Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Undead Dungeon (3)
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“Aren, Pasha, Mar. You three take the left path. Haribal, Mine. You two come with me to the right.”
At Alicia’s command, Aren immediately led Pasha and Mar off toward the left passage.
After confirming the torchlight fading away, we set off toward the right passage as well.
With three torches gone, the surroundings grew much darker.
Normally, monsters should have swarmed us the moment we entered the passage.
We were supposed to fight them off while lighting the torches and returning to the center to begin the boss battle. That was the standard procedure.
‘Why aren’t they coming?’
For some reason, the right passage was completely empty.
No sign of any monsters appearing.
“Are monsters supposed to appear here?”
“Th-that’s right, but… something’s off…”
Mine felt the same unease I did.
“What do you mean?”
“……By any chance, have you seen any wraith-type monsters since we got here?”
‘That’s true.’
The discomfort she sensed was something I hadn’t even considered.
The trash mobs in the Undead Dungeon were mainly skeletons, zombies, and wraiths.
The boss, Negalroun, was a skeleton-type monster.
Yet during our rush here, the only monsters we’d seen were skeletons and zombies.
In truth, the core of the Undead Dungeon was the wraith-types.
Wraith monsters halved physical damage and possessed intelligence, as they were formed from the grudging souls of the sacrificed.
“Back then… I saw so many. It made it all the more heartbreaking. The souls of those who had protected the Empire in the past seemed to be toying around as the Evil God’s playthings…”
Even for Mine, facing wraith-type monsters would have made it hard to casually smash their heads.
Her past connections might have appeared as enemies.
“Hmm… Junior. Have you ever seen monsters in a dungeon naturally dissipate?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Then there are only two possibilities. They’ve gone to their master, or they’ve gone to the enemy.”
‘If it’s the enemy…’
My gaze instinctively turned toward the passage Aren had taken.
Alicia’s words made perfect sense.
The monsters’ enemy was us, the intruders.
Now that we’d split into two groups and this side had no enemies, it meant all the remaining monsters had swarmed Aren’s side, right?
Even for Aren, could he handle that many while protecting Pasha and Mar?
It might be better to join them now and light the torches one by one.
“Senior.”
“Once you’ve made your choice, take responsibility for it.”
Before I could speak, Alicia cut me off with a cold voice.
She must have guessed my thoughts.
“Didn’t you trust him and assign him that role?”
“……”
“Then trust him to the end. Your junior’s judgment and that boy’s sword.”
Alicia’s eyes were telling me not to waver.
“If we head that way now, it’ll only cause more chaos. In the worst case, we’d lose this path to the monsters too. Our job is to take down the boss. Don’t mistake your role.”
My head cooled sharply.
‘Right. Even if we went to Aren, we’d have to come back here eventually. If the torches go out in the meantime, it’s all for nothing.’
He’ll keep the path lit until we defeat the boss.
Aren himself had said so.
“No. I was just about to say we should hurry ahead. If we rush into the boss fight, it’ll lighten their burden too.”
With that, we pressed forward again.
In the darkness, all we could hear was our breathing and the occasional drip of water.
No clashing of swords, no screams.
How much time passed?
We arrived at an empty brazier without encountering a single monster.
Lighting it sent a brilliant pillar of flame shooting up toward the ceiling.
As the blazing torch burned, the dungeon’s darkness began to lift bit by bit.
I immediately looked toward the opposite wall.
‘Not yet?’
“This torch is lit. Let’s hurry back.”
“But…!”
“Mine. It’s fine. Trust those three.”
At my words, Mine reluctantly nodded.
We quickly returned to the three-way fork and this time headed down the central passage.
How far had we gone?
Soon, a massive stone door came into view.
“Ah…!”
A small exclamation escaped Mine’s lips.
The stone door bore a pattern like that of a church. It was the very door that had wrought tragedy by her hand, right before her eyes.
“It really… took so long… to make it back here…”
A single tear streamed down Mine’s cheek.
Even then, the surroundings remained shrouded in darkness.
While we lit the torches and reached the boss room entrance, there had been no word from the left passage.
‘……Time-wise, their torch should be lit by now.’
Alicia’s expression wasn’t good either.
Once you’ve made your choice, take responsibility for it.
That applied to her as well, since she’d included Pasha and Mar in this plan.
It was then.
“Ah…!!”
A faint light leaked from the end of the left passage.
The light grew stronger, becoming a brilliant pillar of flame rising above the wall.
Their torch had been lit.
‘Good.’
Seeing the dungeon’s darkness fully lift, I inwardly cheered.
“You did it! I knew I could count on you!”
Alicia shouted openly.
She must have been worried too.
‘Then it’s our turn now?’
All three pairs of eyes turned to the tightly shut stone door.
The torches could go out at any moment.
So we had to enter the boss fight now, while both torches were still fully lit.
“Mine. Open it.”
At Alicia’s words, Mine reached out.
But her hand stopped short of the handle, wandering aimlessly in the air like it had lost its way.
How many had met their end with that one gesture of hers? And beyond that door waited the being who had decreed those deaths.
I gripped her shoulder, which had begun to tremble faintly.
“Scared?”
“……Yes.”
“Then you can’t.”
I meant it.
“You need to get angry.”
At the being that had inflicted an indelible trauma on her.
At the one that had stolen her precious people.
At the existence beyond that door, which had condemned her to a lifetime in a prison of guilt and lies.
She had every right and reason to be furious.
At my words, Mine’s trembling stopped.
She slowly raised her head to gaze up at the stone door.
The fear in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a growing flame.
“I’m going!”
Her hand seized the handle without hesitation.
Kreeeeeaak──!!
With the sound that had once opened the gates to tragedy, the door swung open, and a chill of death flowed out.
Before us stretched a vast training ground.
The space that had once been the heart of the outer fortress had become a charnel house filled with bones and dust.
At the deepest part of the training ground, atop a throne of bones, sat a skeletal knight.
Worn black armor, scarred from endless battles.
A horned helmet on its head.
A purple core gleaming at the center of its chest.
The mid-boss of the Undead Dungeon, Negalroun, seemed to sense our arrival and slowly rose from its throne.
Creeeak.
Negalroun’s hand grasped the greatsword leaning against the throne.
I instinctively glanced at Mine.
Worried she might be trembling again.
But no.
The flame in her eyes hadn’t dimmed in the slightest.
“Haribal was right. There’s no need to fear. No, I mustn’t fear. Not for the sake of those who met their deaths to save me!”
Mine drew her mace and cried out.
“Raphael!”
At her call, pure white light gathered, forming the shape of Logia.
“For irreverent beings, rest is but a luxury!”
As if her words were the signal, I drew my sword, and Alicia unfurled her fan.
Click. Clack.
In that instant, Negalroun twisted its waist dramatically.
An angle of dislocated bones impossible for a human.
Negalroun swung the greatsword with one hand.
Its sure-kill move used at the start of battle: Space Slash.
Shwaaaack!
A single slash that rent the entire space hurtled toward us.
But Mine showed no fear.
Boom!
With a light gesture from her, Logia blocked our front.
The moment Space Slash was halted by Logia’s armor and vanished, Mine shouted.
“Now! Haribal! Lady Alicia! It’s time for judgment!”
Alicia drew up her full mana, and at the same time, I kicked off the ground and charged at Negalroun.
I thrust my sword toward its core.
Clang!
The moment Negalroun blocked my sword.
Familiar gems floated above our heads, signaling the start of the true battle.
[Unique Ability - Action Rewind 0 / 3]
[※Unique Abilities can only be used in boss battles.]