Ch.119Carmine Dungeon (2)

The imp, its chest pierced by an arrow, falls with a shrill scream.

If the arrow had merely struck its body, it might have endured.

But Millia’s arrow had pierced diagonally through the imp’s chest, tearing all the way to the root of its wing.

Even a dragon would lose balance and fall if one wing stopped functioning, let alone an imp.

Before its head could crash into the ground, Frider threw his axe toward another imp.

The axe, propelled by centrifugal force, shot like lightning and embedded itself halfway through the imp’s body.

Streams of black blood rained down, soaking the wings of other imps.

The enraged swarm rushed forward with claws extended, like hawks hunting rabbits.

“Demian!”

Frider shouted, pulling on the chain wrapped around his arm.

The imp fused with the axe blade was yanked toward him like a fish on a line.

Understanding Frider’s signal immediately, Demian swung his greatsword high above his head.

He struck with the flat of the blade rather than the edge, as if swatting insects with a flyswatter.

With a heavy whoosh, the imps that had approached vanished instantly.

Five imps, struck by the metal plate, screamed briefly before crashing into the wall.

Millia’s arrows pinned them to the wall.

The wall-mounted imps wailed like criminals crucified.

“Well done! Just keep them fixed there. We can slice them up when we’re finished!”

Frider, having sawed through the imp he’d reeled in, spun his iron chain once more.

Blood from the imp stuck to the axe blade splattered everywhere.

The axe, now free of blood, flew toward new prey.

They fight well.

They don’t need my help.

The three of them seem perfectly coordinated.

Without any intention of coming down, I aimed my bow at the creatures hovering in the air.

Cunning males waiting for the right moment to spray paralyzing venom.

I planned to eliminate them before they could spit their poison.

– Swish!

My arrow embedded itself in the ceiling with a vicious sound.

The speed was so fast its trajectory was barely visible. Such creatures had no chance of dodging.

“Kieek…!”

The imp’s head was completely torn off by the arrow.

The headless body fluttered briefly before falling.

The fallen monster convulsed like a hen encountering a predator.

Black blood gushed from the severed surface as its limbs frantically scratched the floor.

True to its monstrous nature, it was still alive despite its condition…

But even if life remained, a creature without a head couldn’t move properly.

I raised my foot and stomped down.

Like a toothpaste tube accidentally stepped on, all manner of fluids spurted from its throat, soaking the floor.

The flattened imp went limp.

I drew another arrow.

One more should be enough, right?

My arrow sliced through the air again.

It didn’t take long for the imps to be completely annihilated.

—-

“Good work, everyone.”

“Indeed. More than twenty enemies from the start, my goodness.”

“You only killed two of them.”

Frider remarked with distaste.

So he was counting.

“Well, we came to this dungeon for the kids to gain experience. It would defeat the purpose if I killed them all.”

I shrugged and answered nonchalantly.

Frider snorted and turned away.

“That was simpler than I expected.”

“These creatures are just flying kobolds. Barely worth calling monsters.”

Demian and Frider chatted while cleaning blood from their weapons.

Monster blood contained dense dark mana, so it wasn’t good to leave it unattended.

Meanwhile, Millia approached the wall where the imps were pinned.

“Kieek…! Kiaaak!”

The eight impaled imps struggled to remove the arrows, three or four per creature.

Their pincer-like claws seemed to have difficulty grasping the thin arrow shafts, as none had succeeded in escaping.

Millia drew her rapier and sliced the imps into pieces.

It didn’t seem particularly difficult.

Even though her sword specialized in thrusting, it still had an edge.

After regrouping, we headed deeper into the dungeon.

—-

Imp attacks continued sporadically afterward.

Most groups consisted of only three or four creatures, with the initial ambush having been the largest.

After walking for about forty minutes, we encountered a monster different from the imps.

It was about 3m wide.

Its overall appearance resembled a snail.

A massive metallic shell with a body and tail protruding from front and back.

Its thick neck was wrinkled like an earthworm.

Tentacle-like feelers sprouted everywhere, writhing.

The end of its neck was simply a gaping hole without a head, ringed with sharp teeth.

A pair of insect-like forelegs covered in gleaming carapace.

The tail section resembled a centipede magnified thousands of times.

“Ugh…”

Millia groaned with a disgusted expression.

Understandably so.

A giant worm combining earthworm, snail, and centipede was creepy even to me.

“Centipede-snail. That’s a proper monster, so be careful. Its carapace and shell are as hard as black iron, so aim for the neck. Watch out for the poisonous stinger in its tail.”

Frider explained about the creature.

What an intuitive name.

Though that’s typical for hybrid monsters.

Since there was only one enemy, Demian also stepped forward.

The centipede-snail, enraged by the intruders, howled and charged.

Its hundreds of hind legs undulated like waves.

“Hieek…!”

Startled by the creepy charge, Millia began shooting arrows.

Most bounced off the carapace, but those aimed at the neck embedded themselves.

Though the neck’s hide seemed too thick to cause significant damage.

“Grooooo!”

Frider and Demian each deflected the swinging forelegs.

The claim about its hardness seemed true; the carapace showed no signs of damage.

The centipede-snail’s neck bent sharply, then extended toward Demian.

Demian quickly rolled across the floor to avoid it.

