Chapter 201 - Black Seed (9)
Tsk.
I spat out the blood that had entered my mouth.
I always feel disgusted when I taste it.
After shaking the blood off the halberd, finally, the body of the knight split in two fell to the ground.
< Hahaha, look! The power of this body! >
"Don't act all important and come back."
The sparrow transformed into a red lightning bolt and returned to my left arm.
I lowered the halberd's shaft. The soldiers took a step back, hesitating.
"What the hell is that guy?" A knight murmured with a stern expression.
I took a breath. My chest burned as if I had swallowed fire.
It may not show on the outside, but my body was already crumbling from within.
'I wish I could just escape...'
But they didn't retreat, they only hesitated.
They were facing me, with barricades and obstacles in front of them.
The entrance to the underground was still blocked.
'Ah, how annoying.'
Reinforcements were piling up behind me.
I spun the halberd.
"Step aside."
"Don't retreat. Hold the line until reinforcements arrive!"
As expected, they didn't listen.
I aimed the halberd at the officer and then ran towards him.
Arrows flew towards me immediately; I deflected them all by spinning the shaft like a windmill, then cut down the officer who had drawn his sword in one stroke. And I leaped over the 2-meter-high barricade in a single bound.
"Die!"
A soldier attacked me with his spear.
'This is getting troublesome.'
I don't have time to deal with these guys.
After invoking the power of Exceed, I dodged the spear and jumped over the soldier's shoulder.
"Aaaaah!"
I stomped hard, and it seemed like his collarbone was broken.
I jumped once more before the soldier fell.
"Stop him! Don't let him through!"
Phew!
An arrow grazed my thigh.
A thin thread of blood flowed.
I avoided all the spears and swords the soldiers wielded and ran towards the cave entrance.
At the entrance, a knight in black armor blocked the way.
'Not yet.'
I can't die here.
Buzz!
I dodged the great sword heading towards my head and passed, kicking the guy's back.
I ran quickly towards the cave.
[Soldier of the Order Lv.25] X 523
[Knight of the Order Lv.31] X 53
[Black Knight Lv.38] X 13
Looking back, the enemies were clustered like an ant swarm.
"Chase him!"
Just before Exceed ended, I raised the halberd towards the cave ceiling.
[Skill, Conqueror's Sword Spirit, activated!]
A Sword Spirit that uses one hundred percent of the body's power.
Kaboooom!
An explosion sounded as if dynamite had detonated, and pieces of rock began to fall from the ceiling.
And shortly after, everything darkened.
The roof had collapsed, blocking the entrance.
"...Ah."
I threw away the halberd, which only had the shaft.
I collapsed, leaning against the wall, and closed my eyes.
[Han's Exceed state (★★★★) has ended.]
There wasn't a place that didn't hurt.
I was almost at death's door.
It was hard to even move.
I took a potion from the pocket behind my belt.
Pop. After my hand slipped several times, I finally managed to open the potion's cap.
Gulp.
<Have you reached your limit already? There's still a long way to go.>
"Don't talk nonsense."
I had only passed the first stage and already talked about limits.
I looked around while drinking the potion.
Lamps were lit all along the cave passage.
Somewhere in here, the third key must be.
And...
'She must be waiting.'
After causing such a commotion in the fortress and not showing up, there must be something going on.
'Anyway, this is a mess.'
Whether it's Yvolka, Anything, or Taonier, if I left them behind, I could live a comfortable life.
I don't understand why I'm doing this.
I don't understand why I'm taking the hard path. If I had stayed in Niflheim when Yurnet asked me to, I would be living in luxury and comfort.
'Am I crazy?'
I'm no longer in my normal state.
I knew it from a certain point.
Even if I went back to Earth, it would never be like before.
No matter how delicious the food I eat is, or how many trivial chats I have or fun games I play, nothing cheers me up.
Everything feels gray.
The only time I feel happy is when I'm tearing someone apart.
When I'm ripping someone's neck.
'...Ah.'
I'm definitely a psychopath.
<Can you fight?>
"Of course."
Slowly, vitality returned to my body.
'After all the effort I put in.'
I even gave Jenna a whip and endured the pain-resisting training.
It seems like that special training paid off. Although I used Exceed to the limit, a little rest was enough to recover to the point of being able to move again. As always, physical training is the best.
"Argh!"
As I pulled the arrow out of my back, blood began to flow.
I sprayed what little remained of the healing potion over the wound.
"Can I still use the Blood of the Black Dragon?"
<You can use it one more time.>
That's enough.
It seems like I'm ready.
I leaned against a protruding rock to stand up.
The cave followed a single path, so there was no risk of getting lost.
I adjusted my breathing as I advanced inward.
After walking for about 10 minutes, the landscape changed.
The cave widened, and a foul smell, like rotting flesh, wafted through the air.
I looked down.
"......"
Bodies were scattered everywhere.
I crouched down to examine one of the bodies.
'Is it from the harpy tribe?'
Instead of arms, it had wings and claws where they should be.
Harpies. Creatures I had seen several times in previous sections of the 10th floor.
They were dead in droves.
Given the circumstances so far, the culprit was clear.
'It seems like the monsters fought among themselves.'
It's not a rare case.
It's not uncommon for missions to involve heroes and two factions of monsters embroiled in a three-way battle.
So that's why I hadn't seen the Jo-In tribe outside.
<What nonsense.>
"Better for me."
If they kill each other, I should welcome them with open arms.
Searching among the harpy tribe bodies, I found a useful sword.
