Victory and Betrayal
Kwaaaaaang—!
With a deafening roar that twisted space itself, the enormous shadow dangling from the ceiling plummeted to the floor. The entire cave shuddered as if struck by an earthquake.
Through the thick cloud of dust, its form emerged. A black body the size of a house. Dozens of thick tentacles coiled around it. A massive single eye embedded in its center gleamed as it stared down at us.
"Grraaaar..."
Every breath it exhaled released plumes of purple poison. The moment the toxin touched the solid rock floor, it sizzled and melted away with a sharp hiss. This was no ordinary monster. It was a living disaster.
In that instant, Adelia's pupils contracted to pinpricks.
This smell...
The acrid stench of acidic poison. The terror she thought had grown dull after 999 regressions stabbed up her spine and into her brain.
She remembered it. She couldn't recall which round it had been, but she had definitely faced this thing before.
She had been with her comrades then, just as she was now. The result had been horrific. The screams of her companions melting alive. The wet crunch of bones being chewed. Even she had dragged herself forward with her limbs torn off, closing her eyes in utter despair.
"Ah......"
Adelia's hand trembled faintly. The memory had been so horrifying that her mind had sealed it away. That was why she couldn't even remember how she had won. All that remained was the raw fear carved into her very bones.
But she was a hero. She could not let fear devour her and force her to her knees—not when the person she needed to protect stood behind her.
"Everyone scatter!!!!"
Adelia screamed until her throat felt like it would tear.
"If you stay together you'll die! One touch of its poison and it's over! Spread out now!"
Her desperate cry jolted the frozen party back to life. We instinctively bolted in every direction.
"This filthy creature... how dare it appear before me!"
Scarlet reacted first. Veins stood out on the hand gripping her staff. The pride of a genius crushed her fear.
"I'll show you my new magic!"
The stubbornness of a prodigy ignited. Blue sparks exploded wildly from the tip of her staff.
"Seventh Circle, Thunder Spear!"
Crack! Craaaack!
This was no ordinary lightning spell. It was a blue lance of thunder formed by spiraling and compressing mana to an extreme degree, granting it devastating physical penetration. Dozens of lightning spears rained down on the tentacle's main body like a storm.
Boom! Boom-boom—!
"Kyeeeeeeeek!"
The monster shrieked. The spears punched through its thick hide and detonated inside. Flesh charred and black blood sprayed.
"See that? This is the power of an Archmage—"
Just as Scarlet began to cheer,
Ssssss—
Black smoke rose from the monster's shredded flesh. Burned skin regenerated, torn chunks knit back together. Three seconds. That was all it took for the creature to return to perfect condition.
"No... that's impossible. What the hell is it?"
Scarlet's face drained of all color. To emerge completely unharmed after taking a direct Seventh Circle spell...
Shiiiing!
Having finished regenerating, it struck back. Purple mana condensed in its enormous eye before firing a beam with an earth-shaking roar.
"Scarlet! Move!"
Iris raised her bow. She instinctively drew on the Spirit King's power.
"Intermediate Spirit Summon, Grom (Earth)!" "Wall of Stone!"
Kwaaaang!
The rock spirit erupted and raised a massive barrier to shield Scarlet. But it crumbled like tofu before the S-class monster's toxic ray. The wall exploded, and the shockwave swallowed both women.
"Kyaaaaak!"
Scarlet slammed into the wall and vomited blood. The arm Iris had used to shield her twisted with a sickening crunch into an unnatural angle.
One minute into the fight, our damage dealers had been utterly neutralized.
This is bad. Normal attacks won't work.
I barely evaded the incoming tentacles with Illusion Dance Steps. A single graze would kill a C-class like me instantly.
That was when Adelia stepped forward.
"Get behind me."
Adelia leveled her greatsword horizontally. Her crimson eyes began to burn with golden light.
Vwoooong—!
The air grew oppressively heavy. SS-class. The Empire's ultimate fighting force. Aura erupted from her body, blasting the surrounding poison away.
"...Full power deployment."
She murmured the words.
"Super Strength Enhancement."
"Super Agility Enhancement."
"Super Vision Enhancement."
"Pain Nullification."
Fwaaaaah! Multiple buffs layered over her.
