Chapter 171: The Angel Who Raids a Dungeon (9)

Episode 171: The Angel Who Raids a Dungeon (9)

Soya was huddled in a dark corner, covering her face.

She was still wearing that magical girl outfit, holding her girlish magic wand, but…

Her voice was gloomy.

“This item, it has a side effect of mental contamination. That’s why.”

“O-Of course.”

“So, what I said earlier wasn’t my true feelings. It was because of this item.”

“Obviously…”

Soya’s eyes sparkled as she got up.

“Magical girl… what am I, a little kid?”

Soya recovered quickly.

Even though her confidence was easily shaken, her ability to quickly regain her self-esteem was one of her strengths.

A reed-like girl who would bend but never break, that was Soya.

“Let me say this again, but I’m not interested in childish things like that, not at all.”

Confident—

Soya said, straightening her shoulders.

Leffrey nodded.

At that moment, the voices of children came from beside Soya.

“Soya noona, you were so cool!”

“With the power of darkness! The power of magic! And the power of hope!”

“Soya, the Black Magical Girl! Has arrived!”

“Aaagh, you kids, stop it!”

These children were the boys and girls Soya had rescued. She had supposedly stepped in just as they were about to be sacrificed.

[Inspiring courage in a young hero is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

‘Our Soya, you’ve done well.’

For the cowardly Soya to find the courage to save those children, even though she knew that their location could be revealed to the enemy…

‘Look here, everyone. I’m this girl’s guardian angel…!’

Leffrey couldn’t hide his proud smile.

“Leffrey, you know, right? I would never say lines like that. No, I was just trying to comfort the kids!”

As Soya struggled to cover the children’s mouths, Leffrey continued to smile, nodding as if he understood everything.

“I know, I know.”

“You don’t know anything at all! This won’t do. As expected… P-Put your head down!”

* * *

“So, what are we going to do with these children?”

After Soya’s long struggle had ended, Mari, who had been watching all of this, muttered in a cold voice.

“What to do…”

Leffrey looked at the children. About a hundred children who had no way to protect themselves, not even knowing how to hide.

Even Leffrey had to admit.

There was no way they could take these children with them, if they wanted to defeat the dragon and clear this dungeon.

However…

“But why are there so many children who aren’t even superhumans?”

Leffrey looked at Suyeon, who was tightly holding his hand. A girl who happened to be on a passenger ship bound for Wonsan and was caught up in the summoning of the nest.

Could these children have been brought here for the same reason as Suyeon?

“Children, how did you end up in a place like this?”

And their stories were simple. *The director said we were going somewhere, so I followed and ended up here.* *My mom and dad left me with a man, and when I opened my eyes, I was here.*

“Th-Then the other children…”

The older children each answered cynically, *I was sold,* *I was just dragged here.*

And one thing they all had in common, it was that all these children were their parents’ first child.

“The first harvest.”

Yumari muttered as if she had realized something.

“Huh?”

“These children are the first harvest. Whether their parents sold them or the director sold them off, the fact that they were offered remains the same.”

Crackle—An ominous lightning crackled around Yumari’s shoulders.

“Offering the first harvest to the altar. The oldest and most powerful sacrificial ritual in human history. It’s fortunate we were able to stop it before it was carried out.”

“I see. So these children were dragged here to be sacrifices. But, but Mari, why are you surrounded by lightning?”

“It’s for salvation.”

Yumari took a small step forward.

Leffrey blocked her path and asked again.

“Salvation, what kind of salvation is this. Seriously, what’s wrong with you?”

“Leffrey.”

Yumari, still with her cold, expressionless face, began to speak her dark thoughts without hesitation.

“There are two things I really hate.”

“And what are they?”

“One is my name. This damned surname (Family name.) and the name of my mother whom I don’t even remember.”

(TL Note: In Korea, your surname is placed first. I don’t know why I feel the need to remind this all the time.)

Gulp—Leffrey looked at Yumari with a sad expression.

“The other is saving children who are supposed to die. This world is closer to hell than heaven, and it’s better for the children to go before they know that fact.”

“If that’s how you think, then there would be no one left alive in this world. Life is…”

“What *is* life? Let’s say Leffrey, through a miracle, you manage to save this child and bring them to the outside world. Do you think they’ll be cherished and raised like a precious treasure? No. Children sold off in this era aren’t treated like that. Then will *you* be the one to keep protecting them? The demon king will soon invade this world, and they say that the demon army don’t just kill humans… Well, I suppose it’s natural for demons to act like demons?”

Dark, incredibly dark words.

“The life you speak of, Leffrey, is like that. There’s not a single bit of holiness in it.”

“Stop saying such dark things.”

“But even a dark truth is still the truth.”

And only then could Leffrey realized it.

Hongwol, awakened as a hero by sacrificing herself at the Old Citadel. Soya, awakened as a hero by defeating the Succubus Queen in her dreams.

But Mari…

Mari had not yet awakened as a hero.

‘Then Mari shouldn’t have been good at handling karma…’

However, Mari was now instinctively handling karma.

Dark karma, that is.

‘A Fallen Hero…?’

Gulp—

While Leffrey swallowed nervously,

“What’s this about Yumari, why are you acting like this?”

Soya said, twirling her finger around her hair.

“Did you suddenly catch chuunibyou? I know you’re a pessimist, but the way you’re acting as if you’ve realized something profound is really giving off terminal chuunibyou vibes.”

