Episode 1016
Episode 1016
"Move! Upwards!"
The exploration team quickly made a decision.
No matter how tempting the monsters were, or how greedy they felt for the bounties on the criminals...
"Damn it. If we'd just captured one, each of us here could've gotten 8,125 gold coins."
"......"
"......"
Even in the midst of this, the exploration team was astonished by the Einrogard wizard who had performed flawless mental arithmetic.
They hadn't even considered the bounties due to the Empire's notorious criminals and the Void monsters.
In any case, no matter how tempting the monsters were, now wasn't the time to be stubborn.
Whether the Evil God Worshipper's words were true or false, they had to go up, relay the information, and strengthen their preparations.
Crack!
The crystal in the necklace Alsicle always wore shattered as it sensed danger. Alsicle, who had foreseen a brief glimpse of the future, screamed.
"Left! Enemies approaching from the left passage! Dozens of them!"
"Fall back!"
The exploration team immediately changed direction. Almost simultaneously, spider monsters poured out from the left passage.
-■■■■■■! -■■■■■■■!
Without hesitation, Lee Han summoned flames, shaping them into a wall. But he didn't stop there—he converted them into the Advanced Attribute, Blue Flame, and the divine attribute, White Flame.
Blue and white, a cyanic blaze!
At the sight, one of the exploration team members urgently shouted.
"Wizard! Don't waste your mana—regroup with us!"
A wizard's mana wasn't an infinite resource. No matter how many potions or items they had to supplement it, they couldn't afford to waste it already.
"Don't worry about him!"
Alsicle pushed the exploration team member forward while summoning Frost Amulets and distributing them to the others.
It was an illusionary magic from the Illusion School, protecting against corruption and madness.
'How can someone be so cold-hearted?!'
The exploration team member, misunderstanding Alsicle, shuddered inwardly at his ruthlessness.
How could someone with such a cute appearance be so icy?!
Perhaps this wizard had frozen even his own heart while seeking the secrets of frost.
"At least give him an amulet too!"
"What? No! He doesn't need one!"
When the exploration team member pointed at Lee Han and demanded a Frost Amulet for him, Alsicle flapped his wings in refusal.
Like a seasoned wizard, Alsicle was sharply calculating his remaining mana and focus. There was no magic to waste on someone immune to corruption and madness.
'This is too much!'
"All set. Let's go!"
Lee Han, who had summoned enough fire to burn the entire passage, belatedly caught up.
The exploration team member was startled to see him moving at the same pace as the group without even taking a moment to recover his mana.
"Are you alright? What about recovery?"
"Ah, I'm fine! Worry about yourself! Move!"
Alsicle snapped back on his behalf.
At that sight, the exploration team member made a resolution.
Once we get back, I'll definitely expose the cruel true nature of this young genius wizard in the Imperial Newspaper!
"DIE—!"
The half-giant warrior Bashirmac took a deep breath, drew in mana, and roared.
The battle cry of a warrior who had reached the pinnacle of his craft transformed into a violent shockwave, sweeping through the passage. The swarming spider legion was crushed all at once.
But behind them, countless more spiders were still surging forward. There was no sense that their numbers had diminished.
"Why are there so many?!"
"Their reproduction speed is beyond imagination."
Kitarenanum groaned.
No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense for monsters that had crossed the dimensional barrier to boast such numbers in such a short time.
This was reproduction on a completely different level from ordinary oviparity.
"Are they consuming any nearby matter to lay eggs?"
"Is now really the time for magical analysis, you damn spell-slinger?!"
Bashirmac pointed ahead.
Of all the mercenaries they had brought, only two remained. The rest had been swept away by the tide of spider monsters.
Amidst the chaos, the surviving doomsday cultist mage was chuckling creepily. Bashirmac regretted not throwing the bastard earlier.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, flaming arrows made of mana formed among the spider monsters and shot forth.
Though not overwhelmingly powerful, both Bashirmac and Kitarenanum were startled.
They hadn't known these spiders could use magic.
"They can use magic too?! What the hell!"
Bashirmac swatted away the flaming arrows with the back of his hand and roared. But Kitarenanum couldn't possibly answer.
"I-I don't know. Could they be from a dimension where they know magic? But they definitely weren't using it earlier."
"These flaming arrows are clearly the same magic that brown-haired mercenary used."
Kitarenanum flinched when the doomsday cultist mage suddenly spoke up unprompted.
"What..."
"Don't you have a guess?"
-Damn it all! They have absorption abilities too!
The Archdemon Esadojikwa muttered in shock.
No wonder the demons had been wiped out without a trace—these monstrous bastards could absorb the abilities of those they devoured!
Even among monsters, those with such Authority were extremely rare.
-What if we miss this chance!
-Be grateful we got this much intel, mage!
"At least that's some relief. Those mercenary bastards were nobodies. Even if they use magic, it won't be threatening."
"We have to consider if they eat more. If they devour a hundred mages, absorbing just one percent would still give them the magic of one."
"Then you and I absolutely can't get eaten..."
The half-giant warrior, mid-sentence, instinctively sensed danger and shouted.
"Get down!!"
"Wha—"
Kitarenanum, who had been solely focused on the spider monsters, reacted too late.
