Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?

"Huh?"

Staring at the woman's corpse in front of him, Fanen was stunned for a moment, then suddenly sat up.

Woman...corpse...ruby brooch...

The combination of these elements gave him a bad feeling in his mind.

"No way?"

Even though he knew it was a residual shadow, the sudden occurrence of the situation right in front of him was quite startling.

Encountering unexpected events even in a simple game through the screen can be shocking, let alone such a vivid residual shadow from the dungeon appearing almost as real right in front of him.

He had no mind to pay attention to the battle situation between his companions and Father Gascoin; after all, there's no need to guess the outcome - his side was obviously being crushed.

Carefully examining the woman's corpse, Fanen found something inexplicable:

The other party's body had two completely different types of wounds!

One was a torn wound, as if caused by a beast, and the other was a smooth slashing wound...

Anyway, it looked like it was inflicted by a hunter's weapon - ordinary weapons wouldn't be this sharp!

He quickly checked the woman's collapsed position, then glanced around, and indeed, not far away, he found the savaged beast corpse that Father Gascoin was chopping when they just entered the cemetery!

A terrible suspicion emerged in his heart, gradually piecing together a complete and tragic story.

The little girl's mother came out to find her husband, encountered a beast attack on the way, and fled in panic, only to meet the crazed hunter in the graveyard. The hunter killed the beast and saved her. Just when it seemed like things were finally taking a turn, the hunter, addicted to the hunt and unable to distinguish friend from foe, killed her as well.

This was his rough guess of the sequence of events.

"How pitiful."

Fanen sighed, feeling relieved that he was the one who discovered this first. If it had been the empathetic Isha or the obviously moved Bell, who knows what expression and actions would have surfaced. Perhaps they would have gone mad at the hunter in the cemetery.

He gently removed the ruby brooch from the woman's body. The red gemstone was indeed very beautiful, as if formed by coagulated blood, and two names were engraved on the back: Viola and Gascoin.

One couldn't help but marvel at the relationship between these two partners.

So, was this Gascoin also a hunter? Went out hunting without caring for the family, how heartbroken would he be upon returning home to hear such tragic news, hopefully not losing control on the spot.

Fanen was a rare cultural person, having read many books, there was a certain artistic flair buried deep in his bones. He had attended many operas, and usually, during such revealing scenes of tragedy, melancholy music would play, so he rummaged through his belongings to find the little music box he carried.

Placing the little music box beside the woman's corpse, he had completed the little girl's request.

He had considered dragging the woman's body back for the little girl to see, but the moment this thought emerged, he was frightened by the cruelty of his idea. It would have been utterly irresponsible. Was he trying to inflict mental trauma on the little girl?

Had he lost his humanity due to excessive hunting?

"Click, click..."

The music box's spring was wound; the more turns wound, the longer the music played, so he wound several more turns. Just as he was about to release the spring to let the music play—

"Huff..."

Behind him came a breath filled with bloody wildness, triggering intense danger warnings in his heart.

Upon closer listening, he noticed the sounds of his companions fighting Father Gascoin had mysteriously vanished.

So, there was no need to guess who this dangerous figure behind him could be.

They say that at the brink of life and death, people's thinking speed increases, and Fanen's thinking sped up as if in overdrive, with countless thoughts flashing in his mind in a brief instant.

Then, he gritted his teeth, letting out a very displeased,

"Tsk!"

The little girl had been eagerly anticipating a reunion with her family, and what happened? Her mother had died here, her father was still missing. Though her mother bore beast-inflicted wounds, the fatal wound had been from a weapon's slash!

Over the past few days, he had saved many survivors but also heard countless tragic stories. Every survivor had a sorrowful past that would make anyone sad and bring tears to anyone listening. Already feeling depressed, he could only find solace in teasing Yan people.

Even a little girl's dungeon residual shadow was giving him this kind of grief!

Enough, it was more than enough; he did not want to hear any more tragic stories!

"You..."

One hand still wrapped around the music box's spring, the other gripped the Saw Meat Blade, creating an atmosphere in that moment akin to crackling thunder.

"Lost in your own world of hunting, do you realize how much trouble you've caused!"

This was probably the most excited he'd ever been; the heightened emotions left him blind to everything, except for the unerring feeling locked onto Father Gascoin behind him.

