Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Shadows of Gehenna
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The next day.
Having enjoyed a sweet rest, the group set off once more toward the Dark Zone.
Already the 54th floor.
But this time, something was different.
Pelleban, in his disguise, had caught up to the front.
He, who had always lagged behind, now stood shoulder to shoulder with Havel and Dante.
Seeing this, the three trailing behind wore shocked expressions.
"Eltain, didn't you rest too well yesterday?"
"I hope you're not pushing yourself. I'm worried."
Lonslot and Dorison reacted with concern.
They genuinely thought he was overexerting himself.
Pelleban, however, just snorted at their worries.
They can't even gauge the difference in our levels.
Was it because he'd spent too long in Astria?
His standards had gotten ridiculously high.
And in Pelleban's eyes, Dante was no different.
Sure, Dante stood beside Havel, fighting the calamity beasts.
But he could only keep up by pushing himself to the limit.
At this rate, he'll just drag everyone down.
Only someone on Astria's level could truly stand with Havel.
Boom!
In that instant, a bear-shaped calamity beast covered in pitch-black fur appeared.
Its name was the Ink Bear.
It was enormous, the size of a decent-sized building.
The beast immediately swung its forepaw at Dante, who was right in front of it.
Ink blades shot out from the Ink Bear's paw.
Clang, clang!
Dante hurriedly deflected the ink blades, but the Ink Bear charged.
Trusting its massive bulk, it aimed to crush him flat.
As Dante scrambled into a defensive stance...
Pelleban brushed past him.
Aura flared along his sword as he closed the distance in a flash.
Thwack!
"Kueng?!"
Pelleban's blade tore open the Ink Bear's underbelly.
Ink and entrails spilled out as the beast screamed.
Seizing the opening, Pelleban leaped straight for its head.
His sword came slashing down without mercy.
Slash!
The severed head tumbled across the floor.
With a heavy thud, the Ink Bear collapsed.
Pelleban landed atop its corpse and turned to Havel.
"Even after that, you'll keep rejecting my terms?"
"Yeah."
Havel dug in his ear with his pinky, blatantly ignoring him.
"Hah."
Pelleban figured Havel was just being stubborn.
The gap between Dante and himself was obvious to anyone.
He couldn't fathom why Havel had set such terms.
"You're quite adept at fighting calamity beasts."
Meanwhile, Dante spoke up.
Pelleban glanced at him and let out a short sigh.
"Don't you ever think you're holding someone back?"
Pelleban's tone sharpened for no good reason.
He held Havel's skills in high regard.
But being lumped in with Dante stung his pride a bit.
"Looks like you talked with Havel yesterday."
Yet Dante remained utterly calm despite the edge in Pelleban's voice.
"I don't know what you discussed."
Dante sheathed his sword.
Then he gathered the Ink Bear's byproducts and offered them over.
"But Havel has his reasons. That's the kind of guy he is."
Pelleban ignored the byproducts and turned away.
Dante simply stored them in his subspace.
The assault continued after that.
Was it the endless darkness?
No matter how accustomed they grew, fatigue soon set in for everyone.
But Havel had no intention of stopping.
Dante silently followed in his wake.
His stamina is insane.
Pelleban stared at the pair in dismay.
Dante's skills fell short.
Yet his endurance surpassed even Pelleban's.
Is this what Havel values? Jeez.
Was blindly piling on stamina without flexibility really an asset?
Right then, Havel halted abruptly.
"Guess they're here."
He casually cracked his neck.
"Dante."
"Yes, Havel."
"First order I'm giving you."
Dante's demeanor shifted in an instant.
"Speak."
Havel smirked.
His attitude changed the moment Havel issued a direct command.
The picture of a loyal knight.
"Simple mission. Beat that guy to clearing the trial."
"Understood."
Dante replied without a hint of hesitation.
"Incoming. Get ready."
It happened then.
Dozens of chain-linked scythes flew in from the darkness.
Dante dashed to Havel's side and batted away the scythes.
Clang!
Sparks flew.
Pelleban faced the same onslaught.
But the scythes weren't targeting just them.
They went for the lantern bearers hovering around the group.
Thwack!
"Tch."
Pelleban clicked his tongue.
Darkness swallowed everything in a heartbeat.
By then, Havel had already fallen back.
He'd deflected all the incoming scythes with a single sword stroke.
"Havel-nim?"
The three behind stared in surprise as Havel spoke.
"This isn't your fight. Stand by."
This was for those two.
Havel had no intention of interfering.
Instead, he felt a mix of amusement at the situation.
Didn't see this coming.
Havel's eyes were sharper than the others'.
No matter the Dark Zone's gloom.
He peered right through it.
Havel let out a hollow chuckle.
Gehenna, huh.
The criminal syndicate supposedly hiding in the Dark Zone.
He'd assumed they were just ordinary thugs.
Well, look at that. They've turned into calamity beasts.
Gehenna's members were no longer human.
The Tower had devoured them, twisting them into calamity beasts.
Whether by choice or not.
