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Translator: penny
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: Abyss of the Deep Valley, Erebos 235 - Abyss of the Deep Valley, Erebos #5
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After a brief rest by the campfire, we set off again.
Was it because we'd basked in the light and warmth of the bright flames? My steps felt a bit stronger, and my confidence in my shoulders seemed to have grown a little.
"At this rate, I wonder if we'll even find your elf party members."
Of course, not everything was going well.
We didn't even know where we were, and we hadn't seen so much as a glimpse of where Elfriede's party might be stranded.
We'd only been trapped here for half a day, yet we were already facing these dangers.
It was easy to imagine the dire straits Elfriede's party must be in after three full days down here.
They might already be too late.
We might not even find their bodies.
Such thoughts swirled in my mind. Maybe it would be faster just to find our way out.
If I was thinking that way, then our party leader, Hippolyte, must have been wrestling with even more worries.
Our supplies weren't abundant, and all around us was nothing but darkness, with no telling what might leap out.
No one could call this a good situation.
As we trudged along in that vague haze, strange patterns and designs began to emerge beneath our feet, illuminated by our torches.
"Sis, check this out."
Antiope was the first to react to the markings. Fitting for someone who etched tattoos into her skin—she must have had an eye for patterns and logos.
We halted.
"Pretty interesting drawing."
We all stopped and examined the massive design sprawled across the ground.
The floor featured a circle the size of a sports field, filled with an irregular array of letters and images.
It felt like a giant pizza etched into the floor.
What the hell—pizza? What kind of thought was crossing my mind right now?
To shake it off, I glanced at the others' reactions. Hippolyte, arms crossed, was rubbing at the floor's magic circle with her greaves.
Of course, it didn't smudge or erase.
"Do you know what it is? Related to the exit?"
"Looks like a magic circle. I've seen something like this in the knight order before—wait, what was it? Something connected to the Gnostics."
Hippolyte asked Antiope, who was scratching her head.
"Gnostics?"
"These heretics who've been rising lately. They think this material world and fleshly Saha realm are steeped in evil. They're seekers of some perfect spiritual world out there somewhere."
"This world is evil? Interesting bunch."
"They even consider the gods who created this world demons. That's why they're hunted down on sight. Their leaders are ghosts—no one's laid eyes on a single hair of theirs, so it's a headache."
Antiope's explanation brought to mind the temple knight order that hunted down heretics.
Their mission wasn't just dealing with Pluto cultists; they seemed to purge anything threatening the kingdom or the established faith.
Gnostics, huh.
They saw this physical world as evil and called the gods who made its materials demons.
In a world where religion and faith held such weight, could there be a more blasphemous, horrifying cult?
As I pondered that, Antiope, who had been rubbing the magic circle on the floor with her sandals, continued.
"Their biggest problem is believing there's a perfect realm of pure good beyond this material world—a wholly different spiritual realm."
"An intriguing perspective."
"Yeah, exactly. It'd be fine if it stopped there, but the real issue is they keep trying to tear open rifts to other dimensions and the cosmos. This... this is a gate."
"A gate?"
"A pretty massive one. A summoning circle. A Gnostic summoning circle down in this deep abyss. Damn it, no idea what they were trying to pull."
Antiope shuddered as she finished speaking.
At that very moment, Elfriede, who had knelt to the floor and was running her palms over this so-called summoning circle, spoke up.
"This summoning circle has already lost its power. No mana residue means something's already burst through into this world."
Elfriede was a proper mage with real skill in handling mana. At her words, I gripped the hand holding my torch tightly.
Something had already emerged from this summoning circle the size of a small field?
No clue what it could be.
A chill raced down my spine as Hippolyte summed it up.
"A summoning circle this huge. Were they trying to call a god from another world?"
"No."
Antiope, her sister, corrected her.
"A god? In their terms, it'd be a demon."
That ended the discussion of the magic circle. Their lips twitched as if they wanted to say more.
Maybe they were holding back for fear of invoking something. But there was no time to debate it.
Flashing lights—red eyes began glowing around us.
Shing.
Hippolyte drew her sword from its sheath at her waist.
Unlike her subdued demeanor moments ago, she looked like a different person once armed, her expression fierce.
"Finally showing yourselves, you abyss hounds."
"A bit late to the party, but yeah. Sis, I'll cover the rear like we planned! Block the front good!"
Antiope drew her short spear from her waist and pointed it every which way. Massive static electricity crackled from its tip.
Hippolyte raised her voice in surprise.
"You, that just now—"
But Hippolyte couldn't finish.
The red-eyed lurkers in the darkness charged us.
Gehak!
Gehaak!
They let out horrific shrieks.
Revealed in the torchlight, they were even more nightmarish—like human torsos severed at the waist, leaving only the upper halves.
Sun-deprived skin a pale, ashen gray.
Bald heads, faces so flat you couldn't make out eyes, nose, or mouth. Their grotesque forms made my hair stand on end.
