Chapter 157
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Kobolds and the Underground Labyrinth
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ㅡKyuk!
We smashed the skulls of every kobold we came across as we pushed forward.
It was nothing short of a kobold serial killing spree, but somehow, thanks to Elise fervently proclaiming it as justice, this excessive slaughter turned into something akin to a holy martyrdom.
"The Lord will bless us, Saint. Do you feel it? Doesn't something well up in your chest? That is the pious heart."
"I have no damn clue if this burning, violent impulse is really piety."
"Precisely. The proper use of violence is the truth that drives out evil."
"Maybe this world is fundamentally broken."
Elise, who had been moping around, had regained her vigor before we knew it. Smashing the heads of evil monsters had cheered her up a bit. As expected, nothing beats stress relief when you're down in the dumps. Though, I wondered if pulverizing someone else's brain was the best method.
"Blacky, lower your head for a sec."
Winia picked up a intact hood and said to me.
"...You're gonna put that on me?"
"You know it. Hurry up and wear it."
"Sigh."
I flipped the sinister hood over my head at her insistence. The heretical symbol on the forehead. For some reason, it felt like dark tentacles were slithering into my mind...! Just kidding. A mere scrap of cloth couldn't possibly have that kind of power.
Elise gave me a complicated look, but what could be done?
"Kyaa. Blacky looks cute. Wear that all day today."
No, did we come to an amusement park?
"Well. It gives like 1 defense anyway."
It was equipment, technically.
That aside, a question arose.
Why the hell were these things wearing hoods? They didn't make them themselves and slap them on, that much was sure. Some intelligent race with sinister motives must have crafted them and forced them onto the kobolds. Cultists or whatever. Fallen dwarves, maybe.
...Why, though?
Why go to the trouble of meticulously sewing hoods just to put them on these idiot kobolds? It was utterly incomprehensible to someone with normal reasoning like me.
Maybe they had some ritual significance?
There had to be a reason, but it was beyond me.
Such idle thoughts faded as we plunged deeper into the ruins without hesitation.
We followed the straight path, encountering several empty rooms along the way. I hoped for artifacts or something, but there were no real finds. We'd check a room, move on, and more hooded kobolds would appear.
And so it continued.
ㅡKyuk!
ㅡKyuruk!!
"I'll handle them."
Two kobold warriors charged at us, snarling viciously. Warriors. As expected of ones born as fighters, their bulging upper bodies rippled with dynamic muscle. The veins popping on their thick arms spoke to their toughness.
Good experience points!
"ㅡTorrent Slash."
They were shorter and lighter than me anyway.
Compared to me with my sword, their reach was laughable. That was that. I slashed diagonally downward, killing one, then twisted my wrist for an upward cut that cleaved the second one's chest.
A finishing kick, and done.
Two was a breeze.
I sheathed my blade quietly, channeling my resentment and sorrow for this war-torn world. Why... wouldn't wars ever end? Why were humans so foolish?
"Blacky putting on a show again."
Then Winia took a jab at me.
"...You mages wouldn't understand a swordsman's nobility."
"What bullshit?"
"Unlike mages, swordsmen offer a farewell of reverence and respect even to foes felled simply. Winia, you could learn from this swordsman's mindset. It calms the anger and steadies the mind. How about ditching evil sorcery for the way of the blade?"
"Sis. Check Blacky's condition."
I thought it was a pretty cool line, but Winia looked at me like I was insane.
"Katt... You're acting extra weird today? You sick? Come here."
Cloudy reached out with a worried expression, pressing her hand to my forehead. "No fever?" She seemed genuinely concerned, which was dangerous.
"Nah, I'm fine."
I assured her I was okay.
...
...Though, even as I said it, it felt like my madness was creeping in more and more.
"I'm fucking fine."
This was odd.
Just this morning, my body had felt perfectly great. But ever since entering this underground, my thoughts had been flickering, old memories resurfacing constantly.
At some point, those thoughts mixed with current memories into something bizarre. What? What was going on? The underground was calling me... Ominous ideas kept prodding my skull. An inexplicable impulse surged from within.
ㅡThump.
"Hm?"
ㅡThump.
Then, I heard a sound.
"Hey, you hear that? Some noise?"
I strained my ears into the air and asked the party out of the blue. But no affirmative replies came. Winia aside, even Cloudy with her superior hearing hadn't heard anything. That was strange.
"Elise, you hear nothing?"
"...I'm not sure. But."
"But?"
"Something... something ominous. I can't explain it well, but it feels like an unknown something is testing me."
Elise seemed to sense it too.
I started feeling more and more anxious. Could we get out of here? Wait, what even was here to begin with? Hooded kobolds. Sinister heretical symbols. And this impatience clinging to my ankles like rotten mud...
Anyway, all we could do now was push through the darkness.
"Winia. How much longer can you keep up the light magic?"
"Fucking plenty, so relax."
"I see..."
We advanced once more into the depths of the ruins.
ㅡThump.
ㅡThump thump.
The deeper we went.
