Chapter 156
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Kobolds and the Underground Labyrinth
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Flashback montage.
"This is..."
My body was plummeting downward.
Looking around, the corpses of the kobolds that had already dropped dead were falling alongside me. It was an eerily surreal scene, like some massive accident at a space station where the entire crew had perished in a reversed-gravity chamber, their bodies floating and bumping into each other chaotically.
"Death."
In that weightless drift, I murmured the word.
Having lived in this world for far too long, nothing much came to mind except a few intense memories. Mostly stuff about my dad—and the problem was, the guy had a ton of wild stories.
They all replayed in ultra-HD clarity, sharper than ever, turning into a full-blown life-flashing-before-my-eyes montage. Somehow, it made me feel like dying wouldn't be so bad. Like I said, my dad was a bizarre man. He was the type who couldn't hold back his irrepressible impulses.
"Ahh."
The birdman Kim Katt can't fly.
Of course not. No wings.
Birds hatch from eggs with beaks and wings ready to soar, but a mere human like me had no such transcendent features.
"No regrets."
But I had no regrets. I might not have wings, but I had two women by my sides like wings. So, no regrets.
"Bullshit. Actually, there are."
...I crave Mom's homemade ramen.
In the face of death.
No one faces it without regrets.
"Dying."
True to her OCD, Mom's ramen was impeccably clean-tasting. Eating it even made me think her neat-freak tendencies weren't so bad after all.
"Hate this."
Not getting to eat it one last time—that's my final little regret.
"Our Katt's babbling more than usual today?"
"Huh?"
"Something bothering you?"
Snapping back to reality, I realized I was cradled in Claudy's arms. Winia was tucked under her other arm too—it looked like she'd caught us mid-fall.
Oh yeah, Claudy forever.
"Thanks for saving me... Claudy."
"Don't cry."
Having brushed death so closely, tears were streaming down my face. Looking up at the sky from her embrace, it was seriously high up... Without Claudy, I would've been toast for real. Climbing back up would be impossible.
"...Put us down, sis."
Winia said softly. Claudy set us down gently, and I thanked her profusely again, sobbing all the while, then checked myself over. No injuries. If anything, I was worried about Claudy.
"I'm fine. But I burned through a ton of mana?"
She must've used a massive amount catching our fall. Half-crying, I clung to her ankle.
"Huh?"
Wait, where's Elise?
No way she... Just as anxiety hit, a voice came from behind.
"...I can't believe this."
As the dust settled, there she was: Elise, our Radiant Cross Society junior nun, striking a flawless landing pose. She looked okay—no major injuries or anything.
"Elise? You good?"
"...Yes. But guilt's paralyzing me."
That epic landing pose was straight out of a near-future sci-fi flick—like a power-armored paratrooper savoring the moment post-drop. Elise said it from that very stance.
"Because of my foolish actions..."
Come to think of it, right when we piled up the corpses and struck that tombstone rune, light had burst from it. The ground caved in immediately after.
As I figured it, the bodies served as some sacrifice, and hitting the rune was the trigger.
Elise seemed to think the same; her face was gloomier than ever.
Well, sure, I'd have chewed her out if we'd died here, but we're alive. Priority now is regrouping and getting out.
"I'm truly sorry, Lady Winia. My stubbornness endangered us all."
"...Don't do stupid shit."
"Understood."
Standing up, Elise bowed deeply in apology.
"Lady Claudy. I formally apologize. I'm so sorry. It was all my fault."
"It's fine. No big deal? Katt didn't die."
"Thank you for saying that..."
Her usually stoic face, which swung iron maces with unwavering faith, was now clouded with remorse. She meant it, so what could I say? In this era, she was one of the last with a real conscience—admitting her mistakes and all.
"To you too, Saint..."
"Nah. Thinking about it, I egged you on. Who could've known?"
I'd been hyped up and causing chaos too.
Anyway, scoping the surroundings. This wasn't the dirt cave anymore. Floor and walls were all stone. Ceiling was super high—couldn't see the top—but it felt like a massive underground cavern.
Like some huge ruin.
And that damn tombstone that screwed us over? Not a tombstone.
"Dust is annoying... But this is intriguing."
It was a massive obelisk.
This giant pillar pierced the ceiling, only its tip visible from above, making it look like a stele. Covered in indecipherable, jumbled ancient script. Neither I nor Winia could read it.
"Looks like ancient ruins. Smells like treasure."
