Episode 62: The Hunting Party (3)
Contrary to expectations, Gamal accepted Damian Haxen without much resistance.
However, not everyone in the “Blended Blizzard” was as accepting of Damian.
”…I will never forget what happened today.”
Dionysio spat out his words, a mix of hatred and anger, before storming off.
“If you lose, you should just accept it gracefully. That sect is full of narrow-minded people,” Margata remarked, clearly displeased with Dionysio’s attitude.
“Sir Damian, well done,” Agnes said, handing him a glass of water. Though he hadn’t broken a sweat, Damian accepted the glass out of courtesy.
“Your skills are truly impressive. Dionysio is heavily backed by the Blended Blizzard, and I didn’t expect you to defeat him so easily.”
“Didn’t I tell you? He’s an extraordinary person,” Agnes said, her voice brimming with excitement at Damian’s recognition.
“Now, all that’s left is to judge the vile heretics,” Margata added, her voice filled with joy.
“Welcome to the hunting party.”
After joining the hunting party, Damian was most surprised by its sheer size.
Eighty elite soldiers and ten third-class holy knights.
“Such a force, just for support?”
Even more astonishing was that this wasn’t the core of their strength.
The true core of this hunting party was the sect’s holy knights.
They were the only ones capable of confronting a high-level necromancer like the one they were after.
“The sect’s holy knights are fewer in number… but they’re exponentially stronger.”
The Blended Blizzard had sent one second-class holy knight and four third-class holy knights.
The Dazzling Pain had dispatched one second-class holy knight and five third-class holy knights.
With Damian, Agnes, and Margata included…
“They could easily topple any major noble house.”
People often said that the only force on the continent capable of standing against the Empire was the Church.
Watching the hunting party, it seemed that reputation wasn’t just idle talk.
“To think such a hunting party was wiped out.”
The more Damian learned about the hunting party, the harder it was to understand how they had been annihilated.
While the necromancer they were after was dangerous, he shouldn’t have been able to kill three second-class holy knights simultaneously.
“There must have been a traitor among them.”
Middle-class threats can only be countered by middle-class defenses.
The same went for the second-class holy knights. Only another second-class holy knight could kill one.
“Right now, Gamal seems the most suspicious.”
The Blended Blizzard had been at odds with the Burners.
Gamal had picked a fight with Margata the moment he saw her.
“I need to keep an eye on the Blended Blizzard.”
While the Church prepared the hunting party, they also scoured the mountains, investigating the dungeon.
“The search team found only one entrance to the dungeon.”
During a meal, Margata shared the investigation results with Damian and Agnes.
“The entrance is near the mountain peak. You have to climb a bit. I went to see it myself, and it’s huge.”
Margata spread her arms wide to illustrate its size, indicating it was indeed massive.
“We don’t know what the inside of the dungeon looks like. Flesh golems keep emerging, so the search team couldn’t scout the interior.”
In other words, they’d have to enter the dungeon to find out what lay within.
“When do we enter the dungeon?”
Margata grinned widely, baring her fangs.
“Tomorrow.”
By midday, the Church’s hunting party gathered at the dungeon entrance.
A hundred elite soldiers.
Ten holy knights.
And the sect’s holy knights.
The assembled hunting party exuded an overwhelming aura.
“The day has finally come,” Agnes said, standing beside Damian.
Her face was as emotionless as ever, but her eyes held a peculiar fire.
Damian felt he understood what Agnes was feeling.
The chance for revenge was within reach. Her heart must have been swelling with joy.
“I hope the necromancer is in there,” Agnes muttered, her eyes dark as she stared at the cave entrance.
Suddenly, Damian felt a sharp gaze and turned his head.
The Blended Blizzard.
Dionysio was glaring at Damian before looking away.
“He seems to hold quite a grudge against me.”
Damian smirked. In his experience, people like Dionysio always caused trouble.
“Advance!”
The centurion commanding the soldiers raised his voice. The soldiers led the way into the dungeon.
The holy knights followed, ready to step in at any moment.
-Grrr.
-Grrrr.
Suddenly, beasts emerged from the cave.
They weren’t ordinary beasts. They were undead creations of the necromancer.
Their bodies were a grotesque mix: a horse’s torso, wolf’s legs, and a tiger’s head.
Each part was stitched together, the seams still visible.
Their appearance was enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine.
“Shield-bearers, forward!”
At the command of a decurion, soldiers with round shields blocked the beasts’ path.
The shields clashed with the beasts. The soldiers gritted their teeth and held their ground.
Then, the soldiers behind them slashed and stabbed the beasts with swords and spears.
-Keeng!
-Keeng!
The beasts fell easily.
“The coordination is impressive.”
These elite soldiers were indeed well-trained.
If they turned to mercenary work, every one of them could earn the gold badge of a first-class mercenary.
“Advance again!”
The centurion shouted. The soldiers sheathed their weapons and continued deeper into the dungeon.
-Is anyone there?
-Help! There’s someone here!
Suddenly, a human voice echoed from within the cave. The centurion raised his hand, halting the soldiers.
“Stop!”
The centurion and soldiers looked into the cave with tense expressions.
From the darkness within, something emerged.
First, a large, round body came into view. It was a patchwork of animal and monster parts.
More than five legs supported the body, and massive hands protruded from its sides.
