Chapter 177
Chapter 177
Ch. 177 .｡.:✧ The Trap (17) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Jill’s heart sank. The sight of Yoo-jin, covered in blood, made her chest ache.
“Huu…”
She rushed to his side, embracing him. His heartbeat was faint, weak. She wanted to lash out, to berate him, to demand an explanation for his injuries, but the urgency of the situation prevented her.
She would save her anger for later, after the battle, when she could sit him down and demand answers.
“We’re entering the dungeon.”
“…?!”
His words sent a wave of shock through the three women. It wasn’t just the decision to enter the dungeon, but the look in his eyes, the shift in his demeanor.
A steely resolve, a glint of determination. They knew him well enough to understand what he was planning.
“W-Why the dungeon?! The situation outside is more urgent, Yoo-jin!”
“The undead army…is it still inside the dungeon?”
“Yes…but there were too many of them. We abandoned the raid. We lost the Belphegor…”
“The undead army is their energy source. We have to neutralize them to stop this.”
“Ah…”
He gestured towards the four elementals advancing on Elvenguard, their power like a force of nature. Neutralize the undead army.
With the Saintess’s magical power depleted, eliminating the endlessly regenerating undead horde seemed like an impossible task, but the mere suggestion of a solution brought a flicker of hope to their faces.
Transylvania, however, remained grim. She understood what Yoo-jin’s words truly meant.
“Then we should enter the dungeon immediately-”
“No, Yerina. You stay outside and help evacuate the citizens, protect them from Luna’s attacks. I’m going in alone.”
“W-What…are you…saying? The curse…it activates when you enter the dungeon…”
“…”
Yoo-jin’s jaw tightened at Yulia’s words. She was right. And that curse…was precisely what he was counting on. Yulia’s eyes widened as she realized his plan.
“N-No! No! Yoo-jin, don’t…!”
“I have to.”
“What are you talking about? What do you mean, no?”
“He’s saying he’s going to freeze to death in the dungeon with the undead army.”
“…!”
Yulia’s tears flowed as she clutched Yoo-jin’s sleeve. Transylvania, exasperated, explained the situation to Jill and Yerina, their faces paling in understanding.
He was going to use their curse, the curse born from their resentment, their possessiveness, their obsession, against them. And not only that, he was willingly walking into a death trap.
They had just exchanged confessions of love, promises of a future together…why was he now talking about sacrificing himself?
Their minds understood, but their hearts refused to accept it.
“I’m not going to die. I just met…someone…in the underworld…and received a bit of power. I’ll use it to capture Luna. When I enter the dungeon, the curse will activate, freezing everything inside, including the undead army. Without the undead army, Luna’s Transcendent Being will be useless. He’ll have to enter the dungeon to kill me. And that’s when I’ll use the power I received to…exorcise him.”
A sharp pain shot through Yoo-jin’s head as he tried to mention the God of the Underworld. He could speak his name, but the god seemed to disapprove.
He decided to use a vague term instead. Even the word ‘exorcise’ wasn’t entirely accurate, but explaining the intricacies of a dimensional rift to the underworld, the God of the Underworld’s true form, and the capture of Luna’s spirit was too complicated.
“And then…you’ll come back? You’ll return to us?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have confessed if I intended to die.”
Jill’s lips trembled.
Yoo-jin’s rough hand gently cupped her cheek, its warmth comforting, yet she felt a chilling cold emanating from him, a deathly aura she couldn’t explain.
“You’ll freeze to death if you stay in there too long. Are you sure Luna will return to the dungeon?”
“He has to. He poured all his power into creating the Transcendent Being. Without the undead army, it’s useless. He has no choice.”
“Huu…Okay. I understand. Then let’s go.”
“What?”
“Let’s go together. The others might not be able to handle it, but I have some resistance to the cold. It’s my resentment, after all.”
“…”
Yerina stretched, then stepped in front of Yoo-jin, extending her hand. Yoo-jin was speechless.
How could he dissuade her?
He took her hand.
“The people outside are in danger. They’re confused, they don’t know where to go. Elvenguard can’t protect them all-”
“I don’t care! You’re a hundred, a thousand times more important to me! I don’t care if you think I’m cruel or heartless! I’m terrified of you dying…!”
“I won’t die. Don’t worry. The moment I enter, the undead army will freeze, and Luna’s Transcendent Being will be weakened, easy to exorcise. If I die, it’ll be because I’m trapped in the dungeon, frozen. Then you can come and rescue me.”
“…!”
“Thirty minutes. After the elementals stop their attack, after Luna’s Transcendent Being returns to the dungeon, wait thirty minutes. If I don’t come out, come and get me.”
She had thought his gaze was filled with the resolve of a man accepting death, but looking closer, she saw a burning desire to live. He wanted to survive, more than anything.
That’s why he was willing to walk into a death trap. He wanted to save the world, to live in peace with the ones he loved. He had to risk death to live.
“Huu…Okay…”
Yerina relented, biting her lip. Knowing he wasn’t giving up, she couldn’t stop him.
A drop of blood trickled down her chin, and Yoo-jin gently wiped it away, then kissed her, his lips soft against hers.
“Hmm…”
It was sudden, but not unwelcome. She returned the kiss, tears welling in her eyes.
When their lips parted, the bleeding had stopped.
“Yulia. I’m entrusting this to you.”
“W-What?! The sword? Why…?”
“It’s special. It’s made of the Belphegor’s demonic energy. Studying it might help you track him down.”
