Ch.46Dungeon (3)

Three figures sat in an elevated position.

No, the girl kneeling in respect couldn’t even tell if they were human. That’s what she thought.

Of course, they and Lorian belonged to the same clan.

The other two were also similar in rank if only considering their race. However, at this moment, there existed a stark difference between the girl and them.

Just as ants and humans cannot be equals, they and the girl were not equals.

“Lorian.”

The room was filled with murals on all sides. The only thing that could be called a window was the stained glass in the ceiling.

The light passing through the stained glass scattered brilliant colors, but darkness still shrouded the faces of the three seated at the high table.

An aura as if molded from darkness itself. Transcendence. Lorian could not raise her head.

“Raise your head.”

Only then did she lift her gaze. The three figures with even their silhouettes chilling were looking at her.

The Court Count, head of the Blood Knights, sitting with crossed legs, looking down at Lorian with red eyes.

The Empress, ruler of the Shapeshifters, meeting Lorian’s gaze with constantly changing eyes, as if finding her interesting.

Finally, the Prophet, elder of the Necromancers, who distorted light more intensely than anyone else present.

Lorian realized that despite the sunlight filling the space, this room was dark.

That was to be expected, as they all possessed powers that disrupted the natural order.

It was only natural. Lorian lowered her head again, crushed under the overwhelming pressure she could never hope to approach.

“What do you think?”

“There is nothing to think about. Removal is impossible.”

A deep voice followed. The voice of the Necromancer known as the Prophet.

“You blood demons who draw magic from outside cannot resist magic engraved so deeply in the body. If we carelessly attempt removal, death would follow.”

“Then there’s nothing to be done.”

Though each was an immensely powerful being, none contested the declaration of impossibility.

Such was the nature of Necromancers.

Among the three clans, they could be considered foremost in magic, and when ‘Father’ still existed, they were the only ones who maintained an equal relationship with him.

Monsters otherwise known as dragons in the world.

Those who, unable to overcome curses, diseases, and providence, relied on Father.

They cultivated power that transcended death and trampled life.

They affirmed the providence Father created and assisted him with magic.

Such a being had spoken of impossibility. There could be no dissent.

“I’ve created a replacement.”

This time it was the Empress who spoke. Still smiling with eyes that changed color like the stained glass above, she snapped her fingers.

As if emerging from shadows, two figures appeared without a sound. They approached Lorian and attached something to her severed shoulder.

‘…This is.’

It was a prosthetic arm.

A blood-red arm reminiscent of the armor she once wore. An arm that fit perfectly on this diminished girl’s body.

The components forming the skeleton were in perfect harmony, and the blood-red exterior shone cleanly and beautifully.

Such a thing could not be created by the power of Shapeshifters alone.

It required the combined powers of vampires, necromancers, and shapeshifters.

Truly an object worthy of being called a sacred artifact. Yet Lorian could not rejoice.

This was a debt.

At the same time, it was a polite refusal.

An implication that the armor she had lost would not be returned unless she recovered it herself, and this was the only thing they would grant her.

Lorian bit her lip and lowered her head.

Just as she had expected.

“Blood bag, was it?”

“Blood bag… was that the discarded experiment?”

“An experimental subject discarded and used as a foot soldier and blood bag. I only knew it as a failure.”

Blood bag.

Homunculus.

The man called Court Count glared at the prosthetic arm with his red eyes.

An experiment thought to have no potential, whose only value was as a blood bag.

If things had turned out this way, that was a different story.

“In the name of the Blood Clan, ‘Body Reconstruction’ is declared a top priority experiment. Those who object, raise your hands.”

No one raised their hand. That was to be expected.

Their purpose had been the same for thousands of nights.

Only to recover Father who had departed.

If that was impossible, then to reach him.

Only the method had changed.

It was when Lorian lowered her head, avoiding their fierce, obsessive gazes.

“Lorian. You also have a task to complete.”

“Command me.”

“Recover your armament, and retrieve the experimental subject.”

The experimental subject. Something once called a blood bag. The only successful experiment that cut off Lorian’s arm and opened the closed potential of the homunculus.

As Lorian prostrated herself and bowed her head:

“I shall—”

“Remember your sister’s failure.”

Lorian’s body, which had been submissively bowing, stiffened with a jolt.

“Remember this. All the clan’s resources, techniques, and efforts… exist only for One.”

Lorian’s fierce eyes looked up, and in her gaze was reflected the mural.

The image of a man ascending to the sky with arms outstretched.

“For Father.”

*

“Father.”

My history with women wasn’t particularly impressive.

At least, that was the case before I fell into this world of Grim Darker, but lately I couldn’t say the same.

Whether it was because of this incredibly handsome face I acquired when I became a homunculus, or because my perfect character was shining through, I didn’t know.

But at this very moment, I was in trouble.

“Father.”

There was a woman clinging to my arm, rubbing her face against it.

Blasphemously calling me father, yet I felt her as a woman rather than as my daughter.

It was troublesome. Even more so when I turned my head.

“Father?”

I couldn’t ignore the voice coming from beside me, but turning my head wasn’t easy.

Isla’s eyes made it so.

They were intensely cold gray-blue eyes. Not like in manga where eyes lack light or anything like that.

Yet I could instinctively feel killing intent.

