Retire 424

424 Ashes’ Vermin (4)

Would Kim Chaemin dislike it if I said something like this?

But even so, I can’t just pretend I didn’t feel it.

The petals, even after the dungeon core was shattered, drifted for a long while, caught in the storm of mana. The petals, already torn to pieces beyond recognition, now looked almost no different from dust.

Dust? To be honest, they looked like gnats. Tiny flying insects, flitting about, drawn to the light.

Maybe it was because a few butterflies that had followed us were shredded along with the petals. The pink butterfly wings, even amid the lingering embers and the sharp storm of mana, didn’t burn away completely, but floated with the petals, retaining their shape as they drifted like dust, swirling gently in the wind.

And when the wind finally died down, the scene before my eyes was clear.

The last obstruction left by the fairy—whether it was eggs or foam—no longer functioned. Like the petals and butterflies, it had been torn apart. The dungeon core, though still holding its shape, no longer contained its former power.

The dungeon core was destroyed. Now, this dungeon would soon collapse.

Everyone was certain of it. And though we couldn’t see it with our own eyes, the monsters that called this dungeon home must have felt it more keenly than anyone.

See, if I were the fairy, having finally found someone I could trust, I wouldn’t have chosen to move together.

I don’t know the precise ecology of that monster, but I imagine one would have guarded the core while the other faced the hunters. While waiting for the hunters to enter, they would have busily produced butterflies to make things difficult. With venomous creatures like those, to have failed to make use of them—well, I suppose that’s a kind of talent, too.

No matter how skilled a hunter, even a single bite would be enough to succumb to the poison. Han Taekyung, without even a smile, had warned us how excruciating it was. When the French hunters seemed skeptical, he’d even rolled on the ground in a dramatic display. Whether it was true or not, he wasn’t the sort to lie about something like that.

And yet, with all that venom? Besides, the more freely those creatures moved in a swarm, the harder they were to deal with.

So. That’s why you can’t be complacent. It’s advice worth keeping.

“To the gate!”

I signaled so that Jeanne Robinson and the other hunters fighting the fairy would know. On the way back to the gate, we’d help the hunters withdraw and move together.

I couldn’t help but think we’d been lucky. Maybe, having managed to return to the past, the fairy had fallen into the delusion of being something extraordinary. But in the end, it was still trapped in the dungeon, and even if it escaped, its days were numbered. Whether it hadn’t realized that, or simply refused to think about it, I couldn’t say.

Well… it worked to our advantage, so all we had to do was make use of it.

And in fact, we had.

“Hey, Jeanne!”

Robinson was still engaged with the fairy. The barrier Kim Chaemin had left behind was half-collapsed. Something like caterpillars clung to the remaining vines, gnawing at the leaves and stems, and were in the midst of metamorphosing into butterflies.

Hunters who had long fought together needed only to call each other’s names to communicate.

Perhaps this, too, was a kind of ultimate communication, like that between the fairy and the butterflies. Or perhaps, in some ways, it was even more respectful. They didn’t completely ignore one side’s will, as the monsters did. Or maybe it was the opposite—from the monster’s perspective.

Robinson spun around and kicked the fairy with both feet. Unlike at the start, the fairy, now somewhat battered, didn’t go flying but instead withstood the attack. But perhaps that was exactly what Robinson intended; using the fairy’s body as a pivot, she twisted and launched herself in the opposite direction. At the same time, the Alpha Team hunters, who had been keeping the butterflies and fairy at bay for her, began to run.

<&@#&&=+!@%>

The fairy let out a shriek of rage, unable to contain its fury.

With our task finished, we sprinted for the gate. The frenzied swarm of butterflies gave chase. But no mere insects could hope to catch up to the full sprint of veteran hunters. With the gate as the finish line, victory was always ours.

“Argh!”

…A mage isn’t a veteran hunter, is she?

I slung the comparatively slow Kim Chaemin over my shoulder and carried her through the gate. The French hunters did much the same, tumbling through the gate in a rush. Covered in ash and butterfly dust, the hunters collapsed to catch their breath.

“Is anyone hurt? Anyone injured?”

The Japanese healers went from hunter to hunter, checking each one. Fortunately, no one seemed seriously hurt enough to need immediate treatment. Even those who’d withdrawn earlier from butterfly venom, after being treated, looked far better than Han Taekyung had warned; they sat up with faces much improved.

Perhaps it was because they’d received prompt care—unlike what had happened to Han Taekyung in the past.

“Did anyone not make it out of the gate?”

Jeanne Robinson, barely catching her breath, checked on her guild members. As for me, the only guild member I had to look after was Kim Chaemin. In fact, Jeanne Robinson checked on us first—me and Kim Chaemin.

“A raid with veterans! Didn’t take so long after all, did it? For a C-rank, it was large, but for an S-rank fairy’s dungeon, it was small and cozy—helpful for us!”

And there was someone else checking on us.

“Mr. Han?”

