“Deek!” Bernard screamed, standing up.

He was drenched from head to toe, his hair that was usually done up in a bun was now hanging loosely past his shoulders.

I hadn’t been the only one carried into the boss room. It turned out I had brought Bernard. The Demon King was still sitting and watching, while the gladiator masquerading as his son shot daggers my way. His eyes suddenly dropped, and he saw me mounted on a fish girl. I was still clenching onto her chest. She had raised her upper body to look around, so it was definitely a scandalous position that we were in.

“You fool! Don’t focus on him! Now is your chance. Take out your father!” A shout came from the door.

I glanced back to see Calypso there. Unlike Bernard, she wasn’t the least bit wet nor did she show any sign of distress.

“Where did you put Carmine!” Bernard ignored her, yelling at me instead.

“You fool! If you won’t do it, I’ll kill him myself!”

Calypso drew the bright blade, causing all darkness in the room to diminish. The Demon King stood up in surprise with that.

“So, son, you truly seek to betray me?” the Demon King’s voice was ominous.

Bernard blinked as the man glared at him menacingly. “F-father… never! My only desire is the princess!”

“Hmph…” he waved his hand, and the sword that Calypso had once yanked from my arms was yanked from hers.

As it landed in his hands, I felt a sense of frustration. It was only at this moment two more familiar faces made it into the room. Xin and Garnet just managed to enter as they watched the sword reach the Demon King’s hands. As if the entire stage had been waiting to be set, the doors slammed closed right behind them.

Rather than attack, the Demon lord held the sword out by the handle toward his son. “If you wish to kill me, then take it and give it your best. You will fail either way.”

Bernard reached out and grabbed the sword, but rather than feel relieved, I tensed even more. Xin’s eyes were locked on the blade. It was her ticket out of here. It was all of our tickets out of here. Yet, strangely, it all rested in the hands of Bernard, the one person who seemed to want to stay. If he knew this world literally only had hours left, would he still be interested?

“Strike him!” Calypso bellowed.

The Demon King held out his arms. “See, my son. I know you’ve changed since you fell in love. You no longer seek power. You don’t have it in you to ki-”

His voice stopped, the white blade sticking through his chest. However, the blade was facing Bernard, coming in from the Demon King’s back. Someone had taken the sword from Bernard and then stabbed it into the Demon King’s back all in the time it took to blink.

Miasma suddenly poured out of Bernard’s body and then flew toward the Demon King, returning to its rightful place. As the ruler of this place, it only made sense that he had control of it.

“Father… I know this is only a dungeon proxy I’m killing, but it feels so satisfying. If only I had successfully killed the real you all those years ago.” The man gently whispered into the Demon King’s ear.

He pulled out the sword as the stunned King collapsed to the ground. Lord Aberis was standing there in the flesh.