Chapter 38: The Path of Darkness

With their tails tucked, the targets hurried into the tunnel, while a man and a woman watched them from afar, leisurely gazing down.

[Seung.]

The girl called out to a man easily twice her size.

[That guy, doesn’t he seem odd?]

[Who… Ah.]

Seung started to ask who she meant, then simply nodded.

There was only one person here his superior would care about.

A candidate with above-average intelligence, below-average martial strength, and average charm.

Overall, an average evaluation: Lee Eunho.

[It’s my first time facing him directly, but… he’s an arrogant one. To dare stand in the way of a manager.]

And his opponent was none other than Harona.

A heavyweight, rumored to be a candidate for the next team leader.

If not for his record of disciplinary actions, he’d already have been promoted—a core talent.

Yet he dared…

As the thought crossed his mind, Seung resolved to give the boy a proper scolding.

[I’ll go down and teach him a lesson—]

[The mood’s changed.]

Harona murmured, fiddling with her twin braids.

[Sorry?]

[Why, doesn’t he seem a little too confident?]

“It’s 9:10:10.”

Even after witnessing her strength, Lee Eunho had stepped forward, unafraid.

Seung, recalling the sight, nodded slowly.

[Now that you mention it, it is strange.]

The guy they’d been watching so far was anything but reckless.

Unless his own safety was guaranteed, he never took risks.

And yet, he stepped forward himself.

“Let the test begin.”

There was an unspoken pressure of ‘stop here.’

As if—

[Like he knows I don’t have time to waste.]

[That’s…]

Punctuality.

An inviolable rule in ‘the Company.’

‘Complete the mission at the registered time.’

You could register new missions in the empty slots, but once a mission was scheduled, you couldn’t start late.

It would affect the entire schedule.

However—

[It must be a coincidence. There’s no way a preliminary candidate would know the Company’s system.]

Seung flatly denied it.

And rightly so—it was simply impossible.

[That’s true, but… I still feel uneasy.]

A minor change.

A worry that made no sense, but the finicky superior still found it unsettling, nitpicking over nothing.

[Besides, isn’t Lee Eunho the kind of person who wouldn’t normally step up for others?]

[Hero complex, perhaps? I heard District 13 values self-sacrifice highly.]

It was a reasonable guess, but Harona didn’t seem convinced.

[Hmm… He doesn’t strike me as that type.]

She kept twisting her hair as if lost in thought.

[Isn’t there some benefit to be had?]

[But… saving others doesn’t bring him any gain, does it?]

[Ugh, it just feels wrong. This damn system, if only I could figure out what it’s thinking!]

Harona sighed in clear frustration.

But what could they do?

Even if the ancestors of the managers came, they wouldn’t gain control of the system.

[What a shame. If only we could open the candidates’ status windows, we wouldn’t be so frustrated.]

Harona nodded at Seung’s words, then waved her hand dismissively.

[Whatever. Whatever skills he picked up, this mission won’t be easy.]

[You paid special attention to it, after all.]

[Sigh, it’s because of all the ruckus from upstairs.]

The petite girl exhaled an exasperated breath.

Then she tacked on a side comment like a cough.

[And if we mess up, they’ll hand it over to the Center.]

The reason they’d taken the trouble to come down personally, even in their busy schedules.

Because Project ‘Hunt’ had failed miserably.

A crisis where not a single person was deleted—a first in history.

As a result, they got scolded with, ‘If you’re going to rescue everyone, why even create a crisis?’

If they didn’t clean it up themselves, they were ordered to hand it off to another department.

[By the way, why is the Center so interested?]

[How should I know? As soon as a promising one shows up, everyone pounces… I don’t like it.]

Harona ground her teeth, clicking her tongue.

Seung kept an eye on her, worried she’d make a scene, but thankfully she didn’t seem that angry.

[Orders are orders.]

If they told her to raise the difficulty, she would.

If they told her to reduce the number, she would.

Just following what the higher-ups ordered.

That’s what Harona thought.

What a bother, all over a single troublesome candidate.

