It felt like warm sunlight flooding into a pitch-dark room.
Brilliant golden light pushed away the blood-red hue, illuminating the space brightly.
Under ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) normal circumstances, generating light this vivid in an area dominated by an L-class boss would've been impossible. But thanks to Cha Seohu's buffs, the surroundings were now visible.
Kwon Taehyuk and Cha Seohu sprinted quickly, relying on the spherical orbs of light floating like fireflies all around them, scanning the interior again.
Meanwhile, the battle between the demon-type horde summoned by the boss monster and the raid team had begun in full force.
No matter how powerful Cha Sahyeon was, there was no way he could handle not just the boss monster, but also dozens of demon-type monsters on top of that. Naturally, the incoming demons were left to the raid team.
Still, due to the sheer number, a few of them slipped past. The ones that did lunged at Kwon Taehyuk.
Kyaaaak!
One monster, slithering through the water on the floor, leaped up baring its fangs. Resembling a giant eel, its entire body was grotesquely red.
While holding Cha Seohu, Kwon Taehyuk ran and sliced off the monster's neck.
The space illuminated by Ryu Sunghyun's light turned out to be far larger than they had anticipated.
Realizing that made them even more anxious.
From the large entrance floating behind the boss monster's head, blood and demon-types were pouring out endlessly.
Even with Cha Seohu providing buffs and healing, there was a limit to how long they could keep fighting.
Right now, they were managing somehow, but they couldn't do this forever.
'What should I do?'
Cha Seohu bit his lower lip as he scanned his surroundings.
He had thought there was still hope, that they could save the others and escape the dungeon.
But maybe he had been too optimistic about the situation.
It took far longer than expected to find the source of the energy.
They weren't going to collapse immediately, but the uncertainty was undeniable.
A new contingency plan was needed.
What else could be done besides eliminating the source of the energy?
The biggest problem was that the boss monster was so powerful, they couldn't even begin to guess how strong it really was. In the end, eliminating the source of the energy was still key to defeating it.
'If we want to kill the boss monster without the flower... Thinking simplistically, we just need someone stronger than the boss. Among us...'
Only Cha Sahyeon.
'What if I stop giving the area-wide buffs and give him a direct physical contact buff instead?'
If all the S-ranks jumped in, they might be able to restrain the boss monster—if only for a very brief moment.
During that gap, he could buff Cha Sahyeon directly. It would need to be the strongest buff possible, so maybe a kiss...
'Ugh, I still don't know what effect a kiss will have. And it's not like there's time to take clothes off or do anything more extreme.'
Cha Seohu frowned and calculated furiously, when Kwon Taehyuk, breathing slightly heavier, called out.
"Cha Seohu Hunter, over there!"
Still running while slicing down the demons that kept charging in, Kwon Taehyuk pointed straight ahead.
In the distance, something was sticking out and trembling on the water-covered floor.
A flower petal bloomed at the tip of a thin stem.
It was so far away it looked blurry—unclear if it was green—but if it was a flower discovered here, there was only one kind it could be.
"It really is the flower...!"
Kwon Taehyuk, who had spotted the flower thanks to his sharper vision, muttered in a surprised tone, then quickly nodded with a grim expression.
"I'm going now."
The distance meant nothing to an S-rank.
Kwon Taehyuk dashed across what had looked like a far-off path in under three seconds. And even that was slightly delayed because he had to cut down a demon that lunged at him halfway through.
'This is why S-ranks are convenient.'
Stopping at a safe distance from the flower, Kwon Taehyuk released Cha Seohu.
As Cha Seohu mentally awarded five stars for the ride quality and speed, he stepped toward the flower.
That was when Kwon Taehyuk abruptly grabbed his arm.
At the same moment, a black shadow surged up between the flower and Cha Seohu and took shape.
A familiar face.
"..."
Cha Seohu narrowed his eyes at the person before him.
The reason J was guarding the flower was obvious. Even without a word, the heavy atmosphere said everything. Sensing the unusual tension, Kwon Taehyuk slowly raised the tip of his blade.
"Move."
"...You should be the one to step back."
J spoke in a pale, gloomy voice.
"Don't come any closer. Just retreat. If you do that, I won't interfere."
"If we don't destroy the flower, we'll all be wiped out by the monsters anyway. We don't have time, so let's skip the pointless talk. Move."
