The Tower of Chalk, fourth floor. On their second incursion, the Blades reached the highest layer of the dungeon.

In the darkness of the fourth floor, the party had only the small wall-mounted lamps to rely on. Yet Jade could see as clearly as if it were broad daylight.

And that was not all. Jade could hear the breathing of the monsters lurking on the other side of the wall, could smell the stench of their foul bodies, teaching him their exact location.

“Million-eyed Savage.” An ability that enhances the five senses beyond human ability, allowing the user to detect the position of enemies over a wide area from the faintest sound, smell, or presence. It is the second of Jade’s skills.

Among adventurers, Jade is the first to have awakened multiple skills, and possesses two others in addition to “Million-eyed Savage”. However, using multiple skills simultaneously places a heavy burden on the user, so Jade usually limits himself to using only “Ironclad Guardian” in combat.

‘There was no floor boss on the third floor either. This dungeon’s starting to make less and less sense.’

Jade muttered.

He was currently using “Million-eyed Savage” to avoid an encounter with the humanoid monster that was probably still stalking the dungeon, while also avoiding unnecessary combat with the powerful monsters that prowled the area. What’s more, with no floor bosses to contend with, the party proceeded up the Tower of Chalk with little resistance.

‘It’s convenient for us, though. You’d drop dead of exhaustion if we had to face off against a floor boss, chief.’

Even as he said this, Loewe’s face was clouded. He looked at Jade with anxious eyes.

‘Are you all right, chief? You don’t have to force yourself.’

The two of them had walked the same battlefield for a long time now. Loewe could see right through Jade’s exhaustion.

‘I’m fine—or so I’d like to say. Let me rest for a while.’

Although they were in the middle of a straight corridor, Jade confirmed that there were no monsters nearby and sat down, leaning back against the wall.

On the face of it, “Million-eyed Savage” may seem like a useful skill, but the sheer amount of sensory information it produces makes it a double-edged sword that will severely drain the user’s energy. It’s not the sort of skill you can leave active for hours at a time. But ever since they entered the Tower of Chalk, Jade has had it active. On top of that, he was forced to use “Ironclad Guardian” in the few battles they couldn’t avoid.

Jade knew that using several skills at once would put an undue burden on him, but they absolutely could not afford to run into the Dia skill using humanoid monster, so he had no choice but to use such forceful measures.

‘Jade. I really think we should go back.’

Rururi looked at Jade with a face of worry.

‘My magic can’t heal the exhaustion that comes from using skills.’

Even the sensible, strong-willed Rururi looked like she was about to cry. The little healer, who was prone to worry, did not want to see Jade’s pale face.

You’re right. Let’s go home.

Jade swallowed the words that threatened to escape past his lips. If this were a normal situation, he wouldn’t hesitate to call for a retreat. If the tank, the linchpin of the party, were compromised, the risk of the party’s total destruction would increase dramatically. Continuing to use his skill for a long time while avoiding the humanoid monster and facing off against the strong inhabitants of the dungeon at the same time was a reckless approach from the start.

‘Hah! You little bitch. You only used your skill a little. How can you call yourself the strongest tank in the guild with that attitude?’

A man interrupted their conversation with a voice full of ridicule.

‘Rufus!’

Rururi’s face instantly turned stern.

‘First of all! It’s because you attack before Jade can secure aggro that he’s unnecessarily burdened!’

‘Shut it, you little brat. That’s just the way I do things. Why should I have to wait for that slowpoke to get aggro?’

‘If you’re going to be this selfish, I won’t heal you any more.’

‘Stop it, Rururi.’

Rufus’ selfish and inconsiderate behaviour towards his fellow party members had begun to wear on Rururi’s patience. Jade knew that, but he stopped her anyway. For the sake of teamwork, he had no choice but to try and get along with him. No good could come from falling out here.

‘But this guy—’

‘Rufus. I know you’re not happy with the way we do things, but the situation demands that you cooperate. Also, take this Shard of Guidance. It will let you know if any of us is in danger.’

‘A Shard of Guidance? Fuck off, this pretending to be friends is what I hate most. If you keep complaining to me, I might accidentally shout out the identity of that woman in the middle of town out of pure shock, you know?’

