Chapter 238: The Smile of Madness

Location: Seven Crown Seal – Nightmare Trial

Place: Dungeon Temple – Altar

Yuuta found himself standing upon the ancient altar once again. The cold stone beneath his feet, the towering pillars reaching into darkness, and even the countless cracks spreading across the temple walls were exactly the same as before.

There wasn’t a single trace left behind from the brutal slaughter that had taken place only moments ago. The blood covering the floor had disappeared without a mark, the shattered walls had somehow repaired themselves, and even the enormous dents carved by the monster’s axes no longer existed.

It was as though the entire temple had rewound itself to the exact moment before his death, erasing every scar left upon the world while leaving only one thing untouched.

His memories.

Yuuta slowly lowered his trembling gaze toward his own body before instinctively touching his chest, his neck, and finally his face.

Every wound that had torn him apart moments earlier had completely vanished, yet the horrifying pain still lingered vividly inside his mind. He could still remember the sensation of steel cutting through flesh, the sound of his own bones breaking, the warmth of blood pouring from his body, and the overwhelming despair that had consumed him during his final moments. None of it felt like a dream.

None of it felt like an illusion. His body had been restored, but his mind continued reliving every second of that unbearable suffering as though it had happened only an instant ago.

"This..."

His voice trembled so violently that even speaking became difficult.

"This can’t be real..."

Yuuta swallowed hard, his throat feeling painfully dry as panic slowly consumed his thoughts.

"I died..."

"The pain was real."

"The blood was real."

"I... I actually died."

His breathing became increasingly uneven as he desperately searched for an explanation that simply didn’t exist.

Everything pointed toward the impossible. He had unquestionably died inside this temple, yet somehow he had awakened once again with his body completely restored. The temple itself had also returned to its original condition, making it appear as though time itself had been reversed while preserving every horrifying memory inside his mind.

No matter how desperately he tried to deny it, the truth standing before him remained unchanged.

Something inside this place refused to let him die.

A heavy metallic sound echoed throughout the ancient temple, immediately pulling Yuuta from his thoughts.

His entire body instinctively stiffened as he slowly lifted his head toward the towering monster standing silently across the altar.

Without saying a single word, the enormous creature once again raised both gigantic axes above its shoulders. The crimson eyes covering its grotesque face stared directly at Yuuta with complete indifference, making it painfully obvious that killing him wasn’t driven by hatred or anger.

To that monster, slaughtering him was nothing more than a task it had already repeated countless times before.

"N-No..."

Yuuta instinctively stepped backward, his legs shaking so violently that he almost lost his balance.

"Please..."

"Wait..."

The monster showed no hesitation whatsoever.

Its gigantic muscles contracted as both axes descended with overwhelming force, splitting the air apart while creating a deafening roar that echoed throughout the temple.

Yuuta couldn’t even raise his arms before the enormous blades reached him. The axes tore cleanly through the upper half of his body before continuing their terrifying path upward, launching everything above his waist through the air.

His severed torso slammed violently against the upper temple wall before crashing back toward the altar, while his shattered skull struck the stone floor first with a sickening explosion of blood and broken bone.

"Save..."

The broken whisper barely escaped his lips.

"...me..."

Darkness swallowed everything.

Moments later, the same distorted ringing echoed through the endless void surrounding his consciousness. The sound resembled the slow toll of an ancient funeral bell buried beneath an endless ocean, stretching through the darkness before gradually fading away.

Yuuta heard it once... then again... and before he could understand what was happening, his eyes slowly opened.

He was standing upon the altar again.

The temple had returned to its original appearance.

The monster was standing exactly where it had been before.

Yuuta’s entire body froze.

His pupils shrank violently as overwhelming terror flooded every corner of his mind. He no longer questioned whether he had died. He knew he had. That certainty made the reality before him infinitely more horrifying.

"No..."

His breathing became frantic.

"No..."

"Not again..."

The words escaped almost as a desperate prayer while he stared at the towering monster slowly lifting both axes for the third time.

"I have to move."

Yuuta clenched his trembling fists so tightly that his fingernails dug into his own palms.

"I have to move."

"I have to fucking move."

The axes descended once again, but this time Yuuta forced his terrified body into motion. At the final possible moment, he threw himself toward the ground with every ounce of strength remaining inside him.

The massive blades tore through the air barely inches above his head, the violent pressure slicing several strands of black hair from his scalp before crashing into the altar with enough force to shake the entire temple.

Yuuta collapsed onto the cold stone floor while desperately grabbing his own face, unable to believe he was still alive. His heart pounded violently inside his chest as he stared blankly toward the ceiling, struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

"I..."

"I dodged it..."

"I actually survived..."

Hope appeared inside his heart for the very first time since entering the temple.

Unfortunately, hope lasted only a single heartbeat.

Before Yuuta could even rise from the ground, the monster casually stepped forward and drove its enormous leg into his face.

The kick carried enough force to resemble an elephant charging at full speed, instantly shattering every bone inside his skull.

His nose collapsed, both ears burst apart under the impact, and his teeth exploded from his mouth before scattering across the bloodstained altar. The overwhelming force continued through his neck, violently tearing his head away from his body before launching it high into the air.

For one impossible moment, Yuuta remained conscious.

His severed head spun helplessly through the darkness while his fading crimson eyes watched his own headless body collapse lifelessly onto the altar beneath him. Blood erupted from the open neck like a crimson fountain before the last traces of consciousness disappeared into the same endless darkness that had already claimed him twice before.

Darkness swallowed everything once more.

There was no pain anymore, no sound, no sensation, only an endless void where even the passage of time seemed to disappear. The distorted ringing of the ancient death bell spread endlessly across the void, each toll carrying an indescribable weight that seemed to crush his soul.

The sound no longer resembled a bell welcoming death. Instead, it felt like a sentence, announcing that another execution was about to begin.

Yuuta’s eyes slowly opened.

He was standing on the altar.

The ancient temple had returned to its original appearance once again. Every crack upon the walls had been restored, the pools of blood covering the floor had vanished completely, and the gigantic octopus-headed monster stood silently across from him exactly where it had always been. Nothing had changed.

The creature remained motionless, his crimson eyes staring directly into Yuuta’s soul while both enormous axes rested upon its shoulders, patiently waiting to begin the slaughter again.

Yuuta didn’t move.

He simply stared at the monster while every horrifying death he had experienced flooded back into his mind. He remembered his body being cleaved apart, his skull exploding against the temple floor, his head flying through the air after a single kick, and every unimaginable pain that had accompanied those deaths. None of those memories had faded. Instead, they accumulated inside his mind, making each resurrection infinitely more terrifying than the last.

Only now did he finally understand.

This wasn’t punishment.

This wasn’t torture.

He was trapped.

Every time he died, this place simply dragged him back to life and forced him to experience another death. There was no escape, no mercy, and no end waiting for him. The only thing that continued growing was the terror slowly consuming his sanity.

"N-No..."

Yuuta instinctively stumbled backward, his legs trembling so violently that he nearly collapsed onto the altar.

"No..."

"I’m..."

His breathing became completely erratic.

"I’m trapped..."

"I’m trapped here..."

The monster slowly raised one of its gigantic axes again.

The simple movement shattered the last fragments of Yuuta’s courage.

"No!"

He spun around without another thought and sprinted toward the enormous stone gate at the far end of the temple. His feet pounded desperately against the ancient floor while tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. Every instinct inside his body screamed at him to escape, telling him that even the slightest chance of reaching the exit was better than waiting for another horrific death.

"I have to go back!"

He cried while running with everything he had.

"I have to get out!"

"I’m trapped!"

"I don’t want to die again!"

Behind him, the monster never rushed.

It simply watched him run.

Then, with frightening calmness, the gigantic creature gripped one of its enormous axes before effortlessly hurling it across the temple.

The spinning weapon tore through the air with such overwhelming speed that Yuuta never even heard it approaching.

The blade reached him first.

A cold sensation spread across his chest.

Then...

Everything beneath his neck disappeared.

The gigantic axe sliced cleanly through his body before continuing forward until it buried itself deep inside the massive stone gate with an earth-shaking explosion. For one impossible second, Yuuta remained standing as blood slowly spilled from the perfectly straight line running through the center of his body. His crimson eyes stared blankly at the axe embedded in the gate before his gaze slowly drifted downward.

His body...

Was no longer whole.

The two halves of his torso slowly began sliding apart.

With a wet, sickening sound, flesh separated from flesh while shattered ribs became visible beneath torn muscle. His organs spilled onto the stone floor one after another, accompanied by an endless stream of blood that quickly spread across the temple. His legs collapsed in opposite directions as the upper half of his body finally split apart completely, leaving only his head attached to a fragment of his neck.

Yuuta could only watch.

He watched his own body fall apart before his eyes.

He watched his own organs scattered across the altar.

He watched the endless blood flowing from what had once been his chest.

Terror completely overwhelmed him.

"Save me..."

Yuuta’s voice had become nothing more than a broken whisper.

"Please..."

"Someone..."

"...save me..."

The last traces of life slowly disappeared from his crimson eyes before his severed head struck the cold stone floor. Blood spread silently beneath him while darkness swallowed every remaining sensation, leaving only the endless void that had already welcomed him so many times before.

The distorted ringing echoed through the darkness once again.

The ancient death bell rang with the same horrifying sound, announcing another execution before Yuuta even opened his eyes. By the time the final echo disappeared into the endless void, his consciousness had already returned to the altar.

The same temple.

The same altar.

The same octopus-headed monster.

The same gigantic axes.

The same death waiting patiently before him.

Yuuta’s entire body froze.

