Chapter 94 – The Ring of Desire (4)
The god who brought me into this novel world clearly despised me.
After surviving here for about half a year, I realized I’d spent more time unconscious than awake. That said it all.
How many times have I passed out so far?
There was the time I fell into the river at Nelitori Gorge.
The time I drank that rag-water-tasting poison Karl gave me to heal Boom.
The time I blew Boom up right in front of Arena Huaton.
And the time I got the Ring of Desire.
Is there more?
Oh, right—there was also that time I ran out of toilet paper in the bathroom.
Damn it.
Even worse, the number of times I nearly died far exceeded the times I passed out. And every time I woke up, death would come knocking on my door again shortly after.
Like now.
I woke up to find myself facing the literal gates of hell in Zombie Land.
And here I was, holding that gate shut all on my own.
At this rate, the whole "pass out & life-threatening crisis" combo felt like an ironclad law. I’d probably be too scared to sleep from now on and would just force myself to stay awake.
Crash—CRACK!
“Damn it! Do you guys ever take a break?!”
With one solid swing of the pickaxe, two or three zombies were smashed into pieces.
Two hundred? Three hundred? At some point, I lost count of how many swings I’d taken.
I was out of breath, but I could still hold out.
Ever since I became the master of this heart, my physical abilities had skyrocketed, making the zombies in front of me seem like nothing.
The fact that most of them were dwarves—short with big heads—worked in my favor, too.
THUNK!
A single downward swing of the pickaxe was a guaranteed headshot, and even a kick could take them out.
As long as I destroyed their heads, they stopped moving.
“…Disgusting, seriously.”
The problem was that they just kept coming through the gap.
They foamed at the mouth as they charged at me, driven by their obsessive fixation on the ring. Their relentless pursuit made Misery look like child’s play.
Thanks to their massive aggro, the pile of rocks was holding up, but I was their primary target—and I was suffering for it.
There wasn’t even time to blink, let alone catch my breath.
“Ugh!”
My footing slipped.
The pile of severed zombie parts, now up to my shins, made it hard to move. The stench of rotting flesh was so bad it made my head throb.
This was hell on earth.
CRACK!
“……!”
The sturdy handle of my pickaxe finally gave out under the strain and snapped. Gripping the broken handle, I charged toward the gap.
STAB!
I impaled three or four zombies with the sharp, jagged end and kicked them to the ground.
A brief moment to catch my breath.
Exhaling deeply, I drew my dagger from my belt.
More zombies were crawling through.
Cursing under my breath, I began slashing mechanically with the dagger.
Unlike the pickaxe, using a dagger brought the fight closer, and soon my arms were covered in scratches from the zombies’ claws.
Their teeth and nails tore at my skin, ripping chunks away.
But it was fine.
After a few swings, my wounds would heal completely.
Their attacks were simple and repetitive, so I quickly adapted. Defending against them turned out to be easier than I’d anticipated.
Usually, a numbers-based onslaught like this would tire someone out, but I had the stamina to endure it.
And more importantly—
‘They’re getting weaker.’
As time passed, the zombies’ movements became sluggish.
It must have been due to the weakening power of the ring.
The longer I held out, the better my chances of survival. But even I wasn’t coming out unscathed.
The cost? Mana.
I had tried to summon my sacred power just in case, but as expected, there was no response.
An empty void echoed within me.
[I will take your energy.]
The energy within my body was being completely absorbed by the heart.
Apparently, my sacred power was necessary to break the curse of the ring.
That’s why I had been relying purely on my physical strength this whole time.
‘If things keep going like this, I can hold out….’
My boundless stamina and brute strength made it possible.
As the ring’s power weakened, the zombies became less of a threat. Even with my mana sealed, it wasn’t a major loss.
The only question was, would this advantageous situation last?
“Damn it, of course not!”
ROAR—!
The fear I’d been suppressing finally materialized in front of me, bursting through the gap.
CLANG!
“Tch! Damn dwarven equipment!”
For the first time, my dagger bounced off. The only thing that could deflect a dwarven-made dagger was armor made by the same dwarves.
The knights finally made their appearance.
Even weakened, their absurdly durable equipment remained unyielding.
They emerged wielding blunt weapons, which they swung savagely, forcing me to step back.
For the first time since the fight began, I lost control of the gap.
As I retreated, the zombies poured through the breach like water through a broken dam.
Two, three, five…
Each blink brought more enemies into my path.
“…This is insane.”
I glanced at the hourglass. Sand still trickled down. Despite holding out for so long, I needed more time for Dorneth to intervene.
The staggering, shuffling horde of zombies filled my vision. The pile of corpses, now up to my knees, blocked my movement.
Unintentionally, the mound of bodies was acting as a barrier, slowing the zombies down.
If I used that, maybe I could hold out a bit longer.
After some hesitation, I grabbed the broken pickaxe handle and leaped into the center of the corpse pile.
“RAAAAAHHH! Damn it!”
A feral scream tore from my throat.
A pickaxe in one hand, a dagger in the other.
I aimed only for their heads. As I charged into the horde, claws, teeth, and blunt weapons flew at me from all sides.
“ARGH!”
It hurt.
But I ignored the pain and focused solely on destroying the zombies’ heads.
I needed to thin their numbers as quickly as possible.
CLANG!
