Side Story: Chaos Dungeon – 4
Eclipse, who momentarily showed a hint of joy upon seeing me, looked over at the knight commanders trying to stifle their laughter and returned to a sulky expression.
As I snapped my fingers to remove the sketchbook hanging around my neck, Eclipse noticed my intention and crossed dimensions. The knight commanders subtly averted their gazes.
‘Well, at least it doesn’t seem scared.’
The mere fact that she didn’t show fear with a goddess right in front of her was a significant improvement. Seeing a goddess and laughing was something that would have been unimaginable in the past.
‘I need to break the ice with her somehow.’
Now that our relationship was definitively established, I couldn’t let her see me as a figure to worship forever. Just like the empress, the eternal magician, and the popes, it was right for one of my women to hold an equal standing.
For that, I needed to show her a more ‘human-like’ side of myself, even if just a little bit. I had deliberately made her suffer in my room for that reason.
Of course, I’d have to suffer a slight image drop, but Eclipse had agreed to it herself. She didn’t want to be the one closest to me simply because she was a goddess.
Eclipse timidly approached me. I untied the leash connected to the sketchbook. Click, and her previously hidden nape was revealed.
“Don’t you dare make such bets again from now on, Goddess.”
“…Yes, you.”
I gently patted the sulking Eclipse on the head. It was the first time I had seen a goddess openly show her emotions, making the knight commanders exchange cautious whispers.
“Is there any hidden secret here that I don’t know about?”
“Hidden secret? What do you mean?”
After casually patting her, I got to the main topic. At first, Eclipse looked clueless, but she quickly grasped the meaning. Her shoulders, which had been slowly lifting, shrank back down.
“That’s… um… it’s more of an Easter egg kind of thing, but…”
When I showed up while others were inside the Chaos Dungeon, a random boss would appear and run away, acting scared.
Originally, she intended to tell me this, but after witnessing my clearing the Chaos Dungeon in a week, she blanked out and forgot momentarily due to the penalty she received.
What can I say, it was classic Eclipse behavior.
“I… I didn’t expect it to be revealed so soon…”
Eclipse stammered shyly. I briefly wondered if I had overstepped by removing the sketchbook. I should have questioned it before getting rid of it.
In reality, there may not have been any time to tell me. Once the Chaos Dungeon was created, she spent the week watching the clearing process, and I came here right after handing down the penalty.
“From now on, let’s keep the sketchbook around for just about three hours.”
“Eek.”
Of course, that was one thing, and this was another.
I turned my attention to the flabbergasted knight commanders, realizing how our relationship with the goddess was being perceived, and thought about gathering some crafting materials while I was here.
“Send the kids back to the imperial palace and then leave. I’ll follow soon.”
Lize, Iris, Erica, and Claudia each turned back with blank expressions. It seemed they were quite shocked to see the world’s creator acting goofy right in front of them.
With no one watching, I stepped confidently into the nearest boss room. And while facing the first boss, I realized something.
‘This must have been how Kaiquilia felt during her first time playing Brightest Darkness 4.’
It was far easier to fight directly than it was to deal with them in the game.
Not only could I dodge attacks much more easily, but the speed at which I was defeating the boss was incomparably faster than in the game. I could see why Kaiquilia struggled to adapt.
Unlike me, who had the evaluation standard set to Brightest Darkness 4, her evaluation standard was reality. This was the so-called reverse sensation concept.
Having already been to this first floor as part of the game, I cleared the first boss at an astonishing speed, gathered the drop items and crafting materials, and finally gripped the blood-stained sword.
I swung the bloody-red sword around. It was a sensation I hadn’t felt in quite some time.
I started using it right after defeating the human butcher, and it was the same weapon that got destroyed during my first encounter with the creature that devours the world. Thus, the timing for searching for the wingless nightmare had been pushed forward a bit.
‘…Should I entrust the weapon enhancement to Ceres?’
That thought suddenly crossed my mind.
In the game, Ceres was just a bald NPC who gave quests involving the wingless nightmare, but now that she had picked up her blacksmithing work again, she might be able to enhance my weapon.
Even if it wouldn’t be useful anymore, it was better to store it in a fully enhanced state than in a base state; it would just look nicer.
“Have you arrived, Holy One?”
“Whatever you need, just command me. I will dedicate myself to you.”
Returning to the grand hall with the bloody sword instead of the wingless nightmare, I found the scene of all the inquisitors and battle nuns bowing their heads to wait for me.
It wasn’t my first time seeing this, so I wasn’t particularly surprised.
