Chapter 2

Finally... Did we really bring down the demon?

"Yes, Mr. Gerard. We finally brought down the demon."

"Hehe. Everyone has worked so hard. With this, adventurers won't have to tremble in fear anymore."

Even as his senses were fading, Yuhyun could still hear the adventurers' cheers of joy at their victory. Their trembling voices were filled with ecstasy.

He had once imagined what his end would be like when he was summoned to this world. To be honest, it was hard to imagine a good ending, whether at first or even after a few years. He vaguely thought that the end would always be a tragic death.

So, perhaps that's why...

Even as his vision darkened, about to see the world for the last time, he didn't feel anything special. He didn't feel the fear of death.

Yuhyun was simply indifferent. His heart, which had been beating endlessly, was now chillingly cold.

With his arms and legs half-severed and blood gushing to the point where he felt like he was drowning, Yuhyun looked at the world with endlessly cold eyes.

Despite the intense pain that felt like thousands of needles piercing his nerves, he didn't even groan once. His appearance was like that of a gruesome doll, as if he had always been like this, rather than a dying creature.

How could he maintain such a calm gaze even as the heat of life was fading? The elf, who had been watching Yuhyun's death, frowned.

With her slender, pointed ears and clear, water-like eyes, her golden hair flowed down to her waist, shining with luster. She had a beautifully sculpted face, fitting for her elven race.

However, the only thing in her gaze as she looked at Yuhyun was disgust. The elf, who had been called the Demon of the Labyrinth, didn't fear death, which infuriated her. She shouted,

"Suffer more! That's the only way to console the spirits of the dead!"

"Chuckle."

Yuhyun burst into a pleasant laugh at the elf's words, which seemed to be boiling with a desire for revenge.

"Laugh!?"

The elf bit her lip and raised her bow, a fierce killing intent radiating from her, as if she was about to shoot an arrow through his head at any moment. But Yuhyun only laughed pleasantly, without feeling any fear.

After a while, Yuhyun, who had his eyes half-closed, opened them.

In Yuhyun's pitch-black eyes, only a deep, abyss-like darkness remained. The elf, startled by the eerie sight, took a step back. Yuhyun laughed as if mocking her.

"Are you still afraid of me?"

"F-fear? What's there to fear when I'm watching you die!"

The elf blushed, embarrassed by her own actions.

Even the gaze of a dying human made the elf, known as the Divine Archer, retreat in fear. She was aware of her own pitiful state, and her burning face wouldn't calm down easily.

He was still alive, but he was no different from a half-dead corpse.

In his current state, even a child with a dagger could kill him. Just by stabbing the dagger into his neck. Despite being called a demon, he was ultimately just a human.

The elf had been momentarily terrified by this realization.

But it was because she remembered being chased by Yuhyun. The elf was the only one who had survived the labyrinth and escaped to the surface with the demon at her back. She was known as the Divine Archer.

Yuhyun, who had been quietly laughing, suddenly muttered,

"I should have killed you back then. Your comrades' love for you was quite significant."

"Grind."

The elf, trembling with anger, looked at Yuhyun with eyes that seemed ready to cry.

About a year ago, her party members had thrown themselves in front of her to block Yuhyun, in order to save her. She had survived because of their selfless sacrifice.

Since that day, she had dreamed of countless revenge against Yuhyun. But at the same time, she had nightmares every day. Waking up with a pale face from being chased by him was a common occurrence, and she had become afraid of the night.

Darkness was his domain, and the memory of being chased in the darkness haunted her every night. She couldn't easily forget the fear of not knowing when he would appear.

Even as the elf glared at him with bloodshot eyes, Yuhyun's thin, intermittent breaths continued, as if they could stop at any moment. He had probably lost too much blood.

His body was growing cold, and his consciousness was starting to blur. He was quietly struggling to stay conscious, but he was gradually reaching his limit. He was about to die, but he wasn't afraid.

At least the afterlife wouldn't be boring. The adventurers had suffered tremendous losses in today's battle. Moreover, many other humans had died.

Yuhyun recalled the events leading up to this.

Before being summoned to this world, he had been like an empty doll. After losing his family in a car accident, he had lost all will to live. The fairies summoned him.

There, Yuhyun saw many things.

He saw people dying, and others trembling and reaching out for help. It was then that Yuhyun realized he still had the will to live.

In his struggle to survive, he eventually became known as a demon. This made him a threatening presence to adventurers, leading to the current situation.

Many parties had been formed to capture Yuhyun.

Among them were mostly high-ranking adventurers known as Rankers, who could operate beyond the Heart of the Labyrinth.

