Inside the Dungeon
Before anyone could react, the dungeon began to shake violently. The tremors grew dangerous as cracks spread across the ceiling, and large pieces of stone started to fall from every direction.
The Engineer flew upward to the highest point in the center of the room. Floating calmly in the air, he spoke with a mocking tone:
"Unfortunately, this raid has come to an end. This dungeon will soon disappear. If you don't want to vanish into nothingness, I suggest you return to your world quickly."
Everyone was shocked, but they soon understood the meaning behind his words.
If a hunter gets trapped inside a dungeon and fails to escape before it disappears, their fate is to vanish without a trace.
No body. No evidence. Gone forever.
They all felt that the situation had turned into something far beyond their understanding. This was no longer just a raid or a fight against a dungeon boss. It was something much deeper—something that went beyond the rules they knew.
Still, there was no time to hesitate.
They suppressed their thoughts and immediately moved to leave the dungeon.
From the Engineer's words, one thing was clear: this was not the end. This dungeon would definitely appear again.
At that moment, Louis hesitated.
His eyes fixed on the Engineer in the air. A single thought crossed his mind—
If he could kill the Engineer now, he could prevent this dungeon from ever appearing again.
But he clenched his teeth.
He was not confident.
Even with his current power, he could not be sure he could defeat the Engineer alone, especially after everything that had happened. After giving one final look, he turned around and followed the others, leaving the dungeon before it was too late.
The Engineer remained behind.
He watched them leave, and the lightness in his expression faded slightly. He muttered softly, as if speaking to the empty space:
"Was it really the right choice to let them leave like this?"
Then he added slowly,
"Won't they become an unpredictable variable in the future?"
The shadows in the room shifted as his words echoed, stretching and shrinking as if something was listening.
But there was no reply.
Even so, the Engineer understood the decision.
He felt the presence of that being—its weight, its silent will.
And he did not have the courage to oppose it.
Outside the Dungeon
Outside, tension filled the air. Hunters and officials stood on alert, their eyes fixed on the dungeon gate, waiting for anything to happen.
Suddenly, the dungeon began to destabilize.
The space around the gate twisted, and clear signs appeared that it could disappear at any moment. Voices rose, and some people stepped back instinctively.
Before anyone could react—
A body was violently thrown out of the dungeon, flying at incredible speed and crashing onto the ground outside.
Silence fell for a brief moment… then curiosity exploded.
Who was it?
What happened inside?
However, the Hunters Association reacted immediately. Their hunters moved quickly and formed a human barrier, preventing anyone from getting closer. The situation was brought under control within seconds.
The person's identity was confirmed right away.
Without hesitation, the official in charge called for an ambulance.
While he was still trying to understand what could have happened inside the dungeon—
Sudden shouts erupted around him.
He quickly raised his head.
From the dungeon gate, figures began to emerge one by one.
Thomas Andre.
Hwang Dong Su.
Liu Zhigang.
And finally… the hunter Kim Yoo Won.
They all came out alive.
Moments after their appearance, the dungeon's instability suddenly increased. Space twisted violently, the light collapsed inward, and then—
Everything went silent.
The dungeon disappeared completely.
Without a trace.
The moment the dungeon disappeared without a trace, the area exploded into noise.
Voices rose from every direction—overlapping shouts, angry questions, frightened whispers, and sharp arguments with no clear answers. Hunters, association members, and even ordinary people who had been pushed to a safe distance could not understand what had just happened.
Did the dungeon raid succeed…?
Why did it suddenly disappear…?
Is there any clear explanation for this…?
Fear quietly crept into everyone's hearts as they waited for someone—anyone—to speak.
Amid this chaos, Louis stood with the others, silently staring at the empty space where the dungeon should have been. There was no trace, no distortion, no remaining energy. It was as if there had never been a gate or another world there at all.
At that moment, Louis fully understood the truth.
All his plans…
All his attempts to control the course of events…
All the careful calculations he had prepared from the beginning…
They were all meaningless now.
He could no longer change what had happened.
There was no room left to turn back.
He took a slow breath, then shifted his gaze toward a body lying a few meters away on the ground.
Sung Jin-Woo.
He was still unconscious, completely motionless, as if everything that had happened was too much for his weak body to endure.
Louis walked straight toward him.
But after only two steps—
A familiar, deep voice stopped him, heavy with authority:
"Wait, boy… I have many questions I want to ask you."
It was Thomas Andre's voice.
Louis stopped in place, but he did not turn around. He did not look back, and he showed no clear emotion.
He replied in a cold, steady tone:
"If you want to know something, ask the Hunter Association. They will explain everything to you."
It looked as if he was about to continue walking.
At that moment—
Thomas Andre's aura suddenly flared.
A massive pressure burst from his body, making the air heavy and causing the ground beneath his feet to crack softly.
He spoke in a low voice filled with authority:
"Do you think I'm an idiot?"
Then his tone grew sharper:
"Or do you think you can fool me this easily?"
He took one step forward.
"What happened inside the dungeon… you already know everything."
Then he added in an even more dangerous tone:
"And that weapon you used—do you think I didn't notice it?"
