Huff?!
Inside a damp cave.
A giant centipede suddenly jolted up, trembling violently.
In a whoosh, it transformed into the form of a human girl and wiped the cold sweat off her forehead as she felt her own body.
“A dream of dying…”
What an unpleasant dream it was.
A nightmare of burning alive engulfed by flames.
Seo Gong sighed in relief, realizing it was just a dream, and immediately sat down cross-legged to begin training.
Train after a short nap.
Train after eating.
Train after a quick bathroom break.
Lately, it was all about intense training to elevate her skills.
Her master, Gui Ho, said Seo Gong had talent that appeared only once in a millennium.
He also mentioned that for every day she took a break, it was an equivalent loss of ten years compared to others.
In other words, if she devoted herself to training every single day, she would be ten years ahead of everyone else.
“I need to power up to surprise Master and my avatars when they return!”
Seo Gong snickered, focusing again, imagining the future where her master would come running, patting her on the back with praises.
Unaware of the trouble that might befall her disconnected avatars during her concentration…
*
“Everyone, hurry up! We need to escape Elvenguard quickly!”
“Priestess! The search is complete! No residents are missing!”
“Good. Are there any injured who cannot be transported, Rex?”
“We have enough transport like carriages. We’re prioritizing evacuating the injured, including Taesu.”
An endless line of evacuees moved.
Mia sighed softly at the sight.
They had surely averted a crisis.
The Great Spirits, which had been about to annihilate Elvenguard, regained their senses.
Now, they just needed to escape safely by land.
There were no fatalities.
Except for a few who were injured during the process of slowing down the Great Spirits, losses were minimal.
Yet, Mia couldn’t shake off her impatience.
“We can’t be late…”
Because the chill emanating from the dungeon was consuming Elvenguard.
At first, she thought it wouldn’t last long when the cold leaked outside the dungeon.
It would only make the land outside a bit chilly, she thought.
But the cursed network connected from the underworld spewed out cold as if it was infinite.
It ultimately created an expansive snowy wasteland centered around the dungeon.
Even now, that wasteland was expanding rapidly.
The roots of the World Tree were beginning to freeze.
In just an hour, it would be obvious the World Tree would freeze completely and die.
Time was of the essence in multiple senses.
They had to escape before the cold struck the evacuees and froze them to death.
And she had to see Yoo Jin come out as soon as possible.
So cold…
Even though she was this far from the dungeon, the temperature had already dropped below freezing.
How cold must it be inside the dungeon?
Mia felt her body shiver despite pulling her cloak tighter.
The fact that the cold was still creeping out meant that Yoo Jin wasn’t dead.
It was a contradictory situation where her desire for the cold to vanish coexisted with wanting it to remain.
“Aah… Elvenguard is done for…”
“The World Tree is dying…”
“Everyone, don’t look back and keep walking quickly! We can’t slow down!”
One by one, Elves looked back and sighed deeply.
While Mia tried to turn them back, she couldn’t suppress her pitying feelings.
Once the roots turn cold, the fate of the World Tree was sealed.
The thick leaves that had warmly enveloped Elvenguard were falling like rain, one by one.
The thick trunk was gradually accumulating frost.
It felt like the land of the Frost Duchess.
It felt like it was slowly becoming Palana.
The Elves shed tears but continued to leave Elvenguard in an orderly fashion without looking back.
“289… 288… 287…”
Meanwhile, at the back of the line, the Frost Duchess kept counting the numbers while looking at the freezing World Tree.
About 25 minutes had passed since the Great Spirits had halted their advance.
Yoo Jin’s plan had succeeded.
The transcendental being’s brainwashing could no longer control the Great Spirits.
The transcendental being had rushed into the dungeon urgently.
Yet, despite the 25 minutes that had passed, Yoo Jin still hadn’t come out.
The promised 30 minutes were running out.
As the promised time approached, Yerina began to feel anxious.
“Sorry! I can’t keep my promise!”
“Frost Duchess?!”
Yerina kicked off the frozen ground and dashed forward.
Making her way against the flow of the evacuation.
Jill and Yulia gasped in surprise and called out, but they couldn’t catch up to Yerina, who was running at full speed.
Transylvania followed closely beside her.
Yerina gritted her teeth and drew her sword.
“I’ll liberate you, murderer, after this is all over.”
“Such magnanimity. It would be troublesome for me if my friend died, even if I wasn’t a slave, so I was going to help anyway.”
“Friend, huh… Just how close are you with Yoo Jin?”
“We’re close enough to touch each other’s chests.”
“…?”
Yerina’s mind went blank.
Touch each other’s chests?
