73. Untying the Knot (1)
73. Untying the Knot (1)
- 1 -
It was an incomprehensible situation.
Elias swept his gaze in every direction and pivoted, staying on guard. Only after confirming there was no immediate threat did he relax his guard.
'I've never even heard of a situation like this. I entered the mansion, and suddenly I was knocked out. But this place...'
Though he was only advanced-grade, he was a knight.
He had fought through most kinds of battles in his parents' territory and had entered high-grade dungeons several times.
Thanks to that, he could tell.
- Ooooooh...
'This is definitely the presence of a dungeon. Magical domain conversion is in progress. Probably... an undead-type.'
On the surface, it merely looked like a somewhat gloomy mansion, but the true identity of this place was a dungeon where 'magical domain conversion' was in progress.
The Ironfield Marquis house had not granted him a place in the succession, but they had not been stingy in giving him the experience needed to survive and advance.
'No way... does this mean I've crossed over into a demon realm? But the distance is far too great. I've never even heard of spatial movement magic like that.'
Magic like long-range teleportation or large-scale spatial movement was invariably grand magic, always accompanied by omens and detectable presences.
So that possibility was out of the question.
Yet even setting that thought aside, there was something incomprehensible about accepting the situation.
"It hasn't been long since a high-grade dungeon was subjugated inland. Is there really another high-grade dungeon still here?"
As Elias voiced those words, goosebumps crawled up his spine.
A high-grade dungeon was the start of 'magical domain conversion.'
And that meant it was only one step away from harboring the seeds that could turn that dungeon into a major threat.
The elite stage, where it would begin a full-scale continental invasion by drawing in other nearby dungeons.
All the way to that.
The reason the Haisen Kingdom had hastily gathered its reserves the moment the Copherin dungeon was discovered last time was precisely because of that.
They hadn't known how recently it had become high-grade, so they had to subjugate it quickly.
Before it could become an elite-grade dungeon and reach a point where they would have to summon adventurers from the demon realm's border.
But to think another high-grade dungeon existed inland, undiscovered.
That was...
"No. This could also be a demilitarized zone on the national border. If we were lucky... no, unlucky, the presence of the magical domain conversion might not have reached the army... then..."
'It would be within range of movement by spatial teleportation.'
The borders between nations, the points where fortresses bordered each other.
Dungeons grew more easily just inside those areas.
Because human army patrols focused on the national border, the interior borders became relatively weaker.
In some sense, it could be seen as a military harm, but until now, it hadn't been a problem.
'Because it's the national border.'
A place where any nation's forces were always on standby.
There, the Adventurer's Guild's dungeon detection magic couldn't exert its influence, but if a dungeon grew to become high-grade, it would inevitably be detected.
Because the presence of magical domain conversion was so large it would be sensed almost anywhere that wasn't a truly desolate region.
Then, forces capable of immediate subjugation would gather.
The reason Libertas had restricted the energy of her magical domain conversion so that its presence was confined to the interior the moment it began was due to that background knowledge.
However, even if this place was near the national border, it was only slightly better than being inside a demon realm. It was still not good for him.
'Another high-grade dungeon. And I'm currently... in that dungeon...?'
That was when it happened.
Ttakttakttak...!
Elias raised his still-unsheathed sword, on guard against the sudden noise...
"Damn."
And a moment later, he awkwardly lowered his sword again.
Because he realized that sound was his own teeth chattering.
'I'm afraid.'
An ordinary knight would have berated their frozen body here, denied the fear, and made an even bigger mistake.
But Elias was different.
He was someone who could face his own fear head-on.
The experience of acting as an administrator rather than a knight.
And the experience of standing on the battlefield.
On top of that, the experience of feeling jealous while watching his family's peers and knights younger than him who had already reached elite-grade.
All those experiences that ultimately made him recognize his own 'weakness' had shaped him into what he was now.
The reason he was acting this way now was also because of those things.
"A torch... there is one."
Kwajik! Peoseok...!
Spotting a large wooden brazier hanging on the mansion wall, he immediately twisted it off the wall.
With his gauntleted hand, he scooped up the ashes and rubbed them onto his armor, then brought another torch and began scorching his armor with it.
'It's a waste, though.'
Even if it was half-plate, it was an act of actively ruining extremely expensive plate armor.
But this was a survival strategy.
Though shameful for a knight, his armor had few 'scratches,' the marks of the battlefield, so even a tiny bit of light in this darkness could make it gleam.
'They say undead detect the presence of life, but if this dungeon is high-grade, believing only undead are here would be too naive.'
In case he encountered a species that relied on 'sight.'
He acted, believing this small action would help.
"Let's see... good. It really does have everything it should."
Ppii... geok.
Having completed that one task, Elias rose from his spot, drew his sword, and opened the door next to him.
Fortunately, there was nothing inside.
Not even a room.
In truth, this was because the dungeon wasn't complete yet, but he interpreted it differently.
"As I thought, it wasn't a real mansion... is this to deceive the eyes?"
He immediately sheathed his sword, then tore off the door panel he had opened and held it up.
Of course, its purpose was to serve as a shield.
He had absolutely no intention of overestimating his own abilities.
'I'm far weaker than usual right now. And this place is dangerous.'
It wasn't his main weapon, a short spear, but a sword. And having brought a decorative sword, not even a practical combat sword, his combat power was less than half of normal.
And the location was a high-grade dungeon.
He was literally in a state where he had to move thinking only of escaping this place.
If there was a silver lining, it was that the dungeon's current state was in 'alpha testing,' so proper forces weren't deployed inside—but that was information the current him couldn't know.
