Chapter 71
Pendal, the commander of Pendal Road and a darkness akin to the Demon Bastion, was currently passing through the seventh floor of the Bastion.
Next to him were the team members who had been leading Pendal Road together with him.
One was a white mage, another a scout, and there were one melee fighter and two mages as well.
Their skills were indeed impressive, ranking among the finest within the Demon Bastion, as expected of the elite handpicked by Pendal.
“Commander,”
At that moment, a woman with crimson hair, a mage, called out to Pendal as she adjusted her robe.
Her alluring figure revealed beneath the robe and the snug clothing drew the attention of the men, but it was made of the precious material from the Demon Bastion—red spider silk.
Just that alone spoke volumes of her skill and resources.
Yet, she called to Pendal with a troubled expression.
“… I respect the Commander’s determination to challenge Nakcheon again, but are you really okay with this?”
As she cautiously asked, Pendal silently continued on his way. For those living in the Demon Bastion, Nakcheon was a wall they would face for a lifetime.
Though it had been quite a while since the legendary team Black Panther disbanded, Nakcheon still roamed the eighth floor, guarding it as a ghost.
Many challengers had been gruesomely smashed before that monster.
Pendal’s intention to defeat Nakcheon this time seemed like mere stubbornness.
Seeing Lakradiyon and Balheim’s direct bloodline, he felt the urge to charge in.
“If you’re dissatisfied, you’re free to leave.”
As Pendal snapped at them, the woman who had voiced her concern let out a sigh.
And it was the same for the other team members as well.
“There’s no way we’d abandon the Commander.”
“If we lose Pendal in the Demon Bastion, where else could we even mention Pendal Road?”
One and all, they expressed their determination not to leave him.
Pendal watched them with a blank stare before turning his head away.
“What a bunch of foolish people.”
He said that while keeping his eyes focused ahead.
Having already taken the lead and arriving at the eighth floor faster through shortcuts, Pendal was equipped to confront Nakcheon long before Kraush and Lakradiyon.
“If that’s the case,”
he would be the first to challenge Nakcheon.
Rather than the hook sword he usually carried, today he wielded a straight longsword, slowly sliding it along.
It was the jade-colored sword, Okcheon, wielded by Kaiyan, the captain of Team Icarus, which included Lakradiyon and Pendal.
Though it might not compare to Thunderbolt, it was still a remarkable sword deserving of the name.
Even if the captain Kaiyan had fallen before Nakcheon, this time would be different.
He would inherit the will of Kaiyan, who had sought to conquer the entire Demon Bastion.
“The one to defeat Nakcheon will be Pendal Road.”
With that, Pendal conveyed his determination to those following him.
As they gazed upon Pendal’s eyes, shining brightly with intention, his teammates couldn’t help but smile widely.
“That’s obvious!”
“We’re the kings of the Demon Bastion!”
Seeing them in high spirits, Pendal inhaled deeply before exhaling.
Unlike Lakradiyon, who was stubbornly swinging her sword against the wall, Pendal turned away from the wall.
Instead, he looked back at those behind him.
Since Team Icarus had failed, countless challengers had continued to enter the Demon Bastion.
While Lakradiyon was attacking the wall, Pendal was pulling his allies forward.
‘I cannot surpass this wall alone.’
Thus, Pendal chose to scale that wall with others.
On the day he had fallen before Nakcheon, Pendal had clearly been moving forward in another way.
This was something Kraush would be completely unaware of.
No wonder, as it would be a long time before Kraush would face Pendal.
When Lakradiyon eventually crumbled before the wall, and Pendal, who had shouted for a year to persuade her, also fell, that was when it would happen.
Darkness exists because of light.
“… Did I secretly set this up well?”
At that moment, a middle-aged man, one of the mages following Pendal, asked a swordsman who was behind him.
The middle-aged man was none other than Soldrik, the vice-captain of Pendal Road.
Hearing Soldrik’s question, the swordsman nodded slowly.
“Yes, I’ve instructed the kids to ensure Lakradiyon and Balheim’s direct bloodline never reaches the eighth floor.”
“Well done.”
Soldrik quietly swallowed.
He would be gladly called cowardly.
If he claimed afterward that it was his own private undertaking, so be it.
But during the moment Pendal challenged Nakcheon, he had no intention of allowing anyone to interfere.
For the sake of their commander, Pendal, whom they had worked tirelessly for until now.
