Chapter 72

The black goggles displayed no emoticons.

They simply reflected my face across their smooth surface.

The face staring back at me was stiff.

Silence hung between us. Neither Je Hyun-oh nor I spoke.

As the stillness pressed down on us, a cheerful notification chimed.

It was the notification announcing the end of the daytime dungeon. I could feel the scorching heat lingering throughout the dungeon begin to fade.

I slowly parted my lips.

“Lieutenant Colonel Je.”

There was no reply. Gorgos was dead, so he should have awakened from the illusion…

Just as I was about to call him again—

I instinctively threw myself backward.

Slash.

The spot where I had been standing was had a mark carved deeply into the floor.

The path left behind by the metal hand looked like the claw marks of a wild beast.

I swallowed hard.

I remembered what Kwak Hanmuk had said back in DeZonDeal.

When emoticons appeared on the goggles, it meant Je Hyun-oh was in his right mind.

I stared at the goggles, completely devoid of any lights, before calling him once more.

“Lieutenant Colonel Je, are you oka—ugh!”

He swung his hand again.

I dodged the path of the metal arm, but it didn’t matter.

Several black crescent blades rained toward me, finally drawing blood.

I had barely escaped the thorn vines earlier, only to end up wounded again.

“Roasted Chestnut.”

Dominic called out to me.

I hurriedly whispered back.

“No, it’s alright. I’ll handle this.”

I absolutely couldn’t ask for his help.

Dominic had already put on enough of a spectacular magic show.

Even if I only asked him to subdue Je Hyun-oh gently, he might use another spell like before and casually call it a “mistake.”

If Je Hyun-oh took a hit from that beam, even he wouldn’t come away unscathed.

No matter what, I had to deal with him myself.

The problem was that I was a Chef.

Naturally, I had no attack skills. I didn’t even have a proper weapon.

I’d filled my inventory with cooking ingredients, so I hadn’t brought a single recovery item. There was no way to restore my health.

Still, there was one possibility.

Je Hyun-oh wasn’t actively trying to kill me.

Right now, his attacks felt more like attempts to drive me away.

If he’d truly intended to kill me, those black crescents from earlier would’ve pierced my vital points already.

‘A scrape across the forearm is nothing.’

Against Je Hyun-oh, that wasn’t even enough to qualify as a warning.

If anything, his attacks were far weaker than usual, which only made me more worried.

He really didn’t seem to be in good condition.

I watched him with tense eyes.

Surprisingly, after launching those crescents, he made no further attacks.

He simply stood there, and for a brief moment, I wondered if maybe I could talk him down.

Clink.

Je Hyun-oh suddenly spread his wings.

The six metallic wings unfolded with a grinding sound, casting ominous shadows across the room.

If he fired every one of those metal feathers at me, I’d die on the spot and end up served on Infernum’s dining table.

Yet, a strange certainty filled me.

I knew he wouldn’t attack me.

But instead of bringing relief, that certainty made me even more uneasy.

Screeeech.

Metal scraped against metal, and at the same moment, Je Hyun-oh vanished.

He launched himself forward so quickly I could barely follow him with my eyes.

His destination wasn’t me, but was the dungeon wall.

BOOM!

The wall exploded inward.

Because the space was maintained by magic, however, it immediately began restoring itself instead of collapsing.

Before the wall had even fully repaired, Je Hyun-oh slammed his head into it again.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The repeated impacts echoed endlessly.

Dominic asked in confusion.

“Is this also an ability Berserkers use?”

Only then did I finally understand what was happening.

“Lieutenant Colonel Je!!”

His body was completely surrounded by razor-sharp metal wings.

I couldn’t even get close enough to touch him.

A curse nearly escaped my lips.

I’d been so focused on avoiding him attacking me, I’d never imagined I’d end up trying to stop him from smashing his own head into a wall. I searched through my items, and there was… one thing.

It was a Chef-exclusive item dropped at low rates by the Floor 29 boss, the Firestarter Goblin.

I’d kept it as cooking equipment, but its defense stat was surprisingly good.

More importantly, the gloves were thick enough to block the metal feathers—at least for a little while.

I hurriedly equipped them and rushed toward Je Hyun-oh.

I shoved the metal wings aside with the mitts.

I tried to avoid touching the blades directly, but perfect defense was impossible.

The gloves were quickly shredded, and the blades cut into my hands.

The cold sensation against my palms made me flinch, but I forced myself forward.

I managed to grab Je Hyun-oh’s forearm. Practically collapsing, I pulled him away from the wall.

“Lieutenant Colonel Je, please get a hold of yourself…!”

To my surprise, he came away from the wall as easily as I pulled.

