Chapter 109: [OMINOUS]

’Why is he acting like the reason isn’t obvious?’

Eli’s grip on the flashlight tightened until his knuckles burned white. His throat locked, but the words tore out anyway, raw against the suffocating silence.

“It’s my fault,” he blurted. His voice cracked, thin and brittle. “My ability didn’t work—I couldn’t sense the leeches earlier. If I had, if I’d felt them sooner, Mel and Zaira wouldn’t have…” His breath hitched, his voice collapsing into a rasp. “…they wouldn’t have passed out.”

The guilt cut deeper than any wound. He should’ve known.

He should’ve sensed it.

That bad feeling earlier—he ignored it, let it fester instead of acting. He had let it drag too long, too slow.

The words clung to the damp air, swallowed by the cavern’s echoes, settling heavy like wet stone on his chest.

Kairo said nothing.

Not right away.

The silence stretched until Eli thought it might crush him. Every splash of boots through the shallow water sounded louder, sharper, like each ripple carried judgment. His lungs burned, shame gnawing harder with every second Kairo didn’t speak.

’Please. Say something. Anything.’

Eli’s nails dug into the flashlight, trembling. ’I can’t stand this silence…’

“Well…”

Finally, Kairo’s voice cut through. Calm. Low. Yet edged with something weighty that forced Eli’s head up.

“How do your abilities work?”

Eli blinked, stunned. “M-My abilities?”

“Yes.” Kairo’s tone didn’t waver, as steady as steel. “Explain them. Precisely.”

Eli faltered. ’But… why? I already told him before…’

Confusion tangled with guilt, but the command in Kairo’s voice left no room to resist. Eli swallowed hard, stumbling through the words.

“I—I can sense danger. It’s like… I feel intent. If something’s hostile, if something’s about to strike, I can tell. Sometimes I even get flashes—predictions—like knowing where a monster will attack before it happens.”

Kairo hummed low, a thoughtful sound rumbling in his chest, as though fitting together a puzzle Eli couldn’t see. Then, his words landed heavy, each syllable deliberate.

“One thing I know about leeches,” he said evenly, “is that when they stick to you, it isn’t aggression. It’s feeding. There’s no malice in it. No intent to harm.”

Eli’s eyes widened, his breath stuttering sharp.

“…Oh.”

The realization hit like cold water down his spine. His mind lurched back—back to Caelen, to the artificial elves. Empty shells without malice, without thought, that he couldn’t sense either.

’That’s why I didn’t feel anything. They weren’t planning to attack. They weren’t thinking about killing us. They just… wanted to eat.’

The flashlight wobbled in his grip, trembling with his hands.

“So… I couldn’t sense them because they didn’t mean any harm…” His voice was small, bitter. “Not until we tried to pull them off.”

The words left a hollow ache in his chest, but they fit. They made sense.

But then—another thought slammed into him, so sharp it stole his breath.

’Wait. Monsters in dungeons that don’t mean harm? That doesn’t happen. Every creature in here is supposed to exist to kill us. That’s the whole point, and—wait.’

His lips trembled. His body stiffened on Kairo’s shoulder as unease churned deeper.

Slowly, he turned his head, his voice slipping out more to himself than anyone else, broken and faint.

“…Leeches… there hasn’t been any records of leeches in dungeons… right?”

“I don’t keep track of all the existing records of monsters.” Kairo’s voice was low, steady, yet it carried easily through the cavern. His stride didn’t falter, water parting in rhythmic splashes under his boots. “However, I do think I’ve never seen or heard of leeches. How about you, Mio?”

Behind him, Mio let out a grunt, muscles straining under the combined weight of Zaira and Mel. Water rippled violently around his legs as he adjusted his grip.

“I also don’t think I’ve heard about leech-type monsters like these,” Mio admitted, voice taut with effort. “They’re fairly new. Too new.”

Eli’s eyes widened, his stomach twisting. ’Just like the monster statues.’

It couldn’t be… could it?

No. There hadn’t been a dungeon quake. No violent rumbles tearing through the city, no catastrophic signal that a dungeon was mutating.

Or…

His chest clenched. ’Fuck. It’s still a possibility. Or am I just being paranoid?’

“Eli.”

Kairo’s voice cut through, sharp and grounding, his tone demanding more than asking. “Why’d you ask?”

Eli flinched, his grip tightening around the flashlight until the plastic creaked. His thoughts churned. ’Should I tell him? Of course I should. Even though I’m not sure… it’s still…’

He exhaled a shaky sigh, trying to steady himself. But the words stuck to his throat, heavy. He didn’t want to say anything unless he was absolutely certain. They were already halfway back. One wrong word could spread panic when they needed control.

Still…

“Well…” His voice came out quiet, hesitant. “Are you aware that Caelen and I spoke to Midas Ryu earlier today?”

Even saying it aloud felt surreal. He almost laughed bitterly to himself. ’Come to think of it, it’s insane. All of this—Midas, Caelen, this raid—everything happening in just one damn day.’

Kairo was silent for a moment, but the air around him sharpened as if his presence alone could still a storm. Finally, he answered. “Yes.”

Eli nodded faintly, swallowing. “Well, Midas Ryu asked me what happened. What I noticed about the A-Class dungeon that mutated into an S-Class. Anything that could help give them information.”

Kairo’s hum was low, thoughtful. “Mhm.”

“One of the things we agreed on,” Eli continued, his words spilling faster now, “was that the key difference was the monsters. Inside that dungeon, there hadn’t been any records of statue-type monsters. None. Not once.”

Mio’s head snapped up, his orange eyes gleaming under the drone light. He tightened his hold on Mel and Zaira, his tone sharp despite the strain in his body. “Wait—you’re saying what I think you’re implying?”

Eli’s chest tightened. His voice wavered as he tried to explain, words fumbling in the oppressive air. “I know it might not be it. Considering… when the A-Class dungeon mutated, there was a dungeon quake. And this time, there wasn’t. But…”

His throat burned as he forced the words out. “It’s making me feel… a bit nervous. Because so far… we’ve encountered nothing but leeches.”

“Ha… haha…” Mio let out a shaky laugh, the sound hollow, almost forced. “Now things just got a whole lot more ominous.”

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