Drakon ran with all his might towards the Sail Kingdom.
His heart pounded as if it would burst, and his breath was ragged, but he couldn’t stop.
He had to escape this place immediately and inform the Church of a grave matter.
The fact that wicked warlocks had appeared in the Silent Mountain Range!
The warlocks didn’t stop there.
With their immense power, they summoned countless undead legions.
It was a sight that still made his flesh crawl.
Reinel and his fellow Paladins had risked their lives in that brutal battle to create an opportunity for Drakon.
To not let their sacrifice be in vain, he had to inform the Church as quickly as possible.
As he ran on, a familiar armor caught his eye.
It was a Paladin, just like himself.
Why would another Paladin be here?
However, Drakon was not in a state to ponder such questions.
“B-Brother! It’s a dis-disaster! Over there… over there, warlocks appeared!”
Instead, he felt a slight relief at not being alone.
Drakon exchanged greetings with the other person.
To the one who introduced himself as Eric, Drakon also introduced himself.
Then, he got straight to the point.
“Brother Eric, I just witnessed… a horrific sight over there.”
His voice trembled.
His emotions surged even more due to the release of tension upon meeting Eric.
Still, he desperately continued.
“Our Paladin brothers… were annihilated by the undead legion. Lord Reinel… tried to protect me…”
Drakon’s voice broke for a moment.
The deaths of his comrades seemed to replay vividly before his eyes.
“We must hurry and inform the Church! The El Dorado Continent is in danger!”
He had to quickly report the appearance of the warlocks and the undead legion to prepare.
“Oh my… you’ve truly experienced a terrible ordeal.”
Eric placed a hand on Drakon’s trembling shoulder.
“But, brother, please calm down and tell me in detail. Understanding the situation is paramount right now.”
Eric’s words were gentle, but his eyes held no surprise or sympathy.
Only emptiness.
“Now, precisely what happened? And what about this undead legion you mentioned?”
As he questioned Drakon, Eric placed his hand on the sword at his waist.
Eric’s true identity was a Banshee controlling the Paladin.
Banshees had a duty to protect the Great One’s dungeon.
Therefore, if the human before him suspected anything, he intended to kill him immediately.
‘An undead legion…’
The undead legion that appeared in the mountain range.
And he mentioned warlocks.
Several possibilities immediately came to mind.
‘Could it be that Lord Necros moved?’
Necros was an Arch Lich.
With the skill to reanimate corpses into Skeletons, he could instantly create an undead legion.
Moreover, wearing a robe, it was easy to mistake him for a warlock.
However, Eric shook his head.
Necros had recently been granted a new dungeon by the Great One.
He would be busy managing it, so would he have the leisure to lead undead and fend off Paladins?
It didn’t make sense.
Besides, Necros wasn’t the only one who could command an undead legion.
‘Then, did Lord Death Knight move?’
Death Knight also had an ability.
It was the ability to turn those they killed into Ghouls.
Occasionally, if the will of the deceased was strong, mutations would occur, or more powerful Ghouls would appear.
If these were utilized well, creating an undead legion would be no difficult task.
Furthermore, Death Knight was a sub-boss of Sector 1.
With the forces of Sector 1 available, it was a plausible scenario.
‘No, this isn’t it either.’
But Eric shook his head again.
Death Knight was currently directing siege construction within the dungeon.
There was no way he would be out roaming around.
‘Perhaps it’s the vanguard.’
The vanguard, a unit recently established by Chief Administrator Celia.
They were all composed of undead monsters.
A special unit that charged at enemies, disregarding death.
And the entity leading the vanguard was Dullahan.
‘Not as strong as Lord Necros or Lord Death Knight, but strong enough.’
Dullahan would have the power to subdue Paladins.
Eric thought so and reached for his sword.
Regardless, if this fact became known to the Church, they would undoubtedly lead their forces into the mountain range.
To prevent such a worst-case scenario, he had to kill the Paladin before him.
He intended to bury the truth by killing him.
That was until he heard Drakon’s next words.
“…It was filled with Ghouls and Skeletons. But that’s not all!”
