Chapter: 132
“Cough…”
The old man glanced down at his chest. A sharp dagger was protruding from it.
“Wha—”
As the dagger was pulled out, blood gushed from his pierced chest. The old man staggered, clutching his chest and turned around.
“H—How…?”
The tight bindings that had constricted her body lay shredded like tissue paper on the floor, and the slave collar that had shackled her ankles was split in two.
It was a miracle, thanks to the Gag Resident he worshipped as a god.
Phew… It’s a good thing he was off guard.
Pia let out a long sigh of relief. If her opponent had been a tad more vigilant, she wouldn’t have been able to stab his heart so easily.
Before the smell of blood gets any stronger, I need to grab the kids and get out of here—
“Cough, cough…”
“…!”
Before Pia could finish her thought, the old man shot up with a grotesque smile. She raised the dagger, her eyes trembling.
“What the… I clearly stabbed your heart!”
The old man chuckled, “Hehe!” and removed his hand from his chest. Smooth skin was revealed as if nothing had happened.
“….!”
“If my heart were here— that attack would’ve definitely killed me.”
“What do you mean…?”
The old man, affected by the Gag Filter, began to spill secrets he’d never share in his normal state.
“My heart was sacrificed to the god, so this place is empty. The god bestowed mercy on me, giving me a new heart so I can live forever!”
“Don’t tell me… you made a deal with a demon?”
“A demon?! That figure is a great god!”
The old man sacrificed a thousand children’s souls to turn his heart into a gem. It was akin to wizards walking the path of a lich.
Kuguku!
Black magic began to sprout from the old man like tentacles.
“Cough, cough, though the grown ones are tough and tasteless… I’ll bestow mercy to be with the god.”
The old man, engulfed in magic, emitted a terrifying aura. Pia clenched her jaw, tightening her grip on the dagger.
There must be a heart somewhere. If I can find it…!
As if reading her thoughts, the old man spoke chillingly.
“Oh, looking for my heart, are you?”
“…!”
“If you’re curious, I can tell you.”
The old man, like a proper villain impacted by the Gag Filter, grinned and kindly elaborated.
“My heart is in a dungeon in the third chamber of the underground prison beneath the temple.”
“Dun… dungeon?”
“There are over hundreds of traps in there, a doppelganger that doubles the strength of foes, security magic that even high-level wizards can’t break, and ten starving chimeras waiting for you.”
The old man’s words were no different from declaring he was immortal. Pia felt her body tremble with despair. The old man, seemingly enjoying Pia’s response, wore an even more sinister grin.
“Cough, cough, as long as my heart is there, I will never die!”
Just as he shouted that, the clichéd event was triggered.
*
Rusty iron bars, brick walls covered in moss; located underground with no windows in sight, this was where the dungeon containing the old man’s heart lay, the underground prison beneath the temple.
“Is this not it?”
Lian scratched the back of his head in thought.
“I figured I’d end up at the temple since they said Pia and the kids were gone.”
Usually, cults mix various bits of information from already existing religions. Lian assumed Pia’s religion was one of those.
It was likely that the essence of Lian was mixed in, but fundamentally it was an already existing religion. So if Pia had disappeared, she would head to the temple! …or so Lian thought.
“Hmmm, then where could they have gone?”
The prison was completely empty, as if Lian’s assumption had missed the mark.
“Still, just in case, let me investigate thoroughly… huh?”
Just as he was about to search the prison carefully, he spotted a door that blended in seamlessly, disguised by a color similar to the bricks.
“Could this be it?”
Lian rushed toward the door with a bright expression. He pushed it lightly, and it swung open as easily as a lightweight wooden door.
“Pia? Are you here..? …Whoa!”
The moment he pressed his face into the dark space beyond the door, someone pushed him from behind, sending him stumbling forward.
Thud!
“Oww…”
Not having summoned his magic sword led to a solid crash onto the floor.
