episode_0177

A sensation as if my heart had dropped to the pit of my stomach.

Looking at Eugene covered in blood, my heart felt like it was being torn apart.

*Gulp…*

Hurrying over to embrace him, I noticed that his breathing had weakened considerably.

I wanted to lash out at Eugene, to blame him for his current state, but the situation was too urgent for that.

I could save my grievances for after the battle was over.

After everything was said and done.

I silently made that promise to myself.

“We’re entering the dungeon.”

“······?!”

At Eugene’s words, the three women were taken aback.

It wasn’t just the fact that he mentioned entering the dungeon.

It was Eugene’s expression and demeanor as he spoke that made them uneasy.

A determined look in his eyes.

The three women who knew Eugene so well seemed to understand what was going through his mind.

“Why the dungeon now? The situation outside is more pressing, Eugene!”

“The undead legion is still inside the dungeon, right?”

“Yeah… But there were too many of them, so we had to retreat. We missed the Archdemon…”

“The undead legion is the enemy’s energy source. We need to neutralize the legion to stop them.”

“Ah…”

The four great spirits advancing towards Elvengard.

Pointing at them as if they were a natural disaster, Eugene spoke calmly.

The need to neutralize the undead legion.

With the holy maiden’s magic currently weakened, eradicating the endlessly resurrecting undead legion would be a difficult task.

But at least there was a plan, and the faces of the three women brightened at that realization.

Except for Transylvia, who couldn’t bring herself to smile.

She already understood the meaning behind Eugene’s words.

“So should we enter the dungeon right now-”

“No, Yerina. You need to guide the people outside to safety and protect them from Luna’s attacks. I’ll go in alone.”

“W-What do you mean by th-that? If you enter the dungeon now, the curse will activate…”

“······.”

At Yulia’s reminder, Eugene bit his lip for a moment.

Yulia was right.

And that curse was specifically targeting Eugene.

With a brilliant mind, Yulia quickly realized the trap, and her eyes widened.

“N-No! You can’t! Eugene, you can’t…”

“I have to.”

“What do you mean? You can’t! Why?”

“Eugene is saying that he will freeze to death with the undead legion in the dungeon.”

“······!”

As Yulia shed tears and grabbed onto Eugene’s sleeve, Trancylvia, frustrated and unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward, and only then did Jill and Yerina’s eyes widen in understanding.

Using the curse created by their resentment, curses, and obsession against them.

The idea was absurd, but it was an idea nonetheless.

The three women couldn’t understand why Eugene, who had confessed his love just a few hours ago, who had promised to build a future together, would now be willing to sacrifice himself.

Even though they understood it logically.

Their hearts couldn’t accept it, no matter how hard they tried.

“I’m not going to die. I just received some power from the afterlife… I plan to use that power to defeat Luna. If I enter the dungeon, the curse will activate, freezing the entire dungeon, including the undead legion. If the legion freezes and their energy supply is cut off, Luna’s transcendental form will have no choice but to come into the dungeon to kill me. That’s when I’ll use the power I received from the ‘being’ to control Luna.”

When Yu-jin tried to mention the Divine Realm, she felt a sharp pain in her head.

There seemed to be nothing she couldn’t say, but the Divine Realm hidden inside seemed to disapprove, so Yu-jin decided to refer to the Divine Realm as ‘a certain existence’.

In fact, the term ‘Divine Realm’ was not an accurate expression.

Since those who did not know that the Divine Realm had descended to the mortal world would find it difficult to understand that the Divine Realm had captured Luna’s spirit as part of its own essence through a dimensional gap opened by the Divine Realm and sent it to the Divine Realm, there was no other way.

“Then she’ll come out, right? She’ll come back?”

“Of course. If I had thought of dying, I wouldn’t have confessed to you.”

Qil’s lips trembled.

Yu-jin’s rough hand wrapped around Qil’s soft cheek.

It comforted her with a warm touch.

But for some reason, Qil felt a strange chill.

The aura of death.

That was the only way to explain it.

“If we delay a little, she’ll freeze to death there. Can you be sure Luna will come back to the dungeon right away?”

“She will definitely come back. She is a transcendent being created with all her power, and if the undead legion is neutralized, the transcendent being will become useless. She has to come back.”

“Huh… Alright. I understand the point. Shall we go in now?”

“What?”

“Let’s go in together. Other people might find it difficult, but I have some resistance to the chill. Besides, it’s a chill made of my resentment, right?”

