179. The End (1)
“Gasp?!”
In a damp cave, a giant fox that had been lying down suddenly jolted up and shook its body. The fox quickly transformed into a human girl and wiped the cold sweat off of her body.
“A dream of dying······.”
She had had an unpleasant dream. A dream of being engulfed in flames and burning to death. So-gong was relieved to realize that it was just a dream and immediately sat in the lotus position to begin training.
She would wake up from a short nap and train. She would eat and train. She would go to the bathroom and train. These days, she was training like crazy in order to raise her realm.
Her master, Gwi-ho, had said that So-gong had a talent that only appeared once every thousand years. He had said that if So-gong took a day off, it would be a huge loss, as if others had taken ten years off. In other words, if she devoted herself to training all day, she would be ten years ahead of others.
“When Master and my clone return, I’ll have to surprise them by raising my realm!”
So-gong chuckled and began to concentrate again. She looked forward to the future when her master would come running and spank her butt while praising her. Little did she know what had happened to her clone, whose connection she had cut off in order to concentrate······.
*
“Everyone, hurry! We have to get out of Elvengarde quickly!”
“Saintess! The search is complete! There are no missing residents!”
“Good. Are there any injured people who are difficult to transport, Rex?”
“We have enough means of transport, such as carriages. We are currently evacuating the injured, including the Lord.”
An endless procession of refugees. Mia sighed as she looked out over the scene. The crisis had certainly been averted.
The Great Spirits, who had been on the verge of destroying Elvengarde, had returned to their senses. Now, all they had to do was evacuate safely by land. There were no casualties. There were almost no losses, except for a few who had been injured while slowing down the Great Spirits.
Even so, Mia couldn’t help but feel impatient now.
“We can’t be late······.”
This was because the cold air from the dungeon was spreading and eroding Elvengarde. At first, she had thought that the cold air wouldn’t go far when it leaked out of the dungeon. She had thought that it would only make the ground outside the dungeon a little colder.
However, the magic of the network connected to the other world made it seem like the cold air was endless. It had created a vast snowy field centered around the dungeon.
Even now, the snowy field was expanding rapidly. The roots of the World Tree were beginning to freeze, and it was clear that the World Tree would freeze completely and die within an hour.
Time was of the essence in many ways. They had to escape before the cold air enveloped the refugee procession and froze the residents to death. She also had to see Eugene come out as soon as possible.
‘It’s cold······.’
Even though she was so far away from the dungeon, the temperature here had already dropped below freezing. So how cold must it be inside the dungeon? Mia felt her body trembling as she pulled her cloak closer.
The fact that the cold air was still spreading meant that Eugene was not dead. It was a contradictory situation where she wanted the cold air to disappear and not disappear at the same time.
“Ah······. Elvengarde is finished······.”
“The World Tree is dying······.”
“Don’t look back, everyone! Keep walking! Don’t slow down!”
One by one, the elves looked back and sighed. Mia couldn’t help but feel sorry for them as she turned them around again.
Once the roots were soaked in the cold air, the fate of the World Tree was sealed. The lush leaves that had enveloped and kept Elvengarde warm were falling one by one like rain, and frost was gradually forming on the thick trunk.Like the land of the Frost Lord.
It seemed like it was becoming Palana.
The elves shed tears and left Elvengard in an orderly manner without looking back.
“289······. 288······. 287······.”
Meanwhile.
At the end of the line, the Frost Lord was counting numbers while looking at the freezing World Tree.
About 25 minutes had passed since the Great Spirit stopped advancing.
Eugene’s plan had succeeded.
The brainwashing of the Transcendent no longer controlled the Great Spirits.
The Transcendent had hurriedly entered the dungeon.
However, even after 25 minutes had passed, Eugene had not come out.
The promised 30 minutes were almost up.
As the promised time approached, Yerina felt more and more anxious.
“I’m sorry. I can’t keep my promise!”
“Frost Lord?!”
Yerina ran out, kicking the frozen ground.
Yerina, who was going against the evacuation line.
Jill and Julia were surprised and called out to her, but they couldn’t catch up to Yerina, who was running at full speed.
Transylvania followed right next to her.
Yerina gritted her teeth and drew her sword.
“Once this is over, I’ll set you free, murderer.”
“Your surname is Man-geuk. Even if you weren’t a slave, I would have helped you anyway because it would be difficult if my friend died.”
“Friend······. How close are you to Eugene?”
“We’re so close that we can touch each other’s chests.”
“······?”
Yerina’s mind stopped.
Touching each other’s chests?
Was that a relationship that could be called a friend?
“After this is over, let’s talk, slave.”
