The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

#29 Newbie Adventurer Bern (27) – Lich

#29 Newbie Adventurer Bern (27) – Lich

Around the time Bern deliberately fell into the trap and was instead grinding down the forces lying in wait…

“Adventurers, cease all movement! Anyone who resists will be considered a minion of the Lich!!”

Simultaneous with the Guild Master’s declaration, the black armband agents, who had been solely dedicated to controlling the adventurers, pounced on several adventurer parties at once.

Guild Guard.

Not adventurers moving for a commission, but a force representing the will of the Guild itself.

The Guild’s blades, meant to keep adventurers in check, launched a sudden assault, leaving the adventurers no chance to even resist as they tumbled to the ground.

One of the dozen or so captured, veins bulging in his neck, cried out.

“What is the meaning of this?! Have you Guild dogs gone mad!?”

“You’re the mad ones. Did you really expect leniency, being servants of the Lich?”

“What utter drivel is this?!”

“The Lich’s disciple, already captured by our side, has spilled everything. Playing dumb is pointless.”

At the Guild Master’s declaration, the captured adventurers’ eyes widened, while the others regarded them with a mix of shock and doubt.

In truth, the Guild Master’s words held a touch of deception.

It was true that the disciple Vern had captured had revealed all he knew, but he hadn’t possessed information on every single spy.

Therefore, outwardly the Guild feigned ignorance of the spies’ presence, loudly proclaiming a large-scale purge while, in the shadows, initiating surveillance and investigations of key adventurers.

Before entering the dungeon, roughly 70% were classified, and another 20% filled in based on their words and actions within the dungeon, or their reactions to the trap just now.

That left 10%.

To gain certainty regarding that final 10%, the Guild Master had bluffed, claiming, ‘We already know who you are.’

And, the reputation of the Guild Master was enough to make the culprits mistake that bluff for the truth.

“Damn it!! Kill them all!!”

As one of the captured adventurers shouted, pitch-black mana erupted from his body, sending the Guild Guard with the black armband flying.

The other adventurers, likewise, unleashed their own dark mana, reassuming their fighting stances.

They unleashed a storm of blows upon the adventurers nearby, and only then, realizing these truly were the lich’s thralls, did the adventurers swiftly counter.

*Clang!*

*Thwack!*

“W-what are these guys, what strength…!”

The adventurers, locking blades with the lich’s disciples, recoiled in horror.

Every last one of the adventurers here could, as a matter of course, enhance their bodies through magic, yet the traitors’ strength, cloaked in dark mana, far exceeded even that.

The black orbs nestled within their bosoms ceaselessly emanated an ominous aura, bolstering the traitors’ bodies and mana.

Had they struck from behind while trapped in a snare, or in the thick of a close-fought battle, the damage would have been incalculable.

But, not now.

*Thud.*

Before the traitors knew it, the Guild Master stood right before them, swinging his blade.

With a heartless, single strike, the head of a warrior, wielding monstrous strength, was severed and sent flying.

The traitors, aghast, turned their swords upon the Guild Master, but he, unfazed, calmly continued his assault.

*Shick!*

The Guild Master’s blade knew no impediment.

Not in the sense of freedom of movement, but in a purely physical sense.

Swords that met his were cleaved asunder, shields that were raised were bisected, shield and wielder together.

As a warrior ascended to the 4th Circle, wielding sword-ki, would overwhelm those beneath him, so too did the 5th Circle aura of the Guild Master slice through all the traitors’ resistance like tofu.

The mages, unable to bear it any longer, prepared to unleash offensive spells, even at the risk of striking their own allies, but even that was not easy.

*Whoosh!*

“Ugh!?”

The *Magic of Kindling Trees* was the most basic, and thus, a low-potency offensive spell.

Yet, no matter how weak the spell, few mages could maintain a cool composure and cast a spell when a ball of fire hurtled toward their face, a vital point of the human body.

While other mages hesitated to cast spells, tangled in the complexities of the ongoing battle, Blanca, without a moment’s pause, sniped the traitorous mages with pinpoint accuracy.

This level of chaos was hardly even a hindrance to her, not after all the sword-to-sword training she had endured with Vern.

The Guild Master had broken the warriors’ formation, and Blanca’s snipes had prevented the mages from casting their spells in time.

And, that was that.