His breathing immediately became uncontrollable as the horrifying memories of every previous death flooded back into his mind all at once. He could still feel the blades tearing through his flesh, the crushing impact against the temple wall, the unbearable agony of watching his own body split apart, and the endless despair that followed every execution. None of it disappeared after death. Every memory remained perfectly clear, stacking upon the previous one until his mind could no longer separate the past from the present.

"No..."

His voice trembled.

"No..."

The realization finally crushed him.

"I’m dying..."

He grabbed his own hair with both hands before violently pulling at it, uncaring as strands of black hair were ripped from his scalp.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

His scream echoed throughout the ancient temple, bouncing endlessly against the towering stone walls until it became impossible to tell whether the voice still belonged to him or whether the temple itself had begun screaming alongside him.

"I’m dying!"

"I’m dying!"

"I’M DYING!"

Locks of black hair remained tangled between his trembling fingers where he had ripped them from his own scalp. Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face while his breathing became so broken that every desperate gasp felt as though he were drowning on dry land. His eyes darted wildly across the temple, searching for something—anything—that could prove this nightmare wasn’t real, yet every corner of the ancient altar showed him the same horrifying truth.

"I died..."

His voice suddenly dropped into a broken whisper.

"I came back..."

His pupils shook violently.

"I died again..."

"I died again..."

"I died again..."

"I died..."

"I died..."

"I died..."

The words gradually lost all meaning as they escaped his lips over and over again. His hands slammed against his own head as though he could physically tear the memories out of his mind, but every death returned with horrifying clarity. He remembered every blade cutting through his flesh, every bone shattering beneath overwhelming force, every drop of warm blood spilling from his body, and every final breath before darkness claimed him. They weren’t fading memories anymore. They were happening inside his head all at once, overlapping until he could no longer distinguish one death from another.

"No..."

Yuuta’s entire body curled inward.

"No... no... no..."

His voice cracked into helpless sobs.

"Someone..."

His trembling hands reached toward the empty air as though desperately trying to grasp a person who wasn’t there.

"Please..."

"Save me..."

"Please save me..."

"I don’t want to die again..."

His shoulders shook violently while tears and saliva dripped onto the cold stone beneath him. Every desperate plea echoed unanswered throughout the temple, swallowed by an ancient silence that had witnessed countless executions long before he had ever arrived.

Across the altar, the monster watched him without the slightest hint of emotion.

Then, as though responding to nothing more than an ordinary routine...

The monster silently raised its axes once again.

Yuuta never even looked at it.

The blades descended.

Everything turned black.

The death bell rang again.

Yuuta opened his eyes.

The altar.

The monster.

The axes.

He vomited onto the stone floor before collapsing to his knees. His stomach emptied itself again and again, yet there was nothing left inside him except bitter acid. He couldn’t understand what was happening anymore. His body had returned, but his mind refused to accept the impossible reality unfolding before him.

The monster killed him again.

The bell rang.

He awakened.

The monster killed him again.

The bell rang.

He awakened.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Sometimes he tried to run.

Sometimes he begged.

Sometimes he fought.

Sometimes he simply curled into a ball and cried while waiting for death to arrive.

Nothing changed.

The monster always found him.

The monster always killed him.

The bell always rang.

He always awakened.

Death.

Darkness.

The bell.

The altar.

Death.

Darkness.

The bell.

The altar.

The nightmare repeated itself so many times that Yuuta eventually stopped counting. Blood, screams, shattered bones, torn flesh, severed limbs, and endless agony blurred together until every death became indistinguishable from the one before it.

Time itself lost all meaning inside the temple.

Days... months... or perhaps only minutes had passed. Yuuta no longer knew. The only thing that continued growing was the mountain of memories buried inside his mind, each death carving another crack into his sanity until there was almost nothing left of the person he had once been.

Then...

The death bell rang once more.

Yuuta slowly opened his eyes.

The ancient altar welcomed him again.

The monster stood exactly where it always had, silently watching him with its countless crimson eyes. It slowly raised both enormous axes, preparing to execute him for what should have been the seventy-eighth time.

This time...

Something was different.

The fear was gone.

Yuuta didn’t tremble.

He didn’t cry.

He didn’t beg.

The crimson eyes that had once been filled with terror had become frighteningly empty, as though every emotion had been hollowed out by the countless deaths he had endured. They were cold... lifeless... and completely detached from the world around him.

Then...

A smile slowly appeared across his face.

It wasn’t the smile of someone who had accepted death.

It wasn’t the smile of relief.

It was the smile of someone whose mind had finally shattered.

Even the octopus-headed monster hesitated.

For the first time since the trial had begun, the creature remained motionless for the briefest moment. Its countless crimson eyes silently studied the human standing before it, instinctively sensing that something about its prey had fundamentally changed.

The monster swung its axes.

Yuuta never looked away.

Instead, the smile on his face widened ever so slightly.

Because after dying seventy-seven times...

He had finally figured out...

...how to escape this place.

To Be Continued...