“What is this?”
This was the first reaction of the Paladins belonging to Team 1, who headed down the leftmost path.
“It’s a dungeon?”
Eric exclaimed in surprise.
They had only come seeking a vampire, but the scene before them was entirely different.
In the vast square, only skeletons existed.
To pass to the other side, they would have to deal with those undead first.
“Still, it’s fortunate they’re just skeletons.”
Thomas retorted, drawing his sword.
It was true that the fact this was a dungeon was an unexpected variable, but as Thomas said, it was actually fortunate for them.
The biggest enemies of undead creatures like skeletons were Paladins.
Unlike the undead, who possessed the attribute of darkness, Paladins possessed the attribute of light.
It was a fact that Paladins, with their light attribute, had a significant advantage in terms of elemental matchups.
Knowing this, they naturally smiled.
Thomas shouted in a strong voice, about to raise his sword.
“We’ll finish this quickly-”
*Boom-*
However, Thomas’s words were cut short.
A Skeleton Soldier charged at Thomas and then exploded.
No one was left where Thomas had been.
Only the lumps of flesh and equipment dropped on the floor indicated that someone had been there.
“Scatter and activate your shields! It’s corpse explosion!”
“Damn it! If it’s corpse explosion, that means there’s a Lich!”
Lich.
It was an undead monster that could also use magic, a Rank 4 monster.
Their existence was troublesome, precisely because of what just happened.
*Boom- Boom-*
They possessed a skill that caused undead monsters to explode.
Of course, this only applied to monsters weaker than themselves, but at that moment, there were quite a few Rank 1 Skeleton Soldiers inside the dungeon.
It was incredibly troublesome.
As the Skeleton Soldiers charged towards the Paladins, the Lich would activate corpse explosion.
“Use your shields now and hold on!”
Eric shouted, frowning.
How long could these shields hold?
He wished they could hold on for a while longer…
Everyone had the same thought.
Corpse explosion was ultimately a war of attrition.
As a skill that caused undead monsters to explode, it was an attack method akin to self-destruction.
If they continued to be worn down like this, there would eventually be no more undead monsters to explode.
And this would lead to a scarcity of monsters guarding the dungeon.
Therefore, they only needed to hold on for a little while.
They thought they just needed to endure.
The enemy wouldn’t have an infinite supply of skeletons either.
*Boom-*
*Boom-*
“Just a little more and we’ll hold!”
The opposing Lich was recklessly consuming Skeleton Soldiers.
At this rate, the remaining skeletons would have greatly diminished.
Ultimately, it was an act of self-harm, so they waited for the right moment.
If they just held on a bit longer, they would eventually win.
However, a scene unfolded that differed from their expectations.
*Clack-*
*Clack-*
*Tap-* *Tap-*
More Skeleton Soldiers appeared from somewhere.
In fact, the numbers were far greater than before.
“How can this be…”
It was despair.
At that moment, Eric’s vision caught sight of the Lich.
“There’s the Lich!”
If they could eliminate the Lich, then corpse explosions would stop.
If that happened, dealing with the remaining undead would be easy.
Eric immediately raised his sword in the direction of the Lich.
“Oh Goddess, please pity your humble soul and grant me the power to smite evil.”
Pure Holy Power enveloped the sword’s blade.
And as Eric swung his sword with great force.
Sacred light in the form of a sword flew directly at the Lich.
*CRASH-*
The Holy Power, having hit its target head-on, caused dust to scatter and thick smoke to billow from where the Lich had been.
“All right!”
Everyone cheered.
The attack had landed precisely.
Soon, the smoke cleared.
“No!”
Contrary to their expectations, the Lich was unharmed.
Worse still, they now faced an even more dire situation.
Someone had appeared before the Lich, holding a shield and blocking the attack.
A knight completely clad in black.
A monster that absolutely should not have been here.
“…Death Knight.”
Everyone froze in place at the appearance of the Death Knight.
‘Why?’
‘Why is there a Death Knight here?’
Everyone was thinking the same thing simultaneously, their eyes darting around.
A Death Knight was a Rank 5 monster.
If such a being existed, they should have noticed it beforehand.
Yet, the opponent had appeared suddenly.
As if they had fallen from the sky.
No matter how much they thought about it, it made no sense.
And what was that shield the Death Knight was holding?
Eric muttered, looking at something in front of the shield.
“Maid Outfit…?”
A maid outfit was hanging in front of the shield the Death Knight was holding.
That outfit was the same maid outfit Celia had worn.
