Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Search Party
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After handing the High-Pressure Cleaner to Erzsebet, we kept meticulously cleaning the trap-laden corridor, mapping out each trap's position as we advanced.
"How many of these things are there...?"
"Hmm... It's not just the number, but the fact that these old-looking traps are still fully functional is pretty amazing."
Then it hit me—this corridor wasn't rigged with just a few dozen traps. I'd already spotted well over a hundred.
"I don't think we're finishing this today..."
"We could just use a barrier and charge through, Master."
"Let's save that as a last resort..."
Erzsebet's suggestion was tempting, but with unknown traps deeper in, we held off. In the worst case, something like a collapse trap could bury us alive, or destroy the [Cleaning Zone], leaving us stranded.
In the end, the whole day was spent scouring the passage for traps, and by the time exhaustion set in, it was bedtime.
"Do you need to sleep too?"
"Master...... I do need sleep."
"Yaaawn.... So warm...."
"Alright. I'll set up the barrier. Rio, stop clinging to the incinerator."
While searching for traps, I'd had nothing for Rio to do, so I'd left her alone—and she'd spent the entire day glued to the incinerator. Wasn't staring at fire all day boring? From my view, I was just worried she'd fall in.
"Master. If we're sleeping anyway, wouldn't it be better to do it deeper in rather than here?"
"In a place full of traps?"
"There was that wide spot midway through the passage, remember? No traps, flat ground—better than here, I'd say."
Hmm... Fair point. Yesterday, we'd slept in the hall where Erzsebet woke up, but the floor there was uncomfortable. I could sleep on anything, but Rio probably couldn't...
"Rio. Let's head deeper. Give me the incinerator."
"Eeeeng...."
"Stick close behind me. We have to dodge the traps."
"Master. What about me?"
"You can use a barrier or whatever."
"This way?"
"Yes, yep!"
Not far from the Demon God's Ruins where Ian was located, a group of humans entered a Red Demon Tribe village still littered with traces of the hunters who'd fled in a panic.
"Who would've thought there was a village this close..."
"If we'd known sooner, we'd have handled it ourselves."
Wearing pristine white cloaks marking them as temple affiliates, they scowled at the lingering signs of the Red Demon Tribe.
"Tch. Parasites."
A man openly displaying his disgust for demonkin growled at their guide.
"Hey. How far is this dungeon?"
"W-We’ve reached the village, so it’s not far from here!"
Muto, a former member of Rox's hunting party and one of the first to discover the 'dungeon' and return alive, nodded vigorously.
'Holy shit. Three heroes...!'
As a member of Rox's hunting party, Muto had personally witnessed what a hero was. Most civilians only knew heroes as those chosen by holy relics and had no idea of their true power, but Muto had felt it to his bones watching Rox up close.
Those vicious demonkin were slaughtered effortlessly; even without trained physiques, they possessed superhuman strength and animal-like senses.
Just having one hero in their party had let them hunt countless demonkin—and now three were tagging along!
"Hm? A magic beast."
One of the heroes leading the way, Pattem, spotted a gray-furred wolf emerging from the brush and his eyes gleamed.
"Not demonkin, but... we can't let the Demon God's filthy spawn live."
Spotting the magic beast believed born from the 'Demon God's' influence, Pattem pulled a pair of pristine white gloves from his pocket and slipped them on. A gray wolf snarling from afar lunged at him in ambush.
"Grrr!"
An attack fast enough to rip out a normal person's throat. But Pattem, never taking his eyes off the wolf, impassively snatched it mid-air with his gloved hand.
"Kyeng! Grrr!"
"Tch. Filthy mutt..."
-Crunch! Cr-runch!
"Kaheng?! Kyang! Keng!"
-Snap!!
And that was it. With a short mutter, Pattem clenched his fist, twisting the gray wolf's neck before snapping it clean off with raw grip strength alone—no arm swing needed.
'Insane. Those gray wolves are famous for their tough hides and bones...'
Muto, watching, swallowed dryly and eyed the pure white gloves on Pattem's hands.
