CHAPTER 65: PTSD

CRASH! CRACK! SPLATTER!

『 Your obsessive lover has ceased to exist 』

『 Erasing "Anna" from the system’s record 』

Arthur didn’t understand what exactly had happened.

Things had escalated so quickly that even he couldn’t fully process it.

The only thing he knew was that the gesture was familiar.

No. Familiar didn’t even begin to describe what had left an irreversible scar on his heart.

His greatest trauma and his deepest fear.

Perhaps it was a farewell gift from Anna, a present from hell. Whatever it was, it had struck deep.

Three years before his transmigration, this exact scene had played out before. Only the location and context of the words were different.

The same moment that made him shut himself off from reality, the same moment that led him to create a comic refuge titled My First Kiss.

Arthur tried to breathe in, but his chest tightened.

He gasped, struggling to breathe like something was blocking his airways.

’Fuck, it’s this damn PTSD...’

Arthur kept trying to regulate his breathing.

After repeated failure, he shut his eyes and bit into his hand as hard as he could.

It was the same as always. The only way he could calm himself during an episode of PTSD:

Pain.

But unlike before, he didn’t spiral into panic.

He didn’t clutch his head, replaying the scene on loop. He didn’t question why his parents had abandoned him as a child or why his grandmother vanished, pretending she had died.

This time, he had people to protect.

He had those he could truly call family, people who would never leave his side.

Back then, he was just a lonely orphan with no one, who ended up falling for another equally lonely, obsessive child his age.

But now he had friends, a family, and wives.

There was no way in hell he was throwing that all away because of trauma or for someone who wanted him to suffer for refusing to die with them.

Many never get a second chance at life, but he did.

And he wasn’t going to waste it.

The past was behind him.

He was living in the present.

Maybe he bore some fault in Anna’s death, but falling into depression or crashing again wouldn’t help anyone.

The only thing he could do was carry the weight of those burdens for as long as his soul endured.

Arthur clenched his bloodied teeth, stained red with golden streaks.

As he raised his head, the entire dungeon trembled and glowed red as a beam of light shot into the sky.

’Fucking get your shit together, Lee Beom-seok...’

he told himself, rising onto one knee.

He couldn’t bring himself to look at the cliff, maybe because the trauma was still too fresh. And if looking at it meant reliving a pathetic scene from his past life, then he wouldn’t look.

Yes, he would ignore it.

The feeling might return to haunt him later, but for now it had to be suppressed.

Arthur forced a shaky grin and said, "Let’s go save Amy."

------

(Inside the dungeon’s boss room)

Agrat smiled broadly as she looked at Ha-joon.

Black dragon scales covered his body, and his glowing purple eyes shimmered with power.

He was handsome, more than most boys, though even he couldn’t compare to Arthur’s effortless charm.

"I can’t believe you absorbed the energy of both the mid and dungeon bosses," Agrat praised as he landed on the ground.

Ha-joon glanced at her as the demonic energy pulsed through him. "It wasn’t that big of a deal."

She shook her head and nestled close to his arm. "No. You’re the only one who could ever pull this off, Dread Lord."

Ha-joon looked at his arm, then at the rest of his body, both now covered in black dragon scales.

’Looks like I ended up becoming a monster too,’ he thought, clenching his fist. ’No matter. As long as I win, who cares.’

Agrat grinned. "I’ve released mana beasts to attack the other students. We can’t cause as much destruction without the three bosses, but we can still wipe out most of the first and second years’ main forces."

Ha-joon paused for a moment. "So who are my targets?"

Agrat stepped away from him and started walking. "The top five students in combat and strategy from the second year: Amelia, Cassie, Ren, Avalon, and Lucien."

Ha-joon mentally noted their names as she continued. "The rest of the second years are mostly insignificant, so no need to worry about them."

"What about the first years?" Ha-joon asked.

Agrat turned to him, her gaze sharpening. "Well, let’s start by eliminating Arthur Arcain’s main allies and kidnapping his wives. Even if you can’t beat—"

Agrat stopped mid-sentence as Ha-joon shot her a glare.

"Okay..." she muttered, turning back around. "If you want, you can kill Arthur Arcain after defeating the first year’s top fighters."

Without replying, Ha-joon spread his wings and took to the sky.

Agrat clicked her tongue. "Arrogant bastard. No wonder the goddess left him."

She sighed. "Kai, what about Anna?"

The voice in the shadows went silent for a moment, then answered, "She is dead..."

Agrat was about to press her palm to her face, then suddenly stopped.

Her gaze snapped toward the shadows, her stance shifting. "Who are you? And where the hell is Kai?"

The figure in the shadows said nothing for a moment, then stepped forward and replied.

"I am the shadow of my lord..." A female figure emerged, wearing a draconic helmet that obscured the top half of her face. "... I serve one purpose only: to slay the enemies of my master."

Agrat’s eyes narrowed as she examined the graceful female knight. "And who is your master?"

The shadow knight, wielding a sword and a shield, answered. "My master is too great for even me to speak his name. What right does a vile succubus have to utter it?"

Agrat let out a short laugh and lunged. "Then take your master’s name to the grave."

The shadow knight raised her shield, channeling force into it and blocking the strike of Agrat’s claws.

Then she spoke:

"I am Seraph Ravenhearth, the shadow and first sword of my master."

Agrat’s eyes widened as the knight shoved her back with the shield and lifted her blade overhead.

"Now," she said in a cold, mechanical tone, "how do you want to fucking die?"

─── ✦ End of Chapter ✦ ───