Chapter 13 Rick’s Descent ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Damn it…! You’ve gotta be kidding me…!”
Rick’s knuckles slammed into the mossy rock, a dull thud echoing out before the sting came biting back through his bones. The skin of his palms was already scraped raw, streaked with blood, but what hurt far worse was the fury boiling in his chest, the heavy knot of shame tangled around it.
A newborn Dungeon. Untouched treasure. Weak monsters. It had looked so easy—clear the place, rescue Syl and Alma, return to the village with Sara smiling like the sun waiting for him. He had actually believed it. He had pictured that future so clearly it almost felt real.
But instead…
”…What the hell even was that guy…? Wasn’t he supposed to be a nobody…?!”
The memory crashed back, sharp and raw. That man in black, appearing out of nowhere. He’d caught Rick’s punches like they were nothing, like he was just swatting flies. Rick had written him off as a harmless weakling, especially since Sara had tried to protect him—he couldn’t be dangerous, right? So Rick had let him tag along, thinking he was just dead weight.
Then the world flipped. He’d been cut off from Sara, wandering lost, caught by Goblins like some pitiful stray. Couldn’t fight back. Couldn’t even stand. Just crawled in the dirt, humiliated… and then forced to watch as the man violated her, as she cried while he stood frozen, useless.
And Kanata—Kanata had also stood above him, looking down with those cold, detached eyes, like Rick was nothing at all.
Everything had been ripped away. His pride, his hope, the future he had trusted in… all gone, shattered.
”…Damn it…!”
He stomped through the fallen leaves, the sound crunching sharp under his boots as the forest wrapped around him. The wind shivered through the branches overhead, a bird chirped somewhere distant—and yet all of it sounded like mocking laughter now, every bit of the world sneering at him.
He knew. He wasn’t strong enough to beat that man. Not yet. If he tried now, it would only end the same way again.
But—
”I’m… not giving up. Never. I’ll take them back. Syl, Sara… with my own hands…!”
No one heard the words but the trees, but Rick clung to them like lifelines, forcing his cracked heart to keep beating. He curled his bloody fists tighter, feeding the fire with his hate and regret. It wasn’t over. Not even close.
This was where it began—the story of his revenge.
* * *
Past the edge of the woods, the village came into view. It should’ve felt familiar, but now it only seemed… distant. The creaking fences, the sweet smell of hay, the low bleats of livestock—it was all the same as before, and yet nothing was the same. It couldn’t be. Something in him had broken and changed forever.
Rick walked straight into the center square, where the Gathering Bell stood tall, rusted green by age. “Is the village head here?! Everyone—listen up! This is urgent!”
The quiet afternoon shattered as people began trickling in, faces he’d known since childhood. Yet Rick’s eyes burned strangely bright, sharp with something none of them had ever seen.
”There’s a Dungeon in the forest,” he said, his voice carrying, low and tight. “And in there… I met something unreal. And… a monster of a man.”
The crowd stirred. Old men frowned, young hunters leaned forward.
”That man isn’t just some enemy. He’s the Dungeon Master. Syl and Alma—and Sara—he’s got them all locked away. If we don’t move, they’re gone forever!”
Their names cracked the air like thunder. Syl and Alma, the bright twin stars of the village. And Sara, sweet Sara. Just saying them changed the whole atmosphere.
”But I can’t do it alone,” Rick pushed on, voice rising. “He’s strong. Crazy strong. Like a monster. But listen—if we take him down, we get them back. Not just that.”
He stepped forward, fire flaring in his tone. “The Dungeon’s full of treasure. Weapons. Resources. Riches. With all that, we could change this whole village. No more starving through winters, no more bowing our heads to outsiders. We could stand proud.”
Someone muttered, “But… you lost, didn’t you?”
Rick clenched his jaw. “Yeah. I lost. Because I was alone. But numbers can win. If we all go, we can crush him.”
Silence pressed in for a heartbeat.
Then a young man shot his fist up. “Let’s do it! We’ll get Syl and Sara back!”
”And Alma-chan too!”
”Hell yeah!”
”If there’s treasure, I’m in!”
”This is our shot to change everything!”
The spark caught and spread. Cheers rose. Rick’s eyes gleamed like steel catching light.
Yes. This was it. Gather numbers. Arm them. Feed them with rage and greed. March forward.
They would kill that man. Take back everything stolen. And then reach even further, grasp everything beyond with his own hands.
Even after the meeting broke up, the village buzzed like a kicked beehive. Young men cleaned spears and axes in the square, the smith’s forge burned bright into the night. Dried food was stuffed into packs, hunters honed their arrows, the healer sorted herbs with frantic hands. Voices clashed at every doorway, tangled with excitement and fear.
”…Are we seriously doing this?”
