Trapped in a Dungeon with the Boss Monster

Mari paused in front of the staircase leading downstairs. 

They were on the 3rd floor, and despite the building having six floors, including the basement, there was no visible staircase leading upward. Gillen must have changed the structure.

Mari rummaged through her inventory and retrieved a scroll, tearing it apart. Black smoke enveloped Mari’s body before dissipating.

“What was that just now…?”

Apart from the skill acquisition scroll, using a regular scroll would envelop the user’s body in a white light.

The black smoke meant the use of a curse scroll. Seeing Evie’s confusion, Mari nonchalantly spoke.

“Don’t be alarmed, I just reduced the skill cooldown time. I used the navigational skill when fighting the chimera earlier. Plus, with multiple floors, finding the gate in one go wouldn’t be easy.”

“But the black smoke…”

“Hmm. It’s not a big deal, just something that’ll keep me from using any skills for a week after today?”

“…It’s a pretty big deal.”

Marie laughed upon seeing Evie’s downcast expression.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. We’ll retire once we leave this place. So, come on. Let’s find out where the gate is.”

Mari squinted her eyes and then opened them. Her eyes, tinged with a shade of blue, shimmered in the dark hallway.

She stared unblinkingly at the stairs for a while, then closed her eyes.

“As expected, one attempt won’t do.”

Mari opened her eyes again, this time focusing on the ceiling.

After using the navigational skill two more times like that, Marie finally located the gate.

“Found it. It’s on the rooftop. Let’s go up.”

Gripping Evie’s loosely hanging hand tightly, Marie looked down at her.

“Shall we go in one go? You might feel a bit dizzy since it’s your first time. Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Evie replied, taking a deep breath. Suddenly, she felt the weightness on her body, floating, and her head spun like she’d done hundreds of mid-air somersaults. Her stomach churned, causing Evie to stagger.

A firm arm wrapped around Evie’s shoulder, preventing her from falling.

“Are you okay? Even for a first-timer, it’s usually not this difficult.”

It feels like you’re the Unawakened. Marie chose not to voice what was on her mind. Instead, she gently stroked Evie’s back while surveying the surroundings.

The sky was dyed with a deep violet color.

The ashy, hazy sky was enough to taint one’s mood with a single glance.

The damp and pungent air, in harmony with the sky, weighed heavily on their bodies.

Evie’s body jolted at the sound of a beast’s howl. Still dizzy, she couldn’t gather her senses.

“It takes about… 15 minutes for the Unawakened to recover from teleportation-induced dizziness, right?”

They couldn’t afford to wait that long.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Marie scooped up the struggling Evie in her arms and ran toward the red gate that shimmered near the rooftop railing. Evie buried her face in Marie’s chest, gripping her clothing tightly as if holding onto a lifeline.

Mari glanced at Evie with a playful smile before shifting her gaze to the gate.

“Wanna grab a drink later? There’s this bar I frequent with an amazing vibe and tasty drinks. The food is also flavorful, although it can be a bit spicy.”

“…If you’re treating, Marie.”

Marie chuckled at Evie’s response. It seemed this little hamster could drink.

“Sure thing, my treat. Let’s drink right after we stop by the hospital and they confirm everything’s okay. I enjoy day drinking too.”

Evie clenched her churning stomach and lifted her head weakly.

Even while running, Mari’s voice, never ceasing, was pleasant and reassuring to hear.

They quickly reached the railing.

The gate was right before her eyes. Once they stepped out through it, everything she had experienced until now would become a mere fleeting nightmare.

It wouldn’t be completely erased, but she could try to forget it. Despite her head still spinning, Evie couldn’t take her eyes off the gate.

“The drinks there are all good, but I recommend the margarita. The owner’s a bit of a crank, but… Huh?”

Marie’s voice sounded startled, and her body leaned forward. Evie couldn’t grasp what was happening. She was certain that Marie’s body had tilted, yet she remained securely held within strong arms.

