episode_0078

“This is the final check.”

“Oh, it’s already the third time, Vice Commander.”

“We can’t skip the final check. That’s the rule.”

“Yes, yes.”

I heard that there’s a trend of underestimating the Black Star Dungeon these days.

But seriously, how many of them are there?

8 people?

Do these guys really underestimate the Black Star Dungeon to the point of being idiots?

Even if they are veterans, they should have at least one combat unit with 8 people, and two reserve units to rotate and fight.

If one person falters in a combat unit, it’s highly likely that the whole team will collapse like a falling domino.

“Oh. Darn it. That was supposed to be established later.”

I got the timeline mixed up.

The tactic of having two reserve units is for much later.

It’s a tactic established after even more blood is shed in the Black Star Dungeon.

So, entering like that so recklessly…

“There’s no way to stop them.”

They are not the type to listen to warnings.

If they were willing to turn back when they heard that the Black Star Dungeon is dangerous, they wouldn’t have taken a train all the way from the southern continent to here in the first place.

There’s only one way to stop them.

To reveal that I am the Black Star Slayer and block them.

But even if I suddenly claim to be the Black Star Slayer, they probably won’t believe me…

There’s just no solution to this.

“Let’s start getting nervous! From now on, stronger monsters are likely to appear since we’ve only encountered weaklings so far!”

“Yes!”

“If you don’t know, you die.”

All the rules of the world are meant to be used through bloodshed.

Their deaths will serve as a good propaganda tool to warn of the dangers of the Black Star Dungeon.

I watch as mercenaries sneak into the dungeon one by one, hiding behind rocks.

“The advance team is taking care of traps and monsters and dying. They’re conserving their strength this way. It’s quite economical! This way, the dungeon…”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“Follow me.”

I can’t just let them die on their own.

If they die, the fear of the Black Star Dungeon will spread even more.

It’s more beneficial for me to have them be so reckless in their attempts to conquer the dungeon.

…

“Sigh…”

30 minutes into entering the dungeon.

The Vice Commander, who had stopped in his tracks, let out a light sigh.

He thought he had made all the necessary preparations.

Since challenging the Black Star Dungeon went against the Mercenary Council’s policy, he had to be even more thorough in his preparations.

He had selected only elite troops from the mercenary group.

And he had put them through rigorous training until recently.

He had not neglected any information that could be gathered about the dungeon.

Even things that seemed trivial were not overlooked.

Discussions about tactics had been ongoing day and night.

It was expected that it would be a tough fight.

Everyone was so tense that they even cracked jokes to lighten the mood.

But, but…

“Why is this so easy?”

Despite their preparations, the difficulty of the dungeon was too easy.

It was perplexing.

Of course, the dungeon was not to be underestimated.

It was a dungeon where the types of monsters that appeared changed midway.

In the beginning, it was mainly undead like skeletons and zombies.

Then, machines(?) started popping up.

“Have you ever seen these kinds of monsters before?”

“No. This is my first time seeing them.”

It was different from what they had researched, but they decided not to worry too much.

The quantity was low and they weren’t particularly strong.

The machines just moved and attacked on their own, like mechanical arms or industrial excavators.

Unlike monsters with malicious intent towards humans.

These machines didn’t require much effort to destroy.

Usually, targeting their power source would make them stop, so their weaknesses were clear and intuitive.

“These monsters seem like a new type.”

“I agree. We should report this to the Mercenary Council.”

It had been over 10 years since the first dungeon appeared.

The classification of monster types and categories had been completed 5 years ago.

What they encountered here seemed to be monsters that were definitely not malfunctioning machines or rogue robots.

“This is the crossroads. Should we call them monster corpses… or mechanical debris? Anyway, should we return with what we’ve destroyed and report to the Mercenary Guild? Or should we finish conquering the dungeon first? Just so you know, we’re about halfway there.”

The time for decision has come.