”Normally, you’d call in mercs from the royal capital for something like this…”
Ryuu muttered, and Teran grimaced back. “Hey… what if Rick’s lying? About Syl and Sara being captured. He doesn’t have proof.”
The words stilled the circle around them. Their eyes flicked to Rick by the fire. He stood tall, straighter than anyone, his gaze burning like it could sear through stone.
”What’s this about?” he asked, stepping closer. They shut up quick. Rick smiled thinly.
”I get it. You’re scared. But listen—yeah, the Dungeon Master’s strong. But that’s only because he’s got the Dungeon backing him up. On his own, he’s nothing special. And the path there’s empty. Barely any monsters. Practically abandoned.”
”…Really?”
”Yeah. Honestly, it’s like someone built that whole place just to invite us in. No traps. No mazes. Just a straight path. We can make it. And if we face him without all his Dungeon tricks, he doesn’t stand a chance.”
Rick’s voice lifted as he swept his gaze over them. “Think about it, everyone! This isn’t just about saving Syl and Sara. It’s what comes after!”
Their eyes sharpened, caught in his fire.
”Gold. Weapons. Maybe even Magic Stones. If we take that Dungeon, the village will change. Kids won’t cry from hunger. We won’t fight over firewood in winter.”
”O-oi… would we get… some of it?”
”Of course. Anyone who fights will get their share. Risking your life should pay, right?”
His tone dipped smooth, coaxing, and hunger glimmered in their eyes. “We don’t have to just endure anymore. We can change. If you’re scared, then stay here and tremble. But if you’ve got the guts—come with me. Let’s make that Dungeon ours.”
A fist shot up. “Yeah!”
”I’m in!”
”No way I’m rotting in this village!”
Fear melted into heat. Rick stood in the center, voice echoing above them all.
Doubt, fear… drown it all in desire. In dreams.
The thing snarling deep in his heart grinned wide.
Nothing could stop this now.
* * *
Night draped over the village like old cloth. A dog barked once in the distance, then fell silent. The campfires guttered low, and stars bled faintly through torn clouds.
Rick sat alone on a crooked bench at the edge of the square. The air had turned cold, the village lights blurred and wavered. His shadow stretched long across the dirt.
He let the stone in his hand drop, hearing the soft clack as it hit the ground.
”…What am I even doing,” he muttered.
The words weren’t for anyone. They just had to leave his chest before it burst.
”…I only wanted to save Syl.”
He knew. He’d always known. That’s how it had started.
Syl’s gentle heart. Sara’s blazing strength.
That was what had pulled him in. That was what had made him want to become someone who could protect people too.
But—
”…Did you see them? Their eyes. Syl’s… Sara’s…”
When he’d seen them again, deep in the Dungeon, Syl hadn’t been looking at him at all. Her gaze had slid right past him… and rested on that man—the Dungeon Master—with something that looked almost like trust.
And Sara… her face had carried that hollow, resigned look, like she was watching a hopeless dream crumble. And when her eyes met his, it had only been pity.
”Were they even taken…? Were they… really?”
Rick’s fingers scraped absently across his knee, nails dragging over skin.
Had they actually wanted to be saved?
Was this whole “they were stolen away” thing just something he had made up in his head?
Even so—even so, that humiliation had been real.
The moment that man had torn away Sara’s purity right in front of his eyes—the very thing Rick had once imagined taking for himself someday.
And Sara’s gaze afterward, soft and almost pleading toward *him*… everything about it made Rick’s chest boil.
He curled his fist tight. If he didn’t take her hand back with his own strength, he’d never be able to breathe again.
But—
”…I dragged them all into this. The villagers…”
A small version of himself still lived inside him.
A small voice, trembling, whispering *this is wrong*.
”Weren’t you trying to be a hero…?”
Or had he always just been a weak coward, clinging to revenge because he was too afraid of being the one left behind?
”Damn it…!”
His hands covered his face, and tears seeped through his palms.
Hot tears of rage, of regret, of mourning something he knew he could never get back.
And still… tomorrow would come.
The morning of battle—the beginning of revenge.
Rick scrubbed the tears away and forced himself upright.
He couldn’t hesitate now. If he stopped walking, everything would fall apart.
Even if he was shaking, even if he was hollow, he had to keep moving forward.
Because this was the path he had chosen.
* * *
”Rick! —Y-Yuuda’s down!”
”Shit, get back! It’s a trap—!”
Screams and clashing steel ripped through the air. In the cramped cave passage, the torchlight whipped wildly around, throwing warped shadows across the stone walls as the floor shuddered with every step.
Rick swung his sword hard, cleaving through the snarling monsters closing in on them.
But his shoulders jerked with every breath, and his lungs burned.
…Damn it. These things weren’t here last time.
