“Hey, I’m heading to the Rune Dungeon today. Want to join?”
The clink of plates and cutlery stopped. Silence enveloped the dining hall. Four pairs of eyes, each a different hue, turned toward me.
Iris, Claudia, Lize, and Erica all stared blankly in my direction. Thud, the bread in Lize’s hand rolled off the table.
“…The Rune Dungeon? What do you mean all of a sudden, Delta?”
The first to regain her senses was Lize, nonchalantly ignoring the bread that had rolled near Iris’s plate.
“I just went out for a bit this morning. Decided it then.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
sigh Lize exhaled heavily. Iris picked up where she left off.
“Delta, this is the Holy Kingdom, not the Empire. Basically, the Rune Dungeon—”
“I had permission long ago. Directly from the Inquisitor.”
“……”
With that, there seemed to be nothing left to say. In terms of authority, the Inquisitor held a position almost right below the two Popes.
“From the looks on your faces, I guess you never thought we wouldn’t join you, huh?”
“Correct, Commander Claudia. You’re quite perceptive.”
“Is it your hobby to surprise us, Delta? You could have told us sooner.”
I responded with a smile. Upon seeing my grin, Erica shook her head with a tut.
It was decided only 30 minutes ago. I didn’t have time to tell them in advance. After finishing my chat with Selene and returning here, they were in the middle of preparing their meals.
“Let’s discuss it in more detail.”
Clink, Iris set her cutlery down. It seemed the other commanders had lost all desire to continue their meal.
Just as I expected.
“Are you ready?”
Selene, who had already arrived at the meeting spot, welcomed the commanders. Everyone was thoroughly armed.
Dagger sheaths hung from their belts, and the rapiers they held were gripped tightly. Their sacred robes fittingly emphasized their readiness.
At first glance, their facial expressions seemed as emotionless as always, but tension was evident in their demeanor.
No one blamed them. The Inquisitor also wore a visibly stiff expression, and the commanders moved with a rigidity indicating they were prepared.
The only one acting casually was Delta. He was leisurely fiddling with the weapon at his waist, just as he always did.
“You’re the same as ever, Delta.”
Iris remarked with a wry smile upon seeing him. Though it was hard to tell his expression due to his helmet.
“Me? Why would I be?”
“While everyone else is tense, you’re just there with a straight face.”
“Well, that’s true. You all look stiffer than usual.”
“You’re the one who said the dungeon we’re going to subjugate is a very dangerous place. If you’re saying that, it has to be far more dangerous than we can imagine. Aren’t you nervous?”
Despite sending several subjugation teams over the years, we had failed to acquire the rune, resulting in the needless sacrifice of numerous holy knights and battle nuns.
This very dungeon had sealed the area under orders from the Inquisitor and the Pope. I hadn’t quite felt the danger myself until we were about to witness it firsthand.
The one speaking so calmly was the same person who was supposed to lead the charge.
“Uh… not really?”
Nothing had changed. Delta’s demeanor was the same now as it had been that morning. Calm. That was the best word to describe him now.
At some point, the attention around had shifted entirely to Iris and Delta.
“Why?”
“This is the place I suggested. If the one who recommended it is nervous, what does that make the rest of you?”
Delta said this with a slight smile. Seeing that smile made the tension dissipate, at least for Iris.
That smile. The one that effortlessly turns the seemingly impossible into achievable feats.
Iris steadied her mind. Having said all that, her role was simply to trust Delta once again. After all, she had heard the entire plan he laid out earlier that morning.
Even if that plan might unreasonably be called mad.
“I understand.”
Iris replied shortly and turned her body. The helmet shifted to the side just as Selene, who had been eavesdropping, discreetly adjusted her posture.
“Are we heading inside now?”
“Yes. I’ll give the order to depart immediately.”
Selene gestured to the holy knights standing in front of the white light mass. The knights stood at attention for a moment and then brought their spear tips to the light.
The spot where the spear tips met began to shift. Soon enough, that point twisted and thinned out, creating a gap large enough for a person to enter.
The commanders peered into the space beyond. It wasn’t without reason the surroundings had been sealed; everywhere they could see was dark and murky.
“The moon shall keep watch over you.”
The Sacred Catalyst emitted light. Dense silver divine power began to swirl around Selene and her battle nuns, the commanders, and Delta.
“Please be especially cautious from now on. Near the dungeon—”
“Then I’ll go in first!”
“…Huh?”
Before Selene could issue her warning to the commanders, Delta suddenly butted in and stepped boldly through the gap in the sacred barrier.
“Distinguished guest! You can’t just enter without—”
“It’s fine, nothing will happen.”
Thud, Claudia placed a hand on his shoulder. The bewildered expression on Selene’s and her battle nuns’ faces contrasted sharply with the relaxed demeanor of the commanders, who seemed to expect this from him.
