Chapter 36
Inside a pitch-black secret chamber.
Hwang Ji-young sat in a rocking chair, staring blankly at a candle as its flame trembled and burned down.
Left Wing stepped out of the darkness.
“I delivered the order, but their movements are unsettling.”
“They’re not fools,” Hwang Ji-young said calmly. “Of course they’re scared.”
Right Wing appeared as well, emerging from the shadows beside them.
“The biggest problem are the executives in the company.”
South Korea’s number one mercenary enterprise.
The moment something smelled off inside it, the organization moved on its own.
“The moment the executives doubt the Guild Master’s order, they’ll convene a meeting and mobilize agents.”
“They’re already suspicious,” Left Wing added. “Issuing the order at all was suspicious.”
As Guild Master, Hwang Ji-young had issued an internal order to the Black Label Company.
A temporary halt to the search for Bang Hyuk-min—an operation that, by now, might as well have been treated like a national directive.
An unjustified pause like that could only be read one way.
It told the guild, the company, and every executive under them that Hwang Ji-young was deliberately buying time.
“That alone will make them think you already know the Legendary Title Holder,” Right Wing said.
“The executives probably already know,” Left Wing said. “That the Bang Hyuk-min we know is the Legendary Title Holder.”
“Even so… the reason you issued the order…”
“At least because it came from me,” Hwang Ji-young replied. “Guild Master. Head of the family. I was hoping that authority would delay them—just a little.”
The rocking chair came to a stop.
“I don’t know how long it’ll buy. This is all I can do for Bang Hyuk-min. After this, it’s up to him to solve his own problems.”
Left Wing and Right Wing bowed deeply.
“We’ll relay the order to everyone who hasn’t received it yet.”
Hwang Ji-young nodded once.
“I don’t know what you’re planning in a situation like this, but hurry up, Bang Hyuk-min. We have much less patience than you think.”
She turned her gaze to the full moon beyond the window.
“I guess… he’ll be moving soon.”
= = =
A massive door loomed ahead—like the entrance to a boss room.
In the darkness beyond, heavy footsteps shook the air.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The boss of the Hermes Dungeon emerged.
“W-What is that…?”
It looked like an ogre, but it was wrong in every way.
Ogre skin should’ve been green.
This one was black.
And—
“A head… Two heads!?”
“Netherworld Twin Head Ogre. That’s its name.”
Netherworld Twin Head Ogre.
The ogres they’d cut down earlier felt like puppies compared to this thing.
Over five meters tall, iron clubs slung over its shoulders—each one thick and brutal, like it could crush a car.
Its presence alone was oppressive, its shape grotesque enough to freeze the breath in your throat.
‘How are we supposed to beat that…?’
Hyun-jung’s hands stiffened.
Her mind tried to find a way out—any way out—and found nothing.
Then—
Whoosh—
Hyuk-min stepped into view, his back blocking the boss from her sight.
He faced the Netherworld Twin Head Ogre with the Immortal Demon Sword in his hand, now formed into a longsword.
Whoom.
An iron club slammed down where Hyuk-min had been standing.
At the same moment, Hyuk-min vanished.
“Kuwaang?”
“Kuoh?”
The boss’s two heads snapped around, confused.
But Hyun-jung could see him.
‘Death Knight’s Helmet…?’
Hyuk-min was already on the ogre’s left shoulder, having moved so cleanly she hadn’t even registered it.
The monster didn’t seem to notice at all.
Hyun-jung’s chest tightened—fear giving way to something sharper.
Confidence.
Squeeze.
Mana surged through Hyuk-min’s grip, flooding into the Immortal Demon Sword.
‘So that’s why he said we could clear it… even though it’s harder than the Tomb of the Dead Knight.’
Swish!
A blue arc streaked through the air.
Hyuk-min’s blade carved into the creature’s neck.
With the Death Knight’s Helmet and a B-rank Immortal Demon Sword, the strike landed true.
“Kuwaaaaaaack!”
The left head jerked.
Half-severed.
The ogre’s left leg buckled, its massive body staggering as pain tore through it.
Its right hand, reaching for Hyuk-min, lost balance for an instant.
Hyuk-min didn’t waste it.
“Hyun-jung!!!”
Crunch.
Hyun-jung ground her teeth so hard her jaw ached.
