Chapter 257

“Ah…”

Kang I-seo opened her eyes and frantically checked her surroundings.

“Uncle!”

‘Thank goodness.’

He was still unconscious, but thankfully, he hadn’t been separated from her.

It seemed they had coincidentally been moved to the same place.

“Please… I’ll definitely get you out of here… So don’t die.”

Seeing the pale-faced man, she couldn’t calm her emotions.

“…Ah.”

Her gaze suddenly fell on the empty space where one of his arms should have been.

“Damn it… those bastards.”

Tears welled up in her eyes without her realizing it.

She knew what kind of treatment someone who lost an arm would receive on this continent, and she was overwhelmed with despair.

“I should have been by your side… I’m sorry, Uncle.”

He was like a father to her. No, even more than that—more than parents whose faces she couldn’t even remember.

“I’ll protect you…”

‘…I have to move him no matter what.’

Even if it was difficult, she had to move. Staying still was a stupid choice no matter how you looked at it.

‘Before we got separated… he said we’d regroup.’

First, she helped him up and started moving.

“Phew… please…”

As she moved, she prayed silently. Please, don’t let us run into any enemies.

An archer can’t do anything in close combat.

Even if there was enough distance, with someone leaning on her like this, she couldn’t shoot arrows quickly.

In other words, until she found other allies, she absolutely couldn’t afford to be attacked.

“Ah. Here…?”

Thankfully, a familiar path came into view. She was sure this was the passage they had passed through before.

‘If that’s the case… if I just keep going…’

If she followed the path she knew, she would definitely reach the place they were at just before they got separated.

‘Phew…’

The fact that they were randomly moved, but thankfully not too far from their original location, was a relief.

As she struggled to move forward, she suddenly hid behind a wall and held her breath.

That’s because she sensed movement ahead.

‘…Damn it, beastmen.’

What she saw were two beastmen. Whether it was because their hearing was sharp or not, she could hear them talking.

“Tsk, what’s this? Forced movement?”

“I’ve heard there are dungeons with gimmicks like this, but was this one of them?”

“More importantly, what about that guy? I didn’t see him during the group hunt. Where is he?”

“Ah, the human? That guy, there are people looking for him to get revenge. He’s acting separately.”

‘Group hunt? Revenge?’

She had no idea what they were talking about.

‘I don’t know about the group hunt, but what revenge? Who?’

Her thoughts were a mess, but she bit her lip.

‘Don’t think unnecessary thoughts. This isn’t the time.’

Carefully, she leaned her uncle against the wall and aimed her bow.

Two targets. The distance wasn’t too far.

‘…Kang I-seo, focus.’

She had never been this tense in her life.

This was a situation where she absolutely couldn’t miss. If even one arrow missed, the situation would worsen.

If she were alone, she could run, but if her attack missed and those two got close, she wouldn’t be able to escape.

‘…I can’t leave him behind.’

She absolutely couldn’t leave her uncle behind and run away alone.

*Creak*

‘…Now.’

*Thud*

The moment she released the bowstring, the arrow flew.

*Splat*

“Gah…!”

One of them was pierced through the neck.

It was an instant kill, but there was no time to celebrate. There was still one left.

“What the hell…!”

The other one immediately noticed her position and started running toward her.

‘Stay calm…’

She quickly nocked another arrow and pulled the bowstring.

*Thud*

“Ugh…!”

The one running toward her collapsed, and only then did Kang I-seo let out the breath she had been holding.

“Ha… phew… damn it…”

In that short time, she had been so tense that her back was drenched in cold sweat.

“…You bastards. Go to hell.”

She flipped off the corpses and started moving again.

Thankfully, she didn’t encounter any more enemies and safely reached her destination.

“Damn it, we made it.”

She finally relaxed and plopped down.

‘The others… must still be on their way.’

She definitely felt like she had arrived early. Of course, that was only natural since she had been lucky enough to be moved near this area.

“Ha… damn it…”

Even though she hadn’t reunited with her allies yet, tears inexplicably streamed down her face.

It was probably because she had been so tense until now.

“Uncle, just hang in there a little longer. Soon…”

Just as she was talking to her unconscious uncle.

“Ha, long time no see.”

‘Huh?’

As soon as she heard the unfamiliar voice from behind, she turned around.

*Thud*

“Ah! Ugh!”

The pain in her abdomen came first.

“Ugh! What, what is this!”

After being kicked, she hurriedly pushed herself up from the ground, but the scene before her made her face pale.

Because a man was holding a spear to her uncle’s neck.

“What… what are you doing! Stop! Stop!”

“Haha, why? Is Ho-won’s life that precious to you?”

“Stop… huh? You, you?!”

His face was definitely familiar.

“Do you remember me? Lee Seo, this is an honor.”

“You… definitely…”

“Hmm, wait a second. Haha, damn it, you’re not telling me you don’t remember my name, are you?”

“Uh…”

“This won’t do. I guess I’ll just have to kill you, huh?”

“No, no. I remember. You’re Tae-woo oppa, right? So please…”

‘I remember…! Why is this guy here?’

He was definitely the guy she cleared the tutorial with.

In the end, they were split into different clans at the training facility, but they had once worked together.