Gehak!
"Sh-shit, there's a ton of these Voldemorts!"
They crawled toward me on their arms. No idea how they moved so fast, but soon they were clinging to my legs, scaling my body.
Upper-body-only Voldemorts slithering over me—the stuff of nightmares, top three worst sensations of my life.
"Get off me, you bastards—!"
I kicked and swung my club to shake them off.
Kicking away the one on my right leg shattered skulls with a crack, bodies going limp.
Despite their vicious looks, they weren't that tough.
I can handle this?
Confidence surged through me.
"Die, you shitstains!"
As I reared back to smash one's skull—
Crackle—zap—the electricity ramped up max, and Antiope hoisted her spear over her shoulder, hurling it at the monsters while shouting.
"Judgment—!"
Zzzzzap.
The white-hot spear sliced through the featureless fiends' heads, unleashing chain lightning everywhere.
It fried everything in sight as it arced from body to body—an impressive sight even to me.
She extended her palm into the air.
Sucking in the trash mobs like some bloodletting? No such luck—just the spear returning.
Come to think of it, that spear Gungnir or whatever had some auto-return enchantment.
"Perfect. I can get even stronger."
Zap, crackle.
Antiope ran her hand down her spear Gungnir from tip to base. Static sparked, the magic spear charging with electricity again.
Impressive, but the way she built it up made my junk twitch. Such a lewd ultimate casting.
"God's—Judg—ment!"
Another spear flash from Antiope's hand.
*
*
*
The monsters we'd slain were called Dust. Born from negative thoughts and dust swirling in the abyss.
We took down fifty-three in total.
Three by me. The other fifty by the women. Mostly Antiope's slaughter under the guise of testing her new power.
I'd worried about navigating this darkness, but it seemed unfounded.
What a strong party.
It hit me then—Antiope calling us a luxurious lineup before we set out.
"Nothing useful on them."
Hippolyte poked through the Dust corpses with her foot. Nothing worthwhile, as she said.
"They're same-rank trash mobs. What good loot you gonna get? Abyss-corrupted—can't even make gear from their parts."
Despite the haul, these Dust were worthless small fry. Ugly as sin, though.
I drew my half-sharpened dagger and sliced into one fiend's back and spine. Between the muscles gleamed stark white bones.
Nice bones. Prime undead material.
But raising goblins here could spark chaos, so no dice.
"Burn the corpses, bones and all. Can't risk what might happen."
Even Hippolyte ordered them reduced to ash, leaving me no choice.
We fought more Dust after, same story.
"Hasan, how many fire almonds left?"
"Just one, ma'am."
"Damn, only one. Fine for Dust trash, but prolonged abyss exposure—who knows what'll happen."
Torches would burn out after a couple more lights.
Facing small fry in that pinch stressed Hippolyte hard.
"Antiope, how many more times can you use that electric power? Looked handy."
"Dunno. Gotta test it."
"I see. Sigh, so much to consider."
Party leader life—more worries than most.
With Antiope, Hippolyte, and Elfriede around, I wasn't exerting much, so my mind and stamina held up better.
Felt like dozing in the back of the bus.
Anything I could do? A spark hit me, and I turned to Hippolyte.
"Lemme see your hand. Take off the gauntlet."
"M-my hand? Why mine?"
"I'll give it a rub."
"A rub? My hand?"
"Might perk you up."
"Everyone's right here. You wanna massage my hand now?"
"It's just a massage. What's the problem?"
"Hmm, well, no problem. None at all."
Hippolyte finally slid off her right gauntlet. Her exposed hand was sweaty.
Blushing, she wiped it on her greave.
"...Here, here you go."
I pressed into her palm fully. Surprisingly soft for a swordswoman—always catches me off guard.
"No calluses at all. You get treatments?"
"Obviously. For Amazons like me, strength is beauty. Beauty is strength. Daily training and grooming, no skips."
Makes sense.
Luna does face packs and foot baths where I can't see.
Hippolyte must primp in private too.
Anyway, not the point.
With the darkness fraying nerves, I applied thumb pressure like waking a sleepy person—acupressure stabs.
"Uwaaaaa...."
She shrieked and shuddered as I hit a pressure point.
"Ughaa. Spine's tingling. Always knew you had weird hand skills—grr."
"Hey, what? Why only sis? Do mine too!"
Antiope grumbled, watching. Ended up massaging hers too.
Antiope's palm had slight calluses, unlike Hippolyte's. More effort?
"Uwaaak—!"
But just as sensitive—screamed like she was dying from a light press.
"Ow—! It hurts!!"
Hippolyte tsked like scolding a kid.
"Such a wimp, Antiope. That's why you're still green."
"My mind's—wide awake—! Stop, st-stop! Enough!"
Antiope yelped too much, so the massage ended quick. Teary-eyed, she looked shocked awake.
Elfriede was left.
I glanced her way, and she flinched.
"Why, you need mine too?"