Chapter 8
The chamber smelled of iron and rot. Piles of severed flesh, mangled bones, and pools of blood decorated the treasure-filled halls like grotesque ornaments.
Renji dragged himself upright, each breath a fire in his lungs. His vision blurred, his body trembling under the sheer weight of what he had seen.
Not again. Please, not again.
He had already watched Choji die a dozen times—watched Tang Shi torn limb from limb, heard the screams of hunters echo until their throats shredded. And every time, the monster's voice rang out:
"Replenish."
Every time, their bodies snapped back together, their flesh regrown, their torment renewed.
When Tang Shi's words left his lips—"Take him as your sacrifice" Renji's heart froze.
His mind blanked, a roaring emptiness swallowing his thoughts.
"…No." His voice cracked, desperate, thin. "No… Tang Shi-san… you… you can't mean that."
Tang Shi didn't look at him. His head was bowed, sweat dripping onto the blood-soaked marble. His daggers shook in his hands, useless, powerless.
Another hunter spoke, his eyes hollow, his voice trembling.
"He's right. We—we can't win. The boss wants you. If it means the rest of us live… then…"
Renji's chest tightened, rage and disbelief twisting into raw pain.
"I'm human! Just like you! I bled beside you, I worked beside you—I risked my life too!" His words cracked, desperate. "Please… don't… don't throw me away like garbage!"
But his words were swallowed by silence.
The hunters' eyes avoided his. Cowards. Survivors. To them, his life weighed less than air.
The dungeon boss chuckled—a low, rumbling sound that crawled into their bones.
"Pitiful mortals," it said, voice like grinding stone. "Already you crumble, already you betray. How quick you turn on each other when the stench of death draws near."
Its crimson eyes bore into Renji
"You… stray dog. Do you see now? You were never their equal. Never their kin. You were always meant to be thrown aside."
Renji clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms until blood ran down. His teeth grit, trembling.
"Shut up…" he whispered.
The boss tilted its head, amused.
"Speak louder, mongrel."
Renji's voice broke into a scream.
"SHUT UP!"
His roar echoed in the chamber, cracking with fury, with grief, with the raw agony of betrayal. But the hunters only flinched, none stepping forward to defend him.
And in sorrow Renji's eyes darted to Choji's crumpled body. His only friend. His brother in everything but blood.
"Choji… wake up…" Renj's voice trembled as he crawled across the bloodied floor, dragging his battered body toward him. "Please… I need you… don't let them do this…"
He shook Choji's shoulder, his voice breaking into sobs.
"Don't leave me here. Don't let them take me…"
But Choji didn't stir. His chest rose and fell faintly, unconscious, locked away in a merciful darkness.
For the first time in his life, Renji was truly alone.
The boss's claw slammed into the ground beside Renji, cracking the marble. The force sent shockwaves through his body, knocking him back.
"Enough of this whimpering." The boss's voice shook the walls. Its glowing eyes pinned Renji down, cruel, hungry.
"You will come to me, sacrifice. On your knees, or in pieces."
Tang Shi's trembling voice rose behind him.
"Please… please take him. Spare us…"
Renji turned, his vision blurred by tears, his body shaking. He saw Tang Shi's bent head, the other hunters' pale, hollow faces, and something inside him cracked.
"You… bastards…" His voice was hoarse, weak. "All of you…"
He stumbled backward until his spine hit the cold wall of the dungeon, his body cornered.
"I worked. I bled. I starved—so my sister could smile. And you… you throw me away? Like nothing?"
His body shook violently, grief and rage pouring from his chest. His mind screamed Choji's words—I'll protect you, Renji-san. I'll protect you even if it kills me.
But Choji lay silent. And the others sharpened their betrayal with silence.
For the first time, Renji understood what it meant to be powerless.
And as the boss's claw reached for him again, he realized
There was no escape
Torn from pieces to pieces Renji's legs trembled as he forced himself upright. His body was broken, his lungs rattled with every breath, but a fire lit in his chest—small, fragile, but burning.
He thought of Lily. Her bright smile at the kitchen table. Her voice that night: "Onii-chan, I'll become a doctor. I'll help people like Mama. And I just want us to be happy."
Her dream. Her future.
If he died here, all of that would be ashes.
Renji wiped the blood from his mouth and raised his fists. His body screamed at him, but he stood tall.
"…I won't die here." His voice cracked, but his eyes blazed. "Not like this. Not when she's waiting for me."
The hunters stared in disbelief as Renji charged forward. A man with no mana, no weapon, no strength.
He lunged at the boss, screaming with every ounce of his soul. His fists struck its chest—useless, like throwing stones at a mountain.
The boss laughed, the sound shaking the chamber.
"Defiant mongrel. You think your mortal fists can harm me?"
With one swipe of its claw, Renji's body was thrown across the floor. His ribs cracked, blood splattering the marble. Pain ripped through him, but he dragged himself back up, choking.
"I won't… let you take me. I won't… let Lily cry again…"
He charged once more, staggering, broken. Each blow, each step was pointless—but he moved anyway, his body refusing to stay down.
The hunters watched, silent. Tang Shi's lips curled in disgust.
"Idiot… He doesn't even know when to quit."
But Choji—still half-unconscious—twitched. His lips moved faintly, as though whispering his friend's name.
The boss's claws lashed out again, tearing across Renji chest. His body slammed into the ground, blood pooling beneath him. His vision swam, black spots clouding the edges.
Still, he clawed at the marble, dragging himself forward inch by inch. His body screamed for him to stay down, but his heart refused.
"…Lily…"
The boss's shadow fell over him, towering like a god. Its claws raised high, ready to end him.
But before the strike fell, Tang Shi stepped forward. His voice broke the silence, trembling but resolute:
"Wait. We surrender. Take him. Spare the rest of us."
Renji froze. His heart shattered.
"What…?"
Tang Shi didn't look at him. Couldn't.
"You wanted him. You said so yourself. He's yours. Just let us go."
Another hunter spoke, his voice cracking.
"It's the only way. If one life saves ten… then it's worth it."
Renji's mind screamed. Rage, grief, betrayal, despair—it all blurred together.
"You… you cowards!" His voice tore from his throat, raw and broken. "I fought beside you! I bled beside you! And you… you sell me off like meat?!"
But no one answered.
The boss's claws wrapped around his body, lifting him like a broken doll. Its crimson eyes bored into him, a cruel grin stretching across its monstrous face.
"Stray dog," it hissed. "You fought well. But even a dog knows when its masters abandon it."
Dangling in its grip, Renji thrashed weakly, clawing, kicking, refusing to hang limp. He screamed—not for himself, but for the sister waiting at home.
"LILY! LILY! LILY!
The boss tightened its grip, choking the air from his lungs. His voice strangled into silence.