I Don't Want to Die Again

The arrow left Ryona's bow in the blink of an eye. It punched into Ivan's skull, and he crumpled where he stood. The dead fairy dissolved into light and vanished.

"...Tsk."

Watching the scattered motes of light, Ryona clicked her tongue, a bitter taste lingering in her mouth. She had killed plenty of people and fairies under her master's orders. People never bothered her — but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠killing a fairy always left her feeling hollow.

It was kinship. Fairies would gladly throw their lives away for their masters. If she had been in Ivan's place, she would have done exactly the same.

"Well then..."

Ryona turned her gaze on the man holding a sword and shield — Alan Han. Unlike when she had killed Ivan, a smile now played at the corners of her mouth. Killing a fellow fairy left a bitter aftertaste. Killing a human, on the other hand, was actually enjoyable.

"Huh? What's this? Running away?"

Alan had seen Ivan die and was already fleeing toward the unregistered dungeon. Ryona drew another arrow to put him down.

The bowstring stretched taut, and the arrowhead burst into flame.

A fire arrow streaked toward Alan's back as he bolted for the dungeon.

"Ghk!"

"Oh-ho?"

As if he had known the arrow was coming, Alan twisted his body and caught it on his shield. The wood cracked — but he kept his life. He vanished into the dungeon.

"Not bad. Hey, Princess. Tell me about that man."

"...He's level 5. Class is Swordsman."

Humiliation flickered across Princess Prisia's face at being addressed like a subordinate. But Ryona was Hwaryongwang's fairy, and more to the point, Ryona was the one holding all the cards. Prisia told her what she knew about Alan.

"A mere level 5 blocked my arrow? He really is something."

Ryona's expression shifted to genuine surprise. A 1-star — and only level 5 at that — had not only anticipated the incoming shot but actually managed to stop it.

A fine tree showed its quality from the first sprout. If he grew well from here, he would become a fairly useful Master.

"What's it going to be, Aquaril? Should I kill him, or will you?"

Which was exactly why he had to die. Someday, he could become a threat to Hwaryongwang.

Princess Prisia and Prince Bison could be controlled just fine. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠A Master you could control made a good soldier — no, a very useful one. But three was a problem.

Hwaryongwang had six fairies, yet only two of them operated in the field: Ryona and Aquaril, both standing here now.

"...I'll go."

At Ryona's question, Aquaril followed Alan into the dungeon. No matter how promising the sprout, it was worthless if it never grew to maturity. Aquaril was the strongest of Hwaryongwang's six fairies. With her on his trail, Alan was already a dead man.

"Shall we head back too? Master will be so pleased to see you."

"....."

Leaving Alan to Aquaril, Ryona returned to Indigo with Princess Prisia.

"Ghk... Fuck..."

Clutching my left arm, I wrung out every last drop of strength I had and ran deeper into the dungeon. The hit had been so brutal that even a clean block with the shield had transferred the shock straight through to my arm. My left arm buzzed and throbbed, and cold sweat broke out across my skin.

The shield...

I stopped just long enough to confirm no one was right behind me, then looked at the shield with the arrow still buried in it. The impact point was charred black, and cracks spiderwebbed out in every direction.

This is done for.

I tilted the shield, and broken splinters of wood pattered to the ground. A shield in this condition wouldn't stop even a single attack.

So what now?

I had ducked into the dungeon to escape dying on the spot, but I couldn't see a way out. Best-case scenario, Hwaryongwang's fairies would give up and leave — except they had killed Ivan without a second's hesitation. They were not about to let me walk.

"Haa... Prisia, you goddamn bitch. I will pay you back for this."

I never thought she would surrender right then and there. And that woman — no, that dog of a bitch — had surrendered even knowing her own fairy would die for it.

"Judging by Ivan's reaction, he knew he was going to die... which means this wasn't the first time, was it?"

