Chapter 10: Dungeon O-S (3)
“The heretics’ intention for occupying the dungeon is clear. To break the seal set by the Gods and free the forces of the malevolent God they worship.”
“For this, they use various gruesome rituals to weaken the power of the seal.”
“Eating human flesh is also part of such rituals.”
“So, like human sacrifice?”
Carla, who had been munching on honey-soaked apples instead of meat skewers, tilted her head.
“Similar, but to be precise, it’s not offering a human life but the act of consuming one.”
The God of Tainted Unity.
This deity was related to gluttony.
Monsters that followed the God of Tainted Unity performed such acts, and the blessings bestowed upon their followers shared this same theme.
“It’s something I learned at the academy. You’re talking about gluttonous monsters like Sand Worms or Slimes, right?”
“You’re well-informed, as expected from the top student.”
“Hehehe.”
“Well, you’re my slave now.”
“Ah…”
Carla’s face went through rapid transitions of delight and gloom.
Seeing this, I chuckled, and then she timidly asked,
“Um… Master? It’s not that I don’t trust you. Really, absolutely not. But, um… should I say that I don’t trust myself? So what I’m trying to say is…”
“Just say it honestly.”
“Is it really possible for me to clear it? I mean, there aren’t just monsters but heretics as well…”
Was it because her confidence had been shaken by her slave training? Or was she overestimating the dungeon and the heretics?
Either way, I didn’t like it, so instead of answering, I lightly slapped her rear.
Smack.
“Kyah!”
Carla jumped on the spot, clutching her rear end.
Already drawing curious glances due to her new equipment, her scream now made all eyes focus on her.
Blushing deeply from the shame of being slapped in the rear in front of all these people, Carla lowered her head.
I playfully pinched her rear and pulled her towards me.
“Shh. We were in the middle of an important discussion.”
“It’s because you slapped my rear, Master…”
“So it’s my fault now?”
“No, no! It’s my fault! I’m sorry!”
Although I was just teasing her lightly, Carla frantically shook her head, denying it.
But that wasn’t all.
Sway, sway.
She even awkwardly wiggled her rear end against my hand, clinging to me.
Seeing her naturally grind her rear against my hand, the corner of my mouth involuntarily twitched upward.
She wanted to be cherished, and now she knew how to act cute as well.
“Hmm, fine then.”
Pat, pat.
I gave her rear a few reassuring pats, and finally, Carla breathed out a relieved smile.
Anyway, should we get back to the point?
“So Carla, you’re still feeling anxious, even after I told you it’s going to be fine? That’s audacious.”
“No, I… I fully intend to obey your orders! Really!”
“Big Mouth.”
“…What?”
“This dungeon is a wetland field, and the main monster is called Big Mouth. I’ve already located the boss, too.”
Big Mouth was a monster with an abnormally developed head, resembling a giant frog.
Thanks to its large size, Big Mouth could swallow prey larger than itself in one gulp. Its entire body was covered in a special mucus that granted it a strong resistance to physical attacks.
Despite its comical appearance, it was actually a rather formidable monster… Although it ranked relatively low in terms of danger.
That was because Big Mouth had a very distinct weakness: heat.
If you could accurately hit its weak point, even a low-level fire spell could take it down. It was practically a cakewalk for mages.
The only issue was the vast size of the dungeon and the sheer number of monsters in it…
But I already knew the boss’s location.
That meant we wouldn’t waste time getting lost or use up our magic energy fighting lesser creatures.
Upon hearing this, Carla swallowed nervously.
“How did you manage to… Ah, no, if Master says so, I’m sure it’ll work out. But what about the Cultists?”
“Don’t worry about them. Someone else will take care of them. Well, you should still be cautious. We might miss a few.”
“Ah? Do you have collaborators?”
Carla looked around, pretending to search for collaborators.
Then I nudged her side and pointed to a nearby street vendor.
“First, cast a spell at that kebab stand.”
“…What? Ah, he is a collaborator? Should I use messenger magic?”
“No? He’s a Cultist. Those are human meat skewers.”
“……?”
Carla looked back and forth between me and the vendor, visibly confused.
It sounded unbelievable, but it was true.
Right under that street vendor was an unholy altar of fusion.
Whenever customers bought skewers, they unknowingly offered the sin of consuming human flesh to the altar.
It was impossible to guess from the outside.
“For now, cast a Fireball. Do it as slowly as possible, aiming not at the vendor or the owner but to destroy the ground beneath them.”
“Uh…”
Carla hesitated for a moment, watching my expressions, but then she seemed to make up her mind and raised her staff.
