Chapter 97: Ch 97: A Special Guest- Part 1
I blinked as the dungeon slowly started to get back to normal in front of my eyes. The weird hue it had acquired finally settled down into the dungeon’s landscape, and I took a good look at Kuro and our surroundings.
They looked normal, and there was no sign of the Theo look-alike anywhere.
"Ugh, my head. What just happened?"
I had never experienced anything like this before, and my head ached when I tried to recall what happened.
Kuro looked worried as he saw
struggle, and he quickly kneeled beside .
’When did I fall to my knees? I don’t understand what is happening and why?’
It seed as if I was also not immune to whatever pheromones were in the air. They just... affected
in a different way compared to the rest of the people around .
"Don’t think too much about what is happening and just rest for now. We are not in that much of a hurry..."
Kuro told
as he gathered the other fallen hunters around us and brought them to safety.
Now that we were all down, the threat of the dungeon felt real. Kuro was likely the only one who could fight in our group until I managed to recover my strength.
But the problem was still these others who were not waking up.
"How weird... the scent of pheromones has faded, but no one is waking up. I should take a look..."
My worry made
open my system to take a quick look, and I imdiately wished I had done that sooner.
[Status in effect: Partial Paralysis.]
The other hunters around
were not unconscious but under a status effect. So they were not going to wake up, no matter what we did, as long as this status prevailed.
"Kuro, this is—"
I asked, and he looked worried as well.
"Yeah. We likely won’t be able to wake them up until this dungeon is taken care of. We no longer have any ti to waste."
Kuro was right. But I did not want to leave these people alone either. The dilemma felt real.
’What should I do now?’
I asked myself.
Since I had no idea whether I was on a tir or not regarding these lives, I hesitated to do anything drastic. However, sothing soon happened that made
reconsider what my priorities should be.
There were loud noises of cheer around the dungeon as the sky began to turn a beautiful shade of pink, and stars glittered in it.
The unnatural phenonon looked breathtaking, and I felt the monsters in the dungeon head toward a specific direction, almost as if they were enchanted.
Even Kuro took a step forward before I grabbed his arm, and he snapped out of his daze.
"Where are you going?"
I asked Kuro, and he looked startled before he looked up at the sky with an enchanted expression. His eyes still looked glassy but had enough consciousness in them to answer
this ti.
"T-The ritual for our lord... it’s about to be held. Everyone is being invited to take part in the sacrifice... Ugh, this is a strong pull. I don’t think any monster will be able to resist it."
Kuro told , but his words did not explain what was happening.
The demon noticed my confusion and how I had no idea what he ant. So he explained in a little more detail.
"That High Priestess must have found a worthy sacrifice to give to our lord in order to have him bestow more power and blessings on this dungeon. If she’s successful, then even the normal monsters in here would gain unparalleled strength. There is no telling what might happen after that."
Kuro told , and this ti, things sounded scary.
The monsters had a chance to get even stronger when we were already struggling against them? That could not be allowed.
"We need to stop the ceremony at all costs. But these hunters... we cannot leave them alone either."
I felt conflicted about what I should do.
On one side lay humanity’s future, but on the other side lay the lives of the people I knew. Most would tell
it was an easy decision to make, but I did not want the burden of more lives on my head.
Kuro seed to understand what I was going through, and he patiently waited for
to give him an answer.
"It is up to you to decide what you want to do, Kyle. I cannot make this decision for you. However, I can tell you one thing—no matter what decision you make, you will have to live with it. So make sure you make one that is worth it."
The demon was right, and that was the problem—the decision ca back to . It would be my choice to decide who died.
"I..."
I felt so distressed that my pheromones filled the air. I was no longer able to mask them, and my scent caused Kuro to flinch.
"Kyle, are you alright...?"
Kuro asked in a hesitant voice as he reached out to . But he had not even touched
when a tight grip held his wrist.
"D-Don’t touch... him. You should... leave Kyle... alone..."
Rhiner panted out as he forced his body to wake up. Lee Minho and Edward were starting to wake up as well. Kesha was the only one still unconscious.
"Ugh, my head hurts. It seems like your pheromones woke us up, Kyle. Thanks for this and sorry as well."
Edward told
as he stood up slowly.
Neither of the three alphas seed to be able to maintain their focus or balance. But at least they were awake now.
The relief that rushed through
made my legs go weak, and I leaned against the tree behind my back to maintain my balance.
"Kyle, are you alright—"
Rhiner reached for , but he was weak as well, and Kuro ended up helping
out.
"I feel... much better now that you all are awake. Now, you all should leave this dungeon for now. I will try and take care of it."
I told the other hunters, but the protest was imdiate.
"No way—! It is too dangerous for you to go alone."
"That’s right. This dungeon is dangerous enough to even knock Edward out. There’s no way you were not affected either."
Both Rhiner and Lee Minho held similar opinions, and looking at their protest reminded
of Erin. He used to protest in a similar way as well during my younger days.
Of course, he had learned the hard way that it was better for
to be on-field than to be off-field.
"Tsk, you both seem to be forgetting who I am. I won’t need your help, so you should leave and get yourselves checked out right now. You will be the liability here otherwise."
I warned the alphas, but they looked ready to protest.
However, the one who took my side was Edward.
"Everyone, we are leaving now. Kyle is right. We will be more of a hindrance to him than help. It would be better to let him take care of this dungeon however he wants to."
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