Ch.143143. Sacred Mausoleum of the Dead

The eye angel was not the mid-boss of this mausoleum.

It was the true master of this dungeon, residing on the final floor.

When Amon realized this fact, his reaction was denial.

“Did the Vatican get it wrong? No. That can’t be right. The cross fragment responded to it.”

But no matter how many times he denied it, there was no sign of the item or connection he was seeking in the mausoleum.

Especially, there was no trace of the sword he so desperately wanted, nor anything resembling it.

Recalling how the eye angel was too powerful to be just a mid-boss, he slowly had to accept reality.

The fact that the eye angel was this dungeon’s master, and the sword he wanted wasn’t in this mausoleum.

After accepting reality, Amon’s next stage was anger.

‘My 20 years!!!!’

Was this how it felt to be someone whose stocks got delisted after investing everything from their soul to their savings?

Even Amon, who prided himself on being calm, couldn’t help but be consumed by rage in this moment.

‘My 20 years!!!! Give me back my 20 years!!!!’

Amon screamed internally.

But he couldn’t blame anyone.

With stocks, you could blame the person who recommended them or the articles you read, but when you predict and fail alone, there’s no one to blame.

In Amon’s case, he had simply assumed on his own that the sword would be sleeping here now that the game had become reality.

No one had guaranteed that such a sword was buried in this mausoleum, nor had anyone hinted at or encouraged the idea.

In other words, it was Amon’s own failed investment.

‘My bitcoiiiin!!!!’

Though slightly different, Amon was floundering in a bear market he had never experienced in his life.

While Amon was half-panicking, the rest of the party was feeling a different kind of frustration.

“Tch. So the operation to obtain the ultimate weapon against the great demons was a complete failure.”

Kathy, who had sprained her ankle during the battle with the eye angel, muttered while receiving first aid.

Though not as much as Amon, the other companions also expressed their emptiness at seeing their efforts of the past few days go to waste.

The party’s mood sank low.

Recognizing the atmosphere, Amon tried to suppress his frustration and fulfill his duty as the party leader.

“Let’s get out of here first. Even if it’s not the sword, it’s not like we achieved nothing.”

At least considering the practical experience gained while defeating the boss, it wasn’t a waste of time.

Amon pushed down his regrets that kept trying to surface and prepared to leave the dungeon.

Meanwhile, Sunwoo, who still couldn’t completely let go of his lingering attachment, touched various parts of the boss room like an archaeologist, and discovered some kind of pattern engraved on the wall.

“Could it be…!”

Sunwoo pushed the engraved pattern with excitement.

Though she didn’t show it, Sunhwa also anticipated what might happen next.

And the result of this action was…

Nothing happened at all.

The pattern that had sunk in like a button was merely a trace of damage from the fierce battle, not any kind of mechanism.

Amon, who had been watching quietly, spoke to the siblings in Korean.

“Dear Korean siblings. Why are you trying to get Oppert’s revenge in someone else’s tomb? Not all Westerners are German, you know.”

“No, I…”

Sunwoo, who was about to say something to Amon, just moved his lips and then stopped.

Amon chuckled and prepared to leave the boss room.

That’s when Sonia suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

“What is it?”

“Don’t you think something’s strange?”

“Which part?”

“According to you, the mausoleum is where a hero who saved the world rests, right?”

“Yes?”

“Then why are these angels here as monsters?”

“Well, that’s because the theologians and people who blasphemed in this city at that time were being punished. You also at Higgjen Group… Oh.”

Amon finally realized the fact he had been naturally overlooking until now.

This place was a prison for the souls of sinners, not a place where a hero would rest.

If this had been a hero’s mausoleum, such monsters wouldn’t have appeared from the beginning.

That would have been an insult to the hero.

Amon’s head felt numb as if hit by a hammer when he realized the truth.

“I thought since the Vatican introduced it…”

He naturally assumed it was a mausoleum.

The world’s most brilliant scholars and theologians had excavated it, and it had been vouched for a thousand years, so he hadn’t doubted it.

Even with the cross fragment as an entry ticket, it was natural to be confident in his actions.

Kathy, who had been listening quietly, began to doubt the Vatican.

“Could they have deceived us?”

“No. They probably thought so themselves.”

That’s how religion and authority work.

Once an idea takes root, it doesn’t tolerate any doubts or questions.

If it had been a place open to the public, questions would have been raised continuously, but since it was a place known only to high-ranking priests, they probably never questioned it.

‘They’re the kind of people who believe fake relics are real anyway…’

Amon blamed himself.

The idea of exchanging information about the Vatican and the mausoleum in return for Higgjen Group was fundamentally flawed from the start.

‘I should have assumed my trading partners were sane people!’

Trusting the Vatican.