“…”

Stretching her arms out and standing in front of Yu-jin, Yerina reached out her hand.

Yu-jin was momentarily speechless.

How should she persuade her?

As Yu-jin pondered, she held Yerina’s hand.

“People outside are in danger right now. They don’t know where to run and are confused. It’s difficult for Elvengard to protect them all-”

“I don’t care! You are a hundred times, a thousand times more precious to me than anything else! I don’t care if you call me cruel and heartless! I’m more scared of you dying than anything else!”

“I won’t die, so don’t worry. As soon as we enter, the undead legion will freeze, and when Luna’s transcendent being returns to the dungeon, it will be weak and easy to control. If I die, it will be because of the chill and I won’t be able to come out of the dungeon… Then Yerina, come in and save me.”

“!”

“Exactly 30 minutes. If I don’t come out after waiting for 30 minutes after the Great Lords stop advancing and Luna’s transcendent being returns to the dungeon, come and save me.”

Until now, she had only thought of her eyes as those of someone prepared for death.

But as Yerina looked closely into those eyes, she could see the desire to live.

She wants to live.

Yu-jin wants to survive more than anyone else.

Paradoxically, that’s why she wants to go into the jaws of death and into the dungeon.

To save the world.

To be with her loved ones in a safe world.

It was a situation where she had to walk into the mouth of death to survive.

“Fine…”

Yerina couldn’t argue any further and bit her lip.

Now that she confirmed that Yu-jin hadn’t given up on life, she had no more reason to stop her.

A crimson stain flowed down Yerina’s white chin.

Yu-jin wiped the blood with her fingers and then kissed Yerina’s lips, which were still bleeding.

“Ugh…”

It was sudden, but she didn’t dislike it.

As Yerina continued to kiss hesitantly, when their lips were about to part, the bleeding had stopped.

“Yuria. I’ll leave this sword to you.”

“W-what?! W-why the sword…?”

“It’s a special sword. It’s made with the magic of a great demon. Studying it might help in chasing after the demon that escaped.”

“No, I don’t want it! I won’t take it! Give it back to me when I come out of the dungeon!”

“Please, just take it. I’ll come back. I won’t die, so just give it back to me when I return. Okay?”

“Sigh…”

Despite Julia’s refusal and hand-waving, Eugene forcibly handed her the magic sword stuck in the scabbard.

If.

Preparing for the possibility that Eugene might not come back alive was too much for Julia to bear.

It felt like she was praying for Eugene’s death.

But Eugene had already made up his mind.

No matter how much she cried, begged, or clung on, she couldn’t change it.

Julia, having learned a bitter lesson from past mistakes, reluctantly accepted the sword without further refusal.

“I’ll come back.”

“Promise me… Keep it… Safe…”

Embracing Julia,

Eugene pressed his lips firmly against her forehead.

Julia sobbed and buried her face in Eugene’s chest.

It seemed like they both wanted to leave a mark on each other’s bodies.

Watching this scene silently, Jill hesitated for a moment.

Eugene, realizing what was happening beyond Julia’s shoulder, chuckled and approached Jill.

“Jill… Can I be honest with you?”

“Tell me.”

“Even if the world is on the brink of destruction, I want to be with you, Eugene. Even if you’re the only one who can save the world, I just want to hold your hand and watch the world end. But… that’s too selfish, right? It’s an egotistical thought that a saint shouldn’t have, right?”

Clutching her clothes tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks, Jill.

Whether she didn’t want to show her crying face or not, she turned away quickly.

Eugene took one step forward, then tightly embraced Jill’s thin waist from behind.

“Ack?!”

“It’s only natural. I would have done the same. We’re not ordinary people. It’s inevitable that we want to avoid the imminent danger and chase after happiness in front of us.”

“Yeah… I’m just a selfish woman born with excessive talent…”

“I’m a cowardly man born with a wretched fate.”

“So…”

“That’s why…”

“We have to go… to pretend to be extraordinary people…”

“That’s right.”

Eugene thought to himself.

Neither I nor Jill are anything special.

We were just born with strange origins and destinies.

Nearsighted, narrow-minded, selfish, and greedy, we truly can’t be ordinary citizens.

Jill wore a mask to overcome this.

She tried to be seen as a compassionate saint, rather than a villain who harbored envy and jealousy.

Now it was Eugene’s turn.

As a cowardly returnee who always sought shortcuts and easy ways out.

Today, he had to face death.

For no one else but me and my women.

“I’ll be back.”

