* * *

「The will of Knight ‘Yozen Vardikta’ knocks on the wall of fate.」

「The Limit Break Quest of Knight ‘Yozen Vardikta’ begins.」

「On failure, the Limit Break Quest will disappear. Knight ‘Yozen Vardikta’ will die.」

Cadel’s expression stiffened with confusion as the sudden system window appeared before him.

“What…… what is this……?”

A sudden Limit Break Quest? In the midst of this darkness, with no enemy in sight, what kind of limit break could there be? Both confusion and fear overwhelmed him. The thought that Yozen might be up to something dangerous wouldn’t leave his mind.

“Yozen! Please answer me, you can hear my voice, right? Why are you ignoring me?!”

The moment Cadel realized that Yozen was gone, the sense of peace and security that had surrounded him disappeared. The eerie stillness made his heart race like never before, and the relentless running left him out of breath.

Everywhere he looked, it was nothing but darkness. The place felt so barren that he couldn’t even remember if Yozen had truly been there just moments ago.

“Please, Yozen……”

His voice, filled with moisture, constantly repeated Yozen’s name. The final battle was close at hand. Even if he was about to leave this world and part ways with everyone in a few hours, it wouldn’t be strange. He would still do his best for victory with everyone, but that was only possible if his subordinates stayed safe.

So this unexpected situation was most unwelcome.

“Come out! Come to my side……!”

A sob suddenly erupted from him, making it hard for him to finish his words. He fought to suppress the tears that burst out like hiccups and eventually collapsed to the ground. His head throbbed, and his body, which had been strained, started to burn with heat.

Everything was a mess. Even though it was supposed to be the last, there was no need for it to be this suffocating. Wiping his wet eyes repeatedly, Cadel muttered quietly to himself.

“Hold me, Yozen. I’m scared……”

It felt as if he had been left all alone in the empty universe. It was like waking up from a dream of the distant past, a time that was incredibly happy, only to face the hopeless reality.

When he was with Yozen, he worried, but he wasn’t afraid. But now, Yozen’s warmth, his laughter, which seemed like an echo, sliced through the terrified heart of Cadel.

Could it be that the Yozen he had met here was all just an illusion? Was the maze showing him illusions to disturb the prey’s mind? In this vast darkness, he was all alone, and he might end up buried in eternal solitude.

Just the thought of it was suffocating, and he had to struggle to keep breathing. It felt like the air itself was running out, and no matter how much he inhaled, he couldn’t catch his breath. It seemed like he was about to suffocate, but his body wouldn’t obey.

Gradually, his head grew fuzzy. He had long lost the capacity to make sound judgments. And when the outline of the system window that had flashed in front of him began to blur, he heard a voice.

“Why? Why are you so scared, Cadel?”

A warm presence engulfed him as if to smother his crouching body. The familiar voice softly rang out, and Cadel gasped in shock.

“Ugh……”

“Take a breath. It’s okay now. I’m back.”

A large hand gently caressed Cadel’s cheek and head. Cadel tightened his grip on the arm around his torso, gasping for air.

“Where did you go……?”

With a voice full of reproach, Yozen buried his nose in Cadel’s nape without saying a word. The warmth spreading across his skin quickly replaced the panic he had felt earlier, bringing back a sense of calm.

Cadel slowly regained control of his breathing, his head bowed low. Then he suddenly noticed a smell that tickled his nostrils.

“……The smell of blood. Wait a second, Yozen. Is this from you?”

“No.”

“Not you? Then where is it……?”

Since he couldn’t see anything, he couldn’t tell what was real. Cadel tried to turn and look at Yozen’s face, but Yozen tightened his hold on Cadel, making it impossible for him to move.

“Don’t joke. You’re hurt, aren’t you? How badly? What happened? Is there something dangerous here? Huh?”

Despite his urgent questions, Yozen remained silent. Feeling Cadel’s anxiety, concern, and faint anger, Yozen thought back to the moment when he had been crawling helplessly with a dying body, trying to comfort the man who was trembling in fear.

Even when he had figured out the weak points of the space and squeezed out every ounce of energy to find a way to escape, Yozen’s body moved desperately before he could even think of rescuing Cadel.

It was foolish. If this was the case, he shouldn’t have made a plan to risk his life to get Cadel out. If he was going to throw away his life the moment he heard Cadel’s sobbing, then from the start, they should have just embraced each other tightly and waited for death to come.

“What should I do, Cadel?”

“Why? Does it hurt a lot?”