Rankers were extremely rare, even among the hundreds of thousands of adventurers. The title of Ranker was not given lightly.

The Heart of the Labyrinth was the deepest part of the labyrinth, known as the graveyard of adventurers. To operate there, one needed a lot of experience and strength.

Those who could do this were called Rankers and were idolized by adventurers.

For over a year, these high-level adventurers had thoroughly searched the labyrinth to capture Yuhyun.

And they were all thoroughly killed by Yuhyun.

Solo Rankers were ultimately just prey for Yuhyun. They were strong, but not as strong as him, so they were hunted and killed. The adventurers couldn't easily accept this simple logic.

It wasn't until hundreds of people had died that the Rankers finally came to their senses.

But even then, catching Yuhyun, who was hiding deep in the labyrinth, was almost impossible. There were countless human dungeons in the labyrinth, and as long as they existed, Yuhyun could hide from the adventurers.

To catch Yuhyun, all the dungeons that had reached the Heart of the Labyrinth had to be cleared.

As a result, the human dungeons that had reached the Heart of the Labyrinth were thoroughly exterminated, and the adventurers finally managed to track Yuhyun down.

But catching Yuhyun didn't mean the end.

They had only just discovered the demon hiding in the darkness of the labyrinth. They had scoured the labyrinth and cleared dungeons to reach this starting point.

During this time, many adventurers were massacred by the demon. Famous clans were wiped out in a single day. Through this arduous process, the adventurers finally reached Yuhyun.

And through their efforts, the adventurers managed to defeat Yuhyun.

But the result was devastating.

None of the dozens of clans were left unscathed. What was called a "clearing" was more like a war, and most of them suffered catastrophic damage. The demon was not alone.

The clearing of the dungeons pushed humans to a dead end, and as a result, they had a reason to unite against the adventurers. At the center of this was the demon.

Yuhyun, still smiling, looked around in his darkening vision.

There were dozens of adventurers present.

Even the elf in front of him was a top-ranked adventurer known as the Divine Archer.

Finally, a great mage known as the Sage sighed and stepped forward. He was worried that the elf might lose her temper and do something rash.

There was a reason they hadn't killed the demon yet.

He had something he wanted to know, though he wasn't sure if he would get an answer.

"I have one question. Demon."

A calm voice, as if coming from the forest.

Yuhyun raised his head at the sound.

"What is it?"

"Wasn't she called Iris? Where is she? The small demon."

Yuhyun was also called a demon, but there was another demon.

It was the fairy Iris, the owner of the dungeon Yuhyun belonged to, at least according to the adventurers.

Many fairies had been exterminated, but Iris had not yet revealed herself. In other words, the dungeon Yuhyun belonged to had not yet been discovered.

Yuhyun shrugged. Even this small movement caused blood to gush from his wounds, but he didn't groan. He only smiled silently.

"I don't know. Maybe she's the one suffering the most right now."

"Hmm. So, her dungeon has also suffered catastrophic damage, I see. Many of the players under her must have died in this battle?"

"......"

"Is that correct?"

The Sage smiled. Yuhyun also smiled inwardly.

......I wonder.

The foolish Sage in front of him had missed one thing.

Why did they believe all fairies had their own dungeons?

Iris was a special fairy.

She didn't have a dungeon.

"Hey, how long are we going to keep this guy alive? Let's just kill him. To be honest, I'm reaching my limit just standing here."

An irritated voice, and a greatsword was pressed against Yuhyun's neck. The one holding the greatsword was a male orc known as the Berserker, with striking red skin. His eyes were filled with fierce determination.

But even the Berserker had struggled in the fight with Yuhyun, and his left arm was missing, torn off by Yuhyun and now beyond healing. It was a permanent injury for the Berserker.

The Sage nodded at the orc's words.

"Kill him. It seems he won't answer any questions."

Now, the adventurers would desperately chase the remaining dungeons. With their core forces wiped out in today's battle, the humans wouldn't have the strength to resist. Interrogating them one by one, someone would eventually talk.

The Sage judged that it was fine to kill the demon since he didn't seem to have anything more to say. Initially, he had thought of torturing him to get information, but given the demon's attitude, torture would be meaningless.

"That's a good idea."

The Berserker smiled at the Sage's words.

With a laugh, the Berserker swung the greatsword without hesitation. The greatsword, slicing through the air, instantly severed Yuhyun's neck. Blood spurted out, and the demon's breath stopped.

In the faint, thin thread of consciousness that remained, Yuhyun thought,

It's quite unpleasant to watch your headless body from the air.