It was too naive a thought.

Amon gave a bitter smile at the realization that the past 20 years were not just wasted but almost delusional.

Sonia vaguely read his feelings from his bitter smile.

“Wait, hear me out. I don’t think it was completely in vain.”

But Sonia hadn’t given up hope yet.

“You said the hero died in a city overrun with monsters, right? The fact that those monsters were found here means the hero must be nearby, at least.”

“That’s true?”

“Then we just need to look around here.”

“How??”

“We can ask people who know.”

“…?”

Countless question marks floated above Amon’s head.

*

Sonia had been harboring a question for several years.

– ‘Why do people who receive divine punishment transform into angel-like monsters?’

Angels are clearly God’s apostles.

It didn’t make sense for beings receiving divine punishment to transform into them.

If they were to transform, it would make more sense for them to become ugly bald demons with bat wings.

To her question, Amon had answered:

– “Just as Divine Power isn’t exclusive to angels, neither is the angelic form exclusive to holiness. If demons want to deceive humans, wouldn’t it be easier if they looked beautiful?”

That was how Amon understood the phenomenon.

At the time, Sonia had agreed with Amon’s thinking.

But as time passed and she shot at angels in this dungeon, her shelved question began to resurface.

And after defeating the eye angel and learning that this place wasn’t a mausoleum, she came up with a new hypothesis.

“Fallen angels are classified as demons, right? And the demons of Goetia are also fallen angels.”

“Yes.”

“And the thing that ambushed you at our lodging was also a demon.”

“…”

“Is this really a coincidence?”

She reminded Amon of what he had repeatedly emphasized.

There are no coincidences in the world.

Especially if a specific word or entity appears more than twice in unrelated places, it’s inevitable.

Based on this fact, she offered a conjecture.

“Either the demons are also looking for the mausoleum, or they’ve already found it and are trying to stop us.”

Of course, it could be paranoia.

Sonia acknowledged that fact.

But the connection between the fallen angel-type monsters and the suddenly appearing Goetia demons seemed too strong to be coincidental.

Therefore, she proposed a strategy.

“Don’t you think we’ve been too reactive to the demons so far? I think it wouldn’t be bad for us to do the calling sometimes.”

Upon hearing her strategy, the party members’ eyes all lit up.

*

That day, Amon’s party contacted the Vatican and shared information about the labyrinth.

What abilities the eye angel had, what parts were key to defeating it, and so on.

He shared all information about the eye angel with the Vatican.

Among this was the information that this place was not a mausoleum.

“The angel the Vatican identified wasn’t a mid-boss but the master of the dungeon.”

“Then the hero’s coffin…”

The upper echelons were visibly disappointed.

It wasn’t that they were planning to sell the hero’s remains and coffin.

It was just the regret of not obtaining a new religious relic and theological evidence for religious significance.

The Pope’s disappointment was conveyed through the receiver.

But Amon’s explanation wasn’t over yet.

“It’s too early to be disappointed. While that dungeon wasn’t the mausoleum, it provided a key to the mausoleum.”

“Is that true?”

Amon affirmed.

The Vatican, jubilant again, promised Amon any support and asked for information about the mausoleum.

And all of this conversation was being eavesdropped on by Marchosias, the 35th demon of Goetia.

[This is serious.]

He stopped eavesdropping and immediately shared this fact with other demons.

[Sitri was defeated pathetically. Moreover, that Amon claims to have found the traitor’s mausoleum. If we don’t hurry, we’ll repeat that failure again.]

Marchosias demanded immediate action.

The demons’ video conference fell into silence.

Normally, these beings would have satisfied their demonic desire for chaos with frivolous talk, so their silence was a testament to how serious the situation was.

Then, breaking the silence, one demon raised a question.

[Have you considered the possibility of a trap?]

A voice of an elderly man, inspiring trust just by listening, echoed in the auditorium.

Marchosias didn’t deny this.

[I won’t deny it. But the risk is much greater if it’s not a trap but the truth.]

[I can’t believe it. Our operation was perfect. There’s no way the entrance could be revealed in such a manner.]

[Have you forgotten? We could only tamper with the path to the entrance and the records. We don’t know what might come out of other dungeons. That detestable goddess might have arranged for a key to be dropped.]

[What’s the actual probability of that?]

[Moderately low. But too dangerous to ignore.]

[Then there’s only one way.]

In the end, to avoid the worst, they decided to take a bit of a risk.

[Let them drink from the poisoned chalice willingly.]

Marchosias, who had somehow taken control of the meeting, spoke as the representative.

[Even if it’s a trap, form a team that can escape. Those who volunteer, raise your hands.]

It was a historic(?) moment where the demons, who had never been united, came together with a single purpose.