The question lingered heavily in Ishy's mind. Even he was asking himself the same thing — why had he saved those prisoners? Since when did he want to become a savior? What did he actually want?
Ishy let out a soft, weary sigh as the tension between them grew thicker.
"Well… if I answer your damn question," he said, "I expect you not to laugh at me or look down on me."
The man kept his gaze fixed on Ishy and nodded solemnly.
"You have my word."
Ishy nodded back and began to explain.
"I helped those prisoners because they're the same age as me… and they're still innocent. Souls that haven't done anything to deserve this kind of price."
He paused, looking away as he struggled to find the right words. The man waited patiently, eyes never leaving him.
After a long silence, Ishy continued quietly.
"And… they carry the same fate as mine. They've lost the people they loved… and they're burdened by that loss, just like I am."
The man nodded slowly, his expression showing understanding and approval.
"Very well," he said. "Your reasons are honest. I'm starting to grow impressed by your bravery and determination to lead them out. You might actually make a good leader one day."
He smiled and gave Ishy a light, friendly nudge on the shoulder with his fist — a gesture of respect from someone who had just seen another person refuse to run from battle and still care about other lives in the middle of hell.
While the tension in the tomb slowly began to ease, Silas tried to lighten the mood by introducing himself.
"By the way, name's Silas," he said. "The hunters you met earlier are Scarlet and Vale. What's yours anyway?"
Silas asked the question casually, trying to cool down the heavy atmosphere. Ishy let out a tired sigh, exhaustion clear in his voice.
"Ishmael," he replied. Then, with a calm and calculated expression masking his face, he asked back, "What made you join them, Silas?"
Silas was slightly taken aback by the direct question, but he quickly recovered. He cleared his throat before answering.
"Well… they weren't really my friends. They were just assigned teammates for this expedition."
Silas paused for a moment, thinking of how to answer, when the sound of footsteps echoed from behind them. It was his fellow Hunters — Scarlet, the female hunter who had been badly injured during the fight with the Awakened Beast, and Vale, the lead hunter.
Silas turned to face them. He looked at the injured pair and asked casually,
"Oh, hey Chief? How's it going?"
Vale was supporting Scarlett with one arm, helping her stay on her feet. She was clearly in a lot of pain from the deep claw marks left by the Tomb's Guardian.
Vale's expression was grim. His eyes flicked from Silas to Ishy, then back to Silas.
"Why did you uncuff him?" he demanded, his voice rising. "Why did you let that prisoner go?! Answer me!"
He snapped at Silas while still holding the moaning Scarlett at his side. She winced in pain with every movement, the claw wounds on her body still bleeding.
Silas sighed and replied calmly,
"Do you want to know why? He saved my life while we were fighting that bastard!"
He snapped back at Vale and kicked the lifeless body of the Tomb's Guardian for emphasis
After Silas answered, Vale gritted his teeth, clearly unable to accept the explanation. The idea that a mere prisoner had saved his teammate's life felt pathetic to him.
Vale reached for his hunter's pistol and aimed it directly at Silas, his voice dripping with threat.
"It's better if you cuff this bastard back right now… or else, I'll blow your head off!"
Silas didn't back down or follow the order. Instead, he instinctively stepped in front of Ishy, shielding him.
"No," he replied firmly. "And if you kill me, you'll also lose your Hunter's Mark — that precious badge you always flaunt so proudly. Not to mention, the Handler wants all of us to return alive. If even one of us is left behind, he'll execute the rest."
Vale gritted his teeth, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles stood out on his face. The idea that a lowly prisoner had saved Silas's life clearly disgusted him. His hunter's pistol still had one or two bullets left in the chamber. He slowly cocked the hammer, his finger hovering dangerously over the trigger as he debated whether to pull it.
Meanwhile, Scarlet moaned weakly in Vale's arms, her face deathly pale from heavy blood loss. The deep claw wounds across her torso continued to bleed profusely, soaking through her torn armor.
"Think again, Chief…" she rasped, her voice barely audible as she fought through the pain. "D-don't… jump to conclusions…"
Vale let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. After a long, tense moment, he finally lowered the pistol and shoved it back into his holster with obvious reluctance. His sharp eyes then locked onto Ishy.
"So… tell me, kid," he said, the word dripping with mockery due to Ishy's short stature and skinny frame. "What exactly did you do earlier? That little 'massacre' back there."
Ishy kept his expression calm and calculated, refusing to show any sign of the pressure he was under. The Whistle's Curse still throbbed in his head, and fresh blood continued to slowly drip from his nose.
"What did I do?" he replied evenly. "Well, I just used the vocal cord from one of the dead hatchlings while you were busy leading the caravan…"
He paused for a brief second, carefully choosing his next words to hide the existence of the [STATUS] menu and his system abilities.
"And the other reason is… I knew these creatures can unleash a high-pitched wail that could either attract their mother, waking up those who deeply slumbered or temporarily deafen their attackers."
Silas chuckled softly, clearly impressed once again by Ishy's quick thinking and knowledge of the Fallen Dream's creatures.
"Hahaha… That's pretty smart of you. Using the situation like that in such a critical moment, eh?" Silas said, giving a few light claps in reluctant applause.
Vale snarled, his face twisting with clear disbelief.
"You think I'll believe that bullshit, kid?" he spat, his tone growing more hostile. "Using the vocal cord of a dead hatchling to call its mother? And somehow waking up all those other hatchlings too?!"
The situation was rapidly escalating. Vale looked ready to yell at Ishy again when Scarlet, still barely conscious and in terrible shape, spoke hoarsely from his side.
"Chief… enough…" she rasped, her voice weak and trembling. "Why don't we just get out of here? The tomb is on the brink of collapse…"
While Scarlett tried to calm him down, Ishy silently hissed in pain. The Whistle of Death's curse was slowly fading, but the lingering effects still clawed at his nerves. His head throbbed violently, and fresh blood continued to drip from his nose. He quickly pressed the handkerchief Silas had given him against it, trying to stem the flow.
Before Vale could continue his tirade, the entire tomb shook violently. Large chunks of the ceiling cracked and began to fall. Dust and debris rained down around them.
Vale immediately dropped his aggressive stance. Without another word, he tightened his grip on Scarlett and started moving toward the exit, half-carrying her as she groaned in pain.
The two Hunters walked past Ishy and Silas. Silas glanced at Ishy and instinctively beckoned him with a quick tilt of his head.
Ishy nodded and followed closely behind.
The moment they stepped out of the entrance, the tomb gave one final, thunderous groan. With a deafening crash, the ancient structure collapsed completely behind them, sending a massive cloud of dust and rubble into the air. What was once a towering ruin was now nothing more than a pile of broken stone and buried secrets.
The ground continued to shake violently for several long seconds before finally settling.