Chapter 123

Chapter 123. Extreme Situation (3)

After dealing with the horde of monsters, we arrived at the 3rd floor.

Despite the thought of going deeper underground, the 3rd floor was surprisingly brighter than the upper floors.

The entire space was dyed in a deep orange hue, as if we had stepped outside at the peak of sunset.

“…What an unpleasant place.”

Professor Elisha frowned as she looked around at the orange-tinted surroundings.

This wasn’t the beautiful sunset you’d see at a resort beach.

It was more like the sky during a massive wildfire.

The sky, mixed with black clouds and flickering flames, looked like the apocalypse described in the scriptures of the Seven Stars Church.

“Candidate Dale, have you been here in your past life?”

“Yes.”

I nodded slightly and continued.

“This is where I fought the final battle against the Devil God.”

“……”

“Well, to be precise, it was a bit further down.”

Professor Elisha looked at me with a stiff expression.

“What… was the Devil God like?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

Professor Elisha narrowed her eyes.

“Didn’t you say you fought the final battle against the Devil God?”

“Yes, I did. Well… it wasn’t really a grand battle. It was more of a one-sided fight.”

I smiled bitterly as I recalled the battle.

The memories were hazy, like a foggy mist.

From those hazy memories, I tried to picture the Devil God in my mind.

A black figure.

A body so massive that its end was unknowable.

Eyes burning with a red flame.

“Professor Elisha, if you were to fight a typhoon, tsunami, or earthquake, would you be able to understand what kind of ‘existence’ they are?”

“That’s…”

“That’s what the Devil God was like.”

I couldn’t even tell if it was the same entity.

I never exchanged a single glance with the Devil God, let alone had a conversation.

It was like a machine carrying out its given orders.

The Devil God simply spread endless destruction to bring about the end of the world.

“I don’t know if other gods are the same… but at least the Devil God I saw was more like a ‘disaster’ than a ‘god.'”

“…I see.”

Professor Elisha nodded and looked at Dale with heavy eyes.

Imagining the brutal battles he must have fought in his past life made her chest feel tight, as if she had swallowed a rock.

‘He called himself the last hero, didn’t he?’

The image of Dale, with a self-deprecating expression, talking about his past life flashed through her mind.

He said he was the last hero.

That he spent his whole life chasing after others.

‘Is that really true?’

Professor Elisha stared at Dale with narrowed eyes.

It might be true that he graduated at the bottom of his class in his past life.

Looking at Dale now, it was hard to believe, but it was probably true that he was lacking compared to other heroes in his past life.

‘But.’

If Dale was truly the ‘last hero’ as he said.

If he was always behind, always late, always falling short.

‘How could he have become one of the final five heroes?’

In the midst of this unsolvable question.

Professor Elisha’s gaze on Dale deepened.

‘Dale.’

What kind of existence were you in your past life?

“Professor?”

“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”

Professor Elisha shook off the thoughts in her head and followed behind me.

“What’s on the 3rd floor that made us come all the way down here?”

“You’ve experienced how the monsters living in the abyss are much more violent and powerful than the ones outside, right?”

“To the point of being sick of it.”

Professor Elisha shook her head, recalling the memories of being harassed by hordes of monsters on the way here.

If the monsters outside could still be considered ‘creatures,’ the monsters here were nothing but bloodthirsty beasts.

“Among them, there are some that have been particularly influenced by the Devil God. They reign like ‘kings,’ even eating other monsters.”

“…The King of the Abyss Monsters?”

“To be precise, the king of this 3rd floor. They’re also affected by the seal, so they can’t go beyond a certain area.”

“Hmm.”

Professor Elisha, who had been listening to the explanation, opened her eyes slightly and asked.

“Does that mean there are ‘kings’ on the 4th and 5th floors below?”

“Well… that would make sense. But I’ve never actually seen them.”

“You’ve never seen them?”

“Yes. The Devil God killed them before they could crawl out of the abyss.”

“…The Devil God killed them? Aren’t the monsters the Devil God’s minions?”

Why would the Devil God kill his own minions, not even the heroes?

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s more like a disaster than a god.”

I shrugged and continued walking.

“Anyway. The King of the Abyss Monsters reigning on this 3rd floor is my target. A monster called ‘Behemoth.'”

“Behemoth… just how strong is that monster?”

“Strong enough to tear apart 557 heroes and 12,000 soldiers armed with magical tools all by itself.”

“……”

“Even among the Archbishops, only someone on the level of the Grand Archbishop of Madness could stand against it.”

“W-wait! Are you saying we’re going to fight that monster now?!”

Professor Elisha shouted with a shocked expression.

I swallowed a bitter laugh and nodded.

“That’s what makes it an ‘extreme situation.'”

“Candidate Dale, you…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be the only one fighting anyway.”

With the Blessing of Resurrection, I won’t die even in the worst-case scenario.

“In that sense, there’s one thing I’d like to ask of you, Professor Elisha.”

“What is it?”

“Please wait outside its territory, and if I don’t come out after 3 days, pull me out.”

With Professor Elisha’s ‘web,’ she should be able to safely pull me out.

“…You want me to pull you out?”

“Yes. By then, its stamina should be mostly depleted. Oh, I’ll send a rescue signal separately. Until then, you must not enter its territory.”

If she’s not careful, Professor Elisha could get dragged into this too.

“Don’t tell me you… plan to fight it for 3 days straight until you die?”

The fact that you’re making this request means you didn’t even consider the option of ‘not dying.’

“It’s fine.”

“What do you mean it’s fine?!”

Professor Elisha grabbed my shoulders and shook me violently.

“3 days, 3 days! You’ll keep dying over and over again without rest!”

While the physical wounds can be healed by the Blessing of Resurrection, the pain of death etched into your mind doesn’t disappear.

“If an ordinary human experiences pain they’d rarely feel even once, over and over for 3 days, what do you think will happen to you? Your mind will break before your body does!”

“327,821 times.”

“…What?”

“That’s how many times I’ve died in a row.”

I grinned and tapped my temple.

“If I endured that, do you think I can’t handle just 3 days?”

Even if I die continuously for 3 days, it’ll only be a few hundred times.

“Candidate Dale…”

Professor Elisha looked at me with trembling eyes.

“Just… what kind of life did you live in your past life?”

“What kind of life did I live, you ask…”

I turned around with a faint smile.

“An endless life.”

Leaving Professor Elisha standing there in a daze, I stepped into Behemoth’s territory.

* * *

Its body was about 15 meters tall.

Its face resembled a bull, and the two horns protruding from its forehead reminded one of a demon.

Its entire body was covered in black skin dozens of times tougher than steel, and its fiercely swollen muscles seemed ready to tear through its skin, exuding an overwhelming presence.

“Grrr.”

Black flames mixed with its exhaled breath.

Twelve glowing red eyes turned toward me.

“Long time no see.”

I waved slowly at Behemoth.

In response, Behemoth’s long tail swept across the ground and stood upright.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

A horrific voice that shook the soul.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The King of the Abyss Monsters, reigning over the abyss, charged fiercely.

Whoosh!

A fist larger than an average person’s body swung with a fierce force.

I didn’t resist at all and took the punch head-on.

Crunch!

My body crumbled.

Limbs twisted at grotesque angles, intestines spilled out from the torn stomach, and my torn-off head rolled across the ground.

“Grrrr.”

In the blink of an eye, Behemoth crushed the bug that had invaded its territory, exhaling black flames as it turned its body.

Then.

“Kid, you’re still as nasty as ever.”

A voice from behind.

Turning its head, Behemoth saw the bug it had just crushed alive and well.

“Grrrk?”

Behemoth frowned at the incomprehensible situation.

But only for a moment.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

If it came back to life, it just had to kill it again.

Behemoth roared fiercely and charged at the bug that dared to invade its territory.

“Hoo.”

I watched Behemoth charging at me and took a light breath.

I drew my sword and took a stance.

The Primordial Flame, stimulated by the recent ‘death,’ raged and spread throughout my body.

“Bloom.”

Whoosh!

Ash Fire wrapped around the sword and ignited.

With the sword in hand, I stomped fiercely toward Behemoth.

Boom! Crash! Grind!

At first, it was tense.

Using ‘Ignition,’ I poured out sword strikes, punches, and magic, continuing the battle with Behemoth.

But only for a while.

Once the duration of Ignition ended and the Primordial Flame enveloping my body extinguished, the battle became one-sided.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

Behemoth roared fiercely and charged.

Crunch!

Torn limbs rolled across the ground.

Squelch!

Crushed intestines stained the ground.

Splat!

Brain matter spilled from the crushed head.

But.

Even so.

Even then.

“Haa.”

I stood up.

I stood up.

I stood up.

“…It’s been a while, this feeling.”

The sensation of desperately struggling against an opponent I couldn’t possibly defeat.

I hadn’t felt it much after returning, but in my past life, I had experienced it to the point of exhaustion.

“Huh.”

A thrilling shiver ran down my spine.

The forgotten sensation awakened every cell in my body.

‘That’s right.’

This is the life I’ve lived.

The path Dale Han has walked.

“Grrrk!”

Behemoth grabbed my body and tore it apart.

My lower half was ripped clean off.

Thud.

With the sword in hand, I slashed down at Behemoth.

The sword, wrapped in Ash Fire, pierced through the tough black skin and dug into Behemoth’s flesh.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

Just a scratch.

It’s fine.

This is just the ‘beginning.’

‘If once doesn’t work, then ten times. If ten times don’t work, then a hundred. If a hundred times don’t work, then a thousand.’

After all, death is plentiful, and life is endless.

“Grrrk, grrk.”

“What’s wrong? Why are you standing still?”

I looked at Behemoth, which was hesitating and stepping back, and smirked.

I gripped the sword and shakily stood up.

Ash dust scattered.

Green eyes flashed through the gray smoke.

The hero who made countless demons and monsters tremble in fear in his past life.

“Well, I’ll take it from here.”

The Immortal Ghost bared its fangs fiercely.