—
7th Floor: Mechanical Maze.
Surrounded by winding mechanical walls and gears, it was a perfect fit for the term maze.
Countless traps and mechanical beasts lurked around each corner, and sometimes the walls of the maze changed their positions unpredictably, hindering navigation.
The objective on the seventh floor was to escape this mechanical maze.
Finding their way out relied purely on luck or extraordinary observational skills.
So this was truly a place where the role of a scout was most crucial.
But now, in this vital spot, Kraush and Lakradiyon were merely facing a single wall together.
Without their designated scout, Derrick, and white mage, Penichelri.
“… What shall we do?”
In the moments just before, their side had been ambushed by traps set up by Pendal Road.
Upon entering the seventh floor, they had barely taken a few steps when Pendal Road’s crew suddenly attacked Kraush and company.
Naturally, there wasn’t much Pendal Road’s crew could do against Kraush and Lakradiyon.
After all, the two could effortlessly overpower the crew that couldn’t even beat Pendal.
But that’s where the real trouble began.
The walls of the mechanical maze shifted spontaneously, abruptly separating Derrick and Penichelri from the two.
“Penichelri! Derrick!”
Rushing toward the wall, Lakradiyon found it barred her way.
Her aura blade couldn’t slice through the wall.
It was moving too quickly to be cut by her sword.
The Pendal Road crew had clearly anticipated this and executed their ambush expertly as the walls shifted.
But that wasn’t all.
In that very moment the walls divided, mechanical weapons suddenly swarmed toward Kraush and Lakradiyon.
Those mechanical beasts had targeted only the two of them, causing the crew on Kraush’s side to make their escape amidst the commotion.
The Pendal Road crew masterfully exploited the very characteristics of the Demon Bastion that they were most familiar with.
Lakradiyon swallowed hard.
Pendal was notorious for his cowardly tactics, after all.
He was closer to a villain than a hero.
Yet, despite everything, Lakradiyon believed he was genuine in his feelings toward the Demon Bastion.
Having trusted that up until now, it was disheartening to see him resort to such underhanded tactics among his followers.
Lakradiyon shuddered.
Once, he had been thought of as a comrade, but he had ultimately changed.
“… Sorry, Kraush.”
On the contrary, Kraush maintained his calm demeanor.
“No need to be surprised; a rabid dog has merely bitten.”
Rather, Kraush was thankful for Pendal digging traps for them.
Pendal hadn’t changed much from how he was before.
“So, how will we get through the seventh floor without a scout?”
“… If we just hold onto the walls, I think we can still find a way through.”
It would take a while, but…
Lakradiyon didn’t mention finding Derrick and Penichelri.
The intervals that the mechanical walls changed were impossible to predict without timing, just like Pendal Road’s intent.
So finding the two again would likely take a lengthy wait.
“Then that means you have no way out, Lakradiyon.”
“… Yes.”
Even though she was already a veteran who had entered the Demon Bastion earlier, Lakradiyon felt ashamed that there was nothing she could do.
After all, she was primarily a combatant, not a scout.
“Then that’s fine. Just do me a favor.”
Kraush, acting as if he didn’t mind, spoke.
“A favor, you say?”
“Carry me.”
Lakradiyon blinked in surprise.
“Why on earth?”
Her eyes filled with questions, but Kraush’s expression was serious.
He had expected from the start that they would set traps on the seventh floor.
And it was just as expected; it was no different.
That was why he had purposely brought a scout along.
To make Pendal Road believe that all they needed to do was separate them from the scout.
“Do you not trust me?”
“No.”
Without a word, she lowered herself and leaned forward, presenting her back.
The thin armor and outfit typically worn by challengers became visible between her flowing hair.
Without a hint of hesitation, Kraush hopped onto her back.
Having hit his growth spurt, Kraush was now quite tall.
However, he wasn’t as tall as the towering Lakradiyon, making it easy for her to lift him up.
“So what should I do from now on?”
“I’ll need to concentrate, so just follow my directions. It’s inconvenient for me to move on my own while focusing.”
“Understood.”
Lakradiyon followed Kraush’s instructions dutifully.
As Kraush closed his eyes in satisfaction, he awakened his sixth sense.
This sixth sense was now broader than before.
Today, he intended to push it beyond its limit.
That required intense concentration.
And, of course, the mobilization of his moving fortress.
His sixth sense was like a web of aura.
