Chapter 217: Rescue Mission [2]

The transport vehicle traveled along the road leading to the outskirts of the city.

Inside, the hunters went over the final details of the mission.

Some checked their weapons while others spoke in low voices, though no one seemed willing to let themselves get too distracted. Everyone knew they were about to enter an SS-Rank dungeon, and this time, it wasn’t an ordinary raid.

There was a missing little girl waiting to be rescued.

Liam gazed out the window as the buildings began to fade into the distance. Lydia sat beside him, calm, though her eyes reflected the same concern he felt.

“How are the little ones?” Liam asked quietly.

Lydia smiled slightly.

“Fine. My copy just sent me a picture. Lionel is trying to steal a toy from his sister.”

Liam let out a small laugh.

“That means he’s practicing to become a great hunter.”

“I hope he learns to share first.”

Their brief conversation eased the tension a little, but they both knew they couldn’t afford to let their guard down.

A few seats behind them, Chuck was finishing adjusting his knives while Lena braided her hair, looking at herself through her phone’s camera.

Jordan was eating some chips, apparently convinced that any situation was easier to handle on a full stomach.

Lucas, seated beside Eve, watched the scenery outside.

“Are you guys always this calm before a mission?” he asked.

“Depends,” Nora replied.

“Sometimes Chuck talks so much that Liam threatens to leave him outside the dungeon.”

“That only happened once!” Chuck protested from the other side of the vehicle.

“Three times,” Lena corrected him.

“Traitors!”

The laughter didn’t last long. As the transport rounded one final bend, the tower appeared on the horizon.

Silence spread throughout the vehicle.

The structure stood on a rocky clearing, far from any residential areas.

There were no visible windows or stairs on the outside.

Only an open entrance leading into darkness.

The transport stopped at a safe distance.

Liam stood up and looked at his team.

“We’re here. Check your equipment one last time, and maintain formation once we enter. We don’t know what awaits us on the other side.”

The hunters climbed out and gathered in front of the tower.

The wind swept across the clearing, stirring up small clouds of dust. Despite being out in the open, the place gave off a strange feeling, as if the air around the structure were heavier than it should be.

Nora frowned as she studied the entrance.

“Something’s wrong with this place.”

“What’s going on?” Ray asked.

“I’m not exactly sure. My shadow creatures can approach the entrance, but I can’t make out what’s beyond it.”

Liam looked at the opening.

“Then we won’t send anyone ahead until we’re inside. We’ll move together.”

◇◆◇

Before entering, Liam checked the formation once more.

Jordan and Ray would stay near the front. Nora would keep her shadow creatures ready, while Zayn would remain in a position where he could scout the corridors without straying too far. Chloe would stay in the middle so she could assist her teammates, while Carol and Emily would advance together.

Lucas and Eve would complete the formation alongside Chuck and Lena.

Lydia would remain close to Liam, ready to intervene whenever necessary.

“Everyone ready?” he asked.

Affirmative responses came from different parts of the group.

Liam took the first step.

As he crossed the entrance, he felt a slight pressure against his skin.

For an instant, the light from outside disappeared.

Then, the surroundings changed completely.

“What the hell…?” Lucas muttered.

The hunters stopped to take in the sight before them.

They were no longer inside a narrow tower. Instead, they stood in an enormous stone corridor, illuminated by a dim light that seemed to come from nowhere.

The ceiling rose several meters above their heads, supported by cracked columns. Some had broken in half, while others leaned dangerously toward the walls.

The floor was covered in sand and small fragments of stone.

On both sides of the corridor, ruined doorways led into dark rooms.

Lydia turned to look behind them.

The entrance they’d come through was still there, but the clearing and the sky were nowhere to be seen. In their place was a dark, motionless surface resembling a wall of fog.

“So we really did enter an SS-Rank dungeon,” Eve remarked.

Liam nodded.

Lucas examined the columns and walls.

“This looks like the inside of an ancient castle.”

“One that’s been abandoned for a very long time,” Carol added.

The place was full of signs of decay. Dust-covered furniture lay scattered about, broken jars littered the floor, and faded tapestries hung from the walls. In some areas, sand had accumulated until it covered part of the floor.

However, there were no corpses or obvious signs that anyone had lived there recently.

Liam took out the device James had given them to record their route, but the screen displayed unstable readings.

“Great,” Chuck muttered.

“An abandoned sandcastle. I’m liking dungeons more and more.”

“You can stay here if you’d prefer,” Lena replied.

“I never said I didn’t like it!”

Liam ignored their argument and turned to Nora.

“Can you scout the corridor?”

She nodded and extended a hand.

Several small shadow creatures appeared at her feet. They glided across the floor and disappeared between the columns, heading in different directions.

For several seconds, Nora remained motionless, concentrating on maintaining her connection with them.

Finally, she frowned.

“The corridor continues north. There are several rooms on either side, but I can’t detect any movement in the nearest ones.”

“What about farther ahead?”

“Part of the corridor is blocked by rubble. My creatures can squeeze through some gaps, but I can’t see what’s on the other side.”

Liam studied the rooms.

“We’ll start here. If the girl entered a few hours ago, she might have followed the main path or looked for somewhere to hide.”

“What if she went into one of the rooms?” Chloe asked.

“We’ll check them when we can do so without spreading out too much. I don’t want anyone wandering off alone.”

The group began moving forward.

Their footsteps echoed through the corridor, stirring up small amounts of dust. Every so often, Liam stopped to inspect the nearest rooms and look for any sign of the girl.

They found an overturned stone table, several broken containers, and a door that had fallen to the floor. Nothing appeared to have been disturbed recently.

Until Zayn stopped.

“Boss, come take a look at this.”

Liam approached, followed by Lydia and Lucas.

Zayn was crouching beside a sandy patch near a partially collapsed column. He pointed to some small marks that were barely visible beneath the dust.

Footprints.

Liam knelt to examine them.

They weren’t the heavy tracks of a monster or the boot prints of an adult hunter. They were small and irregular, partially covered by sand.

Lydia leaned down beside him.

“They look like a little girl’s shoe prints.”

“I think so, too.”

Liam followed the marks with his eyes. The footprints continued along the corridor before disappearing behind a fallen column.

A sense of relief mingled with his concern.

At least they had a lead.

“Are you sure they’re recent?” Lucas asked.

“I can’t say for certain, but the sand hasn’t completely covered them yet.”

Liam stood up and looked down the path ahead.

“We’re following them. Keep your eyes open, and don’t touch anything without letting the others know.”

The hunters resumed their march, this time with greater caution.

The girl could be only a few meters away.

Or she could have wandered much deeper into the ruins.

As they advanced, a current of air swept through the corridor, carrying a handful of sand behind them.

No one noticed.

They were all too focused on the small footprints disappearing among the remains of the forgotten castle.

And none of them knew yet that the ruins weren’t nearly as empty as they seemed.