Death was a usual occurrence in a dungeon. Fenny's death was not a surprising outcome in her situation. Her opponent had been out of her league since the start.
To add insult to injury, the insect monster did not give Seol time to mourn his dead friend. It raised its claw to strike again.
Rachael did not want to move, but her body moved independently and was placed between Seol and the monster. Her artifact created a shield between the trio and the monster.
"Snap out of it. We need to run. Now!"
Rachael yelled without looking back. The resentful looks she was receiving from Seol worried her. She did not remember what she did wrong to make the man mad.
"You! Why did you not tell me you had a shielding artifact on you? I would have told you to wait outside with Fenny if I had known. Now Fenny is…"
Seol was lost in his grief. Anger makes one lose one's senses, and this time was no different. Seol did not see the absurdity of his words and blamed Rachael.
The monster attacked, but he went for the dead prey instead of going after Rachael. Seol did not even dodge him.
Instead, he did not notice the incoming attack. Rachael was the one raising her gun and saving the day instead. The bullet she fired was a unique blend, and the monster cried out in pain when it hit its target.
It finally changed targets, causing Rachael to curse herself.
'Why did I attack the monster? It was not even looking at me.'
Nothing made sense to Rachael. Her body and mind seemed to have different ideas about what to do.
The monster attacked Rachael next, and she dodged the attack. All the flying debris caused Rachael to get hurt, and drops of her blood fell on the ground.
The smell of blood attracted all insects in the area, and they began to crawl toward Rachael's location.
"Do something. We need to run and open a way through."
Rachael yelled at the pair behind her. But Seol had yet to move from his initial position. His hands cradled his friend with dead eyes.
His refusal to move infuriated Rachael. Anger fueled her moves, and she did not even know why. She grabbed Seol's shirt, her tiny arms shaking him around.
"Snap out of your daze. Just because your friend died does not mean you have to die with her. If you want to live and avenge her, then come with me."
Rachael tried to drag Seol behind her. She took out a flash bomb she had stolen from the bunker and threw it behind. She knew better than to look back at the bomb.
The sudden flash of light startled Seol enough to make him snap out of his daze. His eyes burned, but the sharp tug at his cuffs staggered Seol into moving.
"This fucker! I will kill you and avenge my lover that way."
Rachael watched Seol try to throw his life away. The monster did not look worried and opened his mouth to eat Seol and Rachael. The light flash did not deter it.
Seol was ready to throw his life away when heavy fire killed the monster. Help had finally arrived at the scene.
"Are you alright? Fuck! Are we too late? Medic, we need you here."
The other rescue team arrived at the scene. They were better prepared for the dungeon and quickly disposed of the danger.
Their medic checked up on Fenny, only to shake her head in anguish.
"I am sorry, but we can do nothing for her. The subject was dead before we got here."
Anger and despair collided on Seol's face. There was nothing he could have done to change the outcome.
"Hey, you! Hurry up and accompany these two outside. The monsters are starting to break free from the confinements. Fuck, why are these monsters so strong?"
The monsters cried and followed Rachael's position. They were zoned in on the smell of her blood.
"Boss, the monsters are getting fiercer by the second. Did we lay out any monster bait?"
The relief party members cried as they watched the monster break formation. They might be the first relief team, but they had only been dispatched because they were expendable.
"Let's push through anyway. I will take care of the front and…"
Before they could finish speaking, the floor was frozen by someone's ability. The monsters were frozen and broke apart when the ice shattered.
"This ice…. isn't this Shiva's ability? Is that woman here?"
"But why? She is an S-class ability user. There are less than 200 in the world. Her ability is wasted on such a low dungeon."
The relief team members looked stumped at seeing Shiva's face.
Rachael noticed the doll-like girl walking toward their group. Her cold face showed no emotion, but her annoyance was visible.
"S-Shiva, what are you doing here? Is Dark Matter taking over this dungeon? But why?"
