia stood there, staring at him.

Then at Qasim and Yasmin, who don’t seem surprised at all.

Then back at Valen.

No further questions were asked.

The team pushed forward, staying close to Qasim as they made their way toward the building, which slowly became clearer.

It was a large temple made from what appeared to be ordinary stone.

A long staircase rose from the ground, leading toward a door at the top.

And there wasn’t a single root around it.

Not even one.

The team climbed a few steps before stopping.

The roots couldn’t reach them anymore.

Valen took a deep breath.

He looked toward Doran and Levia.

Their faces said everything.

Confusion.

Shock.

And a hint of anger.

Valen gave the five goblins a side glance.

They immediately moved away, giving the team some space.

Valen closed his eyes.

For a moment, he had no idea where to begin.

Then he opened them.

He told them everything.

The experiments.

The library.

His death.

And why he had wanted to come here alone.

When he finally finished, he lowered his head.

"Simply put, it’s already over for me, so I don’t care about my life anymore."

He looked at them.

"But for you, this place is extremely dangerous. That’s why I don’t want you to—"

SMACK!

A sharp sound echoed through the temple.

Levia had slapped him.

Valen slowly turned toward her.

Through her hair, he could see tears filling her eyes.

Her mouth trembled.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

Even the hand she had used to slap him was shaking.

She stared at him for a long moment.

Pain.

Grief.

Anger.

All of it was there.

Then her legs gave out.

She fell to her knees, unable to keep standing.

Doran looked at her.

Then he spoke.

His voice was cold and steady.

But he didn’t look at Valen.

"So..."

He took a breath.

"You were driven by the desire to prove that Nasun wasn’t a criminal."

His eyes lowered.

"And to take revenge on those who accused him."

He paused.

"But then you got yourself killed during our last mission."

Silence.

"...And you didn’t tell us."

Valen shook his head and raised it, preparing to speak.

But he froze.

His eyes met Doran’s.

He had expected anger.

Maybe hatred.

Maybe even disgust.

But there was none.

Something else was there.

Something that struck Valen harder than anger ever could.

Doran slowly narrowed his eyes.

"You didn’t tell us any of this..."

His voice was quiet.

"Was it because you thought we wouldn’t understand?"

A pause.

"Or because you thought we wouldn’t care?"

Valen’s expression froze.

Doran continued.

"Did you think that because you were the closest to Nasun, you were the only one who could hurt?"

He finally looked directly at Valen.

"You thought we wouldn’t try to prove what happened to the team that raised us?"

His voice trembled slightly.

"The team that shaped us..."

He looked toward Levia.

"The team that made us who we are."

Doran slowly sat beside Levia and lowered his head.

"We were there too, Valen."

He fell silent for a moment.

Then his voice became softer.

"I’m sorry."

"I’m really sorry."

Doran lowered his head further.

"Because I thought we were close."

His fingers tightened against his clothes.

"Something more than just teammates."

He finally looked up.

"But I was wrong."

A long silence followed.

"I guess we’re just us... Humans"

He glanced towards Levia, whose tears had formed a large stain on the ground.

"And you’re just you."

His eyes returned to Valen.

"The Nasun’s successor, the captain of Team Four."

Doran’s voice was almost painfully calm.

"So excuse my ignorance...Captain."

Valen stared at him with wide eyes.

For the first time in years, he didn’t know what to say.

The look in Doran’s eyes wasn’t anger.

It wasn’t sadness.

It wasn’t pity.

It was something Valen hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Back when he was an orphan.

Back before Team Four took him.

His eyes began to tear up as he finally remembered what that expression was called.

Disappointment.