Heartless

Eric was stunned to hear that Levi had run away. He had talked Levi out of the idea of escaping, believing that Levi would honestly work with them.

Since he had convinced Levi not to escape on his first day, Eric had no knowledge of what might happen next. He didn't anticipate today's monster attack, as originally Levi wasn't supposed to be there at this point.

But despite the chaos and devastation of the attack, Eric saw it as an opportunity to join the hunter department. All he had to do was kill a few monsters under the watchful eyes of the miners as witnesses. Then, he could wait for the hunters to contact him after today's report was submitted.

That was his ideal plan to join the hunter department without arousing suspicion. But now it was about to be ruined, all because Levi couldn't sit still.

Eric had an idea where Levi might have gone, but he refused to believe it.

Wanting to deny his assumption, he asked John, "Tell me, where did he go?"

"H-he went after Bob and Jason," John said with quivering lips and a hoarse voice.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Confused, Eric could only ask him to clarify.

"The monsters... the monsters took them, and Levi went after them to save them," John said, tears threatening to burst.

Bob and Jason. Eric remembered those names; they were also on his team and were John's childhood friends. Eric felt a twinge of pity, but he wasn't too saddened by the news. He wasn't close to them; during his stay in the mine, he had only focused on finding as many crystals as possible and increasing his stats. Apart from Gus, he wasn't particularly close to anyone else.

Still, he was confused as to why Levi would go after the monsters alone. It couldn't be that he felt sorry for them and went to retrieve their corpses, could it?

"Why? Aren't they dead already?" Eric asked, saying what was on his mind.

But his question seemed to infuriate John as he snapped.

"They're not dead!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the air. The other miners looked at them, their conversation drawing attention, but Eric paid no attention to them.

"He promised me he would save them," John said, his voice growing hysterical as he repeated the same thing over and over.

Eric felt a sense of urgency creeping up on him. "I don't have time for this," he thought, realizing that he had to act quickly.

Irritated, Eric grabbed John's shoulders and shook him back and forth. "Hey, tell me which way he went."

"Huh, what, who?" John snapped out of his thoughts, confused.

"Get it together, man," Eric said. "I'm talking about Levi. Which way did he go? Tell me so I can help him save your friends."

Still dazed, John pointed in the direction Levi had gone.

Just as Eric was about to follow the direction John was pointing, he halted his steps.

"Shit, I can't follow him without being noticed," Eric muttered under his breath, his frustration growing. If he followed Levi, it could be reported that he was trying to escape.

Eric weighed his options, knowing that getting caught following Levi could jeopardize his own plans, but he couldn't just let him go unchecked, as that would draw the Temple's attention to all of them. He had to find another way to help without drawing unwanted attention to himself.

Just as his mind raced for a solution, a sudden voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You can go."

Eric turned to see who had spoken and found Gruff standing nearby with a determined look on his face.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Eric asked, confused by his sudden declaration.

"I mean, you can go and help this Levi," Gruff replied, his tone leaving no room for argument. "That young man saved so many people, but it was reckless of him to follow the monsters alone. It would be a shame for him to die after all he has done for us."

It looked like Gruff had heard his conversation with John and thought Levi was going after the monsters to get revenge for what they had done.

"You can go after him to get him back; tell him there's no reason to risk his life for petty revenge," Gruff continued. "Don't worry, I'll cover for you here; it's the least I can do. Just make sure you come back safe."

"Will everything be okay here?" Eric asked, still reluctant to leave.

"Yes, no worries," Gruff waved dismissively. "I've already contacted headquarters to send some Hunters. They should be here any minute. So you can go in peace."

The news of the hunters' imminent arrival surprised Eric, but he didn't dwell on it. With Gruff's assurance, he could leave the camp without being labeled a deserter. After thanking Gruff and asking him to watch over the old man, Gus, he hurriedly left the camp.

Following John's instructions, Eric soon found himself deep in the forest.

There was a reason why he had tried so hard to stop Levi from catching up to the monsters. If what John said was true and the monsters really were dragging living people back into the woods, then they were probably taking them to their lair, the dungeon from which they had spawned.

"Monsters usually kill and consume everyone they meet in order to evolve into higher ranks," Eric thought, his mind racing with possibilities. "But not only did they not follow their primal instinct and kill humans, they dragged them back into the dungeon instead of continuing to attack everyone in the camp."

He could only think of one reason for such a coordinated attack.

"It's an organized attack by higher-level monsters," he concluded, his heart sinking at the realization of the danger that lay ahead.

It wasn't that Eric was heartless enough to leave those people to be eaten alive, but if he didn't stop Levi from entering the dungeon, he would be risking his own safety as well.

He wasn't worried about Levi's safety, as his abilities were strong enough to allow him to fight stronger monsters. No, the reason he was worried was just the opposite. He was worried that Levi would kill all the monsters in the dungeon.

A ranked monster was equivalent to a hunter who had just formed his core, which wasn't too strong, but it would still draw the temple's attention.

According to Eric's original plan, he would join the hunter division after this incident investigation was over. His disguise would be that of a newly awakened person. However, if Levi managed to clear the dungeon on his own, the higher-ups would surely investigate anyone who claimed to be awakened. They might find something amiss, since a newly awakened person could never fight a ranked monster. This could jeopardize Eric's carefully laid plans and put him at risk of being exposed, which was an outcome he was desperately trying to prevent.

"I have to stop him before he ruins everything!" 

Despite the guilt in the pit of his stomach, since stopping Levi from entering the dungeon was essentially condemning the captives to death, Eric pushed the guilt away and convinced himself that it was the only solution.

****

After walking deep into the forest, Eric almost lost his way, as there was no monster he could follow to lead him to the dungeon. Fortunately, he found some blood stains on the ground and followed the blood trails deep into the forest.

However, the blood trails became difficult to see as they mingled with the red dirt, so he could only guess the direction of the wolves by observing the scattered leaves on the ground.

After a while, he stumbled upon a large bloodstain near a large bush. Eric cautiously approached the bloodstain, scanning his surroundings for signs of danger.

Finding no signs of wolves or other monsters, Eric crouched down near the bloodstain and examined it more closely.

"This is still fresh," he murmured, placing his finger on the blood and examining it closely.

As he peered into the dense foliage, a chilling sight met his eyes—a gruesome discovery that sent shivers down his spine. There, hidden among the leaves, was the severed half of a human head, with half of the brain lying on the ground beside it.

Shocked, Eric stumbled backwards before covering his mouth and fighting the urge to vomit as waves of nausea washed over him.

Even though he had seen his fair share of dead bodies, none had ever been this extreme.

He frowned at the sight and looked away, unable to bear to look at the bloody head any longer.

Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm his nerves, but before he could regain his bearings, a high-pitched howl echoed through the dense forest, making his heart race.

"Shit!"