Ron muttered under his breath, eyes scanning the misty path ahead. "I think we made a mistake. We should've stayed together."
DA, walking calmly beside him, didn't flinch. "What you did was to protect them. You made the right call."
Ron's mind drifted. After hearing what Dream had told him about the future—about how future Lia had spent centuries for a single moment with her husband—he knew they had no choice but to act.
He stopped in his tracks, staring at DA as the man knelt beside a dead creature. I shouldn't have done that… and what's the deal with this guy? Ron thought, suspicion tightening around him.
DA glanced at him, almost reading his thoughts, and added with a grin, "Don't worry. The injections I gave them—they're meant for situations like this."
Ron felt a small measure of relief, though trust didn't come easily.
They pushed through the second floor, clearing monsters along the way, until they found Carter and Lia collapsed on the stone floor, unconscious.
DA knelt beside them, administering his injections with steady hands. "Take them outside. Call someone to extract them safely," he ordered.
"How can I—"
"Use your teleportation ability," DA cut him off.
At that moment, cursed creatures poured from the shadows: bears with skeletal arms, snakes trailing venomous shadows, wolves with molten eyes. They encircled the trio.
Ron demanded, "Who are you? How do you know all of this?"
DA turned calmly, sword in hand. "Now's not the time. Save them. I'll hold them off."
Ron clenched his teeth. "Fine. But I'm coming back—and you're answering everything."
Without hesitation, Ron teleported Carter and Lia outside the Mill's domain. He contacted Locki, his old friend nicknamed "Police." "Get them to safety, now," he said.
Then he returned.
What he saw froze him. DA sat atop a pile of monster corpses, drenched in blood but perfectly calm. These weren't ordinary monsters—they were apex predators of the second floor.
Ron stepped beside him, and together, they entered the teleportation circle, ascending to the third floor.
Suddenly, cursed giant spiders leapt at DA from the shadows, while a pack of cursed gorillas charged toward Ron.
[YOU HAVE ACTIVATED "THE BLADE OF VENGEANCE"]
Ron's body surged with energy. One strike, and the gorillas exploded into dark dust. He turned to see DA had already killed every spider, his sword glowing with a red aura darker than blood.
DA looked at Ron. "Hey… want to see a flashback?"
"Wha—"
DA swung his sword at Ron. He raised his own blade just in time, sparks flying from the clash.
"What are you doing?!" Ron shouted.
"Do you remember that boy and girl—the only friends you had when you were small?" DA asked.
Images flooded Ron's mind: a girl laughing, warm and bright, and a boy innocent and caring. Faces remained indistinct, but the emotions were real.
[FOURTH WALL HAS NULLIFIED THE TRAUMA]
Trauma? What trauma? Ron thought, irritation rising.
"Who are you?! How do you know all of this?!" Ron demanded.
DA sheathed his sword. "Do you want to know who owns the house where Sami lives? Who created the 'Crack of Scenarios'? Or… the identity and weakness of the boss in this Mill?"
He let his words linger, thick as fog. "I'll answer one of those three. Choose carefully."
Ron narrowed his eyes. "Will you answer the others another time?"
"Of course… if we meet again," DA replied, a calm smile crossing his face.
Ron didn't like it, but there was no time to dwell. "Tell me about the main boss."
DA nodded. "His name is Shukya. An ancient being trapped here for over a thousand years. He awaits on the final floor. Like Sami's House, this mountain and the Mill exist across dimensional layers. The Mill itself? It isn't fully in our world."
Ron listened closely.
"But that's not the real threat. Shukya has many powers—but two are terrifying:
He exhales a white gas that reduces anything to bone dust in an instant.
He adapts infinitely. Any tactic used against him—he learns immediately and counters it."
Ron's chest tightened. "So… he's unbeatable?"
DA smirked. "No system is perfect. Every flaw can be exploited."
Ron's eyes sharpened. "What's his weakness?"
DA's gaze met his, unnervingly knowing. "Use what you learned from Dr. Thomas."
Ron didn't ask further. He simply nodded.
"Let's go." DA said.
Together, they fought through the remaining floors. With each step, the gas grew thicker, the air heavier, and the monsters more grotesque. Ron's anger simmered at what had happened to Carter, fueling his strikes.
At the final gate, the teleportation seal glowed ominously. DA activated an ability silently, his eyes catching Ron's attention.
"What is it?" Ron asked.
DA didn't answer. He simply followed.
[YOU HAVE REACHED THE FINAL FLOOR]
[THE BOSS "SHUKYA" IS ANGRY]
The ground trembled. Winds howled through ancient gears.
And from deep within the Mill… Shukya opened his eyes.