Hastily, she drew a gun and aimed it at Ruga Peya. I swallowed dry saliva. She was definitely dead then! I killed her, so how is this possible?

“Don’t worry. I’m just a fragment of myself.”

She smiled and turned around slowly. Her white clothes puffed out in a circle, fluttering, and the hands that once looked human transformed back into multiple tentacles.

“There was that newly created species called goblins. Since they finally gained the power of my followers, I left them alone to investigate later.”

“So part of you remained?”

“Exactly! I’m a fragment that remained connected until right before I died. Still, by itself, it couldn’t do much, but then the dungeon was born. A dungeon dominated by my followers.”

I recalled that the King of Harmless was included among the dungeon creators. So the fragment began exerting influence as the dungeon formed. I don’t know the details, though.

“…Was the message window I saw at the Haeyeon Guild yours?”

“There were two paths there. Han Yujin and Han Yuhyun confront an L-rank nightmare. Or Han Yujin faces an S-rank nightmare. You chose the latter.”

“I don’t remember choosing.”

“Really?”

Of course, if given a choice, I would have picked the latter. Even if I couldn’t use the skill overlap trick, if the opponent is S-rank, it wouldn’t have been impossible. Harder, but still doable. There is a strategy.

“I thought the little moon was simply one of the children of the crescent moon~”

Ruga Peya swayed like she was dancing. She resembled a large jellyfish swimming underwater.

“I mean a child who’s a bit better and more likable. But what the world! Layers and layers being stacked. How many worlds did it pass through? I want to try too! The crescent moon is selfishly enjoying it alone! I would have kept quiet, but still!”

Seeing her excited purely from curiosity made my stomach churn. The victim could lose their self and be dragged away anytime, yet she says she wants to try it? Well, that bastard said the first thing when seeing me was that this is fun and enjoyable.

The struggles of the people inside this dungeon were nothing but amusing spectacles and entertainment to the King of Harmless. In other words, he didn’t regard us as people like himself. Maybe we’re just lab mice. Mice become pitiable when you grow attached to them.

That’s why transcendent beings are inevitably feared. Except for the elder. Even the newcomer has changed quite a bit now.

“I didn’t expect the young chaos to appear! What’s going on? It was interesting that «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the crescent moon entered your body. Even if it’s just a trace left in the dungeon, the rate of maintaining consciousness was much higher than expected!”

“…What?”

“I thought more of the crescent moon’s traits would show. Usually, when it’s an avatar, the physical body changes considerably. But only your eyes changed. The first thing to change is the eyes, then the body hair. And depending on the degree of assimilation, the body itself changes too. Sometimes the race or gender changes.”

Wow, I’m so glad it didn’t change. The King of Harmless looked down at me with sparkling eyes.

“Is the existence rank higher than expected? Because of the titles? The Caregiver title is the most suspicious. Sometimes system stats differ from actual stats. Ah, if only I had more time!”

She sounded excited like Mr. Seok Hayang explaining experimental results.

“So you don’t intend to harm me and will disappear soon?”

“Right. I came out like this because of the compensation process as the dungeon manager. The newcomers must be taking care of the others. I was curious about Little Moon and the lunar eclipse, but with my power, I can only handle one person, so I brought Han Yujin with me. I’m not good at the system side.”

Ruga Peya stared quietly at the transcendent before her. To her, the story of me and my brother was just entertainment. Yet she was the only one who had watched everything.

She knew I had returned in time, knew my brother under the tree, knew the two left inside the dungeon. And she neither empathized with my sorrow nor cared for my wounds. She was also the one I didn’t have to worry about or hide myself from. As soon as I thought this—

Tears fell.

“Han Yujin?”

“…I wanted to say it too.”

“Hm?”

“I wanted to tell Yuhyun it’s okay! Even if the last part can’t be changed. Still, I could have said it!”

Without time regression, without my brother surviving, we can’t defeat Rauchitas. That ending can’t be changed or avoided.

But I could have spoken.

“There was a little time… I could have told him to apologize. No, just told him I forgive him, that it’s okay.”

Even forcing a smile.

“I could have said I love you……”

Uncontrollably, I burst into tears. I collapsed and sobbed. It’s not like I’d see him twice anyway, so there was no shame.

“I… hic, I wanted to say I love you too, and hug you!”

“Hmm, I know. It’s a common regret.”

“This means we reconciled, huh, sniff.”

“You must be envying other endings in the dungeon.”

“My brother… I let him go like that……”

Even if it was an inevitable end, I could have made it better. Even a little more, even a little more. At least once I could have stroked his head. At least once shown a smiling face. Would it have made this pain any lighter?

Is there an end to regrets about the dead? But still.

A handkerchief was offered before me as I cried. How human of her. I had no reason to refuse, so I accepted.

“…Give me some water too.”

“Are you done crying?”

“Even crying for three months and ten days won’t solve this.”

Even if I get Yuhyun back, the knot inside will remain. It can’t be helped.

“That bastard better live badly. Really badly.”

I got up and washed my face with water in a round bowl.

“Yeah, I have to live, of course. If it ends there, I’d be truly resentful.”

Is it enough to just celebrate birthdays? New Year will come, his birthday too, and spring will arrive. Plum blossoms will bloom in the warming air.

I wiped the water away with the handkerchief. I can’t leave traces of tears.

“Hey, let me ask you something.”

“Ask away.”

