You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

"I don't care what you do!"
Margarita screamed, forcibly spinning the remaining mana in her body.

Even if the mountain were to collapse entirely, would that really matter?
"I am the noble pearl, Margarita!"
And the last hope left in this world.

Even if the cliff were to crumble, as long as she could absorb the surrounding mana…
As long as she maintained control over the domain, her body could easily be restored!
"Do you think I will die like this?! My shield... huh?"

Margarita attempted to cast a shield to block the collapsing cliff.
However, the magic didn’t cast as expected.
The explosive force of the surrounding mana, which should have been sucked into her body and rotated… didn’t gather at all.

Why?!
Margarita, amidst the falling stones above her head, unconsciously looked up at the sky.
"Ah…!"

And there she was.
The woman, who, despite being a completely different appearance than the one Margarita had known, could not be mistaken.
The one she had hoped to be closest to but ultimately never was.

The hateful woman raised her hand, as if expecting Margarita to look at her, and pointed to the top of the mountain.
As if following her master’s words, Margarita turned her head.
On the opposite side of the mountain where the monastery was built.

Strange, towering stone peaks seemed to pierce the sky.
Atop the peak of a mountain covered with eternal snow, untouched by human feet, stood a majestic wolf with gray fur, looking down at the area.
But it wasn’t just the wolf.
In stark contrast to the wolf’s imposing figure, raggedly dressed humans were standing.

None of them were people who would have caught Margarita’s attention.
However, at their feet…
Margarita’s eyes widened in shock.

The pure white eternal snow, which had never been touched by human hands, was now stained red.
This was a scene Margarita had never once expected.
Boom!

The sound was no longer just the mountain crumbling.
It was the sound of an entire world, which had been solidly maintained for ages, collapsing.
"Ah…"

Margarita sighed.
And then it came to her.
Surely, long ago… she had once mocked the serfs who yearned for freedom.

If the eternal snow were to turn red, she had promised to liberate them.
Naturally, that had been an impossible thing.
Just as Margarita had been born as noble royalty, a shining pearl, those born in this land could not leave it.

Height originally symbolized authority.
Margarita had thought of herself as the eternal snow on that mountain peak.
A lofty position that would never be encroached upon by the shabby souls living in this land.

She had believed there was no way she would ever lose that status, and so she had spoken casually.
"If you live by devouring others."
 
Somewhere, Margarita seemed to hear Lucifer’s whisper.

"You should have known that you too can be devoured by others."
 
Yes.
Margarita could not deny the words she had spoken, the truths she had believed in.

A mage is one who uses the powerful forces within their soul to make their beliefs a reality.
Margarita watched the mana slipping through her fingers like the ebbing tide.
The domain she had so long protected was collapsing.

And it was by those she had always considered to be beneath her that it was happening.
"The crown upon your head is nothing but the bloodstained crown of arrogance."
 
Margarita heard Lucifer’s voice speaking these words, as though sealing it.

The mana that had once been Margarita’s was now, like an old servant welcoming its master, being sucked toward Lucifer.
She had completely lost control of her mana.
To Lucifer’s incantation magic.

Once again, to that woman!
Margarita glared at Lucifer with bloodshot eyes.
"Lucifer!"

It was always like this with Lucifer.
Margarita despised Lucifer’s incantations.
"We are chosen, a special bloodline."

Why did Lucifer call it arrogance?
"The hands that paid the price hold no glory."
Margarita had desired so desperately, but had never attained, everything that woman had taken for herself.
Everything Margarita had lost, everything she had given up on.

"Nevertheless, I will faithfully carry out my remaining duties."
It was as if she had never cared for Margarita in the first place…
Crash!
The enormous mana controlled by Lucifer descended upon the collapsing world.

The pressure that could crush an entire world enveloped Margarita’s soul core, a pearl that embodied her inner world, making it scream in agony.

It was an unbearable force.
If it continued, it would be completely destroyed. The world would be shattered.

The soul would die.
‘Ah, yes.’
And Margarita finally accepted the truth.

I’ve lost.
Crack!
The truth that Margarita had so long believed in cracked and split apart with an empty sound.

Just before being crushed by the falling rocks, Margarita closed her eyes.
The rising dawn was too dazzling to bear.
Destroying an entire mountain wasn’t an easy task, even for me.

