[Using the [Final Door] is simple. Think of what you desire, and imagine achieving it through the door.]
“…….”
That was no different from what the woman had told me.
Was that really all there was to it?
But if so, why had I ended up starting over from the beginning?
[The more specific you are, the better.]
Had I been unable to use it because what I imagined was too vague?
“How specific are we talking?”
[For example…….]
The creature seemed to think for a moment as it stroked the half-destroyed remains of its jaw with a hand dripping blood.
[The time as you recognize it……. In other words, the era, calendar, and other systems of dating that you know. Specific coordinates or an image of the location. It is best to imagine something that will remain absolutely unchanged.]
“The exact time and place.”
[Correct.]
I remembered the time.
There was no way I could forget it.
But the place—the image of where I wanted to return—had grown hazy in my memory.
I did not know how much time had actually passed, but from my perspective, it felt as though I had spent decades in this damned dungeon.
Perhaps forgetting was only natural.
“What if it is not specific enough?”
[Then you may arrive somewhere similar yet entirely wrong, and wander forever.]
I suppressed the urge to sigh and said something else instead.
“That is annoyingly complicated.”
[True to its name, the [Final Door] takes the form of a door, and it is an extraordinary thing capable of accomplishing anything that can be achieved through a door.]
“Are there any other conditions besides imagining the exact time and place?”
The creature merely twisted its face as though trying to smile.
It did not answer.
No.
It could not.
[Th-The condi…….]
“…….”
The light vanished from the eyes of the creature I had thought was holding together surprisingly well, and its body collapsed with a tremendous crash.
The remains soon disappeared, and as always, items appeared in their place.
“…….”
RATTLE.
I had not even picked up the items, yet the door opened on its own.
“……Haah.”
I dropped heavily to the floor.
Whatever had pooled there soaked into my clothes, but I could not bring myself to move elsewhere.
You could even grow accustomed to not getting the answers you wanted.
“Status Window.”
<Health : 69%>
My Health was fine thanks to the potion I had taken just before the fight ended.
I stared upward blankly with my mouth slightly open, but all I could see was the pitch-black ceiling, which might have been earth or stone.
“……I should move.”
This was exhausting.
Normal Run 2017
Floor 91 became harder.
Hard enough that it actually feels like floor 91 now.
Though all that really changed is that the boss became tougher.
I suppose that is only natural now that the difficulty changed from Easy Mode to Normal Mode.
. . . . . .
Normal Run 2023
How does it make any sense for the difficulty to be floor 91 while the items that drop are still from floor 10?
. . . . . .
Normal Run 2067
If all the returning bosses have only become tougher and gained more Attack, this should be manageable.
The Doppelgänger will probably be a little different, though.
. . . . . .
Normal Run 2147
As expected, the boss on floor 97 was a Doppelgänger wearing my appearance.
Unlike in Easy Mode, though, whenever I changed the weapon in my hands, it immediately changed to the exact same weapon, and whenever I swung mine, it copied the same swing.
It actually felt like a real Doppelgänger this time.
It was almost like fighting a mirror, except it was not perfectly identical like a mirror, which made it incredibly unpleasant.
Especially the way it kept rambling about the King.
. . . . . .
Normal Run 2212
I made the same offer to the cyborg boss that I had made on floor 90, but he refused.
Apparently, this time the King had ordered him to make absolutely certain I could not pass.
Judging from how his gaze kept drifting toward the woman beside me, I suspect she had a lot to do with it too.
. . . . . .
Normal Run 2378
Finally back on floor 100.
But what am I supposed to do about the woman?
“So this is…….”
I thought it had simply opened last time.
Why was it not opening now?
“Hmm.”
I approached the door and examined it from different angles, but there was nothing resembling a keyhole.
There was no handle either.
I tried pushing it in case that was how it worked, but as expected, it did not budge.
KNOCK, KNOCK.
I knocked loudly.
All that accomplished was making my hand hurt……
RUMBLE……
“Th-The door…….”
“…….”
Had I opened it by knocking last time too?
“Did you know that would work?”
“Of course not.”
A door that opened just because someone knocked on it.
Was that really all right?
GRRRRRR……
Nothing seemed to have changed inside the open doorway.
I glanced at the woman.
As expected, she had frozen stiff just as she had in Easy Mode.
[Enter.]
I remained where I was without saying anything, and the voice came from inside once again.
[The offer I made last time remains valid for now.]
I flinched.
“Last time? Have we met before?”
[Ha ha! Hahahaha!]
His laughter was so loud that I could feel it vibrating through my body.
Was he laughing because he had heard what I said to the cyborg boss?
Or……
[The others may not remember, but I remember every path you have walked.]
Really?
[I merely watched as you endured trials and suffering that an ordinary person could never withstand. Even after you repeatedly insisted upon the same thing, I continued testing you. You grew furious with me for doing so.]
Was it one of his abilities?
Or did he genuinely remember me?
[I also remember how those actions caused your trust in me to fall, until you treated every word I spoke with suspicion.]
I wanted to ask him.
Do you truly remember?
Even I can no longer tell whether these things are memories, dreams, illusions, or something my own mind created.
Are you certain that what you remember actually happened?
[That is why, in order to demonstrate that I keep my promises, I even offered up my own life once.]
Could he see memories?
Could he see the future?
Or did he truly remember?
[The thing you said you desired.]
The thing I wanted most.
