Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 208: Entering the Necropolis

The moment the Golden Goblin King appeared, pale pink masses of flesh lunged from all directions, ensnaring Chloe and most of the party.

Only Leah, who was quick on her feet, and Joshua, who was completely immune to parasite infection due to his mechanical nature, managed to narrowly escape.

After a frantic sprint, the two finally reached the Crystal Cave.

"So this is the Crystal Cave..."

"It's littered with magic stones. Low quality, though."

The Crystal Cave, which was practically attached to the tunnel sector, was home to all kinds of crystals, magic stones, and various power stones. In essence, it was the most important resource-gathering site on the 6th floor.

"Kirik?"

Consequently, it was also a place where many monsters gathered.

As soon as the two reached the cave, beetles that fed on magic stones began crawling out. Their formal name was Iron Beetles—monsters possessed of chitinous mandibles strong enough to shred steel.

About the size of an adult man's head, their notoriously hard bodies were often used as material for armor.

The problem was that no one present had the firepower to kill them.

Leah was primarily a guide and more akin to a thief; she lacked the strength to crack the Iron Beetles' hard carapaces. Joshua, on the other hand, was a supporter with absolutely no combat capabilities. The two lacked the power to break through the swarm.

"We are seriously screwed. I think their nest is nearby."

"This is... a bit frightening," Joshua said, trembling slightly.

The Iron Beetles' primary diet consisted of metals and magic stones. While they could consume organic matter without issue, they preferred chewing on man-made weapons and armor over human flesh.

In short, to these Iron Beetles who favored processed goods, Joshua was a walking buffet.

"Damn it..."

Joshua had never feared any other monster, but faced with creatures that could gnaw away at his near-perfect mechanical body, he couldn't help but feel the terror of being eaten alive.

"Hey, Joshua. Can't you do something with that fancy playing of yours?"

"I'll give it a try, but I'm not sure how well it will work."

As Leah asked while watching the Iron Beetles slowly converge, Joshua began to play, his hands shaking slightly. If these were low-intelligence insects, there was a high probability they would be charmed by his performance and clear a path.

"I think it's working..."

"...."

Joshua continued to play with such intense focus that he felt the illusion of cold sweat running down his mechanical skin. Using his left arm as an instrument, he poured his soul into the performance to bewitch the beetles.

"Did it work...?"

The beetles stopped reacting. They stood still as if frozen. Had his music actually reached them?

"Kieeeeeek!!!"

"Oh, shit!!"

"Run!!"

It hadn't worked at all.

The moment the performance ended, the beetles swarmed forward to devour Joshua, forcing the two to flee for their lives.

They couldn't go back the way they came; the flesh monsters were closing in from behind. Their only choice was to dive into a side path and run like mad.

"Where are we going!?"

"I don't know!! Just run!!! I just feel like this is the right way!"

Forced to flee before she could properly use her guide abilities, Leah blindly chose any path that wasn't blocked. Joshua, following close behind, felt like he was losing his mind.

However, their flight didn't last long. In the darkness, both lost their footing and tumbled down into a deep, dark pit.

Five hours had passed since I began tracking Lady Leah and Joshua.

Finding their trail was insanely difficult. Eventually, I gave up on looking for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠human tracks and focused on the movement of monsters instead. As a result, I found a location where the monsters were particularly concentrated.

"Looks like the Crystal Cave."

"In which direction?"

"It's similar to the path we're taking. If we can veer right, we should head that way."

"Roughly how long will it take to get there?"

"At least another two hours."

"Hmph... They've fled quite far."

Checking through the Gorgon's Eye, I realized it would take another two hours of walking from here. Seeing the Iron Beetles swarming the area, it seemed they had tried to eat Joshua but missed.

"The problem is that their numbers are beyond imagination."

"Should I start calling the snakes?"

"They would be a poor match for the snakes. You'd just be throwing them a meal," Helena interjected.

Helena was right. Their hard carapaces and mandibles that could easily tear through steel were too formidable. Moreover, because they were relatively small and numerous, summoning the Serpent or the Gorgon would be like feeding them. There was a high chance the larger summons would crumble, unable to respond systematically to the tiny Iron Beetles' attacks. It was a fight where being larger was a disadvantage.

"What is their weakness?"

"Hmm. As far as I know, those bugs are weak to fire."

