‘……Got it.’
I gently caressed the newly appeared tattoo on the back of my hand. With this, all the conditions to face the Creature Abandoned by God boss battle were met. All that’s left is to progress the story.
‘I suppose they’ve finished up top as well?’
Having completed my task, I looked up blankly at the ceiling of the Boss Room, waiting for the magic circle leading to the Dungeon Entrance to activate, while the rune stele behind me began to lose its light and crumble.
As a twist to mock the ecstatic players who returned to the surface after acquiring the rune, a Mid-Boss immediately attacked me as soon as I arrived at the Dungeon Entrance. From behind the players, no less.
First-time users would most commonly get blindsided, defeating Lucia after a fierce battle only to get ambushed and die without understanding what hit them in the back of the head.
However, there was no need to worry about that now.
‘They would have to lose first.’
The forces above included four Knight Commanders from the Silver Dawn Knights who once served the Empress, the Inquisitor from the Holy Kingdom’s military’s two-horse chariot, and a whole bunch of Battle Nuns, all numbering in double digits.
It would be more strange if they lost to just one Mid-Boss. Even if the Knight Commanders charged in one-on-one, they’d easily wipe it out within 30 seconds and have plenty of time left to relax afterward.
Before long, a green magic circle was drawn where the rune stele had been. It was a direct path to the surface. I stepped onto that magic circle, and soon I began to be teleported somewhere.
When my vision went momentarily dark and returned, my body was on a bridge just a little below the entrance of the dungeon. I steadied myself, infusing strength into my wobbling legs.
The sunlight was much clearer and warmer now. It was a stark contrast to the gloomy, pitch-black sunlight I had when I first entered the Rune Dungeon.
I walked out to the middle of the bridge, carefully not to slip, then jumped up to grab the edge of the bridge above and pulled myself up.
“Ah, Delta!”
I made eye contact with Lize, who was looking down from the outside of the dungeon. She smiled brightly and waved her arms excitedly. Her large bosom wrapped in a white sleeveless top bobbed left and right because of it.
Since she wasn’t wearing any armor, it seemed the Mid-Boss had been taken down long ago. I had explained that it was fine to take off their armor after killing that one monster since it was the only one that could possibly emerge.
Lize crossed the bridge in an instant and, with just one arm, pulled me up from my struggling position below and began to tidy up my disheveled clothes.
“Did you handle it well?”
I raised my left hand without a word.
Upon seeing the more complicated tattoo with the Vitality Enhancement rune we had obtained last time and the ‘Rest in the Abyss’ rune I got from this dungeon, Lize gave me a gentle smile.
I patted her head a couple of times. A delightful sigh escaped her ruby-red lips. As I moved forward, Lize followed me closely behind.
Finally stepping feet onto solid ground felt incredibly soothing. The bottom of the dungeon was just a mire of black liquid, and the bridge was coated in who-knows-what slimy substance.
The Battle Nuns stared at me with dazed expressions while Selene appeared to have a blank face, but her gem-like eyes quivered with surprise.
“……I’m glad you returned safely, Distinguished Guest.”
“You seem quite startled?”
“Of course I must be. How could I not be surprised when a single person managed to crush a place that our Holy Kingdom failed to subjugate multiple times, despite suffering numerous sacrifices, in less than an hour?”
“I said I would do it. I’m merely keeping my word. Nothing happened up there, right?”
I looked around. The dark, dreary landscape I had seen upon first entering was replaced by a vast expanse of clear skies and lush greenery.
Suddenly, I spotted the thoroughly destroyed corpse of a monster in one corner of my vision. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. Just as I had expected.
“Yeah. Other than that monster appearing, nothing else happened.”
“Then now that we’re done here, let’s head back. You all have nothing to do here, do you?”
“We followed you, Delta. There’s nothing left for us to do here.”
At Lize’s words, the other Knight Commanders nodded in agreement. The mere act of not wearing armor signified that they had nothing else to do.
“Understood. Then I’ll be heading back now, so please gather your weapons and armor. Everyone, Return.”
Selene issued commands to the Battle Nuns. The Battle Nuns moved in perfect unison, surrounding us from all directions. Not that any monsters would be showing up.
The Knight Commanders quickly donned their armor. A full plate armor is usually pretty cumbersome to put on and take off, yet they wore it as if it were just regular clothing.
Leading the way, Selene moved first, followed closely behind by us. The Battle Nuns maintained a certain distance while surrounding us.
“Hmm? Delta, what’s that at your waist?”
Lize tilted her head at the Sacred Catalyst tied at my hip. Hearing that, Selene glanced over momentarily, but the angle made it so she couldn’t clearly see what was being pointed out.