"...Let's go."
Immediately after, he began to move.
He didn't know it yet, but this was the beginning of the most terrifying and grueling week of his life.
- 2 -
"Hoo... this place is...?"
As Elias walked out through the largest door he had ever seen, he spotted someone sitting on a distant throne, and his eyes widened.
It was because the person there was familiar to his eyes, and also because before that person lay a feast he hadn't so much as glimpsed over the past week.
"Miss Angelita..."
"Come in, Elias."
That someone was me.
During the time he had been wandering the dungeon, I had returned, done what I needed to do, and come out to greet him at this spot upon hearing the news that he had broken through the labyrinth.
With a suitable feast to give as a reward.
"So you really were the Lord of this dungeon."
"Yes. It was me."
During the week he had wandered the dungeon, his appearance had changed drastically.
His handsome face had completely dried up from a poor diet, giving him a sinister look, and his half-plate was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a bizarre armor that looked like roughly torn orc hide had been strapped over that area.
And of course, all the clothes he wore underneath were ruined.
"I wonder if you enjoyed yourself for the past week."
"Enjoyed myself? Yes. It was damn enjoyable. Though, you... no, since you're the master of this dungeon, you would know well."
What had changed the most was his expression.
The air of arrogance that had been steeped in inferiority and jealousy was gone, and the superficial manners plastered on with pretense had also vanished somewhere.
'I'm glad I told Eve to 'moderately' give him a hard time.'
What remained was a venomous desire to survive.
Personal likes and dislikes aside, it was an expression I quite liked.
Starting with the fact that he had survived a week in this dungeon.
"How did you return to the dungeon? Since I disappeared, my soldiers and family knights would have tried to attack you."
Of course, they would have tried.
But with the person in question gone, it was easy to create a fake of a mere advanced-grade knight.
Even now, some nameless knight with altered features and an undead intelligence officer lodged in his head was probably taking his place.
It wouldn't last long, but that was a problem for later.
Now that the man himself was already in my hands, fabricating the circumstances was no trouble at all.
However, I didn't bother to say that and merely raised my hand to point at the meal.
"Is that really so important? You must be hungry, so have some food first."
"Ha... The fact that I can't say it's more important is miserable."
"Start with the soup. You'll get indigestion if you eat the meat first."
"Why, thank you."
The meal began.
Just as I advised, he emptied the soup immediately, then took his time finishing off the entire four-person serving that had been prepared.
"Damn. It's delicious..."
"Eat slowly. I have work to do."
"I was planning to anyway."
The expression that looked like he had deeply learned the value of food over the past week, and the way he chewed thoroughly, were a bonus.
While he ate, I drank tea, read a book, or processed documents brought by other Skeletons.
The time I had been away from the dungeon was quite long, so I couldn't devote all my time just to him.
'Still, thanks to him testing it, I've learned quite a few points that need improvement.'
He was a more experienced and intelligent knight than I thought, and he did his best to survive in every situation.
As a result, I had already discovered about ten weaknesses in the newly decorated dungeon. This would become thoroughness for the next victim.
Though Elias absolutely wouldn't be happy if he found out.
"So. What the hell is this bullshit? If you wanted to kill me, it would have been much simpler."
"It would have been."
"...Could it be, a test? To see if I'm worthy of you?"
He had stripped away all flowery rhetoric, and his words burned with desire in both eyes.
I didn't like that his affection for me had completely transformed into pure lust in the midst of that, but...
Considering the usefulness he would have later, it was a positive change.
"You're not wrong."
"...Then."
The man rose from his seat and approached me.
The sight of a large man approaching with an utterly sinister face might have felt somewhat intimidating to an ordinary woman.
But of course, I felt no such emotion.
Aside from some satisfaction and displeasure.
'Well, it's not like it's incomprehensible.'
Wasn't it common for a human who survived a brush with death to burn with the urge to reproduce?
"That I am worthy of you—"
Kwajik!
"Kuluk!"
Still, if he had any intelligence, he should have picked the time and place.
The man who had approached me so boldly had his jaw spun around, and his large body collapsed toward the floor.
It was because of a punch thrown by a hand made of nothing but bone.
- Tak.
"You, how..."
His lisp was ridiculous.
Coming to his senses, his eyes shook violently upon discovering Evangeline standing beside me, wiping the blood from her fist.
"There was no need to get blood on you."
- Dalkak.
"Right. It must have been unpleasant. Though the blood on your hand is more unpleasant to me."
- Tak.
"There's no need to be sorry. You've worked hard for the past week."
Because it was Eve who had tormented him for the past week.
Eve had appropriately pushed him to his limits, making him 'enjoy' all the 'content' in the dungeon.
And when he seemed about to die, she had moderately intervened to adjust the intensity of his trials, so she was also his benefactor of life at the same time.
Though naturally, he didn't know the latter part.
"Sit down and listen. Elias."
"Ah, understood..."
Only then did he seem to properly grasp reality. The lust had already vanished from the eyes of the now-humbled man.
Not only that, he was already casting his eyes down low, and while doing so, unresolved questions and anger flickered in his pupils.
It was a wretchedness that washed away the remaining displeasure I had toward the man who had tried to force himself on me.
"First... Right. Shall we start by hearing what you felt over the past week?"
"Uh, I, I..."
Knowing that the questions and answers from now on would decide his fate, his voice trembled faintly but was serious at the same time.
As he guessed, this was the final test to decide his survival.
"I am..."
And that answer was relatively satisfactory.