The tunnels had looked the same as before, endless and empty.
Last time, he hadn’t seen a single monster until they’d reached the second floor.
So he had assumed this stretch was safe.
But there were more of them than he’d ever imagined.
His own words—*the road is clear*—clamped around his throat like a noose.
”…It was supposed to be fine…”
Yuuda’s body was soaked in red.
Beneath him, the floor panels had snapped open to reveal spinning blades, and just beyond them gaped a nest of monsters, waiting like laughing jaws.
”Rick-san, what is this!? You said there weren’t many monsters on the way!”
The voice cracked with fury, but Rick couldn’t answer.
”I… I…”
Had he just underestimated it? Or had the Dungeon itself changed?
It didn’t matter now.
The villagers’ faces blurred, twisted.
Fear, anger, doubt—all pointed straight at him.
”You all… trusted me…”
Syl’s and Sara’s faces floated up in his mind.
Were those smiles ever really meant for him? Had their eyes ever really seen *him*?
He’d wanted to save them.
He’d wanted to protect them.
—But now, he wasn’t saving anyone.
(*Did I…*)
A voice crawled up from somewhere deep inside.
(*Did I ever actually want to be a hero?*)
Or had he just used their fear to hide how pathetic he felt inside?
(*What’s even the point of this…?*)
Everyone stood frozen, still holding Yuuda’s blood on their hands.
Rick drove his sword into the ground and said quietly,
”…We’re going back. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
His voice shook, pained—but somewhere inside it, a sliver of something real, something honest, flickered.
(*It’s not too late. I can still… turn this around.*)
Even if it already felt far too late.
If he didn’t stop now, he would lose everything for real.
”…We’re going back. No more needless deaths.”
The words trembled, but they landed in some of their chests.
Because they were words born from care—and from the courage to admit he’d been wrong.
But—
”Going back? What nonsense is this, Rick.”
The reply cut through the air like cold steel.
The village head, Dehl, stepped forward.
His face was almost expressionless as he glanced down at Yuuda’s corpse, and his words came out sharp and merciless.
”To shrink away because a single youth has died… how pathetic.”
”Wh—!”
”We’ve come this far. Turn back, and what? Crawl home with nothing but a corpse? If so, then at least move forward and bring back enough *value* to make that life mean something.”
His icy stare stabbed straight into Rick.
”Move on. That’s an order.”
Behind him stood the village’s power-holders.
None of them spoke. But their eyes gleamed—not with courage, but with greed. With fear trying to look like pride.
”You’re the one who said it, Rick. ‘Kill that man, and the treasure is ours.’ You dragged us all the way here. And now you claim it was a mistake? How convenient.”
Rick’s teeth ground together.
(It *was* a mistake. …But my words…)
”…Rick-san…”
Mina’s voice quivered. She was the young huntress who had once fought beside him and Sara. She had followed to rescue Sara… and yet now, her eyes carried the quiet understanding that they couldn’t turn back anymore.
(I can’t stop them anymore…)
This wasn’t just his revenge now.
It was the whole village—a mob driven by greed and fear.
(Then… I have to lead them. If only to save as many as I can.)
Rick lifted his sword slowly and said without looking back,
”…Fine. We go on. But no one dies for nothing. I swear it.”
Dehl gave a curt nod, satisfied.
But Rick’s eyes carried deep shadows.
This wasn’t revenge anymore.
It wasn’t a hero’s tale.
This was the story of his own words rotting people’s hearts, driving them into madness.
And he would carry that sin… all the way down.
”Kyahhh!”
A scream ripped through the air as a hunter in the lead fell.
Hidden blades shot from the walls, the floor plates sank, arrows rained from above.
”Damn—! Stay calm! Don’t move!”
Rick’s orders were swallowed by panic.
The footing crumbled. Torches shattered. The line broke.
”Village head! We shouldn’t have come here!”
”What!? Then leave! I’m going forward!”
”Like hell we’re following you! You were the first to run, you coward!”
Shouts and curses collided. Trust cracked in seconds.
Rick slumped back against the wall, hand over his mouth.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He had only wanted to bring Syl and Sara home.
”Rick… please… do something…!”
Tearful eyes turned to him.
But his own knees were shaking. He didn’t know what to believe anymore.
And then—
”Grrrrrooooooaaaaaahhh…”
The low rumble crawled from the darkness ahead, shaking the stone underfoot.
”Wh… what was that…?”
The sound of metal. The heavy stomp of hard hooves.
A massive shadow seeped out of the dark.
A Minotaur.
It wasn’t just a monster.
It was a walking fortress—horned skull, hammer arms, and merciless eyes burning with hunger.
”BWOOOOOOOOOH!!”
The roar shattered the air, and someone screamed and bolted.