Drakon’s voice was filled with even more fear.
“There were warlocks there. They were the ones who summoned the undead legion! We must report this fact!”
At those words, Eric’s expression subtly twisted.
There was a slight disconnect from the direction he had been thinking.
Seeing Eric’s expression, Drakon continued, assuming they shared the same thought.
“That’s right, Brother Eric. Eclipse has returned. That infamous warlock group has reappeared in the world!”
“Eclipse…!”
The Banshee controlling Eric was flustered.
The reason for her fluster was simple.
‘What is Eclipse?’
She didn’t know exactly what ‘Eclipse’ Drakon mentioned.
Even as a Banshee, she couldn’t extract the memories of the puppet she controlled.
The fortunate thing was that the entity that clashed with the Paladin was called Eclipse.
It had no connection to the Great One’s dungeon.
‘Eclipse…’
Based on what he heard, Eclipse was probably a warlock group.
Beyond that, he didn’t know.
However, it was clear that they had trespassed into the Great One’s domain.
‘To dare trespass into the Great One’s domain…’
Eric was furious.
His hands even trembled with anger.
Seeing that, Drakon interpreted it differently.
‘As expected, you’re furious at the news of Eclipse’s revival.’
It was an obvious situation for any Paladin, any member of the White Church, to be angry.
Drakon felt that speaking to Eric had been the right decision.
Just then, Eric spoke.
“This is a grave situation, brother. Let’s hurry to the Kingdom! Deputy Leader Liana is there, so we’ll surely hear good news!”
Eric gritted his teeth, feigning composure.
Liana was the deputy leader of the Paladin order.
She was also a candidate for the next leader after their captain was killed by a 7-Star Death Knight.
Not only that.
Liana had witnessed the miracle of ‘Maru,’ who guarded the Great One.
Maru, a Skeleton that wielded Holy Power.
All of this was the Great One’s power, but she mistook Maru for the appearance of a Saint.
And she became a fervent follower who unquestioningly obeyed Maru’s stories.
Of course, the stories of Maru were merely crafted by Celia and delivered by Eric, but she was unaware of this.
‘Using Liana to check Eclipse would be good.’
It was a punishment for trespassing into the Great One’s domain, and simultaneously a scapegoat to divert the Church’s attention.
‘For Him alone-‘
Eric devised a plan to divert the Church’s attention to the organization called Eclipse.
* * *
A dark aura emanated from the Paladin’s body.
His pure white armor began to be stained black, and the golden patterns on the armor turned a fiery red.
The Paladin let out a scream of pain.
“There is no Goddess, there is no Goddess! It’s all a lie!”
It was a cry as if his very soul was being twisted.
Sharia and Lucas were speechless at the sight before them.
“……”
The Paladin, who had been shouting about the Goddess and fighting just a little while ago, was now emitting a completely different aura.
‘They corrupted a Paladin…’
Not only that.
The other, seemingly powerful Paladins were also instantly subdued.
Or, could it be called subdued?
It could be considered a massacre.
The Paladins were utterly annihilated.
Those who fell were torn apart and crushed without even being able to resist.
The rest vanished without a trace, exploding with the charge of the Skeletons.
And the corrupted Paladin continued to mumble incomprehensible words.
“The Goddess does not exist, the Goddess never existed. It was all a lie. It was a lie…”
There was no trace of divinity left in him.
Lucas, who had been staring blankly, spoke with an excited voice.
“Did you see that, Captain? That is the true divine power of the Apostle!”
Corrupting a Paladin was truly astonishing.
“All of this is a precursor to the resurrection of our Evil God. The day when we, Eclipse, will witness that glorious moment is not far off!”
Lucas bowed his head towards the Apostles.
A new era was about to dawn.
A fanatic gleam flowed from his eyes.
The same was true for Sharia.
“It was the right decision to offer tribute to the Apostle!”
Sharia whispered with an excited face.
Even though the money for bread and ham disappeared in an instant, she had no regrets seeing wealth create miracles.
Tears of emotion almost fell.
