"I've been plotting all my life to kill you, and today, that plan finally becomes reality."
"Hah!" A voice, thick with disbelief and pain, rang out. "We've been friends for years. I refuse to believe you have any real reason to do this."
"My reason?" A chuckle. "Let's just say… you're too powerful."
A beat of silence. Then, a breathless laugh. "So that's it? You're killing me because I'm strong? That's the best you've got? You're willing to throw away our years of friendship over something so—"
"Friendship?" The voice cut in, cold and sharp. "We were never friends. Or rather… I never considered you one."
Leonis barely had time to react before a blade tore through his chest, straight into his dungeon core. The world around him exploded in pain, his body freezing as a sharp, unbearable agony shot through every nerve in his being. A bloodcurdling scream ripped from his throat.
"AHHH—!"
His core—his very essence—shattered into useless fragments. His strength drained instantly, his power snuffed out like a candle in a storm.
This was it.
This was the end.
Through blurred vision, he forced himself to look up at Cass, his once-closest companion, the one who stood over him with a blade still buried deep in his chest.
"So… in all these years…" Leonis' voice was hoarse, a whisper between ragged breaths. "Was there ever a moment… even just one… where you truly considered me a friend?"
"NO!!" Cass spat, eyes burning with unfiltered hatred.
Leonis… smiled as he said "Damn. That hurts more than the sword."
That damned smile.
Cass' grip on his sword tightened. Even at death's door, even after being betrayed so cruelly, this bastard still had the audacity to smile.
Fine.
If Leonis wanted to die smiling—then Cass would make sure he died for good.
With a final, ruthless thrust, he drove the sword deeper, piercing through Leonis' stomach, straight to the other side.
A searing pain. A choked gasp. A final blow.
Then darkness took over him.
Wait.
Wait. Was he actually dying?
This was so stupid.
He refused to die like some tragic protagonist.
Not with an ending like this.
A pathetic, meaningless end.
Nope.
No. No. No.
He couldn't die.
He was a Dungeon Master!!
A powerful one at that!!
But despite his mental protests, his consciousness slowly drifted away, swallowed by an all-consuming darkness.
Fuck.
He had really died.
But—!!!
If he had died…
Then why the hell was he still conscious?
If death had truly claimed him, why was his mind still functioning? Why was he feeling this dull, persistent pain drilling into his skull like someone had taken a chisel to his brain? And more importantly—
Why the hell was he hearing a voice?
A muffled, irritated voice grumbling in the background, growing louder with each passing second.
Wait.
Had he already died and become immortal?
Had he somehow ascended to some celestial realm, a paradise beyond mortal comprehension?
…Yeah, right.
That was impossible.
The idea of him—Leonis Asher, the most notorious Dungeon Master—making it to heaven's gates was laughable at best.
With all the things he had done in his past life? Yeah, no. Heaven wouldn't even let his ashes in.
But then again… if you did bad things for a good reason, did that really make you evil? Maybe, just maybe, some celestial judge took that into account and decided he deserved a ticket to paradise after all.
Besides he wasn't a villain after all.
Everything he had done, every war waged, every dungeon ruled, every soul crushed beneath his feet—it had all been necessary. A means to an end. Survival in a world where weakness meant death.
That counted for something, right?
Still, as much as he'd love to indulge in philosophical debates about morality and redemption, there was a more pressing issue at hand.
That same voice.
As his awareness sharpened, he caught more of the words being spoken—sharp, frustrated murmurs edged with exasperation. It was undoubtedly a woman's voice.
Someone was complaining.
Loudly.
He wasn't sure who she was, but she sure as hell wasn't an angel. No celestial being would sound that pissed.
Before he could even attempt to focus, a sudden, sharp pain tore through his arm—like a needle slicing straight through his skin.
A violent shudder ran through his entire body, an instinctive reaction to the agony.
His eyes snapped open.
"What the fuck?!"
