Ch.5921. In the Studio Apartment (1)

A blue butterfly is rising with graceful wing beats.

Yuri knew that butterfly. Although the one deeply etched in her memory was red.

Minsu had undoubtedly used that technique just now.

‘The Flame of the Immortal Butterfly…’

The moment when the top-ranked Ains Academy student, herself, was defeated by an unknown, nameless student.

Because Yuri had seen that red butterfly take flight.

And the name of that flame spell was also the name of the Hunter Guild that Yuri had created.

‘How beautiful…’

As she gazed, entranced by those wing beats, blue scales began to fall from the butterfly’s wings like flower petals.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

But the result created by the butterfly’s wing beats was merciless.

Just moments ago, Yuri had been looking hopelessly at the monsters covering the staircase.

Though she couldn’t show it with Minsu present, she had fired off spells to the point of using Nivis’s mana reserves.

‘There was simply no other way to clear a path.’

And she also knew that Minsu still couldn’t freely use mana like before. So she needed to work harder.

Until Minsu recovered. Until he could return to his prime from his Ains days. She needed to be his strength.

“Phew… I think we’ve cleared a path now.”

But once again, Yuri had underestimated Minsu. His mana usage might have decreased from his prime, but the precision of his spells had improved significantly. The power was enough to surprise even herself, an S-rank Hunter.

‘The firepower is comparable to my ice spells… What kind of rehabilitation has he been doing?’

And the Wind Cutter that he had purchased with Soso during their last business trip—he was handling it as skillfully as if he’d been using it for years.

‘I checked that Wind Cutter’s history through the exchange. I heard it was a difficult gear that was extremely picky about its owner.’

It was just like Minsu. But Yuri’s near-astonishment was momentarily interrupted.

“Let’s hurry, Guild Master!”

Because Minsu had grabbed her hand again and started moving.

‘I like it… Minsu’s hand. No… I like him… I want to stay like this.’

And in this life-or-death situation, she found herself thinking about Minsu again. But Yuri shook her head vigorously.

‘My job is to recover mana. I can’t let Minsu use any more mana. I need to help him at the Obelisk!’

She steeled her resolve once more. She couldn’t bear the thought of being useless to Minsu.

Yuri reached the top of the Obelisk with Minsu.

***

The Obelisk was extraordinary.

As they climbed to the top of the spire, murals continued along the walls. These were no ordinary murals.

The paintings that extended from the lower floors were telling a story, befitting an ancient dungeon.

‘A story about the end times.’

It seemed to be depicting the fall of the ancient empire of Ailetan, that otherworld continent.

She had heard that when that ancient empire fell, gates and dungeons appeared countless times, just like now, and monsters overran the entire empire.

The murals depicted that story. And the demons that began to appear, assimilated with those monsters. The being at the pinnacle of evil whom they followed—the Demon King.

‘That Demon King was also called the Red Dragon.’

The Demon King was the one who destroyed the ancient empire with murderous intent toward humans. And like the Pale Rider rampaging outside,

He had four knights under his command who plunged the people of the ancient empire into despair.

“And there was a hero.”

The murals ended at the top of the Obelisk. A red dragon burning the world. But there was one person standing in its way.

“The Dragon-Slaying Spear, Epitheus…”

As Yuri said, that person was a hero. And the holy spear the hero wielded—also known as the Dragon-Slaying Spear, the sacred weapon Epitheus.

It was said that the hero defeated the Demon King with that Epitheus. But ultimately, the fall of the ancient empire could not be prevented.

“It’s a legend that has been passed down in Ailetan since ancient times. The details vary slightly from country to country, but it’s a very famous story. Minsu, you probably know it too.”

I nodded. During my Ains days when I was busy acquiring Giyeon, I had already learned about that legend while studying ancient dungeons.

‘There’s also the story written in Old Man Yeon Mun-woo’s notes.’

At that moment, light began to shine again in the crimson sky visible beyond the wall at the top. It was a signal that the solar eclipse was ending.

“We’re running out of time! Hurry and get the Legacy…”

And as expected, the spire trembled. From the center of the top, a pillar like a tree stump rose up. In the middle of it was a book.

“This must be the dungeon’s Legacy.”

The quest was completed by reaching the top of the spire. Or more precisely, this was the moment to be verified by the Legacy.

And at that moment, thick fog began to rise again from the staircase we had just climbed. Yuri shouted.

“I’ll hold back the fog and monsters! Minsu, you’re more than qualified to receive the Legacy’s verification! You’ll have no problem!”

As Yuri said, those who made no contribution to clearing the ancient dungeon couldn’t even touch the Legacy.

‘To be fair, Zerfield deserves most of the credit…’

But since it wasn’t an Ancient Gear, securing this book was the priority. I placed my hand over the book.

A resonance different from the spire’s vibration emanated from the book. It meant the verification from the Legacy was complete.

I tucked the book into my chest and called out to Yuri.

“It’s done!”

With those words, the ancient dungeon began to collapse. Everything around us shone with brilliant white light.

All the monsters that had been fiercely battling our companions disappeared. And with all the ancient empire’s buildings gone as well,

I, Yuri, and Zerfield were reunited in one place. Having been swinging his pickaxe until the very end, an eerie light of aura was emanating from his blade.

“Haa… So you acquired the Legacy? Well done… That damn Reaper fought so well… I almost lost an arm… But if we’d fought just a little longer, I would have had the upper hand!”

