Chapter 102: [COME HERE]

“Something wrong?”

Eli jerked like a guilty child caught stealing candy. His eyes snapped away from the S-Class gate, its pulsing edges gnawing at reality like jagged teeth, and landed on Mio.

“N-Nervous…” he admitted, his voice cracking in a way that made his own skin crawl.

Mio chuckled softly, folding his arms with lazy ease. “You’ve already dealt with an S-Class gate technically, right? Don’t worry. We got your back.”

’Got my back? I barely survived the last one!’ Eli’s throat tightened, but before he could respond, Zaira’s booming voice crashed through.

“Yeah! S-Class dungeons are a breeze with Kairo.” Her grin was wide, eyes gleaming as she pumped her fist into the air like this was some pep rally instead of a death march. “All he needs is blood—or whatever it is flowing inside those monsters—and bam! Instant win for us.”

Eli swallowed hard, his gaze darting to Kairo at the front. The man didn’t even twitch, his presence a wall of calm steel.

’Instant win, huh? Easy for you to say when you’re not the one one slip away from becoming monster food.’

Mel, meanwhile, was quick to chime in, puffing his chest out with all the energy of someone desperate to be heard. “We’re the fastest team to clear gates.” His tone grew sharper, edged with frustration as his arms crossed firmly against his chest.

“Which is why I am a hundred percent sure the Lion’s Fang guild only gets called more ’famous’ and ’successful’ than us because their leader and guild master are basically stage performers. All smiles, all charm. Unlike our guild master and leader, who are both antisocial and scary. Mr. Golden Boy and his pet guild mast—”

Wham.

Mio’s elbow buried itself into Mel’s side with practiced precision, cutting him off mid-rant.

“Hey!” Mel doubled over slightly, groaning.

“Don’t say such things,” Mio said smoothly, though his tone had a razor edge beneath the casual smile. “You’re making us sound petty.”

Eli blinked, wide-eyed, feeling like he’d just been shoved into the middle of a very awkward sibling spat.

’I mean, after meeting Caelen…I kinda get it if they are petty…’

Mio turned back to him, smoothing everything over with a wave of his hand. “Don’t mind him. He’s just annoyed his sister is more famous than him.”

Eli tilted his head, brows furrowing. “His sister?”

“Oh? Did you not know?” Mio’s smile curved sharper, as if he’d been waiting for Eli to ask.

“Know what?” Eli asked, unease coiling low in his stomach.

Mel groaned louder, throwing his hands into the air. “Jabby! She’s my twin sister.”

Eli’s mouth fell open. “Jabby? As in Jabby from Caelen’s team? The one who kidnapped me?!”

The words echoed louder than intended, making Zaira snort with barely concealed laughter. Mio covered his mouth like he was coughing, but his shoulders shook with suppressed amusement.

“SHE was the one who kidnapped you? She never mentioned that! That little…!” Mel’s voice cracked with disbelief, his face twisting into frustration before he turned sharply to Eli. He bowed low, his tone dripping with apology. “I’m so sorry. She’s such a weird one… I swear I’ll tell my parents on her. She may be part of Caelen’s team, but she—”

Eli quickly shook his hands, trying to wave off the heavy guilt Mel was drowning in. “No, no. She already apologized, and she was really nice about it.”

“Nice?” Zaira arched a perfectly sculpted brow, her orange eyes narrowing. “How can one be nice about kidnapping someone?”

Eli scratched the back of his neck, feeling the weight of everyone’s stares. “Well… she wasn’t rough? And… uh… that’s it?”

The silence that followed was deafening, only broken by the distant hum of the dungeon’s ominous entrance behind them.

Mio, Zaira, and Mel all exchanged looks that carried equal parts disbelief and amusement, before Zaira let out a short laugh.

“You’re quite an oddball for a rich guy—and a beauty vlogger at that,” she remarked, smirking as if Eli were the most fascinating creature she’d ever laid eyes on. “I don’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just… I’ve met plenty of rich people, and none of them are as… chill as you.”

“Well, I’m just not—” Eli started, but his words were sliced clean through by a deep, commanding voice.

“Let’s stop the senseless conversations, and go inside now.”

Everyone froze.

Kairo had spoken.

He had been silent up until now, standing like a dark sentinel at the mouth of the dungeon, the dim light glinting faintly against his black eyes. His aura, even without him trying, weighed on the group like a shadow pressing down on their chests. Instantly, all eyes snapped toward him.

“We’re not sure what lies inside this dungeon,” Kairo continued, his tone cool, steady, and devoid of any hesitation. “So get into position. And Eli…”

Eli’s heart skipped. “Yes?” he answered without thinking, his full attention locking onto Kairo.

Kairo tilted his head slightly, a small gesture, but enough to make Eli’s chest tighten. Then he raised a hand and beckoned. “Come here.”

For a heartbeat, silence stretched thin as glass. Even Kairo’s own team blinked in confusion, glancing at one another as if they’d misheard.

Eli hesitated. ’Come here? Why? What is he planning? Is he… going to make me go in first because of my abilities?’

Despite the swarm of doubts buzzing in his chest, Eli’s legs moved on their own.

He stepped forward, each footfall echoing louder in his head than it did on the cracked stone ground.

When he finally stood before Kairo, so close he could see the faint gleam of veins in his void-like eyes, Eli swallowed hard.

He stopped just in front of him, heart hammering like it wanted out of his chest, and locked eyes with the S-Class Hunter.

“What is it—” Eli started, his voice wavering as curiosity twisted into unease.

But before he could even finish the question, his world tilted.

His feet left the ground.

“W-What?!” Eli yelped, his arms instinctively flailing in panic. The air rushed past his ears as his stomach lurched. In the blink of an eye, he realized what had happened—he was no longer standing.

Kairo was carrying him.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep