Declaration of War(1)

Regret washed over me.

I shouldn’t have… done the Floor Lord raid.

If I had just paid the Gearfang Clan their fair share of the essence we took, I wouldn’t have even thought of attempting this raid.

No, actually…

If only I hadn’t played that game.

Then I wouldn’t have come here.

None of this would have happened.

I clenched my fists so hard they bled as I forced myself to stand.

There was something I had to do before I let myself drown in regret.

No, to be precise…

‘It’s not even time to regret yet.’

After realizing how my stats were increasing, a possibility came to mind.

Therefore.

I stared beyond the corridor filled with corpses.

Step, step.

The bastard slowly revealed himself.

“Good timing. I was just wondering how to find you.”

As soon as it appeared.

I let out a battle cry and dashed forward.

A speed unimaginable for a character like me, who focused on strength and endurance.

The instant I kicked off the ground, I practically arrived in front of him at the same time.

And then—

Puh-uk!

I didn’t need weapons anymore. My body itself had become a weapon, tougher than any hunk of steel.

Puh-uk!

I swung my fist and slammed it into his face.

Whoosh!

He counterattacked with his sword wrapped in aura, but to my eyes, he might as well have been moving in slow motion, like a slug being boiled alive.

Swoosh.

I dodged, closed the gap again, then landed a crisp one-two-three punch combination.

It felt like using a cheat code.

I had no skills, but purely in terms of basic stats, I felt several times stronger than I usually did in Gigantification.

‘In this state, even if I get hit by aura, it probably won’t hurt much…’

Still, there was no reason to just stand there and get slashed, so I managed the distance and went on an all-out offensive, hammering away at the bastard.

Puh-uk! Puh-uk! Puh-uk! Puh-uk!

Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow-!

I didn’t need to hit him that much.

Maybe ten blows in total?

The bastard collapsed to the ground, unable to even put up a proper fight.

Thud, thud-!

He was in a far more miserable state than when we had cornered him earlier.

But he didn’t recover like before.

This made it even more likely that my hypothesis was correct.

‘There’s also the possibility that his recovery ability is a one-time use skill or something…’

But if my assumption was right—if this was a boss monster that could only be killed when left alone—then…

‘Maybe.’

It might not be too late after all.

With that thought, I delivered one more punch.

Crunch-!

His head shattered like a watermelon.

And at the same time.

「You have defeated the Lord of Fear, Dreadfear. EXP +100」

「Floor Master Defeat Bonus. EXP +15」

As I felt the sensation of gaining experience, the bastard’s body turned into a haze of light and scattered.

‘…Is it over?’

Did I get my hopes up in vain?

Just as my body stiffened at that thought.

「You have passed the test more perfectly than anyone else.」

「The nameless pilgrim acknowledges defeat.」

The cave began to collapse.

「The distorted fragments of memory begin to interlock.」

I was inwardly panicked, but I decided to observe the situation.

Strictly speaking, there was nothing else I could do. Even if I ran away from the collapsing cave, nothing would change.

Rumble, rumble, rumble-!

Not only the inside of the cave, but even the sky outside, which had been emitting a dazzling light, and the green foliage—everything I could see was crumbling.

Just like when a monster died.

Whoosh-.

The world shattered into colorful fragments and scattered.

Eventually, after everything had collapsed, what greeted me was an abyss-like darkness.

It wasn’t just the concept of not being able to see—it felt like a space where nothing existed.

Flicker-!

With the sound of flames igniting, the surroundings brightened.

“……”

The place was a dark cave.

Dozens of torches hung on the walls flickered, and in the center, a single book lay on a stone altar.

‘What is this now?’

I didn’t know, but I approached and opened the first page of the book.

It was written in an ancient language, but for some reason, I could read it without any issues.

[If I were to depict the emotion of fear, I would not hesitate to capture his face on a blank canvas. Centurion Dreadpier. The one who showed me what true fear is…]

As I focused on reading, my vision flickered, and the letters blurred.

It was an experience I had never had before.

[I met him at the moment when the completion of a great task was within reach.]

The memories of someone unknown began to flood in like a tidal wave.

I am not afraid of death.

In my final moments, I will die more gloriously than anyone else.

I always made that vow, but fantasy and reality were distinctly different.

“I, Dread frear, promise this. I will pardon all sins of those who prove their purity by killing the filthy pilgrim.”

On the verge of completing our mission, he made a cunning proposal to us after our failure.

Of course, no one believed his offer.

All five of us, united in heart and mind, closed our eyes and awaited a glorious end, and thus, a noble silence filled the cave.

Thump, thump, thump, thump-!

In the silence, my heart raced as if craving life.

Am I really going to die like this?

No matter what, I don’t want to die.

But betraying my comrades…

“Trust me.”

It’s strange.

Why does that short sentence not sound like a lie?

“……”

I quietly opened my eyes.

The woman who had been assigned the mission with me and had journeyed alongside me for a long time was also looking around with frightened eyes.

“……”

When our eyes met, I instinctively knew.

Thump-!

She was on the verge of succumbing to temptation.

There was no concrete evidence, but I was certain. How many years had we known each other?

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Blood rushed to my head.

It became hard to breathe, and my vision blurred.

She gave me an awkward smile.

It felt ominous.

A seed of doubt had been planted, gnawing at my fear and growing larger by the minute.

[If I were to kill someone… it would be best to kill that guy…]

Then, out of nowhere, I heard her inner voice. It wasn’t something I could dismiss as a mere hallucination.

Come to think of it, she and I didn’t get along well. We even had a slight argument at the last drinking party.

And where is this place?

The very space where the spirit of the Earth Mother resides.

A revelation… this must be a revelation from the Earth Mother.

She revealed the woman’s evil thoughts to me to save her young child.

Before I knew it, I had accepted as fact that the woman was planning to betray us and offer me as a sacrifice.

Was that why?

“Huff, huff, huff……”

When I came to my senses, I was holding a dagger, breathing heavily.

The woman who had met my eyes looked at me with wide eyes.

“You, you… were you just thinking…? About whether to kill me or not……”

“N-no! That’s not it!”

“D-don’t lie! I… I can tell……! I heard it clearly……!”

With those words, I stabbed her with the dagger.

My comrades hurled words of hatred, but there was nothing I could do.

If I didn’t do it, she would have done it first.

“Bwahaha, bwahahahahaha!”

Dread Fear.

He looked at me and laughed heartily, as if genuinely pleased. Then he spoke playfully.

“Well done. So, who will you stab next?”

My body, still trembling with excitement, asked.

“But you.. said.. O-one person… if I stab one person… you will let me live……?”

“Of course, I won’t kill you. But… will you be safe? If you put down the dagger, I might just let your friends go too.”

I felt like my vision was darkening.

I realized too late that I had been deceived, but it was irreversible now.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

My heart pounded more violently than ever before. My comrades shouted at me.

Don’t fall for his tricks.

Come to your senses and embrace a honorable death .

Of course, I couldn’t hear them.

I kept imagining a grim future.

It started as a delusion, but it didn’t take long for me to believe that delusion as truth.

Crunch.

In the end, I couldn’t put down the dagger.

Thud-!

When I came to my senses, all my comrades except me had met their deaths. Half out of my mind, I asked him if he would let me live now, and he replied.

Go.

I’ll let you live.

Under his gaze, which looked at me like an amusing toy, I ran without looking back. After running for hours without rest, I reached the cave entrance and realized what I had done.

“N-no…… I, I… didn’t……”

A new fear began to sprout inside me.

And there was only one way to escape that fear.

I stabbed myself with the dagger that had hurt my comrades. As I gradually lost consciousness, I saw the face of the Lord of Terror in the distance.

“I knew it from the moment I first saw you. You would make good material.”

He examined me with a serious expression and then called for a mage. The mage sprinkled an unknown substance over my dying body.

Sizzle-!

It felt as if my corrupted soul was being torn apart.

In that eternal agony, a warm energy gently caressed my soul. But that energy only provided comfort—it couldn’t piece together my shattered soul.

“Sigh… It’s all over.”

And so, I shed my pitiful human body and transformed into a new being.

A being with infinite power and authority beyond that of a human, yet an empty shell filled only with desire and emotion.

“…An unusual case. It seems you still have some sanity left.”

“Impossible.”

Despite the mage’s words, he approached me and asked.

“Now, tell me. What is your name?”

I answered.

“Dread Fear.”

“…What? That’s my name—.”

Crunch.

I was no longer afraid

***

「The character has inherited a fragment of the nameless pilgrim’s memory.」

「You can now read and write ancient language freely.」

A brief, dream-like memory.

Yet the emotions and sensations of that moment remained vividly clear.

Feeling a presence behind me, I turned around. A figure stood about ten paces away, glaring at me.

“Dread Fear.”

No, should I now call him the nameless pilgrim?

After gaining power at the end, he devoured that guy and stole his name.

‘…What the hell is going on here?’

I was a little… no, honestly, very confused.

The raid was already over.

I distinctly felt the sensation of gaining experience earlier.

So, what the hell is this thing in front of me?

“I have a question.”

While I was cautiously observing him, his mouth opened.

“Why was it… that none of you ever felt fear?”

 

I think I understand what he wants to ask.

Now that I understood how he’d been born.  

From his perspective, it must be driving him crazy with curiosity.

We weren’t like him, hearing hallucinations and seeing illusions born purely from fear.

We had the [Prophet of Misfortune], who could see ominous futures.

On top of that, we were given skills to read others’ emotions, creating an environment that encouraged betrayal.

But that wasn’t all.

The Dread Fear bastard used a skill to make us believe his words unconditionally, and just when we thought we might win after a hard fight, he would recover to full health with an absurd ability.

But…

“None of us are as weak as you.”

In the end, none of us betrayed each other.

At my blunt answer, he nodded quietly.

“I see…”

It felt incredibly strange to have such a conversation with a boss monster, both in the game and in reality.

But there was something more important to confirm.

“Enough, tell me now.”

A possibility that came to mind after everyone died.

“They’re all still alive, aren’t they?”

“Before I answer, allow me to ask: why do you think so?”

“Because the design itself required being the sole survivor to complete the scenario.”

It was too unusual. I’d played Dungeon & Stone for nearly a decade, and not once did I come across a boss that was theoretically impossible to defeat.

Not only that, but his concept was also a clue.

Fear, hatred, and all that, but in the end, the phrase that appeared when he showed up was ‘testing faith,’ wasn’t it?

“…Truly astonishing.”

The creature let out a strange exclamation after hearing my explanation.

“To vaguely understand the laws of this world…”

What laws?

It’s just big data based on experience.

“Anyway, so what’s the answer?”

When I asked again, he finally answered.

“That depends on your choice.”

It wasn’t the answer I expected, but the moment I heard it, a shiver ran through my body.

Yes, it’s true that everyone didn’t just die like that.

“…Tell me. What do you mean by choice?”

“Exactly as I said.”

The creature stretched out its bony hand and opened it.

Immediately, the surroundings brightened, and two stone gates appeared.

「The nameless pilgrim offers you a choice.」

The creature presented two options.

“If you leave through that gate, you will regain everything you lost here. As if waking from a long nightmare.”

“And if I leave through the other gate?”

“Everything will become reality. However, you will gain something new, beyond what you lost.”

Sigh, does this guy ever get tired?

I get the concept, but he’s still pulling this crap until the very end.

I stared at him and asked.

“Then what if I smash your head here?”

A question any player of a game filled with hidden pieces would naturally be curious about.

He gazed at me for a moment and then answered.

“You would gain even more.”

“……”

“That too is one of this world’s rules.”

I see.

I didn’t need much time to decide.