Everyone Thought Seol Ara's Neck Was Broken
Everyone thought Seol Ara's neck had snapped. But what had actually broken was Esperona's wrist.
Thud.
"Cough! Gasp."
Seol Ara, freed from her grip, rubbed her reddened throat. At that moment, another Esperona materialized out of thin air.
The sudden appearance of two Esperonas threw everyone into chaos.
"What the hell are you doing?"
The newly arrived Esperona asked. The one who'd been trying to kill Seol Ara smirked.
"Things were just getting fun."
In an instant, static crackled around her entire body with a fizzing sound, followed by noise distortion. Her form shifted.
Short stature, red skin. Sharp teeth and black horns sprouting from her forehead. The impostor's true identity was an imp.
Esperona looked down at it like it was worthless vermin.
"Want me to kill you? Jagonya."
The imp called Jagonya flicked its pointed tail like a slithering snake, creepy as hell.
As it extended its right hand sideways, a red trident appeared. Gripping it, the imp aimed at Esperona.
"You got the skills for that?"
"Yeah."
Esperona and Jagonya confirmed the golden flowers blooming in each other's hearts. These were special energy clumps called Shin-gi, proving their demigod bloodlines.
The size of this Shin-gi determined the extent of a demigod's power.
The flowers growing in their cores were evenly matched.
"When did your flower grow this big? Back when you first took over here, it was the size of mouse shit."
Jagonya asked, genuinely surprised.
"So, you doing this or not?"
Anger laced Esperona's voice as sparks crackled around her.
The dungeon dwellers groaned under her suddenly ferocious aura.
"Ugh!"
"Grk!"
"C-can't... breathe...!"
Seol Ara shouted urgently upon seeing this.
"Esperona! Stop it! Someone's gonna die!"
At her words, Esperona's rampaging energy instantly subsided.
"Wow~ A dungeon guard who actually listens to the bugs? Impressive."
"Dungeon guards are supposed to follow the rules."
"So you were following the rules?"
"Yeah."
"Didn't look like it to me."
Jagonya's sharp nail suddenly appeared right in front of Esperona's red eyes. The movement was too fast to track visually.
He grinned wickedly, keeping the tip just a hair's breadth from gouging her eyeball.
"Your eyes are twitching a bit?"
"Probably 'cause you're shaking your damn head."
Jagonya stared straight into Esperona's eyes.
"This ain't the look of a merchant treating her as merchandise. It's the eyes of an owner worried about her slave."
"Bullshit."
"Same with that bitch earlier."
The nail hovering before Esperona's eyes shifted to point at Seol Ara.
"You knew I wasn't really gonna kill her, right? Just messing around, but you still snapped my wrist."
"Didn't break your neck, though."
"You were pissed, weren't you?"
"Wouldn't you get mad if someone touched your toy without permission?"
"Looked more like an owner watching someone torment her pet."
"You done talking?"
Jagonya curled his lips into a sneer.
"...Those bugs raised their affinity with you, huh?"
"If you're just gonna yap, fuck off. If you're staying, let's move. This is annoying—decide quick."
Jagonya chuckled, and the trident in his hand vanished.
"Nah, just came to check something."
"..."
Esperona made no effort to hide her utter exhaustion. But Jagonya didn't care one bit.
"One of the heroes' souls that died in my dungeon suddenly vanished."
"..."
Esperona closed her eyes like she didn't want to hear it.
"Tracked it here."
"..."
Now deeming it unworthy of even listening to, she dropped her head.
"Gotta check what went down here."
"Snore... Zzz."
"...Sleeping? Hey, you bitch."
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, Esperona's thrusting hand seized Jagonya's throat.
"Done barking?"
"Yeah. Now I gotta sniff around and dig a bit."
"I'll allow barking in front of my yard. But no other bullshit."
"Guess I'll have to report to the Creator then."
"Do it, asshole."
"...You always this potty-mouthed?"
"Picked it up. Dickhead."
"From where?"
"Koreans."
The countless people from Earth's worlds steadily kidnapped into dungeons. Among them, Koreans stood out for their diverse, colorful, and admirably high-level profanity.
Waking occasionally from sleep to check on the dungeon, Esperona always found Korean curses the most intense and punchy. They elevated swearing to an art form—unity of self and swear, a perfect whole.
Esperona had found it secretly amusing, never imagining she'd use it herself.
Jagonya, staring at her intently, warned.
"Mind letting go of my neck?"
"Nope."
"Payback for choking that bitch earlier?"
He meant Seol Ara.
"They're my property. I break what's mine."
"Can't even touch 'em with your remaining hand? Heh heh. But hey."
Jagonya licked his lips greedily. His blood-red eyes rolled toward Seol Ara.
"Saw something fun in that bitch's body too."
