“Whoa?! What on earth is this…?!”
The guards gasped in astonishment at the scene revealed by the flashing magic.
The way to the rainwater tunnel, which had been blocked, was now opened.
It must have been a barricade that was solidly blocked.
It looks like it was smashed with a sword, the cross-section cut roughly.
I approached to touch the broken wood.
Crack!
“It was just destroyed.”
It hasn’t been long since it was broken.
That means the curse caster who just entered here must have done it.
What on earth could be in the rainwater tunnel…?
“What will you do, Priestess? Should we explore inside directly?”
“Yes. Let’s enter.”
“Everyone! Switch to high-level protection formation. Youngest, go up and inform that someone has infiltrated the rainwater tunnel.”
“Yes!”
In an instant, the guards surrounded me, preparing to enter inside.
I still don’t know what the curse caster is trying to do in the rainwater tunnel.
Is it possible they are setting off explosives underground to collapse the cathedral?
That would cause a massive catastrophe.
Every minute counts.
There’s no time to hesitate; we must enter immediately and stop the curse caster.
Realizing this, the guards were also preparing for battle with grim expressions.
“We are entering.”
We began to go inside.
Cautious but not slowing down.
We relied on the light of the flashy magic to navigate the dark sewers.
I was on high alert, afraid of ambushes, traps, or formations hidden to spring upon us.
Unexpectedly, nothing jumped out from the sewers.
Before long, the vast space of the rainwater tunnel, created to accommodate Cologne’s rainwater, gradually began to reveal itself.
But it was too dark to see anything.
I thought I glimpsed some silhouettes?
“Holy Light!”
Whoosh!
The flare bursting from my fingertips flew up and stopped just before the ceiling, scattering bright light all around.
In an instant, the dark rainwater tunnel became bright.
The identity of the silhouettes we saw was revealed.
“Ugh!”
“W-what is this?!”
People standing stiffly.
Their faces were pale, their eyes wide open, yet they showed no reaction.
It looked just like Cardinal Nicholas I saw earlier today.
All of them stood in perfectly aligned rows, totaling at least 500!
We momentarily staggered in shock but quickly regained our composure.
“Those are… the ones who were said to be taken from Elvenguard…”
And it was a huge spider’s body surrounded by the people.
At the end of it hung the upper body of a woman in a grotesque form.
This spider also appeared dead, just slumped over.
“They’re all dead…”
I approached to check the pulse of the people, placing my hand on one heart, and it was certain.
These people were all dead.
The dead bodies stood stiff like mannequins.
Indeed, Cardinal Nicholas wasn’t wrong; he was dead…
“What the heck is going on…?”
Aligning over 500 dead bodies in rows like this?
What kind of hobby is this?
A chill suddenly swept through me, making me feel uneasy.
Even the ground was scribbled with strange red lines, chaotic and scattered.
It seemed like a massive formation, but its purpose was completely unknown.
Are they planning to sacrifice these bodies for something?
Not knowing the enemy’s intentions makes it even scarier.
A curse using over 500 corpses as offerings—what could the result be…?
“I know you’re hiding! Come out now, curse caster!”
To find out, I needed to capture the curse caster who just sneaked in here.
What the hell are they doing?
Why are they sacrificing so many people…?
Anger rose within me, causing my teeth to grind.
But I had to calm down.
Narrowing my vision in rage is exactly what the enemy wanted.
“There’s no space to hide! That means one of them is the culprit!”
I passed by the stiff corpses, scanning their faces.
The enemy is in here.
One of them is clearly pretending to be a corpse.
Now, I just need to examine each one to find the flinching one.
“Come out! Hurry! Get out right now…!”
“Calm down, Priestess.”
“I’m calm right now.”
“Not at all. You are losing your reason. Let’s step outside to call for support. It’s too dangerous to search above the curse technique. After all, there’s only one entrance here, so the curse caster is trapped.”
“Ugh…”
The guard blocked my way.
I huffed and finally calmed down my excitement.
He was right.
I was unable to control my anger.
Trying to inspect each one here for the curse caster is an incredibly reckless plan.
If a close-quarters fight breaks out with the curse caster, we’d all become corpses…
Retreating is the right choice.
Though I knew that in my head, it was still hard to follow through.
“Alright. It seems best to re-enter with the holy knights and mages. But we cannot just leave it like this…”
I placed my hand on the ground and began to channel my mana.
Casting the 4th-level non-attribute spell, Holy Shield.
A yellow light slowly emanated and enveloped the spider monster’s remains.
It seems the enemy is trying to use that corpse, so this will make it untouchable.
This should buy us some time.
“Okay. Let’s go now.”
We flee back the way we came.
One of the guards went to call for support, but that was sent before knowing the situation inside.
We need to inform them that a mad curse caster has killed 500 people and turned them into mummies to realize the seriousness of the situation.
“Ugh… it’s so bright…”
I hurriedly climbed the ladder, emerging into the bright sunlight above.
As the following guards adjusted to the sunlight, we noticed that a considerable number of people had gathered around.
And in front of me was none other than Cardinal Nicholas.
The moment I met his cold gaze, goosebumps ran down my spine.
This man…
He’s a corpse!
“Arrest Cardinal Nicholas! This person isn’t alive—”
“Oops!”
Thud!
Before I could finish, the cardinal’s kick struck my abdomen.
I flew backward and fell into the sewer below.
The guards rushed over in surprise, but there was no time to catch me.
“Ahhhhh! Noooooo…!”
At that moment, the entrance slammed shut with a crash, plunging me into darkness.
I hit the ground with a heavy thud, and that was when I lost consciousness.
In my final moments…
I felt like someone caught me in their arms…
.
.
.
“What are you doing, Cardinal?!”
“What on earth did you do to the Priestess?!”
Bang!
The entrance to the sewer was sealed shut by Cardinal Nicholas.
Facing him, the guards and knights pointed their spears at him.
An unbelievable event just unfolded before their eyes.
The cardinal had just kicked the priestess down into the depths.
At least a two-story height, and if she fell on her head, the chance of death was extremely high.
The cardinal had intended to kill her.
There was no other way to interpret his actions.
Thus, the soldiers fell into deeper confusion.
Only those who have passed many tests and inspections can hold the position of cardinal—someone pristine and honorable.
If that person had performed such an act, they wondered if there was a rational explanation.
“Explain yourself!”
“You must be quite flustered by my sudden actions. But listen carefully. The Priestess I just pushed down is a fake.”
“What?!”
“A fake Priestess disguised by the curse caster. Although it might have been hard for you to see, it was not difficult to evade my sight.”
“Is that really true? You mean the Priestess was a fake?!”
Murmurs started to spread around.
The tips of the spears began to tremble.
This showed how persuasive the cardinal’s statements were.
But that wasn’t enough.
This hastily fabricated logic quickly showed its flaws.
“Then step aside, Cardinal. We’ll go below and capture the fake Priestess, then we can dispel the transformation.”
“That cannot be. The enemy is exceptionally strong. Even now, I’m barely holding the entrance to keep them confined.”
“There are ten holy knights gathered here. We will be fine.”
“Oh dear. It takes ten Swordmasters to barely deal with this enemy. I need to request cooperation from all over the world.”
“Cardinal, are you aware how suspicious this is? Please step aside from the sewer entrance.”
“…”
One by one, doubts began to emerge.
They felt a certainty that the cardinal was talking nonsense.
He was trying to prevent anyone from going below.
He was preventing them from uncovering whether the Priestess was real or fake.
“With Commander Sola absent, I, Maximus, will take command as the First Combat Team Leader! The Sacred Knights will arrest Cardinal Nicholas Dichttraum for attempting to kill the Priestess! From now on, I will strip Cardinal Nicholas of all authority!”
“Hah. You’d best not do that.”
As the holy knights closed in to surround Nicholas, he laughed in a dispirited manner, as if he had been caught off guard.
He tilted his head for a moment, smirking, and soon, a sinister smile appeared on his face.
“Heh… Zenon. No one is allowed to touch the entrance.”
“What? Why is Zenon’s name being brought up here—”
Boom!
At that moment, a tremendous explosion echoed, and smoke billowed out.
The blast hit the holy knights, causing many to suffer significant damage and fall.
Intense mana scattered everywhere, making my head spin.
It was magic cast by an inexperienced mage who couldn’t even contain the leaking mana.
Nonetheless, it was more than enough to inflict harm on the holy knights.
“Zenon?! What happened?!”
[Everything… is for Lady Luna…]
As the holy knights helped their wounded comrades, a boy emerged from the thick smoke.
His left chest glowed with a flickering red light.
He reached out, and the immense amount of mana gathering at his fingertips caused the holy knights to panic.
“Damn it! What have you done to Zenon!!!”
Boom!
Once again, the explosion magic erupted, drowning out the holy knights’ screams.
The rear of the cathedral was turned into chaos in an instant.
Meanwhile, Nicholas, hiding behind Zenon at the sewer entrance, was now pale, standing stiffly.
The air around him grew colder as something seemed to ooze from his body.
Soon, the chill seeped down into the ground.
.
.
.
“Ugh… ah… it hurts so much…”
I momentarily hit my head on the ground and seemed to lose consciousness…
But when I opened my eyes again, a tremendous pain throbbed at the back of my head, instinctively making me curl up.
But touching the back of my head, there was no visible injury.
It wasn’t swollen or anything.
‘Is this… a potion?’
There was slippery gooey liquid on my head.
When I licked it with my tongue, I was sure it was indeed a high-grade potion.
Who applied this to me?
Or how long had I been unconscious in this darkness?
‘That bastard Cardinal Nicholas!’
I remembered!
I was kicked by Cardinal Nicholas and fell down here!
Nicholas was no longer the person we once knew.
He was dead, and that body is just being controlled.
The people above probably still don’t know this; I have to get the word out.
In that moment of thought, searching the ground in the darkness for a ladder…
I felt a presence nearby, freezing me in place.
“If you’re awake, don’t answer, don’t move, and don’t use any magic. Just listen. Make any noise, and you die.”
“…!”
That voice…
No, it was a long-awaited voice.
The voice I had desperately sought.
For a moment, I thought it was a dream.
I started doubting if I was hearing things.
But I realized it was his usual voice that he whispered to me, not a formal one, confirming this wasn’t my imagination.
Yoo Jin was right in front of me.
I couldn’t see because of the darkness, but I was sure.
It was a situation I had only dreamed of, but I couldn’t feel completely happy.
His voice trembled with tension.
I quickly grasped that we were in a dangerous situation.
“We’re going to ascend slowly to the surface now. We have to go up quietly without a sound.”
“W-what’s going on?”
“Want to see for yourself? It’s okay to light a little. Ignite.”
Snap!
With a small snap of his fingers, a brief light flashed, illuminating the surroundings for just a fleeting moment.
At that moment, I saw Yoo Jin’s broad back facing me.
He held a sword in his right hand.
Beyond him, I thought I caught a glimpse of something’s silhouette, but I couldn’t see clearly.
“Do you understand the situation?”
“It was too quick to see properly.”
“Again.”
Snap!
He snapped again.
This time, I focused not on Yoo Jin but beyond him.
I gasped, almost screaming.
“Uh…!”
The corpses I had just seen.
Those corpses were now shambling through the sewer.
As if searching for something, they were flailing their arms in the air…