“What? Weren’t you going to set me free?”
“Be quiet.”
After everything was over, I would have to sit down with Transylvania and Eugene and interrogate them a little.
Yerina thought so and accelerated even more.
Of course, that was after Eugene returned safely.
“Transylvania!”
“I know!”
A frozen stone door appeared.
There was no time to waste trying to open it.
As Yerina signaled, Transylvania drew her sword and quickly swung it, wrapped in wind.
One blow, then two.
The sharp wind struck the stone door twice and shattered it.
Yerina was about to rush inside without slowing down at all.
“What the?!”
Kwa-rung!
The entrance to the dungeon collapsed with a thunderous sound.
In an instant, the entrance was filled with rubble.
Yerina, who was in a panic, kicked the blocked entrance with all her might, but······
“aaah!!! No!”
The kick only crushed a little bit of the rubble.
It was not enough to break through the blocked entrance.
Judging from the sound of the rubble collapsing inside, it seemed that the entrance was completely blocked.
It was impossible to break through with force.
Even if we were to remove the stones one by one, it would take days.
Moreover, it would be impossible to work for that long in this bone-chilling cold.
“Eugene!!!!!!”
Yerina shouted at the blocked entrance.
A desperate scream continued.
Transylvania watched her and shook her head as if she was a little heartbroken.
.
.
.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“······Cold. But I can bear it. I can bear it.”
Tzzt, tzzt.
My hand, which was stroking Mijung’s chin, gradually froze and lost sensation.
I thought I had become a little immune to it after facing the heroines and accepting Yerina’s resentment.
Still, after an hour had passed since I came in, I felt like I couldn’t hold on any longer.
On the other hand, Mijung was holding up quite well.
Was it because her body had almost no moisture in it to begin with?It seems that the freezing didn’t have much of an impact.
If I had known this would happen, I would have become a vampire.
“Mijung.”
“······Yes.”
“We might not be able to get out of here.”
I had a strong feeling the moment I stepped inside.
This place is Luna’s exclusive dungeon.
Not only is the dungeon double-layered, but there are also countless traps hidden within.
Perhaps our fate was sealed the moment we entered.
That thought suddenly came to me.
I could feel myself accepting and resigning to the future.
“······It’s okay. I’m here with you.”
“······.”
“······Eugene, I won’t leave you alone.”
“Thank you.”
I took Mijung’s small hand in mine and let out a deep sigh.
And at that moment.
A dragging sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the dark dungeon passage.
-That bastard······!-
Inyoung slowly emerged from the darkness.
I was able to face that disgusting face again.
However, the broken bones and disfigured face were much more bearable than before.
“You’ve come back looking much better? Did you sand your face?”
-What the hell did you do! Why, how did my entire undead army freeze!-
“Ask Draken about that. He’s the one who gave me this spell.”
-‘Don’t you dare speak ‘his’ name so casually!!!-
Luna became furious as soon as I uttered Draken’s name.
Even as abandoned hunting dogs, they still serve their master.
How pathetic.
No matter how hard they try, Draken will never use the Four Heavenly Kings again.
-Well, that doesn’t matter anymore······. You’re the one who froze this dungeon solid, so all I have to do is kill you! Then this body will become a transcendent being again······ and I will once again surpass the limits of humanity······!-
“What. Why don’t you try killing me. If you can.”
-I showed you mercy once, and now you’re acting all high and mighty! I didn’t spare you earlier because I was afraid of you! It just wasn’t the right time to kill you! But here, in my exclusive dungeon, I can seal all your abilities!-
“······!”
At that moment, the dungeon core began to glow.
Then, in an instant, I felt my strength drain from my body.
I couldn’t feel any magic or mana at all.
I tried to use my traits in surprise, but
[This is an area where the use of traits is restricted.]
was all that appeared.
None of my traits would activate.
And the same went for the guardian knight.
[Stats]
[Strength: 20 *Guardian Knight penalty failed to apply]
[Health: 45 *Guardian Knight penalty failed to apply]
[Mana: 50 *Guardian Knight penalty failed to apply]
[Agility: 28 *Guardian Knight penalty failed to apply]
[Luck: 10 *Guardian Knight penalty failed to apply]
My stats, which had been inflated by a factor of 7, had returned to their original values.
I was no longer a superhuman, but a mere knight with abilities that were below average.
From Noble mtl dot com
-Strength and weakness are not determined by the number of abilities! They are determined by one’s own strength! Are you finally facing reality, human?-
My body felt heavy.
The armor and sword I carried felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.
The cold made my body freeze, and it made it feel even heavier.