The reason was obvious; they had already heard Delta’s plan. Had they not known, Selene would have been far from the only one looking alarmed.
Selene followed Delta with lingering uncertainty, followed by the commanders, and lastly, the battle nuns entered the protective barrier.
“…This is dreadful.”
The first to speak after stepping inside was Lize. It was something everyone shared; the words echoed among them all.
Every direction was drenched in black liquid.
The grass and trees hadn’t completely dried up, but they were covered in that mysterious black liquid, losing most of their original color, leaving them looking withered.
Even the sunlight streaming down seemed somewhat dark and murky. Feeling a bit nauseated, Lize swept her hand across her armor.
“Your name is Iris, correct?”
Selene approached Iris, who was frowning while scanning her surroundings. Iris turned her head. Selene was stealing glances at Delta’s back, walking ahead.
“That’s right. What’s the matter?”
“Do you have any idea what he is doing right now?”
Delta was quietly murmuring numbers to himself as he walked forward. Anyone unaware of the situation would naturally find that puzzling.
Of course, Iris knew why he was doing this. Not just Iris, but all the commanders were aware of this fact.
This Rune Dungeon was something Delta had confidently declared he could conquer alone in under 30 minutes, conditional on him being the first to enter and that they wouldn’t speak or interfere with him after entering.
Lize, who would usually be chattering beside him, was silent now for that very reason. After all, she had told them not to disturb him.
“I don’t know. But he must have a plan, so it’s best not to interrupt.”
Remembering the words that they had all kept among themselves, Iris shook her head. Selene quietly retreated, likely having her own suspicions.
However, curiosity tugged at Iris. Delta had emphasized that timing was of the essence.
Channeling mana through her body to enhance her hearing, she eavesdropped on his murmurs.
“66… 67… 68…”
Delta was counting.
With the numbers climbing one by one in a regular pattern, it seemed he was timing something. Then he glanced around briefly, nodding to himself before repeating his earlier actions.
In fact, Iris wasn’t the only one intrigued; numerous gazes were fixed on him.
“This is the place known as the Abyss Dungeon. There is a rune down below.”
With everyone’s eyes glued to Delta’s actions, they arrived quickly at the Rune Dungeon. The darkness around them deepened.
Before them lay a massive pit. True to the name “Abyss,” its depth was unfathomable. It seemed as if it would take hundreds of people just to surround its edge.
“…Are we supposed to descend into that?”
“Yes. You’ve hit the nail on the head.”
Erica pointed to a bridge crossing over the pit. Or rather, one couldn’t even be sure whether it should be called a bridge.
The surface looked incredibly slippery, and there wasn’t even a railing. Frankly, one could create a wooden bridge by roughly tying some planks together that would feel more stable than that.
At least the surface wouldn’t be so smooth.
“Watch out. Those are extremely slippery. You must walk; running is out of the question.”
“I wouldn’t even consider that.”
Erica grimaced. The bridge tilted slightly downward towards the abyss. It was the only path leading downward into the dungeon.
At the end of the bridge was a cavern-like gap wide enough for a person to enter. Those bridges were intricately tangled together, packed tightly across the pit below.
“Wow, just a little misstep could send me sliding right off!”
Claudia exclaimed as she tentatively set her foot on the bridge and quickly stepped back. Just that small touch made the soles of her shoes slippery. She rubbed the soles against the ground.
“Now, while battling the monsters, you’ll descend until reaching the lowest level. I trust you know how to cross from bridge to bridge?”
“…We have to do battle with monsters too?”
At Lize’s question, Selene quietly pointed below. About 30 meters down, some undead armed with spears and shields were waddling along the bridge.
There were even some nearby holding bows. A single misfire could send them sliding right off to an endless fall below.
“What’s visible isn’t all there is. There are monsters hiding in spots obscured by the bridges that you can only identify by going down yourself.”
“Is it not possible to take them out with ranged weapons?”
“I tried that a while ago, but once they crossed a certain distance, they seemingly vanished. I suspect it has something to do with the dungeon’s own power.”
Erica closed her mouth, apparently out of words. It meant that they had no option left but to confront the monsters directly while traversing those slippery bridges.
“…That’s truly cruel. One could believe someone plotted this out.”
“I fully agree, Lize. This is precisely why it’s so dangerous here…”
Iris’s voice suddenly halted. Her silver eyes were fixed upward. Specifically, they were locked onto Delta’s figure, strolling along the bridge.
Delta was walking along the bridge as if it were nothing, deftly skipping over three bridges in the blink of an eye to land on the fourth. He then stared below.
As if he were about to leap right off.
‘Come to think of it…’
At that moment, each commander shared the same thought. Delta had mentioned the easiest and quickest way to clear the Rune Dungeon.
Step one. Jump down.
“There’s no way jumping down isn’t literal—”
“I’ll be right back!”
Before Claudia could finish her incredulous shout, Delta hurled himself off the bridge.
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