Ambush from the Walls
After that, we kept marching. Without a single break.
We still had a long way to go, but Lia and the knights pressed on endlessly, eyes fixed ahead.
The knights were knights through and through—no sign of fatigue even fully armored. They even had the leisure for small talk now and then.
Meanwhile, there I was, trudging along in the middle of them, matching their stride.
Damn. This is brutal....
It was pure agony, plain and simple.
Feels just like being a lowly private on a forced march back in the day....
But what could I do? This was my choice.
Lia had given me options, and I'd factored this much into it.
I'm the one getting the help here, so no whining allowed.
My legs were starting to tingle, but I didn't want to show any weakness, so I kept my face straight and soldiered on.
Just as my legs were really starting to give out, Lia slowed her pace and quietly declared,
"We've arrived."
Lifting my head at her words, I saw a massive stone door looming before us.
Covered in bizarre carvings, it screamed suspicious from every inch.
"We'll rest briefly, then enter."
Finally, a break.
As the knights settled in to regroup, I plopped down under a tree and leaned back for some sweet relief.
While savoring that hard-earned rest after the long hike, a shadow suddenly fell over me.
Looking up, I found Lia standing beside me, gazing down.
"Resting well?"
"...All thanks to you, Lady Lia."
"Hearing that makes even flattery sound grateful."
She gave a small smile and handed me a small loaf of bread and a canteen.
Then she pulled out her own canteen, took a swig, and moistened her dry throat.
We were about to head into the dungeon, yet her face was utterly serene.
Watching her peaceful expression sparked a sudden curiosity, so I ventured a cautious question.
"Aren't you tense at all?"
"I'm a Swordmaster, after all. If my mind shook at something this minor, how could I claim to walk the path of extremes?"
Swordmaster indeed.
Just those simple words sent an indescribable sense of reassurance echoing deep in my chest.
"I'm more worried you might be trembling in fear."
"No need. Don't worry about me at all. Just focus on conquering the dungeon."
"Such consideration. My thanks."
You really don't need to worry.
Under the protection of a Swordmaster and elite knights, plus her personal concern? I was beyond honored.
"Once we're in, stay by my side. That's the only way I can protect you."
With that, she headed off toward the others.
She seemed to be checking on each one's condition, chatting one by one.
Even during rest time, tending to the others—a true commander.
As I watched her with interest, time had passed noticeably, and Lia gathered everyone again.
"Everyone, assemble. Form up, and we'll enter slowly."
With her curt order, she flung open the stone door.
She stepped forward first, and the rest followed in turn.
Inside, it's just like a regular cave....
The exterior had that grand stone door, but the interior was a plain old cave.
No passerby would guess this was a monster-infested dungeon.
Of course, no one would be passing by here anyway.
But dungeons aren't usually this quiet....
We'd gone deep inside, yet nothing showed up.
By now, there should be swarms of monsters, bizarre riddles, or something to harass us.
It was eerily silent.
Artificial, even.
This kind of dungeon... I think it was in the original story too....
I vaguely recalled it from the northern storyline.
A horrific dungeon that was dead silent until sudden disasters struck.
As I racked my brain, the memory clicked.
Ah, got it.
The relic that appeared during the northern episode in the original.
I'd heard Lia retrieved it herself from some northern dungeon.
It was insanely tough—even she took heavy damage.
How was that dungeon structured again...?
First off, monsters popped out suddenly....
".....The wall."
I muttered to myself without thinking, and Lia turned back, having heard it.
I startled and looked at her, but she was already glancing at the wall.
Shit, did I just pull aggro for no reason? I tensed up inside, but for some reason, she kept staring at the wall.
".....The wall?"
Sensing something off, she turned fully toward it, eyes piercing.
Her face hardened, and she drew her sword from her waist, bellowing at the knights,
"Left side! The left wall!!"
The instant she shouted, something exploded from the wall.
House-sized gray moray eels burst out, jaws agape, surging toward us like a tidal wave.