Jade didn’t reply. It was for the sake of keeping Alina’s identity a secret that they had pushed themselves this far to climb the Tower of Chalk. Jade couldn’t bear the thought of this man revealing the secret she was trying so desperately to hide.

The same was true for the other two. Rururi furrowed her brow and fell silent.

‘I’ve had my rest. Let’s go.’

After patting the frustrated Rururi on the head, Jade stood up. At the moment, his number one priority was to avoid an encounter with the humanoid monster so that he could get Loewe and Rururi, who had both gotten caught up in all this, home safely. All of this depended on his “Million-eyed Savage.”

As the party cautiously advanced, Jade was racking his brains.

Rufus’ party had been annihilated by the so-called humanoid monster that had emerged from a magic circle. But there was one thing that roused Jade’s suspicions.

The bodies of the three were badly mutilated and appeared to have died instantly. Judging by their gruesome wounds, it was clear they were suffered at the hands of a monster. All but one, that is. If Jade’s diagnosis was correct, one of them was stabbed repeatedly with a bladed weapon. As the room was dark and all the bodies were covered in blood, it was difficult to be certain from just a brief observation, but Jade, who had decent night vision, had sensed there was something off about that particular body.

As if someone had stabbed him in the back.

The only person who could’ve done this is Rufus. But it doesn’t make sense for him to kill his entire party in the middle of exploring an uncharted S-rank dungeon . He’d only be putting himself in danger.

Of course Jade was paying close attention to Rufus’ movements. Even if Jade pressed him for a confession, as long as he knew Alina’s identity, Jade couldn’t make a move against him.

Jade sighed. He stared into the darkness of the corridor ahead.

A party member you can’t turn your back on is a million times more trouble than any difficult dungeon.

A short while later, they reached the end of the corridor. A large iron door emerged from the darkness. Jade could feel a thick presence of ether from the other side.

‘This is the last one, leader.’

Loewe muttered. Jade nodded and, drawing his longsword, he carefully opened the door.

The moment he stepped inside, Jade reflexively covered his nose. With his sense of smell heightened by “Million-eyed Savage”, the strong stench of blood proved too much of a stimulus. But apart from the smell of blood, there was no other presence in the room. Jade looked around and caught his breath.

‘Loewe. Light.’

In response, Loewe waved his rod, whereupon a small sphere of light floated to the ceiling. Now lit, the party found themselves standing inside a room with a particularly high ceiling, surrounded by four magnificent pillars.

‘This is…’

Chunks of flesh, cut down beyond recognition, were raining down from above. Whatever those chunks belonged to, it had lost its life at the hand of someone and were gradually dissolving into thin air—a phenomenon unique to monsters. Which would mean:

‘Could this be… the floor boss?’

‘Does this mean that all the floor bosses so far have been killed by someone?’

‘feeble and dull, every last one of them.’

Jade turned quickly in the direction of the voice.

A lone man emerged from behind a thick pillar, dressed in a manner unbefitting of an adventurer. He carried no weapon and wore no armour. His bare upper half revealed bulging muscles. He wore a loose waistcloth, and his long golden hair hung casually down to his waist.

Most conspicuous was the black stone in the pit of his stomach, the size of a clenched fist, which cast a sinister light and had an eerie shimmer.

Although Jade had “Million-eyed Savage” activated, he had failed to notice the man’s presence.

Faced with this hard-to-accept truth, Jade felt a terrible foreboding run through his entire body. But before he could confirm it, Rufus stumbled backwards.

‘It’s that humanoid monster!’

Rufus yelled in shock as he pointed at the man slowly advancing towards them.

‘Humanoid monster? You are mistaken. I am neither man nor monster.’

The man grinned broadly. He raised his arm and spoke:

‘I call upon thee: “Dia’s Torment”.’

The familiar-sounding name of his skill shocked Jade. As it activated, rays of skill-light ran through the black stone buried in the man’s pit. A white magic circle rose from below his feet, and a huge spear appeared out of nowhere.

That spear, decorated with silver, looked strikingly similar to Alina’s warhammer.

