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Act 4, Scene 4 – The Autumn Demon Dungeon.

Originally, this scenario was supposed to take place before Act 5, Scene 5, but somehow, the order got switched.

To be honest, this bothers me.

‘Act 4 is the groundwork for Act 5.’

It serves as the foundation for Lucas’s interactions with the reincarnators in Act 5.

In a way, I could have skipped this episode.

After all, I already know all the reincarnators except for Wolfram.

Still, I worry about how the change in scenario order will affect things.

The fewer variables in a scenario, the better.

‘This scenario already had too many variables.

The most noticeable change so far is that the Demon Dungeon opened slightly earlier than expected.

I don’t think a few days would make a significant difference,

but it never hurts to be cautious.

"The team feels familiar this time."

Just then, Seron chattered beside me.

As she said, the team this time consisted of familiar members.

But for some reason, I felt uneasy.

Yesterday, I unintentionally made Sharin realize her feelings of love.

"You."

At that moment, I turned around without thinking.

There stood Isabel, looking at me with a curious expression.

"What’s wrong? You don’t look well. Did you overexert yourself?"

"No, it’s not that. Isabel, why are you here?"

"I just came to talk to Rin for a bit."

She glanced around.

Sharin was nowhere in sight.

"Where is she?"

"She hasn’t come from the Magic Department yet."

"I see."

Her lips parted slightly, then closed again.

Did she have something she wanted to say?

"Isabel?"

In the end, Isabel cautiously moved closer to me.

"…Hey. Did you do something to Rin?"

Don’t whisper that in such a nice voice.

More importantly, this was a very guilty topic for me.

Since I had no words to defend myself, I remained silent, and Isabel’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Why? Is Sharin acting strangely?"

I ended up asking instead.

"That girl, she’s always had a grumpy face, but yesterday, she came back to her room grinning from ear to ear all day."

"Maybe she achieved some magical success."

"How long do you think I’ve known Rin? She wouldn’t smile like that because of magic."

Isabel’s suspicious gaze pierced me like daggers.

My cheeks burned under the scrutiny.

"Just be honest. You did something, didn’t you?"

"What, what?"

Now even Seron joined in, looking curious.

As the two of them pressed me, I instinctively took a step back.

"Husband."

From a distance, a distinctive drowsy voice called out.

There was Sharin, approaching with her usual unhurried steps.

Her deep blue hair fluttered in the wind.

Her unique languid smile had an irresistible charm that drew people in.

She walked straight up to me and stretched out her arms behind my back.

Then, she wrapped her arms around my neck.

A soft sensation pressed against my back, and a cinnamon-like fragrance filled my nose.

Everything happened in an instant.

Isabel and Seron stared at us with wide eyes.

It was a far more assertive action than anything they had ever seen from Sharin.

"…Sharin?"

Even I was frozen as I called her name.

Sharin tilted her head.

"What?"

What do you mean, "what"?

She lazily glanced at Isabel and Seron, then greeted them nonchalantly.

"Hi, Bel, Seron."

"Sharin, you—"

Isabel looked like she had a lot to say.

But Sharin showed no intention of letting go of me.

"G-get off!"

At that moment, Seron lunged forward.

Instead of tackling Sharin, however, she slammed her forehead straight into my stomach.

You crazy headbutting maniac.

"Gah!"

No matter how strong I was, taking a headbutt to the gut still hurt.

Just as I was about to fall over, Sharin smoothly slipped away.

Meanwhile, Seron put her hands on her hips and glared at Sharin.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

"Huh?"

Sharin tilted her head as if she had no idea what the problem was.

"Why are you clinging to Prince Sweet Potato?"

"He’s my husband."

Sharin said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Th-that’s…"

We were engaged.

A little affection wasn’t out of the ordinary.

However, everyone knew that our engagement had been forced upon us.

Anyone who had watched us interact would think so.

Seron looked back and forth between us in shock.

It was the face of someone who had just encountered an unexpected obstacle.

"I-I won’t accept this!"

Her loud declaration echoed through the air.

But Sharin remained as calm as ever.

"Rin."

Then, Isabel spoke to Sharin.

She looked at her with quiet, steady eyes.

My relationship with Isabel was complicated.

Even though we had resolved many things, it was still an odd bond.

After all, I had been one of the people who hated Lucas.

For Isabel, seeing her best friend in this situation must have brought up many thoughts.

"I see. So that’s how it is."

But Isabel didn’t say much else.

She just glanced at me one last time before turning away.

"I won’t lose to you, even in the Demon Dungeon."

With that, she made her rival declaration and walked off to join her team.

As I dusted myself off and got up, Seron was still glaring at Sharin.

Like a wary cat, she had all her metaphorical fur bristling.

Sharin, however, paid her no mind and kept her gaze fixed on me.

Only now did I finally understand what she meant when she spoke of "greed."

