abcnovels
Chapter 22
Chapter 22
**
Chapter 22
Two cold bodies rolled on the icy ground.
At the forefront, the commander of the expedition force, Casper, raised his right hand without uttering a word. The members of the Expedition force, waiting for the command, stepped back, forming a defensive formation.
Casper clenched his jaw. The severed neck on the ground, sharp and smooth as if cut by a keen blade, belonged to an unarmed individual. No weapon in sight. The movement was too fast to follow with the eyes, but judging from the dynamic, it was clear that the assailant had struck down the victim with bare hands.
“…”
The Langger Blue Hawk Expedition Force, considered the elite even within the Empire. Among them, Casper was known for his unparalleled destructive power. Despite receiving a blow from the most powerful force, the victim remained unharmed, as if mocking death itself by just lowering his hand to sever the neck. The fact that the assailant anticipated the use of magic by the knight indicated a profound understanding of impending doom.
“Monster… Who are you?”
“Because you guys are my enemies.”
The corners of the monster’s mouth lifted, likely a smile intended to disrupt the opponent’s composure. Despite Casper noticing, he couldn’t shake off the confusion. Was that smile genuine or just an act? Based on past experiences, it was impossible to discern. If not human, then what could the true identity of this creature be? Vague thoughts suggested only a dragon.
“…A dragon?”
“Huh? Have you seen one before?”
An answer laden with annoyance. At the piercing remark, Casper was momentarily silenced. Indeed, it couldn’t be a dragon. The colossal monster he encountered in the forbidden land expedition led by the former hero Vern didn’t behave in such a manner. A perfect being, always arrogant and haughty, exuded authority with every gesture and word. At least the monster before him didn’t seem authoritative.
Moreover, that supposedly formidable lizard wasn’t that strong.
Even the previously proven phrase “pierces through dragon scales” had no effect.
‘No, the important thing is not that.’
With a nonchalant attitude, Casper turned away from the approaching monster. Most of the remaining Expedition force members were struggling to grasp the situation.
“Commander, give the order…”
The deaths of two have dampened the morale of twenty.
The problem wasn’t the deaths themselves but the lack of any achievement from those deaths.
As confident as they were in their skills, the confusion had spread. Expedition force members with dazed eyes, unable to easily accept the situation, looked solely at Casper. Everyone awaited orders, placing their lives under Casper’s command since they couldn’t make judgments themselves.
In such a situation, what command should be given? What order could lift the morale that had fallen to the ground?
No, now is not the time to issue orders.
“From now on, I will take the forefront.”
Casper, with a drawn sword, intoned in a low voice.
There was no need for complex thoughts. This fight wasn’t about subduing an unknown monster and restoring peace to Liage. This was a dungeon.
That monster was a dungeon monster. Nothing more.
“This is a dungeon expedition.”
So, the only thing to consider is winning.
The eyes tainted with fear swiftly transformed resolutely. In a brief motion, Casper, with the Zweihänder in hand, released a surge of cold air. Without adding further words, Casper glanced over his comrades behind him. All eyes were on him. Glances were exchanged.
“Let’s go.”
There was no thunderous charge order to break the enemy’s momentum. Casper simply struck the ground before anyone else. His troll leather boots imbued with wind-type magic. The protective light that emerged behind him unfolded two pairs of wings. The members of the Expedition force followed suit.
“…You guys, Patrick would probably love this. He’s into this kind of stuff, you know? Fighting with the single-minded determination to win, regardless of the odds. But you know.”
Devourer observed the approaching group and casually loosened his neck.
“If you die, there’s nothing left, whether it’s conviction or nonsense.”
Casper, the first to approach, swung his sword. The colorless blade aimed for Devourer. Devourer deflected the attack with his body, then swiftly retaliated with a swing of his right hand. Casper narrowly avoided the strike. In the momentary lapse of Devourer’s stance, another knight’s attack came in.
With a thud, it only pierced through flesh.
“Three.”
The monster, gripping the knight’s head, slammed it against the ground, creating a loud bang. Fragments scattered as a shield-bearing knight deflected them. Devourer tore through the shield effortlessly, grabbing the arm of the shield-bearing knight.
“Four, five.”
Devourer, still holding the arm, brought it down on another knight. The clash of metal on metal echoed loudly, and the blood of two splattered in all directions.
Immediately after, Devourer’s vision shook slightly as he received a blow to the back of his head.
“Kill in an instant…”
“Six.”
A black thorn emerged from behind Devourer, piercing the abdomen of an Expedition force member. Suspended in the air with the thorn impaled, the member spurted blood with a gasp.
Then, a hidden explosive magic in the corpse struck Devourer.