What Lize saw was the Sacred Catalyst that Lucia had used. I needed to hand this over to the Inquisitor for the Lucia event to finally end.
The catalyst used for blessing enchantment on my sword had been left behind. It wasn’t even an event item, and I could later receive a superior version of a Sacred Spell from the Pope.
With the blessing enchantments I could obtain from the Pope, I had always planned to visit the Holy Kingdom at some point, but Stella barging in had thrown off my timing.
“It’s a Sacred Catalyst; I found it down there.”
“Oh really?”
Though my answer was short, Lize backed off willingly. She didn’t show any interest in how I found it or why. Selene seemed to have a similar thought as she quickly turned her head away.
I had no idea how the Inquisitor would react if she saw Lucia’s Sacred Catalyst. In the game, there wasn’t an option to show the Sacred Catalyst to the Inquisitor either.
It was tied to an event involving the Inquisitor, but not one connected to the Inquisitor herself.
Now that there was no need to be on guard, I walked much faster. Naturally, we also arrived at the barrier’s breach much sooner. Before long, we spotted a golden light mass.
“Distinguished Guest, may I have a moment of your time after we pass the barrier?”
“Since I guess I have nothing but time, I don’t mind, but what’s the reason?”
“I would like to hear about what happened in the Rune Dungeon, as well as the effects of the rune.”
“Well, if it’s about that, I have to oblige. Should I follow you right after exiting?”
I responded readily. While it was technically meant for the Inquisitor, there wouldn’t be any significant problems if I shared it with Selene.
After all, the person who granted me access to the Rune Dungeon was already different.
“Yes. Thank you for your kindness.”
Selene slightly bowed her head as a show of gratitude, leading the Battle Nuns to position themselves beside the breach.
“Please go ahead. I will follow behind.”
Unlike when we were outside and could see the interior of the breach, from within, we couldn’t see outside it at all. Only the golden light mass was visible. So, is that the barrier? I thought absentmindedly.
Following Selene’s guidance, we stepped into the breach.
“Why are you all coming out of the Rune Dungeon’s restricted barrier?”
As soon as we emerged, I noticed Stella standing there with her arms crossed under her chest, a disgruntled expression on her face.
Behind her, the Battle Nuns formed a line. I couldn’t see where the Holy Knights who were originally guarding this place had gone.
Both the Inquisitor and the Battle Nuns weren’t holding any weapons. Stella’s expression was more akin to mild discontent than outright anger. It didn’t seem like there would be any explosive confrontation here.
“Well, it looks like what you see is just that, right?”
“……You went into the Rune Dungeon?”
“Correct.”
Stella held her forehead. Her deep sigh was filled with genuine lament.
“Distinguished Guest. While Your Holiness declared that you would be welcomed as precious guests, even so, that doesn’t mean you can recklessly enter the Rune Dungeon without permission—”
“I gave permission.”
In that moment, Selene stepped out from behind the breach.
“I granted access to the Rune Dungeon, so you Distinguished Guests did not enter without permission.”
“……Inquisitor, you?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“What on earth were you thinking? If anything happened to them, or if they got hurt or died—”
“Isn’t the strength the Distinguished Guest possesses something that the Inquisitor knows better than anyone?”
Stella’s face reddened as she was hit where it counted, and she cleared her throat softly as if to change the subject. It seemed she recalled how she failed to land a single hit on me during our sparring and got utterly destroyed.
Noticing that something seemed off about Stella, the gazes of the Knight Commanders were aimed at her with intensity. Although I couldn’t see their faces due to their helmets, it was clear which expressions they were wearing.
“Ahem, fine. The strength is one thing, but what was the outcome? Did you give up on the subjugation and just come back?”
“We can now dispel the barrier.”
“……Oh? Really?”
“I wouldn’t lie about something like that, Inquisitor. I will call the Holy Knights back shortly. Just in case, I ordered them to keep their distance.”
“No, I don’t mean it’s a lie…… I was just surprised that you already subjugated the dungeon, even though it feels like you just entered.”
Stella’s gaze shifted toward me. Seizing the opportunity, I quickly spoke up.
“By the way, there’s one item I need to hand over to the Inquisitor.”
“Huh? To me?”
“Yes, to the Inquisitor.”
Her emerald eyes widened in confusion. She looked completely taken aback by my unexpected statement.
“What is it? You’re not talking about a monster’s head from the Rune Dungeon, are you?”
Stella chuckled. I quietly pulled out the Sacred Catalyst I had tied to my waist and presented it to Stella.
“……”
Upon seeing the Sacred Catalyst, Stella’s laughter abruptly stopped.
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