That’s right. Victory was already right in front of them...

Watching Nick rush forward with his face drained of color, Silvanus couldn’t help but offer a silent apology.

It’s okay. No matter what, all of them will survive.

With that thought, Silvanus lifted his foot.

"Move."

Nick only had time to hear Silvanus’s cold voice before his foot came crashing down, instantly crushing the skull lying to one side.

[Ding! Congratulations to the artist for successfully defeating the boss. The dungeon will now close. 59, 58, 57...]

The force sent fragments of bone flying. Nick hurriedly shut his eyes and raised an arm to shield his face. A moment later, he had to cover his ears as well, because Daisy suddenly let out a piercing scream. The shockwave was so powerful that the entire forest trembled violently.

Yet the system notification remained crystal clear, simply because it came from deep within their minds rather than from the outside world.

Through his blurred vision, Nick saw fresh blood trickling from Silvanus’s ears, running down his neck before disappearing beneath his clothes.

"Silvanus!" Nick called out in alarm, only to realize that he couldn’t even hear his own voice anymore. Waves of pain slowly pierced through his brain, as if they were trying to tear it apart.

Through his hazy vision, he seemed to see the worried look on Silvanus’s face.

"Silvanus, what are you saying?"

Nick spoke instinctively, leaning forward slightly.

The next instant, his eyes flew wide open, his pupils shrinking.

Warm blood splattered across his face, streaming down his cheeks in crimson rivulets.

Right before his eyes, Silvanus’s abdomen suddenly exploded.

There was no sound at all.

Only blood.

All Nick could do was stare with wide-open eyes, helplessly watching everything unfold.

"Silvanus!"

Nick still couldn’t hear a thing. He only knew that his throat felt as though it had been torn apart. Instinctively, he threw out his arms to catch Silvanus’s powerless body as it collapsed.

He was truly too weak. Simply trying to support Silvanus’s weight was enough to send both of them stumbling, nearly tumbling to the ground.

Nick wrapped both arms tightly around Silvanus, his fingers clutching the fabric of his clothes so hard that it wrinkled beneath his grip.

So much blood poured out that Nick could feel a wave of warmth soaking through his own waist. At that moment, he couldn’t even tell whether the wetness on his face was blood or tears anymore.

His bloodshot eyes locked onto the monster crawling toward them from afar. If he could, he would have gladly torn the creature apart with his bare hands.

Silvanus could feel Nick’s body trembling with rage. It was as though a beast inside his chest was struggling to tear its way out.

Silvanus wanted to comfort Nick. He wanted to tell him that everything was fine.

Unfortunately, this was the performance he had to see through to the end.

Nick... I’m sorry for deceiving you.

Nick hurriedly wiped away the tear on Silvanus’s face, only to realize that he had smeared a streak of blood across his already pale cheek—a stain impossible to wipe clean.

At that moment, he wished with all his heart that Silvanus would open his eyes and scold him.

If only he had been a little stronger. If only he were stronger... then maybe he wouldn’t have had to stand by so helplessly.

[Silvanus really looks like he’s about to die. Is he actually acting?]

[That’s way too much blood. Are you sure this is just an act?]

[Nick, don’t cry! Please!]

[Damn it! These two have to survive! They’re not really going to die together, are they?]

[Even if this kind of ending would be pretty good, I refuse to accept it!]

Even many of the viewers who had believed Silvanus was only acting until now couldn’t help but panic, crying out in alarm.

Nick could feel Silvanus’s body growing colder and colder, yet the countdown continued relentlessly.

"Just hang on a little longer, Silvanus... just a little longer. We’re almost out..."

Nick’s voice abruptly caught in his throat.

His eyes widened in horror, and he barely even dared to move.

Silvanus...

He couldn’t feel Silvanus breathing anymore.

"Sil... Silvanus..."

Nick murmured, instinctively raising a hand.

But Silvanus’s body only slipped limply through his arms, utterly devoid of life.

Time seemed to freeze in a single instant.

From Silvanus’s bloodstained hand, a massive blaze suddenly erupted, enveloping all of them before spreading outward like a monstrous beast licking up everything in its path.

The next moment, even the sky seemed to roar in fury.

All anyone could see was the swirling mass of black clouds overhead splitting apart, revealing a gigantic abyss. From within it poured torrents of darkness that writhed like living creatures, swallowing everything in an instant.

The entire dungeon shook violently, as though it could collapse at any moment.

The livestream flickered repeatedly before dissolving into a flood of crimson warning messages.

[Dungeon collapsing.]

[Dungeon collapsing.]

[Unidentified existence detected!]

["Crimson Inheritance" has been permanently closed!]

A torrent of notifications flooded the screen before everything faded into pitch black, as though the system itself feared that whatever lurked within the dungeon might crawl out and destroy everything beyond it.

The comment section fell silent for the briefest instant before exploding into chaos.

[What the hell was that?! I didn’t even get to see anything!]

[Everything happened way too fast! The tremors were insane. For a second, I thought that thing was about to break through!]

[It was darkness... but not darkness...]

[It can permanently shut down a dungeon? So that’s Erebus...]

[If the Gods fought each other, who would win? I mean an actual war between Gods...]

Naturally, the Gods had rankings of their own, although those rankings had been created entirely by the viewers.

The rankings of their Heirs also played a major role in determining how powerful each God appeared in the viewers’ eyes.

After all, the Gods themselves rarely intervened directly. Instead, it was their Heirs who captured attention and fought in their stead.

But now, a God had descended for the sake of His priest, even going so far as to permanently shut down a dungeon. Although Silvanus was only a newcomer, the viewers’ perception of Erebus’s power had changed completely.

From that moment on, rumors began spreading throughout both the viewer community and the artists themselves—that a God more powerful than any who had ever existed had appeared, boldly challenging Happy TV Network the moment He arrived by permanently closing one of its dungeons. Some doubted the story, while others believed it after witnessing what had actually happened. Some remained neutral, while others had already begun displaying their devotion with fanatical fervor.

Every thought they directed toward Erebus transformed into powerful Faith Points that surged toward Silvanus.

For now, however, he knew nothing about any of it.