The doomsday cultist mage had already begun casting magic at them. 'Already?!' Kitarenanum had no choice but to admit he'd underestimated his opponent.
Even as fellow mages, he had overconfidently assumed his superior mastery would prevent the other from deceiving his senses.
Yet somehow, the doomsday bastard had completely fooled them both and invoked his spell.
KABOOM!
"You spell-slinging bastard!!! I'll chew your heart out!!!"
Bashirmac gritted his teeth as his body absorbed the sharp blades of vacuum.
Mages—every last one of them was untrustworthy.
"Pulling an ambush with this kind of magic. How fitting for a lunatic."
Having regained his composure, Kitarenanum confirmed his defenses and prepared to counter.
The ambush had startled him, but the power wasn't particularly impressive. At this level, he could just—
"...No! No!!"
Kitarenanum realized too late and howled.
The doomsday bastard was grinning as he prepared to complete his spell.
"Stop him, you madman!!!"
"What?! What's happeni—"
In that instant, every wall and floor of the surrounding passage melted away. The spider monsters below roared excitedly and surged upward.
The ascending monsters swallowed the doomsday cultist first. Kitarenanum, barely managing to summon new footing, clenched his teeth. 'Damn it! No time to switch spells...!' "Do something, you spell-slinger!"
Preparing an area-of-effect spell required a brief moment to switch.
But the monsters swarmed from every direction—front, back, left, right, above, and below. That brief moment was impossible to find.
Thud!
Then it happened.
Suddenly, the monsters froze. Then they changed direction, heading further upward.
"...Storm, break free and sweep them away!"
Finally seizing the chance to switch spells, Kitarenanum transformed his arm into a storm. The deadly wind pressure wiped out the surrounding monsters.
Bashirmac shook off the monster's bodily fluids and shell fragments before asking,
"Why are they suddenly trying to go up?"
"No idea. Did they find new prey? Something more appetizing than us..."
"Ha! Do you really think that makes sense?"
Even in the midst of this, the half-giant warrior refused to let go of his arrogance.
Even if there were rankings for prey the monsters coveted, he would never lose to anyone.
"...Cursed by a skeleton? More are coming from below. Move!"
Kitarenanum shouted in irritation at the approaching presence of new monsters from beneath.
He had come as a hunter, not to become the hunted.
"Senior Alsicle. Doesn't something feel off?"
"Huff, huff... huff... huff..."
Alsicle, who had collapsed from exhaustion (his stamina had given out quickly) while being carried on Lee Han's back, couldn't answer immediately and kept panting.
"What... what's off?"
"Ever since earlier, it feels like the monsters are only targeting me..."
"That... that makes sense. You're a threat. You have a lot of mana."
Alsicle wasn't particularly surprised.
To the monsters, an enemy with abnormally high mana and immunity to corruption would naturally seem like the biggest threat.
"But your magic is superior to mine, Senior Alsicle."
"...You brat!"
Even while being carried, Alsicle felt his eyes growing moist.
He didn't have many mage friends, but at least he had one he could proudly show off in front of others.
"More importantly, Senior Alsicle. That expedition member keeps glaring at you... Did you have some past grudge?"
"Ah, no. Nothing like that. It's probably just because I'm being carried by you."
Being carried by a junior mage probably didn't look very impressive.
'Is that it?'
Lee Han wanted to explain to the glaring expedition member that "Mages are naturally frail," but he didn't have the chance.
"To the upper floor!"
"I have something to say."
Suddenly, the Evil God Worshipper elf spoke up. Lee Han, who had been about to cast another fire spell, paused in surprise.
"What?"
"It'd be safer to abandon that mage—"
"Shut up."
Thwack!
Lee Han struck the elf's mouth with his staff. Alsicle was startled by his junior's violent reaction.
Though struck, the Evil God Worshipper elf didn't stop.
"If you don't want to abandon him, then change direction. That way is already overrun by monsters."
"Where to?"
"Take the side path on the right. There's another sealed waterway. If we go that way, there's a tool we can use."
"!"
Alsicle lightly tapped his finger in thought, then nodded.
"Take the side path on the right!"
"What kind of tool? Is there some kind of floodgate control device?"
Lee Han asked the elf as they ran.
If they could sweep away the monsters with some ancient dwarven mechanism, that would be more than he could hope for.
"No. There are the magic criminal Kitarenanum and the separatist Bashirmac. Throw those cornered bastards to the monsters. That way, the monsters will go berserk, and we can escape safely."
"......"
"......"
Lee Han, Alsicle, and even the expedition members were at a loss for words.
What kind of bastard was this?
"Can we really use them? They're notorious wanted criminals."
"If they're in the same situation as us, they must be cornered too. They'll probably agree to cooperate."
"But they're not fools either. Won't they see through our intentions? If a fight breaks out, it'll only get more dangerous."
As the expedition members quickly exchanged opinions, the Evil God Worshipper elf quietly said to Lee Han,
"Kitarenanum, the magic criminal, sacrificed ninety-nine giant hearts to contract with a greater demon. Tell Bashirmac that. They'll fight each other fiercely."
"Is that true??"
"No. It's a lie. But it'll be effective."
"......"
Lee Han could clearly understand why the god this elf served was an Evil God.
This was a level of wicked rhetoric that surpassed even the students of Einrogard.