Damien should have been immune to poison.
Especially after gaining the Black Heart, his body should have rejected all foreign mind attacks and poisonous substances. The poison would enter, his system would recognize it, and his enhanced physiology would neutralize it within seconds.
Yet... it was not the case this time.
The injection was not merely poison. The venom itself was made of ice fire—a flame that burned hard, yet could not be extinguished by normal means. It coursed through his veins, freezing and burning simultaneously, a contradiction given form.
Damien coiled on the ground, clutching his heart in pain. His body constantly healed itself, fighting the melting destruction the fire was causing to his veins. Heal. Burn. Heal. Burn. Over and over. An endless cycle of agony.
He could not move. Could not speak. Could not call for help.
"Why do you always stand against me... Son?"
The voice was deep. Old. Wise. And sad.
Damien tried to look up. The pain blurred his vision. He could not see the man before him clearly. All he noted was a white tunic of some sort. A white beard. A figure that seemed ancient and timeless.
"All I have done... all I want to do... is for the good of the world," the old man said.
He sighed.
"I hate the situation we are in. You are mine... my boy. It pains me to see you like this." The old man's voice cracked. "Why have you gone against me?"
Damien tried to speak. Nothing came out.
The old man smiled sadly, looking upward.
"I suppose you took after your mother... instead of me."
The tiny snake that had bitten Damien slithered toward the old man. "My lord... save...."
The old man placed his boot on the snake and crushed it.
He knelt down and placed his hand on Damien's head.
"Son... please. Try to see reason. Understand that standing by the side of evil will only lead you astray again." His voice was soft, almost pleading. "Find it in your heart to remember... that I love you....that.... I loved her." He paused. "All I seek is true peace. True salvation. For us. For them. For her. For your mother."
He stood.
He turned.
He left.
Damien lay on the cold ground, his body still burning, still healing, still trapped in the endless cycle of ice and fire. He tried to reach for the old man. Tried to call out. Tried to ask the questions burning in his mind...questions about the Shadow Monarch, about the dragons, about the dungeon, about who he really was.
But the words would not come.
The ice fire burned.
His veins healed.
Burned.
Healed.
Burned.
Healed.
Until finally, the flame waned. Extinguished by its own weight. Exhausted by the constant battle against his immortal body.
Damien's eyes rolled back.
He passed out.
....
After a few hours, Damien stood up.
His mind was still hazy, but his body felt normal again. The constant pain had taken its toll on him.
"That fucking... serpent," he muttered.
He looked back at the huge dead body of the World Serpant. He kicked it.
"Fuck you."
He turned and walked away. His mind drifted to the old man.
"Who the fuck was that man? Why was he calling me son?" Damien thought aloud. "Was he related to Ashborn?"
He shook his head.
"Maybe Vritra will know more about this. But first thing's first."
Damien pulled a key from his dimensional pocket and looked at it. It was black...pure, absolute black, as if carved from the void itself.
[A-Class Dungeon Key]
"Looks like I finally got it." He turned the key over in his hand. "I suppose killing Jörmungandr was enough of a feat for the system to give me the key."
He paused, thinking.
"I do wonder, though... what is the system, anyway? Just like Sung Jin Woo, I do not have a level or any of that stuff after gaining the Black Heart. But it seems this dungeon system is still working."
He glanced at the notifications from earlier.
"Even notifications are still there."
He opened them.
{You have defeated Jörmungandr, the Seventh Guardian Rex of the Dungeon.}
{Due to this tremendous and respectable achievement, you have gained an item.}
[You have gained: A-Class Dungeon Key]
Damien read the words carefully.
"I see... Jörmungandr was not considered a normal Monster Rex. A Guardian Rex. The seventh one, at that." His eyes narrowed. "Meaning six others like him exist. Probably all as strong...if not stronger. And all might be sentient."
He scanned the key.
[A-Class Dungeon Key: Gateway to Hell]
[You have gained the right to challenge the Twelve Demons of Hell and the King of Hell.]
[The Demon King and Monarch of White Flames, Baran, awaits you in his kingdom.]
Damien read the entire list. He could feel the excitement radiating from the system...eager, almost hungry, for him to face this Demon King.
"Twelve Demons of Hell... and Baran."
He thought of the manhua he had read in his previous life. Of Sung Jin Woo. Of the Demon King Baran who had fallen to the Shadow Monarch's blade.
"I have seen that guy in the manhua before." Damien shook his head. "I highly doubt he is going to be as weak as that version, though. I might end up facing the real one."
He looked at the key again.
"Twelve Demons of Hell... looks like I'm going to need to assemble a party for this one, eh?"
He smiled.
"Ais and the others have been wanting to join me again for a while. this a good opportunity for them not only to grow, but to gain experience in fighting strong enemies.....I'm pretty sure they'll love this.."
Damien looked around Floor Sixty-Six one last time...at the corpse of the World Serpent, at the ruined cavern, at the darkness stretching endlessly into the depths.
Then he slowly descended into the shadows.
He returned home.
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