“It seems you are the master of this dungeon.”
Priest Theodore spoke to Maru.
His gaze was fixed on the sword emitting a holy aura in Maru’s hand.
A being that, despite being undead, was clad in holy power and even possessed what appeared to be a holy sword.
It was no ordinary undead.
It was most likely the core and master of this bizarre dungeon.
On the other hand, the Incubus standing beside him seemed to be merely a subordinate following its master.
Theodore, with a benevolent expression, made a semi-threatening proposal.
“Listen, unholy being. The sword in your filthy hand is not something you can handle. If you offer that sword to the altar right now and kneel, I promise you a painless purification in the name of the Goddess.”
There was no doubt in the priest’s words. He was confident that his power and faith would overwhelm this blasphemous being.
“Clack.”
But Maru raised his sword, making a bone-cracking sound.
It was a clear sign of refusal.
“How foolish!”
When his mercy was refused, Theodore’s face turned red with rage.
“Fine! Since you have brought judgment upon yourself, I will make you regret it! I will burn your existence to nothing more than a speck of dust in the presence of holy light!”
Theodore extended his right hand forward. And at that moment, starting from his hand, a brilliant light that made it impossible to open one’s eyes burst forth from his entire body.
“Goddess, grant me the power to judge this unholy being!”
As Theodore cried out, compressed holy power from his fingertips shot towards Maru in a massive beam.
A pure white current that annihilates all unholiness.
The Paladins, feeling awe at the overwhelming power, had no doubt that this skeleton would turn into a handful of ashes.
Kwahahahaha-!
The storm of light engulfed Maru’s entire body without leaving anything out.
A few seconds later, the light receded.
Theodore, panting heavily, smiled with certainty of victory.
But that smile soon turned into shock.
In the place where the dust cleared.
The opponent was standing perfectly fine, without a single scratch.
No, rather, a divine armor made of light had appeared on its bones.
“I-impossible!”
Theodore could tell at a glance.
That the undead creature had absorbed the holy power he had unleashed.
He was horrified not only by the absorption but also by the fact that it had transformed into armor.
“Why… why is my power…”
The holy power, his faith and reason for existence, had been perfectly denied by the undead before him.
No, it was more than that. His own power had instead made the enemy stronger.
“This is absurd! This is an illusion! It’s a demon’s trick!”
He was furious.
How many years had he dedicated to the White Church, to the Goddess?
He could never accept this terrible reality where his everything was denied by just one skeleton.
“This is absurd!”
Theodore, having lost his reason, began to unleash holy power wildly.
Holy power poured towards Maru, but all attacks only made Maru’s radiant armor shine even brighter.
He snarled at the Paladins frozen behind him.
“What are you doing! Why aren’t you slaying those demons!”
At his roar, the Paladins finally snapped out of it.
Suppressing their shock and fear, they drew their swords.
“Goddess!”
Shouting their war cry, they charged towards Maru and Azmo.
But Azmo elegantly blocked their path.
“There’s no need to rush.”
A seductive smile spread across Azmo’s lips. The moment Azmo’s eyes emitted a bizarre light, the Paladins’ charge stopped as if by magic.
The fear and anger filling their eyes disappeared, replaced by hazy and confused desires.
“Come, take off that heavy armor for a moment. It’s time to face each other’s true selves.”
Azmo’s voice was like a sweet poison, paralyzing the Paladins’ reason.
Like sugar melting the moment it touches the tongue, all their resistance and faith melted away in an instant.
Soon, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The Paladins began to remove their own helmets and armor.
The Paladin armor, a symbol of sacred duty, fell to the ground.
The brothers bound by oath before the Goddess now looked at each other with strange and ardent gazes.
Their sacred bonds were gone.
Only unholy desires remained.
Azmo licked his lips with satisfaction as he watched the scene.
“Hmm, what does a Paladin taste like?”
He walked slowly into the midst of the Paladins, who were engaged in a feast of corruption, like a famished predator.
A moment later, a tremendous uproar echoed.
Meanwhile, Theodore did not regain his reason even after witnessing the horrific scene of the Paladins.
In his eyes, only the skeleton that denied his faith was visible.
“Die! Die!”
The priest, squeezing out his holy power, lunged at Maru.
However, to Maru, a 6-Star Monster, the priest’s desperate struggle was like a child’s tantrum.
Maru, clad in divine armor, swung his demonic sword and lightly parried Theodore’s attack.
The ominous demonic energy of the demonic sword flowed up Theodore’s arm, gradually corrupting his holy power.
“Cough!”
The moment Theodore lost his balance and stumbled, the holy sword in Maru’s right hand plunged towards his heart.
It was a paradox, a priest of the White Church being impaled by a holy sword.
There was no greater contradiction.
“Hah…”
As he fell, Theodore, still denying the reality before him, looked at Maru with empty eyes.
A moment later, his vision went black, and his faith, along with his world, crumbled away.
