Chapter 119: [UNCERTAINTY]

“So what does that mean exactly? Sorry, maybe the exhaustion’s getting to my head, but I don’t understand.” Mio’s tone came out clipped, sharp with frustration, his shoulders tense as the silver threads binding Zaira and Mel twitched faintly.

Eli didn’t answer right away.

His eyes stayed locked on the water, the black surface rippling softly where Kairo’s boot had disturbed it.

The silence pressed heavy on his chest. He swallowed hard, lips parting.

“…It means they either got bored of following us,” he muttered, his voice hoarse, “or there’s something ahead that they’re afraid of—so they left.”

The words dropped like stones in the cavern.

Mio blinked, his frown deepening. “It could just be the first, right? They’ve been following us for hours. Maybe they lost interest—”

“Exactly.”

The word cut sharper than Eli intended. He dragged his gaze up, his yellow eyes locking onto Mio’s. His voice rose, tight, rushed. “They’ve been following us for over an hour. Watching. Waiting. And they just suddenly stop?”

Mio’s breath caught, his brows furrowed hard.

Eli’s throat worked as he forced the truth out. “I was still seeing glimpses of them before we stopped here. Blue eyes, always watching. And now…”

His gaze flicked to Kairo, whose hand never left the hilt of his blade, black eyes unreadable but razor-sharp.

“…now they’re just gone.”

“And? You don’t feel danger. We should all just stick together and move ahead together. I don’t feel good about our captain going ahead on his own.” Mio’s arms locked tight across his chest, his expression strained, voice laced with frustration.

’I don’t feel good about it either but…’

Eli thought, his mouth parting before he could stop himself.

“So you don’t feel good about what’s possibly ahead too?”

The words left his lips at the exact same time as Kairo’s.

Word for word.

The cavern went still.

Eli’s head snapped toward Kairo in disbelief, and for the briefest second, their eyes locked—his yellow wide with shock, Kairo’s black narrowing faintly as if he, too, was startled by the echo.

Neither spoke.

Then Mio groaned, throwing his hands up. “I’m not feeling good because both of you are saying ominous shit like that! Eli—Elione—if you don’t feel danger, then there’s no danger, right?”

Eli hesitated, rubbing at his throat. “…Well… dangerous intent—”

“And Captain, please,” Mio cut in, sharper now, his voice cracking against the cave walls. “We’re already two people down. As your second-in-command, I get it—you’re stronger than all of us combined, you think you can handle whatever’s ahead, but—”

“I will have to cut you off there.”

Kairo’s tone was flat but heavy. His fingers pinched the bridge of his nose, and for a moment, the light from the drones caught the faint tremor in his bloodstained hand.

It was subtle, but Eli noticed.

’He’s losing patience. Maybe from blood loss… or exhaustion. Mio too.’

S-Class hunters were used to leading, not waiting.

They were used to charging forward with certainty, not crawling through darkness where the rules shifted under their feet. And now that certainty was gone.

The cracks were showing.

“I am the captain,” Kairo continued, his voice low but unyielding. “It is my responsibility to decide what is best for this team. And right now, what is best is that I walk ahead to check. That’s all. It is not a big deal.”

“But—” Mio’s voice snapped sharper, panic buried under the weight of his words.

“Mio.”

This time, Kairo’s voice cracked like a whip. Firm. Final. “Do as you are told.”

The silence after that was heavy, pressing in like the cavern walls themselves had moved closer.

Eli winced. ’Oh no… he’s mad.’

It was rare. In every dungeon raid he had read about, Kairo and Mio were always seamless—two halves of one blade.

Strategy, execution, trust. They weren’t like Caelen and Punzo, who clashed constantly, Caelen diving headfirst into danger while Punzo tried to reel him back.

Caelen had always come across as princely, even when reckless—like a storybook hero rushing to save people.

But Eli could see now: it wasn’t charm. It was recklessness. Punzo was the responsible one, not Caelen.

And now…

Kairo was doing something both reckless and not-so reckless.

Because the truth was, they didn’t know if there was danger ahead.

But they also couldn’t say for sure there wasn’t.

And that uncertainty was the most dangerous part of all.

Mio went silent.

Eli glanced at him briefly, guilt pressing at his chest like a stone.

’Why do I feel like this is my fault? I don’t even know why… but it feels like it is.’

“Finally.” Kairo muttered under his breath, dragging a hand back through his damp hair. His voice dropped low, cutting, tired but firm. “I’ll go ahead. I won’t accept any more complaints. We don’t know what’s waiting for us, but if there is something, then at least I’ll be the one to check. Stop making a scene over something so simple. Understood?”

“Understood,” Mio muttered, though the word carried more grit than agreement.

Kairo turned, his black eyes cutting toward Eli. “Understood?”

Eli blinked. ’Oh… I’m part of this too.’ His throat tightened, but he gave a small nod. “I understand.”

“Good.”

Kairo adjusted his sword in his grip, the obsidian edge catching the faint glow of the drones before he turned his back to them. “I’ll call if it’s safe to move forward. If there’s danger—stay put until I say otherwise.”

“Whatever.” Mio’s mutter was sharp, low—but just loud enough to carry.

Eli stiffened. His eyes widened slightly. ’He must really be tired if he’s acting like this. Mio gets frustrated, but… not like this. Not with Kairo.’

Kairo didn’t so much as flinch at the words. He simply walked. Each step was steady, unyielding, water splashing faintly at his boots as he pushed deeper into the dark.

The drone lights followed at first, their red glow skimming faintly over his shoulders. But soon even that dim light couldn’t hold him.

Eli could only watch as Kairo’s silhouette shrank with every stride until the dark swallowed him whole.

Leaving Eli. Mio. And the unconscious bodies of Zaira and Mel.

Eli’s chest tightened. “…I hope there’s nothing,” he whispered under his breath, resisting the urge to glance at Mio.

The silence that followed pressed heavy against his ears.

Awkward. Suffocating.

The cavern stretched wide and black around them, but Eli felt trapped in that small patch of water and stone.

He didn’t know what to say.

Didn’t know if he should say anything at all.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep