The appearance of the monster was quite bizarre.

Perhaps it resembled a fetus at first, as something elongated like a balloon floated alongside him from his belly button. It had a beast-like form with a mix of brown and black fur, as well as two massive horns protruding.

It walked on two legs, and while its hands resembled primates, it had only used simple punches instead of using tools.

'If there's a problem, it's that black smoke.'

Whether Berial was controlling the black smoke or the monster itself, it swung its fists with black smoke wrapped around them.

A Regress Punch?

Moreover, its entire body was shrouded in black smoke, making it impossible to approach carelessly.

'But what to do with this?'

Here, the unexpected advantage of a necromancer shone.

Kagaga!

Nickel blocked the fist of the unnamed monster with his sword, and the black smoke showed no reaction.

Regardless of whether the black smoke enveloped it or passed through it, Nickel simply swung his sword.

"Goo-wah!"

While Nickel, Timur, and Mirenae's shadows held back the monster, Ludo's greatsword fell precisely onto the monster's head.

Crack! Crunch!

'Is it over?'

I was momentarily surprised by how easily the monster crumpled compared to my expectations, but I didn't let my guard down.

By looking at Berial, who was still watching me with a mocking gaze, I could confirm that the battle was far from over.

Kruduk.

The monster's body began to reconstruct itself, as if time had been rewound.

Advertise it as something to do with Regression.

'Perhaps there's a separate trick to winning this time.'

I thought that I might not be able to win with just this round.

"No one can take my city! Never! Never!"

Berial, still shedding tears of blood, reveled in his maniacal laughter.

"Warriors of Lethe! Against these impure beings..."

"Let's keep it down a bit."

A black gust of wind engulfed Berial.

The monster was shrouded in black smoke, so I entrusted it to my undead and focused on dealing with Berial.

"Do you know what I've been through to maintain this city? How dare you intruders..."

"Berial."

Quazijijijik!

Although the sword was blocked by the transparent shield Berial had conjured, it shattered moments later.

I followed the retreating Berial and said, sticking close to him.

"I'm not curious about your story. I don't want to understand it."

"Shut up, you impure seed!"

Kwaah!

A white beam shot out without an incantation, solely through mana manipulation.

I felt it before, but it was a form of magic I hadn't seen before.

Is it from the ancient era again?

'But it's too simplistic.'

The destructive power was strong, but it would take a fool to stand still and get hit by something like that.

"I can make a rough guess. You were probably part of the Dragon Expedition, and it seems like it failed. The enraged dragon attacked this city."

"Ah..."

"And the power enveloping this space is probably the power of Lethe. It seems like you said something to Evan about cleaning up the mess you made..."

Crack! Quaang!

The shield shattered, and Berial's trembling eyes came into view.

"You probably didn't think you'd end up like this, did you?"

"W-Well, this...!"

"I understand too. The gods are beings we can hardly comprehend. I can somewhat empathize with why you keep shouting that to Evan. You probably want to undo the destruction of the city caused by the dragon's attack."

Even if I kill Berial now, he will regress anyway. That's why I didn't bother to attack the dazed opponent.

"But Lethe must have granted your request just as you wished. Without any consideration, I'm sure. Am I right?"

Berial silently shed tears of blood.

"The result created by Lethe's power is this space. A day in the city that repeats eternally, and it happens to be right before the dragon's attack. My guess seems to be correct."

Up to the 100th regression.

During that time, I didn't just regress without any thought.

I analyzed the reasons and causes.

Special skill, Sloth.

I had experienced it and the transcendent emotional state it brought firsthand. Perhaps it was the emotions the gods were feeling.

In that case, this careless and inconsiderate dungeon format would make sense.

"I saw children who had lost their parents in the slums. Have you seen that?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"They repeat the same time every day, hoping their parents will come back. It's just an illusion if you think about it. But you know, don't you?"

Berial remained silent.

"Those black smokes are not illusions; they're real souls. They're not alive; they're just trapped souls. Don't you find them pitiful?"

"Shut up. If it weren't for me, they wouldn't even exist." Words may say that, but there's no power.

Still, he's not completely insane, is he?

Kwaggwaagwang!

Kooddeudeudeu―!

A dazzling light flashed as Evan was weilding Aura, slashing through Krivmaher.

Even though it was a dragon, the one being controlled without any sense of self couldn't become Evan's opponent. Evan's mastery over aura was particularly formidable.

Eve, as an expert in matters related to souls, was effectively blocking the black smoke entities.

Whether the core of this dungeon was the Dragon Heart or the undead statue-like monster, we seemed to be winning in the end.

Berial seemed to sense this change and slowly raised his head.

"It must be fate for a priest of Nyx to come here. Haha."

He laughed as if something had been lifted, but it looked eerie with the traces of tears on his face.

"Intruder, your words are correct. Yes! Everything you say is right! With my reckless judgment, I killed everyone and prayed to Lethe for an end. But this isn't just a miracle I obtained easily. It's a miracle achieved by sacrificing thousands of souls."

He uttered it as if sobbing.

"But how could I abandon this city? I sacrificed them, and in the end, meaningless repetition continues, but how can I give up?"

"Don't whine. It's your own doing."

Luna might feel empathy in those words, but I didn't.

Unnecessary pride and stubbornness. Staying in the same place without knowing how to move forward. That sight reminded me of myself right after the accident, and it filled me with disgust.

Once the dungeon core is destroyed, we'll deal with it then.

If this guy regresses before the core breaks, it might lead to an unpredictable situation, so we needed to control the variables.