[To use that ‘door’ behind me and return to the place from which you came.]
The only thing I wanted.
[I possess the power to grant you anything except that.]
“I already told you. I do not need anything else.”
[Then I shall make the offer once again. Abandon your desire to return through the door and become my strength. I do not discriminate against any being, as you yourself have seen.]
If I listened only to his words, he sounded like some benevolent saint.
But there was something deeply ominous buried in his voice.
Maybe it was simply because his voice itself was unpleasant.
“Even if you really do keep your promises, I have no intention of joining you.”
[Your determination to pursue a goal once chosen without wavering was admirable. But as you already know, your request is something I cannot grant.]
“That is exactly why I cannot side with you.”
The King hummed thoughtfully for a moment.
Then he softened his tone as though making some merciful offer.
[Will you truly refuse my proposal?]
“It is only a proposal if you offer something the other person actually wants.”
[This is your final opportunity. Will you truly not give it up?]
“You remember everything, do you not? How many times do I have to say it? When you want to make a deal, are you not supposed to bring the thing the other person wants most?”
Silence followed.
His offer had not changed at all.
Naturally, my answer had no reason to change either.
The problem was that I had to enter this place if I wanted to use the door, which meant I apparently had no choice but to deal with him……
‘He will not just stand there and take it this time.’
In Easy Mode, he had simply kept talking while I attacked him, so I still knew absolutely nothing about his actual abilities.
And he would probably be stronger than before.
Even if he stood still exactly as he had then, killing him would take longer.
“…….”
But unless I separated myself from the woman, I might get tricked out of using the door again just like last time.
I had no idea how to get rid of her.
If I ran for the door the instant the King died, could I use it before she did?
[Very well. So that is your answer. It has not changed.]
“Something on your end would have to change first.”
[Since you have refused my offer, only one position remains for you.]
I pulled out a dagger and a longsword, holding one in each hand.
Ideally, their lengths would have matched, but these were currently the weapons with the best combination of Durability and Attack, so I had little choice.
[An intruder who has disturbed my peace.]
“You think I came here because I wanted to?”
[Regardless of your circumstances, you entered my resting place without permission. That makes you a ruffian.]
“Then let me leave.”
There had to be an exit if he wanted me gone.
[Who told you this was the only way out? Is that not merely something you decided for yourself?]
An oppressive force unlike anything I had felt before descended upon me.
Along with it came an inexplicable sense of revulsion and a crushing heaviness.
[Are you not using that misconception as an excuse to satisfy your desire to use that door?]
“Ha.”
He claimed to know everything that happened in the dungeon.
Was that a lie too?
“You must have watched me search everywhere up there for another way out.”
I forced my legs to move beneath the pressure.
It felt as though my body weight had suddenly multiplied, and my feet slammed heavily against the floor with each step.
“And you can still say something that stupid?”
[There is one place I cannot see. The place from which you emerge.]
“Why? Do you think there is an exit there and I have been hiding it from you?”
The Boss Room looked exactly the same as before.
The only difference was that the King was now standing rather than seated.
[I merely considered it a possibility.]
“You said you trusted me, but you never actually did.”
I moved my left arm, then my right.
The pressure made every movement laborious, but if I adapted a little more, I felt I could move naturally enough.
[Or is there truly something you are concealing?]
“If you have something hidden yourself, why not show me all of it?”
At my words, the King grinned and spread both arms.
[I was already planning to.]
Familiar colors and energies began gathering around his hands.
The only difference was that they kept changing without pause.
[I shall face you with all my strength.]
The King did not dismiss the energy.
He closed the hand he had extended toward the ceiling.
The energy compressed along with the motion, then rapidly expanded when he opened his hand again.
BOOM!
“Ugh.”
I reflexively tried to block it, but my movements were still sluggish, and most of the force struck me directly.
“Kh…….”
Something trickled between my clenched lips.
A drop of red blood fell to the floor.
It was not as though my exterior was completely unharmed, but I had not expected the attack to damage me badly enough to make me cough up blood like something out of a martial arts novel……
BOOM!
“Ghk…….”
The second impact made me lose my grip on the weapons in my hands.
[Now that you are someone who must be eliminated, there is no longer any reason to hold back.]
My insides felt awful.
It felt as though I were about to retch after eating something terribly wrong.
My head spun and throbbed.
The rest of my body hardly needed mentioning.
“Sta-Status……”
<Health : 2%>
Only two attacks.
My Health, which I had filled completely beforehand, was already nearly gone.
[I truly did desire your ability.]
No matter how I thought about it, that sounded like a lie.
He had never once explained what this ability of mine that he supposedly wanted actually was.
From the beginning until now, he had done nothing but call it ‘your ability.’
“Ghk…….”
Maybe it was because I had lost so much Health so quickly.
My vision would not focus properly.
And yet, absurdly enough, the Status Window remained perfectly clear.
Seeing that made the game-like nature of all of this feel more real than ever.
<Status Effects - Anemia[00:09:54], Internal Injury(Damaged Organs - Esophagus, Trachea, Lungs, Heart, Stomach……(More))[01:59:54]>
BOOM!
<Health : 0%>
The force sent my body flying, giving me a brief view of the King's face.
I could not tell what he was saying.
It was probably nothing important or pleasant anyway.
Normal Run 2379
I died after taking only three attacks from the Final Boss.
Can that thing even be beaten?