Chaos - 2
After receiving a sharp scolding from Frach to watch my mouth, I headed deeper into the mine while carefully reading Rene's mood.
Lin, too, seemed to think the fault was mine, given how stubbornly she maintained her silence.
I knew full well that my big mouth sometimes invited trouble thanks to my blunt nature. I knew I ought to restrain myself, yet when the moment came it was never easy. Didn't they say habits formed at three last until eighty? I was reflecting deeply, but there was no guarantee I wouldn't do it again later.
Once this is over, I should bow my head and apologize properly to Rene.
"Forget not to apologize properly……."
I apologized the moment the words left my mouth, yet perhaps it lacked sincerity, for Rene's expression remained dark. The deeper we advanced into the mine, the heavier the shadow on her face grew. My guilt swelled in tandem, and sweat began to bead on my forehead. It felt like an indirect taste of what a high traitor must endure. I even found myself wishing Rene would just thoroughly berate or strike me and be done with it.
"Master, it would be best to prepare soon."
"Got it."
Other dwarves were nearby, it seemed. Following the directions of Lin, who possessed exceptional mana detection, I cut down the source of the corruption. Having already confirmed that this would free the dwarves, there was no further reason to hesitate. Quietly leaning against the cave wall, I held my breath and approached in the direction Lin indicated.
"There they are……."
Beyond the wall, two dwarves came into view. The black substance covering their heads made it plain they had been corrupted. To save them, I would sever the pickaxes. With that resolve I drew my sword—yet the moment the dwarves turned, I realized their condition differed from the first one we had met.
The black mass that had swallowed their heads had now encroached all the way to their abdomens. More critically, the pickaxes at their crotches that I had judged the source were nowhere to be seen. Instead, large iron swords were thrust deep into their chests.
"Judging by their gear, they don't appear to be miners. Likely the forces that were guarding the mine."
"Seems so. The fact that even those who should have been defending the place have fallen means the situation deeper inside is far more serious."
"We should hurry."
"Yeah."
There was no time left to simply observe. Lin and I burst forward at once, each closing the distance to the dwarf we had claimed in a single breath. They noticed us belatedly and tried to raise a defense, but it was already too late—I had cut them before their arms could even lift.
A diagonal line scored across the iron swords buried in their chests. Without a sound, half of each blade sheared away and melted into black substance. At the same moment the dwarves crumpled and collapsed where they stood.
"What do we do with them?"
"I'd like to send them outside, but we don't have that luxury. Sorry to them, but we'll have to ask them to stay put for a while."
"Understood."
We had already proven that leaving them posed no threat to their lives. No monsters inhabited Valdur Mine, and thanks to the dwarves' systematic management there was no risk of collapse either. The only real danger was whatever fragment of the Four Evil Beasts might lurk in the depths.
They haven't been eaten already, have they…?
"If you speak of this body's father, worry not. He was one of no small skill in combat as well as forging. The Four Evil Beasts are a burdensome foe, true, yet he is not one who would die so easily to the likes of them."
That would be a relief, but…….
The miners still inside were different from the king. Not every one of them would possess combat skill. If deaths had already occurred, the miners were the most likely victims. They were closer to civilians who needed protection, yet as the leader of an entire race it could not have been easy to fight while also safeguarding them. At the same time, he could not simply sacrifice the miners either. I wondered whether the throne itself had become a crushing weight upon him.
"Let's hurry."
"Yes!"
We lightened our steps still further—yet not so fast as to be reckless—and pressed deeper through the mine. Along the way we freed every dwarf we encountered from the black mana, advancing steadily. Through that process I came to understand that the closer we drew to the depths, the more severe the corruption became.
The first dwarf had been claimed only at the head; the second as far as the abdomen; the third had been consumed down to the lower body. After that, every dwarf we met looked as though they were wearing black full-body suits. And once we pressed even farther, they had changed so thoroughly it was difficult to call them dwarves at all.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"It looks grotesque……."
"Its movements are deeply unsettling."
Gloop. Gloop.
Something black that had completely lost any dwarf shape. The featureless black mass of before now sported severely twisted eyes and teeth. It walked on all fours, rolling its eyeballs this way and that. Then, upon spotting us, it locked its pupils and flared its eyes wide.
"Kyaaaaaaak!"
The bizarre screech was a bonus. The way it had grotesquely twisted the dwarves stirred pure revulsion. My brow furrowed as I instantly sliced the pickaxe embedded in the monster's back. As always, the black mana, robbed of its source, melted away and spat out the dwarf's body. This time, however, every muscle and bone was twisted beyond recognition—the dwarf was already dead. Severe enough corruption meant death, and transformation into a mindless monster.
"Fuck…."
I had tried to hold back the swearing, yet the sight forced it out. What if someone precious to me were corrupted and twisted by this black substance the same way? Just imagining it made my insides burn with nausea.
"Master, I hear a great many footsteps. A horde is swarming this way."
"So that cry just now was calling its comrades."
"Then perhaps we should fall back for now?"
"No. As long as even a slim chance remains that the Dwarf King is alive, we keep advancing."
The other dwarves were already beyond saving, but the king was unknown. If he was still fighting the evil beast even now, we had to hurry and reinforce him. Our goal was not the salvation of every dwarf—it was the rescue of the king.
"No matter how many come, we fight."
"A fine resolve."
The runes upon the magic sword began to blaze crimson. It seemed Frach intended to lend her strength, accepting my will.
"I will follow Master's decision."
Lin lightly stretched her neck and loosened her body in preparation for the coming battle. Maintaining perfect composure, she readied her sword in her own quiet way.
"Rene…."
"……I understand. But please don't overdo it."
"If it looks dangerous, I'll pull back without fail."
"……Yes."
Rene still wore a deeply worried expression. It did not feel like she was sulking over my earlier bombshell; rather, something else seemed to weigh heavily on her heart. What could make her so conflicted? I wanted to ask—my lips twitched with the urge—yet there was simply no time, and that was bitterly frustrating.
"Kiiiik!"
"Kirik! Kkiik!"
The mutated monsters bared their teeth and screeched in ear-grating voices. I glanced sidelong at Lin; she shook her head left and right. No life signs could be felt within the mana. In other words, every dwarf inside those monsters had already left this world.
"……This is the only way left to mourn them."
A magic circle began to form upon my palm. My internal mana plummeted as the circle completed at high speed. Confirming the finished circle glowed blue, I clenched my fist tight.
"Kyaek?!"
"Keruk!"
Crack—!
The monsters at the rear of the swarm rushing toward us froze solid in an instant. They became ice pillars that reached the mine's ceiling, sealing the escape route. The only direction left to the monsters was straight ahead—and there we stood waiting.
"I'll clean every last one of you up right here."
"Kiiik…!"
Raising Frach high, I leapt into the heart of the monster horde.
Twitch.
In the deepest chamber of Valdur Mine, the black dog that had made its lair there trembled. Its six closed eyes began to spin rapidly; long strands of acidic drool spilled from its jaws. Its crushed legs twitched and reconstructed themselves, soon forming limbs roughly resembling a dog's. Yet unlike any ordinary creature, long arms stretched from both of the black dog's shoulders.
"Grrrk…!"
A low, threatening growl. The dog that brought madness and calamity—Chaos—sensed it by pure instinct.
Not far from this place, its destined rival was drawing near.