The Silver Dawn Knights had long since disappeared. Though I was slightly worried due to their dazed state, it seemed they managed to finish their assigned task well.
“Listen. You shall uphold my will and protect this place.”
“…”
“…”
There was no response; everyone’s bodies trembled instead. A few appeared to have fainted, not moving at all.
I constructed what looked like a temple and ordered each side to select two battle nuns from the inquisitors and send them to guard this place at regular intervals.
There was no need to dictate the first shift. Hearing they would be residing in the temple constructed by me caused most of them to faint in shock.
“Holy One, I will resign from the position of inquisitor, so please give me a chance…”
“Indeed. Please grant us the opportunity to experience this honor…”
Despite the fact that the inquisitor and the interrogators begged, shedding tears for a chance to resign from their positions, I flatly rejected them. When I consoled them, they fainted once again, still sobbing.
I left the follow-up task to the battle nuns who had yet to faint and promptly sought out Linne.
“Hehe, what brings you here today?”
Linne, who hadn’t changed much after such an event, greeted me with a haunting smile.
“I have a request.”
I placed the crafting materials I had collected from the Chaos Dungeon on the table. It was quickly filled with quite a substantial amount. Linne’s eyes widened.
“…You went to that dungeon?”
“Just happened to.”
If the knight commanders had been there, I probably wouldn’t have gone so early.
Nodding, Linne picked up one of the crafting materials and tucked it into her cleavage, moving it around like a treasure to examine it.
That substantial size of hers made it impossible to see the material she tucked away.
“This type, huh? Got it.”
About 30 seconds later, Linne pulled out the material. Then, as she reached for the next material, I interrupted her.
“What’s the service fee?”
“The service fee, huh, hehe.”
Linne paused her hands and smiled meaningfully.
“Do you want some of your hair or saliva—”
“Is it doable?”
She had pulled a similar stunt before and had almost gotten her head yanked off by Kaiquilia, but she’s still not given up. She really was a strange one.
Linne handed me a receipt with a number written on it. This time, the amount was normal, so I handed her a bag of gold coins without any complaints.
“Oh, one more thing. Fetch said to call her when you get here. She has something to tell you.”
Just as I was about to leave, Linne stopped me.
“What kind of thing?”
“Well, hehehe. You’ll know when you see her.”
A feeling of unease began to wash over me.
“Ta-da! What do you think?”
It appeared that my uneasiness was well warranted.
Fetch burst in, her large chest bouncing, striking a pose that emphasized her assets. Rather than feeling charming, it felt awkward first.
I sighed and spoke up.
“How did you grow your breasts?”
“Cough, that’s a secret!”
“Is it the enhancement potion?”
“……”
Based on her reaction, that must be right.
“Was there holy water infused with light as well?”
“……”
She seemed to have learned the manufacturing process from Ceres.
“That stuff is ridiculously expensive. Where’d you get the money for it?”
“…I kind of used up almost everything I had.”
Fetch, suddenly looking dejected, muttered as if lamenting. It seemed she had quite a hefty withdrawal for buying the holy water.
However, it didn’t last long. Fueled by the hefty price she had paid, Fetch approached me eagerly, determined to get the answer she wanted.
“Now that my body has become even more amazing—”
“Wait a moment.”
“…Yes?”
I stopped Fetch and summoned my phone’s gallery into the air. Since I couldn’t show the smartphone directly to people in this world.
“Do you know who the eternal magician is?”
“Of course I do…?”
“She developed a magic that allows us to store past events and view them whenever we want, so take a look.”
Now, not only could I take pictures of myself, but also of the girls, allowing them to send them to me. I displayed a photo of Floretta and Luna.
With the night sky as the backdrop, they were lying on the bed in virtually nothing, gazing into the screen.
“To seduce me, you need to reach this level. Can you do that?”
“……”
Fetch was responding with her face.
Her expression got darker as the pictures of Floretta and Luna kept piling up.
Side Story: Libanus
Kaiquilia had been having quite a fulfilling and joyful time lately.
There was no burden of responsibility or pain from past memories, such a time when all worries had vanished. It was a peace and leisure she could never feel during her time as an empress.
She hadn’t achieved her family’s vengeance, and being overwhelmed with duties and responsibilities meant she always had to remain on high alert. Apart from Minerva, there was hardly anyone she could exchange a few words with.
As the empress of the Aiternum Empire, it was only natural for her to have killed all her family members, except for one, with her own hands, leaving no one to converse with.
Thus, her personality, which naturally leaned toward being horrid, was only to be expected.
Of course, her current character wasn’t exactly something anyone could call nice either. However, the tendency to whip out the holy sword or act on her whims had almost completely vanished.
