Chapter 44: Killing Intent

"Either way, we can only figure it out after entering."

After hearing everyone’s opinion, Raive finally chipped in. His words were straight to the point. There’s no point in guessing right now, anyway.

It’s too late to leave, as they’re already inside the dungeon.

"Well, that’s also true." Khamish shrugged. "Then, let’s push it on three."

He moved to the right door, while Raive moved to the left, and at the count of three, they both pushed it open.

"Hngggh!"

The two exerted force, not expecting it to be so heavy. The door barely moved. Just about two centimeters a second.

When the opening reached just enough for a person to squeeze through, however...

"...!"

Raive felt something was amiss.

The hair at the back of his neck stood on end, his body stiffening for a brief moment. A sensation he already knew well. Killing intent.

The feeling of impending death!

"DUCK!" He roared.

Khamish, still busy pushing the door open, barely heard him. "Huh?" He hummed, turning to ask what Raive said.

STAB!

"KHAMISH, NO!!!"

But that slight delay came with a heavy price.

From the fallen statues, sharp, stone-like vines shot out.

They moved like living beings, stabbing right where everyone’s heads had been a moment before.

Raive, Hazel, and Hershey were fine, but Khamish—who couldn’t duck down in time—now had a vine stabbed through his temple, out the other side. He hung there, nailed against the door he’d been pushing open.

Obviously, there’s no surviving that.

But worse, they don’t have time to dwell on his death.

"Shit! They’re coming!" Hazel roared in panic.

And true to her words, behind them, all the broken "statues" began to move. Hundreds, no, thousands of them. Like mollusks hiding under their shells, the vines emerged from within the statues, creeping out of the cracks.

The force behind each one was like a whip made of solid iron, enough to crack solid ground.

Seeing them, and recalling the words on the door, Raive shouted just one word.

The only answer to their predicament.

"RUN!"

Without hesitation, Raive carried Hershey under his arm like a sack of potatoes, and sped away through the open door.

They didn’t know where it led, but it was the only path they could take.

The way back was already deadly enough, after all.

Even with his current stats, Raive didn’t even consider fighting.

The violence of their numbers was just too much.

Unlike when he saved Hazel’s parents from the Sine Gang, this time wasn’t one versus ten, but one versus a thousand. Even if he forced it, there’s no way he’d come out on top against those numbers.

So they could only run with their tails between their legs.

As they ran, Raive began evaluating the road ahead. Past the doors, they entered a deeper sanctum, where only a single path led further into the darkness.

Strangely, they could see only about 50 meters ahead even with their lights on full blast. Almost as if some strange magic was keeping them from seeing further.

As they ran, Raive noticed the first problem. A tripwire, 50 meters ahead!

"Traps!"

His voice warned Hazel, who hadn’t noticed it. Thanks to that, she cleared it easily, avoiding whatever it would’ve triggered.

Their one saving grace was that the "monsters" were slow.

Their speed was about half of the two’s, so the distance between them grew quickly. Still, that was no reason to relax or slow down.

After all, until now, there’s been no "maze" part at all.

In short...

"Here it comes!"

Just as he thought it, the two came to a stop. Ahead of them, the road split in two. Both looked identical and unassuming, making it hard to decide which to take.

No markers were left either. Not a single clue.

"What do we do?" Hazel asked, worried.

Right now, they had a 50-50 chance of finding the correct path. The enemy was still far behind, but if they hit a dead-end and had to backtrack, there was a good chance the gap would close entirely.

But Raive stood still.

Something was scratching at the back of his mind, nagging at him.

"When the wind blows, the mountain bows..."

He recited the first line etched on the door. He had no proof, but he was sure it was the key to finding the right path.

’Left, or right. Am I missing something...?’

Just as he started overthinking it, he felt something cool sweep across his cheeks. A gentle breeze, cool and fresh.

But this puzzled him.

"A breeze...?"

They were clearly deep in some underground temple, so wind couldn’t be drafting in through cracks. In short, the only source of airflow here was...

"...!"

Raive quickly licked his finger, then held it up, feeling for something.

A moment later, another breeze blew in. His finger caught the chill coming from the right, and a smile spread across his face.

"The right path!" He roared. "Follow me!"

"Okay!"

Hazel didn’t hesitate either, following after him without a second thought.

Their steps were light, but their hearts were heavy. If this was the wrong path, death was the only thing waiting for them. But after dodging two traps, they both began to feel they’d chosen right.

"So it was the wind!" Hazel commented as they ran. "The path where the breeze comes from is the correct one!"

"Yes, it is." Raive nodded.

But at the same time, worry crept in.

After all, he knew these kinds of things well.

Make you feel like you’ve got it figured out, then hit you with something nobody saw coming. As he was thinking so deeply while running...

CLICK!

"Ugh...!"

Raive felt himself step on something.

The tile under his foot clicked, sending a solid vibration up his foot.

Then, the next moment, an arrow shot from the wall, heading straight for them, coming from the left side. The side where Raive was holding Hershey.

"...!"

Catching the danger, he quickly stomped his other leg hard against the ground, cracking it, then used the extra momentum to spin 180 degrees, putting Hershey into a safer position.

But that movement made it impossible for him to block the arrows.

Three of them struck him squarely.

One to his shoulder, one to his side, and one to his thigh.

"Kugh...!"

Pain spread through his senses as he followed his momentum, rolling backward across the ground.

"Raive! Hershey!"

With him blocking the arrows, Hazel—standing right beside him—was spared from taking any. She rushed toward them, worried, helping the two up.

"B-Brother...!"

Seeing the injury he’d taken, Hershey quickly grew teary-eyed.

"I’ll heal you up. Stay still!" She said.

But...

"N-No..."

Raive forced the words out as he made himself stand.

"Hershey... heal me as we run."