“How much farther down do we have to go?”
The endless descent had started to wear on them, and the Espers began voicing their frustrations one by one. If monsters had at least shown up along the way, it might’ve been better. But with no sign of enemies and nothing but constant tension while they walked, their nerves were fraying fast.
“Seriously, what kind of boss needs this much buildup?”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit creepy? Sure, sometimes the Gate’s rank gets bumped up because of a strong boss—but I’ve never heard of a Gate where no monsters show up at all.”
“What are you worried about? I’d get it if it were just us or if we only had an A-rank Esper… but we’ve got Kang Rion.”
Some were anxious, but at the mention of Rion, they quickly relaxed with a, “Yeah, that’s true.”
“Looks like we’re here.”
Just then, Rion, who’d been leading the way, came to a sudden stop. A distinct pulse—one that couldn’t be ignored—was radiating from beyond the wall.
“…I think I get why there weren’t any other monsters.”
Rion nudged something with his foot and held it up for the group to see. It was one of the monsters they’d seen above in the desert—or more accurately, a severed leg from one of them, lying discarded in the dungeon.
The cut wasn’t clean. It looked like something had gnawed it off. Whatever it was, it had clearly been using the other monsters to fuel itself and grow stronger.
The monsters had been weak enough that even a C-rank Esper could handle them without issue, but there had been so many of them. That boss had probably built up a massive amount of power from devouring them.
As they rounded the final corner with tension in the air, they came face-to-face with what was clearly the Gate’s boss—just as expected.
“Ugh… this setup sucks.”
Someone muttered quietly. The boss room was only slightly wider than the stairway they came through, and even then, it was still narrow and the ceiling was low.
The boss, about twice the size of a human, had its head brushing right up against the ceiling. For Rion, who preferred aerial combat, this was one of the worst possible environments.
With the dungeon so cramped, this was basically going to be a one-on-one between Rion and the boss—and with his teammates right behind him, the layout was overwhelmingly disadvantageous for Rion.
“What kind of shitty Gate is this?”
“We should probably fall back for now.”
One Esper started ushering the Guides back the way they’d come. Since this was an emergency dispatch because of the delayed Chungcheong Gate, they hadn’t had time to consider team synergy.
Most of the group specialized in offense, so if a battle broke out here, the Guides could easily get caught in the crossfire.
BOOM—!!
A crashing sound rumbled through the dungeon.
The Gate boss, who’d been busy consuming weaker monsters, had finally started to move.
“How many damn legs does it have?”
The boss had a spider’s body with a human head and spread its long legs to block the passage. Rion usually preferred aerial combat, but the narrow space and those damned legs left him with no choice but to plant his feet and stay grounded.
Zing—
Something shot out from the boss’s mouth. Great—poison darts from its mouth and melee attacks with those legs. Talk about a double threat.
Rion bit his lip, eyes locked on the boss.
Under normal circumstances, he’d have taken out its limbs or wings, then coordinated with the others to bring it down—but in this tight space, Rion had no choice but to face it alone.
To make things worse, even though it looked spider-like, it had apparently been feeding off the scorpion-type monsters from the desert. Its outer shell had become hard, like a crustacean’s.
“Even if we try close-range… those legs are too damn annoying.”
Gwang-hyeon muttered in frustration. Rion, who had been observing the boss’s attacks and trying to formulate a plan, finally shouted,
“Everyone fall back. The path is too narrow, and we’ll just get tangled up if we all stay here. I’ll handle it.”
Besides, aside from Rion, everyone else here was B or C-rank. It wasn’t that he was looking down on them, but that boss looked like it was at least A-rank—and in front of something like that, the others might as well be sandbags.
Boom! Boom!
The dungeon shook with loud impacts. Once everyone retreated, Rion no longer had to hold back and unleashed his full power.
“Ugh, these goddamn legs…!”
One body, but eight legs. Even if two were for movement, that left six for attacks. On top of that, it kept firing poison darts from its mouth, making it impossible to focus.
This wasn’t something that could be dragged out. Even if it meant pushing himself a bit, ending it fast was the best option. Rion took a sharp breath and unleashed his power with everything he had.
A deafening crash rang out—and the boss let out a horrifying shriek.
“KIIIIIIIEEEK!”
Its upper body was human, so the scream sounded disturbingly human too, like someone wailing in agony. But Rion didn’t stop. He kept attacking relentlessly.
“Shit…!”
In a moment of distraction, one of the boss’s legs suddenly swung around behind Rion. If he’d noticed it a second later, it could’ve been fatal.