“Haha, Tae-woo oppa? That’s so awkward. Back then, you called me Tae-woo, didn’t you?”

“Why, why are you doing this…”

He wasn’t even a beastman. She had no idea why this guy was here.

‘Why?’

“Why are you doing this? For revenge?”

“…Revenge?”

“Yes. Revenge. Ha, you were one of the faces I wanted to see the most. I’m glad I found you like this.”

“What… what nonsense are you talking about? Revenge? What are you even talking about?”

Perhaps because of the way they were looking at him like he was crazy, Ahn Tae-woo’s eyebrows twitched, and a distorted smile spread across his face.

“Ha… what am I taking revenge for? You guys abandoned me, didn’t you?”

Ahn Tae-woo’s answer left them utterly dumbfounded.

‘…What is he talking about? We abandoned him?’

“What? Don’t you even remember abandoning me?”

His tone made it clear he wasn’t in a good mood.

Kang I-seo could sense something twisted in Ahn Tae-woo’s words.

It wasn’t just his words. His gestures, the trembling of his pupils, the scars on his face and body—everything about him felt completely different from before.

It might have been her mood, but Kang I-seo had a strange intuition that it wasn’t just her imagination.

Still, aside from that, a sense of injustice surged within her first.

After all, he was the one who had gone off on his own and joined another clan, yet he was acting like they were the ones who abandoned him.

“…Stop talking nonsense. We abandoned you? You’re the one who went and made a deal with another clan on your own! Revenge?! What kind of crazy talk is that?”

She couldn’t understand it.

Listening to Ahn Tae-woo’s words, she realized that this whole situation was connected to him, which made it even more infuriating.

The fact that the old man’s arm was cut off, that he was so severely injured he couldn’t regain consciousness—it was all because of one person’s twisted thoughts. A furious rage boiled up inside her.

“You bastard! You did all this just because of that stupid thought?! You crazy bastard!”

“…….”

“What about the clan? How could you do this? Right now…!”

“Pfft, the clan? Hahaha!”

Suddenly, he burst into laughter.

After laughing for a while, Ahn Tae-woo stopped and continued speaking, sounding almost cheerful.

“That clan’s long gone. Sorry, but unlike you, the legendary archer with perfect aim, I’m just a stray dog with no clan now.”

“…What?”

“I’ve heard bits and pieces about you guys. Even over in Tayos, I’ve heard about you. You’ve become pretty famous, huh?”

“What are you talking about? You’re not part of a clan anymore? Tayos? What…”

“Why? Why so surprised? Right now, I’m loyal to a Beastmen tribe. You must’ve seen the Beastmen on your way here, right? Those two corpses with arrows stuck in them?”

“…You’re loyal to a Beastmen tribe?”

“Sounds like you can’t wrap your head around it. Well, I guess that’s understandable.”

“What…”

With a self-deprecating laugh, Ahn Tae-woo suddenly started telling his story.

“You know, this continent… it’s a real shithole, isn’t it? People like you grow up comfortably in large clans, free from threats, while I was the complete opposite.”

“…..”

“The clan I joined didn’t even last a year. So I started doing party activities. Well, I wouldn’t call them comrades, but I managed to find people to work with.”

“……”

“But then, out of nowhere, we got ambushed in a dungeon. Just like what’s happening to you guys now.”

“…So? What’s your point?”

“Huh, what do you think I did in that situation? Want to take a guess?”

“Ha… why should I bother guessing?”

“…Well, I’ll tell you then. I sold out my comrades to survive.”

“What?”

“I begged for my life, even got on my knees and offered to become their subordinate. I said I’d help them catch the others, that I’d make sure they couldn’t escape. All so they’d spare me.”

“…You disgusting bastard.”

Even as Kang I-seo cursed him, Ahn Tae-woo just smiled bitterly at her, not even blinking.

“Keuk, well, what would a sheltered flower like you know? I expected that kind of reaction.”

“So what? Does that justify what you’re doing now?”

At Kang I-seo’s words, Ahn Tae-woo fell silent for a moment before answering.

“…Justify? Why would I need that?”

“What?”

“Then were the things that happened to me justified? You know what? These Beastmen bastards didn’t accept me right away. For a while, I was just their plaything.”

“…Plaything?”

“Haha, not exactly a fond memory. They threw me and other humans into an arena, made us kill each other to survive.”

“…..”

“In the process, I gritted my teeth and survived. I killed my former comrades who called me a traitor, humiliated them, and fulfilled their desires.”

“You crazy bastard…”

“You know why? Because that’s what the Beastmen wanted. The tribe with wolf tails—they act on their desires, so I had to act like them to earn their recognition.”

“…You done ranting? So what?”

“…Haha, as expected, Kang I-seo, you still have that damn annoying way of talking. Makes me want to slap you.”

“Bullshit, the root of your misery is those Beastmen bastards who tormented you, isn’t it? So why are you bowing to them? Why are you doing this to us!”

“Hmm, you might want to watch your tone. Do you want to see Ho-won’s neck get pierced by a spear?”

“…Don’t you dare.”

Seeing Kang I-seo’s pale face, Ahn Tae-woo let out a satisfied laugh and continued.

“Haha! Kang I-seo, drop your bow and come closer. Otherwise, I’ll kill Ho-won.”