78 – Episode 78. Leaf City (5)
“This is the final check.”
“Oh, it’s already the third time, Captain.”
“We can’t skip the final check. That’s the rule.”
“Yes, yes.”
I heard that people have started underestimating the Black Star Dungeon these days.
But for heaven’s sake, how many of them are there?
Eight?
Are these guys so ignorant that they treat the Black Star Dungeon like a joke?
Even if they’re veterans, they should at least have one combat unit with a minimum of eight members and two reserve units to rotate and fight.
With just one combat unit, if even one person makes a mistake, the whole group will collapse like falling dominos.
“Oh, damn. That was supposed to be established later.”
I mixed up the timeline.
The tactic of having two reserve units is for much later.
It’s a tactic that will be established after even more blood is shed in the Black Star Dungeon.
So, entering so recklessly like that…
“There’s no way to stop them.”
They’re not easily swayed.
If they were the kind of people who would go back after hearing that the Black Star Dungeon is dangerous, they wouldn’t have travelled all the way here from the Southern Continent on a train.
There is only one way to stop those guys.
I have to reveal myself as the Black Star Slayer and prevent them.
But even if I suddenly claim to be the Black Star Slayer, they probably won’t believe me······.
This is just hopeless.
“Let’s start getting nervous! It seems like strong monsters will appear from now on since we’ve only dealt with small fry so far!”
“Yes!”
‘If you don’t know, you’ll die.’
All the rules of the world are meant to be broken.
Their deaths will serve as a good advertisement for the danger of the Black Star Dungeon.
I quietly hide behind a rock and watch as mercenaries enter the dungeon one by one.
“The indigenous people who went ahead will take care of the traps and monsters and die. They’re conserving their health in this way. It’s really economical! Like this, the dungeon······. Huh? Where are you going?”
“Follow me.”
Of course, I can’t just let them die.
If they die, the fear of the Black Star Dungeon will spread again.
I’d rather be reckless and actively attempt to conquer it, which is more advantageous for me.
.
.
.
“Huh······.”
30 minutes into entering the dungeon.
The deputy leader, who had stopped still, let out a faint sigh.
He thought he had made all the necessary preparations.
Since challenging the Black Star Dungeon went against the Mercenary Council’s policy, he had to be even more thorough in his preparations.
He had only selected elite troops from within the mercenaries’ ranks.
And until recently, they had undergone intense training.
They had also not neglected the preliminary investigations.
“This was originally where the Clock Tower was, right?”
“Yes. That’s correct. They say the one in the city collapsed and this new one was built.”
“Why did it collapse?”
“No one knows. It just suddenly collapsed by itself on the day of completion······.”
Location of the dungeon, the terrain, and so on.
I gathered all the information available about the dungeon.
I didn’t overlook anything that seemed insignificant at first glance.
We discussed tactics tirelessly, day and night.
Everyone expected it to be a tough fight.
The tension was so high that we even cracked jokes to ease the atmosphere.
But, but…
“Why is this so easy?”
Despite our preparations, the difficulty of the dungeon was not only easy, but too easy.
It was confusing.
Of course, it was not a dungeon to be taken lightly.
The types of monsters that appeared during the journey kept changing.
In the beginning, it was mainly undead creatures like skeletons and zombies.
But then, midway through, mechanical (?) monsters started appearing.
“Have you seen these kind of monsters before?”
“No, this is my first time.”
It was different from what we had investigated, but we decided not to make a big deal out of it.
The number of monsters was small, and they weren’t particularly strong.
They simply attacked on their own, with their mechanical arms or industrial excavators.
Unlike monsters filled with evil intent towards humans.
Destroying these machines didn’t require much effort.
Usually, if you targeted the power source, they would stop, so their weaknesses were clear and intuitive.
“It looks like a new type of monster.”
“I think so too. We should report to the Mercenary Council.”
It had been over 10 years since the first dungeon appeared.
The classification of monster types and lineages had already been completed 5 years ago.
But the things we encountered here were definitely not malfunctions or rampaging machines, they were monsters.
“This is where the road diverges. Should we call them monster corpses… or machine fragments? Anyway, should we take what we’ve destroyed and go back to report to the Mercenary Council? Or should we finish conquering the dungeon first? By the way, we’re about halfway there.”
