Solo Panicking

The Prisoners 2

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The walk to the bosses room was mostly quiet, save for quiet conversations and taking out the occasional goblin. Though you were now more nervous than before entering the gate. You tried using your ingredient sensing ability but there wasn't anything, which was odd. For a territory like this you expected a few mushrooms or other plants.

'Do they eat each other?' you muse quietly to yourself, it didn't seem too far fetched since most dungeons seem to just be rooms...

Suddenly, a wave of emotions surged through you—fear, worry, urgency. Your heart raced. You froze, startled, until you realized it wasn't your own panic. The butterflies you had left on the scouts were alerting you. Something was wrong. You also felt a slight drain on your mana, a sign that your butterflies had started healing.

Without hesitation, you stop dead in your tracks and blurt out, "We need to go back." The other three turn to you, confused. Ju-Hee speaks up first, concern lacing her voice. "Y/N, if you're scared—"

"No!" you quickly interject, shaking your head. "Mr. Kim and the other hunter, they're in danger!"

Without waiting for a response, you spin on your heels and break into a run toward the dungeon entrance. Jinwoo is right behind you, quickly catching up. His expression is serious. As you sprint through the corridors, the sound of distant shouting reaches your ears, a chilling echo bouncing off the stone walls. That was all the confirmation they needed.

The dread deepens as you feel one of your butterflies vanish. It's a heavy, gut-wrenching feeling, and your chest tightens. Someone might be dead. You're about to call out to Jinwoo when he suddenly halts, and you almost collide with him. Before you can react, a sharp blade stops mere inches from your eye.

You inhale sharply as the person holding the dagger voices his surprise at Jinwoo's speed. "Hoh, pretty fast, huh?"

"What are you doing?" questions Jinwoo with a pissed off expression. The assassin is able to shake off Jinwoo's grip

"You actually stopped that? Your senses are pretty sharp." Gang Tae-Shik starts, "Even if my orders were not to get into fights with others, it looked like that girl with the butterflies was going to be a nuisance, so I tried to get rid of her first... But I'll have to change the plan."

Jinwoo's eyes darken, his expression growing lethal, something you haven't seen from him before. Gang Tae-Shik's laugh is sharp, almost unsettling. "HA! That look on your face... You didn't like that, huh?

"I'm going to kill you all." The killer said while it dripped with bloodlust. This makes a shiver go down your spine. Even in the fight against Cerberus you didn't feel threatened like this.

"Just like the prisoners." I take a glance around and see Mr. Kim leaning against the wall panting. He is pretty bloody but otherwise he looks in better shape than what you remember from the story. The butterfly on the other hand has dimmed a lot on its last legs. You rush over to help the man sit down.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Mr. Kim slumped against the wall, bloodied but alive. The butterfly attached to him is dim, barely holding on. You rush over, kneeling beside him.

"Easy, easy. Where's the other guy?" you ask quickly, glancing around as Ju-Hee comes up to begin healing him.

"He's in the next room," Mr. Kim rasps, coughing weakly. His eyes flicker to you. "The butterflies... they're yours?"

You nod. "Yeah, I had a bad feeling when we split up, so I sent them with you just in case."

He lets out a breathy laugh that turns into a cough. "Thank God you did. We'd be dead otherwise."