Kaiquilia herself thought it a good thing that her personality had dulled a lot.
“Phew…”
Without that, she would have had to constantly summon Delta to revitalize the wrecked computer by using the power of restoration.
Staring blankly at the character who had died with exactly three hits left, Kaiquilia let out a long sigh and leaned back in her chair.
The recent boss fight could have been cleared with three basic attacks or one special ability. Yet, failing to endure, her experience points and currency had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Suppressing her boiling frustration, she grabbed a chocolate bar piled beside her and started munching on it.
The sweet taste and aroma of chocolate filled her mouth, calming her slightly, but as soon as she confirmed the broken experience points and currency, her mood quickly returned to what it was.
‘…I won’t make the same mistake twice.’
After devouring twenty chocolates in one sitting, Kaiquilia dumped the wrappers into a trash can imbued with purification magic and placed her hands on the keyboard. She was about to start the game again.
“Hmm?”
If it wasn’t for Aurora popping up suddenly in the middle of the room, it would have been fine.
Kaiquilia glanced at Aurora. She couldn’t neglect her duties as emperor, since she had gone to check on the clones together with Minerva.
Going through the matters dealt with by the clones and specifying the directions for future orders was necessary every few months; it was to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
“Oh, hello, Aunt.”
Aurora slightly bowed her head in greeting. Kaiquilia responded with a nod, but even that was a huge improvement when compared to the initial days, so Aurora felt quite pleased.
Changes had taken place not just in that instance. Over time, Kaiquilia had become much gentler, and Aurora had sharpened up, making them resemble each other far more than before.
They almost seemed like sisters rather than aunt and niece.
‘We seem more similar than ever.’
Especially since there were two sisters next to Delta who didn’t seem to resemble one another at all – the Silver Dawn Knights’ leaders, Lize and Erica, and the popes of the Sun and Moon, Floretta and Luna.
However, even looking at Lize and Erica or Floretta and Luna, one could hardly say they resembled each other. After all, even their hair colors were different; one set had blue and silver, while the other had red and gold.
“Is there something you want to say, Aurora?”
As unnecessary thoughts flowed, Kaiquilia stared at Aurora intently. Aurora fidgeted. She couldn’t directly voice the ramblings she had been forming moments earlier.
“It’s nothing… just, um…”
“Alright. How could every action of a human attach a reason to it? If there’s none, it suffices.”
Staring at the slightly different yet similar Aurora, Kaiquilia turned her body away. The game that had briefly paused resumed, with movements sharpened as if determined to win this time.
Perhaps she intended to kill time since she had come in here by mistake, Aurora was now observing Kaiquilia’s back entering the boss room through a white fog wall.
“You’re working hard.”
“You’re not that different either, are you, Aurora?”
“You’ve been passing the emperor’s duties onto me, haven’t you? Did you foresee it would turn out this way?”
Kaiquilia did not respond. She knew those words were not genuinely meant. Aurora was merely joking.
“It’s not like that.”
“I know. I just joked around.”
“You lack a talent for jokes, Aurora.”
Aurora smiled brightly. She felt delighted just to engage in this kind of conversation with Kaiquilia.
Rewinding in time, the notion of attempting to revive the Silver Dawn Knights was one she had trembled at, fearing for her life.
Well, it was likely that their bond had softened considerably thanks to the experience of having shared a man in the same bed.
Tangled together tightly, either nakedly embracing or kissing in euphoric pleasure, a bond forms even where none previously existed—
‘Ugh, what a nonsensical thought.’
She sighed and shook her head to clear her mind. Was it because she had four people at home aiming for such moments that her way of thinking seemed to be getting more and more contaminated? She certainly never felt this way in the past.
Returning her gaze to the monitor, she saw the boss with half its health remaining and her character, which bore an uncanny resemblance to Kaiquilia herself, rolling around while executing attacks.
‘That’s it.’
It was a boss she had previously defeated. Could it be following the same route?
Thinking about how Brightest Darkness 4 was constructed, it was indeed more difficult for two new players to follow the exact same route.
With just a single choice differing, one could never predict where and when a butterfly effect might occur in the game.
The odds were enormously stacked that it was merely a coincidence.
“Is there a desired ending you seek, Aunt?”
“A desired ending…? What a strange question, Aurora. Have you forgotten that I’m just like you? I don’t know what the end of this game is.”
“Oh.”
Delta had said this at the start of Brightest Darkness 4. During the first playthrough, players should go wherever they wish without any prior knowledge or guides and experience the game freely.
That was an experience that could only be undertaken during the first play, and having a desired ending contradicts itself.