Flame! As Lian stepped into the dungeon, torches along the hallway lit up brightly.
“Eh? The door is gone?”
When he turned around, only the wall remained. Lian scratched his head, rising to his feet.
“Not sure what’s going on, but… should I go inside?”
True to his nature as a Gag Resident with infinite lives, he stepped forward without a care. Just before five minutes had passed…
Press!
“Oh?”
He accidentally stepped on a trap trigger. At the same time, arrows shot from the wall and pierced Lian’s body.
“Ow…”
He frowned, feeling as if someone had poked him in the side, glancing down at the arrow.
“Ah! I put a hole in my shirt!”
Having discarded several damaged outfits during his journey, every piece of clothing was precious. Lian immediately yanked out the arrow, pouting.
“If arrows are gonna fly, they might as well aim at my face…”
With dark thoughts looming, he held the arrow in hand and resumed moving.
Press, click, press…
“Eh?”
As expected from a Gag Resident, Lian triggered every mechanism in the corridor.
Click, click. Numerous holes opened wide enough to launch arrows.
Swish! Thwack!
Arrows rained down like a battlefield.
Thud, thud, thud!
Endless arrows either lodged into Lian’s body or struck the ground as he tumbled about. After a minute, the barrage ceased. Lian pulled an arrow from his face.
In a moment, all the arrows clattered to the floor, revealing Lian, now clad in rags that could no longer be called clothing, his smooth skin on display as he pouted.
“My clothes… how am I supposed to go home like this…”
Sniffling inwardly, he started gathering the fallen arrows. It was a habit ingrained in him to save.
With his arms full of arrows, he continued moving inside. He soon found himself in a much wider corridor than the one he had walked.
“…! An uphill path! Maybe I can get to the surface if I go up there!”
Lian cheered internally as he hurriedly climbed the slope.
Kuguku…
Just then, the ceiling above opened up and a massive boulder began to plummet down.
“Whoa!”
Startled, Lian tossed the arrows he was holding and dashed back. Just as he was about to burrow into the narrow corridor behind him…
Kuguku…
“Oh no!”
The space between the narrow corridor and the wide corridor suddenly got blocked by a stone wall.
Crash! Boom!
“Eeeep…”
Lian felt himself thin like paper and fluttered into the air, then dropped onto the slope with a thud. Then—pop!—he returned to his original state. But his clothes were still in tatters.
“Ugh… Please don’t tell me this trap is continuous?”
Lian staggered up from the floor, moving forward with a frown. Even while grumbling, he was the perfect representation of a Gag Resident.
Clunk, thud, crunch!
“Yow!”
Lian carefully treaded through the hundreds of traps the old man mentioned. Nevertheless, none of those traps could catch his ankle.
After swiftly clearing the traps, Lian arrived at a space shrouded in mist. The ceiling was invisible, and he couldn’t see any walls around.
The only visible things were the passage Lian had just come through and the entrance leading to a new corridor across from him. He immediately tried to head towards the opposite entrance.
Swish…
In that moment, the white mist swirled and coalesced, forming a vague shape. A snow-white mannequin stood between Lian and the entrance.
“Umm…”
Lian debated whether to pull out the magic sword he hadn’t needed until now while eyeing the mannequin-like figure.
Creak, creak…
It twisted and contorted awkwardly, like a body that had just suffered an accident, and soon began to transform like a slime.
It grew taller, broadened its shoulders, and started to take on human skin. The doppelganger, which could double an opponent’s power, was steadily morphing into Lian’s form.
Rumble, rumble…
Suddenly, something seemed to go wrong with the faithfully developing shape.
Thud, squish, bang!
The doppelganger, which was wobbling erratically, couldn’t handle the power of the Gag Filter and exploded on the spot. Lian stared blankly at the doppelganger that vanished without a trace.
“What was that..?”
The once-feared doppelganger that the old man boasted about… was defeated in just 0.1 seconds.
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