A thunderous explosion engulfed Devourer. Smoke filled the air. Taking advantage of the chaos, two spears thrust in. With a thud, only the sound of one spear piercing was heard. When the dust settled, the lifeless bodies of the two lay exposed.
Blood adorned the ground abundantly. Corpses piled up slowly. The onslaught that had raged like a storm began to lose its momentum. Uncertainty crept into the eyes of the survivors. Once again, the powerful swordplay of the Expedition force members aimed diagonally at Devourer.
But it was futile. Devourer casually swung his arm, causing the abdomen of an Expedition force member to burst with a simple gesture. The member fell to the ground, groaning.
“Kuh, ugh…”
With a crunch, Devourer stepped on and crushed the head as a finishing touch. Expressionless, he muttered to himself, “No thrill at all,” after dismantling the skull.
“Ah, how many were there?”
As Devourer finished speaking, a shadow cast over his head.
—In a leap that defied gravity, Casper thrust his sword downward directly above Devourer.
At least, that’s what he thought.
‘?!’
His vision trembled.
Crack!
The airborne body hit the ground multiple times, rebounding like a spinning top. Only after flying for several dozen meters and finally coming to a halt did Casper snap back to reality. His body creaked. Every part of him felt sore, and he could tell from the blood-soaked state that his entire frame had been torn apart. If it weren’t for his well-trained physique, it would have been impossible to discern any recognizable form.
“What just happened…”
This time, he didn’t see it again.
Groans escaped Casper’s lips as he struggled to rise. Gazing towards Devourer in the distance, he noticed Devourer looking back at him, an expression that seemed to say, ‘You managed to survive.’ Even amidst Casper’s descent, some knights found themselves impaled by the enigmatic black thorns.
“Ha, hahaha. Don’t play around…!”
Despite being the acknowledged elite Expedition force of the empire, relentlessly pressing forward without a moment’s pause, they were reduced to barely a handful. It hadn’t taken even a minute for this situation to unfold.
“At this rate, it’s completely…”
Just then, Devourer, in the distance, chuckled. His laughter conveyed a message to Casper.
—Pathetic, is what it said.
No, we are the elite Expedition force of the empire. Everyone gave their all, and now there are barely five of us left.
Elite.
— So?
It didn’t take a minute for the situation to reach this point.
—That’s why it’s a complete…
Devourer, in the distance, chuckled again. That laughter was saying to Casper,
—Utter defeat.
—Utter defeat.
Devourer’s smile whispered once again.
“Aaaarghhhh!”
The rationality that upheld sanity gradually dwindled, turning into a dot before disappearing entirely. Casper screamed in an incomprehensible roar as he charged towards Devourer. Both hands tightly gripping his sword, putting every ounce of strength into it.
“I must cut. I must cut. I must cut.”
Bend.
It must be severed, even a little breath must be left for that mysterious monster—only then— it wouldn’t be utter defeat. He leaped. He leaped with all his might. Show the mightiest technique.
Provide the ultimate strike that even the Royal Guards of the ‘Crimson Spear of Roa’ couldn’t imitate. It’s not an utter defeat. It’s not utter defeat—
“Ha.”
Devourer sighed.
Casper, who was sprinting towards Devourer, came to a halt. More precisely, he was thwarted. Casper’s desperate efforts ended right there.
With a single finger, Devourer blocked Casper’s sword, then reached out and seized it.
The blade shattered into hundreds of pieces like falling autumn leaves.
“Hu, huk…!”
Devourer, who destroyed the sword, held Casper’s head frozen in place with his right hand.
Ever so slowly, Devourer lifted Casper’s face in that position.
“If you just gave up a bit of resistance, it could have quietly faded away.” Gasped Devourer.
Devourer’s voice was several steps lower than the lowest pitch a human could produce. If death had a voice, it would undoubtedly sound like this.
“You know, me. In reality.”
There was no mental space for pondering the meaning. Casper’s face turned deathly pale. He seemed to age rapidly, as if drained of vitality. All he could do was leave behind one final command.
“Ve…ngeance…”
With a squelch, the sound of bursting accompanied chunks of flesh raining down.
* * *
Reinforcements.
“I can’t win.”
The wizard sprinted.
“I can’t… win. Can’t win… How can you fight and win against something like that…?!”
Suppressing the collapse occurring in his mind, the wizard sprinted. It was the moment when the undefeated Casper collapsed relentlessly.
[Vengeance…]
This word echoed rhythmically in his mind. Survivors of the Langger Blue Hawk Expedition Force fled in all directions. Their actions were not guided by normal thought processes. It was pure instinct, moving the body a beat ahead of reason.
“Vengeance, vengeance, I need vengeance…”
As if cursed, the wizard murmured the same words while running. He ran until his breath was caught under his chin. Every time the cry of Casper, etched into his mind, echoed, his stomach churned.
