NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16 - Underground Dungeon, Once Again (2)
Drrrrr…
The door that hadn’t been opened for a long time slowly opened with a sound as heavy as its weight.
The stone door opened slowly, leaving traces of being dragged on the floor, and a gust of wind seeped through the gap.
“Wait, everyone step back.”
Eije, who had been at the back, suddenly rushed forward.
The adventurers and knights made way for Eije to pass through immediately, and there was a good reason for this.
The intense and overwhelming demonic energy mixed with the swirling wind.
Even those without a shred of holy power felt a pressure that made their whole body shiver and cringe, due to the intense demonic energy heavily laden in the wind.
A brilliant light burst forth from the rosary that Eije gently clasped in both hands.
That light spread into a large dome of intense golden radiance, enveloping all the adventurers and knights.
“Priestess Bigrind.”
“Yes, Priestess.”
Bigrind, who stepped forward slightly later than Eije, was also tightly holding her rosary.
But her tightly closed lips and the slightly trembling rosary clearly revealed that she was terrified.
“It seems the priests should stand at the front. With this much demonic energy already, it’s undoubtedly a demon. Those without holy power won’t be able to withstand it easily.”
Eije no longer spoke down to Bigrind.
Given the gravity of the situation, she thought it right to treat her as a fellow priest rather than a disciple.
Bigrind barely managed to nod at Eije.
What was the reason for coming this far?
How excited she had been at Bishop Phoebe’s words that if she successfully purified this demon, she would undoubtedly become a saint.
The word “saint” became a solid support for her mind that was about to break at the word “demon”.
“Is it really a demon?”
“Yes, without a doubt. With this much demonic energy, it’s certain.”
Eije answered Rud’s question while facing forward, holding her rosary.
Rud, who had properly grasped his spear by now, stepped in front of Alec, inhaling deeply.
“Then I should stand at the front from now on. After all, it’s traditionally the champion and the saint who catch demons.”
Bigrind nodded and took a step back to stand beside Rud.
Then, realizing someone was already there, she turned around and scowled.
“W-What? Why are you pulling me?”
Yona was there.
“I told you. It’s traditionally the champion and the saint who catch demons. The champion is here, so you, the saint, should stand beside me.”
“W-Who’s a saint? I told you I’m just a healer. Besides, healers aren’t priests in the first place, remember?!”
“If I say you are, then you are. Why do you keep throwing tantrums? It’s cute.”
Rud smiled sweetly, but Yona was dumbfounded.
She yelled at Bigrind, who was also frowning right next to her.
“What are you staring blankly at? Hurry up and stand next to him or something!”
Yona forcefully shook off Rud’s hand.
Then she returned to Alec, who was behind Rud.
“I’ll fulfill my duty as a healer, so you two figure it out yourselves.”
Rud didn’t say anything more to her.
He didn’t particularly look at Bigrind either.
Whew, huff…
Alec breathed heavily, though faintly.
The steel shield he was holding felt like it was getting heavier by the ton.
The feeling of the shield getting heavier with each step wasn’t particularly pleasant, so Alec was breathing heavily.
“Hey, baldy. Don’t be a chicken, you bastard. I told you I’d protect you. Just don’t die. Think only about surviving.”
“…I’m not scared, you damn woman.”
The stairs were swaying as if dancing in the flickering torchlight.
The long shadows created by that light stretched out over the adventurers and knights, intertwining with those descending the stairs, creating a strange atmosphere.
The walls, thickly coated with black moss and all sorts of dried filth, looked truly repulsive to touch.
Not knowing how far down the stairs they had to go, they had already descended for quite a while, but the end was still not in sight.
Neither the adventurers nor the knights spoke much.
The demonic energy pressing down on them was being offset by the holy barrier that Eije had deployed at the front, but more than the demonic energy, it was the atmosphere of this place that kept their mouths shut.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Alec, I’ll protect you.”
“…I’ll protect you too.”
“Heh, saying such adorable things.”
Yona stroked Alec’s bald head.
This kid, he can be cute sometimes.
“Wait, stop for a moment.”
At Rud’s words, Eije, who was walking in front, stopped.
Bigrind, who was walking beside Rud, also stopped, followed by Alec, Yona, and the other adventurers and knights led by them.
“Isn’t this a bit strange?”
“Just say what’s strange in words.”
Adventurers on the battlefield tend to get impatient, so Yona cut in and urged Rud.
If there’s something strange, we should quickly talk about it and think about how to solve it, not dawdle like this.
“We’ve been descending these stairs for quite a while now. But the stairs still continue. I’m wondering if this itself might be an illusion.”
