"Kyle, run—"
A sharp pain jolted my body as the monster's claw pierced my body. Luckily, it barely missed my heart, allowing me to still move.
The monster pulled its claw back, not realizing that I was still alive. It decided to move on to its next hunter, but I held on to its claw.
"Grrrr."
The monster looked taken aback, and I used that opportunity to drive the knife into its heart.
"If I am going down, then I am not going down alone. A lot of people died to take you down. So, bastard… just shut up and die."
The blade struck the hard flesh of the final boss, and the final boss staggered. It was well worth the Legendary Rank the System had assigned it.
Even now, the blade was being forced out of the monster's body slowly. But I held on to the blade because I knew that if I let go, the monster would survive this attack.
Most of my comrades had died to get this far, and even among those who survived, the chances of making it out of here were slim.
There was no future for any of us, but a single hope kept us alive—we had a mission to fulfil. That single flame had fueled me and the others behind me to come this far.
But the S-class monster refused to go down.
"Grrr—! Y-You—!"
For the first time, the monster opened his mouth, and instead of nonsense, words came out of the monster's mouth.
It looked surprised at the fact that a human had managed to harm it.
But at the same time, I was even more surprised because the monster spoke up. As far as humanity knew, these Dungeon bosses were savage monsters with no rationality.
However, the S-class boss proved him and the rest of humanity wrong.
It pushed me back, and my back hit the tree, causing it to bleed.
"Stupid humans, do you think you can win against our God? Once your race has served the purpose of re-awakening our God, you will all perish. But for now, I will eliminate you all for the sake of my lord."
The S-class boss raged before he gathered his power in a single concentrated blast. The intent it was going for was simple—it wanted to end all humans inside the Gate.
'I can't allow that to happen. If we fall, so will the whole human race. Then, what will all our suffering be for?'
I felt something shift in my back as I tried to move out of the way. More than one bone seemed to have been relocated due to the impact.
"You should die now."
The boss spoke confidently, his eyes shining with the joy of having caught his prey. This was the point where I was supposed to close my eyes and rest.
But I could not do that. I wanted to see the end with my own eyes, and if this was it, I wanted to embrace it.
Just as the heat of the blast seared my face, someone covered me with their body, blocking the attack.
"Y-You—!"
My surprised voice broke the silence and the attack fizzled out. The person who had shielded me slid in my arms, looked unrecognizable now, but I could still tell who it was.
"Y-You need to make it back alive. You are the only one who need to—"
"W-Why…"
I could not believe what just happened. Not because I got shielded, but because of who it was.
Erin, one of the 5 A-class hunters selected to tackle this Dungeon had just died.
"W-Why did you… Didn't you say you would not save me…"
When I first joined the hunters as the alias 'Ace', I had been merely 10 years old. At that time, Erin was a well-known personality among hunters.
As an A-class, he was feared and as an Alpha, he was adored.
But then I joined, merely 10 years old thin body, and Erin had lost his cool at seeing an Omega and a child join the hunters. But despite his complaints, I was kept around by the council.
After all, they did not want to lose 'me', a precious Omega hunter who was also S-class.
Now I had turned 19, and I was no longer the same soft Omega child I had come into the team as. I am older and more powerful now.
But I still felt like a kid, holding on to his last shred of sanity at that moment.
"Y-You told me you won't accept me—! You told me I need to save myself… so why…"
I questioned but inside, I already knew the answer.
Despite Erin's complaints, he had seen me as a young Omega son and taken it upon himself to protect me.
It had been true even inside the Dungeon.
"Are you done with your sentimental shit? Then, why don't you have this conversation in hell. This is the end for you humans—!"
The S-class boss taunted as it got ready for the last attack, but I could no longer back down.
I could only charge forward with everything I had.
[Warning: User body can no longer handle the power output.]
[Warning: User is not in optimal condition. User is advised to step back and recover—]
"Step back? I cannot step back now. I will see this to the end."
I felt his power tearing him apart, but I no longer cared about it.
"I will free humanity from you—"
I used all his power to counter the boss's attack and launch his own. My knife shined, and for a second, and then I felt a heartbeat resonate with his own before light filled the Dungeon.
The boss, which had been so focused on him just seconds ago, suddenly looked up at the source of the light and flinched.
"Boss—! It's you, right boss—! Are you waking up—!"
The S-class boss's attention was no longer on me, and I used this opportunity to stab the boss.
This time, my attack pierced the boss deep and the demon looked shocked to see this.
I pulled his knife and blood splattered all around me.
"B-Boss why… for a human… to chose…"
The monster seemed to be saying something, but I could no longer focus on it because I had just heard a shocking piece of news.
'This was not the end? There is more—? I cannot go on anymore… but I need to keep moving.'
I knew the condition of my body better than anyone else, so I knew that I could collapse any second.
Despite that, I decided to keep going. Not for my own sake, but the sake of all those who fell to get me this far.
"Y-You—! Come out and face me—"
I called out to the last light, but there was no answer. Instead, the System lit up and a message appeared on the screen.
[It's a pleasure to tell you about my existence, Kyle. You saved my life once, and soon, I will come to meet you and return the favor. Until then, enjoy my gift.]
The message made me feel annoyed and angry. I did not want to see that message displayed in front of me.
"I saved you? I don't remember saving a demon. And I don't need favors from you. It's not as if it would make those who died come back—"
I never got to complete my complain because my consciousness faded from my body.
The light that had once occupied the sky quickly filled my vision was filled by the white as well.
I looked at the System to get some clues as to what could have happened, but the System seemed to have gone back to normal.
However, one sentence did catch my attention.
[Congratulations on clearing the S-class Dungeon. Appropriate rewards would be prepared for you soon. Please, look forward to it.]
The System's message made me feel better, but not enough to the point I could forget and forgive what happened.
I tried to close my eyes and relax, but my body was in too much pain for me to relax.
There was a moment where I was suspended in air and I could feel nothing. I felt weightless and relaxed.
And the next second, I was flying through the air and crashed into the ground. My back hit the metal first, followed by my arm and then my side.
Everything hurt and the broken bones in my body felt even worse now.
'I guess this is how I die. At least I got to clear the Dungeon and see the real world before I go.'
Even as my consciousness faded, I could make out the bright lights of the city. Someone seemed to be shaking me but I could no longer tell what was happening.
"Hey kid, don't lose consciousness. A-Anyone, help—! An Omega was assaulted… we need doctors and police. Hurry…"
The voice sounded old but comfortable and Kyle finally felt at peace, hoping to never wake up again.
______
A fair warning - I have never written in first person before, so if I slip up, it's because of that. Please remind me of that and I hope you enjoy my (probably last) BL. Update rate and other things will be based on the feedback i get. More PS and Comments = more updates.