Moreover, I had to ensure that the village wasn’t affected and that only the monastery and Margarita would be buried, which made it even more complicated.
Fortunately, I had used Yoo Han-ul to weaken the ground beforehand, so it worked out.
And I couldn’t deny that I had been lucky.

The timing was just right for the villagers to successfully climb the peak.
Thanks to that, Margarita’s control over her mana completely collapsed, and I took advantage of that moment to absorb her mana.
Eventually, the fallen mountain completely covered the monastery’s building.

And Margarita as well.
Crash!
Like a wave, earth, stones, and trees swept over the monastery site.

A little time passed.
The artificially triggered landslide finally settled down.
I lightly jumped down to the bottom of the cliff.

Though the ground was unstable right after the landslide, it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t stand properly.
Boss Monster defeated, dimensional rift restored.
Dungeon is now cleared.

Dungeon exit available in 00:03:00.
System will protect the user until the dungeon exit.
 

As soon as I landed, system messages popped up.
Although the system messages weren’t necessary to understand, I already knew.
The mana structure that had been hardened like fossilized rock had completely unraveled.

The flow that had been drawing mana from the surroundings had completely disappeared.
The mannequin, the most powerful enemy in the system, had vanished.
The dungeon was successfully cleared.

"Wow, what is going on?"
"It looks like we cleared it, but…"
Just then, as I had previously mentioned, Yoo Han-ul, Han Jae-young, Son Hyung-hwa, and Lee Hyun-jun emerged from the area where the landslide had been avoided.

Considering they had just faced Margarita, they seemed to be in good condition.
"What kind of crazy thing did you do?!"
Seeing Han Jae-young yell like this, it seemed like he was fine.

"You made an entire mountain collapse!"
"Effective, right? No matter how powerful a great mage is, they can’t stop a landslide, especially in their injured state."
"That doesn’t mean you should bring down the mountain! The trees! The nature!"

"...Ah."
I hadn’t paid attention to that part. Especially since Han Jae-young, being a fairy, probably wouldn’t be fond of harming plants.
Ah, now that I think about it.

"At least I benefited from the fairy magic."
While preparing to bring down the mountain with Yoo Han-ul, I had been observing those climbing the peak.
Though I had equipped them with Robo and given them items, they were still ordinary people struggling to survive.

I hadn’t expected much success, even though I had threatened them to climb the cliff. The likelihood of success was low.
After all, in front of me, people always become vulnerable to the physical pain they face.
So, I had been observing in case I needed to rethink the plan if it failed.

But…
"I didn’t expect you to be playing fairy grandmother."
Han Jae-young, who had taken out fairy wings, was saving those who almost fell and moving them to a safer place.

"It was just by chance."
Han Jae-young responded nonchalantly, clearly irritated.
"I was supposed to gather night dew and some herbs when I was in a trance… But when I came to, I saw people falling off the cliff, so I caught them."

"I didn’t know you were so kind."
"Well, apparently, a demon-like woman had been threatening them, saying they had to climb the peak to defeat the mage."
As a kind fairy, he couldn’t overlook that, so Han Jae-young added something no one would believe.

"Moreover, Da-on’s people were with them… It was hard to ignore the situation. The red eternal snow, I didn’t expect such a rule in this domain. It was an effective means."
Normally, one would ask them to avoid dangerous things, but this wasn’t an ordinary fairy like in the fairy tales.
Anyway, it was a relief that Han Jae-young had figured out my true intentions when I was about to destroy Margarita’s domain.

That’s why I was able to cast the incantation magic.
"Now people can escape the mage’s spell, so that’s good. Of course, they need to get down the mountain first."
"My people will help with that. Don’t worry."

Though I wasn’t sure if it would be good luck for the villagers.
"Ah, I see. So that’s why Han Jae-young was late... Ah, my back."
Lee Hyun-jun, who had been sitting and catching his breath, shot a sharp look at me and Han Jae-young in turn.

"Well, it’s good we succeeded in the clear… but I’m sure there’ll be a lot to discuss when we get back."
"Come on, you retired, so why bother with painful stories? Let’s just leave it, senior. Yoo Han-ul’s fine too."
"This isn’t something we can just let go of…"

"With 1 minute 30 seconds until escape, what’s the point of interrogating us now, Lee Hyun-jun?"
And next to Lee Hyun-jun, Son Hyung-hwa, as if her prosthetic arm was too much of a burden, threw the squeaking arm aside and collapsed onto the floor.
"I really thought I was going to die. It was too much for someone who’s been retired for so long…"

"I’m sorry, master."
Yoo Han-ul apologized politely, handing a handkerchief to Son Hyung-hwa to wipe off the dirt.
"I should have contacted you earlier to let you know the quest might take longer… I’m sorry for causing you concern. Thank you for your help."

