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＜ 19. Arpan’s Burnt Offering (8) ＞ After Arpan was crushed, the vision of
Khalisis began to fade. It was only natural that he would not be able to stay for a long time since he had descended into the dungeon, which was the domain of administrators, forcibly .
Andrea bowed her head to Khalisis and thanked her .
“ Thank you for lending me your strength, Callices .”
Callisis smiled and smiled quite different from when she looked at Arpan .
[ You’re welcome. Jim was able to fulfill his long-cherished dream of defeating the guide thanks to you. It seems that Jim’s eyes for choosing you weren’t wrong after all .]
“… But it will be difficult to borrow Calisis-sama’s power again, right ?”
[ Yes. However, since you have accomplished the task of defeating the guide’s body, you should be able to get a worthy reward. With that, there will be few ordeals that you will be unable to handle in the Infinite Dungeon .]
Andrea nodded. In the game, even if you defeated Arpan’s alter ego, you could get a great reward, but since you defeated the main body, you wouldn’t get a lesser reward. Moreover, if Khalisis himself said that .
Callices’ eyes glanced to the side. Andrea turns her gaze at the same time. There was Anna, barely standing on her cane. Judging by the fact that his complexion turned white and his whole body trembled, he was on the verge of collapsing .
Still, she sighed, got down on one knee and bowed her head in homage to Khalisis .
“ The lowly challenger meets the owner of eternal rest .”
[ Raise your head. A child loved by all gods. This time, my apostle owes you a great debt .]
Callices lightly flicking his fingers. Then, a black mist swirled around Anna and completely buried her .
Anna felt a sense of drowsiness and a new energy rising in her tattered body. Soon after, she became more energetic and full of energy than before the battle .
Anna bowed her head again to express her gratitude. However, her face was filled with complex emotions that could not be described .
“ Thank you. And I… It’s rude, but I want to ask you something .”
[… is it about Jim’s first apostle ?]
Anna nodded with a heavy expression. Her eyes were shaking as she pursued a relationship she had broken up with hundreds of years ago .
“ What happened to Ian… in the end ?”
[ His soul is still intact and supporting the burden. It’s a pity, but it’s going to be hard for me to meet you again. Like Jim, he lives in a different level of the world from the dungeon .]
“ It’s okay. As long as you’re safe, that’s enough .”
Contrary to what she said, Anna seemed to be sorry for not being able to do it. Andrea, who was eavesdropping on the conversation from the sidelines, suddenly sensed something .
‘ Calling the first apostle ‘Ian’, could it be that the two were colleagues… or something more than that ?’
With that in mind, when I first met Anna, what she asked me to do began to make sense .
The words that asked me to hug myself without asking anything. The body that Andrea occupied originally belonged to the first apostle, so it made sense when I saw the appearance and thought that I had such an urge .
Andrea hesitated and was about to say something, but Callices spoke first .
[… you took too long. Jim must go back. Just as you have been through dungeons wisely, I hope that you will believe in yourself and move forward without hesitation on the rest of your journey. Your journey will be filled with my grace .]
The illusion of Khalisis, which gradually becomes transparent and disappears. Andrea and Anna did not forget to bow their heads and pay their respects .
After Khalisis disappeared, Andrea turned to look at Anna. She was preparing to open the portal and leave immediately .
“ Wait a minute, I want to ask you something .”
Andrea catches Anna. However, Anna shook her head and refused the question .
“ If it’s about Ian, I won’t listen. It’s just a thing of the past .”
“…”
“ The reason I’m helping you now is because we have a shared goal of taking down the Administrator. . . . That alone should suffice, right ?”
After Anna finished her words, she looked at Andrea with a bitter look for a moment. Anna purses her lips as if she wants to say something more, but finally swallows what she wants to say and disappears through the portal .
Andrea sighed and turned her head. It’s impossible to question the person who disappeared, and there is still work to be done .
Andrea approached Arpan. Arpan, whose upper was crushed and turned into powder, had already lost its original shape. Taesan’s body disappears, and all that remains is the familiar figure of a monster with a goat’s head .
Even that was slowly perishing and was incomplete. The lower half of his body had already disappeared, and only the upper half of Arpan remained. I burst out laughing when I saw Andrea approaching .
“ Keuhehehe… are you here to mock the loser? You have bad taste, Miss Andrea .”
“ No, since the battle is over, we should take the loot. I’ve come to get your horn and iron rod .”
Loot items obtained by killing Arpan in the game. Arpan’s horn was an artifact that could be sold to black traders at a high price, and the iron cage was legendary-grade equipment with outstanding performance .
Arfan laughed even louder. The blood gushed out and quickly stopped, but .
“ Kuh, cool. This is Andrea’s answer. Well, good .”
“… Actually, that’s not the only thing to see .”
Andrea trampled on Arpan’s chest. The sound of wind blowing came out .
“ I want you to answer a few questions. I have so many questions to ask you .”
“ .