***
“…”
I couldn’t speak as I watched the scene unfolding beyond the screen.
I never thought a play could be like this.
The adventurer party that bravely entered the dungeon first ended up becoming slaves to the Death Knight.
And what about the Kalrn Empire’s knight order?
The knight order also burned by the Wyvern, meeting a tragic end.
‘Well, it seems one person barely survived.’
It was essentially wiped out.
‘I can’t believe THIS is what Celia prepared.’
It could literally be called a massacre by monsters.
It was so brutal.
But it was ironic that it was of help to me even at this moment.
– The Wyvern offers a Knight as a sacrifice.
The opponent I had killed was immediately offered to me as a sacrifice.
And even more so.
– Successfully absorbed the sacrificed Knight.
Absorption of the sacrifice did not cause dizziness, and the time taken was omitted.
– Acquired Knight’s Trait [Basic Aura (E)]. Can be used for enhancement.
“…”
Hmm, not bad.
If you think about it, I’ve been accepting the sacrifices offered by monsters so far, and I have no intention of acting high and mighty now.
“By the way, where is Maru?”
There were a total of three Earth monsters dispatched to this play.
Maru, Azmo, and Betta.
A moment later, the screen’s view switched to another location.
There were Maru and Azmo, and in front of them were Paladins of the White Church.
At the front was a figure with a familiar face.
‘It’s Priest Theodore?’
He was someone I had seen a few times when I was in the White Church.
The problem was the timing.
It had to be Maru he encountered.
Maru is a skeleton priest, an undead monster immune to holy power.
In other words, he is the antithesis of the White Church.
And meeting such a Maru, the result of the battle was predictable without even seeing it.
As expected, the holy power Theodore unleashed caused no damage to Maru.
Angered by this, the priest began to unleash holy power indiscriminately, but the result was the same.
It rather seemed to be strengthening Maru.
And a moment later, the Paladins behind the priest began to charge forward.
But that too was blocked by Azmo.
“Hm?”
What are they doing?
Azmo said something, but it was hard to see due to the battle between Maru and Priest Theodore.
More precisely, the light generated by the priest’s indiscriminate holy power made it difficult to see Azmo and the Paladins.
“Hmph.”
Well, it can’t be helped.
At any rate, I didn’t think Azmo would lose.
Of course, Incubus and men are enemies, but Azmo is a 5-Star monster.
He wouldn’t struggle against Paladins less than ten in number.
“Still, I wanted to see how Azmo fought, which is a shame.”
There was one skill I had recently enhanced for Azmo.
E-rank skill, Rapid Stab.
“Well, I’m sure Azmo will use it well.”
I believed so.
***
Mage adventurer Ludwig.
He was scouting around the dungeon alone.
‘Nothing seems particularly strange.’
This large dungeon, which appeared to be a tomb, had no other paths visible besides its entrance.
As he walked around looking, he noticed someone’s back.
A small figure wearing a luxurious robe.
‘What is it? Was there someone else besides me?’
All the other members were gathered in the open field.
Perhaps a survivor from the adventurers who entered earlier?
‘But I didn’t see any other paths.’
Ludwig, filled with questions, shouted towards him.
“Who goes there!”
But the robed figure didn’t react at all. He stood there unmoving, as if part of the tomb.
“Hey! Can’t you hear me!”
Ludwig sensed something strange.
He focused his mana into his magic staff and slowly approached.
“…”
Finally reaching his back, Ludwig reached out to grab the opponent’s shoulder.
And the moment his hand touched the robe.
“Hm?”
It wasn’t the soft sensation of skin.
It felt like grabbing a dry, cold branch.
A creepy sensation, with no sign of life whatsoever.
At the same time, the robed figure made a creaking sound and slowly turned its head.
“…!”
What was beneath the robe was not a human face.
It was an Arch Lich, Necros, a living corpse.
Ludwig was horrified at the sight. Then, instinctively, he threw himself backward.
Creating a distance of tens of meters in an instant, he aimed the tip of his magic staff at Necros without any delay.
“Why is a monster here!”
It was a question, but he didn’t expect an answer.
Ludwig was a genius in magic.
From the overwhelming magical power and the aura of death emanating from the being before him, he could infer its identity.
‘A Lich?’
No. A Lich couldn’t possess such immense magical power.
The worst possible conclusion surfaced in his mind.
‘Then it’s highly likely an Arch Lich!’
At that moment, cold sweat ran down his spine.
He had no time to think about pride or anything else.
Because he was a genius, he knew with certainty.
The being before him was an opponent he could never defeat alone.
Ludwig’s actions were swift.
He turned around without hesitation.
‘I must escape!’
Unless they joined forces with those in the open field, there was no possibility of fighting that monster.
He gathered his mana and cast a spell.
“Wind!”
As he cast the spell, a powerful vortex of wind arose beneath his feet.
Ludwig rode the wind and fled.
“Chirp?”
But Necros didn’t particularly chase him.
