What would it feel like to be swallowed by such an evil entity?
At this moment, Komini—barely clinging to the flesh inside Cthulhu's Eye—was experiencing it firsthand.
Erosion from ancient darkness invaded both her body and mind. Although her body felt no fatigue in this world, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness had already sunk deep into her heart.
She could see the cutting wind from the Terra Blade in her hand continuously tearing through the inner wall of the monster's maw, yet all it produced was a steady flow of ominous blood.
Komini couldn't help but ask herself:
Is this really doing anything…?
Here, she couldn't see Cthulhu's Eye's HP bar.
She couldn't see her senior.
She was completely alone.
[SP: 0 / 67]
Komini didn't know that, at this exact moment, her SP had fallen to absolute zero.
She only felt herself drifting—her consciousness sinking into a strange, warm illusion within the oppressive darkness.
A small dining table.
She, her younger brother, and her mother sat together.
Through the nearby glass window, the countless lights of City K shimmered quietly.
Her father arrived late, apologizing as he placed a camcorder—an award from his superior, meant to record family gatherings—directly across from his seat before sitting down.
"Eat, eat…"
"Komini, you have to take good care of your mom and your brother. You're the hope of this family…"
"If you can get into the best university in City K, then you must study hard…"
It was an ordinary scene.
Too ordinary.
Parents nagging about grades. Children replying half-heartedly.
"Got it, got it… I will…"
But before Komini could finish saying study hard, the illusion began to collapse.
Her father's skin suddenly peeled away.
Flesh. Organs.
They burst apart, splattering across the dining table in a spray of blood.
The stench—
It was identical to the foul blood flowing from Cthulhu's Eye around her.
Komini abruptly realized the truth.
She was still inside the monster's mouth.
Yet faced with the scene before her, she was utterly powerless.
Her father didn't die immediately.
His dissolving body dragged itself forward, his barely intact hands gripping her clothes tightly.
"Komini… I—"
"Ah… ah ah…"
She watched in frozen horror as everything unfolded.
Then, slowly, her twisted expression settled into something eerily calm.
Without warning, she lifted her leg and violently kicked the half-dissolved face before her.
Still not enough?
In reality, Arthur continued his ranged assault beneath Cthulhu's Eye.
He couldn't see Komini.
Only her status panel told him the truth.
His worst fear had been realized—Komini had fallen into complete hysteria.
This was the absolute worst-case scenario.
Another flaming arrow flew from his bow, striking the burning eyeball.
Still, there was no sign of Komini on its surface.
She wasn't clinging outside—
She had fallen inside its mouth.
Arthur didn't know whether Cthulhu's Eye even possessed a digestive system, but one thing was clear:
If they didn't defeat it soon, Komini wouldn't come out alive.
He glanced at the HP bar.
[Cthulhu's Eye: 1376 / 4641]
The boss had entered its enraged state.
Yet its relentless charges weren't aimed at Arthur behind it—
They surged forward, again and again, as if chasing something trapped within.
"…What?"
Arthur frowned and gave chase through the air.
Then he saw it.
A white figure.
Komini—clutching several healing potions in her mouth—had climbed back up, gripping the monster's flesh and teeth with sheer madness.
Good.
Good, good, good.
So the Platinum Set hadn't been wasted.
Arthur didn't know what Komini experienced after her SP hit zero.
But fear had completely shattered her restraint.
Actions that should have been impossible—she was now performing instinctively.
She had survived the black erosion inside the boss's mouth.
Now, she was using it as a blind spot to evade its frenzied charges.
Die. Die! Just die already!!!
A warped smile twisted across her face as the Terra Blade repeatedly carved into Cthulhu's flesh.
She wasn't thinking anymore.
Her combat instincts had degraded into nothing but the survival reflex Arthur had drilled into her—drink potions, don't stop moving.
Was she fighting Cthulhu's Eye?
Or the fear buried deep within her illusion?
No one knew.
No one needed to.
Arthur only knew one thing—
This crude, desperate tactic was terrifyingly effective.
After all, she now occupied the most optimal damage position imaginable.
Five minutes later…
[Cthulhu's Eye: 1 / 4641]
"GRAAAAAHHHH—!!!"
With a final, despairing roar, the monstrous flesh shattered completely.
Losing its support, Komini and the loot bag fell together, crashing heavily onto the wooden platform.
Her bones wouldn't break in this world—
But the pain from the fall still left her barely able to crawl.
As she weakly raised her head, she saw it again.
Her father's flesh.
Still crawling.
That incomplete face stared at her, the dissolved corners of its mouth forming a grotesque curve—neither crying nor smiling.
Her nightmare hadn't ended.
"Why won't you die?!"
Tears streamed down Komini's face as she raised her weapon, screaming in despair—almost pleading.
"Please… just die already… stop suffering…"
"Thump."
A dull sound.
Someone grabbed her face and poured a bottle of cold liquid into her mouth.
"I don't know if this works universally," Arthur said quietly, "but if a Mana Potion can't restore your SP… then I really won't have any other options."
As the liquid flowed down her throat, Komini's eyes slowly regained focus.
The writhing flesh vanished.
Only her senior remained.
"…."
The illusion finally dissipated.
She gasped for air, covering her eyes with her hand.
Arthur didn't rush her.
Several minutes passed before she finally spoke.
"…Is it over?"