Her muscles screamed as they swelled and compressed. A forbidden doping that shattered human limits—possible only for a hero. To avoid repeating the past, she raised her power by staking her very life.
"Haaaaaaaap!"
She leaped. It was no ordinary jump. It was a burst of speed that seemed to fold space. The sword in her grip blazed with blinding light.
"Holy Sword Release." "Secret Art, Sword of Judgment That Cleaves Stars!!"
Slice—!
A flash like the world itself being split apart. Half the tentacle's appendages vanished in a single swing. It wasn't mere cutting; anything touched by that trajectory was simply erased by overwhelming force.
"Kyeeeeeeeek!"
The monster thrashed in agony. But it refused to die. Instead it went berserk, spraying toxic beams in every direction.
Pew pew pew pew!
"Ugh...!"
Adelia blocked them from the air with her sword, but a beam from her blind spot grazed her side.
Sizzle!
"Urk!"
Her armor melted. White skin charred black. A critical physical wound. Poison seeped into her bloodstream through the gash, slowing her movements.
"Huff... huff..."
She staggered on landing. Despair flickered through her eyes.
No... not again...?
I can't remember... How did I kill it? There was definitely a weakness...
Trauma paralyzed her mind. Scarlet was near unconscious, Iris's arm was broken, and even Adelia had reached her limit.
There has to be a way... there has to be...
I desperately ransacked my memories and dragged out a single line from the original novel.
The Abyssal Monster strategy... Adelia landed a single blow on the tentacle's inverted belly.
This is it!!
This snail-like bastard crawls on its belly.
"Adelia! The belly! Its weak point is the core in its belly!"
"What? The belly?"
"I saw it in a dream! I'm sure of it! We have to flip it over!"
There was no time for explanations. I took command immediately.
"Iris! Call the Spirit King! Flip the ground!" "Scarlet! Prepare Sixth Circle 'Reverse Gravity'!" "Priscilla! Draw its attention!"
My confident tone ignited the last embers of life in my battered companions.
"Uwaaaaaah! Fine, human! You owe me a feast after this!"
Iris clutched her broken arm and dropped to her knees. A colossal earth giant's illusion loomed behind her.
"Summon, Authority of the Earth Spirit King!" "Ground Overturn."
Rumble rumble rumble—!
Iris collapsed, coughing up a mouthful of blood. At the same moment the entire cave floor heaved upward. The tentacle's flattened bulk lost balance and floated into the air.
"Now, Scarlet!"
"Eat this! Reverse Gravity!!"
Scarlet shouted through bloodstained lips as she swung her staff. A violet wave of gravity erupted. The airborne monster flipped upside-down toward the ceiling, defying physics itself.
Its pale underbelly was exposed. And in the center, a red core pulsed. But dozens of defensive tentacles remained tightly coiled around it.
"I'll open the path!"
Priscilla shot forward. Her body spun like a drill.
"Drill Sting!"
Crunch! Craaaack!
With dazzling movements she tore through the defensive tentacles. The instant the core was laid bare—
"Adelia!!!"
"Haaaaaaaap!"
Adelia squeezed out her final reserves of aura and leaped.
"Holy Sword Secret Art Type Two, Star That Cleaves the Galaxy!!"
It looked like a golden meteor falling from the heavens. Her greatsword pierced straight through the monster's core.
Shuuuuck—!
The sound of the core shattering echoed through the cave.
Kyeeeeeeeek—!
The tentacle thrashed wildly, spraying poison everywhere. In its death throes, one of its thickest tentacles flew toward my head as I lost my balance landing.
"Roy!!!"
Adelia threw herself over me, shielding my body.
Thud!
"Ugh...!"
A heavy impact. Adelia crumpled into my arms. Her back armor had been completely shattered, and blood poured freely.
"No... Adelia!"
With shaking hands I pulled Yuriel's bracelet from my pocket. Brilliant holy power enveloped her.
Sizzle.
The wound closed, but the lethal poison that had reached her lungs and the severe mana exhaustion remained. She was already beyond fighting.
"Roy... thank... goodness..."
She smiled in relief as her red eyes slowly closed.
Thump.
She lost consciousness and went limp against me. The monster dissolved into ash, and silence fell over the cave.
"Fuck... haa..."
I collapsed to the floor, utterly spent. We had survived.
"Ugh... I really thought I was dead..."