I thought I might have to give her a direct command, but it didn’t seem necessary.
“Flame, rise.”
It was a brief two-line spell.
Whoosh.
Then, a large fireball appeared above Carla’s staff.
Instead of firing immediately, it continued to consume magical energy, growing in size. And people started to focus their attention on the growing flame.
Fire was an easily understandable threat, even to those ignorant of magic.
There was a moment of silence. Then, chaos ensued.
“Magic… in the middle of the city?”
“Ah, aaaah!”
“Run! Call the guards! Call the guards!”
People around us started scattering in all directions.
Except for one person: the kebab shop owner.
“Grrr!”
His face contorted wildly, realizing our intentions.
If he stepped back, the floor would crumble, revealing the altar. And even if he withstood it physically, it was uncertain if he could fully endure the impact of the fireball.
Especially considering the amount of magic Carla had poured into it.
There was only one course of action left for him.
“Aaaa-!”
The kebab shop owner opened his mouth wide, wider, and wider until it stretched almost to his chest.
Carla’s expression hardened. Whether it was due to the jaw’s range exceeding human limitations or not, she looked stern.
For her, Cultists represented the evil source that led her father astray and reduced her to slavery.
It was an expected reaction, all things considered.
Ironically, he’d later become the Saint of an Evil God, but that future wouldn’t come to pass.
Because I’d make sure he wouldn’t.
As I prepared a contingency plan, focusing my mind on a necklace imbued with shield magic…
The Cultist, whose mouth had opened to its limit, starts to wince, as if chewing on something forcibly.
Void devouring, or in simpler terms, a long-range bite.
If he closed his mouth as is, a chunk of Carla’s flesh would be ripped off.
The spell she had cast, with much effort, would disperse into thin air from the impact or explode right where it was.
But that didn’t happen.
Because Carla’s magic was faster than the Cultist could close his mouth.
“Accelerate. Fireball.”
She added a line to her incantation.
With the continuous infusion of magical energy, the fireball, now three times its original size, was launched at an insane speed.
Whoosh!
The Cultist was engulfed in scorching heat before he could even close his mouth halfway.
He turned into a black lump of charcoal before he had a chance to scream.
Yet Carla’s spell didn’t lose momentum even after completely incinerating the enemy.
That was because the Fireball wasn’t a single-target spell–it was an area spell.
BOOM!
There was a deafening explosion.
With just one spell, the kebab stall vanished without a trace. All that remained was a large hole leading to an underground passage.
“Huh…”
I turned to Carla, startled by the spell’s potency, only to find her…
“Hic!”
She was hiccupping, her face even more surprised than mine.
“No, what are you going to do if you’re like this?”
“Zzhuin…hiccup. Sir, this staff is amazing… Hic.”
“Didn’t the Lindelheit family use even better staves when they were well off? Even though they were expensive, they were attainable with money.”
“We had good staves at home, but… I was told I couldn’t use them until I graduated from the academy because they might impede my skill improvement…”
I understood it.
If one’s equipment was too good, one might mistake its performance for their own skill.
She went to the academy to learn, so her focus should be on learning, not the equipment.
Maybe Carla was more skilled than I originally thought.
Nodding, I looked down at the ground that still retained some heat… at the large hole at its center.
In the distance, I saw an unsettling altar made of an unknown mix of flesh and bones. And there was a strange flicker of light a bit further away from it.
Just as I had expected.
With a smug smile, I put a flick on Carla’s forehead, who was still distractedly staring at her staff.
Thwack.
“Yikes!”
“Focus. We need to go inside before the Cultists assess the situation.”
“…Okay!”
The fall was quite deep, but not so deep that we couldn’t jump down.
Grimacing at her forehead, Carla put on a serious face again as we both jumped down into the underground.
Thump.
“Eek.”
The sight of the gruesome altar up close made Carla grimace, but only for a moment.
Soon, she opened her mouth cautiously.
“Uh… Master? If we don’t have any other companions or allies, who will deal with the Cultists that will come later?”
“The guards.”
“Excuse me?”
“The people who ran away earlier probably reported the incident to the guards. They’ll fight in our stead.”
“……”
Carla tilted her head, looking skeptical.
What was the issue?
Gef City was part of the Levantine Empire, and the Levantine Empire was the nation that strictly prohibited cult activities the most.
Not only did they expose the presence of underground Cultists, but they also cleared a dungeon?
“They should actually reward us for this.”
Then I reached toward the flickering light behind the altar.
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