However, even amidst her excitement, there were some parts she couldn’t quite understand.
‘Why did they let one person escape?’
One Paladin escaped in this battle.
With the Apostle’s power, they could have prevented his escape, so why did they let him go?
Moreover, there was no pursuit of the one who escaped.
“Um… Apostle?”
“Tap!”
As Sharia cautiously approached, Necros smiled with satisfaction.
Although he looked poor on the outside, he was a human who had given him gold coins.
It was natural to show courtesy.
“I don’t know if I should dare ask this question, but why are you letting the escaped Paladin go?”
Necros paused to think before answering Sharia’s question.
“Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap!”
Necros seemed to be explaining something, tapping his bones pleasingly. However, to Sharia, it was just the sound of bones.
‘There must be a meaning behind it.’
She didn’t pay it any mind.
The Apostle served the Evil God.
She believed there was a reason beyond her understanding.
“Tap-tap.”
(It happened that way.)
Necros completed his answer, unconcerned with what the other person thought.
What was happening in the mountain range now was all part of Celia’s plan.
Celia had clearly stated.
Make it so that intruders continuously sought out the dungeon.
From that statement, Necros realized.
If all intruders were killed, their footsteps would eventually cease.
If some survived, rumors would spread, leading to their return.
That way, intruders would continue to ascend the mountain range.
“Tap.”
Just thinking about it made him feel good.
If intruders kept coming, it meant more income.
However, it wasn’t entirely a joyous occasion.
“Tap….”
Necros was now the owner of a new dungeon.
Unfortunately, the dungeon’s location was in the Sail Kingdom, not the mountain range.
And since it was far from this mountain range, it was burdensome to visit often.
“……”
So, he pondered.
How could he earn more money?
Even now, he earned a lot from the Monster Coliseum, but Necros wanted more money.
There was nothing better than more money.
“Tap.”
After thinking for a moment, Necros issued an order.
The future could be dealt with later.
For now, damage control was the priority.
In response to Necros’s command, Skeletons and Ghouls began collecting the scattered equipment on the battlefield.
Although most of the Paladins had been incinerated by the explosion, they diligently collected the remaining debris and equipment.
Necros moved with the undead legion, collecting the sacrifices and corpses.
He planned to distribute the harvest, and a portion of it would be delivered to Celia.
Necros always emphasized distribution.
Because if he kept it all to himself, problems would surely arise.
“Tap-tap.”
Necros felt good again today.
“L-Let’s go together! Apostle!”
And Sharia and Lucas followed closely behind him.
After they left, the forest regained its silence.
A cold wind carrying the scent of blood swept through the forest.
* * *
Necros and Death Knight returned to the dungeon.
Behind them were Ghouls and Skeletons, as well as two warlocks.
Celia observed the humans with curious eyes.
As the Chief Administrator of the dungeon, humans were tools with various uses to her.
Some would gain the honor of being offered as sacrifices to the Great One.
Others would have the opportunity to serve by producing monsters that would guard the dungeon.
Some might even become laborers in the Great One’s dungeon.
“Mr. Necros, what are those humans?”
Celia’s question implied ‘What is their role?’
“Guaaaa.”
(They are just insignificant humans.)
A mutated Ghoul answered without sensing the mood.
“Ghoul, please be quiet.”
Of course, his answer was immediately dismissed.
“Gu-gu.”
(Sob.)
However, Necros was different.
“Tap-tap.”
(They are sponsors.)
It wasn’t an incorrect statement, as those warlock humans had given him money.
“Sponsors…”
At the word “sponsors,” Celia’s eyes gleamed.
Among the types of humans she knew, there were special beings like ‘Kazel,’ the first human deputy in the dungeon.
She became interested.
At that moment, a human trembled and stepped forward.
“O Apostles of the Great One! My name is Sharia, and the Great One is soon to be my Master! And I am a warlock who hates the Church, awaiting His resurrection!”
Celia smiled faintly.
A human who called herself His servant, yearning for the arrival of her great Master.
What a loyal and heartfelt sentiment this was.
Celia gladly welcomed the humans.