He staggered back two steps before looking down at me.

“……”

My own face reflected in the smooth black goggles.

Then he slowly turned his head and raised his metal hand.

A sickening sound rang out.

Crunch.

My eyes widened.

The sharp scent of blood filled the air, and metal feathers clattered loudly onto the stone floor.

Je Hyun-oh was tearing off his own wings.

One entire wing crashed to the ground.

I stood frozen, staring.

Then, when he reached for the second wing, I shouted.

“Je Hyun-oh!!”

I immediately activated my ability.

‘Prohibition.’

The metal hand gripping the wing froze.

With the few seconds I’d bought, I hurriedly bent down to pick up the fallen wing.

But there was no need.

The severed wing that had fallen before my eyes began moving by itself.

Click… clatter…

It broke apart into dozens of metal feathers, and covered in blood, the feathers drifted back toward their owner.

They attached themselves to the mangled flesh, reforming the wing.

As though it had never been torn away.

The only proof it had ever happened was the blood staining the metal feathers and the crimson liquid dripping between my own fingers.

The Prohibition ended.

The instant it wore off, Je Hyun-oh grabbed another wing and tore at it again.

When I cast Prohibition once more, his hand froze, but only for a brief moment.

The moment the restraint ended, he resumed ripping his wings apart.

However, no matter how many times he tore the feathers, it was no use.

As if mocking his resistance, each severed wing restored itself perfectly.

Knowing it was meaningless, he continued tearing them off anyway.

No matter how many times I cast Prohibition, the moment it ended he resumed mutilating himself, causing blood to pool around his feet.

At this rate, it would never end.

I clenched my teeth.

‘Fine.’

I glared at Je Hyun-oh as I activated another ability alongside Prohibition.

‘Prohibition. Divine Protection.’

Divine Protection wasn’t an ability meant for situations like this.

It protected against outside attacks, it wasn’t designed to stop self-harm.

But I had to try something, anything.

I just wanted him to stop.

Perhaps because I’d activated abilities in such rapid succession—

My eyes burned.

The reflection in his goggles showed golden light flickering within my own eyes.

Those unfamiliar… yet strangely familiar eyes.

I knew I shouldn’t keep using my abilities, yet I had no intention of stopping.

Golden veils descended over Je Hyun-oh’s head as Prohibition took hold.

The instant the veil settled, Prohibition disappeared.

I prepared to cast Prohibition again immediately, but, Je Hyun-oh didn’t move.

He simply stood quietly as if still under my control, and slowly lifted his head.

The dungeon ceiling was solid stone.

Not a glimpse of the sky could be seen, yet he gazed upward, like someone searching for stars.

Only then did I realize he wasn’t looking at the ceiling, but at Divine Protection’s golden veil.

Bathed in gold, Je Hyun-oh remained perfectly still.

He didn’t move until the veil slowly faded away.

Its golden brilliance dimmed and the veil crumbled into countless fragments.

Particles of light drifted gently downward.

Je Hyun-oh slowly raised his metal hand, trying to grasp those falling fragments. But the hand capable of cutting through anything couldn’t hold onto even a single piece of light.

His arm dropped limply.

I watched him with anxious eyes.

“Excellent use of your ability, Roasted Chestnut. Thanks to you, that Berserker seems to have calmed down now. Although… keeping him as one of your subordinates will require… hmm… a bit of education.”

I could hear Dominic praising me, but his words barely registered.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Je Hyun-oh, terrified he’d start smashing his head against the wall again or tearing off his wings.

Je Hyun-oh turned toward me.

Click.

He removed his goggles and pushed them up onto his head.

His eyes, with a distinct contrast between the color of his iris and pupil, were calm.

It was impossible to believe this was the same man who’d been acting insane only moments ago.

He reached a hand toward me.

The blade at the tip of his metal fingers pointed directly at my eye.

It stopped just in front of my face.

Honestly, it was a little frightening. I thought he might stab straight through my eye, but I didn’t move.

After a long moment, he withdrew his hand.

“Are you back to normal now?”

Je Hyun-oh silently looked down at me.

“Goyo.”

My lips parted.

“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Je.”

His voice, ruined by <Zero> , scraped harshly against my ears.

“You really wanna die, huh.”

“Uh… I really want to live, actually…”

“Then why didn’t you run?”

After I’d practically burst my eyes trying to use my abilities to save him that was the first thing he said.

Part of me wanted to get angry, but another part couldn’t help laughing.

Because, I could tell he was really back.

“Because without you, Lieutenant Colonel Je, I don’t have enough inventory space.”

I looked at him.

“So let’s leave together.”