I thought that if I endured and endured, the tide of the undead army would eventually stop.
But that was a delusion.
“You fucking bastard!”
Borgo cursed.
No matter how many they killed, the number of Skeleton Warriors and Ghouls did not decrease.
On the contrary, they were increasing.
Where were these things continuously popping out from?
The situation was worsening to the point where there wasn’t even time to wonder about that.
“Kuaak!”
Finally, the first victim appeared.
One adventurer, whose movements had become slow from exhaustion. That was a fatal mistake.
The Skeleton Warrior did not miss that moment and precisely thrust its rusty sword into the adventurer’s side.
“Damn it!”
Borgo shouted, but there was no time to help.
It was the same for the others.
If they were distracted elsewhere for even a moment, the undead would counterattack immediately.
Eventually, dozens of Ghouls swarmed over the fallen adventurer like flies and began to tear at its body.
“Kuaaak!”
At that horrific sight, the faces of the Red Blade Mercenary adventurers showed fear for the first time.
It wasn’t a matter of strength.
This was a hopeless war of attrition, like pouring water into a bottomless pit.
If this continued, annihilation was only a matter of time.
What should we do?
Rick swung his sword with a look of despair.
But the more he swung, the more his stamina rapidly depleted.
His arm ached.
His legs were numb.
Still, he couldn’t help but swing his sword.
If he couldn’t swing his sword with all his remaining strength, he would eventually die.
‘Why…’
Why did I come to a place like this?
Rick’s adventuring party, ‘Red Blade Mercenaries,’ had a certain reputation.
Platinum Rank, on the verge of promotion to Diamond Rank.
Even if they weren’t as good as Dambi and Rills they had seen earlier, they believed they could handle most quests.
But that belief was thoroughly shattered after entering here.
‘Fuck.’
Rick also cursed inwardly.
What was it like when the rumors of the Ancient Dungeon’s discovery first spread?
To be honest, Rick wanted to go in.
More precisely, he wished his party could obtain the authority to enter the Ancient Dungeon.
Ancient Dungeon.
No matter what dangers lay within, if things went well, they could gain enough wealth to live for a lifetime.
Moreover, it wasn’t just adventurers who were entering.
With knights from each country, as well as paladins from the White Church, being mobilized, what was there to fear?
So when the Red Blade Mercenaries were first selected for the joint exploration team of the Ancient Dungeon, Rick was as happy as their leader, Borgo.
“Haa.”
But the emotions of that time were long forgotten.
Now, he regretted it.
Why did I come to a place like this?
He wanted to leave if he could right now.
“Haaak!”
He swung his sword, screaming, but the number of undead did not decrease.
Slowly, party members began to fall one by one.
Just then.
A strange event occurred.
The Ghouls and Skeleton Warriors, who had been attacking ferociously, all stopped moving at once!
Then, as if by a miracle, they parted to the sides, creating a path.
“……!”
Rick was stunned by the sudden situation.
Borgo and the others were the same.
The undead no longer attacked them but simply stood at attention on both sides of the path, motionless.
“Wh-what! Is it over?”
Borgo asked in a trembling voice.
A ray of light appeared in the midst of endless despair.
The adventurers sighed in relief and sat down on the floor.
They had to make the most of this opportunity, as they didn’t know when they would start moving again.
“Don’t provoke them. If they start moving, it’ll be our loss!”
Borgo said with a hollow laugh.
But Rick couldn’t do that. All his senses were screaming at him to run.
‘They just didn’t stop.’
Rick saw that they weren’t just standing still.
‘They’re creating… a path.’
As if to prove Rick’s ominous premonition, a sound came from the deepest darkness at the end of the corridor.
Clink- Clink-
A heavy yet regular sound.
It sounded like a being in massive armor was approaching, step by step.
As the sound grew closer, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop sharply.
White mist emanated from their mouths.
Everyone’s gaze turned in one direction.
And finally, the figure fully revealed itself from the darkness.
A giant skeleton knight, clad from head to toe in black plate armor.
“……”
Everyone forgot to breathe under the overwhelming aura of death that pressed down on the space with its mere existence.
“I-it can’t be.”
Borgo muttered.
“The owner of this place…”
The being that appeared before them was no ordinary undead monster.
“…is a Death Knight?”
Death Knight.
A 5-star monster, the Knight of Death.
The courage they had shown fighting the undead moments before had vanished.
Instead, the primal fear of a herbivore that had fallen to the bottom of the food chain dominated their entire bodies.
“O-over there…”
Despite trembling, Borgo gathered his courage and spoke.
“May I ask if Your Excellency is the owner of this dungeon?”
It was a Death Knight. It was highly likely to be the owner of this dungeon.
However, the other party remained silent without uttering a word.
“H-ha…”
Borgo gave an awkward laugh.
“It seems we accidentally entered Your Excellency’s dungeon. Please spare our lives, and we will give you everything we have!”
He then knelt down, hitting his head on the floor, and begged.
With the appearance of the Death Knight, it was safe to say that victory was already impossible.
No, it wasn’t just safe to say, it was completely impossible.
So, Borgo resorted to his last resort.
That is, to make a deal with the owner of the dungeon.
