---
After Arthur entered the seventh floor—the final floor standing between him and freedom…
he didn't care about extending his lifespan, he didn't care about awakening, he didn't desire any reward.
All he wanted…
was to get out.
To get out of here at any cost.
The moment he crossed the gate of the sixth floor… he felt the air change.
It wasn't just heavy…
it was dead.
As if this place didn't allow air to live.
He took only one step before something pulled his chest forward, as if the ground itself was sucking the breath out of him.
The system appeared suddenly:
[Arthur… please be careful. This place is dangerous. A strange error has been detected in the spiritual structure of the area.]
Arthur spoke with a voice dripping with impatience:
"The only error is me being here."
He continued forward.
A valley with no end stretched before him… the ground wasn't stone, but a thin layer of violet ash, glowing and fading like a dying heart.
The massive walls around him were tall—not like the rocks of the previous floors, but scratched, as if thousands of claws had tried to cling to the surface while being dragged away.
But the strangest thing of all… was the silence.
A silence more terrifying than any noise…
the silence before a storm.
Arthur kept walking.
Although the place was confined by towering walls, the distances between them were unnaturally huge.
Then he felt it.
It wasn't a monster.
It was a broken majesty.
A black-rank dragon… so enormous that its wings alone could cover an entire village, yet it was kneeling, its head buried in the ash, its wings fallen like those of an angel stripped of the sky.
And before it was a purple gate… as if opened from the agony of a thousand souls.
The screams inside it alone were enough to make anyone vomit.
But what drew Arthur's eyes even more…
were the violet threads wrapped around the dragon's neck, chest, tail, and limbs.
Every pulse of those threads… drained a piece of its life.
Then Arthur noticed that thing…
The reward of this floor.
Or rather… the reward of the Abyssal Envoy.
Because that thing was his weapon—the weapon he gained after manifesting through his vessel.
The system appeared:
[The soulless weapon… or rather—]
"Behemoth…"
Arthur finished its sentence, then said:
"Behemoth… the soul-less spirit weapon.
A weapon that knows nothing except its master's will.
And this weapon…"
[Is the reason the continent of Veridan was destroyed in the original story.]
Arthur didn't reply.
He simply looked back at the kneeling dragon.
A dark smile appeared on his face, enough for his eyes to turn violet.
Because this was an opportunity.
The dragon was in front of him, unable to move… and definitely weaker than before.
With this he could strike four birds with one stone:
Gain a huge amount of lifespan…
Achieving awakening without the interference of curses...
Obtain a dragon bloodline…
Break one of his curses…
But of course… Arthur's wonderful luck interfered.
The dragon felt the ominous presence behind it… and turned around.
It raised its head—
not slowly… but like a king adjusting his crown.
Its head rose from the ash, and the entire arena trembled.
Clouds of violet dust swirled around it, and its golden eyes shone like molten rivers of gold.
Then it stared at Arthur.
Stared… as if looking at breathing trash.
Arthur's smile froze, returning to his usual scowl with a hint of annoyance:
"Of course… as if my great luck would ever support me."
The dragon opened its mouth… and spoke with a thunderous voice:
"You fallen slave…"
The ground shook, as if the entire floor was restoring the dragon's lost majesty.
"How dare a wretch like you… defile my domain?"
Arthur could barely withstand the voice and pressure of the dragon.
Even Iron Will was barely holding together.
And to make things even worse… the stabbing pain in his forehead returned.
Sharper… deeper…
And this time, he heard the voice clearly:
[Let me out… You can't defeat him.]
It wasn't begging.
It was the truth.
Even Arthur didn't deny it.
The system, however, had no idea what was happening inside Arthur's head, since their mental link was cut.
It assumed Arthur was frozen because of the dragon.
[Arthur, are you alright?]
Arthur answered painfully:
"No… I'm not. How the hell am I supposed to beat this?"
[Do you want me to analyze this floor? You might find a way to defeat him.]
"No… I don't want my morale broken even more."
Then Arthur activated Corrupted Cluster, Berserk State, Shadow Manipulation, and Corrupted Fire… using everything he had.
And he charged toward the dragon—
---
Arthur moved toward the dragon…
not running,
but like a falling, burning star heading toward its end.
The darkness around him trembled.