Would that even be called friendship?
“Let’s talk after this is over, slave.”
“What? Wasn’t I supposed to be liberated?”
“Shut it.”
Once everything is done, she would have to interrogate Transylvania and Yoo Jin a bit.
Thinking this, Yerina accelerated even more.
Of course, that would only be after Yoo Jin returned safely.
“Transylvania!”
“I know!”
Unveiling the frozen stone door.
There was no time to waste trying to force it open.
At Yerina’s signal, Transylvania quickly unsheathed her sword and struck the wind with a flurry of sword strikes.
With one blow, and then another.
The sharp wind struck the stone door twice, shattering it to pieces.
Just as Yerina was about to dive inside without losing any speed…
“Oh no?!”
Boom!
With a sound like thunder, the entrance to the dungeon collapsed.
In an instant, rubble filled the entrance.
Yerina panicked, pouring her magic into her feet and kicked furiously at the blocked entrance…
“NOOOOOO!!!”
Her kick only crushed some of the rubble.
It was hardly enough to break through the blocked entrance.
From the sounds of crash, it seemed the inside had collapsed, blocking off everything.
Breaking through by force was impossible.
Even if she started clearing the rocks one by one, it could take days.
Moreover, inside the bone-chilling cold, she wouldn’t last long doing that.
“Yoo Jin!!!!!!”
Pressing her mouth against the blocked entrance, Yerina screamed.
Her desperate wails echoed.
Transylvania could only lower her head, looking a bit sorrowful at that scene.
.
.
.
“Isn’t it cold?”
“…It’s cold. But I’ll endure it. I can.”
Drip, drip.
The feeling in my hand petting Mi Jeong gradually faded as it continued to freeze.
Facing the heroines and taking in Yerina’s resentment, I thought I had become a little immune.
Still, nearly an hour had passed since we entered, and I felt I couldn’t hold on anymore.
On the other hand, Mi Jeong was holding up quite well.
Maybe it was because she didn’t have much moisture in her body to begin with.
It seemed that even if she froze, the damage wasn’t that significant.
If I had known, I might have just become a Blood Ghoul instead.
“Mi Jeong.”
“…Yes?”
“It seems we might never get out.”
From the moment we entered, I had a bad feeling.
This was Luna’s exclusive dungeon.
Not only was it a double-layered dungeon, but it also hid countless tricks within.
Perhaps our fate was sealed the moment we stepped inside.
As those thoughts crossed my mind, I found myself accepting the future and resigning to it.
“…It’s okay. I’m with you.”
“…”
“…Yoo Jin, I won’t leave you alone.”
“Thank you.”
Thud.
I grasped Mi Jeong’s small hand tightly and let out a deep sigh.
And that moment…
From the dark dungeon corridor, dragging footsteps began to echo.
|What’s this brat…?!|
Slowly, a figure emerged from the darkness.
I could face that disgusting visage once again.
However, it looked more presentable than earlier, with its bones broken and face mangled.
“Wow, you came back looking much better? Did you sandpaper your face?”
|What the hell did you do?! Why is my Undead army completely frozen?!|
“Ask Draken about that. This spell was bestowed by him, after all.”
|Don’t dare to speak ‘that person’s’ name casually!|
The moment I uttered Draken’s name, Luna burst into a furious rage.
Still serving her abandoned master, the hunting dogs were as foolish as ever.
No matter how hard they tried, Draken had no intention of reinstating the Four Heavenly Kings.
|Whatever, that doesn’t concern me now…! I know you are the root cause of all the freezing in this dungeon! If I kill you, this body will become a transcendent being again… and I will surpass the limits of humanity once more…! Hehehehe!|
“Go ahead. Give it a shot if you can.”
|I’ve been merciful before, and you’ve grown arrogant! I didn’t flee earlier because I was scared! It was just not the right time to kill you! But in this place, my exclusive dungeon, I have the ability to seal all powers!|
“…!”
At that moment, the dungeon core began to glow brightly.
Then, I suddenly felt my strength draining away.
I couldn’t feel my Mana or Demonic Energy at all.
When I tried to use my traits in surprise…
[The use of traits is restricted in this area.]
Only that line appeared.
No traits could activate.
This was also true for the Guardian Knight.
[Stats]
[Strength: 20 *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Stamina: 45 *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Mana: 50 *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Agility: 28 *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Luck: 10 *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
The stats that had been inflated sevenfold returned to their original state.
I was reduced to being less capable than a normal knight, let alone a transcendental being.
|Strength and weakness are not determined by the number of abilities! It’s determined by one’s own power! Are you finally facing reality, human?|
My body felt heavy.
