452 - Expedition #3

The skeletons were aiming for the lantern I was holding.

I hadn't learned how to read the speech or emotions of the undead, but seeing how they persistently clung only to my left arm to attack, I could tell clearly.

This lantern was a kind of item that increased aggro levels.

I began to think that perhaps the reason these armed skeletons appeared on the snowy fields of Kalan was because of the lantern I was holding.

━Geiyaaaaaak-!

"You son of a bitch, who are you calling gay!"

Of course, the important thing right now was dealing with the swarming skeletons.

Paseuseuk-.

Paseuseuk-.

━Geruaaaak-!

━Geiyiik-!

The snowy field was continuously producing the dead as if it were a factory.

Even if I swung my arm once and wrecked three or four skeleton soldiers, five, ten, or twenty more dead were constantly being born in the wide plains, so it was maddening.

It felt as if this land itself was my enemy.

Of course, right now I felt like I could face the undead all day long, but I had the variable of my companions, and there was a chance the lantern might break from my violent movements.

Girik, girik-.

Ppigeok-.

In fact, the lantern was making an unstable sound as if it would break at any moment from my intense movements.

Was this the skeletons' plan?

To use such cowardly tricks instead of competing fairly with skill.

"Fuck, you cowardly skeleton bastards! I won't forgive you!"

━Ge, gerureuk.

As expected, undead bastards generally have no conscience.

It's not for nothing that those who practice necromancy are branded as cultists and oppressed. Undead and necromancers are evil bastards you should never associate with.

I asked toward the back.

"Guys, isn't there some way? There are too many of them!?"

"Hassan, hold on for a bit-! I'll try to set up a Rejection Totem-! Paranoy! Give me the hammer, the chisel, and log number 2-!"

"Understood-ssi...!"

Luna took the materials coming out of Paranoy's mouth. Even though they were called materials, they were just a hammer, a chisel, and a forearm-sized piece of wood, just as Luna said.

Luna began carving the piece of wood, which smelled strongly of nature, with the chisel and hammer, making thumping sounds-.

━Geueueuk-!

━Graaaa-!

The dead, who until just a moment ago had only been lunging at me, all turned their heads at once and began running toward the carriage and Luna.

Paseuseuk-.

The sight of the dead running across the snowy field to tear apart a fragile girl was enough to give even the current me goosebumps.

"Luna, be careful-!"

"Leave it to me-."

Of course, Hippolyte was standing by Luna's side.

As Hippolyte drew a longsword as tall as a typical Nymph and sliced through the air, a sharp hwiik- sound followed as a blade-wind flew out, severing the necks and arms of the dead.

However, even Hippolyte couldn't cover every single side.

It was impossible to keep off the skeleton soldiers swarming from all four, no, eight directions of the carriage.

"Th-these scrawny skeletons are attacking this Paranoy-ssi...! How dare, how dare these dead lunging without recognizing the Marcher Lord of Hell...! It's a death sentence-ssi...!"

Paranoy was repeatedly smashing the skulls of the skeletons climbing onto the carriage with his fists.

As a Nymph over level 20, he was capable of handling skeleton warriors, but it was inevitable that he still looked overwhelmed.

"Keueu, as expected, I have no choice but to open the treasure warehouse of the Marcher Lord of Hell that I've been saving-ssi...!"

Paranoy shouted as he kicked the abdomen of a skeleton pressing down on him from above.

"Gate of Paranoy...!"

Finally, he opened his mouth and even spat out sharp icicles and stones.

Beueueet-.

Tudadadada-.

I didn't know what it was, but it seemed to be a technique that rapidly ejected and fired things like icicles and stones he had stored in his mouth.

To think he could use inventory abilities like that.

I didn't know why Paranoy often picked up stones from the ground and put them in his mouth, but now I understand a bit. I just thought he liked eating rocks.

Tudadadada-.

━Gerueueek-!

Anyway, the stone machine gun spewing from his mouth briefly halted the movement of the dead. But that was only for a moment-.

"I'm about to run out of coal-ssi...! Outsider, stop just sucking honey and do something quickly-ssi...!"

At Paranoy's shout, Friede clicked her tongue and swung her staff, which was flickering with flames.

"I was going to do it anyway-."

Like a brush soaked in ink laying down black patterns on a white canvas.

Friede's staff bloomed red flames like ink on the snow-covered ground, creating something like a bizarre wall.

"Fence of Flames-. Fire Wall of the Sacred Street-."

It was a fence and wall made of flames, just like Friede's incantation.