[Hmm—]

But still, why?

[…You look pretty excited for someone complaining, Miss Harona.]

Even now, the reason he felt a thrill.

The reason he unconsciously licked his lips.

[Not at all! I’m not excited one bit~!]

---

“What, what is this? I can’t see anything!”

“Did the power go out? Do something!”

“Just turn on your flashlight— H-huh?”

For some reason, all lights… all of them.

The lights set in the tunnel walls, the flashlights people brought—every artificial light went out.

A total darkness where nothing could be seen.

“Why is it so dark? Is the entrance blocked too?”

“Eek! Who stepped on my foot?!”

Panicked voices echoed everywhere.

With vision cut off, perhaps their other senses had sharpened.

Rustle!

Annoyed words, the rustle of clothing—every little sound dug into their ears.

Slide.

The warmth of Ji-eun’s hand brushing his beside him.

Soft.

A faint whiff of shampoo from the shirt hem she clung to.

“U-uh, Eunho! Are you there?!”

“Yes. The foot you’re stepping on right now is mine, Ji-eun.”

“Eek! Sorry!”

He could sense Ji-eun flinching beside him.

Still, she didn’t let go of his shirt.

Was it fear of the dark?

He thought she might even be biting her nails right now, when—

Snap!

Just as expected.

[The defensive line has been established.]

[Safely break through the ‘Path of Darkness’!]

An audio signpost echoed in the air.

“Defensive line… Does that mean traps?”

“Y-you go first!”

“What? I’m scared too…”

Confusion and fear seeped into every word.

In the middle of the commotion, Jaehyuk, who was nearby, whispered to him.

“Boss! Is it time?”

The timing to use ‘fire.’

But—

“Not yet.”

He had to wait until ‘they’ showed themselves.

If they lit a fire too soon, they’d only reveal their location.

For now, he needed to reassure the frightened people enough so they wouldn’t panic.

“Everyone, can you see your maps?”

In the darkness, when he opened the map, a faint green circle glowed into view.

Like a lighthouse in a vast sea—green light.

It was usually so dim, people didn’t even recognize it as ‘light,’ but now it was a ray of hope.

“The map… I-I can see it!”

“Yeah! It’s really there!”

“The safe zone must be at the end of the tunnel!”

The real ‘safe zone’ indicated on the map was at the far end of the tunnel.

The Path of Darkness—in other words, they had to get all the way through the tunnel.

With their vision blocked.

People finally started to murmur as they realized the situation.

“How are we supposed to walk all the way when we can’t even see our feet?”

“It’s so damn long!”

Their anger, thinly veiled fear, shot out everywhere.

「9:40」

Nine minutes and forty seconds left.

As he was collecting his thoughts, the clever Sola suddenly cried out, “Ah!” and asked,

“Mister! It said this tunnel was 1.3 km, right? We can make it in nine minutes, can’t we?”

“Right. If we run, that’s enough time.”

Of course.

“…Assuming there are no obstacles.”

“Huh? Obstacles?”

Obstacles, meaning…

- Difficulty: Mid-high to high. Depends on defensive line composition.

Somewhere in the tunnel, the ‘defensive line’ awaited them.

According to the file, there would be nocturnal monsters that could see in the dark.

A fatal threat for survivors who’d lost their sight.

But—

- You can choose to make fire or smoke, lasting up to an hour.

Any deadly handicap could be removed.

“Let’s go! Careful not to bump into each other!”

“Yes, Eunho!”

“Understood, boss!”

Obstacles can be cleared.

They hurried along at a half-run for a few minutes.

Thud.

“D-did you hear something?”

“Hear what?”

Thud. Thud.

In the absolute darkness, they could just barely make out a rustling sound, echoing from deep in the tunnel.

“!!”

They were here.

Blinded by darkness, able to move freely and slaughter the survivors… The ‘defensive line’ for this mission.

“Weapons up, everyone!”

“Huh?”

“Mister! Why?!”

No time to explain.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud…

They were already almost upon them.

That was enough.

“Jaehyuk! Now!”

