"At this rate...
we’ll all die before we even reach the boss."
Moon spoke calmly, yet decisively.
"Instead of dying for nothing,
we should focus on finding the captured hunters...
then search for a way out of this labyrinth
and report everything to the Elders outside."
Luna nodded without hesitation.
"I agree...
that’s the most realistic plan we have right now."
"Then let’s present it to the First Squad."
Having reached their decision ...
knowing that further advancent
would only lead to their deaths—
the two sisters set out
to speak with Gustave Heart,
hoping to gain his approval.
Old Ashvarn...
was no ordinary dungeon.
According to Jackson ...the ancient hunter who had been trapped for centuries ...
the city had evolved...
into sothing far worse over ti.
A true nightmare.
Spells had been cast upon it—
the first turning it into an endless labyrinth.
Once soone entered the city,
there was no escape—
unless a certain unknown condition was fulfilled.
Perhaps...
sothing tied to defeating the city’s boss.
The second spell ...
stripped ti itself away.
Those trapped within Ashvarn
no longer aged...
no longer grew older .
as if the very concept of ti
had been taken from them.
The city itself was divided
into three primary regions.
The outskirts—
where the weakest monsters road,
the very ones Ethan had hunted
for an entire month.
Then the depths...
where stronger creatures erged,
and where the arena stood at its edge .
the place where the hunters had fought.
And finally...
the old cathedral.
A massive structure resembling a fortress ...
where the worst of all monsters nested.
Deep within its darkest chambers . the final boss awaited.
This level of horror
far exceeded what the hunters had been prepared for.
Even those outside
had begun to sense
that sothing was wrong.
Before the gates of Ashvarn .
the Elders had gathered.
They stood at a distance,
surrounding the city’s boundary
without entering ...
fearing the curse
would accelerate their transformation into monsters.
Among them—
Kevin Heart had begun to lose his patience.
"It’s been over a month...
and we’ve heard nothing.
Not a single word from the hunting squads."
The complete lack of communication
had turned the situation inside
into a complete unknown.
Every possibility was now on the table .
including total annihilation.
Old Ashvarn was changing by the day .
and the curse had begun to threaten
the stability of the city above.
Even the flas of Lord Vassel
were barely containing it.
Given the severity of the threat,
the Elders began seriously considering
sending one of their own inside.
despite the high risk
of that person becoming a monster.
Their number was not large .
but even the weakest among them
stood at the Saint rank.
And the strongest...
Asterion .
a High King at the very peak of that realm.
Kevin’s plan was simple .
but it demanded sacrifice.
Send a King-ranked Elder into the city.
Have him assist the hunters within—
and bring an end to the dungeon.
Yes—
he would eventually transform into a monster.
But not imdiately.
He would have enough ti
to defeat the boss first.
And once the city was freed ...
the remaining Elders
would kill him themselves.
A logical plan—
but one that required
one of them to be sacrificed.
Many were willing to accept that fate ...
for the sake of the family.
Until—
Asterion stepped forward
and rejected it outright.
"This plan is aningless, Kevin."
The old man spoke calmly .
yet firmly.
"Sending an Elder at random
will only make things worse."
"Your plan assus
that a King-level hunter is enough."
"That assumption...
is a grave mistake."
Asterion’s claim was dangerous .
and it gained no support,
lacking any concrete evidence.
But the proof he needed...
was simple.
He knew—
Ethan had lied about Matthius.
Claiming he was Saint-level...
when in truth ...
he was a King. And based on that ...
Asterion reached a conclusion.
If a lesser legacy dungeon
held a King-level boss...
then a far more dangerous one ...
like Old Ashvarn ...
would naturally contain sothing...
far worse.
"And that line of thought... was absolutely correct."
"Asterion... if what you’re saying is true, then what do you propose we do?
There’s no one here but you who can fight sothing beyond the King level."
At those words, the drunken old man allowed himself a faint, crooked smile.
"Obviously... you’ll have to send ."
He said it casually .
yet the rigid expressions on the Elders’ faces made it clear
there was nothing casual about what he had just proposed.
"I refuse."
Kevin Heart rejected the idea outright.
"And who exactly would be able to stop you...
if you were to turn into a monster?"
Asterion might have looked like nothing more than a wandering drunk .
but his strength was no joke.
If he were to transform,
he would beco a threat greater than anything inside the city.
Asterion understood that better than anyone.
"Even if I’m cursed again after all these years,
I won’t turn imdiately."
"I’ll be able to resist... for a ti."
He paused briefly, then continued calmly.
"But you’re right—
eventually... I will beco one."
"...However."
He raised a finger ...
drawing attention to sothing
they had all overlooked.
"There is a way."
"A way for to enter...
and help them...
without facing the risk of turning into a monster."
The old man spoke .
then laid out his plan before the Elders.
A plan that—unexpectedly—
earned their approval.
Because they understood...
that the so-called Uncrowned Emperor
was right.
But for that plan to succeed .
soone inside the city
had to act first.
And unfortunately...
there was no way
to communicate with the hunters trapped inside Old Ashvarn.
"Then one of them... will have to figure it out on their own."
Asterion said calmly—
placing his faith entirely
in the young hunters fighting within the city.
Believing...
that one of them would notice it soon enough.
A belief that Kevin did not share.
"You really think soone among them
can comprehend sothing like that...
and actually pull it off?"
he asked skeptically.
Asterion fell silent for a mont—
thinking—
before finally answering.
"I’d say... there’s a chance."
"Fifty-fifty, perhaps."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I have a rather strange disciple...
one who never fails to surprise ."
"And I’m hoping...
he’ll do it again."
In the end ...
everything depended on Ethan
and his companions.
Until they prepared the stage ...
Asterion had no choice...
but to wait.
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