Dungeon & Commander (271)
The biggest question was Choi Muhyun's absence.
Why had they pulled off something like this right when Choi Muhyun had left the Pink Team to attend the team leaders' meeting?
Where was Choi Muhyun now? Why hadn't he come through the collapsed passage from the Core Mine?
"It's bait."
An Seong-ho said.
Bang Yun-a shot him a look.
The idiots might dismiss An Seong-ho, but Bang Yun-a knew full well that his talent for gathering vast amounts of information, analyzing it, and producing brilliant results had propelled him to team leader.
Skyla, Yeom Sang-taek, and even Do Jin-yong turned their attention to him. No one ignored An Seong-ho.
He explained, and the others listened.
"If they grabbed Choi Muhyun as bait to catch Kim Jun, then what about us?"
Do Jin-yong asked.
"One piece of bait is plenty."
Bang Yun-a racked her brain for counterarguments, running through possibilities. As acting team leader, she needed to scrutinize every detail before issuing orders. In a situation this dangerous, one wrong call could mean death for her teammates.
But no reasoning could explain away the fact that Mars had systematically targeted the Pink Team for elimination.
She now understood the lay of the land.
The problem was how to respond.
Should she slip away and tell Hwang In-su, who had been grilling Song Deok-hwan relentlessly? He was a solid team leader, but he didn't have the chops to take down Ju Shin's Kwon Joo-chan. Given his usual style of steering clear of headaches altogether, he'd probably back off even if he learned the truth.
What about Grintree's Jason Tyler or Apgujeong's Han Ye-jin?
Both teams had been summoned by Kwon Joo-chan. There was a high chance they'd coordinated beforehand. Team leaders ready to do anything if it meant getting into the relic? Not trustworthy.
Bang Yun-a fixed her gaze on An Seong-ho.
"So, what's the plan?"
"...None."
An Seong-ho shook his head.
That's when Skyla spoke up.
"Kim Jun's coming."
Bang Yun-a eyed the former journalist Raider, whose voice carried pure, unadulterated certainty—doubt was her instinct.
"How do you know?"
"Mars, Lincoln, Grintree, and Apgujeong will all be gunning for Kim Jun when he shows to rescue Muhyun. That's our shot. While they're all focused on him."
"We hit 'em from behind?"
Do Jin-yong chimed in.
"Exactly. Cripple even one or two teams so they can't fight back, and our odds of saving Muhyun go way up."
Bang Yun-a stared hard at Skyla.
No evidence. Just blind faith that Kim Jun would come. From someone who knew better than anyone that going missing in a dungeon meant death.
If she were her old self—if she hadn't joined the Pink Team for this raid—she would've scoffed and shot the idea down.
But there were no other options.
The Pink Team punching through Mars, Lincoln, Grintree, and Apgujeong to escape the relic? Odds were damn near zero.
Bang Yun-a scanned her teammates.
Yeom Sang-taek was resolute, just like Skyla. Kim Jun's death wasn't even on his radar.
An Seong-ho... was split.
"What about you?"
She turned to Do Jin-yong.
"The team leader's coming back. That's not the issue."
"Then what is?"
"Can we kill the bastards who tried to kill us? That's the real question. Ever taken a life? Even if they're scum, stealing someone's breath is a whole other beast. You gotta be ready for that weight."
His grave tone hung heavy in the air.
"...You have?"
"Once. By accident. Kept it quiet, but it wrecked me. Not something you shake off easy."
Do Jin-yong let out a sigh.
Bang Yun-a saw him in a new light. She'd pegged him as just a dumb brute tanker, but he'd carried some hidden hell.
"Do we have to kill them?"
Yeom Sang-taek asked.
"Subduing or capturing takes triple the power. And numbers. We don't have the luxury. The second Kwon Joo-chan realizes the Pink Team's alive, he'll order the hunt. You think the others will defy a captain's command? Or come at us to bury the truth?"
Do Jin-yong's eyes burned with a raw, masculine fire as he met each of theirs.
"I'm in. This is survival of the fittest—kill or be killed. They struck first... they're monsters now. Gotta wipe 'em to live."
Skyla said.
Do Jin-yong flashed her a thumbs-up.
"Got a way to do it?"
Bang Yun-a asked.
"Core Mine."
Do Jin-yong grinned.
"Core Mine? You wanna use that? One wrong move and it blows sky-high. You sure you can handle it?"
"Watched a senior lay 'em a few times. I'd pick another way if we had one, but here we are. Time to try."
Bang Yun-a blinked in surprise.
One slip and you're dead, yet he flashes that smile?
Was this really the Do Jin-yong she knew? And damn, she hadn't realized he could be this magnetic.
"I'll help."
An Seong-ho offered.
"No dice. Too risky... high chance of failure. Everyone else, stay way back. If it blows, run like hell—no looking back."
Do Jin-yong shut down objections, his will ironclad. He alone would handle disarming the planted Core Mines.
"Fine. While the Do tanker's on that, we scout what those bastards are plotting."
With roles assigned, the Pink Team got moving.
* * *
"Kiiim Juuun."
