“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all!”

“I’m sorry, but I’m a bit different from who I used to be.”

However, Natalie and McClain had already prepared to enter the room with the dimensional gate.

From the moment Natalie had spoken Demon’s name aloud, the door had begun opening, and beyond it, the dimensional gate was starting to ripple as if welcoming visitors.

All that remained was to enter the room and infuse the power she’d received from Demon into the dimensional gate.

“No! If you enter here! If even a trace of impure power mixes with it, this gate will—”

Demon tried desperately to stop them, but neither Natalie nor the max-level McClain would yield so easily.

“Nothing’s stopping us!”

McClain boldly answered Demon, then immediately lowered his voice to instruct Natalie.

“Natalie, go in first and activate the dimensional gate while I hold him off. I’ll follow right after.”

“Will you be alright?”

“I’ll be fine. But while you can activate the dimensional gate, you probably won’t be able to set the proper coordinates. As soon as the gate activates, I’ll use the Key of Space. Then we’ll be able to return safely.”

His tone sounded strangely bitter, making Natalie oddly anxious.

It sounded like words spoken to someone he might never see again.

“What about you? What will you do? Don’t say that—let’s go together!”

“If we do that, the Demon King might interfere and neither of us will make it back. So you go first. I’ll deal with him and follow right after.”

“But…”

“It’ll work out. You know that receiving the final quest means I’ve already reached max level. So I can definitely defeat him.”

Despite his assurance, she couldn’t simply nod in agreement. She remembered what he had mentioned in passing when explaining his transmigration process.

‘Players complained that the hero class couldn’t complete the final quest, so I tried to prove them wrong and ended up like this.’

That bitter smile he had shown then.

That was why she couldn’t shake this ominous feeling and step forward.

And that brief hesitation soon became a penalty for him.

“You dare think you can escape from me!”

“Ugh!”

“McClain!”

An attack aimed during a momentary lapse in attention grazed McClain’s shoulder. Natalie hurriedly grasped his shoulder to heal him, but McClain firmly pushed her hand away.

“Hurry! Activate the dimensional gate now!”

Only then did Natalie’s feet move. She belatedly realized she shouldn’t be hindering him when she couldn’t even help.

Let’s activate the dimensional gate first.

Then I’ll help him defeat the Demon King.

Then we can safely return together.

The thought briefly crossed her mind: Where exactly would they return to? But Natalie tried not to dwell on it.

She assumed they would naturally return to the Empire, where she would embrace the now-familiar squad members with tears of joy.

But as always, things didn’t go according to plan.

※※※

Natalie reached the dimensional gate more easily than expected. Though the Demon King attempted to attack her several times, both she and McClain had changed significantly from when they were previously helpless against him.

Even Natalie herself was amazed at how nimbly she dodged attacks with rhythmic movements. While her growth played a part, she felt as if the dimensional gate itself was guiding her safely.

McClain was also impressive. He was effortlessly blocking the Demon King, the final boss, without showing any signs of struggle.

From level ninety-nine to one hundred—it was just a one-level difference, but the actual power gap was enormous. Was reaching max level such a tremendous change?

“Hurry and infuse your power, Natalie!”

Just as she was about to place her hand on the dimensional gate to infuse her power!

“Nooooo! Please! Please don’t do this!”

Demon screamed with a voice that sounded beyond desperate, almost despairing. It seemed there was some reason beyond simply preventing Natalie and McClain’s escape.

But Natalie didn’t hesitate.

Whatever the reason, that was Demon’s problem.

Even if her actions caused the demon castle to collapse or the demon realm to explode, it had nothing to do with her.

In fact, the more damage Demon suffered, the better it would be for her and McClain.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Natalie drew forth her power. As soon as she placed her hand on the gate, it began flashing light as if urging her on.

“No! No, no! This can’t happen!”

At that moment, Demon began firing his power with even greater ferocity than before. As if “no” was the only word he knew, countless “no’s” were repeated.

