Chapter 34 — Iron Gate
The gates opened. Aken felt it the closer they got—not a sound, not movement, but intention. The massive doors loomed ahead, slightly parted now, just enough to invite them in without revealing what lay beyond. It wasn't an entrance. It was a mouth.
No one said it out loud, but they all understood the same thing. Once they crossed that threshold… things would get worse. Jae-Min let out a slow breath beside him. "I'm just saying… if anything jumps out, I'm blaming you for walking in first."
Aken didn't look at him. "You'd still follow."
"…Yeah," Jae-Min admitted after a second. "That's the annoying part."
Soo-ah stepped forward slightly, her gaze fixed on the darkness between the gates. The air around her shifted—subtle, but noticeable. A thin mist of frost began to gather at her fingertips, curling like breath in winter.
"Stay sharp," she said. "Something's wrong."
Jin Wong didn't reply, but his stance lowered just enough to show he agreed. Aken took one more step forward and the environment moved. Not around them but from beneath them. A shadow peeled itself off the ground.
It didn't rise, it formed. Like ink spreading through water, the darkness thickened, twisted, and then—it emerged. The creature didn't roar. It just stood there, watching. Its form was massive—easily three times the size of a normal wolf, its body stitched together from decayed flesh and hardened bone. Its limbs were uneven, as if assembled rather than grown, and its eyes… its eyes burned with a dim, hollow red.
But what made it wrong was the way it moved, too smooth, too aware. Like it had chosen that shape.
Jae-Min swallowed. "…I don't like this."
Aken's grip tightened around Miokuo. "No one asked you to."
The creature's head tilted slightly. Then—
It vanished.
"MOVE!" Jin Wong shouted loudly.
The ground shattered where it had been, its speed was incredible. Even Aken barely tracked it.
A blur—then it reappeared behind them. Soo-ah reacted first, her hand snapped out, and the air froze instantly.
"Ice Formation—Frost Bind."
The ground beneath the creature crystallized in an instant, thick ice spreading out like a blooming flower, locking onto its legs. For a second—it worked. Then the wolf moved anyway. The ice cracked violently, pieces exploding as it forced itself forward. Jae-Min barely raised his weapon in time.
The impact sent him sliding across the blood-soaked ground.
"…Okay—yeah—this thing is insane!"
Aken didn't wait.
"Sprint."
The world snapped, and he was already in motion. He appeared at the creature's flank, blade already moving. One strike. The first leg gave way instantly, the second followed a heartbeat later. The creature collapsed but not fully. Before its body hit the ground, Aken twisted, driving Miokuo toward its head. The blade cut deep, but still not enough.
The wolf's head snapped toward him, its jaws opening wide. It was too fast and too close—
"Down!"
Jin Wong's blade flashed. A clean arc of steel slammed into the creature's skull, knocking it off trajectory. Aken pulled back immediately, sliding across the ground as the wolf recovered.
It didn't bleed, not properly. It leaked, dark energy seeped from its wounds instead of blood, pulsing faintly as the flesh began knitting itself back together.
Jae-Min stared. "…Oh come on. It regenerates too?"
Aken's voice was calm. "Low S-rank undead. Regeneration is expected."
Soo-ah stepped forward again, this time more focused. The air around her dropped sharply.
"Then we freeze it faster than it can heal."
She raised both hands, and the temperature plunged.
"Ice Domain—Crystallized Field."
The ground, the air, even the faint mist around them hardened into shimmering frost. Thin layers of ice formed along the creature's body, not enough to trap it—but enough to slow it. Its movements stuttered just slightly. That was all Jin Wong needed. He moved like a blur, his sword flashing in rapid succession.
Each strike landed clean. Aken watched—then he moved as well.
"Sprint."
He appeared above the creature this time. Mid-air.
Miokuo hummed in unison.
"Curse Slash."
The blade descended. All the cursed energy in that moment—focused, compressed, and then released. The attack hit, the ground beneath them cracked. For a moment a small silence. Then the creature screamed, not a normal sound, something deeper.
It thrashed violently, its body breaking apart under the combined assault—but still, it didn't die easily. It refused. Soo-ah clenched her jaw. "It's still moving—"
"Then don't give it time!" Aken snapped.
They didn't hesitate. Jin Wong struck again. Soo-ah froze its joints. Jae-Min, despite everything, forced himself back into the fight, swinging with reckless determination. And Aken—
Aken ended it. two strikes.
Upper limb then head. This time—It stayed down. The body collapsed fully, the unnatural glow in its eyes fading into nothing.
Jae-Min dropped onto his back immediately. "…I'm done. I'm actually done. Someone carry me."
"No," Aken said flatly.
"…Worth a try."
Soo-ah exhaled slowly, her frost dissipating as the tension left her body. Jin Wong lowered his blade, though his eyes remained on the corpse.
"…That wasn't the boss," he said.
Aken already knew.
Jae-Min sat up slightly. "…Yeah. Because we'd be dead if that was the boss."
"No," Soo-ah said quietly.
Jae-Min blinked. "…That's not nice."
"The exit didn't appear."
That shut him up. They all looked around, nothing. No portal, no light, no system confirmation. Which meant—
That thing was just a gatekeeper. Aken exhaled slowly. "We rest. three minutes."
No one argued this time, not even Jae-Min. Aken stepped away from the group, opening his inventory. The vial appeared in his hand.
[C-rank Curse Potion]
He didn't hesitate, he drank it. The effect was instant. Like fire—quiet yet controlled spreading through his body. His cursed energy tipped up steadily, restoring what had been lost and reinforcing what remained. He rolled his shoulder once, then turned toward the corpse.
Something was off. Again, he crouched slightly, eyes searching.
"…There."
Between the ribs—a faint glow, black, dense. Miokuo spoke softly. "A condensed cursed core."
Aken reached in without hesitation and pulled it free. A small crystal but heavy. Not physically, something deeper.
"…This thing's packed," he muttered.
"Correct."
He didn't overthink, he crushed it. The moment it shattered—the energy surged. It flowed into him. Through him, his cursed energy spiked instantly.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Cursed Energy: 500]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Aken blinked once.
"…That's new."
Miokuo's voice carried a faint edge of excitement. "Sufficient energy for evolution detected."
Aken paused.
"…Not yet."
Silence, thenMiokuo spoke
"…But master."
"…We're in a dungeon."
"…Yes."
"…We're not evolving mid-dungeon."
Miokuo paused, then—
"…You don't care about me."
Aken stared at the blade.
"…What?"
"You would deny my growth."
"…We're in danger."
"You prioritize survival over my evolution."
"of course."
"…I see."
Aken sighed, rubbing his temple. "…Don't do this."
"I am merely stating facts."
"You're sulking."
"I am not sulking."
"You sound like a child."
"I am a weapon."
"You're a dramatic weapon."
"…That is disrespectful."
Aken stood up slowly. "…We evolve when we're safe."
"…Promise?"
Aken paused.
"…Yeah. Promise."
A brief silence.
"…Very well master."
Aken shook his head slightly. "…You're unbelievable."
Behind him, Jae-Min watched the entire thing.
"…Are you arguing with your sword?"
Aken didn't look back. "No."
"…Because it looked like you were losing."
"Rest," Aken said flatly.
"…Right. Resting. Definitely resting."
Aken turned back to the gate. The doors remained open, waiting, unchanged But now—they knew that wasn't the fight, that was the warning. Aken exhaled slowly, his expression sharpening again.
"Get up."
They did, no hesitation now, no complaints, just understanding. Aken stepped forward. Toward the gate.
"…We go in."
And this time, they all knew there would be no holding back.
END OF CHAPTER 34