The weight of the armor and sword felt like a ton.
It probably felt heavier because my body was freezing from the cold.
|Hehehehe! Even if you break the dungeon core, it won’t matter! That’s just for show! There are hundreds more dungeon cores hidden within this dungeon!|
“…”
I quickly smashed the glowing dungeon core, but the sealing effect remained.
|Do you really think I put the cores here, begging you to break them? Hehehehe!|
Just as she said.
The structure of the dungeon had some rules to follow.
But the Four Heavenly Kings, with their intellectual capabilities far beyond, had no need to design the dungeon kindly.
If they could adjust it as they wished, it would be beneficial to make it hard to defeat.
In Kali’s exclusive dungeon, the dungeon core resided within her body.
In Luna’s case, there were multiple cores.
What a bunch of raunchy idiots whose brains only worked in terrible ways.
However, no matter how poorly the layout was set up…
There was one common way to defeat it.
|This dungeon is absolutely unbreakable! Huhuhuhuh!|
“Nonsense. If you die, your dungeon disappears. It’s your exclusive dungeon, after all.”
|Me? Kill me? You?|
Luna tilted her head, wearing a dumbfounded look.
After staring at me with confusion for a while, she suddenly burst out laughing.
|Hehehehe!!! How do you think you’ll kill me? There’s not a shred of power in you! Just look! Just lifting your sword makes your arm tremble! Meanwhile, this body, while not a transcendent being, is inherently superior to humans! In terms of strength, stamina, and reflexes! For every swing of your sword, I could stab you three times over! How do you plan to kill me—|
Swish!
In an instant, Luna’s cheeks were cut, leaving a wound.
Crimson blood flowed out, freezing instantly in the cold.
Glancing at her cheek, Luna’s eyes shifted towards me, who stood before her wielding an old sword.
She still looked as though she couldn’t comprehend the situation.
|W-What…?|
“Enough of the small talk.”
Swish! Swish!
In a series of rapid strikes, I launched a combination attack.
The strikes from the Iron Blood Storm Slash rained down, engulfing Luna.
It was true that her claim of having a body dozens of times stronger than that of a human was valid; one strike didn’t shatter her limbs.
Still, Luna bled profusely and retreated, collapsing onto the ground.
The blood that flowed from her body instantaneously became icicles.
|W-Why?! How could you still be attacking when your powers are sealed?!|
“Thinking back, you’re right about something. Strength isn’t determined by the number of abilities one has. It comes from within.”
It’s not some special or rare ability, or even the physical prowess of the body that determines who is strong or weak.
What matters is the unwavering inner strength.
A mind prepared to unleash powerful command.
Strength obtained through such training would forever remain within.
Unlike a phantom-like power that disappears once the body is lost.
The Iron Blood Storm Slash, which I personally realized and mastered, would never vanish!
|NOOOO! NOOO! I CAN’T LOSE TO A HUMAN!|
Perhaps it was due to her considerably weakened state.
The power of my attacks from the Iron Blood Storm Slash seemed to have diminished a bit.
Despite her body getting slashed, Luna continued to scream uncontrollably.
Though she unceasingly attempted to counterattack, an attack from a powerless fool could never touch me.
Eventually, my slashes succeeded in severing all of Luna’s limbs.
I reached out towards Luna’s body, which was just left writhing.
“It’s time to take a journey to the Underworld.”
|W-What…?!|
Upon seeing my hand, Luna’s complexion changed.
Though she didn’t know about the God of Underworld, she sensed something wasn’t right.
Hastily, she tried to abandon her body and flee.
But my hand reached her flesh first.
|Thank you for your hard work. I humbly appreciate your efforts. If I ever visit the Underworld, I will repay you greatly.|
“Please, don’t say such sinister things…”
|AH?! A-AHHHH! WHY ISN’T IT WORKING?! WHY CAN’T I ESCAPE?! WHAT’S HOLDING ME?! WHERE AM I BEING TAKEN?!|
“Where you are being taken is your future place of rest! Hahaha! Looks like I caught a big one! You’ve earned a lot of karma!”
|AHHHHHH!|
From my hand, a torrent of darkness surged forth, enveloping Luna’s body.
With a scream that could pierce ears, she writhed in pain.
The dark mass gradually converged towards her chest and turned into a glowing orb, rising into the air.