Iron Beetles were weak to fire, apparently. However, ordinary firepower wouldn't be enough to cook them through to the inside.

"We would need at least Lady Helena's flames."

"There are too many of them. Even with area-of-effect spells, I won't be able to clear them all."

Helena could sweep them away with magic, but they were so numerous that they would replenish faster than she could kill them. It would turn into a war of attrition like the one at the ancient ruins, which would only make the situation worse.

Ulysses added that they weren't usually found in such massive numbers; the labyrinth's anomaly had caused an unnatural population explosion.

"Then we'll have to use another method."

"What method?"

"A trick a former adventurer-turned-interrogator told me once. Porter, you know that blue herb? It's a herb... what was the name again? That one."

"What is it? Please be more specific. The taste, or the smell. There are plenty of blue herbs, so I don't know which one you mean just by the color."

There were so many herbs in this world. Perhaps because alchemy existed, all sorts of medicinal plants could be found. I wasn't an alchemist; how was I supposed to remember them all?

"The blue one! The one that smells like something's burning when you rub it. You don't know it?"

"Are you talking about the Fire Flower?"

"Ah! Right! I think that was it!"

Ulysses immediately identified what Freya was trying to say. Being a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠warlock, he recognized the characteristics instantly.

"Do we have any?"

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have one bundle, but that's it."

"Tsk... That's too little. It won't work."

According to Freya, Iron Beetles hated the smoke from burning Fire Flowers. I had planned to burn a large amount to create a smokescreen and head toward Leah and Joshua, but we were blocked from the start by a lack of materials.

"We're screwed."

"I guess we have no choice but to use the last resort."

"It seems so."

In the end, only one way remained.

"Eh? What is this last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resort?"

"First, I'm going to unsummon Helena and Freya."

"And then?"

"Mr. Ulysses, you go back to your soul form as well."

"Wait, what?"

"I'm going to break through alone."

Since there were too many Iron Beetles, I would simply bypass them by myself.

"I worry about what the malice of the labyrinth might do."

"It can't be helped. It has to be done."

I pulled Ulysses's soul out of the golem and tucked the golem into my subspace pocket. With Helena and Freya unsummoned, I was now alone.

"I'll use it once I've closed the distance as much as possible."

Fiddling with the Ring of Intangibility, I waded into the Crystal Cave where the Iron Beetles were swarming.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"Ugh... I can't feel my lower body."

The two who had tumbled down finally opened their eyes. Leah, being light, hadn't taken much damage, but Joshua's spine had snapped during the fall. His body was wrecked from the waist down.

"This is crazy. Can you walk?"

"Can't you see my lower half is gone?"

"I see it now. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark."

Leah sighed as she looked at the broken Joshua. At this rate, she would have to leave him here. Then, a thought occurred to her—that would be a terrible waste of resources.

"You're connected to Sion, right?"

"I am bound by the chain, yes."

"Then if you die, do you go back to Sion?"

"Hmm... presumably?"

"Then why don't you just die and go back to him?"

"What? You're telling me to die?"

"Sion has most likely escaped by now. So, wouldn't it be better to tell him our situation and have him bring a rescue team here quickly?"

"So, you want to kill me and use me as a messenger?"

"Exactly. Even if you don't remember every step of how we got here, you should know the general direction. So, go request backup."

Joshua nodded at Leah. It certainly wasn't a bad idea. If Leah died here, resurrection would be a major issue, and her death could be the trigger that completely altered Sion's personality.

In Joshua's estimation, Sion's current mental state was close to perfect neutrality. He was neither a saint nor a villain. Therefore, if the balance broke, he would lean heavily to one side.

He probably won't lean toward the 'good' side. Having a villain as a leader is a burden.

Joshua didn't want Sion to fall into darkness. Thus, he sincerely hoped Leah would survive. Even if she died, he hoped her body would at least remain intact.

"It seems like a sound plan. Besides, if my guess is correct, this place is..."

"The Necropolis. Right. Somehow, we've landed at the final destination."

The place they had tumbled into was the entrance to the Necropolis. They had crash-landed in the darkness of the 6th floor, a place even the Iron Beetles dared not enter.

"I probably won't last long in this darkness either. So, get to Sion as fast as you can."

"I'll bring him back soon, so just wait a little longer."

Leah opened Joshua's chest and removed his magic stone. Soon, Joshua's body shut down, leaving Leah all alone in the dark.