Even McClain, who had been blocking Demon without giving an inch, was pushed back several steps by the force.

At some point, Demon’s voice began to change.

It repeatedly grew louder then softer as if being pushed away then charging back, and beyond that, it became dramatically thicker and lower as if he were using a voice modulator.

When Demon’s screams finally sounded like they were coming from a stretched tape, even Natalie flinched and had to turn her head.

She wondered if Demon had entered a second phase, like in other games.

When she turned around, Natalie was so shocked that she momentarily forgot about infusing power into the dimensional gate. Demon had lost his originally sleek appearance and was now swelling up, his entire body covered with blisters of various sizes, like someone suffering from a severe plague.

If that were all, she would have simply thought the boss mob’s second phase had begun. She would have worried about McClain facing a more difficult battle, but would have quickly turned back to focus on activating the dimensional gate. That was necessary to help him defeat the Demon King, who had become a true boss mob, and return home.

But there was a reason she couldn’t do that. Demon wasn’t the only one undergoing transformation.

Mold-like stains began appearing throughout the room with the dimensional gate, then spread at an incredible speed to cover the entire space.

“W-what is this!”

“Natalie! Don’t worry about it and hurry with infusing your power! Once the dimensional gate is fully activated, we need to set coordinates and move immediately!”

Only after hearing McClain’s shout did Natalie regain her focus. She tried to calm her startled mind and resumed infusing power into the dimensional gate.

“Ugh! Hurry, Natalie!”

By the time McClain urged her with an unprecedented urgency in his voice, the dimensional gate had fully activated. The activated gate emitted a blue light so bright it hurt her eyes.

‘Why is it emitting blue light when we haven’t even used the Key of Space yet?’

She briefly thought it should normally emit red light, like when Demon came to the imperial palace, but there was no time to dwell on this.

McClain approached her under pressure from the second-phase Demon’s momentum.

Natalie quickly turned her head and called to McClain.

“It’s ready! Come here quickly so we can return together!”

At her words, McClain’s gaze momentarily shifted to empty space, perhaps intending to use the Key of Space.

A flash of disappointment crossed his face as he checked something with an anxious expression.

When McClain finally turned his head, Natalie felt an inexplicable anxiety rise within her.

His face seemed to reflect a strange regret and lingering attachment.

Why such an expression when escape was imminent!

“Hurry, McClain! Let’s leave this place together quickly!”

Even as she urged him, the ominous thoughts wouldn’t leave her mind.

Did they really need to completely defeat the Demon King to leave together? Was it impossible to leave together in their current state?

But hadn’t he just said so himself?

That once the dimensional gate was fully activated, they would need to set coordinates and move immediately. That she should hurry and activate the dimensional gate.

Could it be that McClain himself wasn’t included among those who needed to move?

When her thoughts reached that point, Natalie realized. There had been no mention of “together” in any of his sentences so far.

‘I’ve received the final quest. We should be able to return now.’

There was no mention of himself returning as well.

‘Natalie, go in first and activate the dimensional gate while I hold him off. I’ll follow right after.’

‘Will you be alright?’

‘I’ll be fine. But while you can activate the dimensional gate, you probably won’t be able to set the proper coordinates. As soon as the gate activates, I’ll use the Key of Space. Then we’ll be able to return safely.’

He had only said he would follow if she went in first.

Multiple times, repeatedly. With a bitter expression he couldn’t even hide properly.

‘What about you? What will you do? Don’t say that—let’s go together!’

‘If we do that, the Demon King might interfere and neither of us will make it back. So you go first. I’ll deal with him and follow right after.’

‘But…’

‘It’ll work out. You know that receiving the final quest means I’ve already reached max level. So I can definitely defeat him.’

He had been telling her all along that they couldn’t return together. That she should go first because he needed to defeat the Demon King.

But she hadn’t been properly listening to him. Or perhaps she had heard but had been denying it all along.

Because she didn’t want to. Because she didn’t want to crush her hope. Because she was determined to return with him.