Chapter 72 : Cornered Mouse

The information on the detected figures was nothing short of bleak.

▶ Level 96 Warper Bastol: Once a high priest who served the goddess in ancient times, he began to covet her boundless power. After thorough preparations and gathering allies, he captured the goddess on the day she descended to the mortal realm using chains imbued with powerful restraints and curses even gods could not easily break. After a long and brutal battle, he emerged victorious.

As a consequence of rebelling directly against the goddess, he became a being who could no longer walk under the light. However, after countless years of siphoning and absorbing her power, he regained enough strength to walk the world and exert influence once more. ◀

▶ Level 96 Blood-Drinker Dantalion: Once a shaman who worshipped the goddess, he joined Bastol in his rebellion. Highly skilled in curses and dark arts, he played a crucial role by casting a massive curse on the chains that bound the goddess, weakening her significantly.

Though he can no longer freely roam the outside world, he has spent countless years developing all kinds of curses by exploiting the goddess’s power. Even now, he scatters his experimental creations across the world, observing their results while drinking the blood and souls harvested by his creatures to increase his strength. ◀

▶ Level 83 Blackshadow Mercenary Captain Darius: The notorious boss of the globally feared mercenary group “Blackshadow,” known for doing anything as long as the price is right. They are one of the primary tools used by the subterranean worms to stir up chaos across the globe. Darius, aware of this, still cooperates actively in exchange for power and wealth. ◀

In addition to them, several other red silhouettes began appearing.

Among them, the only one I recognized was Darius from the Black Shadow Mercenaries.

The rest were beings I had never encountered in the game before.

Excluding Darius, every one of them had a level over 90, making them opponents I couldn’t possibly face even in a one-on-one fight—and now they were all gathered in one place.

One particularly notable figure was the one named Dantalion.

Even back in the Goblin Cave I visited shortly after arriving in this world, I had encountered a dark spirit that claimed to be Dantalion’s minion.

The black hound that set Arboness ablaze had also muttered something about offering blood to Lord Dantalion.

The catastrophe at Aldebaran, seen through a vision of the past, had also been caused by a massive cursed magic circle—eerily similar to his methods.

“If that’s the case… then he must be the one behind all of those disasters.”

As I looked at the massive figure—twice the size of a normal human, more beast than man—I swallowed hard.

The subterranean worms, now approaching, looked at the portal we had inadvertently used to arrive here and spoke.

“Well done, Robert. The situation was urgent, but entrusting you was the right call.”

When I turned back, Robert appeared from within the portal we had used.

▶ Level 96 Dark Blade Robert: Once a member of the goddess’s elite combat force in ancient times, he too coveted her power and allied with others to bring her down. An exceptional swordsman, he fought fiercely against the chained goddess, and with the help of many allies, succeeded in defeating her.

Afterward, he continued to reappear across generations under the pretense of serving the goddess, working within her militant factions. However, his true purpose was always to create systems that would harvest blood and negative energy as sustenance for himself and his comrades. ◀

As Robert emerged, the portal closed behind him. He brushed off his hands and sighed deeply.

“Whew… As expected, it’s still tough to fight outside before I’m at full strength. I get why Vector fell so easily now.”

Now that he had returned to their dark headquarters—devoid of light—Robert’s level had also increased significantly.

Seeing the scene, with both the subterranean worms and Blackshadow’s leader present, I could guess what was going on.

“So all that chaos caused by the Blackshadow Mercs… you were the ones pulling the strings, huh?”

“Exactly. You’re quick on the uptake. Then I assume you also know what fate awaits you here?”

“I figured you didn’t plan to let us walk away the moment Robert showed up.”

“Then there’s no need for further talk.”

Zzzzzing—!

Bastol’s magic and Robert’s sword energy flew toward us simultaneously.

We scattered to avoid the attack, but unlike the outside world, this place was suffocatingly filled with darkness that weighed down our bodies, making it hard to move.

“Ugh… My body… feels so heavy.”

“Damn it, there’s not even any plants I can summon here. Dodging just by sound has its limits…”

“The ring’s magic is too weak here… this won’t do…”

I quickly shared a portion of my lightsaber’s power with the three of them.

The light swirled into their limbs, emitting a faint glow.

Seemingly feeling lighter, all three quickly adjusted their stances and rose to prepare for battle, but…

‘This… is unwinnable.’

It wasn’t just the text floating in front of me telling me that we couldn’t win—I could feel it.

This fight simply wasn’t viable from the start.

The level difference was enormous, and to make things worse, the higher-leveled side had the numbers advantage and we were in their home turf.

Just being in this place had raised Robert’s level by ten compared to when he was outside.

And at this level, a 10-level difference wasn’t just a number—it was a massive gap, a whole different world compared to something like the difference between Level 1 and Level 11.

That meant the subterranean worms had been ridiculously weakened when outside—and in contrast, they were insanely strong here, in their domain.

‘We need to run.’

But how?

The subterranean worms had opened some kind of portal and used it to bring us here, crossing over themselves as well.

If those parasites had been leeching off the goddess’s power all this time, then it meant they had used that power, in some form, to open the portal.

