"Since you want to go yourself, would you put away the blade?"
Mr. Kim refused flatly.
"Why should I trust an old fool? Cut the chatter and get moving."
Mr. Song let out a quiet sigh, then walked toward the altar. Mr. Kim followed behind, keeping his sword aimed at Song's back. Jin-Woo watched the two, biting his lower lip.
'It's not Uncle Song's fault.'
Everyone had agreed to it. Shifting all responsibility onto Uncle Song now that things had gone wrong would be an incredibly cowardly thing to do.
'But…'
Jin-Woo had no strength to stop Mr. Kim. Mr. Kim, among the top echelon even within the D-rank, and Jin-Woo, among the weakest even within the E-rank. The difference in strength was clear. On top of that, his leg was still injured. If he had stood up to Mr. Kim, he himself or Joo-Hee, who was focused on treating him, could have been harmed.
"Damn it."
Jin-Woo tightly shut his eyes. There had never been a day he hated his own helplessness as much as today. In the meantime, Mr. Song stepped onto the altar. Fwoosh! A single flame shot up from the outer edge of the altar. Everyone swallowed hard, watching the situation intently to see what would happen. But nothing happened. That one flame was all there was.
'...?'
After waiting for quite a while with no change, not only Mr. Kim, who had shoved Mr. Song onto the altar, but the others as well began to panic. Mr. Kim turned to Jin-Woo.
"Hey, Sung. This isn't it?"
Jin-Woo shook his head.
"I'm not sure either…"
He had thought that once a sacrificial victim stepped onto the altar, the third rule — 'prove your faith' — would be fulfilled.
'So they weren't demanding a sacrifice?'
But this was not bad news. If they weren't demanding a sacrifice, it meant there was a way to save Uncle Song. Jin-Woo's expression brightened. Two Hunters nearby hurriedly helped Jin-Woo, who was trying to stand while covered in cold sweat.
"Move me over so I can examine the altar." "Joo-Woo, your wounds still…"
Joo-Hee also stood up along with Jin-Woo. Her complexion had turned pale from expending too much mana. Thanks to her efforts, bleeding and pain had been minimized.
'I need to hurry.'
Joo-Hee's condition, Mr. Kim's anger, Mr. Song's injuries, and the fear of the other Hunters. There wasn't much time left. With the Hunters' help, Jin-Woo reached the steps.
"Let's climb up onto the altar."
The two supporting him hesitated for a moment, but soon trusted Jin-Woo and climbed up. Then three more flames shot up. Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Jin-Woo's eyes gleamed.
'It matches the number of people.'
Mr. Song and Jin-Woo, plus the two who had helped Jin-Woo. The flames had shot up corresponding to the number of people. Four flames were forming a circle along the outer edge of the altar.
'Judging by the gaps between the flames, if two more appear, the circle will be complete.'
It seemed like the rest would have to come up as well before anything would begin. Jin-Woo asked Mr. Song.
"If we wait here, will other Hunters come to rescue us?"
Mr. Song shook his head.
"Today is the seventh day since the Gate opened. Before reinforcements arrive, those things will move first." "We left a D-rank Gate unattended for too long." "That's how the Association always does things."
After seven days, a Gate fully opens. The true purpose of a raid is to kill the dungeon's boss within that time and close the Gate. If that is not done, the magic beasts trapped inside the dungeon can roam freely outside. Jin-Woo turned around. The colossal statue seated on its throne still looked down with an arrogant gaze.
'If something like that gets out…'
The damage would be beyond imagination. Of course, before that, every Hunter in this room would be killed by the statues and stone figures that had started moving. One thing was certain — they could not simply sit and wait. Jin-Woo called out to Joo-Hee and Mr. Kim.
"You two, come up as well."
Joo-Hee was the first to climb onto the altar. Mr. Kim hesitated, but soon followed. Two flames shot up, completing the circle. Fwoosh! The Hunters jumped in surprise.
"What?" "Why is it doing that?"
Just as Jin-Woo had predicted, a change occurred.
'It's coming.'
Along the outermost rim of the altar, small blue flames began to shoot up one after another, forming a circle. The densely lined blue flames numbered at least thirty, even by a rough count.
'34, 35, 36.'
Counting quickly, Jin-Woo realized that once the circle was complete, there were exactly 36 blue flames.
'Six red flames that shot up in correspondence with the number of people, and 36 blue flames that appeared outside them. What is the significance of the number of flames?'
At that moment — screech! — The firmly shut door suddenly flew open without any warning. The Hunters instinctively flinched.
"Ugh…!"
Everyone desperately wanted to dash out through the open door, but having seen the end of the young man from the choir, they could not bring themselves to take the step. Rushing ahead meant dying in some unknown way. As if demanding an answer, all gazes turned simultaneously toward Jin-Woo. But Jin-Woo pressed his lips into a thin line.
'...'
