Episode 65: Dungeon (3)
The expedition team plummeted into the abyss, entangled with debris.
“Aaaah!”
Even the seasoned soldiers and paladins screamed like frightened children.
No amount of experience could prepare them for falling into an endless darkness.
“Blowing up such a vast area of land… They were well-prepared.”
Even Damian, standing on solid ground, hadn’t sensed anything amiss. The ground must have been incredibly thick.
Collapsing such a large expanse all at once was no easy feat.
“It’s deep. I can’t see the bottom.”
Even with his magical vision enhanced, the ground remained out of sight.
Not even the famously resilient paladins would likely survive a fall from this height.
“Did they hollow out the entire mountain? That explains why the dungeon entrance was on the ridge.”
The dungeon’s location on the mountain seemed to be for creating such a deep cavity.
“They didn’t lure the expedition here for nothing.”
Damian could have leapt to safety by using the debris as stepping stones.
But he chose not to. The dark energy emanating from below was too compelling.
The place where Damian and the expedition were falling…
From the layered darkness below, a terrifying dark magic was emanating.
Until now, the solid ground had blocked its presence.
The moment it vanished, the dark energy felt as vivid as if it were right in front of him.
“So that’s where you were, Necromancer.”
A smile crept onto Damian’s lips. He had finally found the prey he had been hunting.
“Listen up, soldiers and paladins!”
At that moment, Garmal’s voice rang out.
A second-class paladin could escape the trap using the debris, just as Damian had thought.
But Garmal was falling with the expedition, determined to save as many as possible.
Margata and Sanus also descended with the team, just like Garmal.
“Activate the holy relics provided by the order! They might just save your lives from this height!”
It was all to save as many as possible.
“When you hit the ground, stay put and wait for rescue! We will come for you!”
Garmal shouted towards Sanus.
“Sanus! Use your miracle! Protect them all!”
“Yes, yes, I got it.”
Even in this dire situation, Sanus seemed unruffled. As he clasped his hands together, a bright light enveloped the expedition.
The divine power wrapped around their bodies, seemingly offering protection from the impact.
Unfortunately, the hurried deployment in such a large area meant the effect wasn’t as strong as it could have been.
“Margata! Move as soon as you hit the ground! We need to rescue as many as possible!”
“Got it! You can count on me!”
Just after Margata’s loud declaration, the expedition collided with the ground.
Just before impact, Damian twisted his body in mid-air.
As his feet touched the ground, he bent his knees and waist to absorb the shock.
He landed as softly as a feather.
“Oof, still a bit stiff.”
The impact wasn’t entirely absent. Damian stretched his back, grumbling.
“Aaaah!”
At that moment, someone else crashed down. With a loud thud, a crater formed in the ground.
“Ugh, argh…!”
Someone crawled out of the crater. Surprisingly, it was Dionysio of the Blended Blizzard.
“Da-Damian Haxen?”
Dionysio was just as shocked. He looked at Damian with a disgruntled expression.
“Why don’t you heal yourself? You can’t be unscathed.”
“Who says I’m not fine? This kind of impact is… Ugh!”
As he tried to stand, Dionysio let out a scream.
Lying on the ground, he summoned his divine power. His wounds began to heal.
“Damn it.”
Dionysio grumbled as he got to his feet, seemingly fully recovered.
“This is why paladins are such a pain.”
Paladins could heal themselves by expending divine power.
It was difficult to use in battle and consumed a lot of energy, but it was undeniably a huge advantage.
“Of all people to fall with, it had to be you, Damian Haxen.”
Dionysio grumbled, glaring at Damian. Damian shrugged.
“You’re full of complaints. Anyone would think you came here for a vacation, not a fight.”
“Who said I was complaining! You’re just… annoying.”
At that moment, Dionysio’s expression changed.
He thrust his spear towards Damian. The spearhead aimed to pierce Damian’s face.
Damian didn’t dodge. The spearhead grazed his cheek and struck something behind him.
-Screeech…!
A bat-like flesh golem shrieked, impaled on the spear.