She’d thought it was impossible.
But—
‘I’ll do it.’
If Hyuk-min was here—
If Hyuk-min commanded—
‘I’ll make it happen.’
Zzzzzzzzz.
“Yes!”
Everything else vanished.
No fear. No hesitation.
Only the shot.
Clang!
Instead of a Mana Bullet, a Railgun blast erupted from the mana-infused barrel.
Fueled by nearly a third of her mana, the shot stretched into a screaming line and punched through the left head, detonating the air with a roar that shook the ceiling.
Bang!!!!
“Kuwaaaaaaack!!”
“Kuoooooo!!”
Not too much. Not too little.
Hyun-jung’s control was perfect—destructive power measured to the exact limit.
The left head drooped.
The right head saw it.
Its eyes burned red with rage—each one as large as a sword.
“Looks like we’ve got a nuisance left.”
Hyuk-min tightened his grip on the Immortal Demon Sword.
The red glow swelled.
This wasn’t ordinary anger.
The boss raised its hand.
At the same time, a red beam fired from the right head, spearing the spot where Hyuk-min had been.
Zzzing!
Boom!!!!
“Uncle…!?”
From Hyun-jung’s angle, it looked like he’d been nailed in place.
But the Death Knight’s Helmet triggered at the last instant.
Hyuk-min was already on the ogre’s right shoulder.
“Ah…”
He drew in a breath and gripped his sword tighter.
‘At least it’s better than the left head.’
Swish!
“Kuoooooo!”
Hyuk-min’s blade tore into the remaining neck.
With the Railgun’s damage setting the pace, he cleaved through two-thirds of the thick flesh—like cutting into a baobab tree.
It would’ve been fatal for anything else.
But not this boss.
It still wasn’t enough.
To end it for good, he needed Hyun-jung.
“Hyun-jung!!!”
Hyun-jung answered instantly.
“Yes.”
Clang!
No surprises.
Perfect aim.
The Railgun pierced the right head’s eye, blasted out the back of its skull, and shook the ceiling with another deafening impact.
Boom!!!
“Kuooooooo….”
Thump!
The five-meter-tall Netherworld Twin Head Ogre dropped to its knees.
Both heads—each with different Skills and abilities—hung limp, like dolls with their strings cut.
‘Good thing they were careless.’
If the left head had immediately started casting debuffs…
Hyuk-min’s stomach twisted at the memory.
The left eye’s flashes—endless debuffs.
The right eye’s beams—unstoppable, merciless.
Dozens dead. Hundreds injured.
A nightmare he never wanted to relive.
If the left head hadn’t slipped—
‘I would’ve given up and turned back.’
Only then did a smile finally form on Hyuk-min’s lips.
Sssssssss.
The ogre’s upper body began to topple forward.
Hyuk-min braced to jump off as the ground rushed up.
Just as the body dipped past forty-five degrees—
Suddenly—
“…!?”
It stopped.
Dead still.
Hyuk-min lurched, nearly slipping—
Whoosh.
The boss’s right hand surged in.
Hyuk-min’s blood ran cold.
Stab!
He drove the Immortal Demon Sword into the ogre’s shoulder and caught himself.
The hand felt like a moving statue—an impossible thing forcing itself to live.
‘How…?’
He snapped his gaze to the heads.
Both were dead.
Eyes closed. Color draining.
Proof.
“Damn it!”
No time to think.
Only time to survive.
Hyuk-min put the Death Knight’s Helmet back on and tightened his grip on the Immortal Demon Sword.
Then he unleashed a Railgun burst at the incoming hand.
Ratatatatat!
In Regression Mode, the mana-charged blasts tore through even the boss’s absurdly tough finger bones.
Three fingers blew apart under crescent-shaped impacts.
Even then, the hand didn’t stop.
It kept coming—intent on crushing him.
“I’ll smash you to pieces.”
Hyuk-min didn’t flinch.
In Regression Mode, he could use his past-life body as it was—
No, stronger.
Layered with Hidden abilities.
‘Haste. Strength. Fast. Power. Light Body.’
Veins stood out. Muscles bulged—thighs, calves, forearms, wrists, even his forehead.
Power packed into every inch of him.
The palm filled his vision.
And Hyuk-min released everything at once.
Bang!!!
