God's Weapon (7)
The cave was pitch-black and damp, without a single ray of sunlight. Sparse patches of medicinal herbs grew from the floor, and somewhere in the dark, water dripped steadily.
"It's way too dark in here."
"One moment."
Fwoosh—
Hans lit the torch he'd brought and drove back the darkness. Without it, the cave was so black you couldn't see an inch in front of your face. They had only stepped a few paces in from the sun-drenched outside, and already a lightless dark had swallowed everything.
"This dark after just a few steps… yeah, a dungeon's still a dungeon."
Cale lightly furrowed her brow.
So this is a dungeon…
Kenis felt a chill run through her as the reality sank in—this was a place where the laws of the outside world no longer applied.
"Mm, cooler than I expected."
Cale rubbed her arms, goosebumps rising along her skin.
"Well, it is a cave. Bound to be a little cold."
"True. Maybe I should've worn something longer."
Hans cut in before the two of them could settle into idle chatter.
"Holy Knights, shall we head a bit farther in? The place where I received the God's Weapon is deeper inside this cave."
He led Kenis and Cale inward. The two hurried after him.
Hans strode ahead without hesitation, torchlight sending shadows dancing and writhing along the walls.
"……"
Once the party vanished into the depths, a figure rose silently from the shadows where they had stood. Its eyes followed the red hair swaying as it disappeared deeper into the cave.
"That red hair… those golden eyes… could it be…?"
The figure paused, weighing something, then drew a crystal orb from its robes and began to whisper.
"Yes, it's me…. Regarding the operation this time…."
After a long murmur into the orb, the figure tucked it away again and melted back into the dark.
Eyes the color of blue fire flickered as they vanished, still fixed on the depths of the cave.
Hans and the others wandered the twisting passages for a long while, searching for the hole Hans claimed to have fallen through.
"Tsk. It was definitely around here…."
"Hans, are you sure this is the place? You said you fell through a hole, but the floor is solid stone everywhere."
Cale tapped the rock with the tip of her boot. Hans shook his head, looking thoroughly wronged.
"I remember it clearly! I was gathering herbs when the ground suddenly gave way and I fell!"
But no matter how carefully they searched, there was no hole large enough for a person—not even a bug hole. Kenis let out a long sigh and shook her head.
Torchlight along the walls flickered across her face.
"Hans, maybe this isn't it. Let's try looking somewhere else."
"But…. It was definitely around here…."
Hans was muttering and shifting his feet when Kenis felt a sudden chill at the nape of her neck. She snapped her blade up to shield her face.
Shhhk!
A shard of ice tore through the dark, aimed straight at her head.
"Hup—!"
Clang—!
The ice struck the flat of her sword. Cale leveled her blade at once, staring into the darkness.
"Who's there?!"
Instead of an answer, more ice came flying from beyond. Shwaaaak! A dense volley this time, as if the first had only been a greeting.
"Tch!"
Cale and Kenis shoved the still-dazed Hans behind a nearby boulder and threw themselves clear. Ice shards sliced through the space where they had been standing.
"Senior!"
"I know!"
Cale rapidly drew holy power from her bracelet and coated her sword. That would have sent a signal to Demonic—he would be coming soon.
The question was whether they could hold out until then.
"Kenis, can you tell how many there are?"
"One moment."
Kenis pressed a hand to the ground and lightly released holy power. It spread like ripples across the floor. Through the wavering energy she felt shapes racing toward them from far off. At least ten.
"Senior! They're coming! Fast! Beast-type monsters—more than ten!"
"Tch, get ready! Hans! Draw your sword and prepare to fight!"
"Huh? Huh?! Wait, what is this—!"
Hans still wore a blank look, unable to process the sudden turn. Cale's temper boiled over.
"Those heretic bastards are coming right now, so grab that sword and fight—!"
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
Snapping to attention like a fresh recruit under a drill sergeant's bark, Hans finally drew his blade and faced forward. His legs still shook, but it was better than standing there gawking.
In that taut silence, the rough breathing of beasts reached them.
Kuoong—!!
Bear-shaped monsters charged on four log-thick legs, claws raking the stone. Their eyes were bloodshot red, and transparent ice spines bristled along their backs—clear marks of heresy.
"Senior! Cover me!"
"Wait—Kenis!"
Kenis was already sprinting ahead to meet the lead bear. Chaaak! Razor claws tore through the air. A hit from those would leave more than a serious wound. She dropped low, almost scraping the floor, and drove forward.
"Haaah!"
She slipped under the sweeping foreleg and into its guard, then carved upward with her sword. Shaaak! Hide split from belly to skull; organs spilled out in a wet cascade. The bear staggered, then toppled.
Kuheoong—!
Another charged in right behind it. Claws the size of Kenis's torso scythed in from both sides. She had just finished a big motion—no room to dodge.
"Tch—!"
She pulled holy power into her legs.
—Kwaang!
Dust exploded where the claws struck. The space was empty.
Kuong?
The bear swung its head, searching for the vanished knight.
"Over here, you filthy thing!"
Kenis hung upside down from the cave ceiling like a bat, then kicked off again. —Kwaak! Her blade sank deep into the monster's skull.
Kuung!
The massive body crashed down with a heavy thud.
Only then did Kenis catch her breath and scan the surroundings. Five bear monsters already lay dead around Cale, and Hans was doing his earnest best to support her.
This should be over soon.
She started toward Cale—then froze. The one who had summoned the beasts still hadn't shown itself.
"…You can come out now."