“Stay alert and watch your surroundings. We’re in a dark wizard’s dungeon.”
Damian looked at Dionysio with surprise.
He had sensed the flesh golem approaching from the start.
He was curious about Dionysio’s reaction and hadn’t intervened. He hadn’t expected Dionysio to save him.
“I thought you had a grudge against me.”
“Yeah, I do! I’ll get my revenge someday! …But I can’t just let you die.”
Damian regarded Dionysio with unexpected respect.
He had thought Dionysio was a reckless hothead when he expressed his anger.
But now he saw that Dionysio could distinguish between personal feelings and duty.
“And if you die, Lady Agnes would be sad, wouldn’t she?”
“What, are you interested in Agnes?”
“What nonsense are you spouting!”
Dionysio shouted, his reaction reminiscent of Damian’s younger brother, Abel.
“Stop talking nonsense and follow me! We need to regroup with the others!”
Dionysio strode forward, but his steps soon halted.
A man in tattered clothes emerged from the darkness.
”…A person?”
Dionysio looked at the man with a bewildered expression.
“I’m a paladin dispatched from the order. Did you escape from the dark wizard?”
Dionysio moved closer to the man. Just then, Damian grabbed Dionysio’s shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
“Look closely. That’s not a human.”
Damian pointed at the man. Dionysio squinted his eyes.
Then his eyes widened in shock.
”…The skin is stitched together like a patchwork?”
Damian had known from the start that the man was a flesh golem, not a human.
“This must be the necromancer’s base. Seeing such a masterpiece already confirms it.”
The necromancer had a peculiar obsession.
The more effort he put into creating a flesh golem, the more human-like he made it.
He called it an art form, but to Damian, it was nothing but a grotesque taste.
A flesh golem in human form.
The necromancer had given it the absurd name of “masterpiece.”
-ROAR!
A beastly roar erupted from the man’s mouth. His body began to swell.
The once ordinary-sized man transformed into a muscular figure surpassing an ogre.
“Damn, that was a flesh golem too.”
Dionysio raised his spear with a weary expression. A gray chill enveloped the spear.
“I don’t have time to deal with you!”
Dionysio charged at the flesh golem, aiming to pierce its chest with his spear.
But as the spearhead touched the skin, the chill dissipated.
”…What?”
Without divine power, the spear was just an ordinary weapon. It couldn’t penetrate the flesh golem’s hide.
-ROAR!
The flesh golem swung its palm, striking Dionysio. He coughed up blood as he tumbled across the ground.
“How… how is this possible…?”
Dionysio stared at the flesh golem in shock.
He hadn’t imagined it. He had definitely thrust his spear, but the divine power had vanished.
“Da-Damian Haxen…! Run…! That thing… is dangerous…! You can’t fight it…!”
Dionysio shouted at Damian Haxen. Unable to flee due to his injuries, he wanted to at least save Damian.
But when he saw Damian’s face, Dionysio felt a chill.
A smile.
Damian Haxen’s face bore a grotesque smile as he looked at the flesh golem.
It was an exaggerated, vivid grin, as if someone were pulling at his facial skin from behind.
“I thought there might be a chance.”
Damian gripped his holy sword. The blade gleamed ominously.
“There was a connection after all.”
The flesh golem, perhaps provoked by Damian’s killing intent, charged with a shriek.
Damian Haxen didn’t dodge and charged as well. The flesh golem’s fist descended from above.
Damian met it with his sword. As the holy blade met the fist, the fist split in two.
Damian Haxen adjusted the angle of his blade slightly. The flesh golem’s massive forearm was sliced vertically.
-ROAR?
The flesh golem looked at its hand, puzzled by the sudden lightness.
In that moment, Damian swung his sword at the golem’s legs.
A line was drawn in the air, and the knee was severed in half.
-ROAR!
The flesh golem teetered to one side, flailing its arms in a desperate attempt to regain balance.
Standing atop the golem’s chest was Damian. With a firm stomp, he sent the creature crashing backward, its massive form collapsing with a thud.
“Roar!”