Kim Jun slowed at the faint voice echoing through the darkness like a lighthouse beacon.
His name followed in rapid, warped bursts—voice magic amplified and bouncing off the jagged walls and ceiling.
That echo was a guide.
Follow where it grew louder, and he'd find the Pink Team. But it also meant they were ready for him.
Ready with what?
A gruesome vision crashed into his mind.
Arms twisted at impossible angles, legs torn off, pools of sticky blood, eyes glazed gray and dull.
His teammates, drained of life, scattered like broken dolls.
Kim Jun shook his head fiercely, but the image clung, vivid as a memory he'd lived.
"No. That can't happen. Choi Muhyun, Skyla, the others—they won't go down easy."
He forced his thoughts to pivot.
Picture threading through traps and hazards with flawless precision to rescue Yeom Sang-taek. Seeing the team leader, he'd cover his mouth, eyes welling up.
What about Skyla? Choi Muhyun?
He wanted to sprint, shave off every second to reach them, but Kim Jun held back, steadying his mind first.
To unleash 100% focus, he had to conquer the enemy within. In lethal fights where split-second calls decided everything, regrets weren't an option.
His heart lightened.
Kim Jun began running, feet kissing the walls. Every Core Mine so far had been floor-level. Mokhonbo on the walls neutralized that threat.
He ramped up speed.
The echoing voice swelled in tandem.
"Huh?"
Kim Jun had pegged the voice's owner as Kwon Joo-chan while racing toward it. But now, close enough... it wasn't. The frantic screams weren't threats—they came from someone he knew all too well.
As distance closed, the voice sharpened.
"It's your fault, Kim Jun!"
"You killed them all!"
"Where are you? If you're alive, get your ass here now!"
Choi Muhyun was bellowing.
His rage-cracked voice spoke of raw screams, not coercion.
Kim Jun's gut dropped.
The buried vision resurfaced, sharper now.
Choi Muhyun, alone amid corpses, howling in anguish.
The voice drew nearer.
Kim Jun prayed it was wrong, that some unimaginable circumstance explained it, and approached cautiously.
Habitually scanning passages, he recognized the spot.
Where the dungeon item was buried. He'd ignored the detection signal on purpose to weaken Mars.
A hole gaped in the floor.
His friend's cries rose from below.
Trap!
Kim Jun scanned around.
Kwon Joo-chan was probably lurking, grinning. No coincidence this was where Mars lost their buffer, where Choi Muhyun now screamed.
To uncover what happened, he had to descend.
Kim Jun slid down the wall, using Yeongun Island-honed rock-climbing skills to reach the pit's bottom where Choi Muhyun raged.
Glowing stones and luminescent moss dotted the walls, dimly outlining his position.
He could spark a flash for visibility if needed.
Bracing for ambush, Kim Jun advanced slowly. In Yeon Ga armor, he could tank a hit or two.
"Muhyun."
He called out, eyes sweeping the shadows.
Choi Muhyun whipped around, bloodshot eyes locking on, and charged.
"Kim Jun!"
His chalk-white hand raked Kim Jun's chest, shredding dozens of beetle carapaces from the Yeon Ga armor.
Kim Jun backpedaled, finally registering his friend's off state. The Choi Muhyun he knew wouldn't act like this, even in hell.
Whoosh.
A golden-glowing fist rocketed toward his solar plexus.
Kim Jun dodged sideways but caught the shockwave of the Geumgangkwon. More carapaces shattered and scattered.
"Snap out of it."
"Your fault! All your fault!"
Choi Muhyun barreled in wildly.
Kim Jun circled at range, evading with Mokhonbo while searching for others.
Just Choi Muhyun.
No trace of Yeom Sang-taek or the rest.
Choi Muhyun swung his pristine white Myeoloksu.
Kim Jun sidestepped, grabbed his shoulder, and unleashed Po-noe Strike.
Crackle.
Mighty sparks surged through, and Choi Muhyun crumpled.
The venom faded from his eyes.
Gazing up, he rasped,
"...Moderasaurus."
Facts on the Moderasaurus flooded Kim Jun's mind, explaining the frenzy.
A massive, balloon-like eye floated from the darkness beyond Choi Muhyun.
The monster that drove madness with a glance. Now it clicked—how Mars's buffer died, why Choi Muhyun was here.
"Run... away."
Choi Muhyun gasped.
His face twisted anew. The madness, briefly shocked out by the strike, returned.
He rose, glaring, both hands whitening.
Kim Jun ignored him, fixating on the Moderasaurus. Kill it, free Choi Muhyun.
Choi Muhyun lunged with Myeoloksu.
Kim Jun Tan-stepped back, circling wide. A question nagged.
Why didn't the Moderasaurus's mind control affect him?
The answer was close.
White Spear!
The pure white orb in his belt pouch shielded him—its anti-venom and mental clarity effects holding the madness at bay.
As he closed on the Moderasaurus, a chill stopped him cold. A needle-sharp dagger whistled past, embedding in the floor.
Kim Jun looked up to see Kwon Joo-chan hovering, wings flared and flapping.