Chapter 83

Ŕéád̂ ̃ôǹ ̀K̂át̃R̂èâ​d̈ïn̂ĝĈ​áf̂é

The place where Bron fell was the Karak Gorge.

The Karak Gorge was formed thousands of years ago by a massive earthquake, and its floor was always shrouded in a powerful toxic mist.

This toxic mist had a deep purple hue which repeatedly contracted and expanded at regular intervals.

It looked as if a giant monster was breathing, which is why the Karak Gorge was also called the “Breath of Death”.

Any living creature that touched the toxic mist would lose its life in an instant.

The toxicity was so potent that it could even melt steel.

Because of this, everyone who passed near the gorge moved as cautiously as if walking on thin ice.

If you fell, you would simply vanish.

Lucy quietly looked down into the Karak Gorge.

The sight of the purple mist writhing was both mysterious and terrifying.

“Ugh…!”

Beside her, Thor wore a dazed expression.

Now that the sword had fallen into the Karak Gorge, it was safe to assume it was lost forever.

“Grandmother’s keepsake… my months of hard work… it’s all gone, swallowed by the toxic mist…!”

“Thor…”

Priscilla apologized, looking ashamed.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know things would turn out like this… It’s my fault. If I hadn’t foolishly stolen your sword…”

“…”

Thor slumped his shoulders and said nothing.

It was indeed Priscilla’s fault.

If she hadn’t stolen the sword, none of this would have happened.

“What should I do…?”

Priscilla asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

“How can I make up for my mistake…?”

“…You can’t. Priscilla.”

Thor spoke in a hollow voice.

“For months, I worked desperately. I crafted the sword day and night to win the mining festival. But now it’s all gone, just like that. This is really…”

Tears dripped from Thor’s eyes.

Lucy, who had been quietly gazing into the gorge, finally spoke.

“Is the sword still intact?”

If the toxic mist was strong enough to melt a human instantly, what would happen to Dracania?

Thor replied, “The hilt might have melted, but the blade should be fine… Draconium is a metal that doesn’t deform or break under any conditions…”

“Hmm.”

Lucy nodded.

“Then I’ll go get it.”

“…What?”

Thor looked at Lucy in shock.

“Y-you’re going down into the gorge?”

“Yes.”

“No, no, you can’t. You’ll die the moment you go down. No human can withstand that toxic mist. Not even a grand mage could survive it.”

“No.”

Lucy took off the dagger strapped to her waist and the necklace around her neck, handing them to Sophie.

“Sophie, hold onto these for me.”

The dagger was a gift from Brian, and the necklace was a gift from Lord Leyton.

She couldn’t let the gifts melt in the toxic mist.

Once Sophie took the dagger and necklace, Lucy said, “I’ll be back.” and jumped into the gorge.

Behind her, Thor and Priscilla shouted something, but the wind drowned out their voices.

Whoosh!

Her body fell rapidly.

Lucy squinted her eyes and stared downward.

The gorge seemed quite deep.

Even without the toxic mist, the fall alone would be fatal.

When she reached the middle of the gorge, the purple mist engulfed her.

Of course, the toxic mist couldn’t harm Lucy.

Lucy had a skill called Poison Immunity.

A passive skill that nullified all poison.

Thanks to that skill, she could ingest or touch poison without any harm.

That’s why she was confident about retrieving Dracania.

The impact from the fall wouldn’t be a problem either.

The Shadow Shield would protect her body the moment she hit the ground.

The real issue was something else.

“…”

Her clothes were disappearing.

Her top, pants, underwear, shoes—everything except Lucy’s body melted away in the toxic mist.

A bare feeling.

Thud.

She soon landed on the ground.

Thanks to the Shadow Shield, she wasn’t hurt at all.

But her posture was another matter.

Lucy landed in a rather pitiful position, face-first into the ground.

This couldn’t even be called a proper landing.

She had just fallen.

Lucy shook her head and got up.

The ground was smooth.

You’d expect the bottom of a gorge to be rough with rocks and stones, but due to the corrosion from the toxic mist, the ground was just smooth.

The color was purple.

The temperature was warm.

It felt like stepping into a hot spring.

Cracks were scattered across the ground, with purple mist rising from them.

Lucy began searching for the blade of Dracania.

After about ten minutes, she found the blade stuck in a crack in the corner.

Lucy knelt on the ground and reached into the crack.

But only her fingertips could barely touch it.