Better to have something than nothing, I thought, so I decided to take it with me.
'If only I had Bifröst...'
Damn it.
I was just trying to impress at the event.
I continued along the narrow cave path.
Emerging from a narrow opening, a vast cavern appeared. Dozens of holes adorned the cavern walls, with beds and household utensils scattered around. It seemed to be a harpy village.
There were tens of times more bodies here than in the hallway.
Not only from the harpy tribe but also some human soldier bodies scattered among them.
After searching the pockets of a soldier, I obtained several throwing daggers and then took a break.
After a brief rest, I headed towards a hallway to the left of the cavern.
Walking another 10 minutes, a rumble of explosions and vibrations came from afar.
‘Are they fighting?’
It seems I arrived at just the right moment.
I might have the chance to benefit from this situation.
I slowed my pace, keeping low.
The fresh smell of blood flowed towards me.
"Ugh... ah... ugh..."
Within the cave wall, a male member of the harpy tribe groaned, his chest pierced by a stalactite.
The left half of his body was charred by fire. Clearly, he was a victim of fire magic.
This was the first survivor I encountered since I entered here. I approached him.
"You, you are..."
"Don't worry. I came to kill that witch."
The harpy tribe member whimpered.
"I have something to ask you."
"......"
"Why are you fighting? Did someone feel offended or something?"
This guy should know the situation.
He was bleeding thick black liquid.
This blood was a direct sign of contamination by Tel.
"We... we are..."
"We are?"
I leaned closer to the harpy tribe member's mouth.
But the response I was expecting didn't come.
<He's dead.>
"It seems so."
Sigh.
I sighed.
It seems I'll have to delve deeper into the cave to find out.
I closed the harpy tribe member's eyes and ventured further into the cave.
The noise of explosions began to gradually diminish.
'It's close.'
Right before the next hallway on the right, something should appear.
I took a deep breath. I couldn't say that my body was in normal condition. To be honest, I wasn't in good shape. I had activated Exceed for almost 30 minutes, and in the end, I even unleashed the Conquering Sword Spirit. If I had been my past self, I would have already died from the punishment.
'...This isn't normal.'
This mission isn't normal.
What should be here isn't, and what shouldn't be here has appeared.
'But well...'
When has it ever been normal?
No matter what appears, my job is simply to kill it.
<Prepare yourself.>
No need to say it.
I drew a rusty sword from its sheath.
And I advanced.
'......'
It seemed to be a temple.
Luxurious marble columns stood on both sides, and inside, a square altar could be glimpsed.
A glowing sphere floated above the altar.
'That's the key.'
I dismissed the sphere from my sight.
At this moment, that object wasn't important.
[¡Danger!]
[White Feather]
[Lacaby Si Lacca Lv.63]
On the brick path to the altar, a young woman dressed in a pure white cloak and carrying a wooden coffin stood.
Next to the cloak, a large pair of wings unfolded.
Our gazes met.
The young woman opened her mouth.
"We..."
"......"
"We wanted to reverse it..."
Crack!
In the next instant, the young woman disintegrated into pieces.
"Amazing."
From behind a column, a woman dressed in a robe stepped out.
The robe, which should have been blue, was so soaked in blood that its original color was unrecognizable.
"I thought you would definitely die trying to get through that fortress. I didn't expect you to survive."
[¡Danger!]
[Steinberg Matriarch]
[Persephone Ridel Von Steinberg Lv.???]
Persephone's eyes curved like a crescent moon.
"How did you get here? Supposedly, we stopped Asynis. Did you receive special reinforcements from somewhere?"
"I just made my way."
"What?" Persephone blinked.
Then, suddenly, she burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! So you passed high walls, fortified gates, thousands of soldiers, and hundreds of knights to get here?"
"Does it seem incredible to you?"
"No, maybe... you could... I never thought you would actually do it."
I looked around the temple once more.
There were bloodstains and feathers scattered everywhere.
It seemed that the situation had already concluded.
And... the mage in front of me didn't seem to have suffered any damage.
"Anyway, being here means you want to die, right?"
Persephone's eyes glowed blue.
The magical power was so intense that it could be seen with the naked eye, twisting within her pupils.
"If you had stayed where you were, at least you could have survived until the time limit."
"Where are the other two?"
"What do you gain by knowing?"
It seems the sparrow was right.
The Beast King and the Saint have returned to their original place.
Only this crazy Mage remained here.
"Hey." I smiled as I spoke.
"I told you before, remember? To think about the sound your head would make being cut off."
"Arrogant."
I was able to come this far because I had no plan and was just trying to get there.
If I had tried to infiltrate stealthily, I would have fallen into her traps. According to the sparrow, the entire fortress was under the influence of detection magic.
'The situation is not good.'
My physical condition is the worst.
By now, they have probably cleared the blockage in the cave, and reinforcements are on the way.
Furthermore, the mage in front of me is immensely powerful.
However, I have to finish this here.
No matter what happens.
'So you...'
I looked up.
What I saw was the smooth ceiling of the cave, but Anything would be looking.
I don't know what he's thinking.
Maybe he's considering abandoning this absurd game.
'At least support me.'
I snapped my fingers.
[Master, Han (★★★★) requests your support!]
For a moment, Anything didn't move the command window.
But then suddenly...
[Battle Store opening.]
[You have selected a premium animation fluorescent bar (Single use, 100 Gems). Would you like to purchase it?]
[Yes (Select) / No]
Put your soul into it and shake it.
That will also give me strength.
I aimed my sword at Persephone.
