When Asmodeus chose the third path, he did not face a price.
There was no sacrifice.
No bond.
This layer demanded only power.
The moment he saw the figure before him, his breath caught.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
"You… you… you're dead."
The figure did not respond.
"SIEGFRIED! You are not alive!" Asmodeus shouted.
And he was right.
What stood before him was not Siegfried's will—
only his body.
If measured, it possessed barely ten percent of Siegfried's true strength.
And yet…
It was still overwhelmingly powerful.
Asmodeus instinctively tried to draw Excalibur.
The sword did not move.
"Now?! Is this really the time, Excalibur?!"
The answer echoed coldly in his mind.
"The sword in his hand can destroy me. I cannot come out."
"Idiot sword! Then both of us will be destroyed here!"
Excalibur fell silent.
Asmodeus clenched his teeth and scanned his surroundings.
Aeris was gone.
For a brief moment, his heart dropped into emptiness—but he did not stop. He drew the second sword he carried. Activating the device on his wrist, his form changed.
His hair turned purple.
His eyes began to glow.
His family had left him only one thing—
a book containing cursed techniques.
Thanks to Arthur, he had mastered nearly all of them.
Dark mana coated his blade.
"Clone."
Ten Asmodeus figures attacked Siegfried simultaneously.
With a single strike, Siegfried erased every clone.
The next instant, his hand closed around Asmodeus's throat.
Asmodeus grabbed Siegfried's arm.
"DECAY."
The arm shattered into fragments in the blink of an eye.
Siegfried retreated.
Asmodeus seized the opening.
A cross slash.
Siegfried blocked it easily, his blade beginning to glow.
Excalibur spoke.
"Balmung… the dragon-slaying sword.
I truly did not expect to see it here."
"What are you trying to say?"
Reluctantly, Excalibur answered.
"You cannot oppose him without me."
Asmodeus drew Excalibur.
Now he wielded two swords—
one was Excalibur,
the other the blade shrouded in curse.
Siegfried lunged forward, his attack spinning with flames. Asmodeus lost his balance and fell backward.
Siegfried's sword was about to pierce his heart.
Asmodeus stopped it with his hand.
And—
CRASH.
He severed Siegfried's remaining arm.
Siegfried clenched the sword in his mouth.
There was no intelligence left.
Only instinct.
Asmodeus gripped both swords.
This was the final strike.
He could not lose.
"Darkness and light…
judgment has been entrusted to me, lizard."
"Cross Severance – Second Form."
Siegfried charged.
The blades collided.
This time, Asmodeus prevailed.
Siegfried was driven back.
"Disappear… you ghost."
BOOM.
Siegfried's body was torn into four pieces.
Asmodeus collapsed where he stood.
When he opened his eyes…
He was in Aeris's arms.
"Aeris…?
Is it really you… or am I dreaming?"
She was completely healed.
Asmodeus was stunned.
While he had been fighting Siegfried, a small spirit had approached Aeris.
"Hey… what are you doing, little spirit?"
The spirit nodded.
Aeris followed it, struggling as she walked, until it led her to a hidden lake.
The spirit nudged her.
"Do you want me to enter?"
The spirit nodded again.
The moment Aeris stepped into the water, all her wounds vanished.
It was a miracle.
Then the spirit and the lake disappeared.
"Daughter of mages…
Do not forget this kindness."
Though she did not fully understand, Aeris immediately rushed to Asmodeus.
Inside, she found him unconscious—and Siegfried's body shattered into pieces.
"So that's how it happened…" Asmodeus said as he woke.
"I wonder who helped you."
He tried to stand—but he couldn't walk.
"I guess I'll have to carry you," Aeris said.
"Never."
"I will."
"Never—"
He couldn't resist.
His face turned red.
But they had forgotten one thing.
This dungeon had four layers.
Aeris picked up Balmung.
"Asmodeus… I have a bad feeling."
"So do I."
She placed him against a wall.
"It's my turn now."
"Wait until I recover! What are you going to do alone?"
Aeris grew angry and struck Asmodeus on the head.
"I'm stronger than you."
