Queen of the Shadows

8. Who is Erebus?

"Let's talk privately." Jinwoo requested Cale.

Cale furrowed his brows a bit, he didn't like the sound of this. "Alright." Cale opened the door wider for Jinwoo to come inside.

Jinwoo went in.

Cale closed the door behind him. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I heard you were planning to enter a dungeon."

"Where did you hear that?" Cale crossed his arms, tilting his head.

"The shadows told me." Jinwoo exposed them.

'What?' Cale suddenly felt a bit angry. 'I thought you guys were on my side.'

"Sorry, my Queen..."

"We do!" Another one of them shouted. "It's just that there are different fractions in the Shadow Army, and some of them choose to follow someone else!"

"They're pathetic if they choose not to follow the Queen."

"Hey.. don't say that..."

A shadow formed from Jinwoo's side. It wore heavy armor made from a mysterious aura.

'Bellion?' Jinwoo was confused by his sudden appearance.

"It's been a long time, my Queen." Bellion knelt down to Cale.

"..."

Bellion sighed. "I'm sorry for leaving you."

"Hey. It's that traitor."

The shadows murmured amongst themselves, even Jinwoo's soldiers.

'I don't even know what you're talking about.' Cale thought, a bit annoyed at this thought. "Whatever. The past is the past." He dismissed the topic. "So, what did you want to say?" Cale turned to Jinwoo.

'Bellion's following Cale so easily, and sincerely... Just what did this guy do before coming here?' Jinwoo smiled nervously. "Take me along with you." He spoke boldly.

"What...?"

"I'll go along with you to the dungeon." Jinwoo rephrased.

'Two S-rank hunters entering a C-rank dungeon...' Cale was flabbergasted at this fact. "No."

"Why not?" Jinwoo asked, not buying it.

Ding!

A screen popped in front of Cale.

[ New side-quest! ]

[ Side-quest — A New Companion

Time Limit: After finishing the main quest

Failure: None

Rewards: Trust, a companion. ]

'....Really? Really?' Cale repeated with sarcasm. 'This damn "System" is really messing with me!'

[ The System sweats nervously ]

'Jinwoo's also an S-rank hunter, so he could easily take care of everything by himself.. then I won't have to do anything...' Cale sighed, frustratedly. "Fine."

Jinwoo's face lit up with momentary happiness. "Thank you, Cale-nim."

'Cale-nim...' Cale repeated in his head, closing his eyes softly.

Jinwoo smirked slyly behind Cale's back. 'Sorry, but I can't let this moment go by without any results.'

"We'll be going in two days, in the afternoon." Cale informed Jinwoo. "Please leave my room now." He quickly kicked him out.