It seemed like he was entering a serious state once again after so long.

Ever since becoming a Hunter, he had never experienced such a moment, making him think he was always in a serious state in daily life, yet he was still half-baked.

The extreme excitement brought with it an incredible calmness, as if an electric current surged through all his blood, and he violently turned to slash at Father Gascoin!

The latter also swung the transformed Big Axe with devastating force and momentum at that moment.

If nothing unexpected happens, Fanen, whose strength is completely inferior to Father Gascoin, will be knocked away by this strike, no, perhaps cut in half directly!

"Boom——"

The violent collision sound instantly spread throughout the entire graveyard.

"What's happening over there?"

On the other side, the Hunters who luckily survived heard the noise, looked over, and widened their eyes in surprise.

"Am I seeing things?"

They raised their arms in disbelief, pointing in that direction.

"Fanen... stopped it!?"

Fanen tightly gripped the Saw Meat Blade with one hand and struck back, clashing solidly with Father Gascoin's Big Axe.

Their weapons were locked in a stalemate, appearing equally matched!

Incredible, everyone thought it was incredible, so they shouted out.

Fanen was originally in high spirits, seeing nothing but Father Gascoin before him, but when he heard the people's cries, he suddenly came to his senses and looked at his weapon.

He was instantly shocked, eyes wide, and his mental monologue was very simple:

Damn it, how did I manage to block this guy's attack!?

As soon as he realized this, the inexplicable power within him vanished instantly.

Just like Bi Gan, who had his heart and liver removed but still lived, suddenly dropped dead upon realizing his hollow condition.

With a slight exertion from Father Gascoin's Big Axe, Fanen was struck by an irresistible force, flying out like a ragged sack, tracing a perfect arc in the air, and the Little Music Box in his hand fell to the ground.

Fanen crashed heavily onto the ground, his belly pierced by sharp gravestone fragments, yet his eyes still flickered with intense confusion.

How did I do that just now?

The left hand is empty... damn it, the Little Music Box fell!

He struggled to get up, suddenly hearing music, precisely the unique tone emitted by the Music Box, that silent and eerie lullaby known as Mega's Lullaby.

Oh no, if the Little Music Box gets destroyed by that crazed hunter...

"Aahhhh!"

As Fanen was desperately trying to stand, he suddenly heard a frenzied and painful howl, not akin to the madness of a Beastification, but rather like a berserk one having a moment of clarity, yet this clarity made him realize something unbearably painful!

And the one issuing the painful cry was Father Gascoin!

Not only Fanen, but others were also stunned upon witnessing this scene.

"You guys..."

A glimmer of clarity seemed to flash in Father Gascoin's eyes, and he briefly gazed at everyone, but his eyes were immediately drawn to the Little Music Box nearby, naturally seeing what lay next to it.

The little girl's mother's corpse.

Memories surged in his eyes like waves, and Father Gascoin's body trembled.

Fanen's mind was racing, what is going on, why did this guy suddenly snap out of his madness upon hearing the music, didn't the little girl say this music could awaken her father?

Wait, suddenly Fanen noticed a blind spot.

Oh damn, I understand.

Should I be saying something to Gascoin right now to stabilize his mental state?

Fanen finally remembered what he should do, but when he looked up, it was already too late.

Father Gascoin, whose eyes had just shown a hint of clarity, recalled something upon seeing his wife's corpse, and was instantly overtaken by madness once more!

This madness was even more intense than before, and perhaps the Little Music Box couldn't awaken him again.

"Doomed."

No sooner had the words fallen than Father Gascoin, more berserk than ever, seemed to grow in size, with his body undergoing some metamorphosis, finally roaring and charging forward like a Beastification Man.

Unfortunately, before people could see clearly what mutation had occurred to him, they were torn to pieces by his violently increased ferocity.

Before long, the Hunter's Dream remained full of blooming white flowers.

The Hunters opened their eyes, seeing the familiar puppet always watching over them when their bodies were revived but their minds still groggy, bringing a sense of security.

But now, as soon as people opened their eyes, they surrounded Fanen, with curiosity flashing in their eyes, asking, "What happened just now?"

"I..."

Fanen gasped, his expression twisted as if from stomach pain, saying:

"I wish I didn't know anything..."