In fact, all of it was an excuse. He hadn’t rushed to Cadel because of his tears.

“I’m scared too.”

When facing his own death so closely, the fact that Cadel was not by his side was terrifying. The last thing he would hear should have been Cadel’s laughter, but instead, it was his crying. Instead of being able to hold Cadel’s hand, all he could grasp was the cold air.

“It seems I can’t even die freely without you now.”

If he was going to die, it would be by Cadel’s order. This life was no longer his own. As long as Cadel didn’t want it, he could not freely sacrifice himself. This was not human—he was just a senseless, blind beast.

The realization of this fact was so thrillingly eerie that Yozen held Cadel even tighter with all his strength. For the first time, he felt like he could never reach him. Like a god from a distant place, Cadel was just too far above him.

“You’ll never die. I’ll make sure of it.”

Yozen’s words were true. He couldn’t die freely. To protect Cadel’s life, he would willingly throw himself into hellfire. He would use everything he had—everything he didn’t have—to protect him.

So Yozen would not die here. No matter how much the damn system tried to test his limits and drive him to death, he would somehow overcome it.

“You don’t have to stay quiet next to me, Yozen…… Please, let me hear your breath.”

Cadel tightly wrapped his arms around Yozen, who was slumped like a wet coat on top of him. A faint laugh rang in his ear, followed by a shallow breath that quickly soothed his heart. It was a faint breath that seemed like it could end at any moment, but as long as he was still breathing, it was enough.

“Cadel, this place…… isn’t an infinite space. There is definitely an end, and there are walls we can break. The force here is suppressing us, making us circle in this allowed space…… I’m sorry. Is it frustrating that I’m speaking so slowly?”

“Not at all. You can speak slower if you want.”

“I released all my energy within this confined space to resist that force. If dark energy can break through the suppressing force and roam freely in this space, we might find a clue to escape.”

In reality, Yozen had succeeded in spreading dark energy to the outside of the confined space. But that was all. He lacked the energy to fully control the space, and he couldn’t sacrifice his life to complete the mission because of Cadel’s sorrow.

“My life isn’t more important than the victory of this war. I’ll get you out of here, Cadel. It’ll be over soon. Please allow me.”

Cadel bit his lip at Yozen’s voice, full of desperation. The taste of blood lingered on his stiff tongue.

“If we stay here any longer, we’ll both die. The suppressing force will obscure our will and souls, trapping us in the narrow world of ‘death’ and granting us peace. I can feel it. Even now, we’re being pulled toward ‘death’.”

“……Stop talking.”

“If we waste more time here, the energy I spread will be pushed back by the suppressing force. The possibility of escape we’ve just found will disappear.”

Yozen spoke urgently, and Cadel gripped his arm tightly, but there was no sign of pain on Yozen’s face. He just continued with his shallow breath, listing the reasons why he had to die in this place.

“I’ll let you live, Cadel.”

It was the worst. Everything about this situation was nothing short of horrific. In order to fight alongside everyone, they needed to escape the maze immediately. He was also worried about the other members. Were they still trapped in the maze? That couldn’t happen. If they had gotten out, where would they be headed? Were they marching straight to the Demon King’s castle? If so, they needed to catch up quickly. Was Kunra still looking for a way to save Lord Hyron? There wasn’t much time left. If he wasn’t careful, he would have to stand by and watch as Lord Hyron was ‘removed’ in the maze.

It was all terrible, from start to finish. The worst part was that, aside from Yozen’s sacrifice, he couldn’t think of any other way to escape this space.

“You have so much to live for. I’m the only one for you. If you die, everything is over for me.”

“Don’t say that.”

“If I save you, you can go out and save everyone. You’re the kind of person who can do that.”

His head throbbed. Gradually, his mind became hazy, and a dark, oppressive emotion filled him, as though he had fallen into a deep nightmare.

He absolutely couldn’t let Yozen die. But what if they lost the war because of his stubbornness? What if, as a result, everything, including Yozen, was reset, and the horrific war was repeated? And if someone else had to pay the price for that karma…… then.

‘It’s all over.’

All the efforts, hopes, and love up until now would be completely wiped out. It would be as if nothing had ever happened. And he would be cast out of this world, perhaps losing all his memories and living as if nothing mattered. No, perhaps he would shamelessly indulge in the pleasures of the souls of this world, completely forgetting what he had been through or who he had left behind.

“……Yozen.”

“Yes, Cadel.”

His cracked lips stung. His fingers tightened around Yozen’s arm as Cadel hesitated for a long while, before quietly speaking.