Prisia had clearly known that surrendering wouldn't get her killed by Hwaryongwang's fairies. Otherwise she never would have given up that easily. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Something like this had happened before, and Ivan had died then too.

"All that crap about vassals, and she throws me away this easily? Fucking bitch."

I was pissed at the fairy named Ryona who had tried to kill me, but I was even more pissed at Prisia.

Of course, if I had been in her position, I would have made the exact same call. When it comes down to it, my own life is what matters most. But I was the one getting screwed, so instead of understanding her, all I felt was a rage I couldn't swallow.

"What now?"

Everything I had was Gold — useless in this situation — a 1-star Iron Sword, a shield one hit from falling apart, a flashlight, and the sandwich and water a soldier had handed me before I entered the dungeon.

"This is hard mode for real."

I had nothing. My abilities were garbage. The enemies were two 2-star fairies. No matter how hard I turned it over, I could not find a way through.

Footsteps echoed in the distance. Thud. Thud. Thud.

"...Could you give me a minute to think, you fucking pieces of shit."

I stood up with a bitter smile. Holding the rest of it wouldn't do me any good, so I kept only the shield and the flashlight in my hands and stuffed everything else into my inventory. Then I ran deeper into the dungeon again.

I had zero intention of dying quietly.

If I stopped, my pursuer would catch me in no time, so I kept sprinting through the dungeon without rest.

They haven't respawned. Should I call that lucky?

I had wiped out every last regular monster earlier, so the dungeon was completely empty. If this were a game, they would have popped right back. This was reality, though, and nothing had come back yet. Thanks to that, I could put everything I had into running.

Almost there.

I ignored the guidance window that flickered up in front of my eyes and kept going, and before long I reached the end of the cave. The chamber of the E-rank dungeon's boss monster. I hadn't killed the boss earlier, so the thing was still sitting in there, perfectly intact.

Let's rest here for a bit.

Whoever had come after me, I needed to claw back even a scrap of stamina. I leaned my back against the wall, wiped away the sweat pouring off me, and dragged air into my lungs.

Who came after me?

Sending both 2-star fairies would have been a waste. One of them had come. I hoped it was Ryona. Aquaril was the strongest Master or fairy I had run into since arriving in this world.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

...They're here.

Footsteps echoed from the passage I had come through. In case it was Ryona, I killed the flashlight. She might put an arrow through the light.

Thud. Thud. Then they stopped.

The fairy approaching through the dark had sensed me hiding and halted.

"Surrender. I will kill you painlessly."

Oh, fuck. This is really goddamn awful.

At the beautiful voice I had never heard before, my face crumpled. The only fairy whose voice I didn't know was Aquaril.

Hoo... Calm down. Even if Ryona had come, it would still be the worst-case scenario. I just need to stick to the plan.

I crouched low and called toward her.

"I'll surrender if you let me live."

"I cannot. My Master has ordered that anyone who raids a dungeon without authorization is to be beheaded."

"Then what about that dog-fucking bitch Prisia?! She raided the dungeon without authorization too!"

"She must live for the sake of Indigo."

"Then what about me?!"

"Your survival would be of no benefit to Indigo."

"You fucking bitch?"

I shouted like I had snapped at being dismissed, but I was calmer than I had ever been in my life. If I lost it here, I was going straight to the afterlife. I had already died once. I did not want to die again.

Fairies are absolutely loyal to their Masters. In that case...

"Hwaryongwang, you son of a bitch!"

"...? What did you just say?"

"Hwaryongwang, you worthless piece of shit!"

"...How dare you insult my Master!"

Just as I expected, she bit immediately. Honestly, I had prepared taunts all the way up to level 10, so I was a little thrown that she went off at level 1.

Just a little more. I needed her coming after me for sure.

"I saw Hwaryongwang's dick and it was tiny as fuck! First time I laid eyes on it I thought it was a pubic hair, not a cock! How the hell is a man's dick as thin as a hair? And it's all crooked too! He's not the Fire Dragon King — he's the Thread-Dick King!"