Unexpectedly, a new type of monster has appeared.

Until now, we’ve only faced relatively easy monsters.

But we couldn’t know how dangerous the ones ahead would be.

Facing a new type of monster made us even more cautious.

“We must move forward! Surely we’re not thinking of turning back here, Vice Commander?”

“Are you scared?”

“These bastards…”

The responses from the members were exactly as expected.

Perhaps it was because we had gathered the most aggressive and brave individuals in the mercenary group.

None of the members seemed to have any intention of stopping here.

“Alright! Let’s go!”

And at this point, even the Vice Commander wanted to see the end of the dungeon.

He knew that turning back here would be safer.

It was right to report on the new monster, check if similar ones had been reported, and then challenge them again.

But he felt it would be a waste to break this momentum.

This expedition had to inject vitality into the demoralized mercenary group.

In the midst of the Black Star Dungeon, which had been defeated by the Black Star Killer, the conquest was reaching double digits.

We had to show the success of conquering the Black Star Dungeon as soon as possible.

It was not a time for arrogance or complacency.

We were prepared in every way.

At least that’s what the Vice Commander and the members thought.

“It’s getting darker here. Let’s light a torch.”

“Okay!”

Up to the middle, the structure was like a mine tunnel.

Although the path was rough, there were lights attached to the ceiling.

But as we reached the end, the structure changed drastically.

It was still a tunnel, but it didn’t look man-made.

Even the size of the tunnel had decreased, making it difficult to pass without bending our waists.

“Ouch!”

We groaned as we bumped our heads on the ceiling.

In the quiet tunnel, the only sounds were the members’ heavy breathing and footsteps.

Beyond the endlessly stretching tunnel, there was only a deep abyss.

It would have been better if traps or monsters had sprung out.

Since nothing jumped out, the tension kept rising, making it feel like our hearts would burst.

“Commander. What’s that sound?”

“What? What sound?”

“Don’t you hear a woman sobbing?”

“Don’t joke around, you brat. You should joke according to the situation.”

“It’s true! Even the guys behind heard it!”

“Where is the woman’s voice coming from…!”

Just as the Vice Commander was about to snap in annoyance.

A sound from the end of the tunnel made us tense up.

We raised our shields and prepared for impact.

[Hate… hate… hate…]

From afar.

Along with a chilling wind, a woman’s voice reached us.

But it was mixed with static.

The sound quality was poor, clearly a recorded voice.

It seemed to be coming from a hidden recorder somewhere.

There was no reason to be afraid.

The elite members who had crossed countless battlefields so far.

They were not afraid of such a voice.

“Should we go back?”

“Yes. Let’s go back. I was actually getting tired and wanted to leave.”

“Oh. My head hurts. Since I’m tall, I often hit my head on the ceiling. It seems like I might hurt myself badly, so it’s better to leave quickly.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re not running away because we’re scared, right?”

“No, of course not.”

In an instant, a consensus was reached.

Although they were not scared, they all agreed that they had to leave.

The hesitant members turned around without hesitation and headed in the opposite direction.

As they turned, amid the noisy sound of the turning direction, the Vice Commander, who naturally ended up at the rear, reacted to a faint sound.

It sounded like the scraping of stone against metal.

“Hey. Give me the torch.”

“Here you go.”

Even with the torch, we could only see up to our noses.

The Vice Commander immediately threw the torch into the tunnel.

“Huh?”

“Oh.”

A shadow was cast in the tunnel, revealing a human figure.

It was a human figure, but not a human.

As the figure awkwardly approached, getting closer to the torch, a face frozen in a melted state was revealed.

“Hate······ Hate······ Hate······”

“Leaf doll?”

No movement from the figure.

Instead, a sound resonates from inside the abdomen.

The legs, where the silicone had already fallen off, only the rusty metal skeleton remains.

It was a leaf doll.

It had been a brief trend in this city a long time ago, only to disappear······.