The golem swung its arms wildly, trying to grab hold of Damian.
With a dismissive flick, Damian sliced through the thick limbs, sending them flying.
“You knew about this necromancy trick all along, didn’t you?” Damian muttered, a strange satisfaction in his voice as he began to hack away at the golem.
“You must’ve gotten it from that guy! Where did you hide it? Here? Or maybe here?”
Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, painting Damian in a crimson hue. Yet, the eerie smile on his face remained unshaken.
With relentless strikes, the golem was finally rendered motionless. Still, Damian’s hands didn’t stop.
Watching the gruesome scene, Dionysio trembled uncontrollably.
“Found it.”
Damian extracted something from within the golem—a round stone inscribed with mysterious symbols.
“Take it,” he said, tossing the stone to Dionysio. “Bring it to the Order. It might explain why the divine power is disrupted.”
Damian already knew the answer. This was no ordinary object. It was a magical artifact, crafted by Dorgo after extensive research to combat the Order.
Because of this artifact, the Order suffered significant losses in the war against Dorgo. Though they eventually found a countermeasure, it was too late to turn the tide.
This time, with Damian discovering it first and handing it over to the Order, they might find a solution sooner.
“Can you move?” Damian asked Dionysio.
“Y-yes, I can.”
“Why the sudden formality?”
“I just… felt like I should…”
Dionysio focused his divine power to heal his body.
“Once you’re ready, let’s move.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
With Dionysio now oddly polite, Damian led the way.
They walked for a long time, but no other survivors appeared.
“It seems endless. Just how vast is this place?” Dionysio wondered aloud, glancing around.
“When we fell, it looked like the entire mountain had been hollowed out. This place is probably much larger than the dungeon we were in,” Damian replied, a thought crossing his mind.
The necromancer was a master at creating flesh golems, but carving out a mountain was beyond his capabilities.
‘Could there be another ally involved?’
There were no earth-manipulating dark mages. This was outside the realm of dark magic.
It was clear there had to be another collaborator from a different field.
‘Of course, Dorgo’s forces weren’t just dark mages.’
Dorgo’s army included many non-human races who despised humans and joined him to bring about their downfall.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, they stumbled upon a vast chamber. The ceiling and surroundings stretched wide.
“Oh my~.”
For the first time since they fell, another voice echoed through the space.
“Both of you survived, I see~?”
It was Sanus, with his characteristic slow drawl, accompanied by several paladins of the Blinding Pain.
“I’m so glad to see you both safe~.”
Dionysio’s eyes widened at the sight of Sanus. It wasn’t out of joy, but because of who Sanus was holding.
“Ugh… ugh…”
The person in Sanus’s grip coughed up blood, prompting Dionysio to shout urgently.
“Brother Gamal!”
When Agnes hit the ground, pain shot through her body as if she were being torn apart.
She nearly lost consciousness, but somehow managed to hold on.
This was the necromancer’s dungeon. Losing consciousness here was akin to death.
“Agnes! Stay with me!”
Margarita’s face suddenly appeared in her vision. Fortunately, they had landed in the same place.
Margarita helped Agnes to her feet. Unlike Agnes, who was barely holding on, Margarita seemed unscathed.
“Quick, heal yourself with divine power!”
Following Margarita’s advice, Agnes began to mend her injuries with divine power.
Cracked bones fused back together, and torn muscles knitted themselves whole.
“Sister, what about the others?” Agnes asked as she stood up. Margarita silently pointed somewhere.
Turning her gaze, Agnes saw the crushed bodies of paladins and soldiers.
Only someone like Agnes could have survived such a fall; the others stood no chance.
”…There must be others still alive. Let’s find them.”
Agnes nodded at Margarita’s words.
“Already found some materials, have we?”
A strange voice interrupted them.
Agnes and Margarita quickly turned toward the sound.
“To fall right where I am… such bad luck for you both.”
A frail-looking young man, who seemed ready to collapse at any moment, was watching them.
“Who are you? Identify yourself,” Margarita demanded, her face full of suspicion.
The young man chuckled weakly.
“Necromancer.”