“Hmm.”
Eije fell into thought for a moment.
It’s not uncommon for the lowest floor of most dungeons to involve descending long stairs.
Even when she was living as an adventurer, there were such dungeons.
So if you think it’s not strange, it’s not strange, but if you think it is strange, it could be strange.
“Use Pasa’s Eye.”
“…Pasa’s Eye, you say?”
Eije narrowed her eyes and looked at Rud.
Not many people know about Pasa’s Eye.
In the first place, Pasa’s Eye is used to remove false and wicked veils and reveal the truth, so it’s appropriate to use in places like this, but only some of the highest-ranking priests can use it.
How does this man know about it?
“The Celestial Deity told me. To use Pasa’s Eye.”
Could he really be the champion?
Eije decided not to think about it anymore.
For now, it’s right to focus on the matter at hand.
Pasa’s Eye, which even Bigrind hadn’t yet attained, could only be used by Eije among those present here.
Since she was at the front anyway, there was no need to hesitate, so Eije called out to Bigrind.
“Have Priestess Bigrind deploy the holy barrier.”
“Understood.”
A golden light burst forth from Bigrind’s rosary, and the barrier that Eije had deployed weakened.
The holy barrier deployed in exchange was clearly weaker in light than Eije’s, but it was still sufficient to block the demonic energy.
After confirming this, Eije quietly recited a prayer while holding her rosary.
A white eye appeared behind her back, then slowly disappeared.
“Uh, uhh…?”
“W-What is that?!”
“Hey, what, what is that?!”
Suddenly, surprise, confusion, fear, and terror spread rapidly.
They had clearly been walking down stairs, but the place where they were standing had somehow transformed into a wide arena that looked like a colosseum.
And in the center of that arena stood a massive coffin.
The stone coffin, so huge that one would wonder how it was made, was not lying down but standing upright.
A coffin twice as tall as the goat-headed demonic beast they had faced before.
And scattered around where the coffin stood were thick, very heavy-looking iron chains that had been broken into pieces.
“Hey, Yona. What is this?”
Alec turned to look at Yona.
Yona’s complexion wasn’t good either, but she still tried to force a smile, twisting the corners of her mouth upwards.
“Hey, you b-baldy bastard. C-Can’t you see? The stairs were just an illusion…”
“As expected, you’re perceptive.”
Yona had spoken to Alec, but the answer came from Rud.
Yona looked at Rud with a sullen gaze.
“The stairs were just an illusion. An illusion of endlessly descending. Even if we had tried to go back up, we probably would have had to climb endlessly. Until we collapsed and died on the stairs.”
“…I k-knew that too.”
“Then is that coffin… the demon?”
Alec asked Yona again.
In fact, Yona doesn’t know either.
Yona has never seen a demon before.
“That’s probably it. The coffin itself isn’t the demon…”
And that answer came from Rud again.
As soon as he answered, as if it had been waiting, the coffin began to shake with a rumbling sound.
The chains had already been broken long ago, so now it seemed as if the demon, having detected the intruders, was about to reveal itself.
“The thing inside must be the demon.”
Rud appeared calm.
Everyone was staring at the vibrating coffin with pale faces.
“Saint, come here.”
Rud grabbed Yona’s wrist and pulled her.
Yona, who had been staring blankly at the coffin, was pulled by her wrist by Rud in an instant, but she soon became irritated and shook off his hand.
“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not a saint? I have a partner, so you should protect your own partner.”
“Huh, you’d be safest by the champion’s side.”
Yona looked at Alec.
Alec was mouthing small words, telling her to go to the champion’s side, but Yona pretended not to see it.
“What kind of adventurer abandons their partner? This is my place, so mind your own business.”
Meanwhile, the coffin lid began to move.
The coffin lid wasn’t opening sideways—
“Ah, aah… It’s, it’s falling over!”
With screams, the adventurers and knights began to scatter.
As the stone coffin lid fell forward, it crushed a couple of adventurers who couldn’t dodge in time.
The adventurers who disappeared under the coffin lid without even making a sound.
There was no trace of them anywhere.
A pool of dark blood flowed out from under the coffin lid.
Graaaaaah—!!!!
The demon revealed itself from inside the coffin lid, letting out a scream that sounded like a wail.
Its form was humanoid, but it could hardly be considered human.
The knight in what looked like solid armor had no head.
The knight, who had tucked under his arm what appeared to be his own head in a helmet, slowly revealed himself, with a huge, very huge sword slung at his side that seemed too small to even be called a greatsword.
“Ah, it’s a demon…”
Someone’s deep sigh flowed out.