Chapter 112: [THE KEY IS….]

“Caelen!”

The man didn’t turn immediately. He sat with one leg crossed over the other, a newspaper in hand, the faint rustle of paper filling the quiet room.

His eyes skimmed past dull headlines about tear-type monsters, though his real focus was elsewhere—searching for news of himself and Eli.

There were still a few scattered articles. Mentions of the A-Class dungeon that had mutated into S-Class. His name tied to the event. Eli’s, too.

But the frenzy had already begun to fade. The headlines weren’t as loud.

Sadly, there were no new videos besides the one where he carried Eli out of the dungeon, but even that clip had been enough to set tongues wagging. Enough to make the image of Eli in his arms linger online.

“Caelen, I have to tell you—”

“If it’s about Kairo bringing Eli along with his team to an S-Class dungeon, I already knew that, Punzo.” Caelen’s tone was flat, disinterested, eyes still flicking lazily across the page.

’But to think, that little bastard actually decided to move.’

A flicker of thought passed behind his gaze. The timing had been curious—the fact that Eli went with Kairo so soon after their talk with Midas Ryu. But Caelen wasn’t worried.

Not yet.

He was still confident. When the time came, Eli would choose Lion’s Fang.

So for now, he didn’t care.

“No, it’s not that.” Punzo’s voice cracked, uncharacteristically strained. His hair was disheveled, his pink eyes wide, shaking. “The… the news right now, it’s—”

Caelen finally glanced up, his brow furrowing. “Hm? Spit it out.”

Punzo swallowed hard. “The S-Class dungeon they went intoo… mutated.”

The words hit like a blade sliding clean between Caelen’s ribs.

For the first time, his eyes widened. The newspaper crumpled faintly in his grip before he set it aside and rose smoothly to his feet.

“…Show me.”

Punzo nodded quickly, fumbling his Epad out from his jacket. His hands shook as he tapped across the screen, pulling up the feed, before handing it over.

Caelen took it immediately, his gaze snapping downward, sharp and focused.

The screen lit his face in a pale glow.

It was chaos.

The scene mirrored what he’d witnessed after escaping his own dungeon—the Hunter’s Association swarming the area, their uniforms scattered like ants across the clearing.

And in the middle of it all—Midas Ryu, commanding the chaos with that same polished composure.

Samantha Park, Twilight Guild’s guildmaster, was there as well, standing at the front with her hunters at her back.

Reporters crowded the edges, cameras flashing like starlight, voices rising in overlapping waves.

But none of that mattered.

Because behind them loomed the gate.

Massive. Looming.

Bigger than Caelen has ever seen.

And its surface… no longer pulsed with light.

No glow. No ripple of magic. No breath of mana.

Just dead stone.

An immovable wall between those trapped inside… and the outside world.

Caelen’s grip on the Epad tightened until the metal frame creaked faintly. His eyes narrowed, glowing under the screen’s cold light.

“This dungeon…” His voice was low, grim. “If it was an S-Class… then now it’s—”

“An SS-Class gate.” Punzo’s voice cut in, horrified, his words trembling. His pink eyes shook as he said it aloud, like he didn’t even want to believe it himself. “The first of its existence… and Kairo and his team are the only ones inside.”

Silence.

Then—

“Fuck.” Caelen exhaled sharply, the word dropping like a stone. He didn’t know whether it was horror curling in his gut… or intrigue.

The first SS-Class.

And of all people, it had to be Kairo inside. Kairo… and Eli.

His jaw clenched.

“Uh oh. I know that look.”

Both Caelen and Punzo snapped their heads toward the voice.

Arman.

He leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, his orange eyes gleaming faintly in the dim light.

“Arman!” Punzo exclaimed, his relief short-lived. “Have you seen the—”

“Yes, I’ve seen it.” Arman’s voice was calm, but sharp. He strode forward, each step unhurried, deliberate. “What a bunch of unfortunate souls… trapped in something unheard of, unsure of their fate.”

He stopped beside them, gaze flicking between the screen and Caelen. A thin smirk tugged at his lips. “But you don’t think they’re unfortunate, do you, Captain?”

Caelen’s jaw flexed. He ran a hand back through his dark hair, exhaling slowly, eyes sharp as a blade.

“They can be either. If they die to an SS-Class boss…” His tone dipped lower, cold. “…then they truly are unfortunate.”

Arman’s smirk widened faintly. “But if they clear it?”

Caelen slammed the Epad down onto his desk with a dull thud. His teeth bared, a flash of irritation breaking his calm mask.

“Then I have more reasons to hate that fucking black-eyed smug bastard.”

Punzo flinched at the venom in his voice, looking between the two men like he’d stepped into something dangerous. “Caelen, Arman—you’re both saying such normal things in such a weird way, and this has to stop. I know we hate them, but—”

“They won’t die.” Caelen’s words cut sharp, absolute.

Punzo blinked. “Huh—?”

“Unfortunately for me…” Caelen leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing, “…Kairo might actually pull this off. Because he was smart enough to bring the one thing that could serve as their key. Without it, they’re dead. Every single one of them.”

Arman tilted his head. “By key, you mean…”

Caelen’s gaze slid to the side.

On the desk, beside scattered reports and mission files, lay a sealed envelope. A guild invitation, gold-stamped with the sigil of Lion’s Fang Guild.

Addressed neatly in ink: Elione Noa Ahn.

His lips curved into something sharp, dangerous.

“Right.” Caelen murmured, leaning his head back, eyes narrowing as if he could already see the battlefield. “…Eli.”

▒▓ ▀▄█ ⚠ ▄█▀ ▓▒

“Danger!”

Eli’s voice split through the cavern, raw and desperate, echoing like a warning bell.

Kairo’s head snapped instantly toward where Eli had been—his black eyes cutting sharp into the darkness. His instincts flared, muscles coiling, blood stirring for combat.

But—

“…C-Captain…” Mio’s voice came hoarse, almost strangled. He stood stiff, his eyes wide, trembling. “Eli… Eli is—”

The words died in his throat.

Kairo’s blood, for the first time since stepping foot inside this cursed dungeon, ran cold.

Eli was gone.

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