‘I am Silva, God of Demons.’

‘God of Demons?!’

Silva held his spear aloft with a belligerent smile.

‘It pleases me to find you here. These ugly, wretched monsters, despite their odious souls, keep springing forth like there’s no end to them. I was just getting bored with slaughtering them!’

No sooner had he finished shouting with glee than Silva kicked off the ground and lunged at the bewildered Jade.

‘Shit! Activate skill:“Ironclad Guardian”!’

The demon god was moving so fast that even though he had been standing right in front of him, Jade could barely catch sight of him. Nevertheless, Jade managed to raise his shield in time. With a deafening noise, Jade’s great shield barely managed to deflect the path of the silver spear. A sharp flash of light passed right by his ear—if he’d reacted any slower, the spear would’ve likely gone straight through his face.

‘My shield!’

The sheer force of the spear sent a large crack through the part of his shield that deflected the attack. Seeing this, Jade’s face turned grim. This shield wasn’t just a relic arms. It had been hardened by Jade’s “Ironclad Guardian”. That it could be damaged so easily—

‘Good reaction, I see you’re stronger than your average monster. This will be fun—’

Silva was interrupted by a sharp sound coming from behind him. The scabbard which Jade had thrown at the same time he had parried the attack bounced off the floor. Reacting to the sound, Silva’s eyes averted from Jade for a brief second.

‘Now’s our chance! Run!’

Taking advantage of this moment of inattention, Jade dashed towards the door.

Jade made one rule for this time’s incursion into the Tower of Chalk. If they encountered the humanoid monster, they would retreat without engaging in combat. However you look at it, the current party is short on combat strength. Loewe and Rururi reacted quickly to Jade’s command and headed for the door they had just entered through.

However:

‘Hyahahaha! Did you think I would let you get away!? Activate skill: “Gaoler’s Penance”!’

Rufus’s shrill laugh echoed through the room.

A grate of iron bars rose from the floor outside the entrance, stretching from one end of the room to the other, blocking the only path of escape.

Jade turned his gaze to the culprit, who was leisurely walking towards them—Rufus.

The frightened look on his face had disappeared, to be replaced by a vulgar smile.

I knew I couldn’t be careless around him, but to think he’d betray us now, of all times!

With bitter regret in his heart, Jade quickly turned back to the Demon God. But where he had stood a mere moment ago, there was only empty darkness. The Demon God was gone.

I can’t detect his presence!

Even with “Million-eyed Savage” activated at full power, he could only sense the presence of the four people present. Cold sweat ran down Jade’s back. That fierce spear could attack him anytime, anywhere.

‘Rufus, cut it out! This is not the time for this! Cancel your skill right now!’

‘Cancel my skill? Why would I do that?’

Rufus’ predicament should have been the same as theirs, but he appeared strangely calm, as if he were looking down from the safety of a spectator’s seat at an arena where a fierce animal had been unleashed against a gladiator.

‘Since you’re all going to die anyway, I’ll teach you something good.’

Rufus suddenly lowered his voice and smirked as he looked into Jade’s eyes.

‘You see, the demon god was once sealed in this dungeon.’

Grinning, Rufus touched the iron bars. Responding to their user’s will, the bars bent like wet noodles, letting him through to the other side, and returned to their original form.

‘But I released the seal. Apparently, if I fed it human souls to it, it would lift.’

Again, Jade felt that unease. Rufus was so confidently claiming this information, information that Jade had never heard before. Does that mean that he knew about the Demon God before he came to the Tower of Chalk? But how?

It had only been a week or so since they discovered the commission form from the red orb and confirmed the existence of the Tower of Chalk. It shouldn’t have been possible for him to learn of the existence of the unknown Demon God in such a short amount of time.

‘After that, all I had to do was to bring you here to guarantee the total destruction of the Blades! I won this gamble, wouldn’t you say, mister elite?!’

‘Answer me Rufus. Where did you learn this information?’

‘Why should I tell you just because you asked, you moron! The sickening Blades go away, and I get a Dia skill. In other words, I win! I can’t stop laughing!’