Han Taekyung straightened his crooked sunglasses and grinned.

“Your capable and adorable junior, right here. Han Taekyung.”

“…What brings you here?”

“I thought you two might get lonely, so I came out to meet you. Me, Han Taekyung. Aren’t I just the most considerate?”

I knew Han Taekyung too well to take those words at face value.

Remembering how he’d been pacing anxiously just before we entered the dungeon, he must have been too worried to just sit and wait. Why not just admit he was worried? It’s not sensitivity—just a misplaced sense of pride.

“How long did it take?”

“From the time you entered… a little over an hour. At this rate, we might set a new record for fastest S-rank dungeon clear!”

“As Mr. Han said, the dungeon was small.”

Jeanne Robinson was checking on her guild members and talking with the officials from the Japanese government. They were probably discussing how the raid had gone, but I was curious and started to get up.

“Ah, wait!”

Han Taekyung shouted oddly, pressing down on my shoulder to keep me from rising, and blocked my way.

“Mr. Han?”

“…Mr. Woo!”

Suddenly, a shock like my heart dropping radiated from around the gate. It felt as if all the air was being sucked into the gate. Or at least, that’s how it seemed.

And when that air was released…

Dungeon break.

“That’s why some things just can’t be helped.”

Han Taekyung quickly snatched up the sword of a hunter who’d been resting nearby, and swung it over the gate.

There was nothing there, but it was clear from Han Taekyung’s movement that he had cut something. Something heavy. Something real.

Thunk. Roll, roll.

“Ugh!”

The hunter, staring blankly at his sword now in Han Taekyung’s hands, recoiled in shock.

A round object rolled out from the gate.

A green thing, eyes wide open. White fur, blackened and singed, and from its wounds oozed a clear, sticky fluid. Gone was the terrifyingly proud creature we’d first encountered near the gate. Now, covered in ash and dust, it was nothing but… a mere insect.

The insect’s head.

Only then did I realize why Han Taekyung had waited for us here.

He’d been worried. Worried that, in a final act of desperation, the creature might crawl out. Even if the core was destroyed, if it managed to escape before the dungeon collapsed… yes, considering the swarm of butterflies we hadn’t dealt with, such a thing would be even more dangerous outside.

Given the fairy’s special status as a being from the future, maybe it had some way to break the gate using the shattered core.

But none of that worked on Han Taekyung.

Just as hunters are at their most vulnerable right after passing through the gate, so too are monsters vulnerable when crossing a collapsed gate. Monsters can’t see what lies beyond the dungeon gate, either.

“…….”

The French and Japanese hunters, not knowing the circumstances, stared at Han Taekyung in shock.

Honestly, it wasn’t much different for me and Kim Chaemin, though at least we had some idea of what was going on.

“Was there only one?”

Amid the heavy silence, Han Taekyung spoke.

A beat late, I realized he was asking me. Before I could answer, Han Taekyung turned to Jeanne Robinson and asked her in clear French.

“Was there only one fairy?”

“…I dealt with the other one inside.”

“So, two in total?”

“Probably…”

Other French hunters chimed in.

“There weren’t any around the dungeon core, so two sounds right.”

“And none chased us out, either.”

“In our experience…”

Han Taekyung looked at the gate and spoke slowly.

“If there’s no head, the butterflies aren’t so frightening. They probably won’t make it out through the gate.”

I don’t know if Jeanne Robinson noticed, but standing close by, I could clearly see Han Taekyung’s head twitching slightly. Not because he was lost in old memories or had seen something he shouldn’t, but more like a cat eyeing a bothersome bug flying around.

Inside the gate, the headless swarm of butterflies must be in chaos.

Still, the strange silence around Han Taekyung persisted. At last, he turned away from the gate, grinning his usual silly grin.

“Well! If nothing else comes out, that’s good news. Good work, everyone! Let’s eat something delicious, wash our feet, and get some real rest!”

“…All right, let’s wrap up! Gather your weapons! The local hunters will guard the gate until it disappears!”

The silence broke as if by magic.

“You two, get up now.”

Han Taekyung extended a hand to me and Kim Chaemin, who were still sitting on the ground.

Unlike me, who just stared at his hand, Kim Chaemin quickly took it. Han Taekyung waved his hand at me.

“…….”

I sighed.

All the feelings soaked in the ruins and fire of the dungeon, all the tangled thoughts about fairies or time travel, seemed meaningless in the face of those thoughtless sunglasses and that smile.

I shrugged and took Han Taekyung’s empty hand. It wasn’t as if I was so tired I couldn’t stand without help, but…

“Up we go.”

Han Taekyung lifted me and Kim Chaemin with ease.

“Now, let’s really wash our feet and get some rest!”

“Honestly, Mr. Han, you didn’t do anything.”

“Aw, don’t be like that. We’re guildmates, aren’t we?”

As Han Taekyung burst out laughing, the French hunters shook their heads in exasperation.