Chapter 193: Father And Son
Seo-jin could see the air bending around the broodling kneeling before him, heat pushed outward in steady waves that brushed against his skin. Even with his immuntiy to fire, it still reached him.
"Stand."
Rising without a word, Pain straightened fast, but the moment his eyes settled on his father, his jaw dropped before a wide grin broke across his face.
"Congratulations, Broodfather."
Seeing that he had evolved eased something in Pain's chest. The worry that had been sitting there loosened, knowing that despite everything, his father had still reached what he was aiming for.
The smile didn't last.
"I'm sorry I caused you trouble."
Tilting his head, Seo-jin let the moment stretch, then answered.
"If you are too weak, then you are too weak. I shouldn't have brought you in. That is on me, but I expected more from you, Pain."
The heat around the broodling sank, the glow in his body dimming as his shoulders sagged. Seo-jin watched it happen, saw the reaction settle in exactly where he wanted.
His gaze shifted to Pain's chest. The wound he'd caused with the trident had sealed, but not clean. The flesh there had hardened into something else, a dark, metallic sheen forming an inverted pyramid at the center, like the weapon had fused into him.
"I am not worthy to bear the title of first son. But I swear it, I will never disappoint you again."
"See to it that you don't."
Bahamut and Tiamat drifted closer, slow and deliberate, lowering their heads as they drew near. They tested the air around Pain, then bared their fangs and hissed.
Through their link, Seo-jin caught a sharp spike of jealousy from the serpents. Pain's head turned toward them, heat building in his throat as their hostility pressed in.
"Enough."
Both serpents pulled back, but their eyes stayed on the broodling, unblinking.
Seo-jin pulled up his panel and swiped to Pain's profile. He had felt the change already, but as he read, his brows drew together.
"That's strange. I thought you'd grown from that—ah, hmm...well, it's better than nothing."
There was no stat increase, no shift in his mutation, but something had changed. A new skill sat there, close in function to one of the trident's.
[Name // Ember Maw]
[Type // Active (Sustained)]
[Rank // C]
[Cast Time // Instant]
[Cooldown // 90sec]
[Effect]
[Breathes flame cone 8m // 270 Fire DPS // +10% DPS per sec (max +50%) // Burning: 120 DPS for 5s after 3s exposure]
"Show me your new skill."
Taking the chance without hesitation, Pain drew in a long, deep breath as flames licked between his teeth. He bent forward, then roared, and a wide cone of fire tore out of his mouth, slamming into the already-melted wall and turning the surface back into liquid.
He'd rather it had been the one that allowed the wielder to rank up, but seeing the skill being used, Seo-jin felt satisfied.
"That's enough."
With a puff of black smoke, Pain snapped his jaws shut and straightened.
"At least you gained something from this. Think about your weaknesses and find more to gain while we head up."
Shoulders slumping at first, Pain tilted his head as Seo-jin turned and started walking. He hurried to follow.
"Up?"
Seo-jin didn't slow, just lifted a hand as he passed and tapped Grimm's skull, the bone knocking softly under his palm.
"There is one boss left before we clear this dungeon. You and I are going to him now, and we're ending this."
Stumbling for half a step, Pain caught himself as his pace quickened to match. His breathing picked up, uneven at first, and he hesitated before speaking, like he might ruin it just by asking.
"Just me and you?"
Seo-jin smiled where Pain couldn't see it, keeping his tone flat, edged with mild irritation.
"Make sure you don't disappoint me. And try to keep up."
Pain's Agility sat at thirty-two on its own, but with the [Broodfather] title feeding into him, it pushed higher, his body already adjusting as he moved. Seo-jin kept his pace controlled, not quite pushing it, but fast enough that Pain would have to work to stay on him.
Luckily, they didn't have to travel far, and even luckier, Pain hadn't melted and sealed off the tunnel leading up to the top floor.
