Altar of Blood

“How are we supposed to achieve peace?”

“What else would a Hero do?”

Jang Yu-ha raised her index finger high.

As if pointing to the sky.

But she didn’t give a concrete answer, only smiled brightly.

“I’ll pass it on. They seemed very interested in Americano as well, so at least you’ll be invited to the Imperial City.”

Beogeureo stood up.

“By the way.”

“Yes?”

“Could I go straight to the Dungeon?”

“…If you move quickly, that’s what we’d hoped for. Are you planning to join the battle immediately?”

“Amel.”

Jang Yu-ha looked at Amel.

Asking what to do.

Knowing full well.

After the answer.

Beogeureo left,

Amel asked Jang Yu-ha.

“But shouldn’t we tell them what we heard from those Eternal Order guys?”

“About Death Knight?”

“Didn’t they say there were two?”

“Amel and Chocolat. No wonder. Even though I heard there were two Death Knights, I had a good feeling. It’s okay. It’s better not to, everyone will be even more enthusiastic about Amel!”

Honestly, Amel didn’t care if she received enthusiasm or not.

It would feel good if she did, but only for a moment.

Basically an Outsider, Amel had an upper limit to the attention and praise she could accept.

She only needed to receive a moderate amount, so the enthusiasm Jang Yu-ha mentioned didn’t interest her much.

‘Still, well.’

She decided to leave it be and watch where Jang Yu-ha’s intuition would lead.

Beogeureo and a few knights accompanied her.

They were guided to the Dungeon,

Which could be reached on foot.

Deep in a mountain valley.

Even before arriving, Amel could sense where it was.

The aura of death flowing over the mountain range made her senses sharpen.

And,

Clang.

Clang.

Clang. Clang.

The sound of swords clashing.

Boom.

The sound of Magic exploding.

Upon arrival, knights and Undead were swinging swords and casting Magic, fighting.

A battle in a small stronghold.

The rear of a small front line.

Entering the small fortress, Amel took another step forward when Beogeureo stopped.

Just as there was a fortress here,

The Undead also had a wall.

Magic pouring from the wall aided the swordsman Undead, repelling the knights.

The swordsman Undead were defensive, as if just dragging out time, and the Magician Undead safely poured Magic attacks from the wall.

The formation itself was simple,

But the Magic cast by the Magician Undead was powerful, giving buffs to allies and debuffs to enemies, allowing them to hold out despite being outnumbered.

Simple was strong.

Even if they pushed with numbers, they would only become fodder for Magic, which was basically Area-of-Effect Skill.

Above all, the malicious aura-filled wall, seemingly built by the Undead, seemed to have a negative impact on the knights themselves.

Anti-Magic Power would be fine.

She felt certain of it.

“We just need to break through that, right?”

“Liches are guarding it with Magic. Can you use Sword Aura, by any chance?”

“I use something similar.”

“Similar? Well, Sword Aura won’t even scratch that wall unless it’s blessed with holy power. That Dark Mana follows the laws of another world.”

“The laws of another world?”

“That’s what the Magicians say.”

Hmm…

The wall.

Looking at the black wall, Amel jumped down from the allied small fortress and stood on the battlefield.

She drew her sword from her inventory,

And gathered as she approached.

Anti-Magic Power.

Gathering Anti-Magic Power on her sword, around the middle.

She raised her sword high,

And slashed down.

[Chapter 6, Form 4 Moonlight Sword]

The Anti-Magic Power gathered on the sword became a Blade and flew away.

Following the flying Blade of Exorcism,

Amel immediately followed.

A swordsman Undead in front of her.

[Dark Knight]

Red letters.

Holding a shield, it blocked the [Moonlight Sword].

But,

Swoosh-

It was Cut and passed through.

It immediately reached the black wall.

The [Moonlight Sword], which flew much faster than [Leap], Cut the [Dark Knight] in half and reached the black wall, inflicting a deep wound.

No,

It pierced through.

The power gathered in the [Moonlight Sword] contained a size effective even against large Monsters.

Amel jumped and leaped through the gap in the wall that the [Moonlight Sword] had Cut and dug into.

Amel slipped in.

She crossed the wall.

Landing.

Looking around.

She had entered the inside of the wall and immediately surveyed her surroundings.

From left to right.

Scanning, there was one [Eternal Order Priest] and two [Eternal Order Paladin].

More than being surprised by Amel’s appearance, no, without even knowing Amel had arrived, they were looking back at the spot where the [Moonlight Sword] had Cut through.

Sword. Amel, holding a [Mithril Sword], didn’t hesitate.

[Bless]

Divinity dwelled in the sword.

She [Leaped],

Cut the [Eternal Order Priest] and [Eternal Order Paladin], and thrust the [Mithril Sword] into the nape of the [Eternal Order Paladin] who was farthest away.

“You can’t let your guard down.”

And inside the wall.

There was a vertically torn hole in the valley, as if a mountain had been cut open, and it dug deep into the underground of the mountain.

Looking up,

[Altar of Blood]

Dungeon.

This must be it.

‘(Wow, where is this again?)’

‘You’re here?’

Win had been to Cappuccino.

It was to periodically report on her situation.

‘(Where are you? It’s creepy.)’

‘Dungeon. It’s called the Altar of Blood, and the Undead have occupied what the Knights were guarding.’

‘(Undead?)’

‘There they are.’

She immediately [Leaped],

And reached out her hand.

She grabbed the face of the [Eternal Order Priest], called a Lich, and pushed it against the wall.

Coming to the wall, she slammed it in.

As the skull shattered,

The information window disappeared.

It died.

‘(A Lich…)’

‘Magicians are weak.’

‘(Dark Knights are just as weak to you.)’

It’s different.

