Chapter 230: Unfinished Business
"Alicia Lutherford’s dead older brother?" Theo’s eyebrows shoot up.
"Dead?" he repeats, incredulous.
Alex smiles awkwardly. "Erm, yes. Dead. Look, I know you don’t believe , but ti is of the essence, maybe—"
"Ti is not of the essence here," Theo cuts in gently, yet unshakeable.
Alex shuts his mouth imdiately. He studies Theo for a mont, then exhales.
"You’re right," he sighs. "Ti is aningless here. It’s
who’s in a hurry. I’m afraid for Ali’s safety."
"Ali? That should be Chief Lutherford, right?" Theo asks. His gaze is sharp, steady, no trace of the breakdown he had monts ago.
It is Alex’s turn to be stunned.
"Chief Lutherford?" he echoes. "That’s . Wait. Was . I was Chief Lutherford, the chief of Solarys Dungeon Ergency Unit."
Realization hits him. He looks at Theo with wide eyes.
"You an Ali is the chief now? Really?"
Theo nods. "Yes. And from what I’ve seen, she’s good at it. Really good."
"Of course she would be!" Alex laughs openly, montarily forgetting the urgency of the situation.
"Oh, thank you for telling
that. I’ve been worried about her ever since my death. It breaks my heart thinking about her. I was afraid she would feel guilty."
He pauses, his expression darkening.
"You see, she watched
die."
He shakes his head. "I’m sure she thinks she killed . That survivor guilt nonsense. It wasn’t her fault. I chose to die so she could live."
He clenches his fist. "Big difference. And if she’s still blaming herself, help
knock so sense into her head."
Alex says it with fierce conviction.
Theo smiles faintly. "I will. Now tell
how we can help each other."
Alex straightens, the humor fading.
"Right. To explain that, I need to give you so background. How I died, and why I’m still here. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it short." He grins.
Theo likes this man imdiately. Straightforward, sincere, urgent without being forceful. A man with a large heart. It feels like a tragedy that soone like him died.
"Okay," Alex says. "Short version."
"I entered a dungeon because my officers went in and didn’t co out for a long ti," he begins.
"I went in, rescued everyone I could. But I didn’t know Ali had entered too. She was looking for . Worried."
His jaw tightens.
"She got into trouble. I saved her. And I died right in front of her."
He shrugs weakly. "And then, bam. Fast forward to today."
Theo chuckles softly. "You weren’t lying. That was very short. Clear too. But there’s more."
"Of course there’s more," Alex scoffs.
"I died in this dungeon. By the sa Haelion King. But back then, it wasn’t this powerful. It had smaller spider monsters."
That startles Theo.
"You said you’ve been waiting a long ti. But if you died in this dungeon, that was recent."
Alex nods. "Yes."
Theo frowns. "Then Alicia was already a DEU officer when you were chief?"
Alex pauses. "What’s the date you entered the dungeon?"
Theo tells him.
Alex’s brow furrows. "That’s about eight months after I died."
Theo inhales sharply. "A dungeon this dangerous staying open that long? That doesn’t make sense. Captain Chambers said the dungeon was only just discovered."
Another thought strikes him.
"Where was the gate when you entered?" Theo asks.
Alex hesitates, confused by the question, but answers.
"On a remote island, about one hundred kiloters from St. Lucas Island. Still within Concordia waters."
Theo sucks in a breath. "That’s impossible. I entered through a gate in the heart of St. Lucas Island. They were evacuating the entire place."
Silence stretches between them.
"A moving gate?" Alex asks.
"Or two entrances," Theo adds.
Another pause.
Then they speak at the sa ti.
"I’ll investigate it when I’m out."
"You’ll need to investigate it when you’re out."
They grin at each other.
"Good," Theo says. "We’re aligned. But you still haven’t told
how you’re going to help . I’m dying, rember?"
Alex grimaces. "Yeah. I saw. That spider stabbed you repeatedly. And Ali... it broke her."
Theo’s jaw drops. "So I wasn’t imagining it. I saw Alicia right before I lost consciousness."
Alex nods. "She was there. Just like when the Haelion King killed . I looked at her, begging her to keep hiding."
Theo’s expression softens. "I’m sorry, Alex."
Alex nods once.
"You can imagine my shock when I saw her here again, leading three teams. Is she insane?"
"Captain Chambers said it was a rescue mission," Theo explains. "The previous three teams didn’t co out."
Alex scoffs. "That needs to change. Sending people in after a failed rescue is just stacking bodies."
He looks at Theo.
"And then they sent you. A team of five. I thought they’d lost their minds."
He turns serious.
"But when I saw what you guys can do, it blew my mind," Alex says. "I can’t believe people like you exist. What is it? Magic?"
Theo looks at him with the sa serious expression and nods.
"Yes. It is magic."
Alex’s eyes light up imdiately. Excitent bursts through his fatigue.
"I knew it! I knew it!" he exclaims. "It’s the only explanation that makes sense!"
He exhales, forcing himself to calm down, then refocuses.
"Okay. Back to the matter at hand. How I can help you."
He pauses, collecting his thoughts.
"Since I died, I sohow stayed in the dungeon instead of going wherever dead people are supposed to go. I’m stuck here. My consciousness continues to exist, but my body..." He shrugs. "It’s probably been buried. Or cremated. I don’t know."
Theo listens intently, not interrupting.
"Right after I died, I was terrified for Ali’s safety," Alex continues. "So afraid that I kind of..." He hesitates, then lets out a small laugh. "Okay, this is going to sound crazy."
Theo doesn’t react. He just waits.
"I think... no, I believe it was magic," Alex says more firmly. "I was so desperate to protect her that I felt this overwhelming need to stay. To make sure she was safe. And sohow, I did."
He clenches his fists slightly.
"I stayed. I managed to lure the Haelion King away from her. I even closed off her presence entirely, made it so the monster couldn’t sense her as human anymore."
Theo frowns deeply. From the way Alex describes it, it sounds dangerously close to Light magic.
But he has never heard of a dead magus wielding magic. Ever.
"And since then," Alex continues, "I’ve been stuck here. I can’t go anywhere. I thought I’d be trapped forever."
His gaze sharpens.
"Then I saw Ali again."
"I knew the green mist could corrupt minds," Alex says quietly. "I’ve seen it before. But when I entered this dungeon back then, it wasn’t this strong. Not even close."
Theo finally interjects, voice low.
"Did the King do anything to the smaller spider monsters?"
Alex’s eyebrows shoot up.
"How did you know?"
Theo doesn’t answer.
"You’re right," Alex continues grimly. "It ate them. All of them. Absorbed them completely. And that’s when the green mist beca this powerful."
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