Chapter 143 : You, don't Tell Me.
You, don't Tell Me.
"H-hey, sage?"
Gor's voice was mixed with relief and bewilderment.
His brother, Dmihtan Elvar, appeared through the bizarre flesh walls. His arrival was especially welcome, but given the circumstances, things were far from simple.
"You too, were pulled into the dungeon?"
"It... it seems that way."
"What is the situation outside?"
Dmihtan slowly approached. The closer he came, the more the squelching sensation of the floor was transmitted visually.
"The tribe... has become endangered by the appearance of the dungeon. I don't know all the details, but the dungeon keeps growing."
As he listened to Gor, Dmihtan began to stroke his chin.
"If you made it here, that means even the holding cells are inside its range."
"That's correct."
"What happened to Melissa?"
At Dmihtan's question, Gor looked around and opened his mouth.
His desperate gaze scanned the unknown corridors stretching beyond the red flesh wall.
"We need to find Melissa."
"So, she was pulled in as well."
"We got sucked in together, but I lost hold of her hand."
His voice bounced off the flesh walls, echoing hollowly in the damp air.
"She has to be somewhere. We have to find her."
"And?"
"We must find her..."
Repeated words. Even so, Dmihtan could sense just how confused Gor was.
"She's been injured."
Gor looked down at his palm—the hand that had been holding Melissa's arm just moments before.
Dmihtan gazed steadily at Gor in his turmoil.
"Gor."
At the sound of his name, Gor lifted his head.
When his gaze met Dmihtan's, the first thing he noticed were his cold, discerning eyes.
Seeing those eyes, Gor swallowed hard, almost involuntarily.
The smallest of the barbarians who had attended the same 'coming-of-age ceremony'.
And yet, he had always navigated situations with his keen intellect, never one to speak ill.
But today, those eyes were cold as frost.
"She is a traitor to the tribe. No, she was never one of us to begin with."
"... I know."
Gor's answer was brief, but Dmihtan sensed the weight of emotions packed into those few words.
"She implanted tendons in the tribespeople."
As Dmihtan came closer, Gor stepped back.
"Because of that, our brothers have become monsters."
The smallest barbarian.
Ironically, Dmihtan now felt as colossal as a mountain to Gor.
"In Thrag's name, there is no room for hesitation. If you keep wavering like this, stay here."
Cold words. They may have sounded cruel to Gor.
But inwardly, Gor knew. Sweet words wouldn't set him right now.
Gor couldn't speak for a long time.
He just clenched and unclenched his fists in repetition.
Meanwhile, the sound of a heartbeat echoed from within the dungeon.
Thump, thump, thump.
As if urging a response, the sound pressed him until at last he spoke.
"Nothing is going right today."
Gor heaved a deep sigh, laden with emotion.
"Still, a barbarian must do what he must."
"You're right, I must do this."
Slowly, Gor began to move toward the source of the heartbeat.
"Once again, like at the coming-of-age ceremony, I am in your debt."
The dungeon corridors stretched ahead. Where they led, none could say. But standing still wasn't an option.
"Thank you, brother."
* * *
Thump, thump, thump.
I walked toward the source of the heartbeat. I wasn't headed this way with any particular plan.
There was only one path.
Since the sound was coming from the very end, I just kept moving.
Perhaps, I thought, it was somehow connected to the 'dungeon master'.
As I followed the heartbeat, I started to feel oddly accustomed to the red flesh walls.
The walls alternated between narrowing and widening.
Was I actually born here?
'Gor.'
I looked at Gor ahead of me. He was walking with more ease than before, though he still wasn't quite himself.
'What a pitiful guy.'
To have the woman he loved become an enemy of the tribe.
And moreover, she was a ruthless woman who had hidden her intentions and plotted revenge for twenty-five years.
What is this, some twisted drama?
'Best not to fall in love, after all.'
Troublesome and complicated.
Look where it got him.
Of course, melissa's case was an extreme one. The worst of the worst, really.
"Sage."
While I was lost in thought, Gor, who was leading the way, suddenly paused.