Anecdotes of adventurers escaping dangerous situations by making deals with dungeon owners were already famous.
However, Rick couldn’t shake off his unease.
No matter how much Borgo tried to make a deal, would the Death Knight even agree?
Wouldn’t it be easier to just kill them and take everything?
Deals had to be made at an equal level, and in the current situation, they were too disadvantaged.
“……”
Borgo looked at the Death Knight with pleading eyes.
The Death Knight remained silent as if contemplating something, then nodded after a moment.
Borgo’s expression brightened at that sight.
But the joy was short-lived.
From behind the Death Knight, skeletons appeared holding pickaxes.
“……?”
What was going on?
And then, they naturally placed pickaxes in their hands.
“……?!”
The adventurers couldn’t understand.
***
Quite some time had passed since the knights of the Kalrn Empire and the adventuring party ‘Red Blade Mercenaries’ entered the dungeon.
The blue sky of daytime was now tinged with a crimson sunset.
During that time, a few more adventurers had entered the dungeon, but not a single one had emerged so far.
“Hmm.”
Ludwig, the mage adventurer, sighed, tapping his magic staff on the ground.
“Not a single one of those who went in has come out yet.”
Then it was one of two things.
Either they had all died inside the dungeon, or they had found immense treasure and were hiding it for themselves.
“Should I go in now?”
Astrid, a female knight of the Orbis Empire, replied to Ludwig’s mumbling.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Hmph, so you want to just turn back?”
Ludwig said mockingly.
How could they give up everything they had come so far for and turn back?
Astrid knew that well. Above all, she was a knight under the command of the Orbis Empire, not a free adventurer, so she couldn’t leave the battlefield recklessly.
“No, rather than rushing in, it would be better to scout the surroundings first. And if there’s time, it would be good to request reinforcements from the Empire.”
“Hmm, that makes sense too.”
Ludwig reluctantly nodded.
Looking at the current situation, the exploration of the Ancient Dungeon was by no means something that would be over in a short period.
Rather, as Astrid said, it seemed like the right order was to set up camp here and scout the surroundings of the dungeon.
However, there was someone who objected to that statement.
“What are you talking about! The Goddess wishes for peace to descend upon this land as soon as possible! This is a problem that must be resolved without delay!”
Theodore, a priest of the White Church, raised his voice.
“It’s highly likely that the inside of the dungeon is wider than imagined, which is why it’s taking time! So we should hurry and go in to help them and continue the exploration!”
“Tsk.”
Ludwig didn’t like the current situation.
The priest of the White Church was prioritizing his beliefs without a sense of reality, and Dambi and Rills, adventurers from the Sail Empire, offered no opinion on the current situation.
They were simply stepping back with an indifferent attitude, as if saying, “You guys figure it out amongst yourselves.”
Since they couldn’t agree, it was ambiguous how to proceed.
“Then I will patrol around the dungeon. The rest of you, please sort out your opinions amongst yourselves.”
Ludwig said, tapping his magic staff.
As if he didn’t want to argue with them any longer, he walked away alone.
Given his arrogant personality, he preferred to act alone rather than moving together with others.
***
As Ludwig went out to act alone, the face of Priest Theodore flushed with anger.
“Ho-how dare you defy the Goddess’s will and act on your own! Such a faithless person cannot possibly have the Goddess’s favor!”
He glared with contempt at the spot where Ludwig had disappeared, then turned to the paladins lined up behind him.
“Leave those ignorant fools, and we will enter the dungeon ourselves!”
“Yes, Priest!”
The paladins drew their swords in unison and clasped their hands.
They were beings personally cared for by the Goddess.
No unholy being could turn into a handful of ash before their faith and holy power.
There was nothing to fear.
Thus, Theodore and the paladins entered the dungeon without hesitation.
“Hmm, it’s just a straight corridor.”
The corridor they entered was simple.
It was simply a space that stretched out in a straight line.
There were no decorations on the walls, only an endless darkness continuing for a long stretch.
But they didn’t care. The light emanating from their respective holy powers was brighter than any darkness, illuminating their path.
After walking for a while.
The corridor, which seemed to stretch endlessly, finally ended, and a small circular stone chamber appeared.
“Monster!”
There stood two beings.
One was a skeleton, with only bones left, but there was something peculiar about it.
“Th-that, holy power?!”
Priest Theodore exclaimed in surprise.
“How can an unholy undead be clad in holy power?!”
That wasn’t the only surprising thing.
Two different energies flowed from the two swords the opponent held; one was demonic energy, and the other was precisely…
“You… where did you get that sword!”
It was a sword emanating a sacred aura.
Anyone could see it had a similar vibe to a Holy Sword.
“……”
But the opposing skeleton said nothing.
“Yes, it doesn’t matter. We’ll just take it back.”
Theodore also drew his sword. He then shifted his gaze between the two beings.
The other being was a handsome man with a deceptively captivating smile that did not match his ominous atmosphere.
“You must be an Incubus.”
A smile spread across the priest’s lips.
It was definitely an Incubus. However, unfortunately, the opponent had a fatal weakness.
Incubi thrive by stealing the vital energy of women.
But all those present here, including himself and the paladins, were men.