She pressed her face against the ground and pushed her arm in as far as she could.

It was a somewhat embarrassing position to be in while naked, but since no one was around, she didn’t care.

Finally, the blunt part of the blade touched her hand.

At that moment,

Swoosh.

She felt a presence behind her.

Lucy’s eyes widened.

Something coiled around her ankle.

Her body was suddenly dragged away.

“!”

Lucy was left dangling in the air, still holding onto the blade of Dracania.

In her upside-down view, she saw a giant monster.

Its body was the same purple as the ground, and its shape resembled an octopus.

Lucy didn’t know it, but this monster was a descendant of the Kraken.

A creature that inherited the blood of the Kraken, which once ruled the primordial seas, it had been trapped here thousands of years ago during the earthquake.

While other creatures died instantly in the toxic mist, this monster had grown stronger by feeding on it.

Over time, its body had become increasingly ominous.

Its body turned purple, and its size grew enormous.

The monster’s eyes were larger than a human’s and radiated powerful magic.

An ordinary human would suffer severe headaches, confusion, and hallucinations just from looking at it.

The monster had eight massive tentacles, each dripping with sticky mucus.

That sticky mucus was now flowing from Lucy’s ankle up to her thighs and torso.

“…”

Lucy frowned in disgust.

The mucus was bad enough, but the monster’s tentacles were now coiled around her arms, legs, and neck.

And now, only three tentacles remained…

Kuooh—

The monster’s eyes glistened with excitement.

The remaining three tentacles began to move slowly.

The tips of the tentacles quivered slightly.

As if in anticipation.

Lucy didn’t want to know where those three tentacles were headed.

She immediately activated a skill.

“Dark Flame.”

With a low voice, the monster’s body was engulfed in black flames.

Whoosh!

The monster’s eyes shot open, and its tentacles writhed rapidly.

It seemed to be writhing in agony, but it wasn’t a pleasant sight.

It was disgusting.

It might even give her trauma.

Fortunately, the monster’s thrashing didn’t last long.

The monster shriveled up like a cooked octopus and turned to ash, scattering into the air.

Only then did Lucy land on the ground.

Her body was still glistening with the monster’s mucus.

It felt like a mark left by the creature, making her feel disgusted again.

‘I need to wash this off.’

Suddenly, she noticed something glowing on the ground.

When she got closer, she saw a purple crystal lying where the monster had disappeared.

It was about the size of a fist.

It hadn’t been incinerated by the Dark Flame, so it must be some kind of rare mineral.

She decided to take it.

With Dracania’s blade in one hand and the purple crystal in the other, Lucy looked up at the top of the gorge.

She had simply jumped down, but getting back up would require a different method.

Lucy already had something in mind.

‘Finally, I get to use it.’

The corner of Lucy’s mouth curled up slightly.

There was a skill she had been curious about for a while but had held back from using because it might draw too much attention.

But now, since no one was around and she needed to climb the gorge, it seemed like the perfect time to try it.

‘But first….’

Lucy was currently naked.

Climbing the gorge like this was a bit awkward.

She had already bathed with Sophie, so it wasn’t a big deal, but she didn’t want to show her naked body to Thor and Priscilla.

Swoosh.

Shadows extended from Lucy’s body.

The shadows wrapped around her body, clinging tightly.

Since she had no clothes, she covered herself with shadows.

The silhouette of her body was still quite revealing, almost like body painting, but it was better than being completely naked.

With her body covered in shadows, Lucy activated another skill.

[ Undead Summon: Bone Dragon ]

Rumble!

The ground began to shake.

A massive magic circle appeared on the ground, and black smoke swirled around it.

Flash!

A pair of blue lights flickered within the magic circle.

The Bone Dragon revealed itself.

Kuaaaah!!

The Bone Dragon roared toward the sky.

The gorge shook from its cry.

The Bone Dragon flapped its enormous wings.

The toxic mist temporarily cleared, and the surroundings became visible.

Lucy’s hair fluttered in the wind.

Lucy’s eyes sparkled.

‘So cool…!’

Its overwhelmingly large size.

Teeth as sharp as swords.

It truly lived up to its reputation as a top-tier undead.

With an excited heart, Lucy gave the Bone Dragon a command.

[ Give me a ride. ]

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
No tentacle shenanigans happening here, alternatively, if we were in the lewd saintess’ imagination…

No, behead the noob saintess.