The false hero had stumbled back, landing on his behind. He crawled away as I stepped forward with my blade. My body glowed with the light of the dungeon blessings, and there was a spark of fire in my eyes too. This man had tried to destroy and use Miki not just once, but twice. Whether he was some dungeon copy of the real man, he was scum any way you looked at him. It was only worse that he was once a foxkin himself.

Suddenly, the ground began to shudder, and I felt a sudden surge of miasma. The look of terror on the scientist’s face as his defeat drew near turned to happiness.

“Haha… it’s too late! The evolution has begun!”

I glanced over at Miki to see the chains had started to shift, lifting her into the air. She was glowing now, although the glow was coming from a bright orb that seemed to be within her chest. The miasma started to swarm violently. I was a bit familiar with this because I had been in a dungeon right before it collapsed once before. It felt a bit like the Twilight Dungeon as it was dying, although the energy felt more vigorous. It seemed like in the evolution process; this dungeon was going to collapse as well.

“Celeste! Get out of here now.”

“But Master…”

“Go!” When I saw the look of concern on her face, I smiled at her. “I already said. I’ll handle this.”

She nodded, giving one last worried look at Miki, and then flew back through the portal.

“Haha… handle it? In a minute, this dungeon will cease to exist, and everyone in it will be turned into miasma. Then, it will reform anew, stronger than before!” When I lifted my sword, he let out a cry and backed up several more steps. “Even if you kill me, you won’t accomplish anything! My memories are burned into the lore. I will return! It may be an inconvenience for me, but even if the dungeon evolves, I’ll still win in the end.”

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I stopped my advance. “What do you propose?”

His lips flickered in a smile for a moment. “Only I am capable of turning things around. As her master, I can hold back the evolution, for just enough time.”

“Enough time for what?” I asked, frowning.

“For you to cut her soul out of the dungeon, of course!” He explained as the dungeon shaking grew more violent. “All you need to do is free her and take her soul with you. Had I known you could have connected your dungeon to this one like this, I would have suggested it. It’d be no different than taking a dungeon core.”

“Why would you agree to that?” I asked hesitantly. “Without her lore, won’t this dungeon still break apart, and you die?”

“Heh… it wouldn’t be too difficult, given the number of souls in this dungeon, to fashion a new core. I just need to find someone powerful enough. Once I sacrifice all the rest, I can use their energy to create a new dungeon core.”

“You’ll still be in Miki’s body,” I responded. “You’ll still be alive to torment this land.”

“What do you care what I do in Dioshin? You’ll have your precious Miki back. She may not have a body, but you can make her a new one and she can live out her days in your dungeon. If you do this, when I defeat the king and become the ruler of Dioshin, I will make a peace treaty with Aberis. How about that? It’s a win-win. I get what I want, and you get everything you could ever want! How about it?”

My face twisted in thought for a moment. I didn’t have much time though. The dungeon was falling apart. Any moment those souls would start being devoured, and then it was the end. After a bit of thought, I nodded.

“I agree…” I put out my hand.

A relieved smile formed on his face. He reached out his hand and I clasped it.

“Master…” Alysia said in disbelief.

I help him to his feet, but then when he went to pull his hand away, I didn’t let go. The smile on my face didn’t leave either. Instead, my eyes started to change. As he looked into them, his expression started to change from one of triumph, to fear.

“Wh-what?”

“Absorb,” I responded simply.