episode_0014

After some rest and food, I immediately packed all the provisions and luggage and arrived in front of the secret passage Roland had told me about.

“First, the map does indicate this is the right spot.”

But I don’t know the exact location.

Even though Roland had marked the location with a tiny checkmark, it was on a map of the entire enormous city. So, that small mark was abstract enough to point to an entire wide alleyway.

“First, let’s just try to find it.”

Some buildings had collapsed, making the secret passage seem quite difficult to find, but I figured I’d eventually find it if I kept looking.

***

“……Is this it?”

I think I found it.

However, it looked quite different from the secret passage I had imagined.

“This isn’t so much a secret passage as it is just a crack, isn’t it?”

In the stone brick foundation supporting a massive house, there was a crack just wide enough for one person to squeeze through, but no matter how I looked at it, it didn’t resemble a secret passage.

“…Is it okay to go in?”

It felt like this was the right place, but the crack was strangely dark with no light entering, making it feel extremely dangerous.

But.

Whoosh…

A faint breeze was felt from inside, and at the same time, a familiar sensation brushed past me.

It was the divinity I had felt from the map.

‘Roland must have marked it on purpose.’

That must be it.

“…Honestly, I don’t want to go in.”

I couldn’t ignore the arrangement Roland had prepared, so I mustered up my courage and decided to enter first.

Thump- Thump- Thump-

“It’s still pitch black even with a torch lit.”

It was bizarre.

No other words came to mind.

Even with the torch lit, I could only see up to two meters ahead, and beyond that, only complete darkness filled the space, as if it was sucking up the light.

“…! Damn it, you startled me.”

As I continued down the path, I found a corpse lying there.

It was indeed like an underground tomb; in the stone brick underground passage, there were hollowed-out spaces large enough for a person to lie down…

And in those spaces, corpses lay one by one.

Regardless of gender or age, from men and women to children, all of them.

Some were even holding their children.

“But wasn’t it said to have been built at least during the Golden Age?”

Even if it had been built and continuously used since then, twenty years had passed since the royal family fell.

“Why haven’t these corpses decayed?”

They merely looked shriveled from dehydration, but they remained strangely undecomposed, preserving their appearance from when they were alive.

“Is this also the influence of the cursed power?”

Perhaps. This place was directly in front of the royal palace, meaning the cursed power had descended more thickly here than anywhere else.

Considering it had preserved my life force when I was critically wounded, it might be due to that power that they hadn’t decomposed and retained their original forms.

But that was that.

“This is damn creepy.”

It was disgustingly creepy.

There were easily dozens of corpses that looked like they could stand up at any moment, so I unconsciously reached for the sword at my waist, wondering if they might actually rise.

And after walking for a long time like that.

Thud-

A massive stone wall blocked the way.

“What is this?”

Did I come to the wrong place?

“That can’t be…”

Just in case, I checked the map Roland had left, but it showed that the path ahead was open.

“Ha… what do I do?”

Just by looking at it, it seemed too heavy for me to push open.

“And I can’t break it either…”

I approached the stone wall and knocked on it with my fist.

Thump- Thump- Thump-

I felt a weight and thickness so great that not even a small gap could be detected.

This could neither be broken nor pushed open.

“Should I go get an explosion scroll or something…”

Just as I was thinking that.

Whoosh-

As I placed my palm on the stone wall, a faint tremor suddenly emanated from the door.

Tremble tremble tremble tremble-

“…Huh?”

The faint tremor lasted only a moment before a small crack appeared in the center of the stone wall, and the door opened.

Creak creak- Boom- Thud-

Thud──

As it fully opened, a passage blanketed in thick darkness came into view beyond it.

“What the…”

I was so bewildered that I just stared blankly at the sight.

Whoosh──

I felt a cold wind blowing from beyond.

“!!!!!!”

A cold wind.

That meant there was a passage connected to the outside.

I briefly cheered inwardly at that fact, but soon, a strange sensation made me hide my joyful expression and look at the dark path.

“…Why.”

Why was the cursed power being felt from beyond there?

And a cursed power so dense, it was comparable to what emanated from within the royal palace.

“……”

An ominous premonition began to set in.

The cursed power was stronger than anything I had ever felt before, and my footsteps involuntarily halted.

At the same time, it made me hesitate once more.

‘Could Roland really have marked a place like this for me to pass through?’

Even if it was Roland, I didn’t think he would.

“It looks too dangerous.”

A power of unprecedented strength was being felt.

That meant, let alone a passage to the outside, I might even be stepping into the interior of the royal palace.

Thinking that far, ‘a certain entity’ flashed through my mind.

‘No way.’

