Trapped.
That was the only word echoing in the minds of every hunter.
If they ran back through the dungeon portal, the cursed Shadow Mark on their hands would kill them instantly just like the forty before them. If they moved forward toward the dungeon, death awaited them in the form of a monster so powerful that even SSS-ranked hunters had fallen before it.
Despair clung to the air like smoke.
Some hunters dropped to their knees, crying helplessly. Others screamed, cursing their luck and the twisted fate that had brought them here.
"I have kids to feed!" one man howled, clutching his face. "I didn't sign up to die like this!"
"We're just pawns! Bait for that damn fungus!"
The survivors stood frozen, paralyzed not by fear alone but by the cruel reality that they had no options.
Then, a voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"Everyone!"
Heads turned. Eyes lifted.
It was Daelan.
The scarred D-rank hunter stood tall, arms crossed, his voice calm yet commanding. Despite the looming threat, his face carried a quiet confidence, the look of someone who had survived too many battles to break now.
"We're all trapped here," Daelan continued, his voice rising above the whimpers and sobs. "There's no denying that. But listen we've been given a chance."
Devin blinked, looking up at the older man. His heartbeat slowed for a moment, tuning into Daelan's words.
"We don't have to fight the Archaespore," Daelan said. "You all saw the broadcast the same one I did. The peerless guild hunters may have been wiped out, but they mapped part of this dungeon. They moved in a formation. A strategy. We don't need to fight we just need to evade. Our goal is to observe, map the dungeon, and report back to the Shadow Clan."
He swept his gaze across the group.
"It's easier said than done, yes. But it's better than standing here waiting to die, or running blindly and becoming plant food."
For a second, it looked like his words were sinking in.
But then SNAP!
"Shut it!" a younger man barked, stepping forward. His D-rank insignia glinted in the light, his fists clenched. "What kind of fantasy are you living in, old man?! We're strangers! We haven't trained together, we don't know each other's abilities or roles!"
The hunter spat on the ground, eyes flashing with desperation.
"There's no time to strategize! No time for formations or speeches!"
And with that he bolted.
Straight toward the dungeon.
"Hey—WAIT!" Daelan shouted.
But it was too late.
The hunter dashed forward, veering along the narrow path that led to the Archaespore's domain. Vines erupted from the ground beneath him, poisonous and fast, writhing like snakes. He dodged the first wave barely rolling and scrambling to his feet.
And then,
"SCREW IT! RUN!"
One by one, the others snapped.
A flood of hunters broke into a mad dash toward the cave, panic driving their feet.
"May the luckiest survive!"
"No point dying here like sheep!"
The forest exploded with movement.
Venomous plants burst from the soil, snaring ankles and lashing at legs. Screams echoed as the slowest were caught first, dragged into the earth by thorned vines. Blood soaked the mossy floor, and the Archaespore screeched its terrible cry like the sound of a dying forest.
"AHHHH, MY LEG!"
"No, please—NO—!"
The stampede continued. Chaos ruled. No formation. No plan. Just raw survival.
Devin stood frozen again, heart thundering. This wasn't war it was slaughter.
Daelan cursed under his breath, watching the chaos unfold. He clenched his fists tightly, then turned to look at the only remaining hunters beside him.
Only five were left.
Devin. Two women. Two men. All pale-faced and trembling.
"This is madness," Daelan growled. "So much for teamwork."
Then he looked to them, eyes hard.
"We go. Now."
He didn't wait for an answer. He just ran.
Devin blinked then snapped out of his trance and followed.
The five sprinted down the narrow trail behind the others, the forest howling around them. The dungeon had come alive, and there was no turning back now.
His legs moved on instinct, feet pounding against the narrow forest path, but his mind was numb. The world around him had become a cacophony of death blood-curdling screams, the sound of flesh being torn, and the sickening squelch of plants bursting from the earth.
This is hell, he thought.
To his left, a hunter was caught mid-step. A vine thicker than a man's arm shot from the ground and snatched his torso, yanking him down with such force that his scream was cut short in an instant.
To his right, another hunter tried to leap over a thorn trap, but he didn't make it. Barbed roots exploded from below, skewering his body like a kebab and lifting him into the air before violently snapping him in half.
Devin's heart raced. He pushed harder. Faster.
But then...
"Urrgh!"
The hunter in front of him jerked violently, his body arching upward as a razor-sharp stalk shot up from the ground and impaled him clean through the abdomen. Blood splashed into the air like a fountain as the man's eyes rolled back and his arms dropped lifelessly to his sides.
The corpse hung in front of Devin for only a moment before the plant flung it aside like discarded trash.
Devin's breath caught in his throat.
A loud ringing suddenly filled his ears. Not a sound, but a pressure an unbearable screech that drowned out everything else.
He stumbled.
The world tilted sideways.
He hit the ground hard, scraping his elbows against the rough, mossy terrain. Dirt filled his mouth. His vision blurred.