That web spread thinly through the air, and even if there were tightly packed walls, it still weaved through every tiny gap.
As his sixth sense spread further, Kraush began to visualize the vast expanse of this maze like a blueprint in his mind.
With heightened focus, every shred of information was forced into Kraush’s brain.
Of course, with all this stretching of his sixth sense, he felt his head throbbing.
But that level of discomfort was bearable.
“Run straight for 500 meters, then turn right.”
In that moment, Kraush’s instructions continued.
Without hesitation, Lakradiyon began to dash forth.
“Next, take a left at the fork.”
With every step Lakradiyon took, Kraush’s precise commands followed.
She could feel the scenery surrounding them gradually changing.
As she navigated properly and moved inward, the walls of the mechanical maze started to change color.
From their original black to a reddish hue.
Sure enough, seeing the faint crimson glow assured her that they were moving in the right direction.
Lakradiyon was in awe.
She had never expected Kraush to be able to navigate this well.
At this rate, he would surely outclass Derrick as a scout.
‘Just how many strange skills does he possess?’
Indeed, should he be called Balheim?
Or maybe it was his stubbornness to steal even the basics from her?
One thing was clear: Kraush was more than just an ordinary person.
“Looks like we’re on the right track.”
Just then, Lakradiyon heard Kraush’s voice and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“If we’re on the right track, then could it be…”
“Yeah, it’s Pendal Road’s crew.”
Seemingly caught off guard, Pendal Road’s crew had set their sights on Kraush and Lakradiyon, hustling toward them as if they were panicking.
If things continued as they were, Kraush and Lakradiyon would soon reach the eighth floor ahead of them, contrary to their expectations.
Knowing that reaching the eighth floor would spell the end, they had chosen to resort to brute force.
“Should I call them foolish, or maybe say they cherish their own commander this much?”
As Kraush opened his eyes and broke away from Lakradiyon’s grip, he grasped his sword, which fluttered in his hand.
“They’ll definitely pay the price for this.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Kraush threw his sword.
The moment it soared through the air, it glimmered with a black light and pierced through the chest of someone emerging from around the corner.
“Ugh?!”
Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, Kraush leaped atop Lakradiyon’s back and landed on the ground.
In his hand, the sword he had just thrown returned to him.
“He got hit!”
As someone rushed to pour a potion over the downed figure, Kraush was already in motion.
Three shield-bearing members of Pendal Road rushed forward in a hurry to intercept him.
Kraush exhaled incredulously at the sight.
“Do they really think they can use shields against a person?”
Shields may come in handy when fighting beasts, but in a fight against humans, what use was it?
With an incredulous laugh escaping his lips, he noted how high the shield barriers were.
Meanwhile, in the back, he could hear the mages casting spells, dropping potions to create magic circles on the floor.
It really seemed like they intended to approach them as though they were going against a beast.
‘If a fight is what they want…’
A wisp of smoke began to swirl from the corners of Kraush’s mouth.
The power of world erosion ignited, sounding a resonant heartbeat—the trace of the incineration of dissolution.
In an instant, Kraush lunged toward the shield, clashing against it.
The expert’s aura enveloping that shield crumpled hopelessly when met with Kraush’s force and conceded its path.
“Gah?!”
“Aah?!”
In an instant, Kraush charged straight through the shield and into the rank of those holding weapons.
But Kraush was faster than they were.
He pierced their attack trajectories, weaving through like a performer in an acrobatic show.
The eyes of all watching him widened.
His movements were practically artistry—an incredible display.
“Monster…!”
As one of them muttered, Kraush had already reached the mages.
Before the magic circles could even begin to illuminate, Kraush embedded his sword within the magic circle.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted from the sword, setting the potions ablaze, incinerating them all.
In the blink of an eye, the mages aborted their casting and tried to escape, but Kraush was already faster.
He kicked one mage aside and grabbed another by the head, smashing him into the ground.
In mere moments, Kraush had taken down the two mages from the crew, leaving one twitching on the ground.
Standing up slowly, Kraush’s eyes, tinted red from the traces of incineration, shimmered in the dark maze.
At that moment, all of Pendal Road’s crew froze in place, completely rooted.
In astonishment at the boy who had just obliterated one team, they felt overwhelmed by the fact that he was merely 14 years old.
“Are you going to keep fighting?”
As Kraush asked, their bodies twitched in response.
Their faces were drained of resolve.
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