Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Catacombs of Doom (2)
Luciella gathered information about the catacombs from the information guild before departure.
And shortly after, the information guild reported that information about the catacombs had been concealed by someone.
"The Tower of Fire deliberately concealed information about the catacombs?"
"Not the entire tower. Even at the elder level, they can certainly prevent that kind of information from flowing outside."
It wasn't just Gude Belstad who was fascinated by the power of demons.
The Demon King-level beings hiding within the Morian Empire had an excellent eye for picking out those vulnerable to temptation, and those who became their targets invariably fell for the temptation and sold their souls.
"Magicians who seek higher truths beyond wealth and honor are actually much easier to fall for such temptation."
"That's... True."
There was a reason why there were far more black magicians than black knights among the demon's followers.
"Will we be able to catch them?"
"Given the closed nature of the tower, it would probably be difficult. If we were to use the duke's authority to suppress them, it might somehow work, but we should be prepared to be at odds with the Tower of Fire."
"That's a shame...."
Luciella bit her lip slightly, seeming genuinely regretful.
The group was already approaching the catacombs north of Nevan, their destination.
Originally, Rudian had planned to tackle the dungeon with only Elvin, but for some reason, his two uncontrollable sisters joined the dungeon exploration, saying they needed to relieve stress.
"Hmm, would this much preparation be enough?"
"......"
The dungeon exploration supplies Luciella had prepared were quite thorough.
A solid mithril sword, a set of silver-plated daggers, holy water procured from the great temple, a dimensional pouch containing water and food, artifacts with permanent light magic, and more...
'...Not bad?'
Luciella was originally a swordswoman who used a massive two-handed sword as tall as herself.
But the fact that she brought a short sword that could be easily wielded indoors suggested that she wasn't an inexperienced novice.
'...No, she might actually have much more experience than me?'
Each item was astronomically expensive, yet they were quite appropriate preparations.
Come to think of it, in terms of actual experience excluding knowledge, he probably couldn't compare to Luciella.
'Ah! Now that I think about it....'
"Lady Luciella."
"What is it?"
Rudian carefully asked Luciella, having suddenly remembered something.
"By any chance... Do you know a good route for liquidating artifacts or gold ingots containing magical power?"
"Artifacts and gold ingots with magical power.... Did you raid some high-level dungeon?"
"Haha... Let's say that's the case."
Rudian, who had plundered a substantial share from Castle's secret vault, had been very troubled by the lack of routes to sell them off.
Even the cheapest artifacts would easily cost dozens to hundreds of gold coins at minimum.
But the artifacts that Castle personally crafted or collected and kept were on a completely different dimension in terms of performance and price.
"If they're not stolen goods, my ducal house can purchase them. However, spending a large sum at once would be burdensome even for our house, so a large quantity would be difficult."
Then Luciella briefly muttered, 'If it's the magic tower....'
"There's a fairly trustworthy magician in the Tower of Fire. With both wealth and solid standing, he could take on purchasing artifacts to some extent."
'Huh?'
Tower of Fire, male, solid wealth and standing, no connection to demons.
For a moment, someone from the main storyline of flashed through Rudian's mind, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
'Nah, it can't be.'
That narcissist was even younger than Rudian.
As such, before entering the original storyline, he would still be just a rookie.
Then Luciella asked in a puzzled tone.
"The Kepler Merchant Guild isn't exactly small in scale. Is there such a financial strain that you need to sell artifacts too?"
"Ah. That's...."
Rudian's expression suddenly turned pale.
To persuade Luciella, Rudian had been conversing as if he belonged to a group of supernatural ability users.
As such, Luciella was under the misapprehension that Rudian belonged to the same faction.
Rudian momentarily glanced at Maria and Elvin.
"......"
After a brief, strange silence passed.
Luciella, who had been watching this exchange, uttered a sentence that jolted Rudian back to his senses.
"I see, you weren't originally on the same side after all."
"......!"
Her perceptiveness was truly extraordinary.
Maria and Elvin also realized their mistake and tried to salvage the situation, but Luciella's words cut through first.
"Later, I expect you to tell me the whole story properly."
If he said ‘You don't need to believe me,’ Luciella's blade might immediately draw a deadly line across his nape.
With the dungeon right before them, she didn't press for the disclosure of internal matters.
"Let's go. Lead the way."
"...Understood."
Rudian nodded with a sigh.
'I feel like a pig being led to slaughter.'
-Shallow lies are quickly exposed.
'...Shut up.'
Adi had been finding more ways to be difficult ever since Rudian sold the name Adora without his consent.
'Going through a rebellious phase?'
Of course, Rudian would never admit that the cause lay with himself.
***
Upon arriving at the catacombs, the group descended underground through a narrow entrance.
Despite being a cemetery, the rough, unmanaged dirt floor and damp moisture were enough to plunge even good spirits into the abyss.
But the biggest problem was....
"There's definitely an issue here."
Luciella frowned as soon as they entered the underground.
"Facilities this large underground would normally have caretakers...."
"With this much death energy scattered around so blatantly, it's impossible that no one noticed."
