EVS Chapter 76

Dallang dallang, dallang dallang.

With each step Sa-yoon took, the Twin-headed Bee’s head swayed left and right, making its presence known. It wasn’t just a head, but one dripping with blood. Geon-joo, who had been moving around to avoid getting splattered every time blood flowed from the corpse, finally seemed unable to bear it and expressed his irritation.

“Why on earth are you carrying that around?”

“What’s wrong with carrying it? It has its uses, pretty boy.”

“Isn’t it just a sick hobby?”

“Would you rather be hanging here instead?”

“……”

You’re in no position to talk back.

One threat and he goes quiet as if nothing happened. Sa-yoon chuckled softly at the pitiful sight of the back of Geon-joo’s head as he meekly looked at the map again, but then suddenly felt displeased and furrowed his brow.

I’ve gone through so much trouble to keep him alive, and he goes quiet over a little joke like this?

After all that effort, surely he wouldn’t kill him just for being a bit cheeky a few times. Geon-joo should know that better than anyone, yet he kept his mouth shut out of anxiety over what might happen. Thinking about it again, it was irritating. Wondering just how low his trust must be to act like that, Sa-yoon checked their relationship status again, but it was still stuck at “disillusionment and admiration.”

Why is it so damn hard to get him to like me?

It would have been better if Han Geon-joo had brightened up, but that wasn’t the case either. Sa-yoon knew that most people were stunned when they first saw his face. And Han Geon-joo in front of him had been the same at first. Knowing that his looks tended to attract others, he had deliberately smiled more prominently, but why did Geon-joo seem more repulsed every time he smiled after that?

Anyway, if something went wrong, it went seriously wrong.

It wasn’t Han Geon-joo who brightened up at his face, but himself whenever he saw Geon-joo’s face, which meant something had gone seriously wrong indeed.

As he was pondering whether this was how things were supposed to unfold, Sa-yoon’s senses detected monster movement. He briefly put down the Twin-headed Bee’s head as Geon-joo had wished and moved his pretty boy behind him.

“They’re coming from both sides.”

“What?”

“They’re coming from front and back, so this time you need to prepare too, pretty boy. The ones coming from behind are relatively weak, so if you try hard, you might be able to do something.”

Hearing the warning and grasping the situation, Geon-joo folded the map and drew his sword. Standing back-to-back, it wasn’t long before dozens of monsters came flying in. Their ranks varied from C to A.

Sa-yoon indiscriminately sliced through the monsters in front of him, which were predominantly A-rank, while occasionally glancing back to check on Geon-joo’s battle. He had been worried because of the large numbers, but Geon-joo seemed to have adapted to fighting multiple opponents through the monster waves, swinging his sword and avoiding attacks without showing signs of panic. It was a moment when the fortnight of training was bearing fruit.

If this was the level of monsters, it seemed he could trust Geon-joo to watch his back from now on. Reassured, Sa-yoon focused on his own battle.

After 10 minutes of swinging his sword, the insect-type monsters’ attack, which had been rushing in like a tidal wave, subsided. Over a hundred insect corpses were strewn across the floor. The crunching sensation of stepping on them as they passed was not particularly pleasant.

Sa-yoon slightly frowned and extended his hand to Geon-joo, who was still unable to cross.

“If you can’t cross, take my hand.”

At the quiet words, Geon-joo grabbed Sa-yoon’s hand and stepped on the insect corpses. Every time there was a crunching sound from below, Geon-joo’s shoulders trembled like the wings of a flying creature.

Sa-yoon picked up the Twin-headed Bee’s head again, and Geon-joo took out the map he had put in his pocket to check the way. From then on, there were no major attacks. The number of monsters decreased as they got closer to the boss’s room. It was natural since the guard that should have been protecting that place had noticed the intruders’ presence, gone out, and been killed.

“It’s here.”