The creature’s neck struck the ground with a thunderous impact that shook the earth.

Before Demian could stand, the creature’s tail shot toward him.

“Kuk…!”

Demian raised his greatsword like a shield.

There was no time to dodge.

Frider was busy deflecting the constantly swinging forelegs.

“Demian!!”

Millia desperately fired arrows, but they bounced off the tail’s carapace.

No choice then.

I drew Durandal and rushed toward the monster.

The tail changed direction abruptly and surged toward me.

The hardness was black iron level, right?

I raised Durandal with both hands above my head.

Strength filled both arms.

The creature’s tail approached until it was right before my eyes.

I could even see the gleaming poisonous stinger at its tip.

This is nothing.

I stepped forward and swung.

A blue arc easily shattered the black carapace and cut through.

Sparks flew as a satisfying resistance vibrated through my fingertips.

The centipede-snail’s lower body was split in half.

After that, it wasn’t so difficult.

With its tail completely severed, the creature had essentially lost its mobility.

Demian’s greatsword plunged into the neck wound Frider had created.

Spewing viscous fluid, the creature’s neck fell off.

We continued forward.

More centipede-snails appeared several times, but everyone seemed to have developed some skill, as they managed reasonably well compared to the first encounter.

—-

About four hours had passed since we entered the dungeon.

Everyone looked visibly tired from the repeated battles and accumulating dark mana.

I was still fine, of course. I hadn’t fought much.

“Why don’t you fight too?”

“I want to, but… I can’t. Like I said earlier, this is all for Demian and Millia’s sake.”

“If only you couldn’t talk…”

Frider sighed.

What I said was true so he couldn’t argue, but leaving me be while I took it easy clearly annoyed him.

Well, if it bothers you, become a Master as quickly as possible.

Frider probably wouldn’t take long.

He had plenty of combat experience, so with the right catalyst, he might achieve Karma awakening almost miraculously.

As we advanced further, the scenery changed.

At the end of the flat rocky path, a massive marble door blocked the passage.

It was an elaborately decorated door, like the entrance to an ancient temple.

Gear-like pillars supported both sides of the door, and strange reliefs were carved into the door panels.

The pattern showed a monster with a spear facing a man holding a sword.

“Let’s rest here for a while. We can’t stay too long though.”

Frider untied his lantern, placed it on the floor, and sat down.

Sweat-soaked hair clung to his forehead.

Frider took out a holy water bottle from his waist and took a sip.

“You should drink some too. You look pale.”

“Yes.”

Demian and Millia followed Frider’s advice.

The three seemed to brighten after drinking the holy water.

I lit a cigarette a short distance away, watching them.

There was no sign of approaching monsters.

Though I couldn’t be certain, as the thick stone door might be weakening any presence from beyond.

“Hey, Frider. About that relief carved on the door… do you know what it is?”

“Well, it’s not Imperial style. And that’s not Carlos the Great depicted. It seems to be from an earlier era…”

Frider trailed off, seemingly uncertain himself.

Pre-Empire.

Is he referring to the era when humans were prey for other races?

…But something seems off about that.

An inexplicable sense of incongruity nagged at my mind.

Something was strange.

What is it? What’s wrong?

It looked like an ordinary marble relief…

“Whatever it is, it’s impressive. Don’t you think, Millia?”

“Yeah. Pre-Empire means over eight hundred years ago.”

Ah, that’s it.

It’s too well-made!

The realization struck me.

The answer was in Demian and Millia’s casual conversation.

I see, that was the issue.

Since the relief of the sword-wielding man depicted a human, the creators of this door were likely human.

But pre-Empire humans didn’t have the skill to create such things.

This wasn’t something humans of that time, who were mere slaves or livestock, could have made.

No master would teach craftsmanship to cattle.

So this door wasn’t from the pre-Empire era, when other races flourished during the racial wars.

And if Frider was right, it wasn’t built after the Empire’s establishment either.

That left only one possible answer.

Before the racial wars.

Much earlier… I don’t know exactly when, but there must have been a time when humans weren’t slaves.

This door was evidence of that.

Though it might just be my speculation.

“That’s a plausible hypothesis. If true, it would have immense scholarly value.”

“You mean it would be worth money?”

Frider nodded in agreement with my question.

We all looked at each other silently.

Tacitly agreeing to avoid damaging the interior if possible.

After resting for about twenty minutes, we prepared and opened the door.

Stone dust fell with a soft sound.

With a rumbling vibration, the marble door slowly opened.

“This is…!”

Frider muttered blankly.

Demian and Millia also exclaimed in amazement.

What lay inside was truly astonishing.

—-

It was a long corridor.

The floor was marble, as were the walls and ceiling.

If that were all, we wouldn’t have been so surprised.

The surroundings were as bright as dawn.

Translucent objects emitting blue light were embedded in the ceiling at regular intervals.

Mana lamps.

Even in the Empire, they had been in common use for less than 200 years.

Following the embedded mana lamps, complex inscriptions covered the entire ceiling.

Concentrated mana flowed through the inscriptions like pulses, resembling blood vessels.

It was a strange sight.

Demian and Millia were speechless.

“What is that…?”

“How would I know…?”

Even Frider looked dumbfounded.