At that moment—
Something exploded inside Louis.
The anger he had suppressed since entering the dungeon, since meeting Ashborn, since watching his plans fail one after another… he could no longer hold it back.
He turned around suddenly.
He stepped two paces toward Thomas, his eyes burning with cold fury.
"So what if I knew?"
He paused for a brief moment, then continued:
"So what if your guess was right?"
His voice rose.
"Do you think you have the right to question me?"
Then, even harsher:
"Or to order me?"
In the next instant—
Louis's Conqueror Haki erupted.
Pure, shining pressure burst out, carrying a natural authority that instinctively crushed everything around it.
It collided directly with Thomas Andre's aura.
BOOOOM!
This was not just a clash of energy—it was a small disaster. The two auras spread like an invisible storm, covering the entire area. The air was violently compressed, the ground shook, and the windows of nearby cars shattered.
In a single moment, breathing became difficult.
Some hunters dropped to their knees.
The weaker ones began to collapse.
Ordinary people lost consciousness, foam spilling from their mouths under the crushing pressure.
The scene was chaotic… terrifying.
Hwang Dong-Su stared at the collision, his eyes wide open. For the first time in a long while, he felt something he had never truly known before.
Fear.
All his pride.
All his contempt for others because of his strength…
It shattered in front of these two men.
As for Louis and Thomas—
They did not care about anything else.
They ignored the chaos.
They ignored the people collapsing around them.
Their focus was only on each other.
For a single moment… it looked like a real fight was about to begin.
But—
Before either of them could take another step—
Someone intervened.
A third force suddenly appeared between them.
It was Christopher Reed, who had been watching from a distance and had moved at incredible speed. Beside him, Liu Zhigang appeared at the exact same moment.
The two stood between Louis and Thomas.
Christopher's aura spread steadily—not to clash, but to separate them.
Liu Zhigang's presence was like a silent, deep wall, absorbing the pressure and preventing it from spreading further.
This time, Christopher spoke with rare seriousness:
"That's enough."
Then he continued firmly:
"Whatever happened inside the dungeon, this is neither the place nor the time to settle your personal conflicts."
He looked at both of them.
"If this doesn't end now, I will intervene myself."
It was not a threat…
It was a promise.
Liu Zhigang followed his lead and gave Louis a short, deep look—without saying a word.
At that moment—
Both of them came back to their senses.
Louis withdrew his aura.
Thomas withdrew his aura as well.
The air became breathable again.
Several people collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.
"Tch."
Thomas Andre spat as he looked at the mess left behind by their clash.
"This isn't over."
Then he looked at Louis.
"I'll make sure to get a clear explanation from you later… so be ready."
He turned sharply and said to Hwang Dong-Su:
"Let's go."
Hwang Dong-Su snapped out of it as if waking from a nightmare and hurried after Thomas, not daring to raise his head.
Louis watched the two of them leave and felt that the situation was slipping out of control far more than he had expected.
He turned calmly and walked toward Sung Jin-Woo, who was still unconscious.
He gave him a brief look.
Then—
He used teleportation.
And disappeared from the place without a trace.
But what no one noticed—
At the exact moment Louis looked at Jin-Woo, his shadow suddenly moved.
Within the shadow, two faint, glowing eyes appeared—unclear to everyone else.
Eyes that were silently staring at Louis.
Christopher Reed, who had been completely ignored after all of this, looked at the people leaving. Then he turned to Liu Zhigang beside him and asked:
"What really happened inside the dungeon?"
Liu Zhigang smiled faintly and said a few words in Chinese that Christopher could not understand.
Then he turned around and left.
Christopher froze in place. He stared into empty space for a few seconds, not knowing what to do.
"Ahh… damn all of this."
He cursed loudly—
Then left as well…
With no intention of getting involved in this chaos any further.
*** ***
The next day…
Song Jin Woo slowly opened his eyes, feeling a strange heaviness pressing on his head. The light was pale and white, and the sharp smell of disinfectants filled his nose. He blinked several times, trying to focus, then turned his head with effort and looked around.
Rows of beds, white curtains, and machines making steady beeping sounds.
"Where… am I?" he muttered in a hoarse voice.
He paused for a moment, then asked anxiously, "Is this… a hospital?"
Suddenly—
Jin Woo sat up with a start.
Memories rushed into his mind all at once. The prison. The crushing pressure. That mysterious voice that had called him endlessly. The hand that touched his forehead. The darkness.
His eyes widened, and his heart began to race violently.
"I… I… am… that voice…?" he muttered in panic, as if the words were leaving his mouth without control.
But before he could finish—
He lifted his head without thinking.
And in that moment…
he froze.
"Huh…?"
He looked up instinctively, driven by some hidden instinct.
Words.
Words floating in the air right in front of him, clearly visible.
[You have several unread messages.]
Jin Woo held his breath.
He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again.
[You have several unread messages.]
They did not disappear.
Not a single letter had changed.
The words remained suspended there…
as if waiting for him.
In that moment, Song Jin Woo felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
A clear feeling…
that what had happened inside that prison…
was not a dream.