They finally arrived at the boss’s room. Sa-yoon, checking the room with its massive iron door befitting a dungeon, gestured for Geon-joo to come out.

As it was the final gate of the dungeon, it had its own security measure. To open the door, the guard’s bodily fluids were needed. Sa-yoon rubbed the Twin-headed Bee’s head against the door, and blood from the severed head flowed out, wetting the iron door.

Kiiiik.

Soon after, the door to the boss room opened.

“…Keck!”

Geon-joo, entering a dungeon boss room for the first time in his life, groaned, clutching his neck at the pressure that poured out as the door opened. Sensing something was off, Sa-yoon called up the system window and frowned. The duration of Survival of the Fittest had ended.

No wonder he’s feeling the pressure so much.

If Survival of the Fittest had still been in effect, it wouldn’t have exuded such an aura. Sa-yoon straightened up the hunched Geon-joo and made eye contact with him.

“Look at me.”

“…?”

Geon-joo, crushed by the aura emitted by the boss-level monster, trembled slightly before looking at Sa-yoon. As it was an energy deliberately released by the dungeon boss to drive out intruders, there was no way for a B-rank to resist such a fierce aura. Not unless it was covered by an even stronger force.

<Skill ‘Induce Fear’ is activated.>

The skill previously used on the Shadow Worm was now applied to Geon-joo.

“…!”

Immediately detecting something unusual, Geon-joo’s eyes widened. His body trembled so much he could barely stand upright. Sa-yoon grabbed his arm to support him, but soon Geon-joo’s legs gave out completely and he collapsed. Geon-joo furrowed his brow at the sudden phenomenon. His contorted face turned to Sa-yoon.

“W-What did you…”

He stumbled over his words, unlike his usual self, due to the fear. Sa-yoon looked directly into Geon-joo’s eyes, and after confirming that some time had passed, he lifted the skill. As the skill enveloping his body disappeared, Geon-joo’s dazed eyes regained their usual light.

Regaining his strength, Geon-joo opened and closed his mouth a few times before getting up. Sa-yoon supported him, helping his pretty boy stand upright.

“…What did you do?”

“How do you feel now?”

“What?”

“Are you still struggling?”

“What… Oh…”

Geon-joo, who had been puzzled by what Sa-yoon meant, realized he no longer felt any pressure and let out a soft exclamation.

It seems it was successful.

He could tell without needing an answer.

“I temporarily tricked your senses, so it won’t last long.”

“What do you mean?”

“You were trembling at just one monster, so I used my energy to overwhelm you and tricked your senses so you can’t feel any aura unless it’s from someone stronger than me.”

“…I don’t really understand, but I get it for now.”

Geon-joo, saying he sort of understood, seemed to ponder for a moment before quietly adding a thank you.

The space inside the boss’s room was vast.

It seemed like 5 minutes had passed since they entered, but there was no sign of the boss, so Geon-joo looked around. As he surveyed the surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and doubt, Sa-yoon confirmed the strongly felt aura and changed his weapon.

Spring’s Dawn.

As Sa-yoon held it in his hand for the first time in a while, Geon-joo showed off his knowledge, asking if it wasn’t the sword used in the Tower of Disbelief.

“Yes, it’s the sword I used then, and you’ll soon meet the boss you’re so curious about, so keep your mouth shut.”

There was no point in provoking unnecessarily.

The Worm King was a monster that Han Geon-joo couldn’t handle even if he died and came back to life.

Sa-yoon slightly raised the corner of his eye in warning and went inside. The wide space narrowed again, and another door appeared. This time, the Twin-headed Bee’s bodily fluids weren’t necessary.

Opening the remaining door and entering, a monster half-raised from what looked like a nest came into view.

―Kiyayaaak!

Deudeudeu.

The entire cave vibrated in response to the creature’s howl. Faced with a fierce aura that couldn’t even be compared to the Twin-headed Bee’s, Sa-yoon pushed Geon-joo out through the door.

