Chapter 99: [TAKING YOU WITH ME]

“I-I…”

Eli’s voice cracked, words dying in his throat. His stomach twisted violently.

He fucked up.

Royally fucked up.

The realization hit like a blade twisting in his chest. He completely forgot—it had never been made public. The news never once reported that a hunter was left behind in that dungeon.

Of course they didn’t.

Of course the dungeon cleaners involved would bury it.

’Zestiel and his crew… they never told anyone. They must’ve kept quiet. They had to. No one would want the public to know that leaving someone behind—leaving me behind—is what caused the tears to happen.’

His palms dampened with sweat. Every nerve screamed at him to fix it, but his mouth wouldn’t move. His mind was blank.

Across from him, Kairo’s eyes sharpened. He leaned forward, the weight of his gaze cutting into Eli like knives. Suspicion dripped from every line of his face.

“Eli…” His voice was low, deliberate, dangerous. His brow furrowed as though he’d just pieced together something he shouldn’t have. “…is the massive dungeon explosion caused by this friend of yours staying inside the dungeon? And if it is—”

He tilted his head, shadows cutting across his sharp jawline as his stare narrowed further.

“—how do you know about thi—”

Ring. Ring.

The sound sliced through the suffocating silence.

Eli flinched so hard his knee banged against the underside of the table. His wide eyes darted instinctively toward his phone on the coffee table.

Not ringing. Silent.

That meant—

The sound was coming from Kairo.

Kairo’s expression hardened, annoyance flashing briefly across his face. His hand slipped inside his coat pocket with crisp precision, retrieving the black device.

He exhaled sharply through his nose. “Hold on.”

The single phrase carried no room for argument, his tone as heavy as the silence that preceded it.

He pressed the phone to his ear. “What?”

Eli sat frozen, chest heaving shallowly, every muscle trembling from the cliff he’d just been yanked back from.

His heart hammered, his ears rang, and yet—his gaze flickered to Kairo, still dangerously close, his sharp profile illuminated by the faint glow of the phone screen.

’I need to think of an excuse before his call finishes.’ Eli’s mind spun, panic clawing at his throat. His hand pressed against his chest, feeling the frantic rhythm beneath his palm as his gaze stayed locked on Kairo.

But maybe… maybe he wouldn’t have to.

“What?”

Kairo’s second word wasn’t like the first. This one cut sharper, rougher, shock threading through his usually controlled tone.

His black eyes flickered, a rare slip of surprise breaking through his mask. He rose from the couch in a single, fluid movement, the air in the room shifting with him.

Eli’s brows knit, his pulse quickening. ’What’s going on? What could rattle him like that?’

Kairo’s back straightened as he listened, his voice dropping to a low urgency. “That’s… is that true? But isn’t it—” He broke off, teeth grit audibly before spitting the words. “It’s too sudden. I’m—” A pause. His jaw flexed hard. “…Didn’t Mel tell you? I’m at Elione Noa Ahn’s.”

The words hit Eli like ice water.

Kairo’s gaze cut toward him briefly, sharp and assessing, and Eli actually flinched under the weight of it.

Then Kairo spoke again, voice brisk, decisive. “Alright. I’m coming. But I’m taking him. Inform the guild master.”

Eli’s eyes widened. ’Taking who? Me? Taking me where?!’ His breath hitched, chest tightening. The room suddenly felt smaller, the walls creeping closer.

Kairo’s hand tightened around the phone as he listened to the reply on the other end. His tone sharpened further, resolute. “Don’t worry, Mio. I know the stakes. But I’m taking him with me. It’s nothing like what Caelen did.”

Eli’s stomach dropped, dread crashing through him like a wave. ’Wait—what? What the fuck is happening? What does Caelen have to do with this?!’

Every instinct screamed at him to move, to demand answers—but his body stayed rooted, locked in place by the weight of Kairo’s presence, and the fact that Eli was scared Kairo was going to continue questioning him.

“Okay, alright. I’ll see you in ten. You all better be ready once I get there.”

The line clicked dead.

Kairo lowered the phone, sliding it back into his coat pocket with deliberate calm. But the calm was a lie.

His jaw flexed once, twice, his throat working like he was grinding glass between his teeth. The air around him felt heavier, taut, as though some invisible thread had been pulled too tight.

Eli sat frozen on the couch, his fingers clenched against the fabric. He didn’t dare breathe too loud. It was like the room itself was holding its breath.

Then Kairo turned.

Those black eyes locked onto him—sharp, cutting, unrelenting—and Eli’s chest seized.

“Get dressed.”

The command came flat, clipped, like steel striking steel.

Eli blinked, lips parting. “W-What?” His voice cracked with disbelief.

’Get dressed?’ His mind stumbled over the words, tumbling in circles.

Kairo stepped forward, closing the distance with a slow, deliberate stride that made the air feel suffocating. “Hunter gear.” His tone held no hesitation, no softness. It was an order, pure and simple. “Now.”

The words hit Eli like a bucket of ice water. His pulse stuttered, then raced. His breath caught. He almost laughed from the sheer absurdity of it. “Hunter gear? F-For what? Why would I—”

“Because—” Kairo’s voice cut him down like a blade, sharp enough to silence him mid-sentence. The hunter leaned closer, his presence towering, his stare heavy enough to pin Eli to the spot.

“An S-Class gate has appeared. It’s our turn to clear one and…”

The words echoed in Eli’s skull, each syllable sinking like stone.

Kairo straightened, his coat shifting with the movement as he spoke again, steady and absolute.

“I’m bringing you with me.”

Eli’s world tilted. His lungs forgot how to work. The room spun with the weight of those words.

“You’re kidding?”

’An actual S-Class gate?!’

“Do I look like the kind to joke around?” Kairo asks, grabbing his car keys. “I’ll wait for you, but be quick. Now go.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep