Chapter 79
My expression twisted at Joo Sarang’s words.
Joo Sarang sounded sincere.
Here, we could leave Pandemonium, Berid’s filthy orders, and everything else behind — and live a happy life for just the two of us.
“If we don’t leave this place, we won’t have to worry about Pandemonium’s chains anymore.”
“That’s not something that can be solved like that.”
“Why not? People disappearing in dungeons isn’t rare. Besides, this dungeon appeared suddenly in the middle of an exam. They’ll look for us at first, sure. But how long do you think that’ll last?”
“You think Pandemonium will just sit still?”
“And if they don’t, so what?”
This was a dungeon within a dungeon — a double dungeon.
Even the Academy’s mock dungeon was complicated enough, but the hidden passage here was far more complex, with a multilayered structure.
It was a hidden dungeon — one that could only be entered after wandering endlessly through the depths of another dungeon.
And this place, the deepest part, could only be reached after struggling through the darkness within that dungeon for a long time.
“They’re the kind who see us as disposable pieces on a board. Do you really think Berid or any of Pandemonium’s executives would care if we disappeared?”
Of course, Joo Sarang had a point.
Just as she said, Pandemonium didn’t particularly care for its Demon members.
Even the way they created Joo Sarang as a character was proof of that.
They took orphans and made them kill each other.
Those who didn’t survive were simply dismissed as weak — failures unfit for the rule of the strong.
At a glance, it looked like freedom, but in truth, it was neglect and indulgence.
If Joo Sarang had fallen into this place alone, they wouldn’t have even searched for her. They would’ve just assumed she was dead and moved on.
But her assumption was wrong.
I was here.
And my existence was far more important than she realized.
Yet Joo Sarang, lost in her fantasy, kept dreaming of an impossible future.
“Aren’t you sick of it? Pandemonium, the Academy… all of it.”
“You…”
“With my power, I can change our surroundings as much as I want. Food is no issue either.”
Her eyes fell on the mountain of Monster corpses piled up nearby.
This place was overflowing with resources.
Considering her ability, those corpses were as good as usable materials.
If she used those as building materials?
Or even as food?
She could cultivate crops, build a huge market if she wanted.
That was how broken her ability was.
“It’ll take some time, but we can build it up little by little. Quietly, normally — just living the life we should’ve had!”
Her face showed no trace of confusion.
The panic she had felt when she realized she had to survive alone in this dungeon had completely disappeared.
No — if anything, she looked happier than she had before entering the labyrinth.
“You said it yourself. You’re the final key, and that’s why you didn’t come looking for us. But now you don’t have to run. Actually, it’s even better this way.”
Instead of answering, I let out a long sigh.
A heavy breath escaped, burning in my chest.
“No.”
I answered quietly, but Joo Sarang didn’t seem to hear me as she kept talking.
“This is perfect, actually. I’ve always wanted to escape that wretched Pandemonium. Who would’ve thought I’d get such a chance? Be with me. Let’s turn this vast cavern into our own space. And if it’s lonely with just the two of us… we can have a child.”
I shook my head again, about to speak — but she spoke faster.
Her voice piled over mine, as if trying to smother my words beneath countless others.
She wasn’t unable to hear me.
She just didn’t want to.
“I can accept everything about you. Really. Even if you try to release some twisted desire on me — it’s fine. I’ll bear it. Maybe it’ll even be enjoyable in its own way. We can build paradise here.”
So I spoke firmly.
“Enough with the delusions.”
Joo Sarang’s face froze at my harsh tone.
Did she really think I would accept her offer?
…Perhaps she did.
After all, we’d lived through the same childhood, shared the same pain.
Back then, we used to dream of an ordinary life together, huddled in the dark.
If I really were Yoo Seongwoo — and not just someone who had possessed his body — maybe things would’ve been different.
But though I was Yoo Seongwoo, I was not Yoo Seongwoo.
That past wasn’t mine, and neither were those feelings.
That was why I had to push her away even more firmly.
“You’re a vessel for the Lord of the Archdemons. You can wield demonic power and yet don’t understand demons? This dungeon? With demonic power, it’s nothing we can’t handle.”
Joo Sarang stared blankly at me, eyes unfocused.
Then, a dangerous light flickered in her gaze.
Joo Sarang thought.
Only one person could leave this place.
And Yoo Seongwoo wanted to leave.
That message reached her as it was.
‘I’ll kill you if that’s what it takes to get out.’
It felt as if Yoo Seongwoo’s voice echoed inside her head.
From her body, darkness began to seep out, slowly but surely.
Demons were always close to the dark.
And intense emotions made for perfect prey for that darkness to consume.
“Hey—”
Yoo Seongwoo opened his mouth, but Joo Sarang couldn’t hear him anymore.
Even though there were only two people in the vast cavern, it sounded like countless voices were whispering all around her.
She couldn’t stop the flood of negative thoughts, and her emotions grew wilder and wilder.
“Why? Is it because of that little friend you play pretend with outside? Or that lover you sneak out to see every weekend with an Outing Permit?”
“You— how do you know that?”
At her words, Seongwoo’s face hardened.
He could tolerate her mentioning Park Siwoo or Helena as threats.
But Lia — that was different.
She was the key to dealing with Berid.
And Joo Sarang, Berid’s subordinate, could never be allowed to know of her.
That was why he had always been cautious.
Every time he applied for an Outing Permit, he wrote a different reason — and made sure to avoid any possible tailing.
“I’ve been watching you all this time. When you were hanging out with your friends at the Academy, when you texted Yoo Iseo every day to ask how she was doing, when you used an Outing Permit every weekend to go meet someone, and even when you secretly worked behind the scenes to sabotage Pandemonium’s grand plan.”
