One Core Per Undead Bastard

I pointed to the corpses littering the area and spoke toward the Self-Proclaimed Saint, who was watching us from somewhere.

"One core per undead bastard here. With this many, it should be enough to revive Eden's leylines, right?"

We'd hunted down at least a hundred of them, no less, so we'd secured that many purple cores too. I figured it was a pretty decent haul.

"Not enough?"

Seeing the saint's message etched in the air, I couldn't help but clench my fist ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in triumph. If she'd said it wasn't enough, things would've gotten annoying, but this was a relief.

"Okay, half it is."

…Putting everything else aside, the grind just got way easier. Total win.

I was gazing proudly at the pile of loot when—

The next string of text appeared, and I just gave a subtle smile without saying a word.

It was just plain chat text, no indirect emotional descriptors or anything…

For some reason, I could clearly feel the saint's admiration for me in that moment.

"Be there soon, Saint."

With that short exchange, a message announced the saint's departure. We could catch up more in Eden later. For now, my focus was clearing this place.

Did I do that? I don't remember, so it must've been ages ago. From Mom's perspective, that version of me probably looked adorable.

…But still.

"Isn't it kinda weird to get nostalgic over this…?"

I ripped open a rotting undead's skull with my hand, dug out the core lodged inside like a brain, and muttered. Sometimes I just couldn't understand my mom…

Anyway. That made seventy cores extracted.

'The saint said half would do, but whatever.'

Just in case, I grabbed twenty extra. Better too many than too few.

I stood before the neatly arranged purple cores on the ground. And…

Whoooosh!

I activated Igor's Necklace, sucking them all into my subspace like a vacuum cleaner in one go.

Perfect. Now I could ditch the pressure of farming purple cores and focus purely on conquering the dungeon—stress-free(?).

I was pondering our next move based on Jayden's interview when—

Mom suddenly sent that message, making a huge fuss. Why didn't she think of it?

What was "this" idea anyway—

"Huh…?"

Wait a sec.

"…You're right?"

Why hadn't I thought of that? Was the scale of the idea just too massive?

'Theoretically possible.'

Full Moon Canyon was definitely a "living" monster. Meaning I could recognize it as an "enemy." And Pandora's Box analyzed enemies' weaknesses and summoned the optimal weapon against them.

No reason it wouldn't work. Worth a shot.

"Guess I'm not there yet."

Mom had just thought of it herself…

Whatever. I shifted my perception, viewing the vast canyon landscape in my sight not as a "place," but as the "enemy" I had to face.

Recalling how it'd nearly killed me the moment I crossed the gate made my blood boil naturally—no effort needed.

Once I felt it was enough, I opened Pandora's Box.

"No way… it actually works?"

'Yeah, it does.'

As if affirming it, the box's zipper flew open, pouring out brilliant light.

…Honestly, I couldn't even imagine. What weapon would emerge against this ridiculously vast canyon?

Curiosity swelled into actual excitement. But then—pop.

"Huh…?"

As if mocking my expectations, something tiny and modest popped out of the bag—no, the box.

I picked it up from the ground and frowned.

"This is…"

It looked like one of those bells from a memory game at first glance, but with a red button smack in the center. Kinda like a cartoon bomb switch…

"……."

…Nah, no way. But it sure looked like a bomb switch no matter how I sliced it.

It didn't take long for suspicion to harden into certainty. This was a bomb switch.

Couldn't agree more, Mom. Still time to back out.

I calmed myself and weighed my options carefully. The grueling slog of tackling the rest the conventional way—enough to choke me just thinking about it—versus solving it all with one bomb?

"…Viola."

No contest from the start.

I called out to Viola Dash, the American rep. One of her skills had popped into my head—perfect for this.

"Sorry, but could you cast Absolute Barrier once?"

"Pardon? Why all of a sudden…? Well, I can, but my stats are a mess right now, so I can't hold it long."

"How long?"

"About a minute… no, minute thirty?"

Ninety seconds? That should do. Absolute Barrier blocked 100% of any physical attack—top-tier defense.

Viola eyed me like Why the hell now?, but she'd understand soon enough.

"Cast it on my signal, and once it's up, everyone get inside the barrier."

Ignoring the rankers' puzzled stares, I looked back at the switch. After a brief hesitation, I moved my thumb toward the red button.

Press.

The tactile click wrapped around my finger the moment I pushed it. Then—zzzt. Zzzt-zzzt.

Sparks crackled overhead. At the same time, I noticed the surroundings染ing blood-red.

"Wh-what is that?!"

Xiao Lin yelped in horror, pointing skyward. I followed her finger, tilting my head up.

"…Oh my God."

I was speechless.

The majestic full moon hung in the night sky. And between it, the largest magic circle I'd ever seen unfolded.

Rumble—!

Something sleek and gray-green was emerging from beyond the circle, its massive bulk slowly revealed.

Even half-visible, we all knew what it was.

"That's not a nuke, is it?!"

Choi Kwang-hyun shouted wide-eyed for everyone. Like he said, it looked just like Little Boy—a nuke, no doubt. The design was too one-dimensionally atomic for anything else.

"…What, nuclear bad ending?"

Damn, this backpack was finally summoning nukes.

"Viola, Absolute Barrier!"

I didn't even signal, but Viola deployed it on sight. A 10-meter dome shield bloomed around her.

"E-everyone, inside the barrier! Hurry!"

"I have no idea what's going on! Why's a nuke popping out here?!"

"Better to fight a dragon! Damn it!"

Mega rankers or not, we're all helpless humans before a nuke. We scrambled into the Absolute Barrier.

I glanced at the nuke descending toward the ground and yelled to everyone.

"Everyone, cover your ears and close your eyes!"

Even if this translucent barrier nullified all shockwaves, it couldn't block the deafening roar or blinding flash when it detonated.

In our daze, we frantically plugged our ears with both hands and squeezed our eyes shut.

And finally—KABOOOOOM!!

A soul-shredding explosion roared through. Despite our precautions, my eardrums throbbed and my vision went white. Even safe inside the barrier, the ground seemed to quake.

Groooar…

As the blast faded, I slowly opened my eyes.

Witnessing the scene outside drained the blood from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my body.

"What have I done…?"

A mushroom cloud billowed beyond the horizon. The terrifying shockwave swept the entire canyon from ground zero. Flames engulfed the surface, and towering cliffs crumbled like buildings without pillars.

…Is this what they call a hell on earth?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"……."

I never dreamed I'd nuke today either, Mom…

To deal real damage to a living canyon, you need an impossibly wide-area attack. So the "optimal weapon" was a nuke…

My head got it, but common sense was screaming no—this felt so unbalanced.

Normally, you'd dive to the deepest layer, fight the massive serpent Uroboros guarding the canyon's heart, kill it, and destroy the heart to kill Full Moon Canyon.

But one nuke skipped all that…

Obviously, I wasn't the only one stunned.

"Whoa, tons of messages popping up? Says the heart's destroyed…"

"Wasn't it proven nukes don't work in dungeons? Modern weaponry."

"…A nuke from a magic circle ain't your standard nuke."

These guys had the composure to chat in this mess.

As I stared blankly at the mushroom cloud—

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