The hall outside the dungeon gate was anything but calm.
More than thirty people stood gathered in a wide circle around the gate.
Six of them were Tier 3 profession holders, while the others were all powerful Tier 2 combat profession holders.
Their mere presence suffocated the entire space as they stood focused on the dungeon gate.
Their weapons were already drawn, waiting for their target to appear.
Every one of them was ready to kill, murderous intent burning in their gaze.
Bzzzzz!
Then, with a buzzing sound, the dungeon gate flickered.
Its unstable glow shifted into a deep blue before several figures simultaneously appeared one after another.
WHOOOM—!!
Five figures materialized on the solid ground, but before they could even fully regain their balance, they noticed something strange.
Weapons were pointing at them from every direction.
The previous smiles they had from successfully completing their dungeon run vanished instantly, replaced by terror as they sensed the pure killing intent surrounding them.
"…W-What…?"
"…Why are you—?"
Fear gripped their hearts in an instant.
"O-Our dungeon… we just raided—"
Their faces were pale, but the tall man stepped forward from the group, covering the other four who were not even thinking clearly at this moment, and asked,
"We are just normal hunters who came to raid this dungeon. What did we do wrong?!"
His voice trembled, filled with panic and confusion as he failed to make sense of the situation.
If Eren saw him, he would recognize this man in instant.
Eren had sneaked into this dungeon by following this exact team, the same group that had entered Hard difficulty before Eren attacked the guild members.
There was no usual composure left in the man anymore as all the surrounding guild members silently shifted their gaze in a certain direction.
His gaze followed.
There, sitting on the cold stone floor, was a man currently being treated by two healers.
His damaged armor placed besides him revealing his broad shoulder and chest.
His legs were twisted unnaturally, clearly broken, and his face was contorted with pain and fury as he shouted,
"The one who attacked me was not with this group!"
A ripple of reaction passed through the crowd as all of them turned their weapons back toward the gate once again.
The five newcomers froze in place, still shaking, as several guild members stepped forward and pointed toward the far corner of the hall.
"Move over there… Don't try anything."
Their gazes were no longer as hostile as before, but they weren't friendly either.
"O-Okay… okay…"
The group didn't dare resist.
They hurried toward the corner and huddled together, as if trying to protect themselves from the guild members.
The leader of the group, Rodrick, asked in a trembling voice, trying to understand the situation,
"What's going on here…?"
One of the guild members glanced at them briefly before saying in a flat tone,
"There's a demon cult member inside the dungeon. So we've locked all exits."
Another one added,
"Not only did he sneak into the dungeon, he also dared to attack our young master! We're going to murder this filthy traitor and teach everyone what happens when they mess with our guild."
A Tier 3 mage added calmly, giving them a side glance,
"Until we find and eliminate him for sure, no one leaves this place without permission."
"Until we find him… everyone here is a suspect."
Hearing those words, everyone's grip on their weapons tightened as a suffocating silence engulfed the hall.
Five hunters instantly understood the severity of the situation once the demon cult was mentioned.
They didn't even dare to ask another question and kept their eyes fixed on the dungeon gate.
Then, the gate flickered again.
Bzzzzzz!
Its color shifted to dark red in an instant.
"…!!"
A wave of shock spread through the crowd as they saw the red gate.
"No way!"
"Nightmare difficulty…?"
"Who the hell chose Nightmare difficulty of this dungeon?!"
Even some of the Tier 2 hunters subconsciously took a step back, their expressions tightening, slightly afraid of a dungeon break.
Nightmare difficulty wasn't something ordinary people could choose, it was a death sentence for most people here.
The tension spiked instantly.
Everyone's grip on their weapons tightened again as their spiritual energy surged, ready to attack the moment the culprit appeared.
"Huh?"
But no one came out.
No one teleported out of the dungeon.
Fzzzz!
The gate flickered once more before the red color vanished and returned to normal.
Confusion spread across the hall.
"What…?"
"Did no one come out?!"
Some of their gazes shifted toward the Tier 3 sorcerer in the rear, but he shook his head.
"I didn't sense any presence apart from those already here…"
"NO! HE CAME OUT!!!"
A furious roar came from the man with twisted legs.
"Young Master Julien…"
The two healers treating him tried to calm him down, but they were instantly pushed away by him.
Julien, the berserker, had a face twisted with rage, mixed with excitement and cruelty.
"That bastard is definitely here! He used this exact stealth ability to sneak in here!"
His eyes burned with madness as he repeated,
"I know it!"
His voice carried such certainty that others began to believe him.
"Yes! Young Master is right! That bastard must be hiding here!"
One of the guild members shouted into the empty air,
"Oi! No matter how good your stealth skill is, we've already closed all exits!"
"Yeah! There's no way for you to escape… surrender yourself!"
"Motherfucker! Don't you dare think you can escape after what you did to our Young Master!"
"You're already surrounded!"
The hall filled with voices as vigilant eyes scanned every corner, ready to attack at any moment.
"No… he won't come out obediently…"
Julien spoke in a cold tone as a wicked smile spread across his lips.
"We have to drag him out… Attack everything in the surroundings!"
"…!!"
"Burn the area, destroy everything, and flush out that rat!"
The surrounding members looked at each other before aiming their attacks in every direction.
Julien's voice echoed again as they were about to attack,
"Don't kill him instantly once he's caught… I will torture him… cripple him beyond recognition… and find his famil—"
SHKKK—!!
The words never finished.
A sharp, mesmerizing green dagger pierced straight through his chest from behind, cutting his speech in half.
"…!"
"Young Master Julien!!!"
Time itself seemed to freeze for a second before anyone could understand what had just happened.
Thick blood burst outward instantly.
At the same time, a dark, shadowy web erupted and wrapped around Julien's entire body.
His skin turned pale instantly, and his eyes became bloodshot red.
"Surprise."
A deep, cold, and calm voice came from behind him.
Julien tried to scream, but no words came out of his mouth.
He tried to turn his head to see the attacker, but he couldn't move his body even an inch.
As the attacker leaned forward, his eyes caught his appearance.
A blue-eyed, dark-haired young man, the one who broke his legs was calmly crouching low behind him, his body leaning forward as he held the dagger that pierced him.
***
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey guys! I've my Patreon page where I'll be uploading future chapters ahead of release.
Right now, 9 advance chapters are already available.
I'll be adding 1 extra chapter once more and there will be 10 advance chapters available for just $1/month.
If you're enjoying the story and want to support me in continuing and finishing it, I'd truly appreciate your support. Every bit helps me stay motivated and keep improving the story for you all.
Thank you so much for all the support so far.
https://patreon.com/GP_Hitler?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink