The Boss Wants to Die - Chapter 61

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The boss wants to die.
Episode 61
Most of them had gentle eyes, so this was rare to witness.
I gripped my sweaty palm and stared at Aktr.
I thought he’d accept the invitation right away, but he kept hesitating, gnawing at my nerves.
I stopped examining his nearly healed back and lifted my head.
“Aktr?”
I didn’t know why he was acting this way all of a sudden, but something felt off about the situation.
I forced an awkward smile and pressed him.
“What is it? Won’t you accept the party invitation?”
***
Eriel clicked his tongue after failing to receive a party invitation for some time.
‘I’m busy enough as it is.’
Once he cleared the dungeon, the Worshippers would never leave him alone.
If he granted the Demon God’s demands, he’d have to grab the money and flee immediately.
But a little while should be fine.
‘I’ve already obtained some of the Demon God’s power.’
He washed his face with cold water and peered into the mirror.
Transparent droplets slid across his ashen blue skin with a faint bluish tint, giving it a glossy sheen.
His gaze shifted to the hair brushing against his ear.
Vivid blue hair stood in stark contrast to his crimson eyes, scattered beautifully across his blue skin.
He squinted and wrenched at his hair.
The strands gleamed like aquamarine gems, translucent in the light.
“If I’d known it would come to this, I should have sought out the Demon God from the start and asked to become a vassal.”
From the beginning, if he’d taken the Demon God as a companion.
Could he have achieved his goal more quickly then?
“Death. That’s the only thing I desire.”
Truly, the Demon God resembled him.
Even in the desire to die.
‘I wonder if the Demon God’s eyes were originally a different color too?’
Eriel’s eyes had not always been red.
They had been the opposite—blue.
More transparent than water.
‘E-Eriel… your eyes… their color…’
Was it a side effect of staring at those crimson eyes for so long? The voice of his dead lover echoed in his mind.
The shock on that beloved face, now colorless.
He still couldn’t forget that moment.
‘They’ve turned red. Your eyes. Your eyes have turned red, Eriel.’
He clenched his teeth and cast a spell.
His fingertips began to dye his hair the same crimson as his eyes.
Eriel pressed harder into his hands.
Just a little more.
If he fell just a bit further, he could finally receive his just punishment.
But before he could atone, there was something he had to do first.
“Don’t worry, Cyrus.”
His knuckles turned white where he gripped the sink.
“Even with the Demon God at my side, I’ll find a way… for your sake.”
If only he had the Demon God’s power.
He bit his lip as he recalled the Demon God’s arrogant face.
[You have been invited to join a party by Eriel Atlantis.]
Finally.
[Do you wish to move to the party’s location?]
He tidied his reddened hair a few times before accepting.
His body stretched like taffy, as though being sucked into a narrow coffin.
When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a cheap inn room.
Eriel’s gaze met a man’s.
The master of the Demon God Helrod.
Aktr Hebgenia.
Eriel pretended to meet the Demon God for the first time, as they’d agreed beforehand, and offered his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She grasped his hand with an air of easy confidence.
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Your outfit looks familiar.”
“You recognize it? I was mimicking the Demon God.”
Helrod answered with shameless candor.
‘She’s quite the actress,’ Eriel thought dryly, his gaze sweeping over her from head to toe.

“Does it look convincing?”
“Your name is Helrod, then?”
Eriel spoke as if glancing at his party window.
“I used a Name Change Item. It cost me a fair bit.”
She shrugged with a playful smile.
Deciding that was enough, Eriel turned and offered his hand to Aktr.
“Pleasure to work with you. I’m Eriel Atlantis. I look forward to clearing this Dungeon together.”
Aktr’s gaze lingered around the crown of Eriel’s head.
Eriel caught on at once—the man was checking his Level.
A tense, inevitable moment settled over them.
Eriel and Helrod held their breath, watching for Aktr’s reaction.
When Aktr finally spoke, his voice came low and sonorous.
“Your Level is quite high.”
“I’ve been fortunate.”
Eriel added quickly, preempting any suspicion.
“It’s rare to find someone willing to party with someone at my Level.”
Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
“As it happens, I have business in that Dungeon. I’ll clear it for you—just sit back and watch.”
Any other person would have leap at such an offer with both hands.
But Aktr remained silent.
He simply regarded Eriel with those fathomless black eyes, his gaze weighted with meaning.
‘Damn it, why is he staring at me like that?’
Then it came.
A sharp gasp tore from Eriel’s throat.
A sudden, violent headache crashed down upon him.
His body convulsed from the shock.