The time for decision had come.
Contrary to our expectations, a new type of monster had appeared.
So far, it had only been relatively easy monsters to deal with.
Ahead, it was impossible to know just how dangerous things might be lurking.
Facing a new type of monster, they had to be even more cautious.
“We have to move forward! Surely you’re not thinking of turning back here, Commander?”
“Are you scared?”
“These guys…”
The responses from the troops didn’t deviate at all from what was expected.
Perhaps it was because they had gathered only the most aggressive and brave individuals in the mercenary group.
None of the troops seemed to have any intention of stopping here.
“Alright! Let’s go!”
At this point, even the Commander wanted to see the end of the dungeon.
It was well known that turning back here would be the safer option.
It was best to report on the new monster, check if similar monsters had been reported, and then challenge again.
But it felt like a waste to dampen the current momentum.
This expedition had to inject vitality into the mercenary group, which had been filled with a sense of defeat.
In the midst of the Black Star Dungeon, which had been overrun by the Black Star Butcher, now numbering in the double digits.
They had to show some success in conquering the Black Star Dungeon by any means necessary.
And as quickly as possible.
This was no time for arrogance or negligence.
They were fully prepared.
At least, that’s what the Commander and the troops thought.
“It’s getting pretty dark from here on. Let’s light the torches.”
“Alright!”
Up to the middle, the structure was like the tunnels of a mine.
Although the path was quite rugged, there were lights attached to the ceiling.
But as they approached the end, the structure abruptly changed.
It was still a tunnel, but it didn’t look man-made.
Even the size of the tunnel had decreased, making it difficult to pass without bending at the waist.
“Ouch!”
They groaned as they bumped their heads against the ceiling in various places.
In a quiet tunnel,
The only sounds that could be heard were the members’ heavy breathing and footsteps.
Beyond the endlessly stretching tunnel, there was nothing but a deep abyss.
It would have been better if traps or monsters had sprung out instead.
Since nothing was springing out, the tension kept rising endlessly, and it felt like our hearts would burst.
“Captain, what is this sound?”
“What? What sound?”
“Don’t joke around, you fool. You should joke according to the situation.”
“It’s true! Even the guys behind us heard it!”
“Where is the woman’s voice coming from…!”
Just as the vice captain was about to retort in an annoyed voice,
The sound that came from the end of the tunnel caught our attention.
We raised our shields and prepared for the impact.
“I hate you… hate… hate…”
From far away,
Along with a cold wind, a woman’s voice reached us.
But it was mixed with noise.
The audio quality was not good, clearly a recorded voice.
It seemed like it was coming from a hidden recorder somewhere.
There was absolutely no reason to be afraid.
The elite members who had crossed countless battle lines before.
Those who were willing to face the fear of death and sacrifice themselves.
They wouldn’t be scared by such a voice.
“Should we turn back?”
“Yes. Let’s turn back. I’ve been wanting to leave because I’m getting tired.”
“Oh, my head hurts. I hit it on the ceiling often because I’m tall. I might hurt my head badly, so it’s better to hurry and leave.”
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“Yeah, right. We’re not scared at all, that’s for sure.”
“No, definitely not.”
Opinions were quickly in agreement, all at once.
They were not scared at all, but anyway, it meant they had to go out.
The steadfast members turned without hesitation and headed in the opposite direction.
As they turned, amidst the loud noise of the drums, a subtle sound caught the attention of the vice captain who naturally found himself at the rear.
It sounded like metal scraping against stone.
“Hey. Hand me the torch.”
“Here it is.”
Even with the torch in hand, they could only see a few steps ahead.
The vice captain promptly threw the torch inside the tunnel.
“Huh?”
“Oh.”
A shadow was cast in the tunnel, revealing the silhouette of a person.
It was the silhouette of a person, but not quite a person.
Awkwardly, the figure gradually approached.
As it neared the torch, a face frozen in a melted state was revealed.
[Hate······ Hate······ Hate······]
“Paper doll?”
The lips did not move.
Instead, a sound emanated from inside the abdomen.