Even as she was being dragged toward the passage by the God of Underworld, Luna made quite the ruckus.
|Are you insane?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU KILL ME?! My soul will be drawn away and perish, and my exclusive dungeon will collapse!|
“And the chill that has engulfed Elvenguard will vanish. Winter will end, and spring will come.”
|You fool! That’s not all! The dungeon will collapse! How do you plan to escape from this deep place?! You and your woman will be buried under countless stones and die an excruciating death! If you want to avoid that, immediately untangle this darkness and return me to—|
“That’s exactly what I wanted.”
|…?!|
Surprised.
Such sentiment surged forth from the orb of her soul.
With a sardonic smile, I quietly murmured.
“While one cannot choose the fate bestowed upon them, they can choose how to die.”
|What nonsense are you spouting?!|
Luna would never understand in the end.
As someone who elongated their life by consuming others, terrified of putting an end to their life.
The value of a fleeting human life is something she would never comprehend.
“Humans are beings burdened with the fate of mortality. Those who are born must die. I momentarily escaped that fate, repeating endless life… but that’s why I realized. It’s not just about how to live, but how to die that is of greater importance. My fate here ends with your demise.”
|Y-You bastard!!!!|
The sphere, throbbing as if to consume me.
But the approaching wails were swallowed into the dark and vanished without a trace.
Being whirled away into the rift between dimensions, leaving not even a trace behind.
“Is it over…?”
Luna’s body had withered into a mummified state.
There was no longer any sign of life emanating from it.
The presence of the God of Underworld had also vanished from within me.
Along with that, the dungeon cores embedded in the surroundings lost their light and extinguished.
The chill that had been piercing through me also dissipated.
All dungeon cores had been destroyed due to Luna’s demise.
It was a success.
It was all over.
We won.
“Ah… damn it…”
Crack!
From the entrance came the sound of the dungeon collapsing.
I needed to get out.
I had to get out quickly.
Yet my body wouldn’t respond.
I felt drained.
My mana was at its end, sleepiness kept washing over me.
The result of mana exhaustion, physical exhaustion, the chilling cold that felt as if it would freeze my heart, and damage received from facing the God of Underworld all hit me at once.
“The Heavenly Armor Plate…”
It seemed due to mana exhaustion, I couldn’t unfold the Heavenly Armor Plate.
If I borrowed Mi Jeong’s mana, I’d probably be able to make it last for about ten seconds.
But the trouble was what would happen afterward.
There was no solution to this situation.
“Damn it…”
Even though I pretended to have poise, I hadn’t prepared myself for death at all.
I was thinking of leaping out as quickly as possible.
However, the heaviness in my body was greater than I expected, and the dungeon’s collapse was much quicker than anticipated.
There was no way to escape death.
But as I said earlier, I had fulfilled my fate.
It was a path I chose for myself, and even if there was a lingering regret, I had no regrets at all.
“I’m sorry.”
I wrapped my arms around Mi Jeong.
Despite rocks pouring incessantly from the ceiling.
I hoped that perhaps if I shielded her, Mi Jeong would survive.
I really feel sorry for you…
The faces of the heroines flashed before my eyes.
Is this what a life review is?
As I approached the end, a million thoughts crowded my mind.
More than anything else, I felt devastated for the heroines.
I had sins to atone for.
I had wanted to start atoning from now on, yet here I was, dying just as it began.
How much of a scar would I leave on their hearts?
It seemed that the words of the God of Underworld about meeting again someday would become a reality.
Lost in those trivial thoughts, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
“…Huh?”
Yet, amidst all this, Mi Jeong seemed to be squirming restlessly in my embrace as if feeling frustrated.
Dumbfounded, I looked up, and I saw Mi Jeong pulling something from my pocket, holding it in her hand.
“…This.”
Longinus’ Spear.
A device that opens a passage to another realm.
…And a defective item without a navigator that leaves one unaware of where they’re going.
“That can’t be used… There’s no way to set a destination… And how would we get back…”
“…If we don’t do anything, dying is certain. If we use this, we might live.”
“…”
I thought it was nonsense.
99.99 percent of the dimensional gaps are void.
In other words, there’s nothing there.
Surviving in such emptiness is impossible.
In other words, there’s a slim 0.01 percent chance of surviving.
There is a possibility of landing in another dimension where humans can survive.
It’s a minuscule chance, but it’s better than zero.
Staying here guarantees death, but using Longinus’ Spear creates a chance for survival.
“…Let’s go.”
“Right… I don’t know! Yeah, let’s go! Don’t let go of my hand, Mi Jeong! If you do, we’ll be separated forever!”
“…Yes!”
Our hands wrapped around Longinus’ Spear.
We squeezed out the last bits of mana left in our bodies and poured them into it.
As I looked up, the ceiling completely collapsed, and rocks poured down.
Bang!
The space warped.
My vision changed suddenly.
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