“Yes!”

Thud!

Jaehyuk dropped the load he’d been struggling with.

Just from the sound, it was easy to picture what was happening.

Then—

Rattle!

He dumped the firewood they’d painstakingly gathered last night from his backpack.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Who was that? What happened?!”

“I—I can’t see anything!”

The screams of those attacked by invisible foes echoed all around.

‘What kind of monsters?’

Thunk! Claaang—!

‘Horns? Claws? No, that sound is…’

“Shit! Those bastards can see us, can’t they?!”

“This is nuts… How are we supposed to fight? It’s totally unfair!”

One side could see, the other couldn’t.

It was a completely one-sided advantage.

But—

“Boss! Ready! Over here!”

“Well done. Summon!”

No way they’d just sit there and take it.

[Would you like to activate the ‘Beacon of Gyeongbongsu’?]

[Choose between Beacon Fire and Beacon Smoke!]

“Beacon Fire!”

He gripped the solid wooden torch and shouted.

In an instant, flames burst forth.

—Whoosh!

‘Perfect!’

Flames without smoke.

Impossible, but he was glad anyway. He brought the dry torch head down onto the dry firewood—

Crackle! Crackle! Whoosh—!

In pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen, a small but fierce flame blazed at their feet.

Whoooosh!

The fire soon used the logs as fuel, shedding bright light on everyone.

“Weapons up, stay alert! Hurry!”

“!!”

The leaping flames almost reached the ceiling of the tunnel.

And suddenly, the reddish glow lit up their surroundings.

Dozens of shadows fell along the tunnel’s floor and walls.

And as if to say, ‘this is as far as you go,’ an opaque wall blocked the tunnel like a giant barricade.

‘So that’s the defensive line.’

The wall, shimmering red in the firelight, seemed like a curtain of flame.

Dozens of enemies stood before it, blocking their path.

‘Twenty? Twenty-one?’

The heat made people sweat, and even the enemies who’d been charging froze in surprise, taking a step back. Eunho shouted urgently.

“We have to break through those guys and get past the wall! We don’t have much time!”

With their vision restored, now was the time to strike.

Let’s break through and survive together.

“M-monsters?!”

“Hah! I can see!”

“Weapons up, everyone!”

Gradually, people snapped to their senses and readied their weapons.

As their vision returned, they stared down the foes before them.

Still—

- Difficulty: Mid-high to high. Depends on defensive line composition.

The defensive line—their enemies were humanoid monsters.

The proposal had clearly said ‘nocturnal beasts accustomed to darkness.’

But—

‘Armor and helmets, too?’

Instead of bats or some such creatures, they faced soldiers fully covered in armor.

Well… no matter.

“We’ve got twice their numbers! Pair up, two to each one!”

It was doable.

They’d been at a disadvantage thanks to the surprise and the enemies’ gear, but they still outnumbered them.

Once they adapted, they should be able to win.

They’d already nullified the main threat of the ‘Path of Darkness’—the darkness itself.

Swish—!

Drawing his sword, he charged at the armored foe before him.

The monster in front of him…

“Kyaaah!”

…shrieked and crumpled to the ground.

‘…?!’

She even covered her head with both arms and began to tremble.

‘…A person?’

He couldn’t see her expression beneath the helmet, but he could tell.

This one.

No, this woman.

“E-Eunho?!”

Especially, this habit was unmistakable…

It was her.

“…Huh?”

While the bewildered Ji-eun hesitated beside him, he stepped forward and removed the helmet.

Swish.

The helmet came off.

Long, wavy hair spilled out.

Her eyes, squeezed shut in terror.

“…Huh? Huh?!”

Um…

So, the enemy they needed to defeat and move past…

“…Lee Yeji?”

From accounting?

“Eunho…!”

Lee Yeji, who’d lucked out and drawn a sword from the random box but was too scared to swing it.

Lee Yeji, who, after barely stabbing a ghost on the KTX, closed her eyes in terror.

Sigh.

“…Don’t close your eyes in front of the enemy.”

What should I do with her?