The silicone had already fallen off, leaving only the rusted metal framework of the leg.
It was a paper doll.
It had once sparkled in this city before disappearing······.
So, where did all the paper dolls that used to roam the streets go?
Today, that mystery was solved.
“Prepare for battle!”
“Ready!”
The vice captain and the members brandished their swords.
Since this was a dungeon, there was nothing to take lightly.
But soon, a problem arose.
“It’s not just one······?”
The shadows reflected in the torch began to lengthen.
Suddenly, the condition of the ten or so leaf dolls varied.
Some crawled towards us with only their arms, their lower bodies missing.
Some approached, stumbling forward without their heads.
Those things are dangerous.
The mercenary’s intuition spoke like that.
“Escape at full speed!”
“Yes, yes!”
As soon as the command was given,
The soldiers behind quickly began to evacuate.
The deputy leader, confirming that the soldiers were moving away rapidly, raised his shield up to his chest and prepared to withstand.
[Hate…hate…hate…]
The leaf dolls rushed towards us.
The deputy leader braced himself for the impact.
“Gah!”
Finally, there was a loud clash as the iron nuggets collided with the shield.
If it weren’t for his innate characteristic, ‘World-renowned swordsman,’ he would have been overwhelmed by the impact.
If he didn’t have a shield, his waist might have been broken by now…
Even though it felt like his waist would break at any moment, the deputy leader gritted his teeth and defended with his legs stretched back.
It was an enormous force.
If the terrain wasn’t this narrow, he would have been torn apart by those sharp iron fingers long ago.
The iron fingers extended through the gap in the shield, scratching his face and piercing his side, but the deputy leader didn’t even flinch.
‘Just hold on until all the soldiers escape to a wider area, then fight while piercing through the narrow entrance in the wide area!’
Just a little more to endure.
Until all the soldiers escape.
That was the determination.
But then,
“Damn it! Some of them slipped through!”
A legless leaf doll instantly passed through the gap between his legs.
One, and then another.
Through a small gap, another leaf doll passed through and ran towards the back.
“They’re all going to die!”
It was a big problem.
Even with such a strong shield and the title of ‘the best in the world’, just standing here was a huge feat.
When the other members faced them in this narrow space, it was instant death.
And if the members died, the vice-captain would have no way out either.
The only future was to die from being attacked from all sides.
“aaah! They’ve got my leg!”
“Get off!”
“Ah! This guy is strong! My ankle! My ankle! It’s broken!”
Amidst the screams of the members from behind, the vice-captain fell into panic, not knowing what to do.
At this rate, they were all going to die.
There seemed to be no way to overcome this situation.
What should I do…
In the midst of this, the melted face doll reached out and grabbed the edge of the shield with its finger, facing the vice-captain with a pale, terrified face.
“Huuk?!”
And then, suddenly, instead of pushing the shield, it pulled it.
Due to the sudden change in the direction of force, there was no time to respond.
Being pulled forward, the vice-captain suddenly found the rusty iron pieces of the doll’s hand reaching out in front of him.
This is how I’m going to die.
The iron club came crashing down towards his chest.
As the vice-captain tightly shut his eyes…
“Huh?!”
He felt a strong force pulling him.
His body floated in the air.
With a swoosh, he flew through the tunnel.
His vision suddenly changed, and before he knew it, he was bouncing out into a wide space and rolling on the ground.
Looking up, he saw that his men were also floundering in confusion.
They too seem to have been thrown off balance by that ‘invisible force’.
“You are…”
Then they saw.
A man and a child, standing steadfast at the mouth of the tunnel.
[I hate… hate… hate…!]
Wind-up toys, rushing out swiftly from within the tunnel, accompanied by a machinelike growl.
Nonchalantly, as if it’s nothing significant, the man murmured:
“Shoot.”
“Okay.”
Boom!
A flash of light erupted from the girl’s fingertips.
The tunnel interior was engulfed in a glaring blaze.
The iron masses that were charging got melted away in an instant.
Silence settled back into the tunnel.
In the midst of the still flickering embers.
The mercenaries stood agape, unable to utter a word.
‘He’s the Black Star Massacre.’
They all had the same thought.