The darkness in her eyes deepened.
Yoo Seongwoo felt goosebumps run down his entire body as he asked,
“How much do you know?”
“Enough.”
Crack.
Yoo Seongwoo shattered his petrified clothes and grabbed Joo Sarang by the throat in one swift motion.
Her face contorted as she struggled to breathe under his tightening grip, yet her gaze only sank deeper, darker.
“Don’t reject me… You’re the only one I have left… I’ve come all this way thinking only of you… Don’t reject me!”
Her wail, filled with resentment, echoed in his pupils.
And then, the surroundings began to change in an instant.
Everything around them ignited with darkness and turned to gold.
Startled, Seongwoo shoved her away roughly, widening the distance between them.
“Don’t—run—away!”
Joo Sarang’s scream chased after him.
The sound waves in the air transformed into golden arrows, the air in the space ahead of him rippled with golden waves, and even the walls turned gold.
There was no trace of reason left in Joo Sarang, who now wielded terrifying power.
All that remained was a monster, consumed by the Lord of the Archdemons’ power and her resentment toward the man who had rejected her.
Yoo Seongwoo quickly drew upon his demonic power and tore apart the energy binding him.
Shaaak!
With a slicing sound, the golden light scattered into nothingness.
Seongwoo immediately pointed his sword at Joo Sarang.
“If you come any closer, I’ll really cut you down.”
“Go ahead.”
Joo Sarang strode toward him, and the ground beneath her feet turned to gold with every step.
Seongwoo couldn’t bring himself to cut her down, and instead retreated further back.
“Damn it, snap out of it! Once demonic power starts taking over, your body will collapse!”
The power of demons was never meant for humans.
If one tried to draw out more power than they could handle, their body would be consumed by that very energy.
Just as Seongwoo warned, her body was slowly turning gold, unable to withstand the excessive demonic power.
Seongwoo’s eyes gleamed sharply at the sight.
He drew his sword from the darkness and vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Joo Sarang and swung.
Slash.
But the moment his sword touched her, it crumbled into dust.
“It’s useless!”
Joo Sarang snapped her head toward him, their gazes locking.
At the same time, a black hand shot toward him.
Sensing danger, Yoo Seongwoo swiftly leapt back to gain distance.
But her hand was faster than he expected.
Her fingertips grazed the surface of his armor.
Ssshhhk.
Her power pierced through his defenses, liquefying his armor in an instant.
A damp, slippery, revolting sensation spread across his skin.
And a pungent, oily smell stung his nose.
‘This… is oil?’
At that very moment, a small flame bloomed from her hand and touched his body.
Fwoooosh!
The flames spread in an instant, engulfing Yoo Seongwoo.
But even as he was consumed by fire, he remained calm, showing no reaction.
Then, from within the blaze, a quiet voice echoed.
“Do you take me for an idiot? You think if you go berserk and sacrifice yourself, I’ll thank you for it?”
At his words, Joo Sarang’s eyes — which had lost all color — trembled.
From the beginning, all of this had been her act.
When Yoo Seongwoo showed the resolve to kill her and leave this place,
Joo Sarang remembered her past self.
She had killed everyone — just to survive.
The children who died back then must have wanted to live, too.
That was why — if she hadn’t killed them, she would’ve died.
That justification, weak as it was, had dulled her guilt.
And that was why she had thrown herself at Yoo Seongwoo.
It wasn’t as if she had much to live for anyway.
“I knew… you wouldn’t be able to kill me with your own hands.”
“……”
Yoo Seongwoo didn’t answer. He only looked at her quietly.
Already, much of her body had turned to gold from the runaway power.
“You sold your soul to a demon — do you really think you’ll find peace in death? Don’t you know that for Demons, death isn’t the end?”
It was unbelievably foolish.
To throw away her life and willingly crawl into hell for something so meaningless.
Human life wasn’t something to be discarded so easily.
Having fought against an incurable disease for his life, Seongwoo could never understand.
He waved his hand.
The flames covering his body disappeared in an instant.
Ordinary fire couldn’t harm him.
After all, he wielded the Flames of Gehenna.
And Joo Sarang knew that better than anyone.
If she had found Lia, she must have already known the full extent of his powers as well.
Joo Sarang’s body swayed and then collapsed.
Seongwoo caught her and gently laid her down.
With most of her body already turned to gold, there was no way to reverse it.
Her hand softly brushed Seongwoo’s cheek.
“If we had met not in Pandemonium, but as real cadets at the Academy… would the ending have been a little different?”
“Don’t talk like you’re about to die.”
Seongwoo had no intention of letting her die.
“You asked a ‘what if,’ so let me ask one too. If we make it out of here alive… will you help me destroy Pandemonium?”
“Heh, you really think that’s possible?”
“If we destroy Pandemonium, maybe you can break your contract with the demon you sold your soul to.”
It was an absurd assumption — but what couldn’t one say to a dying person?
Joo Sarang thought he was just saying it to comfort her.
To regain her mortgaged soul and escape Pandemonium — what a tempting idea.
“You should’ve said that to me the day we first met…”
“I couldn’t trust you back then.”
“And you can now?”
“That’s why I’m asking.”
“Fine. If we get out alive, I’ll do anything you want. Destroy Pandemonium, kill whoever you say, let you have my body — whatever you wish.”
Joo Sarang could feel her body slowly losing all function.
At least the last thing she saw was Yoo Seongwoo’s face — that was enough.
As her consciousness faded, his quiet voice reached her ears.
“You’d better not forget those words.”
And with that, her awareness sank into endless darkness.