Scarlet lay spread-eagle on the ground, sighing in relief. But she couldn't move a muscle due to mana backlash. Iris was on the verge of passing out from the pain of her shattered arm.
"Hey, human. Was that dream thing real? You're actually useful."
Iris forced a smile despite her pale face.
The peace that follows extreme battle. We looked at one another, ready to savor the joy of survival.
That was when it happened.
Swish.
A shadow approached silently behind Iris.
"Good work, everyone."
A gentle voice. It was Priscilla.
"Huh? Yeah, you too..."
The moment Iris began to turn her head—
Slice.
"......Huh?"
A red line appeared across Iris's throat. Her head, unable to react because of her injuries, flopped weakly to the side. Only then did a fountain of blood spray the ceiling.
Thud.
"Kyaaaaaaaak! I-Iris?!"
Scarlet screamed and tried to raise her staff, but her hand shook from mana depletion and she dropped it.
"What the hell are you—"
Stab!
Priscilla's dagger plunged straight into Scarlet's defenseless heart.
"You... what are you... glurk... hack..."
Scarlet collapsed, foaming blood at the mouth. In just two seconds. The already broken S-class members had been slaughtered without a chance to resist.
I couldn't believe my eyes. It felt too surreal.
"Pris... cilla...?"
Priscilla lightly flicked the blood from her dagger and walked toward me. She kicked the unconscious Adelia out of my arms.
"Ah, how annoying. It would've been easier if you'd all died together."
She smiled sweetly. That was why she had stayed out of sight during the fight. She was completely unharmed.
"You... who the hell are you..."
I tried to rise on trembling legs. I gripped the Guardian Dagger, but my mana-starved hands shook violently.
"Me? Hmm..."
She tilted her head, then slipped instantly into my embrace.
"Aww, have you already forgotten? We met before!♡"
With that chilling whisper—
Shluuuck.
A burning sensation bloomed in my abdomen. A cold blade drew a long, deep horizontal line across my stomach. The motion was ruthless, like cleaning a fish.
"......Ah?"
The pain arrived a heartbeat later. My belly had been opened. Something warm and soft spilled onto the floor against my will.
Plop. Splat. I watched my own innards tangle with the cave dust. The horrifying sensation of life draining away.
"Kr... glurk..."
Instinctively I reached out to catch what was falling. But blood and flesh slipped through my fingers. The thick metallic stench of blood assaulted my nose. Burning agony consumed my entire body.
"Uwa... aaa..."
Strength fled my legs. I collapsed, consciousness fading.
Priscilla crouched and stared into my eyes. Not a trace of guilt lingered in her gaze. Instead she narrowed her eyes, savoring my suffering.
"Oh my, Master Roy."
She wiped the blood from my cheek and whispered.
"This time you're really going to die, aren't you?"
It was blatant mockery—'I failed to kill you last time, but this time you'll definitely die.'
This fucking bitch. I'll kill you...
But my vision kept darkening. I wanted to rage, yet I had no strength left.
That was when Priscilla hummed a little tune and turned to collect the unconscious Adelia.
Crack—
The darkness on the cave ceiling rippled. Behind Priscilla. Before she could sense it, a pitch-black shadow opened its jaws.
"......?"
Priscilla froze. There was no presence, no killing intent. Yet primal terror seized her.
Trembling, she slowly turned. Her eyes widened in absolute horror.
"Ah..."
Crunch!!!
There wasn't even a scream.
The grotesque maw that burst from the darkness swallowed Priscilla's upper body whole. For an assassin who had slain an S-class monster and massacred her own comrades, the end was pathetically abrupt.
Crunch. Cruuunch. Crack.
The sound of bones being chewed echoed clearly. Priscilla's lower half convulsed, then collapsed in a spray of blood.
It was a living nightmare where the line between human and monster had dissolved. Overwhelming terror.
Ah...
The thing turned its head with the wet sound of chewing flesh and met my gaze. I lay dying, guts spilled across the floor. Its eyes were pure darkness.
It moved past me, heading toward the fallen Adelia.
Ah, no!
My body refused to move, but my soul screamed. Please, at least spare Adelia...
The instant its shadow engulfed her—
"Uwaaaaaaaaaah! No!!!!"
With my final desperate cry, the world went dark.