They had initially tried to overcome their numerical and territorial disadvantage with a temporary stat boost, but with even that enhancement rendered useless, there was no chance of victory to begin with.

After subduing the traitors, the Guild Master tried to extract information about the lich or the captured victims, but it was in vain.

Countless spikes erupted from the black orbs within their possessions, instantly impaling the traitors.

“…Looks like someone’s watching from somewhere.”

Clicking his tongue, the Guild Master scanned the dungeon with piercing eyes before approaching Blanca and bowing his head.

“Thank you. It’s thanks to you all that we were able to cut out the rot with minimal losses. However, regarding your comrade…”

The Guild Master trailed off.

It was Vern who volunteered to play the bait, and the Guild Master had agreed to it, but the situation was now quite dire.

If it had been a simple physical trap or ambush, they could have quickly assessed the situation and dispatched a rescue team, but a spatial transfer trap offered no guarantee of reaching the same destination, and blindly following could lead them to their deaths.

The Guild Master, too, didn’t like the idea of not being able to send support for the biggest contributor, but he was the leader who guided all the adventurers.

With the duty to ensure the safety of the entire team, launching an unreasonable rescue operation was impossible.

Blanca bit her lip, but then she spoke.

“It’s alright. Vern will be fine, so let’s hurry. We need to push forward before the lich devises new means beyond the traitors.”

She wanted, with all her heart, to follow Bern right away, but it was Bern himself who’d told her, before they entered the dungeon, not to worry if she ended up acting separately, and to proceed with the raid as planned.

Blanca trusted Bern’s judgment more than her own feelings.

“Understood. We’ll settle the reward separately later.”

The Guild Master shouted toward the adventurers.

“From now on, we increase our pace! I will take the lead, follow me!”

No longer needing to keep someone guarding their backs in case of emergencies, the Guild Master stepped forward himself, beginning to forge a path.

Aside from the right-hand path, which had been a trap, only the left and the center remained.

A number of individuals stayed behind to maintain watch before the massive central doors, which they didn’t know how to open. The remaining adventurers began to move toward the left-hand route, the one said to be teeming with enemies.

The undead blocking their path were powerful, but the adventurers’ combined strength was even greater. The traps that tried to ensnare them were vicious, but not enough to steal the veteran adventurers’ composure.

The deeper they went into the dungeon, the more the adventurers’ eyes shone with a feverish light.

‘Stamina and mana are still plentiful. At this rate, we can last until the end of the raid!’

‘The lich is estimated to be a Fifth Circle. Since it’s fighting in its stronghold, it will be a little stronger, but we have the Guild Master on our side, so our chances of victory are high enough.’

‘It was unexpected that our branch’s Rank 4 was a traitor, but this is an opportunity. If only our party could replace them…!’

Gone were the adventurers who usually held back, wary of risk and danger.

Even if their motives were personal ambition or gain, the adventurers were, at this moment, undoubtedly embarking on an ‘adventure’, rushing towards an unknown enemy.

Just like the heroes of the distant past, sung about by bards.

But they mustn’t forget.

The reason a hero is called a hero and praised is… because so many others die before ever earning that title.

“–Noisy thieves, these.”

It was a low voice.

Not quite rage, nor steeped in lingering resentment.

Just a sound, as if muttering softly to itself.

And yet, hearing it, the adventurers felt a prickle of gooseflesh spread across their backs in unison.

Because that quiet murmur resonated with such uncanny clarity.

As if whispered directly into their ears.

*Ssshhh.*

Every direction, all around.

As if from nowhere first, a poisonous violet mist began to seep from every crevice of the dungeon.

The guild master squinted and bellowed.

“Mages! Drive back the mist! Warriors, fall back, keep it off your skin!”

Fires and gales erupted from the mages’ hands, and for a moment, the violet mist faltered.

Blanca seized the opportunity, unleashing a furious barrage of *Stone-Scorching Magic* toward the source of the intense magical energy beyond.

*Boom!*

*KWA-THoooM!*

“…Hoh.”

Through the fractured mist, the master of this dungeon revealed himself.

Blanca inhaled sharply.

The one who had invaded her hometown in her childhood.

The death mage who had robbed her of her precious family now gazed at her, eyes gleaming with a curious light.

Just as the helpless girl Blanca had been had grown into a woman, the Lich’s appearance too had undergone a subtle change.

