The Price of Victory
"Damn it!"
Crash!
Once again, the Minotaur’s massive axe grazed past me and slammed into the ground. The creature roared in frustration, furious that it couldn’t catch me.
"Yeah, you bull-headed bastard. After all the hell I’ve been through…!"
I continued the fight against the Minotaur, drawing on the countless battles I’d experienced in previous regressions and making full use of every item I’d gathered so far. Item advantage. Right now, I was compensating for my lacking specs with every piece of gear I’d scraped together from the academy.
Boots that boosted agility, rings that increased strength, a pendant that sharpened focus—anything I could get my hands on from the academy, I’d equipped without hesitation. Even so, the monster was still overwhelming.
"Ugh…!"
I deflected the Minotaur’s horizontal swing with my sword. Even though I’d blocked it properly, the force still sent my body sliding sideways.
"No way around this."
Attacking was difficult. The Minotaur overwhelmed me in every physical stat. Even if I did land a hit, I doubted it would cause any meaningful damage. The creature’s weakness was the black stone embedded in its chest. That was what was empowering and driving the Minotaur into a frenzy. If I could just deal with that stone somehow…
"Philip! I’ll create an opening—aim for that black stone and attack!"
Yohan was currently tending to Angela. While he could use magic, he was fundamentally a healer. In terms of raw offensive power, Philip was far superior.
"Got it!"
I ducked under the swinging axe and slid between the Minotaur’s legs. The blade whistled just above my hair. One wrong move and my skull would have been split in two. I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I swung my sword with all my strength, driving it into the monster’s knee.
"Grrraaah!"
The Minotaur groaned in pain. Its thick hide prevented the blade from sinking deep, but it was enough to create a momentary opening.
"Now!!"
On my signal, Philip launched a massive sphere of flame straight at the Minotaur’s chest. The orb exploded, engulfing the creature’s upper body in roaring fire.
"Not enough."
The black stone wasn’t particularly hard, but Philip’s attack clearly wasn’t going to cut it. In that case…
"Ugh!"
A fist flew out from within the smoke. This time, its speed and power were on another level. I hastily raised my guard, but the force was too much. I was sent flying and slammed into the cave wall.
"Cough!"
A dizzying pain shot up my back. My entire body felt like it was shattering.
"Ugh…!"
Blood surged up my throat.
"L-Lee Han!"
"Focus, Philip!"
For a split second, Philip had turned to look at me. My urgent warning had been a fatal mistake.
Thud!
The axe came crashing down vertically, slicing Philip in half.
"Aaaargh!!"
Philip’s left arm was severed cleanly and fell limply to the ground.
"Fuck…!"
I rushed forward and blocked the follow-up attack aimed at him.
"Philip! Snap out of it!"
I shouted at my panicked friend.
"H-Haa… L-Lee Han!"
"Get to Yohan, now!"
"Ugh…!"
Philip clutched the stump of his arm and crawled toward Yohan. As I feared, bringing these three into this fight had been too much.
"Yohan! Take the others and get to Irene!"
"I can’t! The entrance is blocked!"
"What?!"
"Some kind of wall sealed it off!"
I glanced toward the entrance and saw Yohan pounding his fist against a translucent barrier.
"This is just getting ridiculous…!"
There was no escape now. Our only option was to take this monster down.
"I really didn’t want to use this…"
I pulled a small vial from my pocket. Berserker’s Potion. It would dramatically boost my physical abilities and dull my sense of pain, but the backlash afterward was severe. In the worst case, I could end up permanently disabled. Still, it was better than dying.
I gulped the potion down. Immediately, a burning heat rose from my stomach, and my entire body flooded with euphoric energy.
"Let’s go."
I wiped my mouth and faced the monster again.
"Hup…!"
I struck first. Dodging the axe at an angle, I closed in and slashed at the same knee I’d hit before. This time the cut went much deeper. But it still wasn’t enough to completely shatter the joint. The Minotaur swung its fist and knocked me away.
"Gah!"
I flew through the air and tumbled across the ground several times. Yet I felt no pain. All thanks to the potion. I brushed myself off as if nothing had happened, stood up, and gripped my sword once more.
"Alright. Let’s see who dies first—you or me."
What followed was pure chaos. I attacked anything I could reach with my blade, and the Minotaur struck at me with everything it had. Neither of us bothered with defense. We simply hurled ourselves at each other with the intent to kill.
I was sent flying again and again, but I kept charging in until my whole body was ragged. You could call it a victory of sheer tenacity. In the end, the one who fell to its knees first was the Minotaur.
When it staggered from my repeated low strikes, I kicked off the ground, leaped high, and smashed the black stone embedded in its chest.
Clang!
The stone shattered into pieces with a clear ring. At the same time, the Minotaur lurched violently and collapsed. I rushed forward and drove my sword straight into its heart.
"Haa…! Haa…!"
I’d survived. I’d won somehow. But there was no time to celebrate. The potion’s effects had worn off, and the backlash was hitting hard.
"Ugh…!"
All the pain I’d been holding back crashed over me at once.
"You piece of shit…!"
I barely managed to stay upright by leaning on my sword, but even that lasted only a moment. My ruined body finally gave out. I lost consciousness and collapsed.
"Lee Han! Lee Han!"
Thud. Thud.
I slammed my fist against the translucent wall that had suddenly sealed off the path to the core chamber. But it didn’t budge. No matter how much holy power I poured into my strikes, not even a scratch appeared.
All I could do was watch helplessly as Lee Han fought desperately against the monster on the other side.
"No… Please…!"
Once again, I couldn’t reach him. Once again, he was bleeding inside that chamber.
"I don’t want this… I don’t want this…!"
He was being torn apart by the monster’s attacks, yet he refused to stop. Just like always—sacrificing himself for others.
‘You are the savior who will save this world. So have confidence. Always stand tall with your shoulders back and smile. Understand?’
Memories of him flashed through my mind. He had always been there for me, but I had never truly looked at him. My heart had always been somewhere else. He had always protected me, but I had never protected him.
"I’m too late again…"
My hands and feet began to tremble. He could die at any moment.
"No…"
I imagined a future without him. No—I already knew what it looked like. I knew how empty the world became after he was gone. I had prayed to keep him alive. I had even touched forbidden magic and tried every possible method. But it had already been far too late. Nothing changed.
The most horrifying part wasn’t that he had died. It was that while he was dying, I had been unable to do anything.
Without Lee Han’s salvation, I would surely fall the same way.
"Can I not protect him…?"
Why? Why could I never stay by his side? Why did the world always tear us apart?
"No…! This is wrong…!"
Grind.
Without realizing it, I clenched my teeth. At the same time, dark emotions surged up from deep within my heart. Then, a voice I had never heard before began to speak.
‘You can’t do anything.’
‘Because you’re a coward. All you can do is run from reality.’
‘You pretend to regret it later and comfort yourself by saying you’re not at fault.’
It was an ominous voice. Normally, I would have dismissed it as the whisper of a devil and paid it no mind.
‘Join us.’
‘Then you will be able to do anything. You will be able to have anything.’
But this time was different. Even though I hated the voice, something about it drew me in.
‘Take my hand.’
‘You can become stronger than anyone.’
"Get out… Get out of my head…!"
I shook my head violently, trying to drive the voice away. But the harder I resisted, the deeper it echoed inside my mind.
‘Still pretending to be strong?’
‘Just watch. See what happens to him.’
‘Whether you like it or not, you will join us.’
‘Don’t regret being too late again.’
With those final words, the sinister whispers vanished as if they had never existed. And once again, all I could do was watch.
Watch as someone precious to me was hurt. Watch as he broke apart.
This damned world.
"Ugh…"
When I opened my eyes, I was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.
"Lee Han?! You’re awake?"
"Who… Oh."
I looked down and saw Irene gripping my hand tightly. I was lying on what looked like a hospital bed.
"What about the others?"
"That’s not important right now! I was so scared…!"
Irene’s body trembled slightly.
"It couldn’t be helped. We couldn’t all die together."
"I’m sorry… It’s my fault for being so weak. I won’t ever leave you alone again."
Irene spoke through a flood of tears.
"Thanks, but it’s a little overwhelming. What happened to the others?"
"They’re all alive, at least."
"‘At least’?"
"Angela seems to have been badly hurt. She still hasn’t opened her eyes."
"I see…"
At least they were alive. That was a relief.
"More importantly, look at me, Lee Han."
"Why?"
"I’ve made up my mind. I will do anything for you. Student council, whatever—it can all go to hell. From now on, I can give up anything. For the sake of our future together…!"
Irene clutched my hand tightly as she spoke. She looked like she had come to some kind of resolution.
"Uh… Haah… Fine. I don’t even have the energy to argue. Do whatever you want."
"Yes. I won’t disappoint you."
Irene nodded vigorously, squeezing my hand even tighter.
‘Something feels… different from usual.’
Her aura, perhaps. Unlike her usual innocent and pure self, there was now a dark undertone lingering around her.
‘Ah, it’s probably just my imagination.’
I dismissed the change as unimportant and closed my eyes again. Maybe it was the medicine, but my eyelids felt incredibly heavy.
"I’m going to… sleep a bit… You should go too… Don’t do anything unnecessary…"
In my fading consciousness, I shooed Irene away.
"Yes. Rest well, Lee Han."
She stood up and leaned over me. Then she pressed her lips gently to my forehead and whispered softly as she pulled away.
"I am prepared to join hands with the devil as well. Everything… is for you."