Then where did all the leaf dolls that used to roam the streets go?

Today, that mystery was solved.

“Prepare for battle!”

“Ready!”

The squad leader and the members brandished their swords.

In a dungeon like this, there was nothing to take lightly.

But soon, a problem arose.

“It’s not just one······?”

The shadows reflected in the torches began to multiply.

In no time, there were about a dozen leaf dolls in various states.

Some crawling with only their arms, missing their lower bodies.

Some staggering forward with missing heads.

They were dangerous.

The mercenary’s intuition was telling him that.

“Everyone, run at full speed!”

“Yes, sir!”

As soon as the order was given.

The members quickly started to flee from behind.

The squad leader, seeing the members quickly moving away, raised his shield to chest height and prepared to hold his ground.

“Hate······ Hate······ Hate······”

The leaf dolls charging towards them.

The squad leader braced himself for the impact.

“Cough!”

Finally, with a clang, the shield collided with the metal fingers.

If it weren’t for his innate trait, ‘Master of All Trades,’ he would have been pushed back by the force of the impact.

If he didn’t have a shield, his waist might have been broken by now······.

Even though it felt like his waist was about to break at any moment, the squad leader gritted his teeth and resisted with his legs stretched back.

It was an immense force.

If it weren’t for this narrow terrain, he would have been torn to pieces by those sharp metal fingers long ago.

As the iron fingers reached through the gaps in the shield, scratching his face and stabbing his side, the squad leader didn’t flinch.

‘Hold on until all the members have escaped to a wider area, then fight through the narrow entrance in the open space!’

Just a little more to endure.

Until all the members had escaped.

That was the determination, but.

“Damn it! Some slipped through!”

A legless leaf doll had passed through between his legs in an instant.

One, then another.

Another leaf doll slipped through a small gap and ran off to the rear.

‘We’re all going to die!’

It was a big problem.

To stand firm with ‘Master of All Trades’ on such a sturdy shield.

When the other members faced those things in this narrow space, death was inevitable.

And if the members died, there was no way for the squad leader to survive.

Only a future of being surrounded and killed from both sides.

“Aaah! It’s got my leg!”

“Get off!”

“Ah! This bastard is strong! My ankle! My ankle! It’s going to break!”

Amidst the screams of the members from behind.

The squad leader, unsure of what to do, panicked.

We’re all going to die like this.

There seemed to be no way to overcome this situation.

Struggle······

In the midst of that.

The leaf doll with a melted face reached out its fingers and grabbed the edge of the shield.

The squad leader’s pale face met the melted face of the leaf doll.

“Huh?!”

And then, suddenly.

Instead of pushing the shield away, it pulled.

Due to the sudden change in the direction of the force, there was no time to react.

The squad leader was dragged forward, and before he knew it, the rusty metal pieces of the leaf doll were reaching towards his chest.

This is how I’m going to die.

As the iron rod aimed for his chest, the squad leader closed his eyes tightly.

“Ugh?!”

He felt a strong force pulling him.

His body floated in the air.

With a swoosh, he flew through the tunnel.

His vision suddenly changed, and he found himself bouncing out into a wide space and rolling on the ground.

Raising his head, he saw the members looking bewildered, also being pulled out by the ‘invisible force.’

“You are······.”

And they saw.

In front of the tunnel, a man and a child standing firm.

“Hate······ Hate······ Hate······!”

Inside the tunnel, the mechanical sounds echoing with malice and the leaf dolls rushing quickly.

The man muttered as if it was nothing.

“Fire.”

“······Okay.”

Bang!

Flames spewed from the girl’s fingertips.

The tunnel was filled with a crimson blaze.

The rushing metal pieces melted away in an instant.

Silence settled in the tunnel once again.

Amidst the still smoldering embers.

The mercenaries stood with their mouths agape, unable to utter a word.

‘The Black Star Slayer.’

Everyone was thinking the same thing.