Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ruby
Chapter: 36
Chapter: Shut Your Trap
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Revarsen and I began entering through the door that had been hidden inside the cabin.
Once we crossed through the door, a long corridor greeted us.
'This is bad—if we run into enemies here, we'll be forced into a head-on battle with no way out.'
A narrow passage continued, barely wide enough for one person to pass through.
Fortunately, after we went in a certain distance, a wide space appeared again.
But...
"An underground... cemetery?"
This place had a form similar to the ancient Roman catacombs.
A massive underground tomb.
A cemetery beneath another cemetery.
Just how many remains were gathered in this place?
It seemed Revarsen hadn't known such a place existed either.
Judging by her expression.
Our words were completely stuck, so we only advanced slowly without any conversation.
The form that resembled ancient ruins was in some ways magnificent.
It was to the degree where one wondered how it had even been made.
And the thought that followed was: just what were they scheming in a place like this?
'If they were to raise... an undead legion...'
As I imagined it, I felt a chill run down my spine.
With this quantity, they could sweep away at least one decent nation.
The skeleton undead legion seen in the game had been nothing more than enemies that created a spectacular scene in one part of the trailer.
They appeared in the mid-to-late game period, pushing forward with a tremendous army.
But they were defeated by the allied forces of Middle Realm's strongest, including the player, and to users they were half-scarecrow-like creatures that could be swept away by wildly spamming skills.
However, that was only a story from when it was a game.
Now that the materials that would actually become that legion were before my eyes, it felt suffocating.
'I must stop this no matter what.'
Even in the original story, they eventually managed to stop it, but the remaining city became ruins and that was the end.
Because that was what war was.
Even in victory, nothing remained but a handful of ashes.
Moreover.
If those 'beings' from Saint Traval that hadn't been stopped in the original story were exactly these people right now...
'I might be able to buy some time here.'
The time remaining was a little over two and a half years.
I could grant myself a bit of leeway on top of that.
Wouldn't surviving in a normal world be better than surviving in a world of demonic apocalypse?
Stopping things before they escalated.
That was my current goal.
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"Rohan... sir?"
Meanwhile.
Diaz, who had returned after securing lodging, was bewildered.
She looked around her surroundings while glancing this way and that...
But Rohan and Revarsen were nowhere to be seen.
"Where did they go?"
Had they told her they were going somewhere?
She had no memory of hearing such words.
'Did they go somewhere leaving only me behind?...'
She surveyed her surroundings with a hurt expression.
The beautifully setting sun.
The beautiful scenery.
And couples everywhere around her.
'Su-surely... that can't be it?'
She clenched her fists tightly and trembled.
It was because the warning Romain had given her just before leaving Gillard came to mind.
[“She's a woman who's beautiful in face and refreshing in behavior too. I can tell just by looking. She's a fox, a fox. If you let your guard down, you'll get caught, you know? Haha!”]
Why did those words come to mind now?
And why did her chest feel so stuffy?
She was flustered because this was the first time experiencing such a feeling.
She bit down hard on her lower lip and moved her feet.
The thought that she shouldn't just stay here waiting instinctively came to her.
"Ro, Rohan sir? Rohan siiiir!"
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The underground cemetery was a place that felt like a maze.
To the extent where one could easily get lost if they weren't careful.
That was because.
The interior had a filthy dark environment while roads that looked almost similar stretched out in all directions.
Even though we were clearly advancing now, it was enough to create the illusion that we were walking the same path we had just seen.
Nevertheless, Revarsen was finding the way with her characteristically sharp instinct and sense of direction.
Although we did circle the same places a few times and reached dead ends...
"Mm. If it's this pattern... this way this time."
Her accuracy was increasing at a tremendous speed through several failures.
It was probably a speed I could never have achieved alone.
And surprisingly, her guidance direction was the correct direction.
'The smell is getting stronger...!'
I could figure out that much too.
Certainly, just by following behind her obediently, we were gradually getting closer to the demon.
After pushing through crossroads like that for several hours.
We entered the very center of this catacomb.
But surprisingly... that place had terrain so vast it was hard to believe it was underground.
"Wow..."
Revarsen seemed quite surprised too, as she let out a small exclamation.
That wasn't all.
The skull standing tall in the center of that space.
It was none other than that of a giant.
'It's incredibly huge...'
Even the Minotaur we had faced up close had been quite large...
That giant's remains were a size that even that Minotaur would have to yield to.
'What even is this place?...'
Wasn't it just an underground tomb?
This was a place I was seeing for the first time too.
It had been a region that wasn't revealed even in the original story.
Even places seen once in the game felt strange when encountered in reality.
Since I was directly encountering in reality for the first time a place I hadn't even seen in the original story, I felt overwhelmed by its grandeur.
But we couldn't stay here sightseeing forever.
We hadn't come to have fun.
I turned my gaze away and examined the path.