‘A human soul? Oi, you mean the reason your party members died—’

Loewe’s face stiffened as if he had just noticed something. It seems that Jade’s prediction was correct.

‘Party members? Ah, if you mean those useless weaklings, I killed one of them to resurrect the Demon God.’

Rufus readily admitted as he burst out laughing.

‘Hyahahaha! You should’ve seen their faces when I killed him! When the demon god came out, it was fucking carnage! It was a sight to behold when I managed to escape ahead of them and used my skill to block their way out. I had no idea a human could look so desperate.’

‘How could you do this to your own party members?’

Rururi asked in shock. Up until the moment Rufus killed them, his party members followed him because they believed in him. He simply threw their lives away for his own greed and ambition.

‘I will do anything if it means killing you despicable Blades. It’s over for you bastards! This is your end! This is where you all die!!’

As Rufus rejoiced in madness, he stuck out his tongue in a mischievous gesture.

‘I’m going to look for the Dia skill, while you lot can just struggle like the maggots that you are. I’m looking forwards to hearing your screams echo through—’

Rufus’ words were abruptly cut short.

‘Ah?’

Rufus looked down, curious. Before he knew it, the edge of a blade was sticking out of his chest. The spear thrust into his back had easily pierced through his gear.

‘Wh—!’

He opened his eyes in shock and slowly turned back, towards the person holding the spear. Unbeknownst to Rufus, the demon god Silva had appeared behind him.

‘How?’

‘How? Such a foolish question. Your little prison is as soft as a sheet of paper.’

There was a metallic sound. Moments later, the metal bars shattered. All present felt a shiver run down their spines. None of them noticed that Silva had passed them by.

‘This is not what… I was told! He said you wouldn’t… kill me!’

‘Such a pity. I don’t know who tempted you to release me, but anyone who comes into my vision is, without exception, doomed to be devoured.’

Rufus’ face twisted in despair as he realised he had been deceived.

‘You have ruined my joy. But alas, I shall thank you. Thanks to your foolish, superficial scheme, I have regained my freedom!’

Rufus spat out a mouthful of blood and fell into a fit of coughing. He held out his hand to Jade as if begging for help. But it was obvious that his wounds were so fatal that a healing spell would not be enough to save him.

‘Ah… ah…’

His blood-soaked hand lost all strength and fell limply to the ground as he died impaled on the spear.

‘Haha. Ah, how unappetizing. Hahahaha! Such a vulgar, trivial, tainted soul!’

Silva pulled his spear out. Rufus’ lifeless body slumped to the ground, but Silva had already lost interest in him and turned his gaze towards the Blades instead.

‘Now then, I wonder what your souls taste like.’

His eyes, glittering atrociously like a hungry beast, were filled with the joy of having found a prey.

What do I do.

Covering Rururi and Loewe behind his back, Jade focused his attention on Silva’s every move while he shifted his mental gears to finding an escape route. The two were wise enough to not lose their composure and stay still. Like Jade, they knew that one wrong move would only lead to death.

The demon god Silva managed to defeat both “Ironclad Guardian” and “Gaoler’s Penance” with the power of his Dia skill.

If they fought him directly, they would have no chance of winning.

‘What’s the matter? I was hoping you’d fight me like a small animal caught in the eyes of a predator.’

Silva asked, impatiently.

‘In that case, allow me to make the first move!’

Swinging the huge silver spear like he was wielding a toothpick, Silva lowered his centre of gravity and approached.

‘Get down, chief! Infernal Wyrm!’

At the sound of Loewe’s voice, Jade ducked. At the same time, a surge of raging sorcerous fire washed over his head, sending flames crashing down on Silva.

‘Kuhahaha! Is this some kind of game?’

One sweep of his spear and the flames dispersed; the wind pressure of the swing alone was enough to dispel the magic. The attack wasn’t the least bit effective, but it gave them some respite from Silva’s attacks.

‘Rururi!’

Jade thrust his shield forward and called the party’s healer, who read Jade’s intent and activated her skill.

‘Activate skill: “Undying Seraph”!’

A sphere of light shot from her rod and enveloped Jade. At the same time, Silva’s spear pierced through Jade’s shield and continued straight through his shoulder. Yet wondrously, not a drop of blood flowed from the wound.