Through the ringing, through the haze, he saw Daelan turn around. The older hunter's mouth was moving but Devin couldn't hear anything. It was as if the world had gone silent, save for the high-pitched noise blaring in his head.
What is he saying...?
Devin tried to move, but his limbs felt heavy. His lungs burned. His heart pounded wildly against his ribs like a beast trying to escape its cage.
Then Daelan ran back.
Against all logic, against all instinct, the seasoned hunter ignored the chaos behind him and dashed toward Devin.
Without a word, Daelan grabbed him by the collar and hauled him to his feet. The force shook Devin awake, just enough for the ringing to fade slightly.
"RUN, KID!" Daelan's voice finally broke through, rough and commanding. "MOVE THOSE DAMN LEGS OR DIE HERE!"
Devin didn't argue.
Still dizzy, still gasping, he stumbled forward with Daelan by his side, the two of them racing toward the cave as the jungle behind them turned into a massacre.
Around them, the screams of the dying continued to rise.
The Archaespore roared somewhere deeper in the forest, its call echoing like the growl of a god awakened.
There was no room for hesitation now.
It was run or rot.
-------
Erin ran with a sly smile stretched across his face, completely unlike the fear-stricken expressions of the other hunters around him.
He was young, no more than twenty, with boyish features that betrayed the wicked cunning hiding beneath. While the others were running for their lives, Erin had a plan one steeped in selfishness and cowardice.
"Tch. Fools," he muttered under his breath, watching another hunter fall to a poisonous vine trap. "Let them panic... let them die. I just have to stay behind one of them and push them toward the danger whenever I'm cornered."
He had already done it. Twice.
Each time the Archaespore's vines had neared him, he'd grabbed a nearby hunter man or woman and shoved them forward like a lamb to the slaughter. Screams. Begging. Blood. None of it mattered. Their deaths were his shield.
And so far, it had worked.
But then CRACK!
A monstrous vine shot out from the side with lightning speed and slammed into Erin's back. The force sent him sprawling forward, his face scraping against the dirt and gravel.
"Aaargh! Help! Somebody, please!" he screamed, now drenched in fear.
For a moment, no one turned back. No one cared.
But then... someone did.
A young girl barely eighteen by appearance broke from the fleeing group and dashed toward him. Her short brown hair bounced as she ran, her expression full of concern.
"I've got you!" she said, reaching down to help him.
Erin looked at her. An E-Rank. Young. Naive. Perfect.
He took her hand, and as she pulled him to his feet, another vine came lashing forward. This time Erin made a decision without hesitation.
"Sorry, sweetheart."
With a sudden shove, Erin threw the girl into the path of the vine.
"Wha....?!"
The vine coiled around her ankle with a sickening snap, pulling her leg taut as thorns dug into her flesh. She screamed in agony, falling to the ground as tears burst from her eyes.
Erin didn't look back. He ran.
Behind him, the girl's pained cry echoed:
"Aaaahhh!! Help me!! Someone, please!!"
Devin heard her.
His legs were heavy, his body aching, but something in that scream stabbed through his heart. He turned his head just in time to see her struggling, the vine dragging her slowly across the blood-soaked earth.
For a moment, Devin froze.
His instincts told him to run. His fear screamed at him. But his heart his conscience wouldn't let him.
"Dammit..." he hissed, pivoting hard and rushing back toward her.
The girl's face lit with hope as she saw him. "P-Please! Don't leave me! It hurts It HURTS!"
Devin didn't answer. His eyes landed on a fallen hunter just a few feet away a sword, still clenched in the corpse's lifeless hands.
He grabbed it.
The weapon was heavy, the hilt slick with blood, but Devin raised it high and brought it crashing down on the vine.
SLASH!
The plant recoiled slightly but it wasn't enough. The vine pulled harder, and the girl's screams intensified.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Devin hacked at the vine with all his strength, sweat and blood flying with each swing. The approaching vines sensed danger and began to slither toward him. He had only seconds.
One more strike !!
CRACK!
The vine finally snapped.
Without missing a beat, Devin dropped the sword and grabbed the girl, hoisting her to her feet.
"Can you run?" he asked, panting heavily.
She nodded, tears streaking her face. "Y-Yes... I think so!"
"Then let's go!"
Together, they ran, narrowly evading the vines that lashed where they'd just stood.
---
After several minutes of desperate sprinting dodging spore bursts, ducking branches, and fending off the occasional beastlike creatures that prowled the jungle they finally reached the looming mouth of the cave.
Others were there already. Bloodied, shaken, but alive.
Only half of the original hunters remained.
The rest... were scattered across the path, devoured by flora, crushed by vines, or buried in the earth itself.
Devin collapsed at the entrance, gasping for breath. The girl beside him fell to her knees, clutching her leg, tears still streaming down her face.
But they were alive.
Barely.