And she moved forward.
With every step, the sense of dread deepened.
And what she saw before her…
filled her with terror.
FOURTH LAYER
THE WALKING PRICE
As Aeris moved forward, the dungeon's atmosphere changed.
This was no longer a place.
It was a will.
The walls did not move, yet they watched. The ground was solid, yet each step felt as if she were walking on memories. Time did not exist here. Only remnants of what had been given up.
Aeris gripped Balmung with both hands. The sword was heavy—heavier than before. Not with weight alone, but with meaning.
"Asmodeus…" she whispered.
No answer came.
This layer allowed only one person.
And then, the dungeon breathed.
The empty space ahead twisted. Stone cracked. A figure emerged.
Aeris froze.
Her heart nearly stopped.
"Gael…?"
The figure raised its head.
The face—
was Gael's.
But the eyes were empty. Glass-like. No light. No life. No will.
Black chains hung from his shoulders, trailing downward. They were not bound to the walls—
they were bound to the dungeon itself.
Aeris stepped back.
"No…
This can't be happening…"
Gael did not speak.
The dungeon did.
"Fourth layer price:
The sacrifice that returns."
Gael's body moved.
But the movement was not his own.
In an instant, he was before Aeris. She raised Balmung on instinct. The blades collided.
The impact echoed throughout the dungeon.
Aeris was thrown backward.
"Gael!
Look at me!
It's me!"
No response.
Gael attacked again.
His technique was flawless. Fast. Merciless. Even cleaner than before—because there was no hesitation.
This was not a duel.
It was a judgment.
Aeris clenched her teeth.
"Whatever is making you do this…
I will bring you back!"
Balmung shone.
The dragon-slaying sword answered the puppet.
Aeris counterattacked. A cross slash. Gael retreated, but did not fall. The chains tightened. The dungeon pulled him back.
Gael's mouth opened.
For the first time, he spoke.
But his voice—
was not singular.
"Aeris…"
Her heart shattered.
"Gael…
Hold on…
Please…"
Gael's body trembled. The chains constricted.
"He cannot escape," the dungeon said.
"A sacrifice always returns."
Gael lunged.
Aeris closed her eyes.
And chose.
She lowered her sword.
She drove Balmung into the ground.
"Enough!"
The dungeon hesitated.
Aeris shouted.
"You don't want him!
You want me!"
The chains shook.
She fell to her knees.
"I didn't choose him.
But I will pay his price."
Silence.
Gael's body convulsed.
The chains cracked.
And—
They shattered.
Gael collapsed to the ground.
Empty.
But the chains wrapped around Aeris's wrists instead.
"Fourth layer cleared."
Aeris gasped for breath.
The ground split open.
Light—
Real light.
They emerged from the dungeon.
The outside world…
The sky was gray. The air heavy—but free.
Asmodeus lay on the ground, barely conscious.
"Aeris…?"
She looked down at the chains on her wrists. They slowly dissolved.
"I'm here."
At that moment—
Applause echoed.
Slow. Mocking.
A white-armored figure stepped forward. The seal of the Church was etched into his armor. Wing-shaped holy sigils extended from his shoulders.
"How delightful," the man said.
"Survivors."
Asmodeus clenched his teeth.
"The Church…"
The man smiled.
"I am Inquisitor Seraphael.
Blade of the Sacred Tribunal."
Aeris raised Balmung.
"Step aside."
Seraphael laughed.
"A dragon-slaying sword…
And a cursed heir."
He spread his hands.
Light exploded outward.
Asmodeus tried to stand—but holy pressure crushed him back down.
Seraphael attacked.
His speed—
inhuman.
Aeris met the strike, but was forced backward.
"This power…" Seraphael said calmly.
"The dungeon changed you."
He smiled.
"A pity.
The Church will end you here."
Asmodeus drew Excalibur.
This time, the sword did not remain silent.
"I am ready," it said.
Two swords.
One curse.
One dragon slayer.
Aeris and Asmodeus stood side by side.
Seraphael spread his radiant wings.
"Come," he said.
"Let me purify you through your sins."
And the battle began.