He could not reach any conclusion yet. Whether the door opening was a trap, or whether they could leave by abiding by the final rule, he could not tell. While everyone's eyes were fixed on Jin-Woo, an unpleasant noise resonated throughout the entire room. Skreeeek! Skreeeek! All six heads whipped around in every direction.
"What is it now?" "They… they're coming!" "They all just moved!"
The Hunters' breathing quickened. The stone figures, which they had believed only moved when a person was nearby, were now several steps closer than before. Though only for a brief moment, Jin-Woo grasped the situation precisely.
'No, it wasn't the statues that moved. What moved were the pedestals beneath the statues.'
The unpleasant sound that had just struck his eardrums was likely caused by the friction of the pedestals supporting the statues dragging across the floor.
'…They've stopped moving again?'
Mr. Kim wiped the sweat from his forehead. While everyone was preoccupied with the statues, Jin-Woo lowered his gaze to inspect the blue flames. Several of the blue flames had already gone out — three had vanished entirely. Skreeeeek! Someone shouted.
"W-what? Which side?"
Jin-Woo raised his head. The noise was from his side. The statues positioned directly in front of him had moved closer.
'Why only my side…?'
Was it because he had been distracted? Jin-Woo closed his eyes to verify. The noise sounded again. Skreeeeek! He opened his eyes and the noise stopped. The statues had definitely come closer.
"What the hell!" "W-what are we supposed to do?"
Jin-Woo shouted.
"Nobody take your eyes off the statues!"
Come to think of it, the statues had first started moving toward the altar when everyone's gaze had been fixed on him.
'These things approach when not watched.'
In that instant, one more blue flame went out. But neither his companions nor the statues showed any change.
'Maybe…?'
Without taking his eyes off the statues, Jin-Woo carefully raised his wrist to check his watch.
'Just as I thought.'
The blue flames were decreasing at a rate of roughly one per minute.
'The blue flames are a timer.'
It seemed the core of the third rule was to endure inside the altar until all 36 blue flames went out. In other words, as long as everyone kept watching the statues, they were safe. Perhaps at the final stage, no one would have to die. Jin-Woo checked the number of remaining blue flames one last time to calculate how long they needed to hold out.
'30 left now…'
He only needed to last 30 more minutes! But that was Jin-Woo's mistake. While he had been counting the blue flames, the statues on his side had once again drawn closer to the altar. Skreeeeek!
"Ugh… AAAAAHH!"
The man standing on the other side of Jin-Woo screamed and sprinted toward the door. The grotesque noise from behind had finally broken his nerve. As soon as he descended from the altar, one red flame was immediately extinguished.
"No!"
Jin-Woo shouted. But the man, running as though maddened, contrary to everyone's expectations, managed to slip safely through the open door.
"W-what? Sung, what happened? That man survived?"
Jin-Woo was facing away from the door and could not see what was going on.
"Has anything changed?" "The door… the door closed a little." "Is the door closing?" "No. No. After that man went down, it moved a little, then stopped."
Jin-Woo recalled that one red flame had gone out the moment the man descended from the altar.
'Damn it!'
His heart sank. The questions that had been tormenting his mind the entire time he stood on the altar were finally answered. Why was this a test of faith? The answer to that question surfaced. For Jin-Woo, who had lost a leg and could only maintain his balance with someone else's support, this was the worst possible condition.
***
The 'open door' had in fact been a trap. A false hope, plain to see! If those standing on the altar had seen the open door and all rushed down at once, every red flame would have gone out and the door would have closed completely. All that would remain was a feast of blood and screams. The 'altar,' on the other hand, was the promised land. A place where everyone's survival was guaranteed as long as each person stayed in their designated position and fulfilled their role for the allotted time. A false hope right before your eyes, or an invisible promise? The third rule, 'prove your faith,' was likely a trial of whether one could resist the sweet temptation in the face of an approaching threat and remain at one's post. Two variables came into play here. The first variable was Jin-Woo's presence. The people who should have dashed for the open door had stopped to listen to Jin-Woo's answer, thereby avoiding the catastrophe of everyone leaving and the door closing.
'He got lucky.'
That was the only way to put it. It had only been possible because Jin-Woo had figured out the first two rules on his own and earned the people's trust. But then an unforeseen second variable arose. A deserter emerged. When a person realizes that the hope right before their eyes can be grasped, what reaction will they show? It was a foregone conclusion. The man who had been supporting Jin-Woo also abandoned him and ran for the door. Mr. Song hurriedly reached out his hand to steady Jin-Woo, who was swaying. Whoosh! As the man descended from the altar, one more red flame was extinguished, and the door's gap narrowed accordingly. Skrrk!
"Ah, ah!"
Mr. Kim pointed at the second deserter, but like the first, he too made it out safely. Jin-Woo checked the number of red flames and shouted.
"Don't move! We can't lose any more!"