The calamity lurking within the royal palace.

Could it be connected to the place where that calamity, which had continuously spread the cursed power throughout this city, resided?

Suddenly, such an ominous premonition flashed past.

“…Surely not.”

I hesitated to go.

It was a place that dangerous, and no one who had entered had ever returned alive.

Moreover, as soon as the calamity began, no one inside the royal palace had returned alive; they were immediately consumed by the cursed power and died, making me even more reluctant to go.

But.

‘Then again, is there any other passage besides this one?’

That thought occurred to me.

No, I couldn’t help but think that.

Because there truly seemed to be no other passage besides this.

‘Of course, Roland did say I would luckily find a passage.’

Not only was it unsettling to trust Roland’s words completely, but even if such a future truly existed, it was unknown when it would come to pass.

“……”

If not this path, then unlucky me, I might wander this cursed city for years.

‘Is that what you want?’

Of course not.

What was most urgent for me right now was finding the abducted Kara.

‘Then what are you hesitating for?’

Are you going to be afraid and not go again, just because of that damned cursed power?

Are you going to hesitate like a coward again, just turning away and hoping there’s another path?

That would be too pathetic.

“…Rather.”

Even if it meant going in and dying.

Let’s not be like a coward this time.

I’ve already shown enough ugly sides, so I don’t want to show any more.

So let’s go, Agape.

“…Let’s go in.”

Thump- Thump- Thump-

I stepped into the darkness.

***

The torch’s light was gradually weakening.

No, rather than the torch itself weakening, it seemed the darkness’s power to consume light had grown stronger.

A moment ago, I could see at least two meters ahead, but now darkness loomed right in front of me.

“……”

Thump- Thump-

At the same time, my unease grew steadily.

In any case, the ‘calamity’ that had led to the downfall of the Golden Age was hidden inside.

Perhaps a calamity even greater than the ‘Army of Death’ that was driving the current continent towards ruin.

At that fact, cold sweat began to trickle down my cheeks.

Thud-

The darkness grew even thicker.

Light was no longer visible, and from the echoing sound of my footsteps, I instinctively realized that I had arrived in some kind of space.

‘Where… am I?’

I looked around.

Naturally, nothing was visible.

Complete darkness shrouded everything, and besides the echoing sound of my own footsteps, I felt nothing else.

Trickle trickle trickle-

Then, I heard the sound of a small stream.

‘A stream?’

The suddenness of the stream sound made me listen closely again, but it was indeed the sound of a stream.

As I slowly moved my feet towards it, I felt a splashing sensation beneath my soles.

Splash-

“……”

I crouched down and placed my hand in the water, which I assumed was the stream.

It was relatively warmer than the Fallen’s winter rivers, but the stream had a chill seeping into it, making it cold.

But it didn’t seem like ordinary water.

It felt much heavier and more viscous than typical water, as if something slimy had been mixed into it.

‘What on earth is this?’

I was frustrated by being unable to see anything in the darkness.

Whoosh─

A faint wisp of wind tickled my earlobe.

“……What is it?”

From my kneeling position, I lifted my head.

Following the stream of wind that flowed intensely towards one spot, I slowly shifted my gaze there.

Then.

“Gasp…!”

Thud-

Unconsciously, I fell back onto my rear and slumped to the ground.

Tremble tremble tremble tremble tremble-

My body began to tremble to an excessive degree.

Its appearance wasn’t outwardly terrifying, but that ‘flame’ instinctively provoked an intense fear.

Flare-

Whoosh…

It was no ordinary flame.

In its center, only darkness where not a single speck of light could enter was fully contained, while only its outer edges pulsed with a golden glow.

Upon seeing it, I instinctively realized.

That was the ‘Darkness’ that had led to the downfall of the great Golden Age.

Feeling an oppressive aura stronger than anything else, I then realized that the torch’s light was being drawn towards that black flame in the center, forming a faint, thin line.

Whoosh…

‘So that flame was absorbing the light here.’

I had thought it was strangely devoid of light, and that must have been the cause.

‘First, I need to get out of here quickly.’

That flame was practically the source of the cursed power.

If I remained exposed to that dangerous flame, my life force would be gnawed away, and my body, unable to withstand the power, would soon turn to ash and disappear without a trace.

Having judged that much, I quickly got up and tried to move away from the flame.

Just then.

Thump-

Thump- Thump- Thump- Thump- Thump-

With a massive reverberation echoing in my head, my heart began to pound violently.

With my heart thumping so seriously strong, like the beat of a drum, I turned around with an uneasy feeling.

Whoosh…

The flame pulsed.

It pulsed even more strongly.

And it began to pull me with an immense gravitational force.