"You miserable bastard! I'll kill you right now!"

"Kill me if you can! That won't change the fact that your Master's the Thread-Dick King!"

As expected, nothing provoked a fairy like insulting her Master. Enraged, Aquaril charged through the darkness to kill me.

"Flashbang, you fuck!"

"Kgh?!"

I flicked the flashlight on and put the beam right in her face. I had guessed her position from the footsteps, and I nailed it dead-on. Lucky.

A flashlight wasn't going to kill Aquaril. Naturally, her Danger Sense (Normal) skill didn't trigger. I kept the light on and ran into the boss chamber so she could follow.

A hiss tore through the chamber. I confirmed the boss's position, killed the flashlight, rolled hard to the side, and crawled along the floor so I wouldn't make a sound.

"Where are you hiding?! Come out! You will pay for insulting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my Master!"

Aquaril stormed into the boss chamber right behind me. The darkness of the dungeon was a godsend. If it had been bright in here, something terrible would have happened to me.

A long, low hiss uncoiled through the dark.

"...Hm? That sound..."

Aquaril's racket finally stirred the boss into motion. Sensing something was wrong, she went silent.

A heavy impact. Then Aquaril's grunt, right on top of it. The boss had started attacking.

"This is... the boss monster! Ghk!"

Sparks leapt in the darkness — Aquaril's sword striking the boss's scales.

Holy shit. Sparks from hitting a sword? How hard are those scales?

"Die!"

The sparks started flying twice as fast. She had used Swift Sword (Normal), the skill that doubled her attack speed.

Something snapped. The boss shrieked in pain. One of the horns on its head, I figured.

"Haaaah... What?! Kyaah!"

Heavy impacts shook the chamber, one after another.

What the hell is even happening in there?

Having to piece together the entire fight from sound alone was maddening.

Should I turn on the flashlight?

Darkness favored the boss. A human couldn't see a thing in here, but a snake-form boss could sense objects by body heat. It could probably see me just fine.

Aquaril's busy with the boss... Yeah. Let's try it.

I stood up slowly and pointed the flashlight toward the noise.

"Ghhh! Die...!"

The boss's hiss filled the room.

"...Oh, fuck."

Aquaril was locked in a desperate struggle with the boss monster. Its long body had coiled around her, constricting hard. She was holding back its jaws with her arm and her sword as it tried to swallow her headfirst. Her face was flushed red enough to burst.

If I could kill both of them right now...

Greed flickered through me for a second. If I could drop those two, the experience would be enormous. My level would shoot straight up.

...Have you lost your mind, Gibung-i? When whales fight, the shrimp gets crushed.

Putting myself between those two monsters would be suicide. I was the weakest thing in this room. I crushed the greed and started walking toward the exit.

I couldn't leave. An invisible wall that had not been there when I walked in now sealed the way out.

Of course. That's just my luck.

In the end, I had no choice. I had to kill them both.

How should I... Huh?

I figured I would watch how Aquaril and the boss were fighting first. But she was a far stronger fairy than I had given her credit for.

A final, tearing hiss. A heavy collapse.

"You've got to be kidding me."

In that brief span of time, somehow, Aquaril had killed the boss. Her sword had punched through the roof of its mouth. With its brain turned to pulp, the boss let out a death cry and went still.

"Hah... hah... You..."

Breathing hard, Aquaril locked her eyes on me. She looked every bit like the goddess of death herself.

Can I kill her?

She wasn't in good shape either, though. Her left arm hung limp like it was broken, and she could barely stay on her feet, swaying where she stood. Blood was smeared thick around her mouth.

"...Even if I can't, I have to find a way. I didn't come this far just to die."

I pulled the Iron Sword from my inventory and wrapped my hand around the hilt.

"I'll kill you!"

Aquaril roared like a wounded beast. Fuck. That was terrifying.