The sound only I could hear grew louder... Thump. Legend had it that Huang Zhong, the famed veteran general from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, even in his seventies could devour ten jin of meat in the blink of an eye from his seat.
Speaking of Three Kingdoms brought up another shitty memory... No. This wasn't it. My thoughts kept drifting off-track.
ㅡThump thump thump thump.
Finally, the throbbing sound swelled unbearably. I glanced at the party. Unlike me, whose head felt like splitting, the three seemed unfazed.
"Something's there... I have to go!"
Muttering like I was entranced, I headed toward the source. I had to stop this sound. This destructive beat was eating at my mind... It was calling me!
"Huh? B-Blacky, where you going!"
"Katt!"
"Saint! Stop!"
Cloudy grabbed and restrained me then.
This sound! I couldn't take it anymore!
It's calling me!!! Calling ME!!!!
"Let go! This sound is calling me!"
"K-Katt! Stay still!"
"The ruins are our family now!"
"Saint! Snap out of it!"
My whole body boiled overㅡ!!! I thrashed, but Cloudy holding me kept me pinned! Let go! Let... go! Father! Please! Don't make me go back to that nightmarish countryside!!!
"Teeeeeeng!!!"
"It seems the evil energy scattered nearby has addled the Saint's mind! Cloudy! Hold him a moment!"
Elise approached, knelt before me, and began muttering something. Amid the chaos, I inferred it was a prayer to the Lord. ㅡFlash. A sudden burst of light enveloped my head.
"Are you calm now?"
The light from Elise's hand felt incredibly warm. The agony squeezing my head like fire peeled away, and my muddled mind cleared.
"Hoo... Hoo... What? What happened?"
"You seem to have come to your senses."
I stood with their support.
This is weird.
This dungeon is off.
I could tell from that outburst.
"Why is this happening... Katt, wanna try singing?"
"...No. I'm good. That really fixed it."
Cloudy grabbed my cheeks, inspecting my face. I didn't want to worry her, so I said I was fine to reassure her. The measure had indeed dimmed the throbbing in my head.
The headache's cause seemed to be that.
"...Blacky really okay?"
Winia approached with a worried look too. I told her the same, but she seemed skeptical.
But it was true.
The sound had faded, but not vanished completely.
ㅡThump.
We had to eliminate the source.
"Saint. Could you tell us what happened?"
Elise asked with a firm expression.
She was sensing something too.
"Well..."
I closed my eyes briefly to gather my thoughts... and some image flickered. Black background, faint red outline. I couldn't see it clearly, but facing it recalled that manic feeling.
"I hear a sound. Something... pulsating. It messed with my head. I have to check it. That's what gripped me just now."
"A sound, you say?"
"Yeah. You guys don't hear it, but I know. The source. We have to go there."
Something was calling me. Realizing it chilled my body. What entity? Calling me from underground? What friend? Cloudy sighed after hearing me.
"Sigh. No choice. Lead the way, Katt. If that'll solve it, let's end it quick... Can't leave it like this."
"Sis. You even know where that is? Isn't Blacky just delirious from pain?"
"Doesn't seem so. This feels genuine, for once. Right, Kit?"
"You're the only one who gets me."
"Hehe, see? He's normal."
Anyway, to Cloudy:
"I'll sing you a song later."
"Totally fine. Something's there, like Katt says."
Winia wasn't convinced.
"Then why only Blacky and not us? Is Blacky the only fuck-up?"
Somehow, that rang true.
"..."
"Blacky, you really okay? I'm freaking out here, so just tell me straight? Please?"
"...I'm fine. Told you. It's not me; the ruins are messing with me."
"Can't tell the difference."
"Fuck."
Truth be told, I wasn't sure either. This ruin was suspicious as hell. Even ignoring cults or necromancers, luring me like this was 100% shady.
"Then let's head there at once. It'll resolve things. I'm sensing evil energy already."
"...Yeah."
I took the lead. I attuned to the sound in my head to find the direction. More kobolds popped up midway. Cloudy decapitated the ones trying to stop me.
ㅡThump.
How far did this sound go? The ruins felt like a vast labyrinth. Crete. The Cretan bull came to mind... No, wrong! Not the bull; it was Hero Theseus.
A monster slumbers at the labyrinth's end...
The half-man half-bull Minotaur.
At last, we reached the source.
I hoped this weird certainty was wrong.
ㅡThump thump.
The sound came from beyond the stone door embossed with strange symbols. Cloudy spoke in a stern tone, then Winia. Elise followed. They heard it too.
"...I hear it."
"Me too."
"I hear it as well."
Gulp. I swallowed, looked at the party. We nodded and pushed the door. Whatever came out, we'd end it.
ㅡGroooan.
Light from the light magic seeped into the slowly opening room. ㅡThump, thump. The sound loomed right ahead, massive. A gigantic heartbeat? A heart?
"Hm? That's...?"
Something appeared at the edge of the light.
...Kobold? No.
That was...
"U, uwaaaaaah!!!"
ㅡWitnessing the truth, I screamed.
Thump thump!
It was a grotesque abomination made of pulsating flesh!