Chapter 25
"Sorry about this. I need to survive. My family is waiting for me. You don’t have anyone to support, do you? It’s only right that I live here."
Park Cheol-geun pushed Ja-geon outward around the corner.
Ja-geon stumbled and fell into the passageway. A split second stretched into an eternity.
Park Cheol-geun gazed at Ja-geon with tear-filled eyes before whirling around and fleeing.
So I’m today’s fool.
Ja-geon blinked his eyes open. Yoo Mi-jeong stood with her bow drawn.
After all that grand talk, I’m the one who got played twice. How many times must I be humiliated before I learn, Shin Ja-geon?
Ja-geon let out a hollow chuckle.
Thud— His heart hammered violently. Blood surged to his brain in an instant.
Ja-geon understood “humans.”
The reason they crafted morality and laws as supreme values while building societies… was because they couldn’t trust one another.
They were immoral creatures, uncontrollable without laws.
Freed from the shackles of order, humans became the cruelest beasts.
Humans were evil.
Their vile nature.
Ja-geon had long accepted this truth.
To embrace instinct and unleash desire without restraint.
To trample rather than be trampled.
Ja-geon writhed clumsily across the floor, rolling in the dirt.
He barely dodged an incoming arrow. Lifting his mud-caked face,
“Huuuk—”
he took a sharp breath. Before Yoo Mi-jeong could notch another arrow, he lunged forward.
I’ll sacrifice an arm.
Yoo Mi-jeong loosed her bowstring. Ja-geon shielded his heart, head, and neck with both arms.
True to her Sharpshooter class, the arrow aimed for his heart—only to pierce his left arm.
The distance had closed. Yoo Mi-jeong drew her dagger, certain he’d cast magic.
A mage closing the gap? Pathetic fool. I’ll carve out your heart before you finish chanting!
Swish—
Her assumption shattered as Ja-geon drew a longsword from his cloak.
His movements seemed sluggish yet followed an unavoidable arc. Her amateurish swordsmanship lay bare before him.
Thunk!
Ja-geon’s blade slid smoothly into Yoo Mi-jeong’s stomach.
“Ghk—uuuugh! AAAAAH!”
She screamed in disbelief as Ja-geon gripped her throat and began casting. Her terror-glazed eyes pleaded wildly.
“Please! Stop! Spare me! I’ll do anything—even be your slave! Forgive me!”
Mana swirled in Ja-geon’s pupils. He glanced at the arrow in his arm before smiling—a radiant, merciless grin.
“No forgiveness needed. You adapted well to survival of the fittest. I was simply stronger.”
Whoosh—
Dark flames streamed from his hand. Yoo Mi-jeong’s head erupted in black fire.
She shrieked, convulsing as flames consumed her—
Thud.
The tremors in her soiled legs ceased.
Yoo Mi-jeong’s corpse, head charred to cinders, crumpled to the ground.
Ja-geon yanked the arrow from his arm as the remaining pursuers arrived.
“What the hell…?”
They froze at the sight of her body.
Ja-geon stood beside it.
Dark flames bloomed in his palms as he murmured, “The path changed, but the end remains. You die. I grow stronger.”
Their clash filled the dungeon with bestial roars.
———
Park Cheol-geun crawled through dungeon passages.
“Did I… survive?”
The noises behind him faded.
I’m sorry.
He pictured Ja-geon’s final moments.
“But I have a family. I can’t die here. Not for my sake—for theirs.”
Park Cheol-geun muttered, rationalizing.
Everything for family.
No better excuse existed. Crimes became justifiable when framed as sacrifice.
I’m not evil. It was unavoidable. If I weren’t the provider, I’d have died in his place. I would have.
He shook off the guilt.
“Damn… My wounds reopened.”
Countless cuts bled freely from his frantic escape. Sitting briefly, he retrieved a healing potion.
A waste, but necessary.
The gashes sealed instantly when he poured the liquid.
I’m not a bad person.
Park Cheol-geun was inherently good—a devoted father, a reliable friend. Never committed crimes, not even petty theft.
Ethical. Moral.
But this was life or death. If I died, everything ended. One of us had to.
He’d never forget this day. Nightmares and solitary drinking awaited—the price of an ordinary man’s survival.
No time to rest. They’ll pursue soon.
He heaved himself up. Survival came first.
“…Bolt.”
Fwip—
Park Cheol-geun collapsed mid-step. A black arrow protruded from his shin.
Ssss— The wound necrotized instantly.
“Ghhhk—!”
He turned. A figure emerged from the shadows.
“Dark Bolt.”