-Heeheeheehee! It’s useless to destroy the dungeon core! It’s just for show anyway! There are hundreds more dungeon cores hidden within this dungeon!-
“······.”
I quickly destroyed the glowing dungeon core, but the ability-sealing effect remained.
-Do you think I would have kindly brought the core to the dungeon and asked you to please destroy it? Heeheeheehee!-
That’s exactly what he said.Originally, the structure of a dungeon tends to have some rules.
However, the intelligent Four Heavenly Kings, who are free from such constraints, do not necessarily need to design the dungeon kindly.
If you can adjust it arbitrarily, it would be advantageous to make it difficult to defeat.
In the case of Kali’s unique dungeon, the dungeon core was in Kali’s body.
In Luna’s case, there are multiple dungeon cores.
It is inevitable that they are the ones whose heads turn only in a really sh*tty direction.
But no matter how much you design it,
There is one common way to defeat it.
-This dungeon can never be defeated! Ehehehehe!-
“Nonsense. Isn’t it a dungeon that will eventually disappear when you die? Because it’s your unique dungeon.”
-Me? You’re going to kill me? You······?-
Luna, who momentarily looks stupid and tilts her head.
After staring at me for a long time as if it was a bit difficult to understand,
She soon bursts into laughter.
-Ehehehee! How are you going to kill me! With the body of a weak mortal who can’t use any abilities! Look! Your arms are trembling just by raising your sword right now! On the other hand, this body is not a transcendent, but it is basically superior to humans! In terms of strength, stamina, and senses! When you swing your sword once, I’ll be able to stab you more than three times, so how are you going to kill me–
Creak!
At that moment, Luna’s cheek, which was chattering excitedly, was cut and a wound was engraved.
Crimson blood flowed out, and the blood instantly froze in the cold air.
Luna’s gaze, which had been touching her cheek for a moment, turned to me.
To me, who was holding an old sword and cutting the void.
She still looks like she doesn’t understand very well.
-Uh, uh······?-
“You talk too much.”
Creak! Creak!
A quick combo with a quick chain of movements.
The swordsmanship of Cheolhyeolfongcham surged and attacked Luna in an instant.
Indeed, despite the fact that her body was dozens of times stronger than a human’s, her limbs were not shattered by a single swordsmanship.
Luna ran away with a lot of blood, but she collapsed with a thud.
The blood that flowed out froze in an instant and became like ice.
-Why, why?! My abilities may have been sealed? How are you using them!-
“Come to think of it, I think what you said is right. Strength and weakness are not determined by the number of abilities. Strength comes from within, not from the body.”
What determines strength and weakness is not a special or rare ability, nor is it the physical strength of the body.
What matters is a strong mind.
It is a spirit that is ready to wield powerful power.
The power that has been trained in that way remains in me forever.
Unlike the illusory power that is lost when the body is lost.
The Cheolhyeolfongcham that I realized and learned myself will never disappear!
-Kuaaak! No! No! I can’t lose to a human like you······!-
Is it because her body has become much weaker?
The power of the swordsmanship that Cheolhyeolfongcham swings seems to have diminished somewhat.
Luna screams incessantly even while her body is being tortured.
Luna tries to counterattack constantly.
However, there is no way that an attack from a guy with no skill or anything can reach me.
However, my swordsmanship finally succeeded in cutting off all of Luna’s limbs.
I reached out to Luna’s transcendent body (which it was) that was left only with its body.
“Now it’s time to travel to the underworld.”
-W, what······?!-
Luna’s complexion changes as soon as she sees my hand.
I don’t know about the underworld god, but it seems that she has sensed something unusual.
Luna was trying to abandon her body and run away in a hurry.
But my hand reached the guy’s body first.
-Thank you for your hard work. I am infinitely grateful for your efforts. Please visit the underworld sometime and I will repay you greatly.-
“Please don’t make such a gruesome sound······.”
-Aah?! Ah! aaah! Why doesn’t it work? Why can’t I get out? What’s holding me back? Where am I being dragged tooo!!!–Where are you being taken? This will be your home in the future! hahahaha! This is a really big catch! The karma is considerable!-
-aaah!!!-
In an instant, black darkness spews out from my hand and surrounds Luna’s body hers hers.
Luna is in pain, her throat bursting open and she lets out a miserable scream.
The darkness gathered gradually towards the chest of her body.
It soon became a sphere with something shining inside, and a rose into the air.
Luna was very noisy even as she was grabbed by the Myeongsin and dragged towards her passage.
Are you out of your mind? Do you even know what will happen if you kill me?! If my soul is taken away and destroyed, my unique dungeon will collapse!-
“And the chill that covered Elvengarde will disappear. Winter will end and spring will come.”
