Episode 15: The Ordinary and the Demon [2] (Warning: Contains self-harm and blood)

 

-CRASH!

“Ugh… Gah?!”

My head is spinning.

First, let’s set aside the fact that my stomach feels unbearably hot. Whatever’s dragging me seems completely indifferent to how my body is being scraped and battered against the rocks and debris as it mindlessly pulls me along.

‘Why is it appearing now?’

Originally, this thing was supposed to appear as a mid-boss after Yun Se-ah’s party defeated it, following some stat upgrades and balancing.

-CRASH BANG!

“Aaaah?!”

Finally, the dragging stops as the Demon King flings me aside like trash.

‘Damn it, what should I do…’

<><><><><><><><><><>

<Monster Information>

<Name: Shena>

<Form: Humanoid>

<Threat Level: S>

<><><><><><><><><><>

The Demon King, Shena.

‘Tch, I need to get out of here fast… but even if I do, what can I do?’

From being dragged and hitting my head repeatedly, my entire body is screaming in pain.

“Could you stay still for a moment? That psychokinesis of yours is getting in the way.”

-STAB!

“Guh… Aaaaaah…!!”

Whatever was embedded in my stomach is yanked out violently, and blood starts gushing out rapidly. If not for <Dulled Senses (B)>, I would’ve died from shock from the pain alone.

‘……Damn it, I can’t let this go on…!’

I have <Recovery (S)>, but if this continues, I’ll just become her blood bag.

“Energy b…”

-STAB! STAB!

“Ugh, aaaah!”

Instantly, holes are punched through my thigh and shoulder.

“Guhhh… It hurts…”

-STAB!

“AAAAAH!”

The white coat I’d been wearing since Yun Seong-ho’s death is quickly dyed red with blood. It was a favorite of mine, enchanted with defensive magic.

-Slurp

“Mmm… Delicious. You’re top-tier.”

The Demon King, seemingly satisfied after drinking my blood, slowly grabs my neck and squeezes tightly.

“Gah… Keh-huk?!”

“I wonder how much I can squeeze out before you hit your limit?”

My arms tremble violently as my vision turns white.

‘Damn, I’ve never felt pain like this…!’

Honestly, the game had some pretty gorey elements. After all, Yun Se-ah was split in half by the final boss’s attack in the game.

Thanks to <Dulled Senses (B)>, I usually don’t feel much pain, but right now, my brain is being flooded with excruciating signals.

“Keh-huk… Ku-huk!”

“Hmm… It’d be a shame if you died…”

-THUD!

“Guh… Ugh… Cough, cough!”

My head spins—I can’t think straight.

Meanwhile, as if still unsatisfied with the amount of blood, the Demon King grabs my blood-soaked hair and lifts me up.

“……Aaaah?!”

-CRUNCH!

“Hmm… Should I start by slowly cutting off your fingers one by one? I love the sound of your screams!”

After that, I don’t remember how much time passed.

The pain had long since faded, and all I could see through my blurry vision was my fingers being sliced into thin strips like green onions, and the creature gleefully giggling as it watched my blood spill.

And then.

-KABOOOOOM!!

A golden lightning bolt struck the Demon King’s face.

And for some reason, my vision was engulfed by a shimmering light—something like a gate—before everything went dark.

…

…

…

-CRASH BANG!

“Aaaah…!! Ugh, guhh….”

The sudden impact makes my head spin. Probably from losing too much blood.

“Ugh… It hurts. I can’t even move a finger.”

Let me recall what just happened…

Shena slicing my fingers like vegetables for ramen, the golden lightning bolt that struck both of us before I could fully lose myself to the pain…

‘Thankfully, Eve seems to have arrived… but the matchup is bad.’

Eve Maitner is a Wizard-type—she boasts the highest firepower, but… unfortunately, she’s the weakest in close combat.

In the story, even when she was at B-rank, she lost to a High Goblin Magician, an A-rank monster.

‘The healing must already be done.’

When I slowly move my fingers, they respond as intended.

This was the first time I’d experienced torture-level pain since possessing Yun Se-ah’s body. I might have gone mad from the agony, but surviving having holes punched through me and my fingers sliced like vegetables was only possible because pain was already engraved into this body.

“Haa… It’s quiet.”

Looking around, there are no monsters.

‘……….’

All that’s in front of me is the corpse of something enormous.

‘That light earlier must’ve been the entrance to a gate. A double-layered gate…’

It’s extremely rare for a dungeon to have another gate inside it.