"What is it?"
"Something's up ahead."
I looked where Gor was looking. Through the passage and into the red darkness, I could feel a presence.
A monster, perhaps.
Or maybe another barbarian who came in with us.
But since a fight could break out, I decided to be prepared, just in case.
"Gor, I'll draw a tattoo."
"A tattoo?"
Ah.
Maybe it's his first time. But didn't he see the 'skeleton exoskeleton' at the coming-of-age ceremony?
I decided to explain about the 'skeleton exoskeleton' I had used during the ceremony.
"Sage... You mean you can use such abilities?"
Gor seemed a bit doubtful. Well, time to use the cheat here.
"It's a blessing from Thrag."
"Ohh..."
At the mention of Thrag's name, Gor gazed at me with reverence in his eyes.
"As expected, you are different from the other barbarians. I sensed it since the coming-of-age."
Compared to other barbarians I had met, Gor had always been the calmest.
But even he got worked up at the mention of 'Thrag's blessing.'
With the Red Wolf Tribe, 'Thrag' always was a cheat code.
As I drew the blood tattoo for the 'skeleton exoskeleton' on Gor—
"Grrr..."
A form began to emerge from the darkness.
"Brothers..."
It was a barbarian.
Or, rather, it used to be a barbarian.
Black tendons writhed beneath the skin, and foam dripped from the mouth.
"Our brothers have crossed a line from which they can never return. We must give them peace."
With those words, I channeled mana into Gor's body, and the 'skeleton exoskeleton' began to take shape around him.
* [Using Skeleton Summon.]
"Is this, too, a blessing from Thrag?"
"It is."
"I will use it well!"
So said Gor as he gritted his teeth and drew his spear.
"Kraaaaagh!"
One of the corrupted barbarians howled and charged. No reason behind it—just animal instinct intent on tearing us apart.
"I will remember you."
Gor's spear sliced through the air.
Thwack!
As it struck the barbarian's neck, black blood gushed out.
"Kiaaaak!"
Seeing this, another barbarian began to approach us slowly, filled with malice.
I swung the 'Blood-Colored Awl' at the approaching barbarians, gripping Chunsik in my hand.
Shallow wounds.
But by injecting blood bullets into the wounds with 'Hardened Blood', the destructive power multiplied.
"Grr... grrk...!"
When the blood bullets ricocheted inside its body, the corrupted barbarian thrashed and tried to tense up its neck.
But with the sound of bones shattering, it soon went limp.
Gor looked down at the fallen corpses. After a brief moment of complex expression, he turned his head away.
"Sage, I'll take the lead again. If we follow that heartbeat, perhaps we'll find our separated brothers."
So it wasn't just me who thought that. I nodded at Gor and began following behind him.
How far did we walk?
The passage, which reminded me of blood vessels, seemed to be slowly expanding.
At the same time, the flesh walls grew thicker with veins.
Something is up ahead.
I was growing certain of it.
― Master, just up ahead."
Up ahead?
What?
As Chunsik spoke, I lifted the 'wolf head.'
"... Brother."
"Hmm?"
"Is that also one of Thrag's blessings?"
Gor asked, curiosity in his voice as he looked at 'Chunsik' in my hand. I nodded, telling him it was another of 'Thrag's blessings.'
That would be enough for him, I thought.
"It's strange. I sense an ominous energy from that head."
Hmm.
With a short sigh, Gor examined Chunsik.
"It's almost like looking at a Dullahan..."
― It's getting closer!"
Just as I was about to make some excuse for Gor's question, chunsik's urgent voice rang out.
Apparently, Gor had also heard Chunsik this time. He followed the direction the 'wolf head' pointed.
"What do you mean, it's getting closer...?"
Gor stopped mid-sentence, as if words had failed him.
It seemed he sensed that something was approaching from beyond the red darkness.
I felt it too.
Something so powerful, it made my skin tingle, lurked beyond.
If anything truly ominous exists here—
'It feels familiar.'
This air, pricking my skin, felt like something I had experienced before.