So if I held the original source of that power… wasn’t it possible that I could do something similar?

But I didn’t have time to think it through.

No sooner had I dodged Bastol and Robert’s attacks than Dantalion leapt in front of me with such force that the ground shook from the impact.

“I’ve been dying to see the face of the bastard responsible—you, Holy Knight.”

“Ghhk…!”

“Thanks to you, I couldn’t get any results from my goblin camp experiment. I barely collected any elf souls from Arboness. And over at the Carat Dutchy border? I got almost nothing! I’ve been itching to find you and tear your guts out—and now, you’re right in front of me. I’m going to kill you in the most painful way imaginable!”

KWA-BOOM!

Multiple heads burst out from Dantalion’s body, all roaring in unison.

He still vaguely resembled a human, but with dog-like features appearing on his grotesque faces—he looked almost like a humanoid Cerberus.

Hearing Dantalion’s words, Ravi and Elfin snapped their heads toward him in shock.

“The unrest at the border… it was you!”

“You… you’re the one…! You did that to our kingdom—to our sacred tree that’s stood for thousands of years…!”

The two rushed forward in fury, but Dantalion clenched both fists and slammed them into the ground, causing the stone tiles beneath their feet to erupt like spears.

“Agh… Aaaargh!”

“Kyaaahh!”

“Ravi! Elfin! Calm down and look at the situation! That thing’s way too dangerous!”

I immediately used the healing power of the Lightsaber to restore the two and pulled them behind me.

But before we could even catch our breath—Lenis’s magic came flying toward us—wait, what?

WHOOSH—!

A fireball Lenis had fired grazed right past my face, and I flinched, shouting in alarm.

“Lenis! What the hell are you doing?!”

“Tch… You really think I’d fall for that just because you’re talking with Alvis’s voice?!”

“What are you talking about!? It’s me!”

“Cut the crap!”

Another spell from Lenis flew straight at me—and that’s when I realized something was very, very wrong.

I quickly turned to look toward the enemies.

Bastol, the subterranean worm, was grinning slyly as he cast another spell.

“Just a slight distortion of perception, and I can make you all kill each other. Tell me, Holy Knight—whose hand would it be most miserable to die by?”

“You bastard…!”

I swung the Lightsaber, imbued with healing power, at Lenis.

As it connected, she was released from Bastol’s unnoticed spell and her eyes widened in shock.

“A-Alvis?! That worm was just—”

“No, that thing warped your perception and made you see me as an enemy! Damn it… if this keeps up, we’re going to end up fighting each other. We need to get out of here…”

“Oh? So you admit you can’t win and are thinking of fleeing? Smart move—but did you think we’d just let you?”

As Bastol tried to seize control of Elfin’s mind next, I immediately swung my sword, splitting part of my power among the three of them.

Their limbs glowed even more brightly than before, resisting Bastol’s mental interference.

Bastol clicked his tongue in frustration.

“Tch. How annoying. I wanted to make you tear each other apart and savor the screams of the defeated, but it seems that’s not going to happen now.”

“Bastol. Don’t waste time with your stupid tricks. This is a hard-won opportunity—stop playing around and finish it. I’ve got to head back and eliminate the witnesses.”

“Tch… fine. Less fun, but I agree—the success of our plan takes priority. So then… farewell.”

As Bastol, Dantalion, Robert, and the other worms gathered their power, a massive spear of darkness began to take form.

“Everyone, get down!!!”

SWOOSH—!

Before the three could get caught in the attack, I shoved them aside with all my strength.

The dark spear tore into my side.

KRA-BOOM!

“Ghk—…!”

As the spear exploded, I was thrown dozens of meters back, coughing up blood—my side shredded in an agony beyond anything I’d ever known.

“ALVIS!!!”

The three cried out my name as they saw nearly half my side was gone.

“Aaaah! Wh-what do we do?! A-Alvis! Your side—!”

“J-Just hold on! I’ll call the herbs… I’ll summon them… Come on, come on, please—COME OUT! NOW!!!”

“A-Are you alive?! I’ll heal you right now—AAGH!”

ZZZZT—!

Lenis tried to heal me, but just like what happened with Benjamin, a dark smoke pushed back from the wound on my side.

“Hkk… nghh… Stay… stay back.”

“Alvis! Don’t talk! You’re dying!!”

“Th-the bleeding won’t stop! What do we do… this wound… it’s beyond first aid…!”

“Healing… Ah—! Ugh, damn it! What is this black smoke?! This is urgent! GO AWAY! VANISH, NOW!!!”

As Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis screamed and cried in desperation, the subterranean worms slowly advanced.

“All this delay… for something so pitiful.”

“It’s even more infuriating because the rat turned out to be so weak.”

“We’re out of time. Before the Great One fully recovers, we need to move forward with our part.”

The three girls stood between me and the worms, trying to block them with their bodies—but it was no use.

At this rate, they were all going to die.

I couldn’t let that happen…

My vision began to blur from blood loss and pain.

I stared up at the pitch-black cathedral ceiling, shrouded in endless darkness—when suddenly, something appeared within it.

Through my fading vision, I saw—

『Come… reach out to me…』

‘…A woman?’