Chapter 22: Going Back Defeated

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Going Back Defeated

Kyle clenched his fists, tears gathered in the corners of his eyes.

"I’m sorry..."

He forced himself to continue. Behind him, one of the hunters finally fell.

A spider’s leg pierced through his side, lifting him partially from the ground.

He coughed blood, his spear slipped from his fingers.

Yet even as his vision blurred, he saw Kyle’s distant figure disappearing down the corridor.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"At least..."

"...one of us will make it."

The spider pulled him deeper into the darkness.

The second hunter saw what happened. His expression became furious.

"You bastards!"

He charged.

He drove his spear straight through the spider’s body.

The creature shrieked and collapsed.

But before he could pull his weapon free, the remaining wolf crashed into him.

The impact threw him against the wall, his head struck stone.

For a moment, everything became blurry.

He slowly raised his eyes, and the wolf stood over him.

The hunter looked toward the distant corridor.

Kyle was gone.

A faint smile appeared on his bloodied face.

"Good..."

----

By the time Kyle finally appeared on the outskirts of the village, the sun had already begun descending toward the horizon.

The villagers were preparing for the evening.

Some were returning from the fields.

Others were carrying baskets of vegetables toward their homes, while children played near the wooden houses under the watchful eyes of their parents.

It was an ordinary evening, a peaceful evening.

Then one of the children suddenly pointed toward the forest.

"Look!"

Several villagers turned.

A lone figure was slowly walking along the familiar dirt road.

At first, nobody recognized him. Because, he was covered in blood.

His leather armor was torn in several places, his hair was disheveled, and one hand was pressed tightly against his injured side.

His footsteps were uneven.

He looked as though every step required tremendous effort.

Then an old hunter’s eyes widened.

"...Kyle?"

The words immediately spread through the village.

"Kyle!"

"He’s back!"

"Everyone, Kyle came back!"

Several people rushed toward the road.

But the excitement that had initially appeared on their faces quickly disappeared.

They looked behind Kyle, there was no one.

No other hunters.

No group carrying treasures.

No excited voices announcing their discovery.

The villagers slowly stopped moving. An uncomfortable silence descended over the village.

A mother who had been waiting near the road stared at Kyle with widening eyes.

Her son had gone with him.

Her lips began trembling.

"Where is my boy?"

Kyle stopped, and lowered his head.

The woman stepped closer.

"Where is he?"

Kyle couldn’t answer, her eyes immediately became red.

"Kyle..."

"Where is my son?"

The villagers gathered around them. Some already understood.

Others desperately refused to believe it. An older man stepped forward.

"Where are the others?"

Kyle finally raised his head. His face was filled with exhaustion and grief.

"They’re..."

His voice stopped.

He swallowed hard.

"They’re dead."

Silence.

It was as if those words had frozen the entire village. Then the mother suddenly stumbled backward.

"No..."

Her voice was barely audible.

"No, you’re lying."

She shook her head violently.

"My son went with you."

"He went with you!"

Kyle closed his eyes.

"I’m sorry."

The woman collapsed onto her knees. A terrible cry escaped her mouth.

"No!"

She began sobbing uncontrollably, clutching the ground with both hands.

"My son..."

"My son!"

Several women immediately rushed toward her, trying to hold her upright while tears appeared in their own eyes.

Other families looked toward Kyle with fear. They had sent their husbands, sons, or brothers.

Seven hunters had left the village that morning.

Only one had returned.

An older woman stepped forward.

She was the mother of one of the hunters who had died inside.

Unlike the others, however, she didn’t cry immediately.

She simply stared at Kyle.

Her expression was filled with disappointment, anger, and grief.

Then she spoke.

"I told you not to do this."

Her voice trembled.

"I told all of you."

Kyle lowered his gaze, the woman clenched her fists.

"If you had simply gone to the mayor and reported the dungeon, they would have sent people to investigate."

"Maybe we wouldn’t have received much."

"Maybe the mayor would have taken most of the reward."

Her eyes became wet.

"But at least..."

She struggled to continue.

"At least my son would still be alive."

Kyle remained silent.

The woman wiped her tears angrily.

"You found a dungeon and thought you could take it for yourselves."

"You thought you could become rich."

"You thought one treasure would change everything."

Her voice broke.

"Was it worth it?"

Nobody answered.

The question hung heavily over the village.

Was it worth it?

All those new weapons.

All those new leather armors.

All the excitement.

All the dreams they had shared around the table.

They had imagined rebuilding houses.

Buying food.

Repairing the village walls.

Sending their children to study.

They had imagined a future where nobody would have to worry about starving during winter.

Now, those dreams had turned into graves.

Kyle slowly looked around at the villagers.

"I was wrong."

His voice was hoarse.

"I thought we could handle it."

"I thought that because I survived the first time, I could lead everyone back safely."

He clenched his fists.

"But the dungeon had changed."

"The goblins weren’t there anymore."

The villagers looked confused.

Kyle continued.

"There were wolves."

"Spiders."

"Poisonous bats."

"And even swarms of rats."

His voice became heavier with every word.

"They weren’t ordinary animals."

Kyle’s eyes lowered.

"We didn’t even reach the deeper parts."

The villagers became increasingly pale. One of the older hunters whispered,

"How many monsters were there?"

Kyle shook his head.

"I don’t know."

"More than we could handle."

He paused.

Then he looked toward the distant forest.

"The dungeon is far more dangerous than I thought."

The village elder slowly stepped forward.

His face was grim.

"Then we made the right decision."

Kyle looked at him.

The elder pointed toward the village.

"Nobody goes back there."

"Not until we report it."

"Not until the town’s forces arrive."

Kyle nodded.

"Yes."

His voice was quiet.