Kenis stared into the darkness where the first ice shards had come from.
Jjjeojeok—
Everything began to freeze from that darkness outward. Ice advanced across ceiling and floor alike. Kenis instinctively stepped back from the alien advance.
"Heh heh heh…. What a revolting stench. You cursed slaves of the gods."
A sinister voice rolled through the cave. Cale, just finishing off the last bear, and Hans, still swinging away, both went still.
A cold that seemed to freeze them to the bone sank into their flesh. Here, in this cave, was death—the opposite of life. Death that froze even time itself.
Saaaaa—
Radiating cold, a figure parted the dark and stepped into view. It wore an elegant gray robe, death given the shape of bone. In its empty sockets, frigid blue soul-fire burned.
"…A Lich!"
Cale's face twisted with open dismay. A proper Lich required holy knights by the company.
She kept her eyes locked on it, steadily pouring holy power from her bracelet into her blade.
We can't win with this many…. Land one solid hit if I get the chance, then run in the opening….
The Lich's blue soul-fire flickered with interest.
"Indeed… that red hair, and those eyes shining gold."
Hwaaak—
In the blink of an eye the skull was right in front of Kenis's face.
"—Kh…!"
The soul-fire seemed to pierce straight through to her soul. She couldn't move—frozen solid.
No—her hands and feet were actually being covered in ice.
"When I received the report I scarcely believed it… yet this cursed bloodline still endures? How fascinating…."
Kenis squeezed her eyes shut. Freezing cold pressed against her face; every time the Lich spoke, the nauseating stench of death washed over her.
"…Heh heh heh. Still unripe. How fortunate. A fine harvest."
The Lich drifted back and stretched out a hand. Ice rose from the ground.
Chwarararak—
It took the shape of a staff woven from human hands and a spine. The Lich leveled it at Kenis.
"You, child of the cursed bloodline. You will die here. I shall offer your soul to my lord…."
Kenis could not move. Her hands and feet were already frozen to the floor, pinning her in place.
"Kenis—! You, you skull-faced bastard! Get your hands off her, you filthy piece of—!"
From farther back, Cale charged with her sword blazing with holy power.
But—
"Insignificant."
Pachang—!
A casual sweep of the Lich's hand sent a wave of cold crashing over Cale.
In an instant she froze solid mid-swing, locked in the pose of her charge.
"——!! Senior—!!"
Kenis's eyes flew wide. Her pupils shook with disbelief as she screamed. The Lich chuckled, clearly pleased by her reaction.
"How amusing, the way you rat-like creatures cling to one another."
Its hand swept again.
Pagagagagak!!
This time Hans, trembling far off, froze exactly as he crouched.
"Aaaah—!! Aaaaaah——!!!"
Watching Kenis scream in despair, the Lich laughed with open delight.
"Heh heh heh! How delightful! I can feel your suffering!"
Its soul-fire danced and flickered with the laughter.
Savoring her cries a moment longer, the Lich slowly raised its staff.
"Now—playtime is over. Die, cursed seed."
Blue death gathered at the tip of the staff and turned toward Kenis—
——Kwaang!!
An entire section of the cave wall exploded inward.
"…And who might this be?"
Demonic stood in the breach he had just torn through the rock, breathing hard from the run, sword clenched tight.
"Hoo… tsk— hoo."
His silver eyes found the frozen forms of Cale and the adventurer Hans. For a moment those eyes trembled. Then the tremor stilled, and a hard gaze locked onto the Lich.
"…That's enough of your nonsense, you filthy skeleton."
"Heh heh. Amusing. I would love to play longer, but…."
The Lich's soul-fire pierced beyond the cave wall. Far off, it sensed a nauseating mass of holy power. Even for it, the number of forces converging on this place was becoming a burden.
"I shall withdraw for today…."
Jjeok!
The space behind the Lich froze and split open, revealing the Abyss—a void where nothing existed. Slowly, it began to slip into the rift.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Demonic's sword, saturated with holy power, carved through the air.
—Swaeek!
A crescent of sacred force sliced outward. But the portal the Lich had opened closed faster.
"Heh heh… until we meet again, little rats…."
The Lich's words echoed through the cave—and the split space sealed completely. The crescent of holy power cut empty air and faded into nothing.
Gradually the cold began to lift. The Lich's presence was gone without a trace.
"Hoo… I'm sorry, Trainee Holy Knight Kenis. If only I had arrived a little sooner…."
Demonic turned to speak to her. Then his eyes went wide.
"—! Trainee Holy Knight Kenis? Trainee Holy Knight Kenis! Stay with me! Kenis!!"
The tips of her red hair were turning blue. Her hands and feet had gone blue as well, and she was trembling violently.
No matter how he called, she did not respond.
"Damn it—Kenis! Can you hear me?!"
He had to get her to a priest.
Demonic stripped off his outer garment, wrapped it around her, hoisted her onto his back, and kicked off the ground.
No. Not twice. Please—not twice in front of me!!
Pouring holy power into Kenis without pause, Demonic burst out of the cave.
It was my first day off in a week, and I had no plans for the weekend.
I was sprawled out, idly surfing the internet and doing absolutely nothing.
Ping-pong—
For the first time ever, the idle game that had never once sent a notification pushed one to my phone.
"What?"
Curious, I checked it at once.
A Hero-class Adventurer has visited the inn!
My eyes went wide. It shows up the moment you buy the package! This is why you spend money on games!
"Hell yeah. Let's see who showed up."
In high spirits, I hurried to log into the game.