Ryu, who was left behind in the dungeon during the raid, was part of Mark's party, "Dawn Star."

It turned out that Kate was the one who cut Ryu's leg with a knife.

Of course, Kate never wanted to do such a thing.

But she was forced to do it under the orders of the raid leader, Yulma.

Goji had given her a knife and demanded that Ryu be incapacitated to ensure he would act as a delaying tactic.

"Dawn Star" was a highly skilled and promising rookie party. They were expected to rank up soon. It was a common practice in this city's Adventurer's Guild to use such promising individuals as "accomplices".

Before they departed, Daniel and Yulma called Kate and Mark aside. They explained the escape plan in case of danger – someone would become a "sacrificial lamb" to ensure the survival of the others.

And they said that Ryu was the most suitable choice right now.

Kate understood their reasoning.

Ryu was a "replaceable" presence as an adventurer. He wasn't someone crucial to this city's needs.

They explained that it was common for people responsible for holding back monsters to panic and flee for their own lives. To prevent this, they made them immobile.

They used to use Paralyze magic but that would also prevent them from activating their barrier magic tool.

Therefore, they started cutting the tendons in their legs to make them immobile.

They also explained that the barrier magic tool doubled as a self-destruct device.

The barrier wouldn't last very long. Once it deactivated, the self-destruct function would activate. This would damage the monsters and collapse the cave to prevent further attacks.

Of course, whoever used it would die, but they said it was just a way to make them comfortable before they were attacked by monsters.

In other words, Ryu was definitely going to die.

But Kate accepted it.

In fact, it felt convenient. Kate had always felt guilty about Ryu.

She had distanced herself from him when he became a slave but hadn't tried to help. After they reunited as adventurers, she tried to be kind but ended up saying cruel things and expelling him from the party.

(It was the Guild Master, Daniel, who advised her to expel Ryu from the party.)

Kate was furious when she thought about whether she would have to live with this guilt forever.

Ryu’s incompetence wasn’t her fault. Why did she have to bear the burden of guilt for it?

Ryu's incompetence would likely never change.

No one could save him from his "incompetence."

So, did she have to feel guilty for as long as Ryu lived?

If Ryu died, Kate could forget about him and live a clean slate.

When they encountered the dragon and the leader ordered a retreat, Kate followed Goji's instructions and cut Ryu's leg, and they escaped.

Kate had no hesitation.

Ryu should have died there...

Mark and Kate's party returned to the city. However, they decided to go back to their inn and rest because Yulma said he would report everything.

But the next day, they went to the Guild and heard that Ryu had returned alive.

Kate felt a sense of relief, but her guilt grew stronger. She had cut Ryu's leg. He must remember it. She didn't know how to face him.

Furthermore, Ryu announced that he would participate in a mock battle with Yulma’s party for his rank-up test.

She went to check out the Guild training ground, but to her astonishment, Ryu was overwhelming Yulma's party. It seemed he was taking revenge for being abandoned. He ruthlessly beat them until their spirits were broken.

Kate and Mark were watching from the audience seats.

After the mock battle, Ryu looked at the audience.

He made eye contact with Kate.

...It felt as if he was saying it was their turn next.

Exhausted from the raid, Mark and Kate's party decided to temporarily suspend their activities. But they couldn't stay idle forever.

They would encounter Ryu if they went to the Guild. Ryu was said to be at the Guild every day. Mark and Kate thought he was waiting for them.

So, instead of taking on missions from the Guild, they decided to go into the dungeon to hunt and sell the materials.

It was the dungeon where they had been chased by the dragon and fled, but they thought they could handle the shallower levels.

But the dungeon was full of dangers. They didn't go very deep, but "Dawn Star" made a mistake. They were attacked and captured by a giant spider monster…

...

…

…

…

…

Inside the dungeon, all the members of "Dawn Star" were tightly wrapped in the giant spider's web and hung in its nest.

The spider would wrap its prey in threads to immobilize them before slowly inserting its tubular beak and sucking out their "contents" later.

However, the spider seemed to be not hungry, so they weren't devoured right away and were left to be stored for later.

There were other adventurer skeletons scattered at their feet, seemingly used as bait and hung there as well.

…

They had called Ryu incompetent and left him behind in the dungeon, and now, they, the ones deemed promising, were about to die.

Why?

What did they do wrong...?

As Kate awaited the insertion of the spider's tube, she kept asking herself these questions, but couldn't find an answer.

She thought she was going to die like this.

But something unexpected happened.

The giant spider that had captured them suddenly died, and its corpse vanished as well...