“I’m sorry—”
“However, I wouldn’t say there isn’t a preferred ending at all.”
“Really? What kind of ending is it?”
Aurora’s eyes sparkled.
“To slay every being equally, be it monster or human.”
“…What?”
To slay them all equally, what kind of ending is she aiming for—
“It was just a joke.”
Aurora was stunned, not processing the words she had just heard. Just a joke? A jest? About what? About the ending she was supposed to mention?
‘…Did she really just joke? For real?’
There was a time when such an act would have been unimaginable. Aurora was filled with a poignant emotion that she could hardly contain and stood up, moving closer.
The fact that Kaiquilia had made a joke, of all things, especially with how she used to behave in the past, made the change feel monumental.
Echoing with a trembling voice, she answered, “You’re not good at jokes, Aunt?”
“I know that.”
Since the boss had only a tiny amount of health left, our conversation wrapped up with that, but just having shared a casual chat was plenty to uplift her spirits.
Tears brimmed in Aurora’s eyes. Perhaps, just perhaps, they could take one step further from here.
Her mind painted a rosy future, one where Kaiquilia would laugh joyfully, and initiate connections with others without hesitation.
Sure, even amidst an ordinary future, her characteristic domineering tone would remain unchanged, but at least her actions would be normal.
“I can do this.”
Determined to take that momentous first step here and now, Aurora steeled her will. Just then, Kaiquilia’s character fell victim to an area attack.
Not acknowledging that the boss had just a single hit left, Aurora decided to lend words of advice that would help with clearing the boss.
“Don’t do that there.”
“…”
“When did you learn to teabag, Aurora?”
“…It wasn’t intentional.”
Side Story: Age
When the weekend arrived, Yujin Baek visited my apartment under the pretense of bringing side dishes. It was an extremely unexpected visit.
“My mom said she brought some empty side dish containers back and made new ones for you. The fridge is over there, right? I’ll put them inside.”
“Why are you here again? Are you expecting something?”
“…I do want something! So… um… it’s to see my new sister-in-law! She really seems like a nice person, so I should get along with her from now on.”
Frankly, it looked completely absurd. There’s no way she came without some ulterior motive just to see my girlfriend.
Proving my thoughts, Yujin searched for an excuse to stay by glancing around and then started chatting excitedly with my girlfriend.
“Oh? Really? Does that mean you’ll be living here with oppa?”
“Yes. I thought it was a waste of money to live apart given our relationship.”
“Wow…”
The person playing the role of my girlfriend this time was Stella. Yujin gossiped with Stella while Celene remained silently by her side, playing the role of the twin sister.
Every time Yujin came over, she seemed fascinated by the sight of my twin sisters being with me and continuously eyed Celene but didn’t inquire further.
Logically, even if twins lived in the same house, people would just think she had come to visit her sister, not that one guy was sharing both of them. At least not according to this world’s common sense.
“I’ll enjoy it, oppa!”
Eventually, Yujin, who held out until lunchtime, smiled brightly as she tore open the sushi packaging.
Originally, I had planned to send her back immediately, but my mom had beaten me to it by depositing money and telling me to take good care of Yujin since she seemed to want to get close.
She wasn’t trying to get close; she was acting all nice because she had something up her sleeve. But I couldn’t exactly voice that to my mom, so I had to accept it.
“Hey, this isn’t my money. Mom paid for it, so make sure to thank her later.”
“I know that. The last time I got a hundred thousand won, I found out it was mom’s money too. Are you really the type to buy me something with your own money?”
“If you get to know her, I can give you some cash and you can leave, right? What are you even doing here?”
“I told you, I want to get close to my new sister-in-law. Sister, I hope I’m not interrupting you, right?”
“…”
Stella glanced at me, mindful not to overstep. The reason there was no answer was obvious, and Yujin couldn’t have missed that.
The younger sister wore an expression of slight shock, then looked up and down at Stella, who was casually clad in a baggy tee and dolphin shorts without underwear, and smiled meaningfully.
“Don’t think weird thoughts.”
“Okay, okay. Who said anything?”
It didn’t look like she actually understood at all.
The younger sister seemed to think of an activity to escape and decided to munch on the sushi as if to buy some time.
“The way you divide a piece of sushi in half really makes me want to kill you.”
“What can I do? This tiny mouth can’t fit it all, so I have to eat it this way.”
“Should I tear it into smaller pieces for you?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
While I couldn’t hold back my laughter at the sight of her splitting a piece of sushi in two, the younger sister made sure to finish all the remaining sushi.
Then, while sucking on the Americano we ordered for dessert, she asked out of curiosity.