There was no time to wonder why such agony was striking him.
He screamed as if struck by lightning, doubling over at the waist.
Helrod rushed toward him in alarm.
“What’s wrong?”
It felt as though a tight rubber band had been wound around his skull.
His skull felt as if it might shatter beneath the blow of a formless axe, splitting from crown to bone.
He gasped, a raw sound torn from his throat.
Helrod approached and steadied him.
Her composed face split into two, then merged back as everything tilted and wavered.
Her crimson lips, which had seemed to mirror her concern, began to blur.
Then she spoke—words he couldn’t quite comprehend.
— You and I are the same.
What?
Eriel gasped for breath, his face gone pallid, trembling.
— Everyone died before your eyes. Your family, your friends, the people of your Village. All of them.
Eriel wondered if he was hearing things.
‘Get yourself together. Don’t panic!’
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t regain control.
The Demon God’s face blurred into a hazy smile.
— I know. Everyone died. I was even drenched in their blood. But it doesn’t matter. This place is….
Eriel couldn’t make out what the Demon God was saying.
He wiped his neck—slick with cold sweat—with his forearm and raised his voice sharply.
“What did you say?”
When he snarled like a man who’d seen a ghost, even Helrod flinched.
Her eyes—red like Eriel’s own—flew wide.
“What’s gotten into you?”
“J-just now. What did you just say? You said something strange to me!”
“Your condition really doesn’t look good.”
The Demon God muttered gravely.
“What are you talking about? You’ve been asking if I’m all right this whole time.”
“Ah.”
“I’m fine, aren’t I? We can head into the dungeon right away?”
The throbbing pain was slowly receding.
Eriel straightened his back, still gripping his head.
‘What was that just now?’
From somewhere, he felt a gaze as dark and fathomless as an abyss.
Eriel turned his head almost unconsciously.
Aktr was staring at him.
A sudden chill ran through him—the kind of cold that clings to the dead.
Aktr’s aura came pouring down as though it would swallow him whole.
Like a warning.
Eriel rubbed his hunched shoulders, trying to recover some warmth.
‘A kind personality, my foot—it was all a lie!’
Eriel felt duped by the Demon God.
Hadn’t they said he was a gentle, docile sort of man?
Where in this could anyone call him docile?
For reasons unknown, the man was watching Eriel with considerable wariness, and the pressure was suffocating.
This wasn’t a gentle dog—it was a predator.
A naturally vicious beast of prey.
‘Unpleasant eyes.’
Eriel forced a smile.
Though he felt deceived by the Demon God, he couldn’t afford to spoil things here.
The headache had vanished beyond the realm of sensation, leaving no trace.
As though the pain had never existed at all.
‘I need to stay composed.’
He’d have to figure out the reason eventually, but for now, honoring the Demon God’s request came first.
“I have a chronic condition, you see. Ahem, ahem!”
Aktr possessed a weight befitting a top-tier Player.
Level 50—was that really right?
Eriel checked Aktr’s level suspiciously.
[Lv. 50]
Unbelievable.
“Cough, cough! Don’t worry—it passes quickly. Let’s head into the dungeon.”
Eriel quickened his pace deliberately.
He intended to clear the dungeon swiftly.
He was at level 301, and this dungeon was a D-Grade with a recommended level of 60.
‘If I spam Hellfire, we’ll be done in no time.’
They reached the dungeon entrance using the Teleport Scroll Eriel had been carrying.
Goooooo—
The malice radiating from the monsters drifted outward as an ominous chill.
Eriel drew out his Staff.
A red crystal was embedded in the head, and the shaft gleamed in a dark twilight hue, like blood-soaked wood.
As the Staff touched the entrance, a hologram flickered to life.
[‘Worshippers’ Den of Depravity’ Dungeon — Do you wish to enter?
― Recommended Level: 60
― Grade: D
― Type: Finite Dungeon (This dungeon does not regenerate once cleared)]
[Only parties of four or fewer may enter.]
[Entry conditions satisfied. Entering dungeon.]
Whoooosh—
His vision blanked to white, and the stench of rotting flesh washed over him.
Eriel knew the building’s layout as intimately as his own home.
As he strode forward, Aktr—who had been silent until now—finally spoke.
“I’d prefer it if we didn’t have to kill the NPCs.”
Eriel spun around and flinched.
Aktr was looming down from above, as though about to bury him.
If that body fell forward, it would feel like an avalanche.
‘Why is he so massive?’
“I beg your pardon?”
Eriel asked back, his voice betraying an involuntary flinch.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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