“Dammit, I’ve got to end this fast…”
Then, as if it had finally spotted prey, the boss jerked its head and began moving at high speed. Its legs shot toward the back.
It was aiming for the Espers behind him.
As Rion spun around to intercept, a poison dart whizzed past, grazing his arm.
“Damn… smart and deadly, huh?”
Rion gave a bitter laugh and turned his gaze back to the boss. He’d told the others to retreat, but realistically, they couldn’t have gotten that far. They were probably just waiting for an opening behind the corner.
If it had just been those legs, he might’ve been able to manage—but the poison darts from its mouth were a serious problem.
Guess I’ll just have to dodge as best I can and keep taking out the legs one by one.
Rion continued pressing the attack, carefully watching for openings.
Time passed. One by one, the boss’s legs began to fall limp against the floor. The narrow space made aerial combat difficult—but on the flip side, it also meant there was less area to defend, which made blocking attacks easier.
Two legs left. At this point, the advantage had clearly shifted to Rion.
God, if I hadn’t come in here, this would’ve been a total disaster…
How the hell is this a B-rank Gate? Rion cursed silently as he gathered his strength for the final blow.
BOOM—!
With no more legs to worry about, Rion could finally go all in. He stretched one arm toward the boss’s head and struck with full force.
“KIIIIIEEEE—!”
“Oh, fuck…”
And that’s when everything went wrong.
The boss shifted slightly at the last second, and Rion’s attack slammed straight into the dungeon wall. The ceiling began to collapse with a thunderous crack.
Just as Rion moved to support the falling rubble with his powers, the dying boss spat out one last dart.
That same damn dart—it was the problem yet again.
“Kang Rion!”
His teammates appeared from around the corner, shouting his name. In that instant, the world slowed down, and Rion’s mind kicked into overdrive.
A razor-sharp dart flying straight toward them—and a collapsing ceiling above their heads.
There wasn’t enough time to deal with both.
Sure, there were Espers in the back too. Maybe they could’ve handled it. But Rion wasn’t the type to gamble with lives like that.
In the end, he chose to protect them.
He sacrificed one of his arms to shield the others from the falling debris, catching the rubble with a howl of pain as his arm felt like it was being ripped apart.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“What do you mean fine?!”
Yu-won pushed through the others and rushed to Rion’s side, quickly checking his injuries. The last dart the boss fired had torn a deep gash through Rion’s arm and was now embedded in the ground nearby.
“That thing’s poisonous, isn’t it?!”
At someone’s shout, they all looked down—the floor where the dart had landed was bubbling slightly. Clearly, this final shot had been no ordinary attack.
“The top’s open. We can get out that way.”
“I’m not as strong as Rion, but I’m a psychokinetic too… I should be able to lift one person at a time up through that hole.”
Hee-joo looked up at the collapsed ceiling and spoke, but Yu-won wasn’t even looking at the exit. His eyes were on Rion.
“Are you insane? We’ve got other Espers and Guides here too! If you can’t even protect yourself, what the hell were you thinking?!”
“What, I was supposed to just stand there and watch the ceiling fall? The boss is dead, the Gate’s basically done, and—ugh…”
Rion, clearly annoyed by the lecture, tried to argue—but a wave of dizziness hit him mid-sentence.
“Stop talking. If you’ve got the energy for that, close your eyes and rest.”
Without another word, Yu-won scooped Rion up in a princess carry.
What the hell?! Is he out of his damn mind? In front of everyone?! Rion reached out to push Yu-won away, but his body refused to move.
Sunlight poured through the collapsed ceiling, stabbing into his eyes. Half-blinded by pain and light, Rion squinted, silently making a vow to himself.
He couldn’t see Yu-won clearly through the blinding rays, but he wanted to speak, to say what he’d resolved.
“You, I swear I’m gonna—”
But the words never came.
Even though he’d been guided, the poison spreading through his arm and the crushing fatigue overwhelmed him, dragging him under.
***
Rion woke up a full thirty-six hours later.
The moment he opened his eyes and checked the time, he spotted the Center Director, who had come to check on his condition—and immediately yelled out in panic.
“The pair adjustment period isn’t over yet, right?!”
“H-Huh? Oh—uh, yeah. Still three hours left…”
“Then cancel it. Right now.”
How he made it out of the Gate, what shape his body was in—none of that mattered.
Rion raised his voice again, firm and absolute.
“I’m not pairing with that bastard. Cancel the paperwork. Now.”
