Reincarnated By The Weakest Primordial Being(but with OP growth twist)-Chapter 20: I’ll Think Of It

"So... are you in love with Aisha?"

AK asked casually—or at least he tried to. His voice came out smooth, almost playful, as if the question meant nothing. But inside, a storm raged. His heart pounded like a war drum, each beat echoing in his ears, threatening to tear through his ribcage.

Hazzy stopped walking. Dead in his tracks.

Slowly—so slowly it was almost ominous—he turned his head. His eyes met AK’s, and in that single glance, AK felt the temperature around them plummet.

"No."

One word. Flat. Emotionless.

But it hit harder than any blow, slicing through the silence like a blade of ice. The weight behind it was suffocating, a quiet hostility that curled through the air like smoke.

Hazzy turned away without another word. His long strides carried him toward the shimmering dungeon gate ahead. His broad shoulders were stiff, radiating something dangerous—something AK couldn’t name, but could feel deep in his bones.

For the first time since his return to this cursed timeline, AK felt something coil inside his spine—a feeling like an old wound tearing open.

Dread.

Something is wrong. Terribly wrong.

If things keep going like this... the future will be a thousand times harder, AK thought grimly, his gaze sliding toward Aisha.

Hazzy and Aisha. In the previous timeline, their bond had been unshakable—tempered in fire, forged in blood. They were the couple everyone admired, the two who stood against impossible odds and survived. Their love was a force of nature, something AK had witnessed countless times.

But now? There wasn’t even a flicker of that connection. No warmth. No tenderness. Nothing.

What changed? What went wrong?

Questions swirled in his mind like a raging vortex, screaming for answers. But time offered none. Because the next moment... they stepped through the dungeon gate.

And the world changed.

The familiar wave of cold air slammed into them, sharp as needles against their skin. It carried a stench—thick, cloying, and wrong. The gate sealed behind them with a heavy thud, cutting off the outside world and plunging them into a dim, green-tinged gloom.

Shadows stretched across the jagged cavern walls. Faint shafts of sickly light filtered through cracks in the ceiling, illuminating patches of damp stone and the gleam of something slick on the ground.

But something was off. Terribly off.

"Wait..." Phaphy’s voice broke the silence, trembling like a leaf in a storm. His wide eyes darted around the tunnel walls. "Why... why are there corpses already?"

Everyone froze.

The floor was littered with bodies. Goblins—scores of them—lay sprawled across the blood-soaked earth, their twisted limbs jutting at grotesque angles. Their dead eyes stared blankly at the cavern ceiling, mouths frozen mid-scream. The metallic tang of gore hung so thick in the air it burned their throats.

But it wasn’t the corpses that made their blood run cold.

It was the impossibility of it.

Because according to official records... they were the first party to enter this dungeon since its opening.

And yet every single goblin was dead.

Ash’s face drained of color. His hands tightened on his weapon until his knuckles blanched white. "What the hell... killed them?"

Even Maya—unyielding, unshaken Maya, who had stared down horrors that would break most hunters—narrowed her eyes. For the first time, her composure cracked, just slightly, as she scanned the carnage.

Then her gaze cut sharply to AK. "It looks like your information was correct," she said, voice low but edged like steel. "There are corrupted hunters in this dungeon."

The tension thickened, suffocating like smoke in their lungs.

AK opened his mouth to reply, but Maya was already moving. Her hand slid to the hilt of her blade, drawing it in one fluid motion. The steel sang, its whisper a promise of blood.

"Everyone!" Her voice cracked like a whip through the silence, sharp and commanding. "Stay alert. No one knows what these corrupted hunters are capable of. Keep your formation tight. Watch each other’s backs. We find them—we kill them. Understood?"

"Understood!" the others echoed, though unease laced their voices like poison.

As they moved deeper into the cavern, AK’s eyes betrayed him. They kept drifting toward her. Toward Maya.

The way she stood—solid, unwavering, a fortress of will in human form—it was magnetic. She didn’t just look strong. She radiated strength, every inch of her a weapon honed to perfection.

Heat crawled up AK’s neck before he even realized it. His jaw tightened. His pulse quickened. And before he could stop himself, he was glaring at her like an idiot... while blushing.

Why the hell am I blushing right now?! he screamed at himself internally, ripping his gaze away. Focus, damn it!