“Close that door and stay out of the way, pretty boy.”

Although he had drawn Spring’s Dawn to end this as quickly as possible, caution was still necessary given that the monster had poison stingers it could shoot at any time.

Hwaaak!

As he infused it with energy, Spring’s Dawn emitted a strong light, illuminating the dark cave. The Worm King, even more sensitive to this, raised its body.

While unmistakably bee-like in appearance, there were differences. It had six wings, walked on two legs like the Twin-headed Bee, and had two stingers.

One was a poison stinger and one was an instant death stinger.

The poison stinger was manageable to fight against, but not the instant death stinger. Even for someone like him, if hit by the instant death stinger, it would be fatal if not recovered immediately. And the Worm King that used the instant death stinger would also die an hour after the stinger was pulled out. It was a kind of mutually assured destruction tactic.

Recalling his previous experience fighting the Worm King, Sa-yoon checked on Geon-joo, who was half-hidden behind the door. Whether hit by the instant death stinger or the poison stinger, Geon-joo would die if even grazed by them. He needed to end the battle before the Worm King realized its weakness and tried any reckless moves targeting Geon-joo.

Sa-yoon and the Worm King faced off at a distance of about 10 meters. The Worm King pushed something behind it. It was its eggs.

So that’s why it was so sensitive.

Sa-yoon narrowed his eyes to confirm the position of the eggs and shrugged his shoulders.

Well, he only needed to attack the boss anyway, so those eggs could be used to threaten the Worm King if necessary.

“Once the battle starts, the aftermath will be big, so don’t get involved and just focus on preserving your life.”

As Geon-joo was fidgeting, Sa-yoon warned him again to be cautious, to which he replied.

“Can’t we attack now?”

“Do you think I’m you?”

Even villains give heroes time to transform, you know.

Remembering how Geon-joo had failed in his attempt to ambush Palsilochus in the Tower of Disbelief, Sa-yoon smirked. Geon-joo pressed close to the door and moved his lips.

“…I thought if we attack now, we could end it quickly.”

“There’s no point in deliberately provoking the Worm King while it’s hiding its eggs. I’ve confirmed where it’s hiding them, so we can use that later if needed. If we mess with it now, it’ll just get excited and become troublesome.”

If it thought they were trying to take its eggs, it would get excited and charge at them in a ‘you die, I die’ manner, which would be even trickier to deal with. Saying he should remember this, Sa-yoon provided information he hadn’t explained before, then took off the jacket he was wearing and threw it to Geon-joo.

“It’s an S-rank growth type, pretty boy. It should be able to block that thing’s instant death stinger in case of an emergency, so wear it well.”

“……”

“It’s the most expensive clothing item currently in existence, so there are thieves everywhere eyeing it. Don’t even think about running off with it.”

Of course, he wouldn’t do that, but just in case, Sa-yoon added this warning. Geon-joo’s hands trembled slightly as he hurriedly put on the jacket. Catching sight of this, Sa-yoon was about to mock him for being so timid, but the Worm King’s cry from the front made him focus on the battle again.

The Worm King, having finished burying and hiding its eggs, raised its wings stiffly. Seeing it was about to fly, Sa-yoon frowned and immediately raised his voice.

“Close the door!”

Kwaaang!

He had gotten quite good at following orders after working together a few times. No sooner had Sa-yoon told him to close the door than the iron door slammed shut, and

Sswaeeek!

The Worm King’s poison stinger flew fiercely and embedded itself in the iron door. If Sa-yoon’s warning had been a moment late, it would have been a close call.

“I let you hide your eggs all you wanted, and this is how you repay me.”

Sa-yoon laughed as if dumbfounded and gripped Spring’s Dawn tightly, using his space-stepping technique.

Hwak!

The distance between Sa-yoon and the Worm King closed in an instant.

Kagagagang!

A strong collision sound shook the dungeon, signaling the start of the final battle.