The figures of those we had been chasing weren't visible here either.
However, from here on, even Revarsen was quite flustered.
"There are too many paths..."
It was because paths branched out in multiple directions—north, south, east, and west.
However, fortunately, thanks to the demon's scent getting closer.
I was the one who found the path instead.
"This way."
"..."
"Don't you believe me?"
"N-no. It's not that. I'm just amazed. In various ways."
"If you're done being amazed, let's depart."
"Ah, okay."
The path we newly entered was a single road with no other branches.
Therefore, from there on, there was no need to wander searching for the way.
After advancing straight forward...
"Wait."
I stopped Revarsen.
It was because a small voice could be heard from far away.
Revarsen pricked up her ears too and seemed to have heard it.
Nod.
She answered with a nod instead of words.
We slowly and carefully approached in the direction of the voice.
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The end of the path.
In that place, candles laid out all around were illuminating with fire.
And.
'An altar?'
An unknown platform was spread out.
On top of it were severed heads of various beasts piled up.
Pigs, deer, goats...
It looked like something that hadn't been made by anyone in their right mind, no matter who looked at it.
And there was someone kneeling toward that altar, offering prayers.
Revarsen silently told me who he was through lip movements.
-The gravedigger.
I nodded to let her know I understood.
But...
'Where did the other one go?'
Originally, what I had been chasing wasn't the gravedigger but the demon's minion.
But that creature wasn't visible.
Just as I was turning my eyes to search for it.
The gravedigger opened his mouth.
"There. Uninvited guests. Would you listen to my story for a bit?"
He had already known we had come.
Thinking there was no need to hide any longer, I stepped forward and revealed myself.
"Is what I should hear your last words?"
"Last words... why would you think that?"
"I have no intention of showing mercy to those who have touched the power of demons."
"By what authority do you—?"
"As an inquisitor of the Arlem Order."
Upon hearing the words "inquisitor."
The gravedigger paused for a moment, then turned his head.
"An inquisitor... an inquisitor... you're more impressive people than I thought, yes."
He raised his kneeling knees and stood up from his spot.
"I'm merely a good citizen. Just because I'm a gravedigger doesn't make me a demon."
"That's for me to figure out, so mind your own business."
"Well now. How unreasonable. Well, I'm not surprised. You're not the first person like you, you see."
"..."
What was that supposed to mean?
Did it mean there were others besides me who knew this bastard was a human who had made a contract with a demon?
"There were quite a few who pushed ridiculous reasons at me and drove me into being a demon. But..."
Suddenly, the gravedigger's eyes changed completely.
To the degree where one wondered if he was the same person.
"Now... they're all gone."
A smile slowly crept onto his lips.
"You know why? Because they kept calling me a demon, a demon so much that it drove me crazy. So I actually became a demon! Kuhahahaha!"
The gravedigger burst into mad laughter and rolled his eyes wildly.
"Being a demon is comfortable! I even gained abilities like this, you see?"
As he swung his arm with a whoosh.
Strange vine-like things from all directions wrapped around my arms, legs, and neck.
Revarsen ended up in the same state too.
"Kugh!"
Kwaaaaak!
They were fairly sturdy tree roots.
Had he cast some magic?
Perhaps thinking I had been completely neutralized.
The gravedigger approached closely and whispered.
"I told you earlier, didn't I? Those who drove me to be a demon. They're all gone now. Want to know why? Because I kneaded and crushed their minds to pieces! Kuhahahaha! Making human puppets is incredibly fun, you know? I'll make you my puppet too. An inquisitor puppet! Isn't that just great!"
And he extended his palm toward my head.
'The one before had poison and exploded... this time it's mind control? They do all sorts of things.'
I wasn't worried.
However, not knowing my inner thoughts, Revarsen, who was watching that scene from the side, let out a sound close to a scream.
"Rohaaaaan!"
Something lukewarm seemed to brush past my head.
I lowered my head for a moment as a show.
Seeing that, Revarsen despaired.
"Ah...!"
The gravedigger let out a cheer.
"Woohoo! It worked! Kuhahahaha! A confidant who can enter the Order! Hahahaha! Is your name Rohan? Yes, Rohan. Lift your head!"
I raised my head in time with that signal.
"..."
"Kuhehe. Good, the best! From now on, I am your master! Kuhahahaha!"
Now reassured, he stood right before my nose.
And he grinned as if amused.
"First, for the first command... right. Let's start by killing that woman next to you."
I jerked my head back sharply.
At that unexpected action, the gravedigger tilted his head.
"Hm?"
And before he could react, I pulled my head forcefully and delivered a headbutt.
Bwaaaack!
"Kheok!"
The gravedigger grabbed his nose with a flustered face.
Blood flowed out from between his fingers.
"H-how is this possible? Why..."
Unfortunately for him, such mental attacks didn't work on me.
"Your breath stinks. Shut your trap."