But something felt a bit off. Her vision suddenly became too high. And…

“Ah…”

Evie couldn’t understand why Marie, who had been running well, suddenly sprawled on the floor. Why was blood flowing from Marie’s ankle? Her head was spinning too much.

“Ugh, shit, shit…dammit.”

Marie stifled a groan and let out curses through clenched teeth.

Seeing Marie agonized with a contorted face, Evie tried to approach her but the strength of the arms holding her grew even stronger. Evie struggled to move her body but, caught in a suffocating grip, she unconsciously uttered words.

“It hurts.”

In an instant, the arms wrapped around her body loosened. Evie took a deep breath and exhaled, catching a faint whiff of blood. She leaned her head against the sturdy chest, then lifted her gaze.

There was a familiar face with oddly torn corners of the mouth.

“Gillen…?”

Gillen wordlessly stared down at Evie. The bandage covering his eyes was drenched in even more blood than usual.

The bright red blood soaked the bandage, trickling down his pale cheeks. A sad voice echoed in her ears.

“Why… Evie…”

Gillen opened his mouth, but then closed it, shifting his gaze. Evie also followed Gillen’s gaze. She saw Marie, her hands trembling clutching the floor, barely sitting on the ground with both ankles severed.

Gillen swung his hand toward Marie. A thunderous explosion boomed—dust and smoke billowed up. At the horrific sound, Evie clutched her head and leaned her body forward, sobbing.

As the dust slowly settled, Evie anxiously searched for Marie’s figure.

“Cough, gasp…”

The floor was hollowed out to the point of revealing the steel frame.  And beside it, Marie spewed blood, her body covered in dust and rubble.

Though Marie managed to avoid the direct blow, one of her arms was mangled, and her side had flesh literally hanging out. Evie turned her head to look at Gillen. He was raising his arm again. Evie hastily grabbed onto the rising arm.

Gillen’s gaze turned towards Evie.

“No, please… don’t…”

He silently stared at her before blurting out words.

“I don’t want to.”

Sensing that Gillen could strike at any moment, Evie clung to him with her entire body.

If Gillen were to swing his arm again, Marie–already bearing grave wounds, would be completely torn apart, leaving behind only shredded flesh like the flesh mass in the hallway.

“Hah…”

Gillen sighed. Looking down at the fragile figure that would collapse if he lightly shook his arm.

“Evie, let go of me.”

Evie shook her head. She could hear Marie’s agonizing groans. While Gillen paused momentarily, Evie rolled her eyes.

She hastily glanced at Marie, the gate behind, and the red string around her wrist.

‘If I pull it with my hand, the string will come undone, right? Then she’ll be flung about 100 meters away?’

The string on her wrist was slightly blurry due to the distance between her and Marie, but she could still touch it. Evie looked at Marie, who was in a worse state than before she administered the recovery potion.

Their eyes briefly met.

Evie pulled the red string around her wrist. It came off easily as if it had never been tightly tied.

“Urgh…!”

As the red strap slipped off Evie’s wrist, Marie was immediately flung forward. The gate glowed brightly as it engulfed the flying Mari, shrinking smaller and smaller until it disappeared.

Evie stared blankly at the disappeared gate, slowly lowering her head. She wrapped her head with her trembling hands, screaming.

“Aaaah!”

Evie writhed, sobbing uncontrollably, didn’t care that she was in Gillen’s arms. This man, who clung to her to prevent her from escaping, was so terrible that she screamed and wildly struck Gillen’s arms with her clenched fists.

“Why, why…! Why me…!”

Gillen stood motionless, silently taking in Evie’s emotions. Evie continued to cry and strike Gillen’s arms with her fists, but she couldn’t inflict any damage upon him. As time passed and her strength waned, gasping for breath, Gillen called out to her.

“Evie.”

At Gillen’s voice, Evie turned her head away. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her lips were bitten so hard that they bled.

She could have made it home. If only Marie had been a little quicker. If there had been no monster in the hallway.

