CHAPTER 167: [DON’T START!]

The light from the gate pulsed—soft at first, then blinding.

It wasn’t just illumination. It breathed.

Each flare of gold and crimson rippled through the broken cave, crawling over the walls like living veins of light. The reflection shimmered across the black water, catching the serpent’s slick, oily scales until everything around them glowed like molten glass.

No one moved.

No one dared to.

The air itself seemed to hold its breath.

"What... the hell is that?" Mio’s voice finally broke the silence, low and hoarse, his eyes fixed on the impossible glow before them.

Kairo didn’t respond. His gaze was locked on the gate, jaw tense, eyes burning faintly red in its reflection.

His aura flickered around him—unstable, uncertain. The faint hiss of evaporating blood magic crackled in the silence.

Mel took an uneasy step forward, voice trembling somewhere between hope and disbelief. "Is that... is that our exit?"

Zaira’s eyes widened, relief flooding her features like a dam breaking. "Then what are we waiting for?!" she cried, the desperation in her tone slicing through the tension. "We can leave! Let’s go—"

"Don’t."

Eli and Kairo spoke in perfect unison.

The single word echoed off the cavern walls—sharp, absolute. Zaira froze mid-step, her foot hovering just above the water.

"What?" she whispered.

Kairo’s tone was cold, commanding. "No one touches that thing. No one goes through."

Eli’s heartbeat quickened. The pulse of the gate made his danger sense flutter. Not the sharp pain of immediate death—but a deep, wrong vibration that thrummed against his skin like electricity crawling under flesh.

He swallowed hard, eyes narrowing on the shifting light. Strange markings rotated across the gate’s surface, symbols he didn’t recognize but somehow felt—like whispers pressing into his mind.

"It might not be what you think," Eli said softly, his voice strained but steady.

Mel frowned, frustration breaking through his fear. "Then what the hell is it doing here?! It appeared right when we needed it most!"

"Exactly," Eli snapped back, the word sharp. "It’s too convenient."

Zaira’s breath came quick, uneven. "Then what do we do?! If that’s not an exit, then what the hell is it?"

Before anyone could answer, the cavern rumbled again—deeper this time. A sound like thunder rolled through the walls. Cracks spiderwebbed overhead, dust raining down in thick clouds.

"The serpent’s still expanding," Mio said tightly, eyes darting to the shadows writhing in the distance. "It’s filling the cave—if we stay, we’re dead!"

Eli’s mind raced. His eyes flicked between the glowing gate and the monstrous silhouette writhing beyond the light.

The timing. The glow. The pulse.

It all lined up too perfectly.

’This can’t be random...’ Eli’s throat felt dry. ’This isn’t part of the dungeon cycle. Gates don’t just—open. They’re tethered to the world. Even Midas couldn’t explain spontaneous activation.’

He clenched his fists, his pulse hammering in his ears.

There were only two possibilities:

Either the dungeon was collapsing under its own power—Or the system was doing this.

And somehow... he knew.

He felt it in his bones.

That this—

The golden light flickered—alive, almost sentient—as if reacting to something only it could sense. The runes along the gate’s surface pulsed faster, brighter, spiraling like a heartbeat in sync with Eli’s own.

Eli’s breath caught. The glow wasn’t random anymore—it was responding.

He stumbled a step back, eyes wide. "Kairo..."

"I see it," Kairo murmured, voice low but steady. His gaze never left the gate. The faint crimson aura curling around him bled into the golden light, the two colors twisting together like blood and flame. It looked wrong—beautiful, but wrong.

And then—

The world shook.

The sound wasn’t just loud—it was primal. A deep, guttural vibration that came from everywhere at once. The ground beneath them buckled; water erupted upward, slamming against their legs in violent waves.

Everyone turned.

The serpent was moving.

Its shadow swallowed the light from the gate. The beast’s enormous body writhed through the broken tunnels, pressing against the walls, the ceiling—its scales scraping so hard against the stone that sparks ignited in the dark.

The cave screamed under the pressure.

Cracks split across the walls like lightning veins. The air filled with the sound of stone breaking—bones snapping—mountain flesh tearing apart.

Zaira’s scream pierced through the chaos. "It’s—It’s breaking through!"

Mio reacted instantly, seizing her wrist and yanking her back. His threads flared, silver lines anchoring to the rock as Mel’s vines erupted from the floor in defense—coiling, tightening, desperately trying to hold the trembling ground together.

But the serpent didn’t stop.

Its body rose, massive, endless—coiling upward until it filled the entire chamber. Every movement brought down another avalanche of debris. Stone shattered. Pillars collapsed. Water burst from new cracks in the floor.

It wasn’t just alive anymore.

It was awakening.

The sound grew deafening.

Kairo turned sharply, his crimson aura blazing brighter, one arm locking tighter around Eli as the ceiling began to collapse. Dust filled the air—thick, choking, blinding.