”Run! We have to run!!”
”Go back! Go back!!”
But the path behind them had already collapsed under the traps.
There was no way out now.
Rick gripped his sword hard, forcing his shaking hands to stay still.
(Is this it…? Is this where we end…?)
The future he once dreamed of felt distant, unreachable.
All that remained was this hell.
”…It’s coming—hold your ground!!”
The Minotaur thundered forward, howling.
That single strike shattered both reality and dreams alike—
The Minotaur’s blow came crashing down—and at that instant,
”—Stop.”
A low voice. Quiet, but certain.
The air itself seemed to crack as the sound rolled through it.
A man had stepped forward, wrapped head to toe in a black cloak, the hood pulled low to hide his eyes.
The Minotaur’s fist slashed down—and froze.
It was as if an invisible chain had caught it mid-swing.
”D… did it just pull back? The Minotaur…?”
Someone whispered, trembling.
No one moved. No one even breathed.
The man in black—Kanata.
And just behind him, standing like she had always belonged there, was Sara.
”…Sara…!?”
Rick’s eyes went wide.
Sara’s face was calm. Too calm. Like a different person entirely, standing silently behind Kanata.
Gone was the girl who had once run to Rick’s side without thinking—something deep and final had changed.
Kanata stepped forward. Another step. And another.
That strange oppressive aura—like the air itself was bending around him—seeped out from his back.
”—Villagers.
Leave the woman behind and return.
Do that… and I will not take your lives.
I will let this end here.”
His voice was quiet, but merciless.
The words froze the cavern.
”Wh—!?”
”Don’t screw with us! You’re the one who took Sara!!”
Rick’s scream cracked—but Sara just shook her head.
”Rick… stop. I’m here by my own will.”
Her voice was steady. And that was all it took to break the last thread holding the villagers together.
”W-wait… then… what the hell are we even fighting for…?”
”Let’s just go back… we can’t win. Not against that… thing…”
Panic spread like wildfire.
Weapons clattered to the ground.
Eyes dropped, shoulders shook.
Kanata didn’t move. He didn’t have to. His presence alone hollowed them out.
Only Rick still clung to his sword, trembling.
”…Even so… I…”
Kanata’s boots scraped softly as he stepped closer.
”You still want to fight?”
Rick couldn’t speak.
Sara’s eyes found his—soft, hurting.
They looked almost like she was… begging him.
”…gh…”
A loose pebble rolled across the stone near his boots.
The sword in his hand shook in bloodless fingers.
The “enemy” before him was no longer some monster to defeat.
It had become something else entirely—something he could never reach.
Kanata’s voice.
Sara’s eyes.
The split, broken villagers. The fallen friends.
His beliefs crumbling like brittle glass.
—What had he even been fighting for?
(*They took it all… Sara, Syl, the treasure… everything.*)
(*And now… no one’s with me. No one… even sees me.*)
His shoulders sagged.
And then—
”Damn it…!”
Clang. The sharp crash of steel on stone rang out.
Rick’s sword lay on the ground.
”I… lost.”
The words weren’t for anyone.
They were just the truth he had finally admitted to himself.
Rick turned on his heel and walked away.
No—he ran.
Not like someone fleeing.
Like someone who had simply… given up.
Chasing after the villagers who had already scattered and fled.
Silence spread in his wake.
Only three women remained—Mina, May, and Lucia.
”Rick…!”
Mina’s voice broke the air—but no answer came.
They stood frozen as his shadow disappeared into the forest’s darkness.
Lucia bit her lip and muttered, “He left us… just like that.”
”…It can’t be helped,” May said quietly.
”…He was at his limit. Anyone would be. No one could’ve stopped that.”
What flowed between them wasn’t anger.
Wasn’t even fear.
It was quiet despair.
And the soft, cold shape of surrender.
Kanata said nothing. He simply watched.
Sara tugged lightly at his sleeve. “…What about them?”
Kanata narrowed his eyes.
”They’re just the spoils an enemy left behind. Whether I pick them up or not… is my choice.”
Then he walked toward the three women, slow and silent.
—
(The rest of what becomes of the three… well, that’s for next time.
And really—being left behind here, their fates aren’t much of a mystery, are they?)
Notes:
• May – Blonde, soft-eyed shrine girl. ch14–15. Gentle and pleading (“Please… just let us go…”), timid but loyal, relies on Mina’s strength. Came with Mina to save Sara, but was disarmed and bound by Kanata as his captive maid.
• Mina – Brown-haired, sharp-eyed huntress. ch14–15. Brash and hot-blooded (“Tch… don’t underestimate me!”), protective of May yet hides fear behind defiance. Met Kanata while storming his dungeon to rescue Sara, only to be captured and turned into his maid.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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