"Yeah, it's all my fault. That's why I'll take responsibility. Intruders shouldn't have to step forward."

The flow of magic was unusual.

If Berial were a knight, he might have smashed the dungeon core, but unfortunately, as a magician with mana in his heart, he couldn't stop it.

'Just kill him?'

If he regressed, I didn't know what would happen.

But on the other hand, this opportunity might not come again.

Of course, all of this could be my misconception.

'In that case, let's just kill him.'

There was unease about regression, but I had to eliminate the threat.

Swoosh!

After a long time, the Bone Sword, which extended like a whip, pursued Berial.

Sharp thorns-like bones instantly tore through Berial's body.

"Cough!"

At the same time, the Bone Explosion caused by double casting erupted.

Quaaaaang―!

Was it a mistake?

It seemed ambiguous, as he appeared to die without any resistance.

'No, he could have ended his own life if he wanted, he didn't need to die by my hand.'

But what on earth was he trying to do?

Kruduk, pwoosh!

There must have been something after all.

Berial's flesh shattered and began to transform into black smoke.

Then, in an instant, he was sucked into the statue-like monster.

―#$^@$&!!!!

The monster, which had been facing the undead, let out a roar and gradually started to wriggle.

"What's that again?"

As if emptying out, something connected to the balloon-like belly left on the now-shell-like monster wriggled, then started to break apart as if hatching from an egg.

[Sloth Phantom (Legendary) wishes to use Sloth.]

[Sloth Phantom (Legendary) will share cooldown with Sloth.]

[Accept?]

Suddenly?

Nickel's emotions came through.

Intense hostility and urgency were palpable.

'I don't know what that is...'

Considering the usual Nickel, it wouldn't hurt to trust him.

I was hesitant because it would consume my powerful trump card, but I had one more trump card left in me now.

When I accepted it, a young blue mana enveloped Nickel.

He fluttered his robe draped over his shoulders and unhesitatingly summoned aura, the one I had seen before.

An honest downward strike.

Swoosh!

As if space had vertically shifted, an illusion occurred...

In the midst of it, something unknown was sliced in half before it could even escape from the balloon.

―Kwaarrggh!

With a deafening scream, black smoke poured out.

Along with it, the black smoke controlled by Eve went wild, and Krivmaher danced like crazy.

'Is it over?'

For now, we put some distance between us. Just in case, we didn't want to risk getting in contact with that black smoke and triggering a regression.

Pwang!

Quaaaaang―!

As we turned our heads to the explosion that threw the undead back and forth, Evan finally seemed to have shattered the Dragon Heart.

Magic surged in an instant, sending shockwaves throughout the area, making the entire city tremble.

―Goooooh!

"Luna Pendragon! Barry Sanders..."

Evan's shout echoed and disappeared in an instant.

Looking at where he disappeared, a cluster of light seemed to form like a portal.

"Clear!"

It was the proof of clearing the dungeon.

Now, if we went through that portal, in the game, it led to a reward room, but I had no idea what would happen here.

What was certain was that we could escape from here.

'Evan was just swept away.'

Was breaking the Dragon Heart the correct answer?

Or did we luckily clear the gimmicks in order?

Now was the time to escape without thinking because the black smoke was still lingering and wreaking havoc.

"Eve!"

I shouted with all my might, but I couldn't see her through the black smoke.

Just when I started to feel slightly anxious...

"Friend..."

A blurry smile appeared on Luna's face.

It seemed that Eve's summon had been undone now.

"Luna! It's over now. Let's get out quickly."

"Friend, it's okay. You go first."

I felt something was off.

Why couldn't she get out?

"Luna!"

"I'm sorry, friend."

What's there to be sorry about?

"I can't escape, hehe."

Awkward laughter flowed from Luna's mouth.

She can't escape? What kind of nonsense is that?

The black smoke, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, converged on Luna as if it had lost its way.

Luna's figure faintly appeared from time to time, but it looked precarious.

"Luna..."

"Friend, thank you so much. I really..."

Luna began to shed tears.

"Really! I was so happy! So please, I hope you'll be safe! Leave me and go quickly!"

"What the hell are you talking about!"

Is she insane?

Why would I leave you behind?

"Hurry, get out! The exit is disappearing!"

As Luna said, the light mass of the portal was gradually becoming blurred.

I had never experienced such a phenomenon in the game.

"I'm okay... so please, my friend, run away quickly. I'm okay!"

Luna's tear-stained face, smiling so brightly, came into view.

"I'm okay. I'm used to this. And Rulf is here..."

Luna's voice gradually faded.

The black smoke was still expanding, and it seemed like it wasn't all over yet.

"Thank... so... okay..."

"Damn it."

I couldn't help but curse.

I cared more about my own happiness than anything else.

My happiness and the happiness of everyone I loved were the most important things to me.

That was the conclusion I had reached while living as Kim Jin-hwan, and later as Adrias.

"I know you're listening. Do you know the situation right now?"

I shouted in the empty surroundings.

"So just give it to me. Release Luna, right now!"

["You're being greedy."]

That childlike voice echoed in my mind.

They were indeed listening.

Original Sin.

"Anyway, I won't leave until I save Luna. Even if I rot away here, do you think that won't affect you? It won't be a pleasant story for you, either, will it?"

["Greed isn't necessarily bad. I never said I was bad."]

My heart was torn.

But there was no pain.

["In fact, it's a great idea fitting for 'Greed'!"]

The Black Crown revealed itself in front of me.