“Yeah… I’ll wait…”

Pressing his nose against Jill’s forehead,

Eugene took a deep breath and fell.

Tran Silvia, who had been standing back, approached Eugene, releasing her arms.

“Do you want to go in with me? If a murderer appears, everyone will be scared anyway, so it won’t help with evacuation.”

“This guy… Are you going to protect only your women and leave me to freeze to death? I’ll just escort you to the entrance.”

“I’m just kidding. Jill and Julia will protect you. If they come back injured, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“Got it. It’s a favor from a friend who’s left, so I can’t ignore it.”

Laughing, Tran Silvia shook hands with Eugene.

The two exchanged a strange glance with their eyes.

Finally, Yujin let go of the hands and stood apart from the four people.

As she was about to turn around, Yujin hesitated for a moment, turned back, and shouted.

“I have never regretted meeting you! I will make sure you don’t regret meeting me either! I love you!”

With those words.

Yujin ran towards the dungeon without waiting for a response.

The response would come after everything was over.

“Why, to me. Are you going to, enter, without asking?”

Running quickly by Yujin’s side, Mijeong asked.

She wondered if she had forgotten or had no interest in herself.

But at Yujin’s subsequent response, a faint light of joy spread across her face.

“Where I go, you are there, and where you go, I am there. Why? Don’t you want to go in?”

“No. That, makes sense.”

In perfect harmony.

Those words fit perfectly.

They were now two people who no longer needed to seek each other’s approval.

[The monsters in the dungeon are enhanced by the blessing of the Holy Maiden Jill.]

[The monsters in the dungeon have a weak poison due to the curse of the Witch Yulia.]

[The dungeon is filled with coldness due to the grudge of the Frost Lord Yerina.]

“As expected.”

Crackle!

As soon as I stepped, the ground under my feet began to freeze.

In an instant, the air grew cold.

Breath escaped from my mouth.

Now it’s time for a time attack.

Looking at Mijeong, we nodded our heads simultaneously.

We quickly began to explore the inside of the dungeon.

“Ignore the undead army!”

“Okay!”

As if they were waiting, the undead army rushed in, but it was futile.

The cold that had already begun to fill the dungeon corroded even the undead, making them sluggish.

If it weren’t for the cold, we wouldn’t have been able to pass, but avoiding the slowly freezing undead, we quickly reached the second underground floor.

“My prediction was correct.”

Magic slowly drained from the undead, heading towards the outside of the dungeon.

I could feel the flow, but I couldn’t stop it.

Perhaps it was because my status as a primary sorcerer was too low.

No, even if Guho or Sogong were here, they wouldn’t be able to stop it.

Luna’s transcendent form was already at the pinnacle as a sorcerer and a commander.

I gave up trying to stop the flow of magic and continued towards the inside.

I cut down the undead blocking my path with my old sword.

The scattered undead pieces tried to reassemble, but due to the cold, they couldn’t, just staggering.

I leisurely pushed aside thousands, or maybe tens of thousands, of undead moving in slow motion and quickly reached the final room, where the dungeon core was located.

“Hmm?”

The state of the dungeon core seemed strange.

No matter how I looked at it, it was just an ordinary magic stone?

Even if the connection between the dungeon core and the other world was severed.

This was Luna’s unique dungeon, so it should at least be connected to Luna.

In that case, this is…

“A deception.”

Using clairvoyance magic to examine the ground, I detected an empty space.

I broke the ground with my magic, revealing a large space.

This was the real dungeon below.

The altar where Luna had created her transcendent form appeared.

“Belphagor must have already fled.”

The inside was empty.

Only the altar and the shining dungeon core were left.

It was okay to break the fake dungeon core above, but this one had to be left alone.

The magic targeting me only worked inside the dungeon.

If the dungeon core were to be destroyed, this place would no longer be a dungeon, and the cold would disappear.

“Is the freezing over?”

At that moment, the sound of the undead moving clumsily above stopped.

They must have completely frozen, like statues.

With the undead incapacitated, naturally, the magic transmission was also stopped, cutting off the flow.

Now Luna’s transcendent form was just an empty shell.

The Great Spirits must have broken free from the brainwashing and stopped their attacks.

I imagined Luna’s bewildered face by now, as I sat perched on the altar.

“Come on, Luna. It’s your turn to attack this time.”

“······Growl.”

This dungeon truly is a beast when it comes to attacking.

But when it comes to defense, there’s no safer place than here.

I smiled, embracing Mijung and exhaling a white breath.