It wasn’t just because of the crossbow in her hand. Even though her expressionless face wasn’t much different from usual, something felt different.

“You have a child?”

“No, how could I possibly…”

“Father, why are you lying?”

This time, a chill assaulted me from another direction. The kind of chill that made me unconsciously swallow.

Not because the opponent was stronger than me, or because I thought I couldn’t win in a fight.

It was a chill originating from some sticky, dark emotion.

When I finally turned my head, I faced the dragon’s face pressed almost against mine.

Horned, with long white hair that, despite being unkempt, was still beautiful rather than messy.

Her beautiful face was pale, giving an impression of fragility, and beyond that, her voluptuous body had a structure that would stimulate the desires of ordinary men, but…

It was chilling. There was something unpleasant about the woman’s demeanor.

The quality that ordinary people would call madness.

“Y-Yes, that’s right. I do.”

I barely managed to turn my head and wink at Isla, who seemed to sense something was wrong and narrowed her eyes.

The old man just stood there blinking in confusion, but he quickly realized that avoiding a difficult fight wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“I’ve, I’ve heard a lot about you. To think he had such a fine daughter!”

“…Who are you?”

“Well, I’m your father’s friend!”

“…Friend?”

The dragon’s gaze turned to me as if asking if this was true. I nodded and forced a smile.

“Father’s friend… then who is that woman?”

A long finger with sharp nails pointed at Isla. I debated whether to yell about pointing at elders or just let it go, and chose the latter.

“That’s Isla, my—”

“Bride-to-be.”

Isla cut off my answer. But thinking about it, it wasn’t a bad idea.

I didn’t know exactly what kind of being this “father” was, but a new wife would be—

“Nooooo!”

My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden scream and hands choking my neck.

“Gak, ugh…?!”

“No, no, nooo! Father must be whole alone! Father must be perfect, Father doesn’t need a bride!”

The noise she emitted with her face pressed against mine far exceeded human volume.

It was hardly different from the roar she had emitted in her dragon form.

Something flowed from my ears as if my eardrums had ruptured, and blood came from my mouth as my insides were shaken.

It wasn’t because I was an orphan and couldn’t understand normal family sensibilities.

Rather, this was a situation where even with normal sensibilities, it wouldn’t be strange to suffer great harm.

First of all, I needed to survive.

I tried to remove the hands choking my neck, but they wouldn’t budge.

Instead, scales appeared on the woman’s skin with transcendental strength, and her dress tore.

As the bodice of her dress split open, revealing her ribcage.

Through the open ribcage between her cleavage, I saw the empty interior.

There was no heart. How?

“It’s, it’s a joke…!”

When I finally managed to speak, the strength in her hands loosened.

As I collapsed to the floor, the woman’s face was thrust close to mine.

“Really?”

“R-Really.”

“Ah, heh, hee… not funny.”

Her expression suddenly hardened after laughing. A chilling sensation ran down my spine.

At the same time, the woman who had grabbed my neck pressed her face against mine.

“I almost killed Father. Of course Father wouldn’t die, but I almost killed you.”

I swallowed hard.

Only then did I change my perspective on this dragon woman.

She was insane.

Not just in the clichéd sense, but genuinely, thoroughly insane.

“So what are you? Friends?”

“Y-Yes. Friends.”

This was dangerous. As I was rubbing my neck that had been grabbed, the woman stepped back from me, elegantly swished her dress, and slightly lifted its hem.

“It’s an honor to meet you. Father’s friends.”

It was a noble greeting. So much so that one could hardly tell she was originally a dragon.

She smiled with such a greeting. A bright yet somehow unsettling smile.

“My name is Nerilmeius.”

This castle is mine, she added, leaving no room for doubt.

Who would dare claim ownership of this space in the presence of such a being? I laughed helplessly, and seeing this, the woman let out an exclamation.

“Now that Father has returned, we must hold a banquet.”

Snap! As her fingers made a crisp sound, the entire cavern shook.

Frozen in the face of an inexplicable situation, I soon saw the ground split open as something emerged.

Undead, easily numbering in the hundreds. They were emerging throughout the entire cavern.

The countless undead rising from all directions far exceeded the number that I, Isla, or the old man could handle.

Fighting now meant death. We couldn’t fight. With this realization, I thought:

So this is what it means to be a Necromancer, one of the three races that occupied the highest seats.

I had felt it earlier when she was choking me.

The strength that had choked my neck then completely surpassed mine.

In strength, magic, and necromantic ability.

Faced with an opponent I could never hope to match, I was wondering what I should do.

[Person of Interest: Blood Bag / The Three Clans

-You have repeatedly interfered with the events of the Three Clans. Some within the Three Clans are even discussing ways to deal with you. From now on, it will be difficult for you to sleep peacefully at night.]

A reputation notice I had seen before appeared in the corner of my vision.

The content was not much different from what I had seen before. Just as I was wondering why it suddenly appeared:

[Experimental Subject Scheduled for Retrieval / The Three Clans

-Your achievements that transcend impossibility have caught the attention of the Three Clans. With the agreement of the three highest members of the Three Clans, hunters dedicated solely to retrieving you are descending to the surface. Don’t take your eyes off the sky from now on!]

I saw the content of the reputation suddenly change.

Why?

Before I could read and comprehend the content…

…Thwack!

Faintly, I heard the sound of something falling.