"Hmm, fascinating. Worth coming here just to see this. Why's it buried underground?"
Mage thing, maybe? Winia started examining it closely, and adventure-loving Claudy circled the obelisk too.
Me? I worried the scattered kobold corpses might trigger something else. Shoving them aside casually, I thought: gotta find an exit.
"Sick of this. Blackie, lead the way. Let's go."
"Sure."
Anyway, onward.
Leaving the obelisk behind, we pressed through this underground ruin-like place. Just floor and walls. No clue, so straight ahead it was.
"Claudy, you're really okay, right?"
"Told you, fine. Hehe. That worried?"
"Worried sick, yeah. Falling from that height and you're good? Not lying to spare my feelings?"
"No issue. Used a lot of mana, but."
I was freaking out inside. My body's whatever, but Claudy better not be hurt.
"Blackie, no worry for me?"
"Claudy saved you fine."
"Still gotta ask if I'm okay, no?"
"Thank Claudy instead."
Winia wrinkled her nose but forced out, "...Thanks, sis."
Hearing that, Claudy grabbed Winia's back and started stroking her bare shoulder. Normally she'd scream, but knowing the situation, she stayed meek.
Legal harassment...
"It's vast. Utterly unexpected... A trial from my stubbornness. I just want to repent."
"Told you, fine. Shit happens in life."
About 10 minutes of straight walking.
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps—not ours. Adventurers? Kobolds? Either way, our Light spell was like a blazing LED in the dark.
Position exposed for sure.
...Well, no light sources despite the noise in this pitch black? Gotta be monsters. Humans would light up like us.
"Incoming. Monsters."
Raised my arm to shield my face with the gauntlet, sword at ready. Footsteps neared. Finally reached the edge of our Light spell's glow.
The intruders revealed themselves.
...
...
"Wh-what the hell is that?!"
A bit disconcerting.
Two hooded kobold warriors approached casually. The hoods split at the nose, exuding sinister vibes. Their exposed snouts and maws looked ravenous.
"Saint, remember...? The day we first met."
"Yeah, like that time. Oh. That bastard."
I remembered.
When Elise and I first met and wrecked that kobold shrine, I recalled beating a kobold in a similar hood. These had the same vibe.
"Then, like before, we kill first."
"Wise words."
The hooded warriors showed no aggression, but in a dungeon, you strike monsters first. Common sense—like dissecting aliens on capture.
Elise and I stepped forward.
Pretend to whistle, then strike...
Grraaawr!!!
Grrraaawr!!!
"Saint!"
Suddenly roaring, they charged. Surprised, I braced for impact.
Grrraash!
One kobold warrior arched back, flexing muscles as it raised an arm.
Brainless monster—thinking a bare-chested swing would work. No armor? Basically begging "kill me."
Thud!
I kicked off too.
Closing in instantly, I stabbed its exposed chest. Squish! Our collision drove the blade deep.
Grrk...!
Yanked the sword free, kicked it flying back. Hood or not, physique same as regular kobold warrior. Easy prey for my boosted skills.
Brutal punisher Elise had already smashed one's skull, pocketing the hood—and lopping off an ear.
"Kobolds wearing hoods?"
Winia poked a corpse with her staff.
"Never heard of it. Blackie, know this?"
"Uh... Ages ago, some kobolds guarded a shrine, so Elise and I wrecked it. Saw one with a hood like this."
"Kobold shrine? What bullshit is that?"
Where to start.
I gave Winia a quick rundown on the rune, my past exploits. She'd half-listened earlier; now she paid attention.
"So the necromancer ties to this rune, and now these shady bastards here? Blackie. Doesn't this scream danger?"
"Handling it. That's why we bail ASAP."
Starting to get uneasy.
Something's gonna pop off, right?
"Maybe cultists using them? Like zombies or ghouls."
Ah, cultists.
Claudy, doodling on a corpse with her sword tip, chimed in.
"Oh, the sewer ones? Yeah, they did control ghouls."
"Another story I don't know? Blackie, always leaving me out?"
"Cut me slack. Happened without you."
Anyway, looted hoods, fangs, claws into the bag. Back on the move. We encountered more hooded kobolds sporadically. Killed 'em all, kept going.
Curiosity mixed with dread about what lay ahead. Cultist lair? Who knows. Dozens of adventurers swarming in from above right now.
Maybe we're in the prime spot?
Risk comes with reward, after all.