Corrupted mana ignited around his limbs like black meteor fragments wrapped in violet lightning.
His shadow broke apart, re-formed, shattered again as he ran—
as if even his own shadow didn't want his body to remain whole for a single second.
Every step he took left a black crater in the violet ash.
The dragon didn't move.
As if it allowed him to approach…
or maybe… it simply despised him so much that his attack wasn't worth turning for.
Arthur raised his hand, gathering a terrifying mix of:
• Corrupted Fire
• Corrupted Lightning
• Shadow Formation
• And the berserk mode that devoured any trace of sanity
He lunged straight toward the dragon's chest—a strike powerful enough to level a building.
But—
before he got even one meter close…
his vision disappeared.
No—the dragon moved.
It vanished—
then appeared above him, its colossal body covering the dead sky of the floor.
A single flap of its wing…
not even a full flap—
just a tremor—
unleashed a shockwave like a gigantic hammer smashing into Arthur's ribs.
His body flew backward, slammed into the ground, and the ash beneath him dragged outwards as black smoke rose behind him.
The system screamed:
[Warning! Severe damage sustained!
Internal organs: moderate to severe tearing
Bones: 14 partial fractures
Bleeding: active
Continuing at this rate will result in—]
"Shut up!"
Arthur spat as he stood up, wiping blood from his mouth.
"I know!"
But the dragon didn't give him even a second.
It landed in front of him, its weight shaking the floor so hard the ash itself bled violet light.
It raised its head and stared…
stared like a judge looking at a doomed criminal.
Then it spoke, voice heavier than thunder:
"Even my hand… trembles from disgust.
Never did I imagine a creature of your filth would set foot in my domain."
A wave of spiritual pressure surged outward.
The floor cracked.
The massive walls trembled.
And Arthur… fell to his knees.
His body couldn't endure it.
His knees slammed into the ground, his hands shaking as he tried to stand.
The pain in his forehead returned again…
stabbing—burning—strangling—
and the voice inside said:
[You can't defeat him… but I can.]
Arthur gritted his teeth:
"Shut up…"
The dragon stepped forward.
The sound of its massive claws sinking into the ash was like a funeral bell.
"Don't misunderstand…
I am not at my peak."
It raised its left wing with difficulty.
The violet threads pulsed, and a muffled cry of deep agony rippled from its body.
"But even bound…
even as I wither…
one breath is enough to erase your life."
It raised its head.
Opened its mouth slowly—
and for the first time…
Arthur saw the flame.
A golden flame unlike anything natural.
The flame of a royal lineage.
The flame of a high dragon.
The dragon said:
"Die."
And the flame exploded.
But…
the moment the royal flame emerged—
the violet threads pulsed violently.
Pulse—
Pulse—
Pulse—
and ripped a large portion of the dragon's power away, making it convulse, weakening the flame itself.
The attack struck Arthur—
but only at half strength.
Even so—
his body smashed into the ground, the ash dragging for meters as the scorching heat pierced his skin like a thousand needles of sunlight.
The system shouted:
[Warning!
Body functions: 23%
Mobility: low
Death: likely within 40 minutes without treatment]
Arthur rose—crawled—then stood.
His body trembling.
Blood mixing with tears.
His expression carrying one thought:
"More than enough… to destroy both of us…"
[What do you mean—?]
Arthur raised his hand…
and gathered all remaining mana.
Dawn Lightning—
the primitive version.
Twisted… corrupted.
His voice cracked:
"I don't need to hit you…
I just need to hit what's holding you."
The skill launched—
Dawn Lightning Strike
—straight toward the violet threads around the dragon's chest.
And when it touched them—
the light exploded.
Every thread convulsed at once.
A scream…
a colossal scream…
a scream unlike any creature on earth…
burst from the dragon.
A roar that folded the entire valley, shattered the ash, and made even the dead air scream with it—
a roar so powerful it reached beyond the gate, heard by all who were behind it.
The dragon collapsed to the ground, its heart trembling in agony.
Finally…
Arthur panted and said:
"See… I don't need you to beat him."
The voice that stung his mind went silent.
A moment of peace—
a moment that felt like a whole restful week passed through him.
But instantly…
the pain struck again.
[You think so…?
Very well… we shall see soon…]
---