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“It’s collapsing…!”

The plaza shook. Still, it seemed there was some damage, as Snowell staggered. Just because there was no pain, it didn’t mean there was no shock. The White Lion shook its head to shake off the impact, and the hunters quickly started to dash towards the exit.

First attempt— The initial raid. Back then, the raid team, having no information about Neverland, faced disaster. Bosses beyond common sense and a tricky dungeon. The squad, thinking the plaza, Area 1, was the end of the dungeon, decided it was impossible to go further and attempted to escape. But when the frenzy began, monsters poured in endlessly, leading to the demise of many hunters. By the time they barely escaped and opened the door to the maze, skeletons were waiting to block their way. To hold off the monsters from Area 2 that had followed them, Kang Hoon, the once-hero, sacrificed himself to save the raid team, leading to Neverland being dubbed the worst dungeon ever.

Of course, raids on Neverland became cautious, and for years, investigation and exploration took the forefront. From that, unspoken rules and a few facts emerged. When the frenzy starts, make sure to escape the dungeon. And…

“—When the collapse begins, it closes within an hour.”

As Euna, who voiced this fact, turned her head, she saw the Goat and the Wolf still battling. Was it okay to leave Alpha behind like this? The White Lion’s roar gave her no choice. As Euna bit her lip, Kang Tae-ho and Baek Gun-tae shouted from the edge of the maze.

“Hurry up!”

Thud— thud— thud—! The moment the White Lion began to run, Euna threw her spear toward Snowell, lifting Ha Yeon’s back and knees to carry her.

“S-senior?”

The spear, devoid of magic, fell off far too easily when it touched the White Lion. Even giving up the spear, the distance was closing in. It was hard to shake them off due to the difference in strides. Eventually, a shadow loomed, and the White Lion’s front paw came crashing down over her head, but with the help of the young dragon, she barely managed to escape. Snowell, seemingly frustrated at having missed, slammed the ground multiple times as it panted, baring its fangs.

“Get off!”

At Kang Tae-ho’s command, Euna tossed off Ha Yeon, and without anyone leading, they all dove into the mist. The mist surrounding the maze distorted their senses. Unable to trust her five senses, Euna closed her eyes and ran, tracking the remnants of magic left by the hunters ahead. The Snowell roaring in the plaza chased the fleeing hunters, squeezing into the narrow maze boundaries, and the chase between the hunters and the Lion began, as the dungeon shook and crumbled. The walls of the collapsing plaza. The only two monsters left in the closing plaza of Neverland roared at each other.

“―――!”

***

Invisible greed— the void that consumes all. The path the Wolf walked branching out into a newly acquired power.

The Wolf had grown accustomed to its fight. That wasn’t the problem. Movements based on evasion. Using skills appropriately including shadow when needed, and starting to develop a certain seasoned expertise through predictions. It had created its own way of fighting.

However, until now, the Wolf’s fighting was underpinned by the mindset of survival or kill-or-be-killed. Though it had become a monster, for the once-human Wolf, that didn’t raise any questions.

Worgs and Skull Wolves, and even the Shadow Clan.

Intent to kill. Fighting desperately while using everything available to survive. A fierce struggle for survival. That was the Wolf’s fight.

—Until now, that was.

‘The Devourer.’

From here on, the Wolf vowed to fight not as the Shadow Clan, but as the Devourer, and in that moment, something invisible surged up boundlessly— and the wind stopped.

“―――!”

In an instant, the Wolf lunged at the Goat. Caught off guard by the Wolf charging first after focusing on evasion, the Goat quickly regained composure. As long as it could close in, the advantage would be on its side. The Wolf’s action was nothing short of suicide.

The Goat, baring its teeth, reached out as the Wolf leaped right in front of it. Attempting to crush the Wolf’s ankle, it instead lost its own hand.

“…!”

With a clank— the chain of the shackles collided as the Goat grabbed the Wolf’s ankle. The Wolf, with red-tinted eyes, opened its mouth wide to the limits and sank its teeth into the nape of the Goat. The Goat, lifting the Wolf while holding its ankle, mercilessly swung it.

The moment the Wolf slammed into the ground, it vanished into shadow. The concealed Wolf sprang out from behind—the Wolf read the anticipated motion of the Goat once again. The shadow stretched out from the ground, grabbing the Goat’s ankle. When the Goat leaped while struggling away from the shadow, skin and flesh were devoured, leaving only bones exposed.

Frightening red eyes could be seen exiting the shadow as it lunged after the Goat. That wasn’t the way the Wolf usually fought. If anything, up till now, it was the Goat that maintained distance.

Instinctively, the Goat’s eyes widened as it touched its bitten neck. It immediately pulled away, but still, it had been bitten. Feeling a chilling threat, the Goat raised its magic to push itself away. Falling in mid-air, the Goat looked up at the Wolf chasing it and far beyond, something shimmering in the heat haze.

It felt like that something was looking at it. Though it was invisible. Despite it being impossible, it felt as if it were salivating to devour it…

“……!”