J had his hat pulled low, hiding his eyes.
Only his snow-white chin was visible under the brim. After a long hesitation, his lips parted.
"You can get out without destroying this."
"What?"
"The dungeon exit. You saw it."
Cha Seohu raised one eyebrow.
"We can't save everyone, but you and a small number of others can escape. Leave this alone and run to the exit. For S-ranks, it should be possible."
"...Wow."
Cha Seohu let out a laugh after a moment of silence.
"That's such an unexpected suggestion, I didn't even know what to say. So the rest die fighting the monsters while a few of us run? You really think I'm that much of a piece of shit?"
"You think I want to have this kind of conversation with you?"
"Yeah. I get it. You must hate it too. So cut the crap and get lost."
"It's not that simple."
A dark shadow rose over J's hand and transformed into a weapon.
A pitch-black scythe. The same kind of weapon Cha Sahyeon had used. Or rather, what the "Catastrophe" had wielded in the now-destroyed world.
Cha Seohu could tell exactly who J was imitating by manifesting that weapon.
But Cha Sahyeon no longer used a scythe. He now used a long sword, as if imitating Cha Seohu instead.
It was a trait unique to this new version of Cha Sahyeon, different from before the regression.
Even though he knew the person in front of him wasn't the Catastrophe, just seeing the scythe made his chest tighten.
Forcing down the creeping discomfort, Cha Seohu listened to J's words.
"You've felt it too, haven't you? Even if we solve things this way every time, nothing improves."
"...It doesn't improve?"
"It'll only get worse. If you keep... interfering with us."
Us. That must mean the cult he belonged to.
Cha Seohu glanced briefly at Kwon Taehyuk.
Still glaring at J without letting down his guard, Kwon Taehyuk didn't join the conversation, but he was surely thinking hard.
Especially since Kwon Taehyuk had personally raided the lab and rescued the victims. He'd been tracking down the cult's members ever since.
He might've realized something after hearing this conversation.
'It's far too late to regret anything now...'
This moment was exactly what he'd asked Kwon Taehyuk to be prepared for.
Still, he couldn't stop the complicated emotions from bubbling up. Suppressing a sigh, Cha Seohu responded.
"So? Stop circling around and just say it. Doesn't suit you."
"Can't you do something about that attitude? You think I'm joking right now?"
Cha Seohu twisted his lips.
"I'm dead serious. It's just that listening to the bullshit coming out of your mouth feels like a waste of time. I'm honestly debating whether to just kill you already."
"Fuck, I'm trying to explain! Even if you kill me, this won't—!"
"I know."
Kwon Taehyuk instinctively turned toward Cha Seohu at the cold voice beside him.
Cha Seohu's usual soft demeanor had completely vanished. He now spoke with a blank expression.
"Even if we destroy this flower, those cult bastards will just plant another one somewhere even worse."
"Exactly. So—"
"You keep repeating yourself. You think I don't already know that? Gwanghwamun, the snowy mountains, the dungeon break, the Great Dungeon—those cult freaks plant flowers, I find them, I destroy them, I clean up the mess... Honestly, I was already starting to get fucking sick of it. But."
Cha Seohu took a sharp breath, his black eyes locking onto J.
"No matter what... I don't want to use innocent people as sacrifices."
J felt a chill crawl up his spine from those pitch-black eyes, devoid of all light like Go stones.
"You're proposing this, right? That if we leave the flower intact and offer up the people here as sacrifices, the cult bastards will pause their activities. Or maybe lower the difficulty."
"..."
Even though Cha Seohu had perfectly grasped his intention, J felt an ominous dread.
J swallowed hard and carefully picked his words.
"Before more people die, it's better to let one go. Even on our side, morale's bad after repeated failures. That's why we're pushing harder. Normally, we wouldn't be this active."
"..."
"Just once. Just close your eyes to it once, and you could prevent something worse—"
"Hey."
Cha Seohu cut him off mid-sentence.
"Nope."
Whoosh—at the sudden sensation of the total energy receding, J's shoulders flinched.
Cha Seohu had withdrawn the area-wide buff he'd been granting to everyone, including J, and spoke with a nonchalant tone.
"I can't listen to this shit anymore. I was only hesitating because of Cha Sahyeon, but he's not worth it."
"..."
"Just die. That seems like the right choice."

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