Soya, always ready to speak her mind. Yumari looked at Soya with an expression devoid of any emotion.

“What are you looking at?”

“…”

“Both of you, stop it. And Mari, take off that item set.”

“But I don’t have any other clothes to wear. Should I take it off anyway?”

“…Urgh.”

Leffrey shook his head, at a loss for words, and Soya, hiding her reddened cheeks, waved her fingers in the air.

Then a translucent round dome began to form.

“It’s an invisibility and non-interference barrier. It’s a magic created with Dark Karma Magic, so it’s impossible to break unless the dragon comes himself. As the nest becomes more solid due to the Dragon’s ritual, this barrier will become more solid too.”

Soya continued.

“Let’s protect the children here until we defeat the dragon. This place will be much safer than the upper floors, which will soon become a battlefield.”

“Soya…!”

When on earth did Soya become this mature?

Although she had only grown a little in height, her abilities and her character had matured so much.

“As expected, our Soya is the best…!”

“Now you finally get it? I told you. I’m destined to become the greatest mage.”

Proud, proud—

Leffrey, overwhelmed with pride, lifted Soya up.

“Ah!”

Soya, who was blushing with embarrassment, decided to quietly accept it after hearing Leffrey’s next words.

“There’s really no one like Soya…!”

Soya couldn’t help but raise the corners of her mouth. Shamelessly, she began to increase her demands.

“Hmm, praise me more. Lift me higher, higher…!”

And Leffrey indulged her without any hesitation. Why. Is it because he doesn’t know shame?

[Making a young hero happy is an angelic act.]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

[Indulging a young hero’s whims is an angelic act.]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

Surely, doing such things in front of Mari and numerous children should be embarrassing.

[Making a young hero truly happy is a genuinely angelic act!]

[You have gained a large amount of Angelic Power.]

However, there was too much Angelic Power to simply dismiss it as ‘Don’t they know shame…!’

“Soya, you’re so cute. Soya, you’re so cool. Soya, you’re so smart. Soya, you’re so precious.”

“Uurgh. More, more! Especially say that last one again!”

“Haah.”

And this childish display,

…Ended with Mari’s sigh.

It was the kind of sigh that would make anyone’s skin crawl, filled with a dragon’s killing intent.

“We’re inside a dungeon. Everyone, please focus.”

“…..”

“…..”

Faced with such an undeniable truth, the two were left speechless. They could only nod and follow the path Mari was taking.

“Thank goodness. We’re all together now, at least.”

“So now we just need to catch that damn lizard and it’s over? That’s no big deal!”

“….”

* * *

Thus, the trio began to traverse the dungeon. Sometimes overcoming traps with Mari’s martial arts, sometimes with Leffrey’s stealth Angelic Ability, and at other times with Soya’s magic.

They had two objectives.

To eliminate Ormantor. And to clear this dungeon.

Leffrey muttered while looking at the altar stained with blood.

“Let’s hurry. Before there are more victims…”

“I know, I get it.”

When acrobatics and martial arts were needed to subdue scattered enemies, Mari stepped up, and when they had to pass through magically protected doors, Soya handled it.

And whenever they had to wait for the main force of enemies to pass, it was…

‘Steps of the Fallen Angel Walking Through the Night, activate.’

…Leffrey’s turn. Most of his Angelic Abilities had reached close to Lv.10. And since Lv.10 is usually considered the master level, Leffrey could be said to have mastered most of his Angelic Abilities.

“Wow, they can’t notice us even though we’re right under their noses. And that magic circle. It’s one of the ancient empire’s secret techniques, a powerful tracking spell.”

Soya, admiring Leffrey’s stealth Angelic Ability, muttered those words. Leffrey nodded.

“Still, it’s weaker than Wol’s stealth. Wol can completely erase her existence from this world.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, that’s such a cheating technique.”

To erase one’s existence from the world.

To not remember that an assassin had entered, to not even be able to recall who Hongwol of the Mooncat Tribe is despite having just been face-to-face with her.

Truly the ultimate stealth technique.

“…Miss Hongwol must be in danger.”

Yumari, who had been silent as if she had lost her words, casually said to the two.

“Why?”

“We, until just a moment ago, couldn’t remember anything about Miss Hongwol.”

Couldn’t remember anything about Hongwol?

Leffrey then recalled what he had said earlier.

‘Thank goodness. We’re all together now, at least.’

They weren’t all together. Hongwol was still missing. But the three of them, even before Hongwol joined, went to confront Ormantor.

These three had forgotten about Hongwol.

“Miss Hongwol must have used her karma technique. Miss Soya, doesn’t a karma technique consume a lot of concentration and resources?”

“Uh-huh, so?”

“It means that she’s in a dangerous situation, dangerous enough to need a karma technique. And the fact that Miss Hongwol’s karma technique has been lifted means…”

She’s no longer able to maintain it.

Which is to say.

“Ormantor is targeting Wol first.”

“…As I thought.”

Mari spoke while quickly taking the passage to the upper floor, without any change in her expression.

“Among the three of us, the one with the most threatening techniques is Miss Hongwol. Even I would have targeted Miss Hongwol first.”

Could Wol really face the Ormantor alone?

She probably couldn’t.

There’s no chance of winning.

“No…”

Thump thump—Leffrey’s heart begins to beat rapidly, as if in panic.

“Ugh, how, how can we find Wol quickly?”

“I have a way.”

After a brief pause, Mari looked at Leffrey and said those words.

“…Though I’m not sure if you’ll like the method.”