They still can’t be killed with bare hands… or can they?

She entered the Dungeon.

It was the [Altar of Blood].

The smell of blood permeated everywhere, indicating what kind of Dungeon it was.

She walked in, and along the way, she saw the [Eternal Order] and they fled deeper into the Dungeon.

As she was about to follow,

‘(Wait a minute!)’

‘Why?’

‘(Look over there!)’

Win was only visible to Amel.

Her outstretched hand pointed to the wall.

It was the wall next to them, and a mural was engraved, seemingly conveying something.

Blood droplets.

A person craving.

A person being sucked.

The sun.

A person avoiding.

“….”

She had a sense of what it was.

In the first place, there was a representative Monster that came to mind when she thought of ‘blood’.

‘(Do you know?)’

‘It’s a Vampire.’

‘(Vampire?)’

‘Yeah.’

Vampire.

A Blood Wraith craving blood.

Like an Undead, but not an Undead.

It was as Beogeureo had said.

Was this a Vampire’s Dungeon?

‘(What’s a Vampire?)’

‘Don’t you know what a bloodsucker is?’

‘(I don’t know.)’

“….”

So it was a world without Vampires.

Was it a setting where they were sealed and not known?

‘It’s like an Undead that drinks blood.’

She said roughly,

And entered the Dungeon.

As she progressed further inside, the murals seemed to increase in scale, with the number of people increasing.

It was as if countless people were rushing to kill one person.

Then, on the opposing side, people with a halo, showing something special, were drawn, fighting someone covered in blood.

And,

Gradually,

Fighting,

Fighting,

Fighting,

In the process, the blood-covered person’s arm was Cut off.

The right arm was Cut off,

The left arm was Cut off,

The left leg was Cut off,

The right leg was Cut off.

In the end, the neck, body, and heart.

The seven people who fought the blood-covered person possessed each part of the blood-covered person.

And,

Inside.

The mural continued.

The right arm.

Only the person who received the right arm was drawn, sealing it in a place like an altar.

“(The Hero has come. Have they decided not to hide this place either?)”

An eerie voice.

A voice filled with Magical Power.

It echoed from the darkness inside the Dungeon.

Someone in human form, dripping with evil power, was indeed a Lich.

But,

[Eternal Order Bishop]

Dark red letters.

An even stronger Lich.

‘(Bishop!)’

Win was shocked to see the [Eternal Order Bishop].

‘(What is the Altar of Blood that such a big shot has come here himself?!)’

‘I told you. It’s a Vampire.’

‘(You’re talking about the race. This is clearly a sealing place where only one person is sealed. It’s also a place where only the right arm is sealed.)’

‘Right arm.’

‘(It’s drawn that way in the mural, right? If even the Bishop is here, it must have been an incredibly strong being. They’re trying to revive it!)’

Win covered her mouth and screamed,

‘(I’m in the middle of history…!)’

She was moved.

It’s good to see you happy.

“(If you are a Hero, you should be able to learn Divinity at will. Is that what you used to kill my subordinates?)”

He pointed his staff.

“Isn’t it weird to say you die to an Undead?”

“(We are alive.)”

‘Huh? Is that so?’

‘(Well, strictly speaking, they’re not dead either.)’

“(By transferring my essence from the body to the soul, the body has merely decayed as a side effect. Who dares call us the dead!)”

As if it was a complex, the [Bishop] was angry.

“(Is that what that mouth said?)”

“….”

“(You need punishment. If you’re a Hero, you don’t die even if you’re killed. Capture her alive.)”

At that moment.

The [Bishop]’s shadow.

It deepened,

And bulged.

Someone wearing armor appeared, displaying an information window above their head.

[Death Knight]

Ominous black letters.

Bright red eyes.

It kicked off the ground,

And reached out its hand.

The fingertips aimed at Amel’s neck.

But it couldn’t get any closer.

Someone with silver hair, who had appeared from behind Amel as if embracing her, grabbed the [Death Knight]’s wrist and blocked it.

“Chocolat.”

“….”

She seemed to be listening intently.

“Win.”

As if responding to that answer, Chocolat wrapped her body in shadows, wore armor, and drew the [Dark Sword] from the shadows.

As Chocolat pushed back the [Death Knight], the two increased their speed and disappeared from sight.

Clang. Clang clang.

The sound of swords colliding echoed in the Dungeon.

Seeing Chocolat, the [Bishop]’s skull face was shocked in the hood with deep shadows.

“(A Death Knight?! How could you!!)”

“I wonder. What could it be.”

Amel also raised her [Mithril Sword] and pointed it at the [Bishop].

“There’s one more, right? Bring it out.”

“(How could…)”

The [Bishop] seemed to have noticed something and closed his mouth.

He pointed his staff.

“(Arise…!)”

The [Bishop]’s shadow grew larger, and new Undead rose from within it.

‘Death Knight is…’

She looked at the rising Undead,

And the [Death Knight] was nowhere to be seen.

Even if there was one,

“It’s your misjudgment not to summon it.”

“(What can you do alone! Behold! My knights!!)”

All the Undead that the [Bishop] summoned had the name [Dark Knight].

There were thirty [Dark Knight]. The difference in skill was quite large, ranging from orange letters to dark red letters.

“(Can you defeat a knight order alone? You’re a rat in a trap. You seem to be an excellent warrior and your face is pretty, so I’ll kill you and incorporate you into my knight order! Consider it an honor!)”

“….”

The [Dark Knight] rushing towards her.

Holding the [Mithril Sword],

She Cut.

[Slash]

[Slash]

[Slash]

[Slash]

[Slash]

Each time she Cut, the [Dark Knight]’s head flew off, and the [Bishop]’s white skull turned pale.