“You’re also a dungeon creator, right? You said you’ll close this dungeon, so what happens to the beings left inside?”

“I don’t know exactly.”

The jellyfish-like tentacles fluttered as she continued.

“A dungeon is basically the power of the Origin. The system twisted that power, which tries to swallow the world, into a safer form. In other words, the dungeon’s existence itself can’t be touched by the system.”

“…Uh. I’m curious whether the dungeon’s world will stay intact. From our perspective, it’s fake.”

“It was created, true. But your world was also made by the Origin’s power, wasn’t it? Ultimately, the root is the same, so it can’t be simply called fake. So whether the closed dungeon remains or disappears—”

Ruga Peya tilted her head slightly.

“Maybe it’s the will of the Origin.”

“The will of the Origin?”

“The Origin’s will and the question of self-awareness have long been debated. Generally, bastards say there is none; filial addicts say there is. I believe there is.”

I thought of the snowy white tree. That gigantic existence.

“Until now, no one but the White Bird confirmed the Origin’s will. Actually, we guess it’s because we can talk with the White Bird. But one thing’s certain: the Origin has at least minimal self-preservation will!”

Ruga Peya declared confidently.

“The timely appearing lunar eclipse!”

“…Chief Song?”

“I think it’s a kind of antibody. A defense method against viruses that try to attack the Origin’s body.”

I didn’t like the expression, but I had to listen.

“Usually antibodies appear naturally, but since Little Moon is still incomplete, it hasn’t harmed the Origin. Ah, maybe instead of antibody, it’s more like a vaccine? Waiting inside to swallow Little Moon just before it fully rises. And vaccines are intentional acts.”

“So the Origin—the fifth Origin—has its own will, sensed the threat, and created Chief Song…?”

“It’s not a normal existence.”

Though I expected it, I felt upset.

The crescent moon created Seong Hyunjae to eliminate the Origin, and the Origin created Song Taewon to eliminate Seong Hyunjae. That’s probably the story.

“But it’s still a human.”

“If recognized by oneself and those around.”

Right? Ruga Peya twisted her legs… tentacles in the air. She can say sensible things too.

“We don’t know exactly what happened between the crescent moon and those two here…”

“Want me to look for it?”

“Hm?”

“The crescent moon disappeared and scattered, but I can probably gather some info.”

“Really? Can you? The elder said newcomers can’t.”

“Handling memories is my specialty.”

“Then please.”

Who would have thought a jellyfish would be helpful like this. Life is unpredictable.

“But let me take a closer look once more.”

“…Again?”

She did that before. Even though a fragment that will soon disappear, curiosity wants to be satisfied. After all, people also have an end. To transcendent beings, the moment I see Ruga Peya is probably just a blink.

But I live on.

“Anything other than tentacles? Earlier it was hands.”

“The fingers are short and few. How can I touch everything in that time?”

Ruga Peya extended her tentacles. It must feel weird to be touched by hands, uhagh.

“I really hate tentacles!”

“How convenient this is.”

“It feels like bugs crawling under my clothes! Hey, touch only my back!”

“To know exactly, I need to check everything. Mana seals are much more stable.”

Let’s think of this as a simple health checkup. Only the instrument feels unpleasant, just a checkup…

“Open wide. I’ll check inside too.”

“What? Uh, uh-uh!”

I quickly shut my mouth and covered it with my hands, protesting. Are you crazy? No!

“Think of it like an endoscopy. You have those in your world.”

“Ugh!”

“Other holes will hurt though. Like ears—”

“No!”

“Good girl, want candy?”

The damn jellyfish changed into a familiar doctor’s coat and smiled. A stethoscope hung from her neck and the background changed to a hospital. And the candy cane in her hand—or tentacle tip—what the hell. I really hate tentacles…

“Congrats, you’re healthier now.”

“…Really?”

“When an avatar settles, it usually involves strengthening the vessel. It varies with assimilation rate, and yours is low like you said, so not much difference. But mana seals are properly established, so less lifespan reduction and easier use.”

“So basically good news? If assimilation was higher, would you be stronger? Stats up too?”

“If your body and even gender changed, you’d be at least C-rank despite the crescent moon’s disappearance. But at that assimilation rate, you’d be dependent on the crescent moon.”

I suddenly recalled Young Chaos saying that to extend lifespan, one must be dependent on a higher-ranked opponent. Even the crescent moon’s remains can raise you to C-rank, so maybe S-rank if it were the original.

“What exactly does dependence mean?”

“There are levels of dependence. Light dependence means the self remains but it’s hard to disobey commands; stronger means permission is needed even to sustain life.”

“So light dependence means obeying most orders?”

“Except for extreme ones like ‘Die!’”

Why did the elder recommend such a dangerous thing? Of course, if meeting a good opponent, they might just strengthen my body and leave me alone.

“And I think the Caregiver title’s power grew stronger than when I last checked.”

“Stronger?”

“Titles and skills usually grow. Ah, the teacher skill might soon level up. You used it a lot. The things put in your body are growing well too.”

It really felt like a health check.

“The problem is that powers much stronger than the body are also growing. I wonder how this will turn out. It seems more stable than I expected, which is strange. You were originally a normal human, so why was this created?”

“Just happened to turn out this way, why.”

“As promised, I’ll show you the crescent moon’s memories.”

The jellyfish nodded and stepped back. Thick fog gathered around her. Then a faint voice was heard.

[I protected humans.]

It was Chief Song.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep