His eyes were already bloodshot, and when seen from the front, his entire face was covered in blood.
Subedei's smile looked like that of a demon who had escaped from hell and was rejoicing.
Zev was no different his face was also completely covered in blood, and he looked like an emotionless demon.
"Don't use it…"
Every time Zev tried to use his final ability, Subedei shouted with all his remaining strength to stop him.
[You have slain "Whispering Spirit"]
[You have slain "Whispering Spirit"]
…
The two of them fought like madmen.
They barely managed to swing their weapons and kill the spirits, yet it looked as if they could collapse at any moment.
The hands gripping their weapons trembled, and with every attack, their bodies seemed about to fall forward.
Subedei had no idea how long he had been fighting.
When he looked around, he realized he was alone.
Startled, he looked down and saw Zev lying unconscious on the ground.
Subedei smiled faintly and whispered to himself.
"When the one you were fighting alongside collapses unconscious…"
"Thinking about fighting this many spirits alone and surviving the entire night…"
Feeling this reality with his own body, he began blaming himself even more.
Even as his eyes tried to close, Subedei clenched his teeth, gripped his spear, and charged toward the Whispering Spirits with a crazed smile.
At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind.
"If Zev endured it, then I can too. Just one night…"
[You have slain "Whispering Spirit"]
[You have slain "Whispering Spirit"]
…
But among those messages, a different notification suddenly appeared.
[Congratulations. You have learned a new skill.]
[Endless Battle]
[Passive Skill: Endless Battle]
Level: 1
While in combat, hunger and fatigue are reduced by 20%.
Subedei noticed that his sense of exhaustion had slightly eased.
Reading the notification, he felt happy about gaining a new passive skill.
However, at that moment, the duration of his "Mana Control" skill was about to end.
Even though his fatigue had slightly decreased, it was useless now.
His mana was completely depleted.
Even so, Subedei did not stop fighting.
After the skill's duration ended and mana no longer coated his weapon, he still did not stop attacking.
He continued charging like a madman.
There was no thought of stopping in his mind, and no desire to rest in his heart.
Thoughts like "No mana," "I can't win," "Stop," "Rest" never crossed his mind.
Even when exhausted, he did not stop.
Even when he missed, he did not stop.
Even when he couldn't kill them, he did not stop.
He just kept attacking.
As his eyes began to close and it became unbearable, he softly whispered a single phrase over and over.
"Just a little longer… just a little…"
He regretted leaving Zev alone before, facing so many spirits by himself.
This was a perfect chance for him to make up for that mistake.
That was why Subedei did not give up easily and pushed his body to its absolute limit.
Eventually, his body reached its limit and collapsed to the ground.
Even as his eyes closed and his face turned pale, he raised his trembling hand, trying to lift his spear.
He continued whispering the same words.
"Just a little…"
But things did not go as he wished.
The spear he barely managed to lift slightly fell back to the ground, and he lost consciousness.
Even after collapsing unconscious, Subedei still held his spear tightly.
Some time later, he slowly opened his eyes to find that morning had come.
The fog had completely dissipated, and the demonic whispers were nowhere to be heard.
When he slowly tried to lift his head and stand up, his entire body ached, but he clenched his teeth and forced himself up.
Subedei quickly looked around and saw that Zev was still lying on the ground unconscious.
Seeing this, he began walking toward Zev.
With every step, his legs trembled and his entire body throbbed with pain, but Subedei ignored it and kept walking.
It was as if he was getting used to this intense pain.
As he got closer to Zev, he heard a light snoring sound, and Subedei felt relieved.
He immediately lay down on the ground, stared up at the sky, and soon fell asleep again.
The smell of roasted meat woke Subedei from his deep sleep.
He slowly opened his eyes and tried to get up.
Hearing movement behind him, Zev quickly turned around, noticed that Subedei had woken up, handed him some roasted meat, and sat beside him to eat together.
Subedei smiled.
"I told you not to use that ability," he said.
Zev quickly nodded while smiling and continued eating his meat.
After finishing their meal, the two of them lay down, staring up at the sky.
Subedei gazed at the sky and spoke.
"If that many spirits show up again, I really don't think I can endure it."
"We need to quickly find and kill the boss of this floor."
Zev nodded.
"True. But what if the boss is a monster the two of us can't defeat?"
Subedei glared at him.
"Damn it…"
"Then we'll just die."
Zev remained silent for a moment, then looked into Subedei's eyes.
"In yesterday's battle, your courage and that smile of yours gave me a lot of strength. But honestly, your crazy smile scared me."
Subedei stayed silent for a bit.
"You're thinking about it wrong…" he said, then stopped.
"What do you mean I'm thinking about it wrong? Just say what you want to say," Zev urged him.
Subedei answered quickly.
"I just… you're mistaken. What I meant is that I actually like all of this."
"Fighting, battling doesn't it feel good? All of this makes me feel alive."
Seeing Subedei's smile, Zev smiled without realizing it.
They silently stared at the clouds in the sky.
Soon, the sound of snoring came from beside him.
When Subedei turned his head, Zev was already asleep.
Subedei slowly stood up, looked around, and stepped into the fog.
Since he wasn't sleepy, he decided not to wake Zev and let him sleep until he woke up on his own.
Before long, evening arrived, and since Zev still hadn't woken up, Subedei woke him.
Zev slowly opened his eyes.
"What? Why didn't you wake me up during the day?" he asked.
Subedei smiled.
"You looked tired, so I didn't wake you. I thought you'd wake up on your own."
Zev quickly stood up, grabbed his weapon, and prepared for battle.
"At least you woke me up before the fog thickened, haha."
Zev rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"No, you should've woken me up a bit earlier. I'm still sleepy," he said.
Watching the fog begin to thicken, Subedei smiled.
"After killing a few Whispering Spirits, you'll wake right up."
Zev said nothing and stood there silently.