‘Huh.’

With a touch of admiration, Silva withdrew his spear from Jade’s shoulder, whereupon the bloodless gash gradually closed.

‘A skill that grants the power of regeneration. Interesting.’

Silva licked his lips and, facing Rururi, made an absurd remark:

‘Allow me to take it.’

‘Huh?!’

‘I call upon thee: “Dia’s Envy”.’

Beams of skill-light passed through the black stone in Silva’s pit, and a white magic circle expanded before him. What appeared was a large round mirror with a silver rim.

The mirror followed its master’s bidding and turned its reflective surface towards Rururi.

‘Run—’

Feeling a chilling premonition, Jade reacted quickly and tried to pull Rururi out of the mirror’s path. But he was a moment too late. The silver mirror shone with a light that enveloped the little healer.

‘Rururi!!’

Jade’s face hardened as fear gripped his heart. But when the light abated, Rururi stood, unchanged, unharmed. However:

‘My rod… it’s gone!’

Rururi’s weapon, her rod, had vanished.

‘I have no use for this twig.’

Silva was holding her rod. After giving it a quick glance, he snapped it with one hand and tossed it over his shoulder as if it were a tree branch.

‘But a skill that grants self-regeneration is interesting. I was just thinking I needed a healing skill.’

Silva said, biting off a chunk of flesh from his arm. Staring intently at the arm gushing bright red blood, Silva grinned.

‘I call upon thee: “Undying Seraph”.’

Silva’s arm was enveloped in a white light, whereupon the damaged muscle regenerated and the wound closed.

It was Rururi’s skill.

‘A—activate skill: “Undying Seraph”!’

Unwilling to accept the truth, a flustered Rururi activated her skill. However, the familiar skill-light did not appear.

‘This can’t be…’

Rururi’s hoarse voice echoed through the silent hall.

‘My skill… is gone.’

White mages manipulate healing magic through their rods, transforming magic power into healing power. For them, losing their rod is the same as losing their magic. What’s more, after losing “Undying Seraph,” Rururi’s role as a healer was now completely sealed off.

‘Using multiple Dia skills at once…’

Loewe muttered, staring blankly at the silver mirror as it vanished into thin air.

A silver mirror that, like Alina’s warhammer and Silva’s silver spear, had emerged from a white magic circle. Most likely, it’s a Dia skill that can steal the power of a target root and branch. There are plenty of transcendent skills that can rob the target of their magical or physical power, but there are none that can can do the same for a skill.

As he watched the light that had been cloaking his shoulder quickly fade with the loss of Rururi’s “Undying Seraph,” Jade was convinced they had been driven into a hopeless situation. Yet he still racked his brain trying to find a way out.

‘Leader. There’s still a way.’

Loewe whispered.

‘He’s used so many skills at once. If he’s built the same like us humans, he should be getting tired.’

‘Right. If he’s built the same.’

Loewe wasn’t wrong. Even using two transcendent skills at the same time imposes a considerable burden. If those were Dia skills, which surpass transcendent skills, it wouldn’t be surprising if a normal human would drop dead from exhaustion.

But Jade had an odd feeling about Silva. He looked every bit the human, but his aura was anything but. He could feel an overwhelming something emanating from him, something that couldn’t be quantified by the standards of man.

‘If somehow, even for a moment, I could put him off his guard—’

Jade swallowed his words. Suddenly, from a gap in between the Demon God’s long, flowing locks, he saw something glitter.

A symbol was carved into his right temple. It was the familiar magic circle of the sun, the symbol of Dia.

‘A mark of Dia?!’

Jade opened his eyes in shock. Whichever way you looked at it, it was the same pattern as the one found on relics. The proof of “the complete” that the Ancestors carved into everything they made.

Loewe too spotted the symbol carved into the Demon God and gasped.

‘Does this mean that this guy is a relic made by the Ancestors?!’

An enemy that is neither monster nor human. No, if he really is a relic, then he couldn’t even qualify as a living being. Which would mean that they couldn’t count on him getting worn out from using multiple skills at the same time.