Bolts streaked through the air. Park Cheol-geun raised his arms to shield his vitals.
“Guhk!”
The projectiles peppered his lower body. His eyes widened in shock.
"Huff... So you... ran away alone... Hoo... Were you waiting here? Old man. Heh heh."
Jagun spoke while panting heavily. He was severely wounded.
His left arm was severed, and the slashed wounds all over his body exposed muscles and bones clearly.
Blood loss made his vision blurry.
Kiiiiing.
Only Jagun's pupils glowed red.
He had chased Park Cheolgeun without rest, pushing his body to the limit.
"Y-you're alive! Good! That's good!"
Park Cheolgeun's pupils shook violently.
His words and expression were completely at odds. His face was filled with despair.
"Fuck, are you messing with me now? You bastard, what the hell are you saying? Good? You think this is good?"
Jagun covered his face with his remaining right hand and gritted his teeth. Park Cheolgeun realized excuses were useless now.
"Forgive me! I was wrong."
Park Cheolgeun couldn't even think of resisting.
He'd already taken a preemptive strike, and his leg was bleeding badly. The pain kept him from standing.
"Shut up. Just stretch out your neck. Earlier, while fighting, I thought about it. Should I let you live? Maybe just cut off your limbs and throw you into the dungeon? But now my left arm's gone and it fucking hurts like hell. That's when I decided—I'll tear you apart with my own hands."
A dark crimson light slowly rose in Jagun's eyes. Instead of whites, only that glow filled them.
His growled words sounded like a beast's snarl.
"I have a family! People who still depend on me! You wouldn't understand! But I have a family! I can't die like this here! You'd have done the same in my place! If you hadn't pushed someone else, you wouldn't have made it out either!"
Park Cheolgeun screamed desperately. Jagun pulled out a bloodstained cigarette case with one hand.
He put a cigarette between his lips and smiled.
"Right. I was going to push you out too and regroup alone. You were just faster than me, that's all."
Park Cheolgeun's face showed slight relief at Jagun's words.
"R-right. It couldn't be helped. I never meant any harm toward you—"
Jagun drew his sword from his waist. The color drained from Park Cheolgeun's face in an instant.
Jagun stood before him.
"But that doesn't mean I shouldn't kill you, does it? Simple logic—you pushed me, and I almost died because of it. You get why I'm pissed, right? Any last words?"
Park Cheolgeun shook his head wildly.
He clung to Jagun desperately. "I have a family! If you kill me, three innocent women will lose their husband and father!"
Jagun swung his arm as if annoyed.
Thunk.
Park Cheolgeun's head floated momentarily before hitting the ground.
The first thing he saw after separation was the cross-section of his own neck.
It didn't feel real.
He couldn't believe he was about to die.
His rolling eyes alternated between Jagun and his own body before consciousness faded completely.
"That shit means nothing to me."
Jagun burned Park Cheolgeun’s corpse before staggering away.
Big Bo spent all day clearing a D-class dungeon with the Black Tiger Raid Team.
He stood at the front as their shield soldier.
'Not bad. Everyone treated me well.'
The Black Tiger team didn’t hate Big Bo.
Everyone knew he’d been dragged around by Jagun’s unilateral actions. Some members even pitied him.
'After clearing the dungeon… an all-you-can-eat meat buffet for the celebration… Ahh, happiness. Earning money while eating delicious food…'
Big Bo returned home in high spirits. The room was pitch black.
"Guess the Captain isn’t back yet."
He muttered while turning on the light.
Click.
The moment light flooded in, clothes soaked in blood came into view.
"Eek!"
Big Bo startled before rushing inside.
Jagun sat slouched on the couch, a bottle of strong vodka in hand.
His face looked haggard from overusing healing potions. His body’s recovery had been pushed artificially past its limits, causing overall physical decline.
"Captain?"
This was Big Bo’s first time seeing Jagun drunk.
Jagun wasn’t what he seemed—he was meticulous.
Never exposing weaknesses or flaws. He always drank moderately, knew when to stop.
"Big Bo."
Jagun called. His speech slightly slurred.
"Uh. Y-yes. Captain."
Big Bo answered awkwardly.
He subtly distanced himself, wary of getting hit.
"I’ll kill every bastard who stabs me in the back. Remember this—even if I betray you, you don’t betray me. Same goes for everyone else."
Jagun murmured drunkenly before collapsing onto the couch.
"He’ll catch a cold like that…"
Big Bo fetched a blanket from the closet.
'Seriously, what kind of logic is that? “I can betray you but you can’t?” Total Scrooge mentality.'
Grumbling under his breath, Big Bo spread the blanket over Jagun.
