The Last Night Before the End

Val, the mysterious girl standing before me. She has a beautiful face, yet she looked utterly exhausted. Her eyes were empty, her expression filled with despair.

It made me wonder… who exactly was she? I had never met an NPC like her in this game before.

I finally asked, “Why should I help you?”

“Umm… because I already helped you.”

“…”

“I said… because I already helped you.”

“You don’t need to repeat yourself… Fine. I’ll help you.” I said it with clear disinterest.

“Really? Thank goodness… hehe. This is the first time someone’s actually agreed to my request.” She smiled faintly, almost shyly.

So… she could smile after all. I thought to myself.

“Alright, so why do you want to go to the city center?”

“I… I want to see my family. The people from the orphanage. We’ve been apart for a long time.”

“Why do you want to see them now?”

At my question, she looked almost confused.

“You seriously don’t know anything??”

“…”

“Fine, just stand there like a statue. I’ll explain. In this city, every midnight, a cursed evil appears known as the Death Curse. They’re monsters wearing the corpses of dead humans, and they attack anyone they see. That’s why people hide in their homes and the guards patrol the streets to wipe them out.” Val explained in detail.

“How long has this been happening? And who caused it?” I asked suspiciously.

“It’s been going on for a year… The source? No idea. People here say it’s a curse on the Kingdom. But… when the night changes to June 6th, year 666, at exactly midnight, it’ll be the end of the Kingdom. They say the curse will grow stronger and swallow everything.” Her voice dropped, and she lowered her head in sadness.

I started to understand why this Kingdom had become like this, but the source of the curse, the mastermind behind these zombies still intrigued me.

“Does this have anything to do with the Nether? I heard the guards mention it earlier.”

Her face darkened instantly. Hatred flickered for just a moment before she answered flatly, “I don’t know.”

Her tone sent a chill down my spine. But one thing was certain, she knew something about the Nether. And maybe… that’s why this quest existed.

Before I could ask more, she suddenly grabbed my hand tightly, tears welling in her eyes.

“Kyouze… please. This might be the last day for me and the people in this city. I just want to spend what little time I have left with my family at the orphanage. I… miss them so much.”

Her voice trembled as her body shook. The raw sadness in her words felt like a needle piercing my chest.

“…Fine. I’ll escort you. Lead the way.”

I didn’t actually want to help her, but I had no choice. Helping her was the only way to unlock the path to this floor’s boss. The faster I helped her, the faster I could finish this dungeon.

Val looked genuinely happy when I agreed. She could still smile like any other girl her age. She hadn’t lost all her emotions.

I told her to get ready.

From my inventory, I pulled out the [Volta Race Ring], an item that increased the wearer’s speed by 10 points. EtherCode Volta patterns would appear on the wearer’s legs, making each step feel lighter.

I’d noticed earlier that Val ran incredibly slow. That was probably why she had trouble evading the guards. With this, she could at least keep up.

She looked puzzled at the item, but I slipped it onto her ring finger.

“Eh… Kyouze… this is…” Her cheeks turned slightly pink.

“Don’t get the wrong idea… It’s just to make you run faster. You can keep it. Think of it as a gift for helping me earlier.”

“I see… but still… I’ve never received a gift before. No one’s ever been kind to me.” She said that with her head down.

I was a bit taken aback. Maybe she had gone through a lot since being separated from her orphanage.

“But you still have your family, the orphanage you’re going back to. They must’ve treated you well, right?”

“…Yeah.” She smiled faintly.

I ruffled her hair. “Then stop wearing that gloomy face like when we first met. Smile, like you are now. It suits you better.”

She nodded. “Alright.”

We left immediately, heading toward the city center where her orphanage was located. She led me through hidden routes she knew, though guards still blocked our way.

I knocked them out quickly, one by one.
The number of soldiers patrolling the city was staggering. They were everywhere, ready for the zombies that would appear soon.

After twenty minutes, we finally reached the orphanage, a large building near the city square.

We slipped in through the back door to avoid the guards.

Val knocked.

After a moment, an older woman peeked through the door’s peephole. Her eyes widened.

“It can’t be… Val?!” The woman, a middle-aged nun, flung the door open and embraced Val tightly.

“You’re safe… thank God… I was so worried about you.” Tears streamed down her face.

“It’s true… I’m back, Sister Irine. I’m home.” Val returned the hug.

Sister Irine asked how she managed to come back, and Val explained she had escaped from the kidnappers who had taken her.

Apparently, she had been abducted by a human trafficking syndicate and had been missing for a year and a half, but managed to flee just days ago.

Sister Irine then glanced at me, curious about the stranger who had escorted Val. Val explained she couldn’t have made it without my help.

Sister Irine thanked me, then her face suddenly changed.

“Oh no… it’s only twenty minutes until midnight! Everyone inside, now! We can’t be out in the open!”

We hurried in. Inside, Val was welcomed warmly by the other nuns and reunited with her fellow orphans.

“Val! You’re alive!”

“I can’t believe we’re seeing you again…”

“This… this is real, right? We missed you so much!”

“Thank you, God… we thought we’d never meet again.”

The children cried as they hugged her.

“I missed you too… I’m so happy to see you all again.” Val returned their embrace.

Sister Irine then told everyone to hide in their rooms until morning.

I asked if the prophecy about the city’s curse was really true.

She smiled warmly. “It won’t happen… we’ll all be safe. God is with us.”

Her words brought comfort to the children, who decided to stay together and pray instead of hiding separately.

Val pointed toward a certain spot.

“We can hide in the basement. It’s safer there… right, Sister Irine?” she said in a flat tone. For some reason, her expression gave me chills.

The nuns exchanged glances before nodding.

“Alright… let’s go to the basement. Kyouze-dono, will you come with us?” Sister Irine asked.

“No… I’ll stay here in the main hall. I’ll guard this place in case the monsters break in.” I gripped my sword.

“Thank you, Kyouze-dono… truly, thank you.” She and the others expressed their gratitude before leading the children down to the basement.

Before leaving, Val turned to me.

“See you, Kyouze… I wish we had more time together. It’s a shame.” She smiled, but I could tell it was a smile hiding sadness.

I wanted to ask what she meant, but she was already gone.

Now I stood alone in the orphanage’s grand hall, surrounded by statues of gods and goddesses I didn’t recognize.

I waited… only ten minutes until midnight.

I sat on a bench, memories surfacing. There was a time when I almost ended up in an orphanage myself after my parents, uncle, and aunt died.

My relatives wanted to send me away because my grandfather, the only one left was gravely ill in the hospital.

But he suddenly came for me, still wearing his hospital gown, and took me home. He chose to care for me despite his sickness.

I could still see his smile… the smile that saved me from the same fate as these children. Maybe… that’s why I was willing to protect this place.

“Grandpa… are you proud of me now? I hope you’re smiling in heaven with Mom, Dad, Uncle, and Aunt… I’ll be joining you soon…”

I didn’t know why I said that.

Then the orphanage’s bell rang loudly at this midnight. The sound echoed through the entire city.

The air grew heavy and suffocating.

I tightened my grip on my sword.

Suddenly, a system notification appeared before me:

[QUEST: FLOOR 3 CLEARED!]

[FLOOR 3 DUNGEON BOSS AWAKENED!!]

[WARNING!! YOU ARE IN THE BOSS’S TERRITORY!! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!]

“What the hell?! Where’s the boss?!” I shouted, scanning the room.

Then I heard it....A loud, blood-curdling scream.

It was coming from the basement.

“…No way…”

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