The beasts that had emerged earlier seemed like mere tests compared to this carefully crafted creation.
It was a flesh golem, the necromancer’s main weapon.
The sight of the flesh golem made the soldiers’ faces harden.
It wasn’t just its grotesque appearance.
-Aaah! It hurts! It hurts!
-I’m cold… It’s unbearable…
It was the human heads attached to its body.
Not just one, but eight heads.
The “heads” wept and screamed in agony.
-It hurts… I can’t bear the pain!
-Mom… Where’s my mom… Mom…
Among the heads was that of a child.
The horrific sight left both soldiers and holy knights speechless.
“What… what is that…?”
“Does it still have human consciousness…?”
The soldiers and holy knights had slain countless undead and necromancers as the Church’s sword.
But they had never encountered an undead with remaining consciousness like this.
-The Church, it’s the Church! They’re here!
-Help us! Please help us!
The heads, upon seeing the hunting party, brightened with hope.
Despite their pleas for help, the soldiers were paralyzed, unable to act.
-What are you doing? Help us!
-Why are you just standing there? Turn us back to normal!
The heads screamed in anger, swinging their massive arms to attack the soldiers.
“You fools!”
Margata’s voice rang out.
“Get a grip! That’s just an undead! Holy knights, protect the soldiers!”
Margata’s shout snapped the holy knights back to their senses.
They charged at the flesh golem, slashing at it with their weapons.
-Aaaah! It hurts! It hurts so much!
-Stop, please stop! We were wrong!
With each wound, the heads on the body wailed. The holy knights hesitated.
-Stop touching us!
-It hurts! It hurts!
Seizing the moment, the flesh golem swung its fist, sending a holy knight flying.
-Why are you tormenting us?
-Don’t touch us! If you do, we’ll kill you all!
Holes opened all over the flesh golem’s body.
From them, green gas spewed out. The holy knights recoiled in shock.
“It’s poison! It’s releasing poison!”
The poison was so potent that the grass on the ground withered instantly.
The holy knights shielded themselves with divine power, resisting the poison.
-Die! Die, all of you!
-Die! Die! Die!
The flesh golem spewed hatred, attacking the holy knights.
The holy knights, drained from resisting the poison, were overwhelmed by the flesh golem.
More than ten holy knights were struggling against a single flesh golem.
“This won’t do. Agnes, you need to step in.”
“Understood. Sir Damian, please assist me.”
Agnes turned to her side, but Damian was nowhere to be found.
“Sir Damian?”
Somehow, Damian had already moved past the soldiers, approaching the flesh golem.
“Sir Damian!”
Agnes screamed in shock, but her voice didn’t reach Demian Haxen’s ears.
Every one of Demian’s senses was focused on the flesh golem.
“Die! Dieee!”
“Don’t touch me!”
Demian was a high-ranking dark sorcerer.
He could see how the flesh golem was moving.
Dark magic couldn’t be obtained through normal means.
It was born only from death or suffering.
The flesh golem was powered by the souls of countless humans trapped within it.
The dark energy, emitted from their suffering, was what drove the golem.
The more the paladins attacked, the stronger it became.
The more pain it felt, the more dark energy it released.
“It hurts! It hurts!”
“Mom… where are you… mom…”
They were all ordinary people.
People who had been captured by necromancers, unwillingly transformed, and used as materials for dark magic.
They must have felt a fear beyond words, a horror beyond expression.
Demian knew, for he had felt the same when he was turned into a death knight.
The terror of being bound.
The excruciating pain with each procedure.
The revulsion of feeling his body change into something else.
“It’s coming! It’s coming again!”
“You’re going to hurt us too, aren’t you?”
The flesh golem spotted Demian and spewed its toxic mist more fiercely.
“Die! You die too!”
“I’ll tear you apart!”
Ten bones shot out from the golem’s body with a thunderous noise.
Demian didn’t dodge. He simply walked forward, slowly.
The bones flew at him, but none pierced him. They merely grazed past and embedded themselves in the ground.
“What? What?”
“What’s happening?!”
The golem fired more bones, but again, they only brushed past Demian.
It wasn’t that the golem missed.
Demian was dodging every bone arrow by a hair’s breadth.
Before long, he was right in front of the flesh golem.
“Don’t come! Don’t come!”
“Don’t hurt me!”
The golem unleashed its toxic mist with fury.
The holy sword’s divine power shielded Demian. The mist had no effect on him.
Demian raised his head, examining the golem’s body.
His knowledge as a dark sorcerer told him where the golem’s core was.
“Die! Dieee!”
“I’ll crush you!”
The golem tried to bring its fist down.
But Demian was faster. He drove the holy sword into the golem’s torso.
The sword pierced deep, severing the core. Instantly, the golem’s movements halted.
It fell to its knees, arms hanging limp.
“Ah… ahh… ah…”
“Ahh… ah…”
The five heads lost their strength, their eyes slowly closing.
“M… mom…”
The last head finally shut its eyes. Only then did Demian withdraw the sword.
Agnes rushed over, stopping short when she saw Demian’s face, a shiver running through her.
“Phew.”
Demian exhaled, wiping his face with his palm. His expression finally relaxed.
This was why he hated dark sorcerers.
Every encounter dredged up unpleasant memories, leaving him feeling filthy.
“This won’t do.”
Demian muttered in a chilling voice.
“I can’t let them die so easily.”