-Holy Relic 'Berto'.
A holy relic shaped like a pair of gloves, its power an explosive boost to the wielder's grip strength. It might sound simple, but that monstrous grip was beyond a 1-star hero.
Pattem's strength with Berto was rated as comparable to a 3-star hero wielding at least three holy relics.
"Grrrrr...."
As if hearing its kin's death cry, more gray wolves poured from the brush. Pattem's face twisted further in rage, about to charge and butcher them—when a man with a round shield on his back blocked his path.
"Why get worked up over some mangy dogs?"
"Grrr!!"
As Boulder, the shield-bearer, stepped in front, the wolves eyeing Pattem seized the chance and swarmed.
"Tch tch. Charging like a pack of dogs... well, they are dogs, huh?"
Tsking at the gray wolves, Boulder reached back for his shield, yanked it free in a flash, and hurled it at the pack.
-Thung! Thung! Thung! Thung!
"Kaheng! Kyeng!"
The shield flew like a boomerang, smacking the lead wolf before ricocheting—not to the ground, but bouncing through the charging pack like billiard balls, striking every one before sailing back to Boulder's hand.
-Holy Relic 'Vibnium'
A shield retaining the near-invincible durability of holy relics, controllable mid-flight to adjust bounce angles at will, with auto-return and even magic reflection based on angling.
"All done?"
As the two finished off the wolf pack, a languid woman's voice came from empty air, followed by a brown-haired woman materializing there.
"What the—how long were you hiding?"
"Since the wolves showed up."
The third hero, Mori, chatted casually amid the wolf corpses with the other two, filling Muto with a mix of fear and thrill.
'This is what temple heroes are really like...!'
His old leader, Rox, had been a relic-chosen hero with overwhelming power, but these three were on another level.
Unlike Rox, who just rampaged on relic power alone, they moved with systematic training, perfect teamwork exploiting each other's abilities, and the boldness to rip magic beasts barehanded!
Muto still harbored some fear of the mysterious black-haired half-breed who'd wiped out his team, but these heroes made his heart feel secure.
And it wasn't just the heroes. The temple had attached about twenty knights too. Staying silent to not steal the heroes' spotlight, but still...
"Hey, Muto? Let's move. Where to next?"
"Yes, yep! This way!"
Muto hurriedly recalled his memories and guided them toward the dungeon.
"This the place?"
"Hmm... Looks convincing enough."
Following Muto's lead, the search party arrived at an ornate door embedded in a massive hill that seemed to bury something deep. An alien structure dangling there, with a faint bloody stench wafting out.
"Weird. The blood smell's so thick... but not a drop of blood anywhere."
"Someone clean up after all?"
Utterly unfazed by the heavy reek, Boulder and Pattem traded jokes. But soon they hardened their expressions, formed ranks with the holy knights, and slowly entered the unidentified structure.
"Clean, huh?"
The corridor greeting them was eerily spotless, mismatched with the dilapidated exterior and blood scent—like someone had recently mopped up.
"No life energy at all... Not even a speck of moss..."
The pristine scene—not a clump of moss or grain of dust—felt alien and chilling instead. Realizing someone had been here, they advanced cautiously.
Passing the long corridor, they found another door like the entrance—already open—and stepped inside.
"Ugh... What’s that smell..."
"This is... intense."
The blood stench inside dwarfed the outside whiff. Yet again, despite the overpowering odor, not a single drop stained the interior.
"........"
This time, no jokes. Faces grim, they endured the stench and searched.
"What’s this place? A Demon God shrine?"
"Coffin in the center. What’s that mean?"
The hall's layout subtly differed from their temple but evoked one overall, stirring disgust at demonkin daring to build a structure for their 'god'.
"Passage here!"
"Hoo... Gotta see the face of whoever built this blasphemy."
No sign yet of the 'half-breed' witnesses described or other demonkin, so they gritted their teeth and entered the passage one holy knight spotted.
-Pshht!
"Gah!"
"Damn...!"
"Trap!"
A barrage of arrows welcomed them.