When I first faced a knight, everything was frozen except for my hearing.
The only thing visible was the scenery of the Burrow family, and my sense of touch and smell were completely nonfunctional.
So, when fighting the knight, I could focus solely on that battle.
Since I wasn’t used to fighting relying on hearing, I struggled at first, but the moment I adapted, I easily brought down the knight.
The following battles weren’t much different.
As soon as I entered a room, the door would close, and the battle would begin, where senses other than hearing were meaningless.
However, there was one key difference.
As the battle progressed, a certain smell began to invade my nostrils.
It wasn’t the freshness of air.
It wasn’t the comfort of antique furniture.
It wasn’t the aroma of tea either.
The scent coming from the room was...
The smell of blood.
The unpleasant odor that wafted out when blood flowed from the human body filled the room.
Perhaps because of that smell.
Even when I should have been concentrating on the fight, the painful faces of the two knights kept flashing in my mind.
The line of corpses I had seen before entering the dungeon came back to haunt me.
At least it was fortunate that the ones attacking me weren’t that strong.
I could knock them down easily even while distracted by other thoughts.
‘...Damn it. Seriously.’
When the battle ended and the frozen scenery of the mansion vanished, what lay before me once again resembled human corpses.
The bodies of maids.
Black maid uniforms gradually stained with thick red, alongside a few bodies with faces so smashed they were unrecognizable.
I knew those were fake, but still, I couldn’t bear the feeling of my stomach turning.
‘If this keeps up, I might lose my voice from choking.’
<...Girl.>
After a while, while I rubbed my sore throat and tried to act calm, the old man spoke in a worried tone.
Ugh. Old man. Why are you so lacking in sense?
At times like this, you should have retorted that it’s better to not have a voice.
It’s no wonder you lost all your women to your companions.
<It’s not about losing them; I’ve only fulfilled my duty as a clergyman. How many times must I say this?!>
‘Yeah. I guess you would.’
<You really!>
In the next battle, Tariki played his tricks again.
This time, the sense that emerged was touch.
The sensation of a viscous liquid with every step I took.
The touch of powerless hands grabbing at my ankles.
The feeling of something desperately trying to block my path.
If it had only been touch, I could have ignored it.
However, that sensation was intertwined with the smell.
The smell of blood.
The smell of a person blocking my path.
The nauseating odor wafting from decaying corpses.
It drove me insane.
Honestly, I considered it a miracle that I had been able to take down the monsters without any injuries.
If the monsters had been even a bit stronger, I would have already been lying on the ground, facing my fears.
After the battle ended.
Naturally, there were several corpses lying on the floor.
The scene was a mess, as if the protagonist of an action movie had passed through, making me let out a hollow laugh.
What was curious was that I hadn’t felt any urge to vomit at that sight.
Was it that there was nothing left to regurgitate?
Maybe I had grown accustomed to such scenes.
Either way, it wasn’t a bad thing.
Throwing up was quite a burdensome task.
Dragging my gaze away from the scene in the room, I forced my stiff legs to move upward.
After that, several more battles ensued.
Sometimes on the stairs.
Sometimes in a room.
Sometimes in the hallway.
The monsters ambushed me, taking advantage of the fact that my sight was compromised, and every time the battle raged on, Tariki’s malice surrounded me.
While fighting in the Burrow mansion, the ground beneath my feet was always a mire of blood.
The unidentified people lingering around me constantly tried to hinder my movements.
The bizarre scents I could only experience in hell clung to my nose.
By the time the battles ended, the area around me always resembled a hellscape that had clearly been visited by a serial killer.
And every time I passed through that scene, my steps became heavier than before.
How long did this continue?
When I finally regained my senses, I found myself standing in front of the Burrow mansion's office.
"Have you arrived?"
Hoping desperately that this place was the boss room, the moment I opened the door, a voice echoed from the center of the room.
It was a face I hadn’t seen in a long time.
An unnecessarily serious and pretentious middle schooler.
Tall, yet just tall with an empty head.
Tariki’s apostle.
Nakradr was seated at the desk in the office.
...Ah. More accurately, it should be called Nakradr's illusion. Since there’s no actual body there.
"How was the dungeon I carefully created for you? I would be delighted if you enjoyed it."
The moment I saw Nakradr, buried in his chair with a smile, blood rushed down my spine.
"Yeah♡ It was fun♡ Watching the creativity of a shut-in Evil God stuck in a hole was quite the sight♡"
So I spoke up first.
I didn’t know whether this was a trap prepared by Nakradr or not.
I didn’t even know if this was the real boss room.
It was hard to guess what kind of outcome this provocation would bring.
But one thing was certain.
Seeing the frown on Nakradr’s forehead made it clear he was listening to my voice.
And if Nakradr was listening to my words, then Tariki was also paying attention to what I had to say.
That was enough.
I would think about the aftermath later.
Right now, it was more important to repay those bastards who tormented me.
"Honestly, I had no expectations of you useless guys♡ One’s a shut-in Evil God who got beaten by a human and got stuck in a hole♡ The other’s an apostle who fled after being schooled while whining like a baby♡ Naturally, I thought you’d be pathetic♡"
"This girl right now..."
"Puhaha♡ But you exceeded my expectations?♡ You were so pathetic that it was actually fun!♡"
Halfway through, Nakradr tried to refute me, but I pressed down with my voice.
With the aid of the mesugaki skill, my voice was clearer than anyone else's.
No matter how loud you yelled, it was impossible to cut through this voice.
"With the delusional idea of tormenting me by stealing my senses like some psycho, since you can’t win me face-to-face, you’re resorting to torturing my mind, huh?♡ You’re such a coward that even after doing this ridiculous crap, you still want to show your face and provoke me!♡ So this is what it takes to become a pathetic trash who imitates a scoundrel and follows it up with stupidity?♡ I’m seriously impressed!♡"
As Nakradr slammed his fist on the desk, he stood up, but there was no sound. He had no physical form.
"Why?♡ Why don’t you attack?♡ Ah~♡ You don’t have the confidence to win, do you?♡ This tiny and cute girl is scaring you, huh?♡ Right?♡"
"..."
"Puh♡ You coward!♡"
Ha. Why did you challenge me verbally?
You’re just a sad excuse for a human who can only bully the weak.
How pathetic you are.
It was hard to bear Nakradr’s distorted face as he vanished without another word.
Hmm. Since there’s no retaliation, it seems this isn’t the real boss room. If it were somewhere prepared for a fight, he wouldn’t have been able to hold back from attacking me after the provocation.
In the end, it felt like I had taken a futile step, but it was a good thing I came here first. Watching that bastard Nakradr’s face crumple made me feel much better.
After leaving the office, I stretched my body while sketching the layout of the Burrow mansion in my mind.
If this isn’t the boss room, then there’s only one place left.
I had no hesitation in my steps as I moved forward.
After countless battles, the picturesque scene of the Burrow family had long since collapsed.
There were no gaps in the blood and corpses-filled landscape, so there was no reason to move cautiously.
After moving quickly, I arrived at the place where Nakradr’s dungeon entrance had once been.
The room of the dead firstborn son of the Burrow family.
The moment I opened the door without hesitation, a meadow appeared before me.
A vast meadow located behind the Burrow family’s territory.
In that expansive area, only two people were present.
One was a child who couldn’t have been older than ten.
The face of the boy wielding a slightly oversized wooden spear showed a glimpse of untainted innocence.
And facing that boy was clearly an adult who had already undergone the rites of passage.
The man, evading the boy’s effortless thrusts, offered praise and various advice, clearly showing affection toward the boy.
Since they were unfamiliar faces, it would be normal to be curious about their identities, but I had no interest in who they were.
As this place was set against the backdrop of the Burrow mansion.
And since I had opened the door to the room of the firstborn son of the Burrow family and stepped into the meadow.
The identities of the two were already determined.
The small one was Jackal Burrow.
And the larger one was definitely the dead brother of Jackal.
Ah, so the memory of the brother is acting as the keystone of this dungeon, huh?
As expected, it’s typical for someone like a child who can’t live without their brother.
Letting out a chuckle, I prepared for battle.
Gripping my mace once more.
Tightening the strap on my shield.
Donning divinity upon my body.
Although there were more damaged parts than intact ones due to the rush here without a break.
It was fine.
If I could smash my fist into Jackal’s face, I could endure this level of penalty.
Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.
As I finished all the preparations I could make, the brothers of the Burrow family stopped their sparring.
Both of their gazes fixed on me.
"Who goes there?"
With a wary look, the elder son of the Burrow family approached, while the frightened Jackal Burrow hid behind him.
Seeing their forms, I got a rough idea of what the boss battle would entail.
Considering the fact that this dungeon had tried to gnaw away at my sanity, it was obvious what kind of ending it was preparing.
"Answer me!"
"Or what will you do?"♡
Let’s start by hitting them a bit.
Until the build-up inside me releases a little.