I smashed a knight’s helmet with the pickaxe and drove the dagger into another zombie’s jaw.
When I yanked the dagger out, swirling it through its brain, a dull shock ran through my body.
My skin tore, and my bones cracked.
But the wounds healed rapidly.
Fighting these zombies almost made me feel like one of them.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
At some point, I was standing atop the corpse pile, swinging the broken pickaxe handle and dagger like a madman.
Heads were pierced, crushed, and smashed to bits.
The pile of bodies, now up to my knees, rose higher, reaching my thighs. It formed a small hill in front of me.
“…Huff, huff, huff.”
My heart finally hit its limit.
Deprived of oxygen, it spasmed wildly, as if it would burst.
Couldn’t it at least let me use mana?
Six, eight, ten…
I’d lost count.
No matter how many I killed, the zombies kept coming.
The breach had widened.
Had the zombies’ movements not slowed even further, I would have already been dragged off and turned into mincemeat.
My entire body, my face, was drenched in their putrid blood and flesh. I might as well have been one of them at this point, but they kept coming.
Oh, right—the ring.
It was because of the ring.
My stamina waned, and my movements became sluggish. The wounds I sustained began to outpace my body’s ability to heal.
‘I’ll die at this rate.’
I threw down my weapons and rolled along the ground to escape the horde.
And then—
BOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted from the pile of rocks.
The boulders blocking the tunnel collapsed with a crash, revealing the dark abyss beyond.
Screech—SCRAPE—
An eerie scraping sound echoed from within.
I knew that sound.
A massive hammer.
It was him. He had finally arrived.
“Damn it, the final boss?”
It was Bjorn—the ring’s former owner.
As if he weren’t enough, the remaining lords and knights slowly emerged from the tunnel behind him.
If I fought them alone, I’d be done for.
I abandoned the last line of defense and retreated further back.
‘Can I hold out?’
Thankfully, even they were moving noticeably slower now.
If I could use the open space to my advantage, this fight might still be winnable.
I glanced down at the ring. The black aura surrounding it had vanished completely.
It was a sign that the curse was almost broken. And with that sign came an unexpected change before my eyes.
Screech! Screeaaach!
Some of the zombies let out guttural cries and began to writhe grotesquely.
The ordinary zombies.
Their twisted movements came to an abrupt halt, and their bodies began to crumble like dry husks.
Starting with the nearest ones, the horde fell like dominoes, turning to ash and returning to the earth.
The cloud of ash filled the air.
I thought the curse had finally been lifted, but as the dust settled, the lords and knights emerged slowly.
But only for a moment.
“…What!?”
Their figures melted into the darkness. The cloud of ash had extinguished the surrounding torches.
Darkness enveloped the area.
“…Cough, damn it!”
I coughed and spat, choking on the acrid air, then ran toward the extinguished torches.
Fenry’s bag was near the torches. My fingers brushed against the rocky wall as I felt around for it.
The leather texture under my fingers—there it was.
I hastily pulled out a container of oil, spilling it liberally around me before setting it ablaze.
The fire roared to life, lighting up the area once more.
When I turned back toward the tunnel, I froze.
“……”
Most of the dead had crumbled to ash, but Bjorn and his forces remained, standing as a final threat to my life.
“…Still after the ring, huh?”
Even in the darkness, the ring continued to draw them in. And in the time it took to find the bag, they’d formed a perfect encirclement.
No way out.
Clenching my fists, I stared at the enemy before me.
Unlike our first encounter, Bjorn looked significantly weaker now. I felt like I might actually stand a chance.
‘If only I could use mana.’
I called out internally, but Retonicalus remained silent. My heart showed no intention of releasing mana, so I was left to rely on my raw physical strength to fight.
“This is going to be rough.”
At my muttered complaint—
“Rough? It’s doable.”
A tired voice came from the shadows cast by the flames.
At the same time, someone stood behind me, back-to-back.
It was Fenry.
When I turned to look, she was breathing heavily, her face drenched in sweat and her eyes slightly unfocused.
The confident figure who had disappeared with a thumbs-up was now trembling and unsteady.
My suspicion had been correct.
The excessive mana intake from the Elf Stone had left her mana-addicted, and the side effects were now hitting her hard.
“Where were you hiding?”
“Your shadow.”
“I didn’t give you permission.”
“Shut up and focus.”
“Are you okay?”
“This isn’t the time to worry about me.”
“I can tell you’re struggling. Just rest—I’ll handle it.”
“You?”
“Trust me. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
That moment suddenly came back to me.
When we escaped the lab, Fenry had spontaneously suggested we be friends, and I had eagerly agreed.
“Friends? Stop spouting bullshit.”
Of course, this damned elf didn’t even remember her own words.
Judging by her behavior, she wasn’t worth saving. But I owed her.
Though our relationship was built on deals, she had helped me survive countless crises.
And on top of that, the divine spirit bound us together.
At this point, it felt like destiny.
Whatever hardships awaited me, Fenry—Black Rose—would always be there, influencing my decisions.
When the Villains Get Stronger.
A world where vile, despicable villains ruled with cruelty and treachery.
In such a wretched world, the fact that we could trust each other to watch our backs meant that we truly were friends.
“We are friends. We even shook hands on it.”
“Don’t rope me into your delusions, you scammer.”
“……”
For now, I guess we were just business partners. That seemed fitting.