The passage wound upward in tight turns, angles shifting underfoot, with a few side tunnels branching off, but both Seo-jin and Pain followed the same scent without slowing. What caught them off guard though was the smell that started to creep in as they climbed, both sharing the same thought without saying it.
The scent was sweet, then bitter on the back of the tongue, sharp and familiar enough to pull a glance between them as they ran, but neither spoke.
[This dungeon is strange.]
'How so?'
[With the knowledge I gained after updating, I have a full grasp on what to expect from all dungeon types. Thousands upon thousands of data logs. Not one mentions a dungeon this complete.]
Still climbing, the smell thickened in the air, clinging to each breath. There was still no sign of any auras through [Soul Sight], but he knew they were heading the right way.
'What do you mean, complete?'
[Typically, dungeons alter the terrain they land on. Sometimes pieces of the origin realm come through, but not an entire structure. This one feels like a full section of the Abyssal Realm was brought over.]
'Is that bad?'
[Not sure. But when it comes to things like this, new usually isn't good.]
As he ran, Seo-jin paid closer attention to the walls and floor around him, the stone uneven and slick in places beneath his feet. He had assumed the dungeon felt large because of his inexperience with higher-rank dungeons, and even Seo-jin's original memories offered little to correct that.
But now that the system had pointed it out, the alien edge he'd felt earlier, one that hadn't been present in the Elderwarren dungeon, pressed in tighter. It sat wrong in his chest and only fed his curiosity as he kept moving.
First his own origins, now this. This dungeon kept stacking questions on top of each other, each one sitting heavier than the last.
"I'm sensing life up ahead."
Pain's words caught Seo-jin off guard. He blinked, focusing, but it took a few seconds before faint colors started to bleed into view down the tunnel, all of them yellow and pulsing lightly at the edge of his sight.
Pain's passive [Predator Lock] had picked up the heat before Seo-jin could even see their auras.
They slowed without speaking until both were walking. Ahead, the tunnel stopped twisting and ran straight, still sloping upward, with a bright opening visible now that could only be the exit.
Close enough now, the sounds drifting down the passage confirmed it, distant movement and noise carrying through the tight space.
They were heading to the surface.
Seo-jin's arms split open, the twin serpents hissing low as Butcher's Wrath tore free from his flesh and settled into his grip, the weight familiar in his hands.
"Let's make this quick."
Bloodlight began fill the tunnel.
Seeing his father shift, Pain felt the change immediately, and for a moment his thoughts flicked to Panic. His brother would lose his mind if he knew he was the one standing here alone. Opening his mouth, he reached in and pulled out Surtur's Tooth, the greatsword dragging free with a wet scrape as its heat built fast, the metal starting to glow as it fed on him.
Only a few steps from the opening, both narrowed their eyes as they stepped out of the tunnel, sunlight hitting their faces all at once.
[Yeah, this dungeon is fucking weird.]
'Feels good to be on the surface again.'
As their vision cleared, both of them took in their surroundings, eyes adjusting to the brightness.
"The sun!"
Pain reacted on instinct, turning and swinging his sword at the voice behind them, the blade cutting through empty air.
Seo-jin laughed.
"Don't make that face, you just surprised him. That's Grimm, Pain. He can speak now."
Pain's eyes widened.
"So much has changed. How long was I out?"
"Not long, but the brood grows fast. You know that."
"Master fed me a super tasty ghost, now I can do stuff like this!"
"Hey—!"
Before he could react, Pain felt himself yanked upward, his feet leaving the ground as a sudden lift pulled him into the air. Smiling, Seo-jin jumped up beside him as they both settled onto Grimm, the motion steadying as they rose.
"Here's good. Just hover for a sec."
"Sure thing!"
Grimm held position, and as the movement stopped, Pain tensed under the open drop beneath them, while Seo-jin ignored him and scanned the area.
Below them stretched a chain of islands. The largest was only about half the size of the dwarf island, with three smaller ones in front of it in a line. Beyond that, nothing but open water spread out in every direction.