If only she had found the recovery potion sooner. They could share a drink at the bar Marie frequented, or maybe she could work at Marie’s shop.

Gillen wiped away the tears streaming down Evie’s cheeks and murmured.

“What should I do for you not to run away?”

Gillen sighed.

“What can I do for you to stay by my side?”

Gillen pulled Evie closer, patting her back. He ran his fingers through her hair and pressed his lips against her forehead. Still, Evie couldn’t stop crying. In the distance, the sounds of creatures fighting could be heard.

One let out a final scream, while another a mournful howl.

Terrified by the sounds reaching her ears, Evie buried herself into Gillen’s arms.

Gillen found it pleasing that Evie clung to him, but at the same time, he felt angry.

This was the second time Evie had tried to leave his side.

Gillen had always had the chance to catch her earlier.

When Evie first tried to leave, he could have stopped her by the first floor’s end.

And even this time, he could have prevented her from ascending to the rooftop with that person.

He could have killed that human before Evie could meet them. However, Gillen chose not to do so.

He kept giving Evie chances.

Chances to come back.

Gillen simply wished for Evie to willingly come into his embrace.

She said she wanted to be alone with him, that she didn’t want to go outside, but in the end, it was all a lie.

A beastly growl resonated from within Gillen’s throat. Noticing Evie’s fear upon hearing the sound, Gillen tried to calm himself. He had to keep his emotions in check now. The last thing he wanted was to direct his anger towards Evie.

Suppressing his boiling anger, Gillen pondered. How could he make Evie willingly stay by his side? She needed something to develop an attachment to. If not him…

Gillen bowed his head and whispered into Evie’s ear.

“Should we have a baby?”

Evie’s body jolted, and she looked up at Gillen. Her wide eyes still brimmed with tears.

Caressing her tear-stained cheek, Gillen continued speaking.

“If we have a child, will you stay by my side?”

“…….”

Evie’s lips quivered.

She trembled, her face turning pale. It was natural that she might be pregnant, yet strangely, the thought had never crossed her mind.

Although he’d turned into a monster, Gillen was still a man and he’d ejaculated inside her numerous times.

Perhaps she had been denying it all along, that having a relationship with a monster wouldn’t result in having children.

Though she couldn’t be certain, it’d been several months since she had started having sex with Gillen, and there were yet signs of pregnancy. This man was a monster, a different species from her, so she had convinced herself that there was no chance of carrying his child.

‘No.’

Having Gillen’s child…

To have a monster’s child growing inside her…

“No, no.”

Evie’s lips moved involuntarily.

“No, I don’t want to…”

It was a quiet murmuring, barely escaping her lips, but Gillen could hear Evie’s voice clearly. She huddled herself as her complexion grew paler.

Gillen slightly distanced himself from Evie, fixing his gaze upon her, and asked.

“You don’t want to?”

“I… don’t want to.”

“Why?”

“…….”

Evie gnawed at her lips.

Gillen brushed his thumb over Evie’s lips, which were bitten so tightly that they bled, and then gave her a brief kiss.

“I granted Evie’s request, didn’t I?”

Gently patting Evie’s trembling body, Gillen continued.

“I wanted to rip that human apart, shred them to pieces without leaving a trace. I wanted to tear off the arms that held Evie, gouge out the eyes that beheld Evie, and smash the head that think of Evie, but I resisted. So, shouldn’t Evie grant my request too?”

Embracing Evie tightly, Gillen turned. He extended one hand and snapped his fingers, and as if time were rewinding, the scattered fragments of the floor rearranged themselves. Gradually, the cracks mended, and just as the door leading to the rooftop opened, the floor regained its original form.

“How beautifully the child will resemble you when they are born.”

Gillen lowered his head and kissed Evie’s forehead. The unsettling contact caught Evie’s breath, making her body shrink.

Gillen took Evie to the room on the 3rd floor where she always stayed.

Soon after, the door closed.

* * *