“Sister, how old are you?”
“Me?”
Stella seemed genuinely surprised by the unexpected question.
“Yeah. I don’t think I caught your age last time. You said you were the same age as oppa, right? Or were you younger? I can’t recall, but can you remind me just once more?”
The green-eyed gaze flicked toward me. I subtly nodded, just enough that they wouldn’t notice. The green eyes turned back to Yujin.
“Twenty-three. I’m the same age as… Joo-won.”
She attempted to call me ‘Holy One’ as usual, but swallowed those words urgently and said my name with a face blazing red.
“Wow, you’re basically telling me to get out quickly!” Yujin complained while bursting into laughter. After all, from her uninformed perspective, it was the kind of act that looked like affectionate intimacy.
It was also a misunderstanding because she thought we were planning on having some ‘hot time’ together after she left.
“How come you want to know my age so much?”
“Why can’t I be curious about my new sister-in-law’s age?”
“Of course you can’t. If you have a complaint, speak up. I’ll listen to you, but you know there’s a price.”
The younger sister plunged into silence. It was indeed despicably petty of me, but given that I had a hold on what was akin to her lifeline, she bore an expression of struggling to restrain herself.
I, on the other hand, made no effort to conceal a satisfied smirk as I watched her.
As if trying to suppress her annoyance, the younger sister chewed on the ice. Looking down, she noticed her cleavage dramatically revealed by her deep-cut sweater, with an impressive bosom bouncing vigorously.
Hehe.
A smirk climbed to my lips. It was only a moment, but impossible to ignore from that angle.
‘What’s going on?’
Clearly, she had grown them with the intent to tease me, yet the outfit and that smile just now certainly didn’t seem displeased.
‘Should I shrink them down again?’
As I pondered seriously, perhaps sensing the eerie atmosphere, Yujin began acting strangely. The bulk of her chatter revolved around how uncomfortable it must be with such large breasts.
“Is that so? Want me to shrink them?”
“No! There’s absolutely no need! This is a punishment you gave me! I made a mistake, so I must face it!”
What the hell?
Turns out the younger sister was disgustingly satisfied with those enormous breasts, which matched Linne’s in size, and I dismissed her without hesitation. But the incident erupted from an unexpected angle.
Having overheard the conversation from my living room, the casual Nix remarked, “Minerva’s age seems to have been considerably reduced, heehee. Is it around one twenty-fourth of her age?” and promptly got caught.
I quickly embraced Minerva before the magic staff in her hand started to emanate a blue glow.
“Nix, get back to your own room.”
Both polite Nix and casual Nix looked quite distressed, but there was nothing to be done. As she had mentioned herself, whether formal or casual, they were ultimately still the same in the essence.
“The years of life forming humans are not that vital, boy.”
“I’m aware.”
Minerva, cuddled close to me, poked her lips out as if she were trying to explain something fervently. I nodded along, affirmatively, while I adoringly stroked her body here and there.
In truth, Minnie was correct; in Eclipse’s world, age held little relevance. The fact that the concept of aging did not exist was significant. Once growth was completed, age hardly altered anything.
It was hardly remembered except for blood relations or for organizing titles, similar to how Kaiquilia and Aurora often did.
‘Thinking back, I’ve never heard any of their exact ages.’
Apart from the knight commanders, who had mentioned being in their early twenties, and Minerva and Nix, who were more than 400 and 200 years old, respectively, no one had shared their exact ages with me.
‘Ultimately, it didn’t matter if I asked.’
On further thoughts, it would be more fitting to state we hadn’t inquired about it deliberately. Why should anyone bother with that? Not like we were going to line them up based on how long they’d lived.
“What did I just say?”
“Y-You have a goddess here, so… don’t mind if I—?!”
With a persuasive ‘movement’ that emanated a rich lemon scent, Minerva gasped for breath and reluctantly accepted my reasoning.
And Nix ended up receiving a penalty of not being able to sleep in my bed for a week. This made the popes’ eyes gleam with excitement. It was clear who would occupy the empty space.
—Hey.
—Yes?
—Seize her breasts for a week.
—Why?????????????
—Wait, why am I suddenly being punished?
—Please, just answer one phone call!
—I’m not trying to argue; I want to know why so badly.
—You almost disrupted the peace.
—??????????????????
The one who had unwittingly broached the subject of age and prompted Nix to say something odd was punished alongside her. By now, she must have returned to her original size.
Yujin, seemingly bewildered as to why she was facing these consequences, kept calling me, but I blocked her cleanly.
I could always return her to normal in a week and lift the block then.