The knights who hadn't noticed in time fumbled for their swords, but it was too late.
They couldn't block the insane speed of the oncoming disaster.
...We're dead.
Just as those savage fangs closed in to devour us, a flashing blue light streaked across my vision.
"......!!!"
Lia charged with her sword cloaked in blue aura, slicing off the eels' heads in one go.
The heads of the relentlessly advancing beasts thudded powerlessly to the ground before her blade.
In the midst of the blood fountains gushing from their severed bodies, I—frozen in terror—could only think one thing.
.....Holy shit.
We barely survived that brush with death....
After overcoming the threat, as we resumed our delve deeper into the dungeon,
Lia glanced at her hand gripping the greatsword, reflecting on the earlier clash.
My fingertips are still tingling.
Her arm that had swung the greatsword still throbbed, a heavy sensation lingering in her hand.
Even wrapped in aura, their hides were so tough that the impact still buzzed vividly in her fingers.
Along with that rare numbness she hadn't felt since reaching her realm, she quietly reviewed her memory.
Those eel bastards—they recognized us and struck all at once.
The gray moray eels that had erupted from inside the wall.
They'd waited until we entered their attack range, then pounced in unison.
In other words, they had intelligence.
A presence barely detectable even to a Swordmaster's senses, stealth to hide in walls, durability to withstand aura.
And high intelligence to boot. No wonder no adventurers returned alive.
This dungeon won't be a walkover.
Those ones came from the wall, but they could probably hide in any rock.
The dungeon was full of boulders—meaning they could burst out anywhere.
And who knew how many other freak variants like those eels lurked.
I couldn't let my guard down for even a second.
That aside, what a surprise.
Encountering such bizarre creatures was shocking enough, but the real shock was something else.
The mysterious castaway walking among the knights.
His gait, build, attire—all screamed frail civilian. And that's what made it all the more astonishing.
To notice it before even I did....
Just before the eels appeared, the man had murmured softly.
"The wall."
At the time, even she had tilted her head, but right after, she sensed something approaching from beyond the wall.
No—that hint about the wall had let her catch it a beat earlier.
Detecting a presence she herself had missed, and faster too.
No ordinary person could pull that off.
Hell, having better instincts than a Swordmaster was a pipe dream for most knights.
Not fazed by blood, reading presences on the spot—he's definitely no ordinary man.
Though really, he was just too shocked to react, ending up numb instead.
But to her, he looked seasoned to being splattered in gore.
"This door—you don't turn it like that; you move this instead...."
Look up.
The guy who'd been silently trailing them earlier was now leading the knights through the delve.
Up front like he was fed up with waiting, dismantling mechanisms and traps without hesitation.
As if he already knew all the answers.
Maybe that gaze I felt earlier too....
The look in his eyes when he woke and stared at her—perfectly calm, without a flicker.
Far too eerie for a slave trader's victim.
No normal human could even fall asleep in that situation.
Come to think of it, he said not to worry about him at all.
No need to worry—like he was certain nothing could threaten him.
What gave a swordless man the confidence to strut into a dungeon like that?
Looking back, the oddities aren't just one or two.
She'd just pegged him as another slave trader victim before, so they hadn't stood out.
But once that flicker of suspicion hit, the doubts wouldn't settle.
Some house's knight? A noble's son? Or maybe....
No, all those guesses were pointless.
He'd hidden his power so thoroughly even she mistook him for a mere mortal.
To do that, he had to understand his own strength to the limit.
....A Swordmaster....
Superior detection and control, unshakable composure, exceptional insight.
He wasn't holding a sword, but anything less than Swordmaster didn't add up.
....As for getting caught by slavers....
Sure, some parts didn't fit, but she could overlook that.
The world had its share of eccentrics; one walking the extremes among them wasn't impossible.
Even among Swordmasters she knew, oddballs weren't rare.
Besides, his keener senses suggested he'd reached a high level.
And here she was, blathering about protecting him.
How laughable that must've sounded to him.
"....Looks like I've unwittingly committed a grave discourtesy."