She was fully determined to drive away everyone around me.

Born to claim whatever she desired—

It was clear that being the daughter of the Blue Tower Master wasn’t just about talent.

"Senior!"

"We’re back! Oh… whoa."

"Hahaha, looks like things are already a mess!"

Just then, Aisha, Foara, and Grantoni arrived.

I walked up to Seron and patted her shoulder.

It would soon be our turn to enter the Demon Dungeon.

We couldn't just stand around like this forever.

Seron shot me a glare and pouted.

“Oh, you must be loving all this attention from two beauties!”

“...Two beauties?”

I quickly dodged before her fist could fly.

“Even in this situation, your composure is admirable, Senior.”

Aisha looked at me with genuine respect.

I was being admired for the strangest reasons.

“Team Hannon Irey.”

At that moment, our team was finally called.

The previous teams had already entered.

I barely managed to push Seron, who was grinding her teeth, toward the entrance of the Demon Dungeon.

This time, our team consisted of six members instead of the usual five.

The extra firepower would allow us to clear the floors more quickly.

We wouldn't be able to enter the Demon Sovereign's chamber, which had a maximum capacity of five, but that wasn’t our goal anyway.

Professor Vega, who stood at the entrance of the Demon Dungeon, glanced at my face.

Then, after scanning Sharin and Seron, she spoke.

“If you keep that up inside, you won’t make it back.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.”

Seron and Sharin weren’t fools.

They might act like this now, but once inside, they’d be different.

“Team Hannon Irey, enter.”

I took a step forward into the Demon Dungeon.

The entrance pulled me in, and the scenery around me began to change.

Today's objective: the 6th floor.

We needed to reach it as quickly as possible.

Just as I made up my mind—

Thud—

Suddenly, my vision turned completely black.

Rumble!

A disorienting sensation swept over me, and my stomach twisted violently.

What the—

I had no time to react.

To snap myself out of it, I bit the inside of my mouth.

Pain flared through my jaw, jolting my senses awake.

Whoooosh!

A strong wind whipped through my hair.

Before me stretched a sheer cliff.

I was falling into a chasm.

“…Oh.”

The next moment, my body slammed into the cliffside, and shock waves rippled through me.

Thanks to that, I managed to come to my senses a little faster.

“This is insane!”

Just moments ago, I had stepped into the Demon Dungeon.

So why was I suddenly plummeting off a cliff?

Before I could even process the situation, my hands instinctively shot out.

Without hesitation, I slashed at the rock wall with the edge of my hand.

Crack! Crack-crack-crack-crack!

A jarring impact surged through my arm, nearly tearing it apart.

But this was exactly why I had trained my body to be as tough as steel.

Determined to stop my fall, I drove my other hand into the cliff as well.

Starting from where my arms had struck, cracks splintered through the rock.

I gritted my teeth and endured the agony that felt like my limbs were being ripped apart.

Finally, my body came to a halt.

My arms felt like they had been shattered.

But more importantly, I needed to assess the situation.

‘What the hell is going on?’

My mind was a mess.

Something had happened.

And now, I was here.

Quickly, I scanned my surroundings.

On the opposite side, there was another cliff—

An identical rock face, suggesting that this place was a massive cylindrical chamber.

More importantly, I was alone.

A breath of relief escaped my lips.

No one else had fallen with me.

That alone was enough to be grateful for.

With that, I completed my assessment.

‘This is the Demon Dungeon Transfer Bug.’

During my Flame Butterfly Arc playthrough, this was one of the most annoying glitches—

And one of the worst possible disasters to experience.

A bug where a character would randomly get transported to an entirely different location.

I never thought I’d encounter it in reality.

“This is ridiculous.”

In all my playthroughs, I had only experienced this bug once.

Never did I expect to suffer from it in real life.

My head spun for a moment, but I made my decision.

I needed to descend.

Climbing back up was impossible.

It made more sense to go down and find another way.

‘How far down does this go?’

I had no idea, but I began my slow descent, pulling my embedded hand free from the rock as I went.

Whenever my arms grew numb, I carved out small resting spots in the cliffside.

Using explosion-engraved magic sigils, I could easily create handholds.

I chewed on the jerky I had packed, and my body gradually recovered.

I needed to descend as quickly as possible.

With that resolve, I stuffed the rest of the jerky into my mouth and prepared to continue down.

Whoooosh!

A rushing sound came from above.

Something was falling.

I instinctively looked up—

And saw a figure plummeting straight toward me.

I barely had time to react before my legs pushed off the cliffside.

I lunged forward, catching the falling person.

I hadn’t expected someone else to suffer the same fate as me.

And when I saw her face, my body stiffened in midair.

She opened her eyes and widened them in shock.

“…You?”

Isabel Luna.

Just as unlucky as me, she had also been caught in the Demon Dungeon Transfer Bug.