Horns—the mark of calamity beasts—jutted from their heads.
Havel vaguely sensed they were one of this floor's trials.
Interest flickered in his eyes.
Wonder if the calamity in me matches the one in them.
Only possible because they could still communicate like humans.
One of 'em.
Time to capture one.
Havel's gaze pierced the distant darkness.
The trial had only just begun.
Clang!
Another sword cry rang out from Dante's side.
Gehenna's gang had begun their ambushes from the shadows.
The skull tattoos etched on their bodies marked them as Gehenna.
"Gehenna? Eaten by the Tower?"
Pelleban narrowed his eyes.
Because of the horns sprouting from their heads.
Plus, they had no presence.
The Tower concealed them in the dark.
A trial, just like it said.
Did Havel predict this attack and set those terms?
Didn't matter.
Tower-turned calamity or not, they were still criminals.
Pelleban swung without hesitation.
Slash!
"Grk?!"
A Gehenna member's head flew.
Ink-black blood dripped from the ragged stump.
Yet grotesquely, flesh soon knit back, healing the wound.
Regeneration?
Typical calamity beast—regeneration on top of everything.
"Hey! This one's tough! Need an exec or overwhelm with numbers!"
One of the Gehenna thugs shouted.
Pelleban froze.
He hadn't expected a human-turned-calamity to still communicate.
"Retaining sanity after becoming a calamity beast?"
Pelleban's face twisted in revulsion.
The thug backed into the shadows with a creepy grin.
"Don't worry. You'll end up just like us soon enough."
"Like hell you will!"
Pelleban kicked off in pursuit, but dozens more scythes flew in to block him.
The endless scythes from the dark were beyond infuriating.
This damn darkness.
It hindered too much.
The enemy was waging pure guerrilla warfare.
As it dragged on, Pelleban's stamina began to flag.
Already burned so much chasing Havel.
His lagging endurance slowed his reactions.
Another scythe whistled in.
Clang!
And the one who blocked it was none other than Dante.
He was just as battered and exhausted as Pelleban.
"Eltain, can you buy us some time?"
Pelleban scowled.
"We're in a competition right now. Didn't you hear Havel?"
Havel had said to clear the trial first.
Dante knew that much.
"Yes. But at this rate, we won't clear the trial at all."
Pelleban couldn't deny it.
Unlike beasts, humans had intelligence.
Gehenna knew how to corner prey relentlessly.
They'd hunted countless people.
"Tch. Call me Pelleban."
Pelleban raised his sword.
A vortex swirled around the blade.
His family's secret art.
"I can buy time. But explain quick what you're planning."
"I'll bring the dawn."
Short—too short.
But Dante was already focused.
No time for questions.
This time, five thugs burst from the dark alongside the scythes.
Armed to the teeth, they were infamous wanted criminals from outside the Tower.
"Filthy criminals."
Pelleban slammed his sword into the ground with a boom.
Jeres Style Wind Swordsmanship
Dragon Ascent
The vortex exploded outward from his sword.
"Uwaaak?!"
"Kghack?!"
Those clashing against the vortex's blades rolled across the ground.
Ting, ting, tiiing!
The incoming scythes met the same fate.
But they weren't idiots.
The moment the vortex rose, a counter-wind blew from the opposite direction.
Someone who handles wind like me?
Pelleban gritted his teeth.
His Dragon Ascent was weakening against the headwind.
Gehenna thugs shoved their way through en masse.
"Reckless bastards!"
Pelleban hurled back those plunging into the vortex on blind regen faith.
But now they pressed with sheer numbers.
Sensing his stamina shortage, they'd gone all-in.
Arms or torsos severed? They pushed through anyway.
Betting everything on regeneration.
These guys have no fear of death.
Pelleban frowned at the crisis.
Cold sweat beaded down his back.
They were ready to die just to land one stab.
"Got it."
Right on cue, Dante's voice rang out.
"Eyes front."
Dante's sword blazed with light.
He thrust it straight into the darkness.
Banpellyon Style Dawn Swordsmanship
Dawn Sky
In that moment, dawn devoured the darkness.
Kwarung, kwarung!
A belated storm shredded the Gehenna thugs and shadows alike.
It fell far short of Havel's version.
But plenty to dispel the gloom.
As darkness lifted, revealing open space, Pelleban's eyes widened.
He'd never seen swordsmanship like this.
"Mi... insane."
"What the hell was that?"
The Gehenna thugs who'd hit the dirt screamed in terror.
But something was off.
Not one looked at Dante.
Behind us?
Pelleban's gaze slowly turned rearward.
His body stiffened.
Hundreds of Gehenna members stood frozen behind him.
Over half their comrades slain without a sound.
And at the center...
Havel.
Pelleban's eyes shook as they met Havel's.
He knew he was strong—but not this strong.
"Trial's not over yet."
Havel smiled leisurely and pointed ahead.
"Shall we keep going?"
Pelleban couldn't defy the order.
He'd thought Dante was being tested as his proxy.
Maybe he was the real one on trial.
Pelleban simply turned his cowering body forward.