There are usually two scenarios where double-layered gates occur… First, when a dungeon’s hidden reward is concealed. Second, when someone sealed away a powerful monster of a different nature.

Originally, this dungeon was probably supposed to contain C to B-rank monsters.

But the ominous energy emanating from this space inside the gate was creating A-rank monsters.

‘Who would dare approach something emitting that kind of energy?’

If those A-rank monsters had stayed inside the dungeon, it might’ve been fine… but unfortunately, the energy from this corpse was far from normal.

The newly spawned C-rank monsters took one look at the massive corpse and fled outside the gate in panic. Those A-rank monsters that escaped must have wiped out the lower-ranked monsters originally residing in the dungeon.

And this overwhelming energy, enough to make even A-rank monsters flee… I’ve seen it before.

‘A fragment of the Demon King’s body.’

Shena visited this gate to search for a part of Mephisto’s body. From what I overheard, she wasn’t supposed to appear this early.

The trigger for her early arrival was likely me killing Yun Seong-ho… and stumbling upon this gate inside the dungeon was pure coincidence.

‘At least we’re safe for now.’

The pain engraved into my body makes me feel numb, like I’ve been anesthetized.

“Even if it’s safe here, we need to get reinforcements fast…”

Outside, Eve is fighting Shena in a life-or-death battle.

‘She’ll probably lose.’

Since I fell into this mysterious gate, the dungeon can’t collapse… and given that Eve Maitner excels in one-vs-many battles rather than one-on-one, she’ll definitely struggle against Shena’s agility.

As a powerful mage, she won’t fall for Shena’s mind control, but she’ll lose in close combat and become a blood bag. Shena is a madwoman who enjoys drinking the blood of those with strong magic.

We’d need a Demon Sword or Sword Saint to stand a chance. That was my conclusion.

‘What do I do… If this keeps up, both Eve and I will just become that bastard’s blood bags…’

Based on what I know of Eve’s stats, she can last about an hour at best. After that, Shena will drain her blood, enter the gate, and fully reclaim Mephisto’s remains.

How can I obtain something from this corpse that can strengthen [Hypnotic Evil Eye]…?

Then, in my despair, I saw something glimmering from Mephisto’s fallen body.

True to the saying “even a rotten final boss is still a final boss,” this was a fragment of Mephisto’s body—disguised as a monstrous serpent. I quickly approached the massive, fallen form.

Up close, one of its eyes had burst from being crushed against the rocks… but the other eye still shimmered as if alive.

Using a nearby rock shard, I dismantled the glowing eye. For some reason, the corpse began shrinking to match the exact size of my own eye.

[Fragment of ???]

[Warning: Severe mental corruption upon use. Detailed information available after equipping.]

“…Haha, I must be insane.”

I thought gouging out an eye and replacing it with this one was something only possible in games.

But Yun Se-ah had a monster’s eye forcibly implanted by Yun Seong-ho, who knew nothing about them, and still remained relatively stable. Probably thanks to <Dulled Senses (B)>.

In moments of extreme pain and despair, making rational choices is nearly impossible.

Back in college, in a safety design class, I remember the professor saying that during a fire, people panic and can’t open round doorknobs, leading to suffocation.

And right now, in my desperation, I thought: if I rip out my own eye and replace it with this one, then use Recovery to heal, the new eye might fuse properly.

Just from seeing the corpse, I could tell—this thing radiated enough energy to make B and A-rank monsters flee in terror.

There could be any number of side effects. I might die instantly from unbearable agony the moment I insert it.

‘What choice do I have? If I just sit here, we all die.’

I have to clear this story no matter what. To fight Shena… this is the only way.

‘Succeed and live, fail and die. A simple game.’

Using psychokinesis, I grabbed my own eye and ripped it out.

“AAAAAAAH…!! Guh…!!”

Then, I placed Mephisto’s ominous eyeball into the empty socket.

-SIZZLE…!!

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

It hurts.

‘Damn, it hurts so much…!!’

It felt like shoving a white-hot iron ball into my eye.

“Ugh… Aah, AAAAAAH!!”

But I have to endure. Only then can I help Eve escape this dungeon.

This is my punishment for failing to anticipate such a sudden variable. Thinking of it that way makes it easier to bear.

“Ugh… Guhh…”

A sane person would pray or wait quietly, firmly believing Eve Maitner would win outside.

But I’m in a state of self-hypnosis and panic, incapable of rational judgment.

The result of this madness-driven experiment?

“Guhhh… F*ck, this hurts.”

It was… surprisingly successful.