His entire body shuddered from the unexpected stab of pain as his breath hitched in shock. His vision was blurry at first, but the first thing he made out was—
A woman.
A woman frozen in place, wide-eyed and pale, as if she had just seen a ghost.
Correction—as if she had seen a monster.
Her trembling hands were instinctively tucked behind her back like she was trying to hide something. But Leonis's sharp gaze immediately zeroed in on the bloodied needle she had just used on him.
Oh.
She was trying to kill him.
And from the way she stood there, eyes wide, mouth slightly agape, it was not part of any standard medical procedure.
The moment their gazes locked, he felt it—fear.
She was scared.
His eyes narrowed. Why? Was he that scary?
The nurse who was frozen in place with fright was utterly shaken with fear...
The reason she was scared?
It definitely wasn't because she got caught.
No
No.
It was because of his eyes.
They were cold. Dark. Frosty.
The kind of gaze that didn't belong to someone like Leo Ashbourne—the sickly fool who had been dying in this bed just moments ago.
But after a moment she regained her composure gulping before forcing out an awkward chuckle.
"Y-You're awake?" she stammered, hastily taking a step back.
Leonis didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stared at her.
Long. Hard. Calculating.
And for a moment his gaze seemed lost, as he observed.
His body.... it felt foreign—weaker than it should be.
The sheer power that had once coursed through his veins, the dominance he had wielded over life and death itself—gone.
Instead, his limbs felt frail, as if they would snap under the slightest pressure. His head pounded, his vision swayed, and a dull exhaustion clung to him like an unshakable curse.
And worst of all?
He recognized nothing.
This was not his dungeon.
This was not his world.
So where the fuck was he?
Most importantly why was he still alive?
He was supposed to be dead.
His last memory was clear—he had been betrayed, stabbed straight through the chest, and left to die like a fool.
So why…?
Why was he here?
He quickly scanned his surroundings.
The white walls. The scent of antiseptics. The IV drip attached to his arm.
A hospital?
He was in a hospital?
Before he could make sense of it all, the nurse—who was still clearly unsettled by his change in demeanor—fidgeted nervously and gave him a forced, tight-lipped smile.
"You… uh, don't seem too happy to be alive?" she said, clearly trying to ease the tension.
Leonis finally spoke, his voice hoarse and low.
"Where the fuck am I?"
The question came out harsher than intended, but the pounding headache made it impossible to care. Just saying those few words made it feel like the life had been drained out of him. His body was weak. Too weak.
What the hell was going on?
The nurse's lips twitched in barely concealed irritation.
Of course, this idiot would ask something so stupid. Did he really hit his head that hard when he fainted. "Seriously? Are you more of an idiot after almost dying?" But oblivious to Leonis contemplation she continued "Well..." she said with a fake, sickly-sweet smile, "you're in heaven."
Leonis blinked.
"...The fuck?"
The nurse just shrugged.
"You asked a stupid question, so I gave you a stupid answer."
Leonis inhaled deeply. Counted to three. And resisted the urge to strangle her.
'This isn't heaven.'
It was obvious.
For one, heaven wouldn't have someone this cruel in it.
For two, his entire body hurt like hell.
No way paradise would come with this level of suffering.
And third—
He suddenly had the urge to look outside.
Something in his gut told him that his surroundings would answer everything.
So, without thinking—he moved.
And immediately regretted it.
He abruptly sat up, yanking away the medical equipment he had barely noticed was attached to him. The machines beeped violently in response, and the nurse yelped in alarm.
But Leonis didn't care.
He was too focused on getting to the damn window.
However—
The moment he stood up, the world spun.
A dizzying wave of weakness slammed into him. His vision blurred. His legs shook violently beneath him.
Sweat dripped from his forehead.
And before he could take another step—
Darkness swallowed him whole.
His body gave out.
He collapsed.
Slam!
Right onto the cold, hard floor.
And just like that, for the second time—
Everything faded to black.