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Chapter 9
Deadly Poison
Damn it. Seriously. What the hell is going on here?
I desperately wanted the status window to give me an explanation.
[▋▋⎕⎕⎕⎕⎕⎕⎕⎕]
[P0SSE%SS!0N & SOU!L SY$TEM ⋯ ERR0R / BOD%Y INTEGR@TION ⋯ SKILL DATA CORRUPT]
But all it showed was a broken gauge bar and unreadable garbage text.
…It gained one more segment though.
Before I could even process that, the dark energy around Calix Nepherto began to surge again.
“…!”
As I flailed in alarm, that cursed man—pale-faced—lifted me and placed me on his head.
Then he said:
“If you want to survive here, purify the incoming curses and poison.”
“….”
So that was it.
The previous two experiments were tests.
He was checking whether I was useful for clearing this dungeon.
“Chiiiiiii!!” (You psycho bastard using me as a poison filter!!)
I screamed internally while grabbing his hair.
In dungeons, nothing escapes until the stage is cleared.
So I had no choice.
I inhaled deeply.
The thick poison and curse energy wrapped around him began flowing into me.
A bitter, metallic taste seeped into my mouth.
It was clearly too much for a small rat body.
But I couldn’t stop.
I wiped my nose with a tiny paw and forced myself to keep going.
Fine. I’ll purify everything here and fix the status window.
If the status window recovered, this weakened final boss would be nothing.
I might even be able to sit on his head and control him.
Yeah. Let’s do this.
I clenched my teeth and hugged his black hair tightly.
Calix Nepherto moved in sync with me, keeping himself sane.
“Eclipse.”
At his call, a broken bastard sword tore through space.
His cursed blade—Eclipse.
The very sword I had split in half not long ago.
He grabbed it and swung.
WHOOM.
A violent wind dispersed the toxic fog, revealing the end of the corridor.
He lifted his free hand and shielded my head like an umbrella.
Oh wow. So after force-feeding me poison earlier, now he’s being gentle? Don’t get any ideas.
He sprinted forward without hesitation.
And then—
The corridor opened.
What lay beyond was far worse.
A massive open space filled entirely with poison.
Black fumes rose from the corrupted ground.
Toxic plants dripped venom that formed rivers.
Poison spores filled the air like fog.
Snakes, scorpions, spiders, centipedes—countless venomous creatures swarmed together in chaos.
“….”
I froze.
Disgusting!!!
I could handle gore.
But arthropods? Absolutely not.
This was a nightmare beyond the previous 66 dungeons.
Then a voice echoed:
【Corruption】
A dark sphere formed from pure shadow struck the ground.
SSHHH—
Everything it touched turned to ash.
But the dungeon was vast.
And the poison creatures endless.
“I can’t use magic here.”
Calix muttered, gripping his broken sword.
Then he charged straight into the nightmare.
“W-wait—?!”
And I was dragged in too.
Shattered insect bodies flew everywhere.
Poisoned blood splattered across the air.
Normally I would’ve fainted instantly.
The only reason I wasn’t—
Was because of him.
The blade moved like art.
A perfect arc of darkness.
No excess motion. No hesitation.
It wasn’t swordsmanship.
It was performance.
His black hair flowed like a dance as he moved.
Even in a world filled with darkness, his silhouette stood out too clearly.
Does the binding mark… do this too?
I watched blankly for a moment.
Then—
A rough hand grabbed the back of my neck.
“Purify.”
I quickly buried my face into his hair and inhaled.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
…This is kind of embarrassing. I feel like a pervert.
To distract myself, I thought.
Why is a guy like him—an agent of destruction—clearing a dungeon?
Dungeons were tools of apocalypse.
They were meant to trigger “Dungeon Break” and end the world.
So if Calix Nepherto truly served destruction, he should protect them—not destroy them.
Something’s off.
I felt like I was missing something crucial.
Then—
“Haa… haah…”
A ragged breath reached my ears.
Calix was exhausted.
His normally precise sword trembled.
He’s tired.
Of course he was.
He had absorbed cursed essence, triggered backlash, got hunted, and still kept fighting.
And yet—
The dungeon showed no sign of thinning.
Even after all that swordwork.
Which meant…
They’re being replenished.
I gritted my teeth and scanned the environment.
And then I saw it.
The ground.
It moved.
It swallowed the corpse of a scorpion Calix had just cut down.
“…!”
That’s it.
I jumped off his head instantly.
“Hey—!”
He reached for me, but I flipped mid-air and landed cleanly on the ground.
And then I pressed my tiny paws onto the cursed earth.
The creatures lunged at me—
But Calix cut them down instantly.
I focused only on the ground.
I inhaled.
The black poison curse surged into me like a tidal wave.
COUGH.
I spat blood.
“…So the thing about rats not being able to vomit might be a lie.”
I smiled bitterly.
The curse amount was far too much for my body.
Calix’s expression briefly stiffened.
But I didn’t stop.
I couldn’t.
Not until this dungeon was cleared.
And with this binding mark—I couldn’t escape anyway.
So I forced myself forward.
If I can absorb it… then I can control it.
If purification was the issue, I’d refine it.
Compress. Condense. Filter. Refine.
And then—
A thread of realization snapped into place.
Ah…!
The moment I caught it—
The ground screamed.
BOOOOOOM—
The earth split open violently.
And from the crack—
A massive serpent’s head erupted.
It lunged straight at me.