They pressed on. The crunch of boots on gravel echoed like gunfire in the dead silence. The deeper they went, the heavier the air became—thick, almost oily, like the dungeon itself was holding its breath.

Thirty minutes bled away. Not a sound except their footsteps and the faint drip of water from unseen cracks.

And then—

Maya froze.

Her head tilted slightly, eyes narrowing like a hawk’s. Her senses screamed like sirens.

Without warning, her hand flashed to her thigh. A throwing knife whispered free from the leather strap, gleaming in the dim green light.

And then—she moved.

Her body spun, a blur of grace and lethal precision. The knife left her fingers like a bolt of lightning, cutting through the air—

—and struck a massive boulder behind them.

The rock didn’t just crack.

It disintegrated.

Dust billowed like smoke, curling through the cold air. And then—

A slow, mocking clap shattered the silence.

"Well, well..." a voice drawled, smooth as oil but dripping venom. "Looks like our little hiding spot got exposed... by this breathtaking woman."

From the shadows, he emerged.

A man clad in black leather, his face concealed behind a bone-white mask. He moved with predatory grace, each step deliberate, calculated, as if savoring the tension in the air.

Four more masked figures slithered from the darkness, forming a semicircle around the party.

The leader tilted his head, the faint green glow catching on the jagged contours of his mask. "Sharp eyes, darling. I like that. Makes breaking them so much more... fun."

Maya’s lips curled in disgust. Her sword came up in a flash, catching the dim light like a shard of moon. "You talk too much."

"Oh?" His chuckle was dark, crawling under their skin. "Then let my fists do the talking."

And before anyone could react—

One of the masked hunters vanished.

Phaphy barely had time to gasp before a blur slammed into him like a freight train.

"PHAPHY!" the group screamed as his body hurtled through the air, smashing into a tree with a bone-crunching crack. Blood sprayed the bark. He slumped to the ground, motionless.

The masked leader’s laugh slithered through the cavern like a serpent. "One down," he sneered. "Five to go."

AK’s teeth ground together so hard they threatened to shatter. His fists trembled—not from fear. From rage.

"You think you’ll walk out alive after doing that?" His voice was raw, venom dripping from every syllable.

The leader tilted his head lazily. "Big words... for dead men."

Then he moved.

The ground exploded beneath his feet as he shot forward, a blur of black. The air howled in his wake, pressure ripping at their clothes.

He lunged at AK, faster than thought. But AK—AK was ready.

His body flowed like water, twisting aside at the last possible instant. The wind of the strike tore past his cheek, close enough to sting.

"Too slow," AK spat, his eyes blazing.

But before he could counter, steel screamed. A second corrupted hunter materialized behind him, blade arcing for his throat.

"AK!"

The strike never landed.

Because Maya was there.

Her sword intercepted the blow with a shriek of metal on metal, sparks bursting like tiny stars. Her muscles coiled, her stance unyielding as she shoved the attacker back with brutal force.

For a heartbeat, AK just stared. At her strength. At her speed. At the sheer, terrifying elegance of her movements.

As I thought... she cares about my safety.

A smirk tugged at his lips, unbidden.

But Maya’s voice lashed through his delusion like a whip.

"Don’t think I saved you because I love you," she hissed, eyes never leaving the enemy. "I saved you because you’re on my team. And because our mission is to annihilate these bastards. As you said in your message."

Her words struck like a slap, snapping him out of his thoughts.

And suddenly—memory surged.

---

One day earlier...

He’d stared at his phone for what felt like hours, thumb hovering over the keyboard, mind spinning like a turbine. Finally, he typed:

AK: Hello.

Ten agonizing minutes later, a reply came.

Maya: Hi.

His fingers flew. I got news that in the dungeon near BN Collegiate, corrupted hunters were found. My guild members are gonna raid it. If you’re interested and free tomorrow, wanna join us? We’ll wait for you.

Her response had been as cold and precise as the steel she wielded.

Maya: I’ll think of it.

And now... tomorrow was here. Tomorrow had teeth. Tomorrow was already drenched in blood.

---

Before he could speak, another shadow lunged. Hazzy intercepted, his blade flashing like silver lightning. Steel clashed against bone, the impact ringing through the cavern like a death knell.

The battle began.

And it was chaos.