Merciful Hero Ethan: Medical Mushroom Evolves into an Egg

Kang Geon had Dog Spider-001's Medical Mushroom evolve into an egg. He stationed monsters to guard it, then took a small group and used the warp device to return to Hell.

The moment they arrived in Hell, Inferno greeted them. He'd apparently been waiting in front of the warp device the whole time.

"Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?"

After linking up with Inferno, Kang Geon pressed on with the question he'd been meaning to ask. What kind of monster managed Hell?

Inferno looked up at the sky and answered.

"Loves peace... Good thing he's harmless like a Solorb. But why are you looking up at the sky? Is the guy you're talking about up there or something?"

Kang Geon tilted his head back to look as well. Nothing floated in the sky.

"......"

"Don't worry. We won't attack unless they strike first. More importantly, what's the name of that demon you mentioned?"

Sublime Bone Find. The name rang a bell.

"Sublime Bone Find? Feels like I've heard it somewhere... Bone Find, Bone Find..."

He muttered the name under his breath. Then it hit him—a monster name from the past.

SSS-grade monster. Giant Bone Find.

The one he'd encountered when first dragged into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Ancient Labyrinth, the monster that killed Min Hyung-seok, the previous explorer.

Was the similar name just coincidence? Or maybe this one was connected to Giant Bone Find. Sublime Bone Find was probably SSS-grade too.

Common monsters might share names, but not SSS-grades.

To be sure, he asked Inferno.

"Inferno. Ever heard of a monster called Giant Bone Find?"

"Ran into it once before. Guess you know it too, from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your reaction."

"An avatar?"

A new fact came to light. Giant Bone Find was an extension of Hell's manager.

Sublime Bone Find was likely SSS-grade. Inferno said the avatar's power matched the original's.

Either way, they needed to stay low-key in Hell. Disrupting order could piss off Bone Find and cost their lives.

SSS-grades were unbeatable. The explorer trait nerfed them to S-grade, matching his risk level... but true power versus nerfed power were worlds apart.

Azeras's defeat by Giant Bone Find as an S-grade explorer proved it.

'As long as we don't draw attention, staying in Hell should be fine. He's harmless unless provoked, and even then, an apology might save us.'

Heading to the punishment chamber, he asked about Ethan's crimes. He had a guess, but there might be more.

Inferno hummed, tapping his head with his fist to jog his memory.

Inferno turned to him and listed Ethan's sins: Betraying his kin and trying to destroy the world. Disrupting peace and order. Raping another man's woman. Indiscriminate killing for selfish desires. Abusing and murdering his own bloodline. Deceiving others for greed. Betraying comrades who trusted him...

The list poured out endlessly. Kang Geon shook his head and cut him off.

"...Enough. You can stop."

"Don't wanna hear it."

No need. Ethan was even worse than he'd thought.

By the time their chat wrapped up, they'd reached the punishment chamber. Whipra and the other jailers were still tormenting prisoners.

Whipra, grinning ear-to-ear while whipping a prisoner, spotted them. She strode over, tilted her head, squinted, and leaned in to sniff him up and down.

"...No."

He glanced at Ethan. His head was severed, but he wasn't dead. Prisoner bodies mimicked their living forms but were frail, unable to use full power—except for regeneration, which was top-tier. Tailored for endless torment; they didn't die easily. The body itself was a prison.

'That's why his risk level's F-grade.'

Before Ethan's body regenerated, he continued his interrupted talk with Whipra. He updated her on Kendorra, explained his connection to the prisoner Ethan.

Soul abduction was rare. Even grave sinners only came if the abduction succeeded. Not all sinners from every dimension ended up here—just the unlucky ones.

Thus, Ethan's comrades and other fallen heroes weren't around. Only Ethan got nabbed.

"G-Gauntlet?! I wasn't seeing things! It really is Gauntlet...!"

His body reformed, and upon spotting Kang Geon, Ethan yelled again.

"Gauntlet! You haven't forgotten me, right...? W-We were comrades once...! So don't just stand there—save me, please...!"

Ethan seemed unhinged. His breakdown had warped his memories of their history.

"I heard you got super strong, Gauntlet... Y-You could wipe out everyone here easy, right...? Please, save me... We're comrades...!"

Kang Geon ignored the desperate plea. No grudge, but no desire to help either.

Why save the trash who betrayed humanity and tried to doom Elemen西亚? Eternal torment suited him.

Whipra, hearing the story, exaggerated it to the other jailers. They perked up, handing over torture tools and temporary authority.

"Revenge is the sweetest pleasure!"

He hadn't suffered much, didn't crave revenge. But he accepted, avenging Ellis and Sage Lunaris in their stead.

Ethan was one of the fallen heroes who'd doomed Elemenシア, personal beef aside.

He picked up a red-hot iron and approached Ethan slowly. Ethan trembled, eyes wide with fear.

"G-Gauntlet? What're you doing...?"

"This is your fate. Accept it."

Reading Ellis and Sage's chat requests, he tortured Ethan methodically, without emotion.

"Gaaahhh!!! Gauntlet, Gauntlet...! You bastard, betraying your comrade—g-gaaahhh!!!"

"You're insane. We were never comrades. You're the one twisting memories."

The jailers, hyped at first, grew bored.

The mood soured—until his monsters stepped in.

Niara Nephensis, Kinogine Arachne, and the other Hell-crossing monsters surrounded Ethan with fury. They'd heard the story too.

Niara, Arachne, Princess, Iris—and the rest joined in tormenting Ethan.

"W-Wait, hold on... Gauntlet is my friend... Gaaahhh!!! S-Stop...! Aaaahhh!!!"

Unspeakable horrors ravaged Ethan's flesh. Agonized screams echoed through Hell's depths.

Art Pega Unicorn sketched amid the chaos—for a "Prisoner Compendium."

She handed over paper with a handsome, idealized Ethan—far from reality.