Episode 379: Return to the Demonic Academy
“There’s no exit!”
A voice rang out in panic.
Sabi Kang snapped out of his thoughts and surveyed the surroundings. The once-glowing eyes of the creature, Zairen, had dimmed, but the pillars of light supporting the ceiling kept the area well-lit. Yet, as someone had shouted, all the walls were sealed shut.
Even the passage through which Sabi Kang and the cadets had entered was completely blocked, making it difficult to find a way out.
“Is this some kind of barrier?”
The situation was becoming increasingly perplexing. Initially, they had expected to encounter low-level monsters like slimes, given that this was a newly discovered dungeon. Creatures with barely any intelligence.
But the appearance of Zairen was surprising enough, and now they were trapped with no exit in sight? This level of a barrier suggested that this was no ordinary dungeon. It was highly likely that this was a dungeon with a separate boss chamber.
“Feels like we’ve walked right into a trap…”
Sabi Kang gathered his thoughts and shouted to the group.
“Spread out and look for anything unusual!”
“Yes, sir!”
The cadets responded in unison and began to move with precision. They were still riding the high of having successfully defeated their first monster.
Jin Kyung-san approached Yeo So-jung.
“Be careful, just in case.”
Yang Cho-ji, passing by, couldn’t resist a snide remark.
“Heh, instead of trailing after a girl, why don’t you find us an exit? Don’t end up screaming for help like a damsel in distress again.”
“What? I never—”
“Oh, right, you didn’t actually ask for help. My bad. But your face sure looked desperate. Heh.”
Jin Kyung-san gritted his teeth, ready to retort, but Yang Cho-ji had already walked away without looking back. Pyo Ha-rim came over to calm him down, and Jin Kyung-san finally snorted and turned away.
Meanwhile, Yang Cho-ji walked along the wall and approached the fallen body of Zairen, examining it closely.
“Hmm. What a peculiar creature.”
He drew a dagger and extracted Zairen’s eye. It had once glowed with a brilliant light, but now it was just a dull, gray stone.
“Looks like a rotten fish eye.”
Clicking his tongue, he tossed the stone-like eye over his shoulder.
Thud!
The sound of the eye hitting the ground made Yang Cho-ji pause and turn around.
“What the…? Why is the ground…?”
The area around him had turned into a sticky, mud-like substance.
“Is the ground melting because of Zairen’s decaying body?”
Feeling the squishy ground beneath him, Yang Cho-ji quickly lifted his foot.
At that moment,
“Ah! Aaaah!”
He fell to his knees, screaming.
Jin Kyung-san, who was nearby, heard the scream and rushed over. Seeing Yang Cho-ji, he couldn’t help but smirk.
“Hey, old man. What’s got you screaming like a girl this time?”
Thinking he had a chance to tease him, Jin Kyung-san approached.
“You fool! Don’t come any closer!”
“What’s your problem? You’re really getting on my nerves today…”
“Stop! Unless you want to die!”
“Ha! Want to bet on who’ll die first… huh?”
Finally sensing something was wrong, Jin Kyung-san halted and stepped back.
To his shock, Yang Cho-ji’s lower legs had completely sunk into the ground, and his knees were slowly being consumed.
“What’s happening? Old man! Why are you like this all of a sudden?”
“Shut up! I don’t know! But…”
Yang Cho-ji trembled, staring at his legs that had already melted away. The ground, now like quicksand, was swallowing him up to his thighs.
It was as if the ground had turned into a swamp, slowly devouring him. But what terrified him even more was…
“There’s… no pain…!”
Even as his legs were being consumed, he felt no pain. At first, he thought it might be an illusion.
Then,
“Huh? Why is the ground so soft?”
Another cadet nearby muttered, lifting his foot…
Thud!
“Ah! Aaaah!”
His foot melted away, and he fell backward, quickly sinking into the mud like a person trapped in quicksand.
“Help…!”
Before he could finish his plea, he vanished into the swamp.
The cadets were thrown into chaos.
“Damn it! What’s happening?”
“The ground is turning into a swamp!”
“No wonder it felt so unstable when those spiders were going crazy!”
“Damn it! We can’t find an exit, and the swamp is spreading!”
The cadets scrambled to find solid ground, looking around frantically.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sabi Kang waved his left hand and shouted.
“Reverse Gravity!”
The cadets began to float into the air, flailing in surprise.
“Whoa!”
“My body…!”
Sabi Kang quickly gave instructions.
“Don’t panic! Grab onto the pillars!”
Following his command, the cadets used their energy to propel themselves toward the pillars, embedding their daggers and hanging on.
The problem was Yang Cho-ji, who was already half-submerged in the swamp. The sticky substance was rising, preventing him from being affected by the magic and pulling him further down.
Gurgle… Gurgle…
The entire floor of the chamber was rapidly turning into a swamp. The once white, glowing pillars now emitted a red hue.
“Heh. Damn… to die so pathetically…”
Yang Cho-ji laughed bitterly as he watched his body being consumed by the swamp.
Sabi Kang was at a loss. If he flew over to pull Yang Cho-ji out, his body would be torn apart.
Yang Cho-ji looked at Jin Kyung-san and smirked.
“Remember, it was me who saved you. Make sure to honor me for the rest of your life, kid.”
With those final words, Yang Cho-ji drew his dagger and slit his own throat.
Splat!
As blood poured out, the swamp swallowed him whole.
Gurgle…
“Old man…”
Even Jin Kyung-san, who often bickered with him, felt a chill in his heart at that moment.
But there was no time for mourning.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A loud noise echoed from the walls of the chamber,
Boom!
Suddenly, a thick liquid began to pour down, filling the air with a nauseating stench. It was clearly dangerous.
“Damn it! What’s that now?”
“If that liquid rises, we’re all dead!”
“Oh no, it’s dissolving Zairen in an instant!”
The cadets were in shock, their faces pale with fear.
Sabi Kang clenched his teeth. They had already lost two cadets unexpectedly.
“This dungeon’s difficulty is too high. Something’s wrong.”
Even Zairen shouldn’t have been summoned here.
Then, Jin Baek, who was hanging nearby, muttered as he watched the rising swamp.
“It feels like we’ve entered someone’s body.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. Earlier, I said these glowing pillars seemed like an organism, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did.”
Sabi Kang nodded.
When Ja Un-ryong had cut the pillar, the severed part stopped glowing, like a piece of tissue cut from a living organism.
Jin Baek paused, recalling that moment, then continued.
“I’ve been thinking, it feels like we’re inside a giant creature’s stomach.”
“Oh…”
Sabi Kang nodded, beginning to understand.
Jin Baek added, “In other words, the moment we entered this chamber, we became food. We walked down the esophagus and arrived in the stomach.”
“So, Zairen and the swamp are…”
“Part of the digestive process. Initially, those monsters tried to break us down, but it didn’t work. Now, the stomach acid is being overproduced.”
“I see.”
“Well, it’s just my impression. Don’t take it too seriously.”
Jin Baek spoke nonchalantly, but Sabi Kang found his theory intriguing.
“Indeed, a physician might see it that way.”
If it weren’t for Jin Baek, he would have dismissed it as just a trap. But seeing it as a process within a living organism could help them understand the dungeon’s nature more quickly.
In the demon realm, there are dungeons that function like living organisms. They’re akin to coral reefs in the sea.
Dungeons that exist on the boundary between objects and living beings.
“But for such a dungeon to be summoned already?”
What was clear was that living dungeons were notoriously difficult. In the demon realm, these were known as ‘semi-living dungeons,’ and tackling them required the presence of a high-ranking demon.
“This isn’t good. This might turn out to be a much tougher battle than I anticipated.”
With this thought racing through his mind, Sabigang quickly turned to Neung Soso.
“Soso, find us an escape route.”
“Yes, Commander!”
Neung Soso responded promptly, summoning a sylph. A gentle breeze began to swirl around her, soon spreading throughout the cavern.
To others, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but in Neung Soso’s eyes, countless sylphs flitted about, exploring every nook and cranny of the cave.
Finally, Neung Soso lifted her head and pointed to a spot on the ceiling.
“There! I think we can get out through there!”
“Well done.”
Sabigang offered rare praise before launching himself in the direction Neung Soso had indicated. Using levitation magic, he hovered in mid-air and drew his sword, Vertas.
“Given the circumstances, I’ll create the exit myself. Hold on tight, everyone.”
“Yes, sir!”
As the cadets’ responses echoed, Sabigang swung Vertas in a cross pattern.
Swish! Swish!
The force of his strike hit the ceiling, causing it to tremble violently before it began to crumble.
Crash! Boom!
The falling debris sizzled and dissolved the moment it touched the liquid below, leaving the cadets silently awestruck.
“If we fall in, there won’t be anything left of us!”
Meanwhile, Sabigang, having burst through the newly made opening, called down to the cadets.
“There’s space above. Move up, everyone.”
No sooner had he spoken than the cadets, using their agility techniques, propelled themselves off the pillars and soared through the opening in the ceiling.