The dense death energy pressed against their skin as they descended deeper underground.
This catacomb, converted from an underground prison during the empire's past war-torn times, was quite vast inside.
As such, there should have been personnel in charge of minimal maintenance....
"Someone must have silenced them already."
That silencing certainly didn't mean they were bought off.
"Now, information provider, please explain."
"...Yes."
There was no particular suspicion in Luciella's eyes, but for some reason, Rudian felt a strange pressure from her words.
"To be honest, I don't know why the caretakers disappeared. However, I do know why this place has become like this."
"...Hmm?"
Rudian continued speaking as he recalled the early parts of Chapter 3.
"This is a cemetery where many who died in past wars are buried. As such, grudges easily bore into the marrow, creating negative thoughts."
The number of skeletons buried here had accumulated over time until it matched the total population of the capital Nevan.
Consequently, it was inevitable that the bones of not just ordinary soldiers but also excellent knights and generals would be mixed in.
"It's an optimal place for black magicians specialized in necromancy. However, given its location, it's not easy to approach."
"Then, is the culprit a necromancer?"
"No, it's one of the beings from the Underworld."
"...What did you say?"
In fact, the field of 'death' belonged to the authority of the Underworld, not the demon realm.
The Underworld, symbolizing black among the seven-colored worlds.
This was one of the stepping stones created by one of the Demon King:s currently hiding in the capital.
Like demons who couldn't fully use their power without the Demon Gate opening, beings from the Underworld also couldn't fully exert their strength here without drawing power from their original realm.
"There's a being that descended here with the help of demons. As such beings typically do, it's probably absorbing death energy and raising the dead to expand the Underworld's influence."
In truth, it was a being that had been used by demons and dumped here, but Rudian embellished slightly for a smoother explanation.
After hearing the full explanation, Luciella sighed and glanced at Rudian.
"And you were planning to tackle such a place with just Lord Elvin?"
"We still had a chance of winning...."
There was a reason why 'that being' at the deepest part of the catacomb showed up as late as Chapter 3.
Right now, it would be crouching quietly, groaning, having just recently descended.
'That's why I thought of coming with just Elvin.'
Rudian actually had some sympathy for the being at the end of this cemetery.
It had proudly crossed over to the middle realm, deceived by demons' tricks, but in reality, it was used as a throwaway card by those demons and dumped here.
After biding its time for 15 years, just as it was about to soar, the protagonist Abel's party, having overcome numerous hardships and become monsters themselves, appeared before it.
'Come to think of it, what a tragic life... No, death-life.'
But unlike Rudian who was taking it lightly, Luciella and the others were taking this matter quite seriously.
"The energy felt from inside isn't that large, Lady Luciella."
"Is it okay not to call for the knights?"
"It should be fine."
"Good. Things like this should be cut out before they rot."
When you have a butcher's knife like Maria, there's no need to go back for a kitchen knife.
Before they knew it, Maria and Luciella had joined forces and started tearing through the inside of the catacomb.
It was exactly the fantastic collaboration between the two that Rudian had dreamed of, but....
"Weren't we originally here to gain practical experience?"
"That was the original plan, but...."
Elvin and Rudian, left behind awkwardly, closed their eyes gently at the brilliant explosion sounds that followed.
The plan to increase their experience along with collecting loot was turning to bubbles because of those two older sisters.
***
"Hahaha! Die!"
BOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!
Needless to say, after a certain point, skeletal undead without a shred of flesh were pouring out from inside the catacomb.
Moreover, they were holding rusty blades from who knows where, and there were countless of them.
Luciella and Maria were cheerfully smashing through the army of undead.
"Lady Luciella! There's a Death Knight!"
"Oh! Something with a bit of a challenge. Ah! A skeleton magician too?"
"I'll handle that one!"
Their situation should have been dire, but instead, they were making unstoppable progress.
Without even time to stop them, the group was steadily advancing toward the deepest part of the catacomb.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
The bones of patriotic martyrs who had dedicated themselves to the empire were miserably falling under the disrespectful hands of their descendants.
The magic sword flowing from Luciella's silver sword was steadily shattering arms and legs, and Maria, supporting her from behind, used telekinesis to confirm kills.
GROOOAN....
-Revenge! Until I have my revenge....
-I cannot close my eyes!
"I've already smashed the heads of those who troubled you, so close your eyes in peace!"
At her spirited beheading of the undead, Rudian gulped inwardly.
'She seems to have gotten stronger than before?'
The Death Knight whose arm Luciella had just severed was a fairly competent knight with a battle power in the mid-2000s.
Even with Maria's support, for a powerhouse who could cross into the Expert level to fall in less than 10 seconds!
'Is she a monster?'
Even with the advantage of using a silver sword coated in holy water, this couldn't happen without sufficient basic combat power.
"This is wonderful! My stress is completely relieved!"
"......!"
After rampaging, Luciella wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled refreshingly.
The angelic face was nice, but such a combative appearance was also good to see.
'If only the background wasn't an underground cemetery, I would have been genuinely thrilled....'
That was truly a shame.