“What now?” Garnet asked. “We defeated the Demon King? Where is dungeon core?”
“Where is it, indeed.” I said, looking around the room in confusion. “We defeated the Demon King… but not the Dungeon Boss.”
“What do you an?” Bernice demanded, still staying uncomfortably close to Carmine. “Are you saying we’re going to die?”
I knew I had been missing sothing. However, as my eyes looked around the room, it suddenly all beca abundantly clear.
“Xin.” I looked at the woman, who was sitting with her back against the wall.
“You finally figured it out.” She sighed.
Garnet gasped. “You’re the Dungeon Master! B-but… you have no place in the story.”
“She didn’t… in that first cycle. Aberis had tossed you into this dungeon, creating your prison. However, you were powerful, and you did everything possible to get out. You fought your way through every boss, every enemy, and even defeated the Demon King. Yet, when the dungeon core presented itself and you destroyed it, there was no way out. You found yourself trapped in this dungeon.”
“I died…” Xin responded bitterly. “I had raised up the new Demon Lord, and despite fighting, and getting so far alone… I died.”
“You broke the original curse, only to replace it with itself. This dungeon was never about the war, it was about you, in a never-ending cycle to escape this place. Except… you’ll never escape, because you’re integrated into the lore.”
“How did you figure it out?”
“Too many things didn’t make sense. You didn’t take notice of until I started taking so of the dungeon from you. The fact that you were the only one to rember things after each cycle. Your ability to create unique spaces within the dungeon. Never mind your ability to change the dungeon’s lore over ti.”
“I was hoping… if you beca the Dungeon Master, maybe, I could leave? Yet, when I touched the Silvthril sword, I knew it. Normal Silvthril is harmless, but once forged by a dwarf, it gains an intent. It saw as the enemy, because I’m the Dungeon Master, connected to the miasma of this place. I won’t be able to escape.”
A sad expression ford on her face and a tear ran down her cheek. anwhile, my mind started to work. I rembered how Miki was able to manipulate soul energy. Since I could manipulate karma, then couldn’t I take hers?
“Xin… I can take you with .”
“What?”
“I don’t have ti to explain. I’m a Mimic, I can manipulate karma. Trust . I can absorb your corrupted soul, and then take it with .”
“You… would save ?” Her eyes widened.
I nodded. “I’m a Dungeon Master of my own. I have a Dungeon. You can co to it. In fact… I might even have a body for you.”
I rembered the Xin giant. Would her miasma jump to the giant like the princess’ to the rmaid or Bernard’s miasma to Aberis?
The ground erupted.
“The castle’s collapsing… we have to go!” Carmine said as the ceiling started collapsing.
“Xin?” I asked, my eyes only on her.
“Fine! Do it!”
I grabbed the holy sword from Carmine. “Okay, I’ll have to strike.”
“I won’t resist.” She responded, closing her eyes. “Oh, Deek…”
“What?”
“Promise , you’ll bring Aberis down.”
“I will.”
“Then, do it!”
I struck her with the blade in the sa manner that Aberis had done. However, as I did it, I also began to use Mimic to pull out her Karma. I pulled it out of her, sending it into an empty vial. The light in her eyes went out, and she collapsed dead.
“It’s done.” I sighed, putting the sword away in my Inventory. “Let’s get outside. Maybe… I can Portal out of here now or sothing.”
Just as I was saying that a light shone in Xin’s chest. It started moving out, appearing as an orb floating in the air. My eyes shot down at it, and then I suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Oh, no, not again.”
The orb shot at , slamming into my stomach. I collapsed to the ground in pain as the building collapsed on top of , and the world collapsed all around us.
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