For just a brief moment of distraction, a shadow seized the Goat. As the Wolf lunged to bite, the Goat swung its arms. Instead of dodging, the Wolf opened its jaw wide, the Goat broke the Wolf’s jaw, and the Wolf devoured the Goat’s arm. The Wolf that was left with only its upper jaw, while the Goat consumed up to its elbow, revealed its intent to kill against each other. Great magical power. The deep gray magic of the Goat began to rise and ignite. Black flames blazed and black magic swirled beneath it. Engrossed in everything, the Goat failed to notice.

—That something invisible had already begun to swallow it.

“……!”

The Goat, eyes wide open, began to struggle. It tried desperately to escape, but it was not that easy. The Goat that was completely swallowed struggled but slowly began to be devoured.

‘The Void.’

In the midst of that, the Goat tried to scream, but it could not. It had already been bitten in the nape, making it impossible to sound out. No blood flowed. It had been consumed too.

—Swallowing and devouring it all.

Only after its flailing hand had disappeared did the Goat manage to raise its magic and barely push that force away, but by then, it had become something that could no longer be called a Goat. The Goat, attempting to move, found it unable to… because its legs had been devoured. No, it wasn’t just that.

Its limbs had been consumed and mangled, leaving it in tatters. The Goat realized it had been lying on the ground for a while.

It felt like being ravaged by dozens of wolves. The Goat coughed, trying to spit blood, but it couldn’t because blood flowed from the exposed wound on its nape. Its high vitality barely kept its lifeline, but that was about it. If there was time, it could survive with regeneration, but when something hot touched its head, the Goat gave up on life.

“―――.”

Amid the shaking and collapsing dungeon, the Wolf howled low. The fading vision. In its final moments, what the Goat saw were the glowing red eyes of the Wolf.

—And without hesitation, the Wolf devoured the Goat.

***

“Hooouu!”

The raid team, who barely escaped, breathed a sigh of relief. Exiting the maze where the skeleton had fallen wasn’t difficult. The only obstacle blocking the shaky path of the maze was scattered blue bones. The raid commander sighed in relief at the fact they had safely escaped the dungeon.

“…When will we get out?”

The boundaries of the dungeon grew faint. Just before they exited, they clearly felt the dungeon shaking. Meaning it was collapsing… Soon the dungeon would close. The commander frowned at that.

‘Why on earth…’

The Swordmaster— why did Dawn’s Rod enter the dungeon? Was there a reason? What came to the commander’s mind were the images of the monsters that had ambushed the raid team. The sorcerer, who had cast a shadow, and the giant draped in robes, who they never fully saw. And the formidable figure in flame-covered armor wielding a large sword that they glimpsed for a moment.

‘Who on earth are they…?’

It wasn’t a question that could be answered by thinking. Shaking his head, the commander looked around again, but the containment teams were indeed absent. A few hunters’ faces were visible, but they were not the containment teams that should have been there. Considering that first, they should have regrouped the raid team and assessed the situation, but the commander stood stiff.

“……!”

The extraordinary figure in flame-covered armor he had recalled earlier appeared at the boundaries of the dungeon, revealing itself. It stepped slowly, crushing the exhausted raid team with its overwhelming magic. He thought he had to block it, but how?

‘It must have been the Swordmaster…’

Surely, it had been harmed by that monster. Its unscathed appearance. The overwhelming magic pressing down on them— realistically, blocking it was impossible. Only after that monster’s figure faded did the suffocating pressure lift.

…How laughable to feel relieved that they were still alive. A figure that vanished without saying a word. The commander let out a deep sigh and wiped the sweat that trickled down his forehead.

“…What on earth is happening inside the dungeon?”

***

[You have consumed Baphomet. Experience and satiety have increased.]

[Experience maxed out…]

[EXP 317933 / 463579]

—Level rose up to 15, with experience reaching 300,000. The condition for achievement must have been defeating Baphomet, allowing the level to rise without hitting the limit.

All in all, considering the increase in experience, it meant that a single Baphomet granted over 2 million experience. Chuckling at the insane numbers, it was expected when you thought of it as the area boss of Neverland.

‘The Devourer.’

A fierce, equal struggle, not the fight of a weakling escaping and waiting for an opportunity, but one of tearing and dragging. The fact of having devoured a strong enemy. The area boss of Neverland. The realization that it had single-handedly taken down the executor, against which it dared not even dream of opposing, hit hard. —Now, it could finally be confident that it was strong.

‘…….’

Feeling the adrenaline a beat later, the Wolf turned its head. Like when it took down the monstrous Wolf and conquered Jirisan, exhilaration surged.

“―――!”

The howl of the Wolf, left alone in the crumbling plaza, echoed. After howling for a while, the Wolf closed its eyes and caught its breath.

‘…It’s not over yet.’

The White Lion must still be chasing the hunters. And among them was the Fairy. With Kang Hoon’s whereabouts still unknown, there was no time to revel in joy. The thought that Snowell or even Kang Hoon could go wrong brought the sense of crisis back to the Wolf. In the frenzy just before closure, it must escape the dungeon to finally put a proper period on it.

—The Wolf, having devoured the Goat, began to chase after the Lion.

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