‘What’s the matter? You look a little pale.’

Silva laughed, feigning ignorance. There was a cruel glint in his eyes. Eyes of a hunter considering how best to torment his prey.

‘If you’re not going to make a move, then I will. I call upon thee: “Dia’s Judgement”.’

There wasn’t even time to despair.

Following the Demon God’s chant, three magic circles appeared in the air. No sooner had they expanded in front of each party member than a silver sword slowly emerged from each of them. Their sharp tips pointed towards each of their prey and stopped dead.

A shiver ran down Jade’s spine.

‘A multi-target skill!’

In his panic, Jade lost his composure.

A multi-target skill is a violent ability that launches an attack at all targets simultaneously and is almost certain to hit all of them. If you don’t have considerable physical strength and kinetic vision, it is safe to say that dodging it is impossible.

Jade gritted his teeth. A direct hit would surely kill the lightly-armoured rearguard and healer Loewe and Rururi.

‘Damn it!’

He wasn’t going to let that happen.

‘Rururi, Loewe. I’ll take the attack. When I do, run.’

‘Wha—oi, leader?! What the hell are you thinking?!’

Without answering Loewe, Jade glared at Silva.

‘How about we settle this one-on-one, demon god.’

‘Settle this? You against me? On your own? Haha, you’re a funny one!’

Silva looked at Jade in fascination before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

‘Don’t worry. I’ll attack you last. When the two behind you are dead, we can fight one-on-one.’

‘I won’t let you do that. Activate skill: “Berserker’s Demise”’

Jade shouted as he activated his third skill. A torrent of red skill-light erupted from his body, and the three blades aimed at his teammates all turned towards him.

‘J—Jade?!’

Rururi exclaimed upon seeing Jade use his skill.

‘You promised you’d only use that skill with my “Undying Seraph”!’

Jade’s third skill—“Berserker’s Demise” forcefully redirects attacks directed at surrounding party members towards the user. Combined with Rururi’s “Undying Seraph,” it is an unbeatable combination.

However, with all of Rururi’s healing methods sealed away, using it is literally an act of suicide.

‘Don’t tell me you’re trying to die?!’

Jade didn’t answer. Instead, he placed himself at a distance from them as to not draw them into the impending battle. He no longer needed to be their shield. From now on, every attack would be directed at Jade.

‘Huh,’ Silva exclaimed in admiration.

‘Though they may be weak, having multiple skills in one body is impressive for a human. In that case, let’s see if you can stand up to my judgement!’

One of the blades struck Jade from behind, piercing his abdomen.

‘Gah!’

Jade doubled over, unable to withstand the force of the blow and the pain coursing through his body. He tried to pull the blade out, but he couldn’t muster enough strength in his hands. Having finished its attack, the sword vanished, not even allowing itself to be used as a stopgap for the bleeding. Fresh blood gushed from Jade’s wound.

‘Jade!!’

Rururi’s heartrending cry seemed to come from afar. But just before Jade collapsed, he braced his footing and managed to stay on his feet through sheer force of will. Silva’s face beamed with joy as he watched him struggle.

‘That’s it! You’re the first person to receive my judgement and still stand!’

‘Hah! That’s right, try attacking me more!’

Jade laughed fearlessly as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

‘I’ve been forged by miss Alina’s hammer every day, so I’m pretty tough.’

Jade shot a quick glance at Loewe as if to urge him to hurry. Go, quickly, his eyes seemed to say. If this battle-junkie Demon God lost interest in Jade and decided to target the rest of the party, he wouldn’t be able to protect them anymore.

Loewe understood Jade’s intention. And yet he hesitated to make the decision.

Meanwhile, the second sword turned its tip towards Jade.

Rururi couldn’t make such a heartless decision. Loewe was the only one he could count on.

‘Loewe!’

When jade cried out, Loewe’s pallid face turned grim with determination. Or perhaps it was sadness that coloured his face.

‘Hahaha. Is that what they call tenacity? You humans do some funny things.’

Silva laughed heartily before raising his right hand. At its master’s command, the second sword glided through the air, plunging into Jade’s thigh. Jade was forced to his knees, as if to grovel before his master.