It was an S-class costume with an option that could nullify up to 90% of an opponent’s attack infused with Holy Power.
However, the Master had recently bestowed a new outfit, making this maid outfit unnecessary, and it was attached to the shield.
With this, the undead could slightly overcome Holy Power, which was effectively their only weakness.
However, the Paladins were unaware of this and could only be bewildered.
“Hah… hahaha.”
This was impossible.
This shouldn’t be happening.
Eric laughed heartily, as if he had gone insane.
*Boom-*
*Boom-*
Of course, this didn’t stop the battle.
The Lich continued to exert pressure on the Paladins by causing corpse explosions.
“Snap out of it, Eric!”
But Eric, already driven to madness, just kept laughing.
After laughing for a while, Eric finally stopped.
Simultaneously, the life drained from his eyes.
Paladin Eric.
He suddenly drew his sword and approached his comrades. Just as his comrades thought he had snapped out of it.
*Stab-*
“Huh?”
Eric’s sword pierced his comrade’s abdomen.
“Eric! What are you doing!”
Someone next to him tried to stop Eric, but…
*Slash-*
It was futile, as expected.
Eric began to wield and stab his sword towards his former comrades one after another.
“Eric, why…”
The Eric they knew was no longer there.
There was only Eric, his mind controlled by a Banshee.
Banshee’s ability: Mind Control.
Originally, Paladins were immune to this, but the Lich’s corpse explosions and the appearance of the Death Knight were gradually taking a mental toll on the Paladins.
The Banshee had simply exploited that opening.
“Heehee.”
Eventually, only one Paladin remained here.
His name was Eric.
From now on, he would protect the glorious dungeon instead of the Church.
However, his heart towards the Goddess was sincere, and he vowed to guide many people in the future.
Towards the side of the Goddess.
***
“Kyaaak!”
Vampire Butterflies swarmed over the Paladin’s entire body.
Some were being eaten alive by plants.
Others were slowly being enveloped in spiderwebs after being poisoned by spider venom.
It was truly hell itself.
If anyone asked what hell looked like, this place could be the answer, such was the horrific scene.
Berter also swiped his sword desperately at the butterflies.
‘Where did it all go wrong?’
They had only come here to hunt a vampire.
No, more precisely, they had pursued a vampire to find the Demonic Sword.
But terrifying beings awaited them.
It was too difficult to reverse the current situation.
*Bang-*
*Bang-*
*Boom-*
*Boom-*
And occasionally, the sounds of explosions.
It was easy to tell that monsters were everywhere, not just on the path they had entered.
Berter squeezed his eyes shut.
Could he survive in this place?
No, he absolutely had to survive.
He had to.
There were things he needed to do by surviving.
He had to protect his family by eliminating his incompetent older brother.
He had to depose his father, who had designated that incompetent brother as his successor, from the position of family head.
That was his duty and his goal.
Therefore, he could not die here.
Berter approached a Paladin, sword in hand.
Although his blood had been drained by the Vampire Butterflies, he was still alive.
*Slash-*
Berter’s sword severed his leg.
Then, lifting him as if he were a sack of goods, he immediately ran towards the next passage.
‘I cannot die in a place like this.’
He was determined to survive.
After running for a long time, a lake soon appeared.
It was quite a large lake.
As he rounded the lakeshore to reach the other side, several Nagas, with their lower bodies in the form of snakes, emerged from the water.
Naga, monsters with the lower half of their bodies shaped like snakes.
Without hesitation, Berter threw the Paladin he was carrying.
The Paladin’s face was filled with despair, but with no legs, he was in no position to escape.
The Nagas thrust their spears at the Paladin Berter had thrown.
‘Now!’
When the Nagas’ attention was focused there, Berter ran headlong towards the passage on the other side.
Fortunately, there were no pursuing monsters.
Normally, he should have been suspicious of this strange situation.
But it was difficult to expect such rational thought from him at the moment.
Berter’s mind was solely focused on the Demonic Sword.
He ran and ran, thinking only of the Demonic Sword.
Before he knew it, Berter had reached the center of the dungeon.
And he saw it.
The Demonic Sword he had seen was lying on the ground.
“Finally!”
Although the scene was clearly artificial, Berter’s face was already filled with greed.
“Heh.”
If he obtained that Demonic Sword, he would gain power.
Power more potent than anyone else!
The Demonic Sword he had so desired was finally in Berter’s hand.
He very slowly drew the Demonic Sword.