Despite his words, Zerfield looked relatively unscathed. Even Yuri looked at him with disbelief for a moment.

‘Top-tier Hunters really are different.’

And at that moment, Yuri shouted.

“When we exit the dungeon, we’ll be on the cliff just like when we entered! Get ready!”

As she said, the dungeon began to collapse from the edges and went dark. In that instant, I felt Yuri embrace my back.

Then, everything brightened again and extreme cold rushed in. It was the cliff of Mount Seorak where we had entered.

“Guild Master?”

“I… used a lot of mana at the end, so I’m feeling weak… Let me stay on your back for a bit…”

Despite her words, I could feel plenty of strength in Yuri’s arms as she held onto my back, but I pretended not to notice and carried her.

The three of us returned to the shelter together. We shared the remaining food and took a brief rest.

Actually, Zerfield seemed to have energy to spare even after such an intense battle. And he spent a long time examining the Legacy, the ancient book I had handed him.

“I think I have a general idea of what kind of book this is.”

Both Yuri and I looked at him at his words.

The oracle he had received from the Vatican. And Zerfield’s ultimate goal in coming to Mount Seorak. It must have been to get his hands on this ancient book.

‘So it must be about the end times…’

My prediction was correct. Zerfield continued.

“The Pale Rider, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. And when I heard about the murals you two saw inside the Obelisk, I suspected it, but indeed, this book is about that apocalypse.”

I asked him.

“Then is it related to the Vatican’s Book of Revelation?”

While the Book of Revelation is widely read as scripture by ordinary believers of the White Cross Society, it differs significantly from the original. What I was referring to was, of course, the authentic version held by the Vatican.

“It seems so. Of course, the ancient books discovered as Legacies are written in priestly language, which is extremely difficult even among ancient imperial languages, so deciphering it will take quite some time. But from what I can interpret through the priestly language I know, this book is…”

Zerfield hesitated for a moment.

Given that this was a direct request from the Vatican, it was a matter of great importance. He seemed to be considering how much of the book’s contents he should share with us for the sake of confidentiality.

But soon he smiled kindly and said.

“Well, the priests at the Vatican might not be pleased, but the ownership rights of a Legacy obtained from an ancient dungeon also belong to the party members who accompanied me. So I should naturally tell you both, who worked hard alongside me.”

And Zerfield looked at me.

“Above all, the fact that you, Minsu, passed the Legacy’s verification without issue means that you too have the right to know about the prophecy contained in this book.”

I silently nodded.

I don’t want to feign modesty. Since I entered the dungeon with Yuri, there must be clues related to the main story in that book. I absolutely needed to hear it.

‘It’s fortunate that Zerfield is being so favorable.’

After examining the book once more, Zerfield summarized its contents for us.

And the content of that book was beyond what I had imagined.

***

Having completed everything at Mount Seorak, we returned to Seoul.

By the time we exited the ancient dungeon, the sun had already set, so we spent one more day at Mount Seorak. That meant we had been away from Seoul for three days and two nights.

‘But the gains were more than worth it.’

The first objective was, of course, adjusting the gear. With the help of the Wind Cutter, I could once again use area-of-effect techniques like the Flame of the Immortal Butterfly.

My mana heart wasn’t normal. The Wind Cutter helped minimize the overload on that mana heart.

Moreover, I could achieve firepower beyond my Ains days through the Wind Cutter.

‘And I even met Zerfield.’

The connection with Zerfield was a particularly significant gain. Without him, conquering the ancient dungeon would have been impossible.

Above all, the Legacy that was the dungeon’s reward—the White Cross Society’s book of prophecy. That prophetic book was a special ancient text that only Zerfield and Vatican priests proficient in the ancient imperial language could decipher.

‘But Zerfield promised to send us everything once he deciphers the contents of the prophecy.’

Certainly, Yuri and I did help him in the ancient dungeon, but Zerfield showed excessive goodwill toward both of us.

I recalled what he had hinted to me.

“The daughter of a Grand Duke is from a very noble family. The daughter of Grand Duke Andrei, no less. The most precious daughter in the world likes you, Minsu, so every man in the world must be envious.”

He clearly seemed to believe that our trip to Mount Seorak was a romantic getaway. He might have been cheering us on like a middle-aged woman watching a romance drama.

‘No, that’s exactly what he was doing. Zerfield.’

Still, true to his nickname “The Monster,” if we hadn’t been to his liking, we wouldn’t have been able to get any information shared with us by any means.

Grateful for this stroke of luck, I recalled the fragmentary contents of the book he had told us about.

‘The revival of the Red Dragon on Earth, not Ailetan. And the whereabouts of the Dragon-Slaying Spear that will stop that Red Dragon.’

It was content I couldn’t simply dismiss. The Red Dragon, implying the Demon King. And the Red Lake, the villain group that had become the purpose of my life.

It was not intuition but certainty that the two were directly related.

Then the Dragon-Slaying Spear Epitheus mentioned in the prophecy—the whereabouts of that sacred weapon used by the hero who defeated the Red Dragon—would undoubtedly be crucial information inseparable from the Red Lake.

But as I stood in front of my apartment door, extreme fatigue washed over me.

‘Yuri told me to take a day off tomorrow.’

As she said, my body wasn’t that robust yet. I just wanted to go into my room and rest.

At that moment, the door to my apartment opened by itself.

“Senior! Why are you coming back so late?”

Arin was standing at the open door. Her pink eyes were completely darkened.