-You idiot! That’s it! The dungeon is collapsing! How are you going to get out of this deep place? You and your woman will die miserably, buried under countless stones! If you don’t like that, tear away this darkness right now and take me back–
“That’s what I wanted.”
-······!-
Surprised.
Such thoughts rose from the sphere that formed the soul.
I muttered quietly with a wry smile.
“A person may not be able to decide the fate they bear at birth, but shouldn’t they at least decide for themselves how they will die?”
-What nonsense is that!!!-
Luna will never understand me until the end.
Because he is afraid of putting an end to his life, he has prolonged his life in an ugly way by eating others.
Luna will never be able to understand that human life is valuable because it is fleeting.
“Humans are beings who bear the fate of mortality. Those born are bound to die. I escaped that fate for a while and went on to live an endless life… But then I realized. How you live is important, but how you die is even more important. “My mission ends here by eliminating you.”
-You son of a b*tch!!!!!!-
A writhing sphere that looks like it’s going to eat me.
However, the approaching scream is swallowed up by the darkness, becomes an echo, and disappears.
It swirled into the dimensional gap, leaving no trace.
“Is it over…?”
Luna’s body became like a shriveled mummy.
There are no more signs of life from it.
The sign of the Underworld God within me also disappeared.
In addition, the dungeon cores embedded everywhere are losing their light and going out.
The chill that felt like it was killing me is also gone.
Due to Luna’s disappearance her her her, all dungeon cores were destroyed.
It’s a success.
It’s all over.
We won
“Ah… Damn it…”
Crumbling!
The sound of the dungeon collapsing can be heard from the entrance.
I have to go out.
I have to leave quickly.
My body doesn’t listen.
I have no energy.
Magic power has reached its bottom.
I keep feeling sleepy.
It is the result of magical exhaustion, physical exhaustion, heart-freezing chills, and damage from confronting the Underworld God all at once.
“Heavenly armor plate…”
Perhaps due to magical exhaustion, I cannot even unfold the Heavenly Armor Plate.
If I use Mijeong’s magic power, I think I can stretch it for about 10 seconds.
The problem comes after that.
There is no answer.
“Damn it…”
Although I tried to speak up, I wasn’t actually ready to die.
She was planning to somehow make a quick leap and escape.
When I tried to stand up, my body felt stronger than I expected, and the speed at which the dungeon was collapsing was twice as fast as expected.
There is no way to avoid death.
But as I said before, I did my duty.
It was my own path that I decided for myself, and even though it may be disappointing, I have not left a single regret behind it.
“Sorry.”
I hugged Mijeong.
Although rubble is constantly falling from the ceiling.I thought that if I wrapped myself around her, Mijeong might be able to live.
‘I’m so sorry, I’m going to die······.’
The faces of the heroines flashed before my eyes.
Is this a magic lantern show?
When you’re about to die, all sorts of thoughts come to mind.
More than anything else, I feel like I’m going to go crazy because I’m sorry for the heroines.
I’ve committed a sin during that time.
I was going to atone for it from now on, but I’m going to die as soon as I start.
How much of a scar will I leave on their hearts?
It seems like the underworld god’s words of seeing them again someday will become a reality.
As I was having such trivial thoughts, I burst out laughing.
“······Ugh.”
But in the meantime, Mijeong kept squirming in my arms as if she was suffocating.
I looked up in confusion, and Mijeong was holding something in her hand that she had taken out of my pocket.
“······This.”
The Spear of Longinus.
A device that pierces through dimensions to create a passage to another world.
······And a defective product that doesn’t know where to go without a navigator.
“You can’t use that······. You can’t set where to go······. And how do you get back······.”
“······Wait, if you have it. Dying, there. Confirmed. This, if you use it. Living, there is. Possible.”
“······.”
I thought it was nonsense.
99.99 percent of the gap in dimensions is empty.
In other words, it’s nothing.
It’s impossible for a person to survive there.
In other words.
There is a 0.01 percent chance of survival.
There is a possibility that you will fall into another dimension where people can survive.
It’s a very small probability, but it’s not zero.
If I stay here, I will die with a 100 percent probability, but if I use the Spear of Longinus, I will have a chance to live.
“······Let’s go.”
“Ha······. I don’t know! Yes, let’s go! Don’t let go of my hand, Mijeong! If you let go, we’ll be separated forever!”
“······Yes!”
Mijeong and my hands wrapped around the Spear of Longinus.
We squeeze out the last bit of magic power left in our bodies and pour it out.
The moment I looked up, the ceiling completely collapsed and rocks poured down.
Flash.
Space is distorted.
My vision changed rapidly.