In the curiosity within terror, glancing back slightly, the monster was still there in that spot. The monster didn’t pursue. However, no matter how much he ran, the distance didn’t seem to be increasing.
Repeating the cycle of running and running, the wizard eventually collapsed to the ground.
A sensation of leather met his hand.
He raised his head. What touched his hand, outstretched as he fell, was someone’s leg. He raised his head further.
“Now leave it to us.”
“Ah…”
Over a hundred individuals clad in Imperial Defense Force attire were present. There were reinforcements from the nearby magic tower ‘Red Gate,’ and elite Expedition forces from various locations had joined as well. The wizard’s eyes widened.
Reinforcements. It was the reinforcements they had been eagerly awaiting.
“Help, please help… Help! Please, please help!”
The wizard grabbed at their pant legs, stumbling and pleading. The words struggled to come out, hindered by the overpowering fear.
As the wizard was being calmed down, the reinforcements gathered from various Survey Rose locations marched towards the monster. Each one carried the same pride as the Langger Blue Hawk Expedition Force. Each individual was an elite in their own right.
“Reveal your identity.”
“Do you have something more interesting to say?”
At the front, a human inquired, and a grumbling response could be heard. The monster, as if tired of it all, squinted its eyes. Its pupils were black.
And the monster said, “Ah, there are too many of you to deal with one by one.”
Uttering a word as if annoyed, it raised its right hand.
The wizard witnessed it.
The monster was casting a spell. The magic circle forming the basis of the spell was truly for a simple spell. Even though it was meant for basic magic, the monster’s casting was amateurish. The lines were crooked and uneven, indicating clumsiness and immaturity. Moreover, the time it took for the magic to activate was so slow that it seemed impractical in actual combat.
The wizard knew what kind of magic it was.
It was a low-tier magic called “Breath of Flame Fairy.”
Certainly, it was a rarely used, inefficient low-tier magic. Furthermore, the wizard knew something else. That magic shouldn’t possess such a massive amount of mana.
However, it was too late to convey this fact to everyone.
Flames erupted from Devourer’s right hand, directed towards the wizard’s location, the gathering point for reinforcements.
It was a place where reinforcements were clustered.
The field of view was dyed white.
Phase 6.
“Oh, finally you’re here. Or not? Is it faster than I thought? Well, whatever. If I’ve been waiting for a long time, isn’t it late to arrive now? Ah, I never thought I’d end up talking to myself like this.”
The Primordial core, the only one present, was as quiet as a cave where human presence had been absent for centuries. It wasn’t an exaggeration; the only sound was the dripping of water from stalactites.
After a moment of quiet, I thought about closing my eyes for a while. Still, as expected, I couldn’t fall asleep even if I lay down.
[Do skeletons sleeping make sense? I’ll take care of your share too, so you guard the dungeon until my share.]
Only Devourer’s voice, which used to mock me on an imaginary day, echoed heavily in my head.
Waiting silently, lying prostrate, for humans had become so frustrating that it felt like I might die.
At first, without thinking, I counted sheep, then the number of stalactites hanging from the ceiling, then measured the speed of droplets falling from the stalactites to decimal places, but even that got boring, so I rolled on the floor.
After thinking about what to do, I went to meet ‘116 Black Tentacle’. However, as if the core was forcibly woken up by someone, just as someone forcibly wakes up anyone, the undulating thing hurt so much that I ran away sneakily. Frustrated to the extreme, I went to meet the Antropophagus Main body in Room 5, but this unintelligent plant, without thinking about chattering, immediately opened its mouth, so I kicked it away and returned.
It didn’t fly far because it was heavy for a plant.
“By the way, what is the boss doing… I gave him Demeura, so he’s not fooling around in a strange place, right? No way. No matter how stupid the boss is, he wouldn’t be that reckless. Yeah, boss is mature, acting like that would be stupid…”
As Patrick self-criticized, thoughts of his past actions flashed through his mind like a lantern in the dark.
Calling it a waste of time, he still had the energy to engage in other activities. No way, no way. It won’t happen. But why does the more he thinks about it, the more uneasy he feels?
‘Hopefully, our boss won’t do anything strange in strange places.’
After gathering his awkward hands in prayer towards the entrance, Patrick drew the sword stuck in the ground. It was brilliantly shining, a sword that looked completely different from when Tanabella first held it, demonstrating how well it was polished.
It emitted a silver radiance befitting a silver blade. The red decorations around the blade smoothly reflected the dim light in the dark cave.
The sound of approaching footsteps grew closer. There were around 30 people, at least. He thought there would be more, at least over 50, but it was fewer than expected. How much did they underestimate?
“Well, I guess I should go see for myself.”
Ending his self-talk as if questioning himself, Patrick walked towards the entrance.
***