The Beast King was unlike any dungeon boss Han Jinhyuk encountered in the early regressions. Most monsters were acting on instincts and impulses, nothing more. But this one spoke, reasoned, and taunted with the kind of personality that a normal monster doesn't possess.
That was what bothered him.
Dungeons, monsters, the system itself...
Even after everything, so little had truly been brought to light.
His countless regressions had taught him patterns, how people moved, where disasters began, which choices led to ruin. But the deeper truths beneath it all? The unseen mechanisms controlling this world?
He understood almost nothing about them.
The constellations remained shrouded in mystery too, and the logic behind the system always felt just beyond his grasp, like he was reaching for the galaxy.
How does the system calculate things in the first place?
He'd received the Beast Tongue after killing this creature once before. It was a reward, but for what, exactly? And on the other side of that exchange, had the Beast King received something too after those times he died in his claws and regressed?
More pressingly: how did the Beast King know about his regressions at all?
Was it a skill? Or was there another way he could tell?
He'd assumed that was his alone to carry. He'd suspected, vaguely, that constellations could see through such things. They were constellations after all, akin to a god, so they seemed to see through most things, when they bothered to look.
But a dungeon boss?
Was it simply a matter of strength? Or was there something else underneath this creature, something that had nothing to do with dungeons at all?
The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it became. Unfortunately, his constellations had no intention of providing him the truth.
Even if he asked, they would remain silent. They only ever spoke when it suited them.
"Agh—Shit, you're driving me insane!" Minwoo snapped, finally losing his patience at the Beast King's nonstop boasting.
"How dare you—!"
The Beast King reacted instantly, provoked so easily that it was almost absurd someone like him could rule an entire dungeon.
After several more meaningless exchanges, more like testing each other's physical strength than truly fighting, the atmosphere suddenly shifted.
The Beast King slowly brought his palms together before pulling them to his side, muttering something under his breath in a low growl.
Then, a crimson light burst between his hands.
Mana surged violently around him, so dense it distorted the air itself.
"I prepared this attack specifically for today, you insects!" the Beast King roared triumphantly. "Let's see how you survive this! Looks like this victory belongs to me once again!"
The beam of red light exploded forward.
"No! Hyuk-ah, dodge!"
Seo Elena's voice rang across the battlefield as she sprang to her feet from where she had been hiding.
Jinhyuk's eyes widened slightly.
Originally, he had intended to take the attack head-on. He was confident he could endure it somehow, or at the very least redirect its force.
But the panic in her voice made him move instinctively.
Without hesitation, he shifted aside and narrowly dodged the beam.
And for some reason, he couldn't explain why her voice had affected him so deeply.
"What's this?"
The Beast King's gaze finally landed on Seo Elena.
"There was another human hiding here?"
Surprisingly, he didn't look threatened.
If anything, he seemed unimpressed.
After briefly assessing her presence, he dismissed her almost immediately. To him, she was insignificant, far too weak to deserve his attention.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, as if an idea popped in his mind.
"Then I'll kill the nuisance first."
The ground trembled violently beneath them.
Cracks spread across the scorched terrain as molten lava surged upward from below, flooding through the battlefield in blazing streams.
The Beast King raised a hand lazily.
"Burn."
The lava rose even faster.
At the same moment, Seo Elena and Han Jinhyuk moved instinctively toward one another.
As though drawn together by something neither of them could resist. Like two magnets endlessly pulled back to each other, no matter how many times the world tried to force them apart.
Just before the splash of lava burst at her, they found themselves in each other's embrace, as he pulled her away just in time.
"Are you okay?" Han Jinhyuk grabbed her shoulders immediately, his hand sliding into her hair as if reassuring himself she was really unharmed. "Why are you up here? It's dangerous, Yena. Go back."
"No."
Seo Elena met his gaze without backing down.
"I'm helping you fight."
The lava continued rising around them, leaving little time to argue.
Jinhyuk instinctively reached for her, clearly intending to carry her away from the battlefield himself, but Elena stepped back before he could.
How was he supposed to fight properly while protecting her at the same time?
If they failed to defeat the Beast King here, she would die.
"I can manage," she said firmly. "Just fight with everything you have."
Her fingers tightened around her staff.
"If you get injured, I'll heal you immediately. So stop worrying about me and do what you need to do."
Jinhyuk hesitated. Even now, he clearly disliked the idea of leaving her alone in a place like this.
But eventually, he gave a reluctant nod before turning back toward Minwoo, who was already struggling badly against the Beast King.
The moment Jinhyuk rejoined the battle, Elena immediately began supporting him from the rear.
She focused only on severe injuries, ignoring smaller wounds entirely. Compared to the memories she had regained, her current self still lacked experience, and she wasn't confident her mana would last long enough if she healed recklessly.
Preserving as much mana as possible was the smarter decision. After all, there was no telling how long this battle would continue.
But this fight was a little different from before. Han Jinhyuk was fighting far more aggressively. Perhaps the right word was, carelessly.
Normally, his fighting style resembled flowing petals carried by the wind, smooth and adaptable, impossible to predict as he moved wherever the battle allowed him to. But now, he fought like relentless ocean waves crashing against stone over and over again until the surface finally fractured.
There was no hesitation in his attacks.
No restraint.
Even Minwoo, who was supposed to be fighting alongside him, struggled to find the right opening to intervene. Jinhyuk's movements were too fast and too overwhelming, leaving no room for teamwork. If Minwoo interfered carelessly, there was a higher chance of hitting Jinhyuk than the monster itself.