A Hollow Sentinel and the Whispered Curse
The shortcut had been sealed, but Viola had collapsed the ceiling to bury the evidence. After we finished that, the first complaint we heard upon exiting belonged to Hernan.
"If disaster strikes, the blame falls on you lot."
"Eh, if it does."
I shot back lightly at Hernan, and Viola let out a dry chuckle.
The door was closed. How could there possibly be a disaster?
Sheer knowing me, her expression revealed everything.
"Roman, are you...?"
Concern colored Arthur's voice as he started to speak. I shrugged my shoulders in response.
"Yes."
"...Sorry. I should have spoken up sooner."
"No. It's fine. Sharing stories about our master with outsiders is never easy."
I had no intention of blaming Arthur for being the one Viola had spotted. Strictly speaking, Arthur was a complete outsider to the guild, and I couldn't hand over details of our master's abilities, which were essentially top-secret guild intel.
It was simply my own fault for not probing deeper sooner and failing to understand just how powerful the Pioneer truly was, then neglecting to exercise caution.
Arthur looked apologetic, but there was a hint of hurt in his eyes.
Had I come across as too blunt?
Well, what could I do?
That was simply the truth.
"If the master places unreasonable demands, speak up. I can't guarantee I can stop him, but I'll do everything in my power to support you."
That was reassuring.
Apart from Deina, who was scowling with a face that looked like it wanted to complain "I'm not cool enough."
"Is he really okay?"
"Um? Deina? She overdid the divine summons, but it's at a level that potions can handle. No need to worry."
"Still, keep an eye on her from the side. She's our junior."
With that, I peeled Arthur away and began turning Viola's earlier words over in my mind.
*Eventually, it will come out.*
Viola wasn't relying on intuition as a Pioneer or analysis. She spoke with absolute certainty that this fact would inevitably surface one day.
*[Jegan the Undead won't resurrect even if he dies. Even if it takes time, the moment he revives, it will become known.]*
At that time, that necromancer.
He had said he was prepared to self-destruct, yet he had simply thrown out the words knowing he would rise again.
*So we need to define things clearly. Not only for the comrades who owe me their lives, but for a barrier that can protect you from every threat.*
Viola, who had been showing the true demeanor of a senior in the last part of the conversation, ended with a teasing note.
*It would be great if we all became Pioneers.*
*Viola is right... joining the Frontier Guild doesn't seem entirely bad...*
The existence of a Pioneer.
The power of the Five Great Guilds.
It was undeniably reassuring.
*But the balance on the comrade side...*
Tap.
Someone's hand landed on my shoulder. I turned my head.
Leaf, with a face that looked a little worried, was gazing at me.
"Mr. Roman, were you thinking about what Viola said?"
"Yes."
"Doesn't it seem fine? There are more people who can help you than you think."
Ray added her own two cents, as if comforting me.
"First of all, that Jegan? There's no guarantee he'll spread it. It might be safer to hide it than to reveal it and worry about it being uncovered."
"That has its point."
"Or, it's possible that Mr. Roman's magic was completely unknown to them. Memory loss or distortion could occur during the resurrection process."
Was this group intelligence?
While I was grappling with how to secure a safe position after Viola's words had shaken my composure a bit, the two of them were already thinking in different directions.
*Tsk. I should have sent him away properly back then. If I'd crushed his head with Argentus, he wouldn't have been able to resurrect. Next time, I won't let him off so easily.*
Ray was muttering in discontent.
If I had only had Azurail back then...
What can I say?
It was the same kind of feeling as a sore loser from a game who claims he won but was robbed. A laugh escaped me.
In our case, we had won without losing, but the victory still left a bitter aftertaste.
"Yeah, well. It should work out somehow."
We would deal with the aftermath later.
For now, focus only on this.
§
By the time we had been operating under the operation plan for over ten days.
We had defeated the fourth Sentinel.
"The Sentinel-hunting mechanism is finally complete."
The Sentinel hunt, which had been reduced to a mere twenty minutes, was now fully operational.
With multiple cores, we could handle the Sentinel Apsides easily, aside from the occasional misfire of a head.
If Deina, who currently held only a temporary license, was considered a Novice, then essentially five Novices were swarming around the Sentinels like locusts.
If I had told outsiders about this, they probably wouldn't believe a word.
They might have scolded us for telling tall tales, or gotten angry at us for underestimating ourselves.
But there wasn't a single ordinary Novice among us.
Even Deina, who had been labeled the weakest, could now summon a soul strong enough to create variables.
In truth, the actual combat strength was like a group of several Seniors working together to hunt Sentinels.
'Speaking of Seniors... that reminds me of Bongseok.'
Had I not checked the beacon when we last ascended?