The bone, once ash-grey, was now steeped in a faint violet hue. What had been a normal human skull was grotesquely twisted, sprouting something akin to horns.

A lich. Before Mortius Barmore could utter a word, the Guild Master charged.

He knew all too well that nothing was as foolish as granting a mage time to prepare; a lesson etched in the bones of a veteran adventurer.

The knight radiating dark magic at the lich’s side was concerning, but the Guild Master paid it no mind.

His aura could cleave through any paltry swordplay, or so he thought.

*Clang!*

As if to refute his certainty, the knight’s blade intercepted the Guild Master’s strike.

The Guild Master grimaced, observing the viscous, oily magic clinging to the death knight’s sword.

“Aura…!”

Not the complete, fifth-circle aura that the Guild Master himself wielded.

Rather, it appeared to be sword energy compressed to a high density, imbued with some arcane treatment.

This imperfect aura groaned and chipped drastically with each clash against the Guild Master’s blade. Given a moment, the Guild Master could overwhelm it, but the lich was not one to stand idly by.

From the violet mist swirling behind the lich, two more death knights materialized, immediately assailing the Guild Master.

Assaulted relentlessly by several experts on par with a high-ranking fourth-circle mage, even the Guild Master couldn’t afford to divert his attention.

“What are these things! My blade won’t bite!”

“W-wait, my limbs… they’re going numb…!”

“Don’t breathe the mist! It’s paralyzing!!”

Meanwhile, the other adventurers, who should have been supporting the Guild Master, fared no better.

The undead army that appeared alongside the lich was stronger than before, and above all, the violet mist severely hampered their movements.

Purging the toxins entering the body through physical enhancement wasn’t impossible, but barely a tenth of the adventurers present could manage it.

*Padeuk.*

Blanca gritted her teeth.

A sight that resurrected past trauma, it obliterated the composure she’d managed to retain.

-Fhwaarrrrr-reureureureureuk!

A wave of crimson fire erased the violet mist.

An overwhelming inferno that engulfed an entire floor of the dungeon.

Half the undead horde vanished in an instant, the remainder finished off by the now-freed adventurers.

Those adventurers who’d achieved 4th Class status swiftly moved forward, wresting the Death Knights away from the Guild Master.

The Guild Master, his body accumulating minor wounds, seized the opportunity they created and charged toward the Lich.

The Lich attempted to create a wall of bone to block the attack, but a sword imbued with azure aura sliced through such a barrier as though it were tofu, pressing onward towards the Lich.

*Seogeok!*

Finally, the Lich’s chest was cleaved open, the orb at its heart shattered.

The Guild Master, feeling the sensation of piercing the enemy’s core, was certain of victory, and the other adventurers’ eyes mirrored his elation.

“…These insignificant gnats.”

A voice that rumbled, etched into the very space itself, chilling to the bone.

The instant Blanca felt a shudder of foreboding, immense magical power coalesced around the Lich.

And then, it exploded.

*Kwaaang!*

Even from afar, one could feel the torrent of thick, black curse and poison.

The Guild Master, his entire skin turning black and blue as though gravely poisoned, was thrown to the floor, writhing in convulsions.

“Such a waste, a wretched waste. Not content with squandering a portion of the sacrifice, he dared to expend even his cherished heart!”

The epicenter of the explosion.

A violet mist coalesced once more, slowly taking on a tangible form.

A lavish robe. A staff of atrocious taste fashioned from skulls and vertebrae. A distorted skull, its sockets burning with azure light.

The sole emptiness was the place where a heart should have resided, but even that was filled as a bizarre object radiating intense magical power flew from within the dungeon to occupy the void.

The resurrected lich, Mortius, cast six black orbs toward the guild master sprawled upon the floor.

Each orb, embedded in the heart, head, and limbs, swiftly transformed into a suit of ebony armor, completely encasing the guild master’s body.

“Ordinarily, I would tear your soul and flesh asunder, reducing you to mere dust, but I shall deign to grant you the honor of serving as my vassal, your skill having caught my eye.”

A click, a grind.

The guild master, no – the Death Knight – knelt, pledging fealty to the lich.

A different emotion, unfamiliar before, now flickered in the eyes of the adventurers.

Neither rage, nor avarice, but…

A terror that bordered on the pristine.

Blanca squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Bern…!’