Losing

The underground parking lot reeked of blood, death, and something worse—betrayal.

Grido clenched his fists, forcing himself to remain composed. "What was the reason for this Akira?"

For a moment, Akira said nothing. Then, without looking up, he answered.

"A demonic human."

Grido's eyes narrowed. "What?"

Akira exhaled slowly, the weight of his words pressing down on him. "There was a traitor among the team. One of your own guild members. A demonic human… hiding in plain sight."

A sharp, cold silence followed.

Grido's breath hitched. The guild members around him flinched.

"That's not possible," Grido muttered, but even as he said it, he knew—Akira wouldn't lie about something like this.

Shock flashed across Grido's face. His hands clenched into fists.

"That's not possible," he muttered. "All Eighth Stars present here have been part of the guild for years"

"Then tell me, Grido where is the Eighth person right now? - Akira said

"Olian" - Grido muttered.

Grido's stomach twisted , only seven people were present in the underground parking exluding Akira. He looked at Sylara's still body, his jaw tightening.

"She sacrificed herself," Akira continued, voice devoid of emotion. "To protect me."

Grido gritted his teeth. His body shook with barely controlled fury.

"We should've been here sooner."

Grido closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to focus. "Monsters got on our way.We had to fight our way through just to get here."

Grido clenched his jaw. "The bastard is still in there?"

Akira nodded.

A long silence stretched between them. The weight of it, suffocating.

Silence fell over the guild members.Their failure pressed down on them.

Grido turned to Akira. "You fought him?"

Akira's grip on his side tightened. "I did."

"And?"

Akira let out a slow breath. "I wasn't strong enough."

Those words, simple yet laced with so much venom, sent a shiver down Grido's spine.A sudden wave of emotions crashed over the guild members—anger, grief, guilt.

They had failed. They had lost their guildmaster. And worse—

They had let a monster fester among them without even realizing it.

The stars stood tall. Wiping their tears. Clenching their fists. Burying their pain.

Then Grido took command once more, his voice steady, but his eyes burning with vengeance.

"Two of you—take Guildmaster Sylara's body somewhere safe. The rest of us… We still have a dungeon to clear."

"If we don't finish this, countless people will die."

His words struck deep. The Stars who had been paralyzed by grief now tightened their grips on their weapons.

They would not let her sacrifice be in vain.

Grido turned to Guan, the healer.

"Heal Akira. Now."

Guan's guilt was still fresh—his hands shook as he stepped forward.

"Y-Yes, sir."

He placed his hands on Akira's blood-soaked back, pouring all his mana into healing magic. A soft green glow wrapped around Akira's body, knitting the flesh together, sealing torn veins.

The blood loss stopped.

But the wound did not close still—he did not move.

Guan's expression tightened.

"The bleeding has stopped… but his wound won't close."

Akira had pushed himself too far. From the raid in the morning and the assault at the lake, to the monsters from the dungeon outbreak, and now this—he had not stopped.

Grido's gaze hardened.

His mind? A mess of pain, loss, and fury.

Could he really tell him to go inside the dungeon like this?

No. It would be madness.

They now had two problems.

One: The dungeon was still active. And with the level of hunters he had left, going inside now was suicide.

Two: The bastard who killed Sylara was still in there.

And Grido didn't give a damn if it cost him everything—

That thing was going to die.

Backups were coming. They just had to hold out until then.

But Akira…

Grido stepped forward, his voice steady but firm.

"Take a rest today, Akira."

Akira stood there, his black hooded coat torn, slashed, barely clinging to his form. His Pantho Sword—his weapon—lay shattered on the cracked concrete, the once-proud blade now just another piece of broken steel.

Yet, none of that mattered.

His void-dark eyes locked onto Sylara's lifeless body.

The two guild members struggled to lift her with care, their hands trembling.

And then—

Akira spoke.

"Thank you."

A single word.

The guild members froze.

"Thank you for saving me."

His voice wasn't loud. It wasn't filled with anger or sorrow. It was bare—a whisper that carried more weight than a scream ever could.

"Thank you for keeping my secret."

His fingers twitched. His arms, once numb, clenched into shaking fists.

"Thank you for the hope you gave me."

His words hit like daggers to every single guild member present.Some turned away, unable to look at him.Some bit their lips so hard they bled.And some simply wept, silently.

"Thank you for everything, Guildmaster Sylara."

The name, spoken with such sincerity, shattered whatever composure the guild had left.

Even Grido, the ever-steady, ever-unshakable, clenched his jaw so tightly his teeth might break.

Then—

He lifted his head.

And what he said next—froze the blood in everyone's veins.

"But…" His voice dropped, low and unreadable.

Something shifted—a whisper of something dark, something unstoppable.

"I will make all of them pay."

"The air around him twisted, as if the world itself recoiled from his fury."

"Starting right now…"

His eyes burned with something inhuman.

And then, finally—Akira's dark eyes turned to the dungeon entrance.

"…With the one who went inside."