At least the pass transmitted from the beacon was intact.
As long as it hadn't left my control, but once we returned to the city, we would need to verify it properly.
'He said to look for the Abyss Worshipper... where the hell is he doing what?'
The second floor was already on the verge of becoming the front yard of that fringe group.
Even if I called it dereliction of duty, I wouldn't have much to complain about.
Even with this much leisure, including entertaining thoughts of quitting, Viola's face looked thoroughly displeased.
"Slow as always."
What?
"Still, it's getting shorter. By the end of this expedition, I want it under ten minutes."
"Yes, Master."
Arthur accepted it without question.
You have the qualifications to grow.
"By the way, Crawler, is it almost time for that?"
"Yeah. If we're talking about the closest Sentinel here, that's it."
That one.
If Viola herself mentioned it, it had to be that.
The Sentinel Keeper.
The pinnacle of the labyrinth, also called the ruler of the second floor.
Even a Senior would be expected to abandon thoughts of fighting the Sentinel Keeper and pray to survive as best they could.
Considering that Senior explorers primarily operated on the third floor, it could be called a monster that had left the second floor.
It could even rank as an upper predator on the third floor.
And that meant it was still a formidable opponent for us.
*'No, if we use full power, we could probably fight it somehow.'*
Honestly, with Blink sealed, my combat power was basically halved.
My main strength had always been selfishly spamming Blink for damage while the team supported.
Moreover, being able to move with teammates the moment I touched them was crucial.
If we gradually wore it down, even the Sentinel Keeper would have its limits.
I had tried simulating a virtual Sentinel Keeper in my head to see how it would play out, but since I had never actually faced one, it didn't feel right.
Had Viola peeked into my thoughts?
Viola declared with a face brimming with excitement that she would give me the opportunity to fill my deficiencies.
"Prepare yourselves, little chicks. You finally get a chance to have your skills properly tested this time."
Viola grinned, but her expression showed she expected more than she had just said.
Throwing four Novices and one Apprentice right in front of the Sentinel Keeper?
What was that but a death sentence?
If Viola had been born on Earth, she would have definitely been a Spartan.
*'Or perhaps an Amazon.'*
§
"Huff..."
Was this real?
As we approached the entrance to the plaza, I thought while peeking inside.
*'Is that... something we can actually catch?'*
Inside the plaza was a single Sentinel.
It stood with its massive greatsword held upside down, blade tip planted firmly into the ground at the center of its body. It exuded an overwhelming presence and size, far greater than any Sentinel I had ever seen before.
"What? Not going in?"
"No, wait a second. Let me think for a bit."
Ray urged us to enter quickly from behind.
"We could just do it like we've always done. It's definitely a different rank, but ultimately, it's still a Sentinel. Its combat patterns should be similar."
Arthur spoke as if there was no room for tactical changes, since we wouldn't know the tactics until we actually fought it.
He was right.
In the end, you only learn through experience in the field.
"Yeah. Let's go, let's go."
The moment I was about to step forward, Viola's figure blurred past me.
Her attack had been faster than the Sentinel Keeper's reaction.
Just like the first time we had entered the second floor.
Viola held a sword in her hand.
Now I knew.
That she had drawn the weapon stored in the A-rank artifact called Arms Changer that she possessed.
It was merely an item that stored weapons and could be drawn, yet it had been judged A-rank simply because it stored them in a pocket dimension.
Viola swung the greatsword she had drawn from the Arms Changer.
The slash carved through the air.
*Shaaaaak!!!*
It differed from anything I had heard before in terms of sonic boom.
It didn't cut through the wind; it felt like it was tearing through it as it passed.
*Crack!*
And the sound that erupted when it struck the wall was closer to something slamming into an invisible barrier than the sound of the wall crumbling.
"Alive, I see."
A voice that should not have appeared under normal circumstances.
It came from the spot where Viola's attack had landed.
*'No. The wall is a fake.'*
From behind a false wall covered in illusion magic, a man emerged, his footsteps clicking on the ground.
He was a gentleman dressed in formal attire, nothing like the armor or robes typically worn by explorers.
He looked to be around fifty.
But considering that explorers aged slowly, especially within the Abyss, it was hard to guess how old he really was.
Wearing glasses, he had a neat, scholarly air that didn't resemble a madman or a fanatic in any way.
He gave off the impression of a deeply learned academic.
Yet something was off.
Despite Viola entering the plaza and the man already being inside, why wasn't the Sentinel Keeper moving?
"Cover your ears."
"What?"
"That guy's a necromancer."
Necromancer?
Before my brain could process Viola's warning and class, an old man in his forties spoke.
It wasn't a self-introduction or a polite greeting.
"The unbelievers, step aside. [Die]."
It was a curse of death.