The relief team asked with bitter voices. They were lucky to get permission to head into this dungeon. Usually, more prominent guilds ended up taking all such opportunities.
Thus, government relief teams gained a reputation for being unreliable.
Shiva looked at the group in front of her. Rachael's eyes met Shiva's, and she was sure Shiva stared at her for a little longer than usual.
"Ah, I am not here for anything related to Dark Matter. I am here because my boyfriend decided to run away. I will leave as soon as I find him."
After answering the relief group's question, Shiva should have bothered looking at the group. But before she entered the main school building, she looked back at the group.
"Ah, I will help you clear out the way for you. So quickly run if you want to live."
Shiba flicked her finger, and the path toward the exit froze. The monsters were caught in the ice, creating a vault until the dungeon's entrance.
"T-Thank you for helping us out. We will repay this favor we received in the future."
The relief team waved at Shiva. But she had disappeared inside the building already.
"Hah, she is such a dreamy girl. Shiva is cool as well as caring. But I did not know she had a boyfriend. Many people would break their hearts if they knew about her relationship status."
The relief team's leader looked at Shiva's back. He sighed dreamily, letting everyone know where the real disappointment lay.
"Enough with your one-sided crush, team leader. I doubt Shive even knows your name. But she will know your name and curse you if we did not get out after she helped us out."
Rachael was running out of the dungeon before anyone else started moving. Her instincts told her that the monsters were about to make a resurgence.
She wanted to get out of the dungeon before that happened.
"Hey, kid! Fuck, wait for us to catch up to you. You cannot run around like this."
The relief team ran after Rachael right in time for the monsters to appear once more. The ice vault that led to the exit of the building began to shake. The monsters were trying to break into the vault.
"Does anyone have a gun to deal with these insects?"
The others in the party caught up with Rachael at this point. She had been carrying the gun from the bunkers all this time. But now she finally remembered that she had one.
"There is a gun in Seol's bag. If you can get it…"
Rachael pointed toward Seol's wrist. There was a storage device strapped onto it. Even Seol had forgotten that he had picked up weapons and stored them in his bag.
He handed the gun over, and the relief team began to shoot at the insects coming after them. That was how they made it out of the dungeon.
.........
Luca and Rook were fighting intensified. Luca was careful to keep the building intact so that it did not end up crushing other people.
He had sensed the relief team's people rescuing other students. So, he wanted to contribute a little bit.
Mainly because he had a soft spot for the kids.
Sweat covered Luca's face, and a droplet fell in his eyes. He blinked to get it out, but that was what Rook had been waiting for.
He quickly dashed toward Luca, his shadow claw ready to pierce Luca's stomach. But his claw met solid ice before Rook pulled it back.
"My boyfriend left me alone on our date without any excuse. It pissed me off, so I decided to investigate it."
"Who knew my boyfriend was busy on another date while blowing me off day?"
Shiva asked, her footsteps echoing in the empty corridor. Her presence made the building cold, and Luca paled once he noticed Shiva's presence.
Out of everyone involved with Terry, she was the last person he wanted to find the truth.
Terry's body flinched as soon as he noticed Shiva's presence. Rook could feel a lingering feeling in his heart that made his mouth move.
"H-Hey, you cannot barge in her as you please. There is a place and time for you to interfere."
Shiva raised her eyebrow in surprise.
"Luca, do you want to tell me what is happening here and how this fool is? Suddenly, I want to murder some people."
Shive declared before Luca moved between her and Terry. Real fear reflected in his eyes. And it was not for his own life but for Terry's life.
"Oh! What a moving bromance you both have. If I did not know better, I would have thought you were dating behind my back."
Luca and Rook made a gagging sound. Rook could feel Terry's disgust rearing its ugly head inside his consciousness.
"No, Shiva, you do not understand. Terry is alive but being controlled. We can bring him back-"
"Save it. I am in a bad mood. Noting here is going to survive my cold clutches."
Shive promised that before frost began to cover the inner surface of the building, Even Luca was not safe from the biting chill that crept up his spine.