The elevator descended.
Metallic.
Mechanical.
The scream of the cable dragging them down through the dark shaft filled the small space, a sound like something being torn apart slowly, deliberately, without mercy.
Ha Joon stood near the back wall.
His eyes moved over the interior.
Old wood.
Scratches everywhere.
Deep gouges in the panels.
Marks that looked like claws.
Like something had tried to escape.
Like something horrible had happened here.
His chest tightened.
He didn't look at Chi-Long.
Didn't look at Eun Byol.
Just stared at the scratches.
Counted them.
Lost count.
Started again.
---
Eun Byol stood near the door.
Her eyes fixed on it.
Unblinking.
Her hands at her sides.
Still.
But her breathing was shallow.
Fast.
Her mind raced.
*What's waiting?*
*What new form of torture?*
*What new agony?*
She didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Just stared at the door and waited for it to open.
For whatever came next.
---
Chi-Long stood at the center.
Red and black tracksuit.
Black ponytail perfect.
Hands at her sides.
Calm.
Clear.
Unshakeable.
She didn't look at them.
Didn't need to.
Her presence filled the elevator.
Steady.
Absolute.
---
The cable groaned.
The elevator shuddered.
Then stopped.
Silence.
The door opened.
---
Darkness.
Not complete.
But close.
A dungeon.
Medieval.
The walls were black, gray, mossy green—damp stone that glistened in the faint light coming from somewhere unseen.
Water dripped.
Slow.
Steady.
*Drip.*
*Drip.*
*Drip.*
The sound echoed.
The air smelled like rot.
Like earth.
Like something that had been closed off from the world for too long.
Chi-Long stepped out first.
Her shoes made no sound on the wet stone floor.
Ha Joon followed.
Eun Byol followed.
---
The hallway stretched ahead.
Narrow.
The walls closed in on both sides.
Rusty bars lined the corridor—old prison cells, empty, their doors hanging open or rusted shut.
Ha Joon's eyes moved over them.
One cell had scratches on the floor.
Deep grooves.
Like something had been dragged.
Another had chains hanging from the wall.
Broken.
He looked away.
Kept walking.
---
Chi-Long stopped in front of a door.
Not a cell.
A door.
Solid.
Dark wood.
Old.
She reached into her pocket.
Pulled out a key.
Slid it into the lock.
Turned it.
The lock clicked.
Loud in the silence.
She pushed the door open.
---
Inside, the room was small.
Stone walls.
No windows.
A single dim light overhead, flickering weakly.
And in the corner—
A goblin.
Thin.
Starving.
Its ribs showed through green skin pulled tight over bone.
Large ears.
Sharp teeth.
Yellow eyes.
It was chained to the wall by its ankle, the chain thick and rusted, attached to a metal ring embedded in the stone.
It looked at them.
Not with curiosity.
Not with fear.
With hunger.
Its mouth opened.
Drool dripped.
It pulled against the chain.
Once.
Twice.
Snarling.
Acting like a rabid dog.
---
Ha Joon stood at the threshold.
His heart pounded.
His hands shook.
He didn't move.
Couldn't.
Chi-Long's voice came quiet.
Firm.
"Enter and kill."
Ha Joon's body moved before his mind caught up.
One step forward.
Then another.
He crossed the threshold.
The door closed behind him.
The lock clicked.
He turned.
Chi-Long and Eun Byol stood on the other side.
Watching.
Silent.
Ha Joon's breathing quickened.
He turned back to the goblin.
It stared at him.
Yellow eyes wide.
Hungry.
Then—
*Snap.*
The chain broke.
The goblin screamed.
And rushed forward.