What could be the reason for the sudden change in the dungeon that had been occurring in order until now? Don’t tell me it’s because we learned each other’s feelings and spent the night with the same heart? If the cause isn’t the presence or absence of a physical relationship but the exchange of emotions?
What remained for Raon after thinking that far was emptiness. He woke up in the morning planning to eat breakfast together and go shopping. And he couldn’t do that again. The cold empty seat beside him and someone informing him of Jaehwi’s sudden dungeon trip. Although the method was different, he himself had urgently come to where Jaehwi was.
“My head hurts.”
Rubbing his forehead, Raon chuckled at the endlessly peaceful situation, unlike his boiling insides. Unlike how things had moved urgently until now, there didn’t seem to be any dangerous elements in this space. It was like this when he met the golem too, so would an illusion dungeon master appear? What was the illusion dungeon master?
Even though quite a bit of time had passed while thinking this and that, nothing changed.
“Are they going to make me age and die like this? I’d like to hug Hwi at least once before I die. Even in this situation, I miss him and want to hug him and pat him comfortingly—I’m severe too. Severe.”
Raon, who had been talking to himself, burst out laughing when Jaehwi suddenly appeared.
What’s this? After only suffering until now, is this a place where things come true as you speak? Facing him who was pitch black from head to toe and even wearing a mask, Raon stood up from his spot and approached him. Then he removed the mask he was wearing first.
He held Jaehwi’s hand as they stood facing each other and raised his head to look up at his face.
“Which Hwi is this Hwi? Before regression? After regression? Or do you not know me at all?”
Since entering the illusion dungeon, this was the first time having a face-to-face conversation with Jaehwi like this. Because every time he appeared, he was busy dying right away.
Not avoiding the black eyes that silently stared at him, Raon raised his hand and caressed his cheek. Warm and soft. Even Jaehwi’s characteristic body scent. Even though it was clearly an illusion, it really felt like being with Jaehwi.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah.”
“What do you see right now?”
“You and me standing on fluffy clouds like cotton balls in a blue sky.”
Even knowing it was the same question Hyukjin had asked him a moment ago, Raon answered honestly. He had quite a lot of conversation with Hyukjin and Jaehwi through the headset. The situations varied, but the two always confirmed the same thing. What he was seeing right now.
Even the look in his eyes seemed like the real Jaehwi, but his good mood crashed into the gutter at the one question he just heard. Nevertheless, Raon put energy into his hand and transmitted it to him. Whether real or illusion, he hoped Jaehwi wouldn’t be in pain or have a hard time.
“…Wrap your arms around my neck.”
At Jaehwi’s words, Raon obediently approached him closer. As Jaehwi pulled him into an embrace with one arm, he did as told and raised both arms to wrap them around his neck.
“Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
He suddenly appeared, spoke affectionately, even embraced him first, and now he’s telling him to close his eyes? He didn’t know what was what, but it didn’t seem that bad, so Raon’s eyes, which had been about to close as told, grew even bigger instead. A red light was forming in the blue sky, and the brilliant light pouring onto his body was growing exponentially faster in size.
“Hey! You…”
“Hyung must live…”
Raon, who had been struggling urgently to escape Jaehwi’s embrace, couldn’t hear to the end what Jaehwi, who kissed his cheek, said. Instead, what he thought of at the same time as realizing that Jaehwi, who embraced him, was trying to protect him again this time while he himself tried to die, was one thing.
‘No. Just this once, even if I die, I’ll save you…’
A smile bloomed on the face of Raon, who before he knew it was embracing not Jaehwi but a giant fireball. Along with the pain of his entire body burning up, what he saw last as he fell downward was Jaehwi standing on fluffy white clouds.
* * *
“……”
Jaehwi extinguished the fireball right in front of him with a single gesture. Neither the acrid burnt smell, nor the thick smoke, nor those attempting a new attack in coordination once again entered his eyes. The attacks that followed simultaneously as he turned his body died out before even reaching near him. Meanwhile, Jaehwi had left the training room and was running down a familiar corridor.