'That's gotta be fake.'
[Most of it is probably an illusion, but the islands and the water around them isn't.]
Either way, it wasn't something you expected to see inside a dungeon. Setting the terrain aside, he focused instead on the forces gathering below.
[Don't think they expected you to be able to fly.]
'Guess the Warden doesn't see everything.'
Roughly a hundred Makara stood below, armor catching the light, weapons held ready. Most of their auras burned yellow, faint and steady, barely worth his attention, while a handful of red signatures lingered toward the back line held his focus.
Looking across the other islands, he saw matching formations on each one, all arranged toward the final island at the end of the chain. There, set on a rise that dropped into a cliff, stood a structure unlike anything he'd seen before.
It looked grown more than built, coral forming the base, with a central spire twisting upward and branching extensions curling down from it like pathways.
At the top of that spire, an aura stood over everything else, thick and deep red, rising high enough to dominate the sky above it.
[A rank. Most likey Psuedo.]
Slowly, Seo-jin's aura began to spread, pressing outward in response.
Beside him, Pain lay flat against Grimm. Heights weren't new, but hovering like this, with nothing solid under him, made his stomach twist. But the pressure building off Seo-jin cut through it fast, and Pain pushed himself up, flames gathering again as he stood.
"Grimm?"
"Yeah?"
"Until we reach the last island, stay out of the fight. I want to use you as a surprise for the boss."
"No problem. I'll be an awesome secret weapon!"
Tightening his grip on Butcher's Wrath, Seo-jin felt the blades shift in his hands as he glanced down at Pain, a grin starting to form.
"Why don't you go down and introduce yourself? They look eager to meet us."
Pain's muscles instantly bulked.
"Praise Broodfather."
Below, the Makara forces held formation, weapons raised, eyes locked on the figures above, when suddenly one of them broke off and flared, his body igniting like a small sun.
By the time the first few realized the light wasn't hovering but dropping fast, it was already too late.
Pain came down in their center like a burning mass, Surtur's Tooth crashing with him as he drove it into the ground with full force.
Stone shattered, fire tearing outward in a rising blast. Bodies snapped, armor warped, and screams cut short as flesh burned and burst. The air filled with the stink of cooked meat as Pain's landing tore open the surface of the first island.
[Damn.]
'Right?'
Feeling like he was missing out, Seo-jin tightened his grip, unwilling to be outdone.
[4th Weapon Effect // Activated]
[Slicing Damage Converted → Bludgeoning / Piercing]
Both blades warped in his hands, metal stretching and thickening until two flanged maces settled into his claws, their weight pulling at his arms.
[-1SM]
[SM // 82/83]
[Hellfire // Active]
[+20% Melee Damage / +10% Attack Speed]
A chill spread from his chest, sliding through his limbs and into Butcher's Wrath, coating the weapons in black fire that clung and flickered.
"Surprised I haven't used this yet."
[Title // Ashking // Activated]
[Broodling // Pain // Selected]
[Inferno Rend // Acquired]
[+160% Weapon Damage / Ignite Wound: -10% Max HP over 5s // If Burning: triggers explosion → +8% STR as AoE burn // Burn stacks independently]
At once, the maces began to glow, red bleeding to white as heat built inside the metal, while the black fire twisted together with darker red flames that crawled along their surface.
Looking down, Seo-jin watched Pain carve through the Makara below, bodies splitting and burning as he moved. The strikes were simple, direct, but nothing held against them.
Pain pushed toward the rear where a few commanders barked orders, but just as he closed the distance, he slowed, the ground dimming as a wide shadow swallowed him.
He looked up.
Two burning maces dropped from above, growing larger as they fell.
Ignoring the spear stabbing into his leg, Pain kept his eyes on the impact as his father's strike came down.
He didn't stop smiling. Not when the blast washed over him and wiped out his sight, not when the ground tore loose and threw him through the air.
Not once.
The attack was too beautiful to miss, no matter the hurt.