The power proving demigod descent. A golden flower bud. He meant the Shin-gi.
"Here's the deal."
"No."
"...Haven't even said it. Listen. I won't make a fuss in your dungeon. In exchange, I take that bitch."
"Fuck off."
"A soul from my dungeon is stuck here. So you gotta give one back to break even."
"Didn't bring it myself."
As Esperona kept stonewalling, the smile vanished from the imp's face. His eyes bulged like they might pop out, mouth gaping wide.
His lips stretched to his earlobes. Jagged fangs protruded from the cavernous maw.
Now a perfect demonic visage, Jagonya bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Bullshit! If not you! Then who! How! Pulled this off! You saying those bugs did it?!"
"No."
"Exactly...!"
"But maybe."
"...?"
Jagonya figured Esperona was mocking him.
"Talking to a brick wall. Wasted time."
The next instant, his fiendish face was right in Seol Ara's. Near-instant teleport speed left no time to react as he unhinged his jaw like a snake to swallow her head whole.
But—
Shhht—
Suddenly, both Jagonya and Esperona vanished.
"...What just happened?"
Kim Jung-min said, legs trembling. In his arms lay Duduk-i, half-unconscious.
Ishihara Yui approached unsteadily and poked Duduk-i's nose.
"It's out cold."
"Yeah. Couldn't handle the monster's aura spiking at the end..."
"Jagonya. That was his name."
"From what I overheard, seems like he's a guard managing another dungeon."
When tough questions arose, all eyes turned to one person: Pierre.
Arms crossed in thought, he spoke.
"Looks related to Han Ji-woo unlocking the constellation system."
Mitchell nodded in agreement.
"My constellation, Blancsia, said the guard of her dungeon as a hero was indeed Jagonya. She died there, tried to move on to the afterlife, but for some reason couldn't leave. Then some strange force drew her here, making her a constellation... That's probably why Jagonya showed up raging."
In short, dungeon dead couldn't even achieve spiritual peace—they were bound.
This didn't feel too alien to those remaining. They'd already witnessed Andra, thought dead, revived as a monster.
-By the way, that Esperona~ Didn't she kinda look like she was protecting us~?
Kayla glanced around as she spoke. Some faces were puzzled, others flatly denied it.
But.
"Yes. Definitely."
Seol Ara answered with conviction.
Pierre offered a counter.
"To me, it seemed less like helping and more like 'don't touch my stuff.'"
* * *
The scenery shifted abruptly, leaving Jagonya without his target. He kicked off the ground, lunging at Esperona.
But stone pillars shot from all sides, encasing him.
Crunch! Grind!
Trapped inside the thick pillars, Jagonya growled, baring his teeth.
"Right. Forgot this is your dungeon for a sec."
Dungeon guards were gods in their domains. A mere thought bent the dungeon to their will.
Jagonya surveyed the area. An unknown altar and massive tombstones atop jagged rocks. This was Dungeon Floor 13, site of the fateful draw and Andra's death.
"We doing more here? Annoying— just leave."
Esperona pleaded sincerely.
But Jagonya ignored it, asking incredulously.
"Why not eat that bitch? Don't want her Shin-gi? Killing a puny human's easier than yawning. Devour her, grow your own."
"Against the rules."
"Dungeon guards can't harm participating heroes directly? Ha! Break a stupid rule, so what? Take the penalty. Worth it to boost your Shin-gi."
"And?"
"Why didn't you eat her, you idiot?!"
"Might as well eat you and take the penalty—better deal."
Rooooar—
Fiercer than before, energy erupted from Esperona.
Rumble rumble crack!
Snap.
Jagonya's head spun like a top, detaching from his body.
Esperona crushed it underfoot and murmured lowly.
"Next time, the real you."
"Knew it, huh?"
His voice came from behind her as the headless corpse dissolved into black smoke.
Jagonya had created an illusion the moment they teleported to Floor 13 to fight her.
Esperona had seen through it from the start.
Fluttering tiny wings, he hovered midair with a grin.
"Can't beat you here, obviously. I'll head out. But if those heroes really stole my dungeon soul, better fix it quick."
Leaving light advice, Jagonya departed the dungeon.
Esperona stared at where he'd been.
"...I know, asshole."
She cursed.
Not that she didn't know—she was too lazy to act.
* * *
At the same time, in Hidden Space, Han Ji-woo was...
"The moment of truth—chicken porridge! Sound the fanfare!"
Having finished the boiled chicken, he danced gleefully while simmering the porridge.
Blissfully unaware of the dungeon drama, he reveled in the savory aroma tickling his nose.
"Yo-ho-ho-ho~! Delicious chicken porridge! Killer chicken porridge! Made from a chicken that was once someone's parent, sibling, child...!"
"Shut up!"