Xavier no longer listened to anything the man on the ground had to say. Every desperate word, every excuse, every scream had already lost its meaning to him.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the old man by his injured leg and began dragging him across the forest floor.
The moment he pulled, the wound tore wider.
A horrible scream burst out of the bald man as his body was dragged through the dirt, scraping over stones, roots, and broken branches.
His hands clawed desperately at the ground, trying to grab onto anything that could stop his body from being pulled forward, but the loose soil slipped between his fingers and the small branches snapped under his weight.
"AAAAAH! STOP! PLEASE! IT HURTS!"
Blood smeared across the ground behind them, forming a dark trail that stretched through the silent forest.
Xavier continued walking without slowing down. His grip on the man's ankle remained firm as he dragged him forward as if he were nothing more than a sack of garbage.
The forest had grown eerily quiet.
The screams of the earlier massacre had disappeared, replaced only by the sound of leaves rustling beneath their movement and the bald man's pitiful cries echoing between the trees.
It truly felt like they were the only two people left alive inside the dungeon.
After a while, the man's voice trembled as he forced out a question between his sobs.
"W–Where… where are you taking me?"
Xavier didn't even look back.
"What do you think?"
His voice sounded calm, almost bored.
"You have to pay your debts."
The words made the man freeze for a moment, his eyes widening in terror.
"N–No… wait… please…"
Xavier finally glanced back at him, his expression unreadable beneath the dried blood on his face.
"So I figured something out."
A thin smile slowly formed on his lips.
"I should also feed you to the monsters."
For a moment the old man stopped breathing.
Then panic exploded inside him.
"NO! PLEASE! XAVIER!"
He tried to crawl away despite his ruined legs, but Xavier simply tightened his grip and continued dragging him deeper into the forest.
Of course, there was one small problem.
"We need to find one first," Xavier muttered as his eyes scanned the dark surroundings.
"I think I already killed most of them."
The memory of the earlier slaughter briefly crossed his mind. The wolves, the blood, the bodies that had fallen around him one after another while the constellations watched.
Yet his expression remained unchanged.
Still, there was one monster left.
His gaze slowly drifted deeper into the forest, toward the darker parts of the dungeon where the air felt heavier.
"The dungeon boss."
Every dungeon had one.
The boss monster was the final creature guarding the core of the dungeon. Defeating it meant clearing the dungeon itself.
Once it died, the survivors especially the one who killed it would be rewarded.
Treasure hidden within the boss's lair would become accessible, rare materials could be harvested, and most importantly an exit would appear, allowing anyone still alive to finally escape.
Xavier continued dragging the old man forward as if explaining something completely ordinary.
"After killing it, the dungeon will open."
His voice remained steady.
"And I can take whatever rewards it's guarding."
The bald man shook his head violently, tears streaming down his face as the reality of the situation slowly sank in.
"X–Xavier… please… listen to me!"
His voice cracked under desperation.
"I–I have money!"
Xavier didn't respond.
"I'll pay you! I'll give you everything I have!"
Still nothing.
The man's panic grew worse.
"My house! I'll give you my house!"
Xavier kept walking.
"My company shares! My savings! I'll give you everything!"
His voice turned hysterical as he begged.
"Just let me go!"
At that moment, Xavier finally stopped walking.
The sudden halt made the old man's heart leap with hope. Maybe his words had worked. Maybe Xavier was still the same weak employee he used to control.
But when Xavier slowly turned his head and looked down at him—
That hope disappeared instantly.
Because Xavier was smiling.
"You really don't understand, do you?"
His voice sounded quiet but firm.
"I don't want your money."
The forest seemed to grow even darker around them.
The man stared at him in disbelief.
Xavier then turned back around and continued dragging him deeper into the woods as if nothing had happened.
"I just want to see you get what you deserve."
The bald man's screams echoed helplessly through the trees as they disappeared into the darkness of the dungeon.