How nice would it be if he had teleportation ability? Running up the stairs instead of the elevator, Jaehwi tried to suppress his rampaging ability. If he released his power like this, not only this building but the surroundings would obviously be devastated.
Would he have skillfully broken through the dungeon and come out if he had waited outside? Why did he enter there…
It wasn’t a request from NCSC but a contact from MK Center. It was content related to a reinforcement request for a nearby dungeon, and there was nothing dangerous about a B-rank dungeon. Rather than waking the soundly sleeping Raon to report the situation and wasting time forming a new team, he thought it would be faster for him to go briefly.
Until arriving at the situation room and entering the dungeon, it was still a fire-attribute dungeon there. Until he entered and met the ability users, that is.
At the same time as realizing it was an illusion dungeon, he sent the ability users out, and Jaehwi gave a bitter smile at the background surrounding him. It was the first dungeon he had entered. He had entered the flames wearing large protective gear that didn’t fit his body. He had rolled around as one body with the monster rushing at him. He could have died just by relaxing the strength in his arms, but he couldn’t. The things Raon had said to do together came to mind, so if he survived here, he could meet Raon and hear the interesting stories he told.
So he put strength into his hands. His grip momentarily loosened at the grotesque scream, but seeing sharp fangs as thick as his forearm, he drew out strength again. Hot and damp things thoroughly soaked his body. The first time was difficult, but after that it was easy. He tore and trampled whatever he could grab, and as time passed, he killed monsters more easily and comfortably.
Stepping onto a mountain made of monster corpses and looking around the place he entered, Jaehwi touched his headset. Since entering the dungeon, no words came in from outside. Since he also didn’t speak, it was no different from communication being cut off.
Because it was the place where he reunited with Raon, he easily realized this was the core of the illusion dungeon. He had to release the power he was suppressing to collapse the dungeon itself. Just as he was about to contact Hyukjin to tell him his plan, Raon appeared in the illusion.
This too must be an illusion. He bit his lower lip at the dungeon’s vicious behavior of showing the only existence that could grip and shake him. The dungeon would try to kill Raon by any means. And he wouldn’t be able to watch him die before his eyes, even if it was an illusion.
While concentrating on saving Raon, he couldn’t break through the dungeon itself. Bending the pillar of fire heading toward Raon toward himself was nothing.
Once, twice, three times. What remained in his mind as he died in Raon’s place was Raon’s face dyed with horror as he witnessed his end. Sadness and surprise, guilt. Even while watching him thoroughly soaked in all kinds of negative emotions, this was all he could do.
Die, die, and die again.
As the situations accumulated, he could instinctively know that Raon’s death was the only way to escape the illusion trapping him.
His jaw trembled at the various pains felt at the moment of death. His heart collapsed at Raon’s last gaze, wounded. As time passed and deaths accumulated, he grew exhausted.
In the peaceful space that appeared amidst the urgent situations where he couldn’t even see his face properly or have a conversation, only continuing, Jaehwi could finally breathe properly. Raon, in comfortable clothing rather than heavy protective gear pressing down on his body, was resting on the soft clouds.
Raon, with a faint smile rather than an exhausted and frightened expression, seemed to be taking a break. Bathed in bright sunlight, he was still beautiful, and he even laughed aloud as if the soft hair swaying in the gentle breeze tickled him.
He would die again. Before that, he wanted to hug him. It would be difficult to encounter such a leisurely scene in the terrible situations that had continuously occurred and would continue to occur in the future.
At the same time as embracing Raon, his depleted stamina returned and the energy that seemed about to burst right now calmed down peacefully. Enjoying the touch of the hand stroking his cheek as usual, he accepted his refreshing guiding as it was.
As if such rest was still a luxury for him, at the uneasy energy approaching from behind, Jaehwi hugged Raon tighter. It was enough that he had talked and hugged him like this even for a moment. He would still be safe, and death would be his share as always…
Raon, who had been in his arms, was at some point engulfed in flames and falling endlessly downward.