"It’s fine. The quest took longer than expected. There’s no one to blame. I’m just glad you’re safe."
Even though Son Hyung-hwa had risked her life to help, her attitude was remarkably nonchalant.
"You’re really… Next time, I’ll pretend I don’t know you, so do better, okay?"

She was making fun of him despite helping, and Han Jae-young was clearly a contrast with his flowery speech. Definitely not every fairy is kindhearted.
Still, Yoo Han-ul offered his thanks readily.
"Da-on, thank you too."

And I wasn’t exempt from it either.
At that, the other three glanced at me with curious eyes.
"It’s nothing."

I didn’t say much.
After all, I wasn’t here helping Yoo Han-ul for free; I came here based on a transaction with the system, so there was no reason for me to receive gratitude.
‘…Although, I didn’t know Yoo Han-ul had completely regained his memory.’

Had I known that, no matter how sweet the rewards, I wouldn’t have bothered to help him. I would have just let him die.
I had no idea how to handle things from here on out.
My head was starting to hurt.

13 seconds remaining until escape.
"Well then, let’s head out. By the way, I wonder what kind of system reward we’ll get?"
"Oh, I don’t care about the rewards. I feel like I’m going to faint any moment."
Lee Hyun-jun and Son Hyung-hwa disappeared, enveloped by the light aura.

Next, I was enveloped in the light aura.
"Wait, this order is a bit unexpected."
Then, a little later, Han Jae-young disappeared.

"…"
"…"
"…Da-on, I know you’re using invisibility magic."

Yoo Han-ul sighed.
I sighed and dispelled the invisibility magic.
"If I disappear after Han Jae-young, it’d be strange."

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
The escape order starts with the weakest, but the return order can have slight time delays. Since it’s an interdimensional move, it’s not exactly regular.
So, it was just a matter of a little deception for now… but to think Yoo Han-ul would notice I wasn’t the one returning.

Yoo Han-ul shrugged.
"Han Jae-young Hunter’s not that oblivious."
"So what?"

I got annoyed and kicked Yoo Han-ul’s shin.
Actually, I didn’t really intend to kick him.
Since Yoo Han-ul would escape the dungeon first, I’d end up kicking thin air… I was just venting a little frustration.

But.
Thud!
"Ouch."

"...What?"
Instead of disappearing with the dungeon, Yoo Han-ul rubbed his shin where I kicked him.
"I’m not some kid who gets beaten…"

"Wait, I thought you were escaping first… What’s going on? Why aren’t you leaving?"
"Ah, I delayed my escape for a moment."
"Isn’t that using the system a bit too personally?"

"Well, there’s a public reason for it."
Yoo Han-ul raised his eyebrows as if in trouble.
I didn’t like the feeling.

"Before coming here, I… delivered Drake’s heart to the ghost villagers in Count Burk’s domain."
"...And?"
"Come to think of it, I thought you disappeared first back then… but you actually arrived a little late."

"That’s probably just a slight system delay…"
"And Count Burk? He was just a shell."
Well, damn.

That meant Yoo Han-ul knew I had absorbed Count Burk’s soul and mana.
And, given that Yoo Han-ul remembered who I was, he probably knew the identity of the one who had done it.
‘Should I just kill him now?’

It seemed like it would be troublesome to go back to Earth like this.
However, before I could make any decisions, Yoo Han-ul, still standing on the unstable ground, continued, tapping his foot.
"Also… I learned that clearing the dungeon doesn’t necessarily mean the enemy has to die."

"...Since when were you so clever?"
But as he said, there was no point in continuing to deceive him now.
I didn’t know what to do, so whatever happens, happens.

I turned my back on Yoo Han-ul and took a few steps forward.
The monastery I had buried with the landslide.
I had already roughly figured out the right location by eyeballing it.

This should be it.
Whoosh!
I shot mana deep into the thick earth.

A deep pit formed quickly.
Yoo Han-ul just stood by, silently watching me.
And, not long after.

A white hand suddenly popped out from inside the pit.
The trembling white hand reached up as though it was yearning for air.
I grabbed the hand and pulled it up.

"...Ugh!"
Covered in dirt, Margarita coughed and tumbled out.