– Matias’ POV –

  “Haa…”

  I exhaled heavily, venturing deeper into the northern forest alone. The familiar rustling of leaves and the distant cries of monsters did little to ease the storm inside my mind.

  Two years.

  Two years of fruitless searching, and still, I hadn’t found her.

  The woman who betrayed me.

  The woman who chose another man over me.

  No clues.

  No trail.

  And now, in the wake of my frustration, I sought solace in the only thing that still gave me a sense of control—hunting.

  Last month, I had killed three Red Wolves alone, C-Rank monsters known for their pack tactics and brutal speed. It had been difficult without Hazel’s detection abilities or Esta’s magic, but I had won.

  Today, I planned to push further. To seek stronger prey, if only to quiet the rage festering inside me.

  Vigilantly scanning the surroundings, I explored deeper than usual, a realm rarely frequented by other adventurers.

  “Huh…?”

  That’s when I found it.

  A cave.

  A massive cavern entrance, wide enough for five people to walk in side by side.

  Something inside me screamed to turn back.

  But I ignored it.

  I needed to keep moving forward.

  Entering the cavern, an eerie silence enveloped me,

  I pressed on, my fire aura illuminating the winding tunnels.

  Something inside me whispered:

  Turn back.

  But I didn’t.

  Progressing further, I encountered multiple forks, some with three, others with five paths.

  Opting for the leftmost trail, I sought to etch my chosen route in memory.

  I descended every stairs I found.

  Second floor.

  Third floor.

  The deeper I descended, the quieter everything became, as if the cave itself held its breath.

  Nine floors.

  By the time I reached the tenth floor, I stepped into a vast, open chamber—a space too large to be natural.

  Featuring numerous holes on the walls reminiscent of previous forks.

  A narrow path along the wall revealed stairs leading even deeper.

  Peering into the abyss below, I marveled at the vastness of the space.

  Then I saw them.

  “...Shit.”

  Yellow hues dominated the area below, an overwhelming presence of orcs.

  Not dozens. Not hundreds.

  Thousands.

  Two thousands orcs.

  D-Rank monsters, weak alone but overwhelming in numbers.

  The sheer scale of them… possibly escalating to A-Rank danger.

  If they reached the surface, Lavender Town would be wiped off the map.

  <“I have to warn the guild.”>

  But before I could take a single step—

  A chill grazed my senses.

  I whirled around, gripping my greatsword tightly.

  “What an unfortunate man to come at this time.”

  “Wow! The food came on its own!”

  “Tsk. Tsk. You saw what you must not see.”

  Three figures with faces concealed by masks emerged from the shadows, blocking my only escape.

  The first—a tall man with short black hair and a mask of surprise.

  The second—a girl, small in stature with twin-tailed pink hair, her mask painted with joy.

  The third—a woman with long, dark blue hair, her mask depicting anxiety.

  They wore white.

  The man’s outfit was simple, while the girls’ attire resembled gothic-lolita armor, an unsettling contrast to the darkness of the cave.

  "Who are you!?"

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  The man tilted his head, amused. "We? Why are dead people asking about us?”

  His voice was calm, almost playful.

  "That’s not good, Shock! We won’t be popular if we don’t introduce ourselves!" The girl whined, waving her arms.

  "Hmm, that’s true," the man—Shock—mused.

  "Are you two serious?" The blue-haired woman interjected, her voice fraught with anxiety. "What if he escapes and leaks information about us and this place?”

  In the midst of their banter, I attempted to appraise them.

  Names, ages, races and elements are concealed, yet each possesses three elements.

  Strikingly, their attributes weren't obscured, but my eyes widened in disbelief.

  Over 20,000 each.

  Their individual attributes exceeded 20,000, tenfold my own.

  Could I even escape!?

  "Are you sure you asked about that? We just made sure he can't escape," the man replied, surprise lingering in his voice.

  "Hmm, that’s true.”

  The collective gaze of the three once again fixated on me, leaving me grappling with the daunting reality of my predicament.

  "Well, then. You can’t escape from here," The woman declared.

  *Clap*

  With just a single clap of her hands.

  *Rumble!*

  Every exit sealed shut.

  Hundreds of tunnels—gone, replaced by walls rising from the ground.

  I stiffened.

  What kind of power is that!?

  Hundreds of openings seamlessly sealed with a mere clap of her hands!?

  "Well, well," The man mused, stepping forward. "You’re quite lucky, you know. Not every corpse gets a personal introduction.”

  The man proclaimed, a gesture of formality accompanying his introduction as he bent down, hand placed upon his chest.

  “We are Clownemo. My name is Shock."

  "Me, Me! I’m Joy!" Chimed in the girl, exuberantly waving her hand in the air.

  "My name is Anxi," said the woman, a slightly bent posture with a gentle lift of her skirt corners, reminiscent of noble grace.

  "Hey, I’m just a passerby." I forced my voice to stay steady. "Why not let me leave and pretend we never met? I will live in a quiet place, so you don't have to worry about your information being leaked.”

  The girl—Joy—giggled. "Wow! You can make jokes! Maybe we can be friends!”

  *Crack!*

  Suddenly, the man’ hand chopped into the top of her head.

  "Ow! Shock, that hurts!”

  "Stop joking around. Let’s finish him.”

  His tone shifted.

  No longer playful.

  The air grew heavier.

  His movements too swift for my eyes to perceive.

  I can’t even see that man’s hand move to hit her head.

  It’s too fast!

  I gritted my teeth.

  This was it.

  "Haha... Seems this is where my life ends."

  I resigned, contemplating the abrupt and ominous turn of events.

  Then—

  A familiar voice echoed behind them.

  “Matias? Is that you, Matias!?”

  I froze.

  I was too focused on the trio, I hadn't noticed the presence behind them—

  Ten vulnerable figures entered my vision, stripped down to mere collars on their necks, handcuffs on their hands, and blindfolded.

  Three children, two men, and five women.

  My eyes quivered.

  Because among them—

  Her.

  “Sofia!?”

  My ex.

  “Matias! Help me! Save me! That bastard deceived me and sold me to them!”

  That bastard…?

  Was she referring to the nobleman?

  The one she chose over me?

  Did he betray her?

  A part of me wanted to laugh.

  A part of me wanted to spit in her face.

  But another part—the part that still remembered loving her—twisted with rage.

  “Oh my, what an unexpected reunion!” Shock expressed his surprise.

  My hands clenched into fists. "What will you do with them!?”

  Shock shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  He gestured behind me. To be more precise, below me.

  The orcs.

  “They’re hungry.”

  “We’re giving them food.”

  My blood ran cold.

  “Crazy bastard…”

  Shock smiled. "I won't deny it." He didn’t even care. "Even our client called us crazy.”

  Client…?

  "We are Clownemo," Shock declared, "the clowns who spread emotion throughout the world.”

  What the hell was he talking about?

  "Currently, our client wishes to spread sadness to the lord of the nearby territory.”

  Sadness…?

  By then I realized.

  This was planned.

  They want to annihilate the town.

  Anxi sighed, abruptly halted the conversation.

  "Enough, Shock. Poker will scold us if we take too long.”

  "Hmm… True. And I don’t want to imagine Hate getting angry.”

  Joy added, "Dread might also be scared that something might happen to us!”

  It seems there were more clowns than just Shock, Joy, and Anxi.

  More monsters like them.

  Then—Joy giggled. "Hey, hey! I have an idea! Let’s play a game!”

  "What is it?" Shock humored her.

  "Let her fight him!”

  I stiffened.

  Shock mused. "Hmm… I was planning to surprise them by untying the cloth on their eyes before they became food. But I think this kind of surprise is not bad either. That’s a good idea, Joy."

  He turned to Anxi. “What do you think, Anxi?”

  "Are you two serious…?”

  Both of them nodded at Anxi.

  She sighed. "Haa… if Tears were here, she’d be crying already.”

  "But I’m bored!" Joy pouted. "Watching them kill each other sounds way more fun!”

  "But does he even want to fight her?" Shock asked.

  “Hmm… To motivate them to fight…” Joy tilted her head like an innocent girl. “Ah, right! Let's give them a reward! The one who survives will be able to escape this place!”

  “What a shitty hobby you have…” I spat.

  They ignored me.

  Then, Anxi untied Sofia’s blindfold and unlocked her cuffs.

  …It seemed they genuinely intended to make us fight each other.

  Then, she turned to her and spoke two words.

  “Kill him.”

  Sofia’s eyes widened.

  "N-No, no, no!” She shook her head.

  But—

  “ARRRGGHH!”

  She screamed as the lightning from her collar struck her.

  “That’s not good… Sofia, was it?” Shock chuckled. “ If you want to escape… you must kill him.”

  And just like that—

  The past I had clung to became my executioner.

  And it began—my revenge.