Unease

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"Kuooooh!"

A roar that could tear eardrums echoed through the vast corridor.

The system knew I was the Demon King, and so did I—but to the dungeon gargoyles, whose thought processes were strictly black-and-white, my identity as a Hero was apparently the bigger issue than my Demon King status.

Being a Hero didn't always give me the advantage.

I hadn't expected it to cause problems all the way up to acquiring skills from past regressions.

"I'm the Demon King! Why can't you recognize that?!"

Boom!

The shockwave from the massive gargoyle's swinging fist devastated the surroundings.

This place was designed for level 300+ me in the first place, stocked with these overwhelmingly powerful gargoyles.

Facing them now was like an egg smashing against a rock.

It suddenly hit me why I'd designated the dungeon gargoyles as the keepers of my skill vault.

Immense combat power, emotionless infinite war machines.

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Each one infused with vast dark energy capable of terraforming an entire planet.

"Kuooooh!"

Boom! Crash! Thud!

I hadn't even considered that they might see me—not their master—as an intruder, when I set them up.

'That means I can't even put up a fight right now.'

Of course, with dark energy, I could just rip it back from them.

But then I couldn't acquire skills from this dungeon in the next regression.

'Next... regression?'

I hesitated for a split second, and the gargoyle's fist came crashing down.

Boom!

"Whoa."

Dodging the gargoyle's fists here and there, I slipped into slight confusion.

Thinking about the "next" one was a habit from endless regressions, but this loop was different in so many ways.

My Luck was 999.

Contamination at 0.

And I'd awakened as a Hero.

'Will there even be a next...?'

Was I subconsciously assuming this loop would end with the world's destruction and another regression?

My brother's face lit up, smiling brightly when I became a Hero.

In that "next" loop, could I have Luck 999 again?

In that "next" loop, could I keep contamination at 0 again?

If not... I'd lose my brother all over again...

'Right! There shouldn't be a next.'

The moment I resolved myself, I stopped running and extended my hand toward the dungeon gargoyles.

The gargoyles, gleefully smashing the corridor while attacking me, froze in place.

Vrrrrm!

I pulled the dark ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠energy from the gargoyles and drew it back into myself.

"Kuuaah?!"

These mindless, emotionless beings struck poses like they were fleeing from me, of all things.

"You've worked hard all this time. Rest now."

I ended the lives of the gargoyles that had greeted me across countless regressions and guarded the dungeon.

Hard to call it "life," but still—they were my creations, and they'd served me faithfully for so long. Ending them didn't sit entirely right.

Once I'd reclaimed all the dark energy from the gargoyles,

I resumed acquiring skills from past loops.

While Balpador burned with ambition overlooking the previous Demon King's body,

Barbatoss was taking advantage of Baldr's absence from the castle to steal and devour the dark energy orbs stored in the underground vault.

Strictly speaking, dark energy didn't need to be "eaten" to be absorbed, but for an aghulma like Barbatoss, the act of eating was paramount.

There were supposedly 11 vaults left with orbs.

Barbatoss successfully raided one, devouring its dark energy orb.

These orbs, prepared by the previous Demon King to sustain the demon world even during his slumber, each contained 50 billion helons of dark energy.

Helon, the demon world's unit for measuring dark energy, was enough to swallow a planet whole.

'One orb alone has a whopping 50 billion helons. So damn juicy!'

"Kuhuhu..."

Barbatoss's cracked voice let out a sound between laughter and sobbing.

Devouring 10 orbs from this vault meant 500 billion helons added to his body.

'I can feel the darkness filling me up!'

He barely suppressed the urge to burst into laughter.

'Not yet. I have to hide my true self until I've devoured the Demon King and the entire demon world!'

Only after consuming all 10 remaining vaults would he surpass Baldr or Balpador with true power.

300 years ago, just before the Demon King slept, he'd luckily devoured the real Barbatoss and impersonated him, slowly building strength.

Playing the loyal dog under Baldr, he'd clawed his way here.

'I'll never go back to being a pathetic aghulma.'

He hadn't forgotten the humiliations of his aghulma days, even after 300 years.

As Barbatoss, he'd enjoyed a count's status and some luxury, but he never forgot his origins.

'I was always hungry.'

Gazing at Baldr or other nobles, his hunger always burned hotter than theirs.

That hunger drove him here.

His gluttony hadn't truly begun yet.

He wouldn't stop until he devoured even the Demon King.

'Only then will my belly be full.'

Barbatoss slipped away from the now-empty vault like a shadow.

And soon after,

A region of the demon world collapsed entirely.

'Table Turn' was highly effective against demon world foes or black magic users.

If Silence Out worked great on holy knights or Gaon of Light cultists, Table Turn scaled with the viciousness of the enemy's skill—dealing massive backlash.

Of course, it was useful even against far stronger opponents than me.

Handy for facing enemies in the demon world right now.

'I should avoid clashing with Balpador for now, if possible.'

Stroking my chin as I eyed the system window,

'But I need to take out Barbatoss now to prevent destruction.'

Current Barbatoss should be weaker than Baldr, so if Baldr and I ganged up, we could eliminate him.

And Table Turn would be perfect for that.

'Ugh! Luck points dropped again.'

Every time my Luck decreased, my stomach inexplicably ached—like it was my gut twisting.

This loop, regressing without contamination and leveling up with reflected stats, I'd never worried about physical health.

But after major Luck deductions, I felt my health declining.

'Maybe get a checkup after the demon world trip.'

Clutching my uncomfortable stomach, I opened my status window.

Vitality had plummeted noticeably.

'It was up to 164...?'

And this drop causing stomach pain was bizarre.

Awakened beings were generally immune to common illnesses, unlike normals—that's why health differed so starkly.

Thinking back to my Vitality 13 right after awakening, my current stat should shrug off any ordinary disease.

Unless it wasn't ordinary.

'The curse's influence after all.'

Zero contamination didn't mean I was safe.

'So there was a reason Luck was pegged at 999.'

Dropping below invited problems like this.

Sudden unease washed over me.

Just stomachache now, but who knew what next? Nothing guaranteed.

Only way to shake it: rush to demon world, complete quest, restore stats.

I hurried out of the skill vault toward Baldr.

Spotting me, Baldr—clad head to toe in lava armor—waved enthusiastically.

"My liege! Behold! The armor you bestowed fits me perfectly!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure it does."

Glancing back, the gatekeeper Tauritsan I'd deliberately spared was pulverized to dust by Baldr.

Ignoring my irritated expression, Baldr boasted toward the remains.

"This new armor you granted performs splendidly! Even this colossal giant couldn't resist..."

I nodded vaguely, grabbed Baldr's arm, and shot into the air.

"All armored up? Then let's head to the demon world."

"Pardon? Right now?"

"Yeah! Quick, quick. Don't Koreans do 'ppalli ppalli'?"

"I am not Korean..."

"Shut up and fly."

Baldr, still awkward with his wings creaking despite spreading them, got yeeted toward the Pacific.

"Uwaaaah..."

Flying after him, I clenched my fists.

"To that bastard Choi Joo-bong."