Blue mana flared—and more than half of its light vanished in an instant.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Explosive speed and power, unleashed so fast it couldn’t be seen.
The result—
The giant palm shattered into six pieces right in front of his face.
Crunch!
And he didn’t stop.
His legs burst with acceleration.
He ran up the wrist, forearm, shoulder—dark blue blood spraying—and shattered the right arm completely.
Tap.
He landed back on the right shoulder.
A left fist—swung so fast it was almost invisible—slammed into him.
Thwack!!
“Uncle!!!”
Gush.
A third of his HP vanished even in Regression Mode.
That was how heavy the hit was.
But—
Boom!!
The left fist shattered into six pieces in front of his eyes, just like the right.
Gush.
“Ah…”
The Immortal Demon Sword’s effect activated.
His HP snapped back to full instantly.
“Sorry for underestimating you.”
Hyuk-min’s voice sharpened as he stared at the dead heads.
“I forgot you weren’t a normal monster.”
His thighs swelled again.
Crack. Crack.
A sound like bone shifting beneath his feet.
He lowered his stance.
The System’s voice rang out.
[5 seconds remaining until Regression Mode ends.]
“Thanks to you, I’ll take the Magic Stone in your body. I’m going to… tear you to pieces.”
Before the System could finish—
Hyuk-min became a gust of wind.
For the remaining five seconds, he spun through the Netherworld Twin Head Ogre, cutting and cutting until its body was reduced to shredded flesh.
= = =
Patatatatat.
Dark blue blood poured down like rain.
White marble turned black-blue, soaked through, the elegant atmosphere long gone.
In the middle of the blood-rain, Hyuk-min staggered—Regression Mode ended—and dropped to one knee.
“Uncle!!”
“Don’t come.”
Patatatatat.
He raised a hand toward Hyun-jung as she rushed in.
“You’ll get blood on you.”
Hyun-jung ignored him and ran anyway, letting the rain drench her too.
“I told you not to come.”
“Let’s… let’s go back quickly.”
His mana was gone.
His body felt like it was collapsing from the inside.
Hyun-jung supported him as they staggered toward the exit.
“Wait.”
“The Magic Stone? I’ll get it.”
Hyun-jung lowered Hyuk-min in a spot where the blood didn’t fall, then stepped back into the rain.
She returned with a Magic Stone bigger than an adult’s head and set it in front of him.
“That’s not it.”
[You have cleared the Hermes Dungeon.]
[The cleared Dungeon is undergoing the process of disappearing.]
[If you do not escape, you will disappear along with the Dungeon.]
Hyuk-min and Hyun-jung’s eyes widened.
Cleared Dungeons disappeared—everyone knew that.
But even after the boss died, it normally took time.
Thud!
This was immediate.
Something was wrong.
Cracks split the white marble ceiling.
“Already!?”
From the first message to the collapse speed—everything was too fast.
“Ugh…”
“Uncle!? Where are you going!? We have to get out!”
“The Magic Stone doesn’t matter. We have to… take that.”
Dragging his unresponsive body, Hyuk-min forced himself deeper into the boss room.
It was the reason he’d come to the Hermes Dungeon at all, even pushing himself this hard.
Without it, everything he’d planned would be meaningless.
“I’ll— I’ll get it!”
Thud!
The cracks reached the boss room.
Even so, Hyun-jung didn’t hesitate.
She entrusted her gun to Hyuk-min and sprinted toward the back with everything she had.
Crackle.
Cracks burst at random.
But Hyun-jung moved through them like she was born for emergencies.
“Here it is!”
She returned with a small box taken from the depths of the boss room.
“Is this it?”
“That’s it. Good job.”
“But… how do we get out now?”
The cracks were spreading too fast.
Even Hyun-jung—someone who always found an answer—couldn’t see one as the ceiling broke apart, chunks falling and shattering.
Hyuk-min grabbed her hand and placed it on the trigger.
“Shoot the Railgun in short bursts. Aim the opposite direction.”
“Ah. The recoil…?”
Hyuk-min nodded.
A smile spread across Hyun-jung’s lips, matching his.
“Hold on tight.”
“Can you do it?”
“I can do it.”
With Hyun-jung’s confident shout—
“Here we go!”
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two of them blasted out of the collapsing Dungeon, hurled forward by recoil as the world behind them came apart.