_
“ Of course. You will have to. Otherwise, after you disappear, I will turn the waiting room into a marketplace for black traders .”
Arpan’s complexion hardened. Andrea wondered if this threat would work, but judging by the expression on her face, it seemed that she had been properly taken .
Even if it perishes and disappears, I couldn’t bear to watch the dark merchants come into play. Arfan clicked his tongue briefly and spat out curse words .
“ Damn it… cool, that little hair that bullies others is really… you’re second to none. So , what do you want to ask ?”
“ First of all… Why was I brought into this world? Perfecting the character ‘Andrea’ isn’t the only reason, right ?”
“… Ha, that’s right. The reason Andrea-sama came to this world …”
Arfan put his forehead on his forehead for a while as if his head was pounding. then silence. Arpan was reflecting on a fact that even he could not understand .
After a long pause, Arpan opened his mouth with difficulty .
“ Master wants you to meet Andrea’s death .”
Andrea doubted her ears. It was a reason I couldn’t even imagine .
“… what? What do you mean ?”
“ I assisted him from the closest side… but I also don’t know everything exactly. I just remember that you said you wished for ‘the completion of the narrative’ as if passing by .”
Andrea doubted whether Arfan was lying. However, Arpan is a thug who is absolutely loyal to the manager. Even if he lied, there was no reason to tell such a lie .
“ I have a feeling that perhaps my annihilation may have been planned by the master… Because there is a process of step-by-step in everything .”
Arpan’s eyes were wet with unknown remorse. It was a meaningless change for Andrea, who was not particularly curious about the circumstances over there .
It seemed that further inquiry would not yield anything nutritious. Andrea moved on to another question .
“ Okay then, next question. What method did the Administrator use to bring me into this world? Just what kind of person was the administrator, and was he able to bring real people into the world of the game ?
Hearing that question, Arpan smiled strangely. It was a very familiar expression for Andrea. The face of those who have intellectual superiority looking down on those who do not .
“ Andrea-sama, do you still think of yourself as ‘Park Jeong-hyun’, a player who enjoyed ‘Dungeon of Infinity’ in the outside world ?”
Andrea’s face hardened. It was a simple question, but the meaning in it was by no means so .
“ What are you talking about ?”
“ What are you talking about, that’s what I mean. Andrea-sama, have you ever recalled ‘specifically’ about yourself in the outside world while going through the dungeon ?”
“…?”
“ For example, what you did, where you lived, what your relationships were like, who you want to see… ”
Andrea felt goosebumps all over her body as she carefully reviewed her memories .
There was no He always vaguely thought about going back outside, but he never once thought about who he wanted to see, what he had to do, and what kind of life he had lived .
” What nonsense is this …”
As if he liked Andrea’s reaction, the corners of Arpan’s mouth parted .
“ This is all I can explain. Let me find out the truth beyond that …”
“ Arpan !”
Andrea grabbed Arpan’s neck with Hell’s grip. It was as if he would break it right away, but Andrea himself knew that he couldn’t threaten Arpan with this.
I get it. The upper body was already almost scattered to powder, and the life in the pupils had faded .
Just before immortality was accomplished, Arpan drew his last breath .
“ By the way… you said you were taking the spoils from me… ?”
“ Shut up! It’s not that important right now …”
Arpan didn’t show any reaction to Andrea’s words, as if he had already lost his hearing. It was just a matter of continuing what he had to say .
“ He who wants to gain… must be prepared to lose… Now you will gain powerful power… When entering the dungeon… What I gave to Andrea… I will retrieve it …”
At first I couldn’t understand what he was saying. Andrea frowned and tilted her head. But at some point, the conversation I had with Arpan the last time we met came into my mind like lightning .
‘… I’m sure you’re not trying to say something crazy about stealing or getting rid of the card, right ?’
‘ No way. Unless I die, that won’t happen .’
Andrea’s face turned an earthy color. It was clear what Arpan was talking about .
A blessing from Arpan that can be received by those who enter the dungeon. Andrea had previously received it as a very special card .
“ I’m not too mean… I’m sure you’ve grown fond of me in the meantime… I’ll give you a chance to say goodbye… at least once. Khehehehe …”
A mean laugh rang out. The laughter that no longer cared about his own death continued until Arpan lost his mouth and could not make a sound .
Arpan was eventually turned into powder and scattered into the air. Even though the presence had completely disappeared, the disturbing air left behind by the guide was still thick .
Andrea took a card from the deck with trembling hands .
‘No , please… This nonsense …’
Forebodings always don’t go astray .
Andrea took off her gauntlet and rubbed the card wildly. However, the new three-letter mark never disappeared from the card. Andrea looks down at the card in a stunned state .
‘[ Unique] Summon Marco +++ (3 cost): One-time, summons Marco, a hero from Helios .’
‘ Summon Marco’ has been changed to a card that can only be used once .
Arpan took the worst revenge and faced immortality .
＜ 19. Arpan’s Burnt Offering (8) ＞ End
It’s not like there is a lot of battles left…