‘Ugh!’

‘Jade—’

Unable to control herself any longer, Rurui started to run towards Jade, but was held back by Loewe.

‘Loewe?! What are you doing!’

‘This is our chance! Run!’

Loewe shouted, his face all white.

‘Are you saying we should escape and leave Jade behind?! I don’t want to!’

Carrying the struggling Rururi in his arms, Loewe ran for the exit. Silva’s eyes followed the two for a moment before turning back to the more interesting prey before him. Jade heard Rururi’s voice fading away in the distance and somehow managed to get to his feet. Dragging his now useless leg, he slowly hobbled over to the door. The last remaining sword chased after Jade, but he no longer cared.

‘Hah, so your friends abandoned you in the end. I’m not surprised. That’s the way you humans are.’

‘If that’s what you want to believe.’

It wouldn’t be long before the amount of blood gushing from the gouged hole in his abdomen and thigh reached fatal levels. In the consciousness that was fast slipping away from him if he wasn’t careful, Jade endured the intense pain coursing through his body as he closed the half-opened door and pressed his palm against it.

‘Activate skill: “Ironclad Guardian”!’

Instantly, the door glowed with red skill-light and hardened, trapping Jade and Silva inside.

‘You cut off your path of retreat? I’m in awe of your tenacity.’

A transcendent skill likely didn’t have nearly enough stopping power against a Dia skill, but Jade hoped it would at least buy Rururi and Loewe enough time to leave the Tower of Chalk and reach the crystal gate. In the unlikely event that the two changed their minds and came back to rescue Jade, this would prevent them from entering the room.

There was only one thing left for Jade to do.

Jade made his resolve. With his back to the door, he turned around to face the demon god.

He was determined to keep him engaged in this locked room and buy his teammates enough time to flee.

To use himself as a human shield to protect his teammates—that is the duty of the tank.

‘Hahaha! I like it! Such vitality!’

Silva’s face brightened when he saw that Jade’s eyes still hadn’t lost their light.

‘I’m looking forward to eating you.’

With an ecstatic face, his mouth twisted into a smile as the last remaining sword disappeared. In its place, a large number of magic circles formed around Jade, surrounding him with more than twice as many swords as before.

‘I wonder how long you can remain standing’

A shroud of death weighed heavily on Jade’s entire being. Ignoring his instincts that told him to run, he instead glared at those terrifying blades.

Luckily, Silva’s attention was focused on Jade. As long as he was alive, his target wouldn’t shift towards Loewe or Rururi.

I’m probably going to die here.

As he thought absentmindedly, Alina’s face flashed across his mind.

Even at a time like this, he remembered her sullen face, her furrowed brows. Unexpectedly, he didn’t hate that face of hers. Though if he said that to her, she would probably hit her with her big hammer again.

In the end, I was but a fleeting moment in her life.

To her, Jade was nothing more than a nuisance. As she said, her power belonged to Alina alone. It’s up to her to decide what to do with it. Jade had eventually come to understand that, but ever since Jade discovered her in the deepest depths of that dungeon, he found himself helplessly attracted to her. It had nothing to do with whether she had a Dia skill or not. For example, even if she thought him nothing more than a nuisance, jade wanted to be involved with Alina. Like a little boy teasing the girl he likes.

I like Alina.

He liked how she seems mature at first sight, but is actually more childish than anyone else.

He liked how open she is about her desires.

He liked how when she is annoyed with something, she solves it with violence.

The dead-eyed look on her face when she is at work. The insincere way she smiles at the adventurers. The scary look on her face when she is angry. How she looks at Jade with a face like she is looking at something disgusting. Her cheerful face when she gets to go home on time.

That’s why.

That’s why I wanted to see her for just a little longer.

Regretting his unfulfilled wish, he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. When next he opened them, they shone with a sharp brilliance, as if he had cast aside his naive wishes and decided he was ready to die.

‘Your pathetic attacks…’

This was Jade’s last stand. Were he to die, his corpse would from a shield to protect his friends. That’s what a tank is.

‘… are nothing compared to Alina’s warhammer!’