“N-No! I don’t want it! Give it back to me when you come out!”
“Please, just take it. I’ll be back. I’ll come back alive. You can return it to me then. Okay?”
“Huu…”
He pressed the sheathed Demonic Sword into her hands, despite her protests. The thought of him not returning, the thought of this being a final farewell…she hated it.
It felt like a curse. But his mind was made up. Her pleas and tears wouldn’t change that. She had learned that lesson the hard way. She accepted the sword.
“You’ll come back.”
“I promise…I will…”
He hugged her, kissing her forehead. She sobbed, her face buried in his chest, as if trying to leave a mark on him, and he on her.
Jill watched silently, then, as Yoo-jin caught her eye, he smiled and approached her.
“Yoo-jin…can I be honest?”
“Please.”
“Even if the world ends, I want to be with you. Even if you’re the only one who can save it, I just…want to hold your hand and watch it burn. But…that’s…selfish, isn’t it…? A Saintess shouldn’t…think like that…”
Tears streamed down her face as she clutched his shirt, then turned away, as if ashamed of her tears. He stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Huu?!”
“Of course. I would feel the same. We’re not…extraordinary people. We want to avoid danger, to pursue happiness. It’s only natural.”
“Yes…I’m just…a selfish woman…blessed with undeserved talent…”
“And I’m a cowardly man…cursed with a terrible fate.”
“So…”
“Therefore…”
“…we have to do this…? Pretend to be extraordinary…?”
“Yes.”
‘Jill and I…we’re ordinary.’
We were simply born with unusual circumstances and fates. Shortsighted, petty, selfish, greedy…we were just ordinary people.
Jill wore a mask, striving to be the benevolent Saintess, hiding the envy and jealousy within.
Now, it was his turn. He had always been a coward, seeking shortcuts and easy solutions. But today, he had to face death, for himself, and for his women.
“I’ll be back.”
“Yes…I’ll wait…”
He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent, then pulled away. Transylvania, who had been standing back, approached him.
“Would you like me to accompany you? I doubt my presence will help with the evacuation. They’ll probably be more scared of me than the elementals.”
“You bastard…you’re going to let your women freeze, but not me? Fine, I’ll escort you.”
“I’m kidding. Just look after Jill and Yulia. I’ll be really mad if they’re hurt when I come back.”
“Very well. I can’t refuse a request from my…friend.”
Transylvania smiled, shaking his hand. A silent understanding passed between them, and he finally turned away, then hesitated, turning back to shout,
“I’ve never regretted meeting you! And I’ll make sure you don’t regret meeting me either! I love you!”
And with that, he ran towards the dungeon, not waiting for a reply. He would hear their answers later, after everything was over.
“…Why…didn’t you…ask me…if I wanted to…come with you…?”
Undecided asked, running beside him. He hadn’t forgotten her. Her face lit up at his reply.
“You’re always where I am, and I’m always where you are. Why? Do you not want to go?”
“…No…you’re…right.”
Two souls, one mind. They no longer needed words.
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[The monsters in this dungeon have been empowered by Saintess Jill’s blessing.]
[The monsters in this dungeon have gained a weak poison effect due to Witch Yulia’s curse.]
[The temperature in this dungeon has decreased due to Frost Duchess Yerina’s resentment.]
“As expected…”
Crack!
Frost spread beneath my feet as I entered the dungeon. The air chilled instantly, my breath fogging in the air. The timer had started.
I exchanged a nod with Undecided, and we began our descent.
“Ignore the undead!”
“…Okay!”
The undead horde swarmed us, but they were too slow, their movements sluggish from the chilling cold that permeated the dungeon.
We navigated the treacherous path, easily bypassing the frozen undead, and reached the second level.
“My prediction was correct.”
I could sense the demonic energy being drawn from the undead, flowing out of the dungeon. I couldn’t stop it, my skills as a curse user too rudimentary.
Even Guiho or Sogong wouldn’t be able to stop it. Luna’s Transcendent Being was at the pinnacle of necromancy and curse magic.
I gave up on stopping the flow of demonic energy and continued my descent, cutting down the undead that blocked my path with my old sword.
The severed limbs twitched, trying to reattach, but the cold kept them frozen in place. I weaved through the slow-motion horde of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of undead and reached the final chamber, the chamber where the dungeon core resided.
“Hmm?”
Something was wrong.
This…was just an ordinary mana stone. Even if the connection to the other world was severed, Luna’s unique dungeon should still be connected to him.
Then this…
“A decoy.”
I used clairvoyance to scan the area beneath the floor, revealing a hidden chamber. I blasted through the floor with telekinesis, revealing a large open space below. The real dungeon.
Luna’s altar, where he had forged the Transcendent Being.
“Belphegor’s already gone.”
The chamber was empty, save for the altar and a glowing dungeon core. I could destroy the fake core above, but this one had to remain intact.
The curse affecting me only worked within an active dungeon. If the core was destroyed, the cold would vanish.
“Is the freezing complete?”
The sounds of the undead scrambling above ceased. They were completely frozen, statues of ice. With the undead neutralized, the flow of demonic energy stopped.
Luna’s Transcendent Being was now a hollow shell. The elementals, freed from his control, would have stopped their attack.
I imagined Luna’s confusion, his frustration, and smiled, settling down on the altar.
“Come, Luna. It’s your turn to attack.”
“…Grrr.”
This dungeon might be a nightmare to raid, but it was the perfect fortress for defense. I exhaled a puff of white air, pulled Undecided close, and waited.
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