"Hold on!" he roared over the chaos, his voice swallowed by the thunder of falling rock.

Eli couldn’t see. He couldn’t breathe. The force of the shockwave hit them like a wall, stealing the air from his lungs.

His vision blurred—the golden light of the gate flickering through the storm of dust like a dying star.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears, matching the serpent’s earth-shaking rhythm.

’It’s too big... it’s too strong... we can’t outrun this—’

The air cracked.

A blinding flash split the darkness—then BOOM.

The sound ripped through the cavern like a divine explosion.

It wasn’t just noise—it was impact.

The kind that tore the air apart, that made the ground shudder and the water leap skyward.

Eli flinched as the shockwave slammed into them. The world went white for half a heartbeat—his ears ringing, the taste of dust and iron sharp on his tongue.

Then—silence.

For the first time since the chaos began, everything stopped.

No rumble.

No serpent’s roar.

Only the faint hiss of water falling back into place.

And then—

A voice.

Smooth. Confident. Familiar.

"Well, well..."

It cut through the stillness like a blade wrapped in silk. Mocking, calm—too calm for a place drowning in blood and ruin.

"...look what we have here."

Eli’s blood ran cold. His heart tripped in his chest.

He knew that voice.

He knew that voice.

’No... no way—’

He turned toward the gate—where the golden light was dimming, shifting into a molten red that bled across the cave walls. The runes writhed like living fire, and through the light, shadows began to step out.

Shapes.

Human.

As if the gate itself had been waiting for them.

Kairo’s steps halted mid-motion. His arm around Eli stiffened. Every muscle in his body went tense.

Eli didn’t need to see his face to know—he could feel it.The sudden heaviness in the air, the sharp, invisible shift in pressure.

Anger.

Recognition.

And something else—something colder.

Then, from the glowing threshold—

Caelen stepped through.

His boots hit the shallow water with a soft splash, his black coat flowing behind him like smoke trailing from a blade. The crimson glow kissed the edges of his dark hair, his expression carved in calm arrogance.

His gaze found Kairo instantly.

And when their eyes met—Caelen smiled.

Not kindly.

Not even mockingly.

It was the kind of smile that knew it would win.

Eli’s stomach dropped.

’Oh... shit.’

Caelen’s presence didn’t just fill the cavern—it devoured it. Every ounce of noise, every breath of air bent around him. It wasn’t just strength. It was control.

Behind him, the others emerged from the fading gate like the four horsemen of something inevitable.

Punzo came first, his hand still trailing faint smoke, grinning ear to ear. "Boom, baby," he laughed, flicking imaginary dust from his fingers. "You see that, Captain? Nailed the timing."

"You nearly nailed Mel," Jabby muttered, stepping out beside him, her tone calm but pointed. Her hair shimmered faintly in the light, and air rippled around her ankles—soft currents swirling like ribbons. "Next time, give warning."

"Jabs!" Mel exclaimed with wide eyes.

Punzo winked. "Where’s the fun in that?"

Arman followed last, silent. His blade hummed faintly with blue light as he wiped it clean, though his attention wasn’t on the serpent—or even the gate. It was locked solely on Kairo.

’Oh, system...why...?’

Eli’s heart pounded.

This isn’t coincidence. The gate. The timing. The system...

’Why them?’

He didn’t even have to ask who sent them.

The look on Kairo’s face said it all.

The strongest hunters now stood across from each other, separated by nothing but ruin and red light.

The air between them warped—two storms colliding in silence.

Kairo’s voice came first.

Low. Calm. Deadly.

"Caelen."

Caelen’s lips twitched upward. "Kairo."

He tilted his head slightly, mock sympathy dancing in his eyes. "You look like hell."

Eli swore he felt the temperature drop.

Not from magic—but from the sheer, suffocating pressure of both their presences bleeding into the air.

Kairo’s aura ignited, faint crimson flares rippling through the mist. "What are you doing here?"

Caelen’s tone was smooth, almost amused. "Saving your sorry ass, apparently."

Punzo snorted, tossing a grin toward the bloodied group. "Damn, Captain, take it easy, huh?"

Kairo’s eyes narrowed, never leaving Caelen’s. His voice sharpened, dangerous. "...You came through the gate."

Caelen’s smirk turned razor-edged. "Oh? You noticed."

The silence that followed was electric—tight enough to choke on. Even the serpent’s rumbling seemed to quiet, as if the dungeon itself was holding its breath.

Caelen’s gaze flicked briefly to the beast’s massive shadow in the distance. "You’ve really made a mess of things, haven’t you?"

Kairo’s jaw flexed. "Don’t start."

But Eli could already feel it in the air—the tension thickening, the spark before the fire.

Because Caelen was definitely going to start.