“Damn it…!”

Thud- Thud- Thud- Thud-

I kicked with all my might.

But regardless of my will, my body began to be sucked towards the black flame enveloped in golden light.

‘Hurry, I need to get out…!’

Quickly.

I need to get out quickly, but…

Whoosh━━━!!

The black flame engulfed me, and at the same time, my consciousness flickered out.

***

“Ughhhhhh………”

As soon as I came to my senses, a terrible headache swept over me.

I squinted and opened my eyes, and the headache vanished completely as if it had never been there.

At the same time, an unfamiliar landscape came into view.

“Where, am I…?”

A stone floor made of dark rock came into view.

Feeling the cold touch of the neatly smoothed stone floor, I raised my head.

At the same time, the scenery that came into view as I raised my head left me speechless.

“Hoo…”

It was a massive cavern.

The place where I stood, and the sight before my eyes, was an enormous cavern with a massive mural depicting the mythological era etched into its ceiling.

‘What was that depicting?’

Countless knights were kneeling and paying their respects to a single knight.

It resembled a knight’s investiture ceremony, yet too many knights, enough to form a legion, were arrayed and swearing fealty to the greatest knight.

Behind them were scenes of countless knights battling across numerous battlefields, with everything from their first battle to their last, and their ultimate demise, all etched in detail.

The mythological-era mural, which naturally conveyed grandeur and solemnity to anyone who beheld it, boasted an unbelievable majesty that made me involuntarily gape in astonishment.

But there were places that drew my gaze even more than that—

Namely, the densely arranged statues of knights on the cavern walls.

……

Some were kneeling, while others wielded swords.

Some were thrusting spears into the air, while others drew bowstrings, aiming into the void.

The statues, carved from dark rock, were so lifelike that it wouldn’t have been wrong to mistake them for real, living knights rather than mere sculptures.

“They weren’t really alive, were they?”

Nah, no way.

Just thinking about it made cold sweat run down my back.

I didn’t know why, but I felt an oppressive aura from the statues, similar to what I’d felt from the black flame earlier, though slightly less intense.

It was as if I was facing the living forms of the most skilled knights, so I lowered my gaze and recalled the situation before I lost consciousness.

‘By the way, where did that black flame go?’

It was definitely there until I lost consciousness.

‘Could it have been absorbed by my body?’

It was hard to believe, but given the circumstances, nothing else came to mind. Otherwise, a space that had been completely devoid of light wouldn’t be this bright.

I gazed at the small cluster of light created by the sunlight streaming down through a crack in the ceiling and was convinced that was the case.

‘By the way, the charring has spread tremendously.’

Was it because I was exposed too much to the cursed power? The charring that had covered only a part of my left arm now completely covered it.

It felt like I had only wandered for about half a day, yet in that short time, I had been so deeply encroached upon by the power.

‘Is my body okay?’

Seeing the charring, that thought also crossed my mind.

I seemed to have absorbed the black flame that emitted such powerful cursed energy, and I worried if my body might turn to ash, unable to handle the power.

Though nothing seemed immediately wrong, an unsettling anxiety began to creep up, unsure of when that might happen.

“…For now, let’s put worries aside.”

First, let’s figure out how to get out of this vast cavern.

Just then.

Thump-

From the center of the cavern where the black flame had been, the floor sank, and a hole began to form.

Creak- Creak-

Brick fragments separated and reassembled like a puzzle, and a platform began to rise from the black pit.

“That’s…”

On top of the platform, a golden sword was embedded.

But it was a sword with a strange appearance, having no blade, only a hilt and a frame.

Gazing at the uniquely shaped sword, which seemed to express with its entire being that it was an artifact from the Golden Age, I cautiously approached it and grasped the sword.

Grab-

Feeling a perfect fit in my hand, I carefully drew the sword.

Whoosh-

It looked quite large and heavy, so I didn’t expect it to be drawn easily, but surprisingly, with a perfect grip in my hand, the sword slid out of the platform.

Then, a sword whose blade alone would easily exceed one meter fully revealed itself.

Though, it had no blade.

“Why is there no blade?”

Its tip was sharp, honed more acutely than most swords, but where the blade should have been, there was only a small groove; no actual cutting edge existed.

“Is it a sword that was left unfinished?”

However, given its flashy appearance from the cavern, it seemed like a sword that had been enshrined like a sacred relic.

While I was looking at the sword and lost in thought for a long time, I sensed a presence from behind me.

‘A presence?’

Feeling something strange, I turned my head and looked back.

Then.

Clang-

A knight in black armor had raised their sword, ready to strike me down at any moment.

“You son of a b—!”

Crash━━━!!!!