The movement of the dead, who were about to pounce on Luna as she carved the totem, faltered at Friede's flames that had suddenly encircled the carriage.

━Geureueue-.

A few of them reached out toward the flames, but-.

Hwareureuk-.

Their bodies immediately caught fire, and they merely faded away, leaving behind black soot.

Perhaps because they saw their comrades turned to ashes, the skeleton soldiers who had been charging with ferocity all stopped moving and only let their eye-lights flash lowly.

At that sight, Paranoy, standing on the carriage, became triumphant.

"Impressive for an outsider-ssi...! Indeed, it's a skill worthy of bringing about a living hell by setting a city on fire-ssi...! This Paranoy will give you 3 bride points-ssi...!"

"But it won't last long. Two minutes at most."

"As expected, you're useless-ssi...! Minus 2 points-ssi...! Luna-nim, please hurry and find your strength-ssi...!"

"Almost, it's almost done! Now, I just have to slam it into the ground with all my might-!"

Luna placed the forearm-sized log on the ground and then struck it hard with the hammer.

Tung-.

Tung-, tung-.

The sound echoed here and there every time she moved her hands.

"Spell- of- Rejection-!"

With that sound, the movements of the dead surrounding the fire wall began to retreat, one step, then two steps back.

At that sight, Hippolyte spoke as she sheathed the sword at her waist.

"To perform a spell of rejection through carving. It's like the Dipdirbis who are said to live in the western sandy deserts. The sculptors of the gods, I mean."

"I don't know about that-! Anyway, it's finished-! Spell of Rejection-! With this, the dead won't even come near for at least a day-!"

At Luna's feet was a wooden statue carved with a bird of prey resembling an owl or a long-eared owl.

I wasn't quite sure, but it seemed that some unknown rejection reaction occurred from that wooden statue, driving the dead away.

It could be seen as installing a kind of barrier.

To think Luna could even use barriers. A barrier is a damn amazing technique. To the point where it couldn't be pierced without a Red Tessaiga.

"Hassan, Hassan, come in here quickly too-!"

At Luna's shout, I also snapped out of my thoughts and quickly entered the area around the carriage.

Simultaneously, the skeletons that had been clinging to my body fell off as if they had developed an allergy, screaming ━Geueueek-!.

"Damn, that's really fascinating."

* * *

The skeletons that had been loitering a few steps away from us turned away after a few minutes, as if they had lost interest in us.

Watching them, Hippolyte let out a breath filled with a bit of relief.

"It seems they're retreating. It's a relief we didn't waste energy needlessly before even entering the dungeon. I never thought we'd be held up in a place like this."

First, we checked if anyone was injured.

We carefully looked to see if any items were broken or lost. The lantern, which had been flickering as if it were broken until just now, became perfectly fine once the dead disappeared.

Paranoy said.

"It seems the lantern also had the effect of notifying us of the approach of the dead or monsters-ssi...!"

Paranoy's words were a reasonably rational guess. If monsters or the dead appeared again, we would certainly know its purpose.

Anyway, what was gone were the spare wheels and the coachman who had been dragged into the snow.

And only the horses that had fled in the midst of the commotion.

Poor coachman fellow.

Since he was dragged away by the dead, he wouldn't have met a good end.

I should pray for his soul so he can be happy on his way.

Go to heaven.

In the end, we lost our ride and its driver in this scuffle.

Which meant that from now on, we had to walk along the snow-covered paths.

Thinking that there might be more undead buried under the snow made me a bit tired.

To think we'd face such interference right from the start of the journey.

Perhaps the expedition had already begun from the moment I got my hands on this lantern.

It was an event sufficient to fill the leisure in my heart with tension, so my mind became sharp like a pointed icicle.

Then, Hippolyte, who had struck the snowy path with her scabbard, said.

"It certainly wasn't an ordinary movement. There must have been a caster controlling the dead. A caster who commands so many skeleton warriors of that grade-. I've never heard of such a thing."

Hippolyte was speculating about the mastermind controlling them from behind, rather than the attack of the skeletons itself.

That was also a very rational speculation.

I also know a bit about necromancy, and the dead are beings that move their bodies with malice and bloodlust.

Making such beings retreat is only possible if there is a powerful will of the one commanding them.

Is it a powerful necromancer-.

Perhaps they know we've obtained the lantern and are lying in wait somewhere in this snowfield to prevent us from going to the real labyrinth.

Hippolyte asked Paranoy.

"Paranoy, you're from a cult, so you must know something about necromancers. A caster this outstanding would have been famous even within the cult. Do you have any guesses?"

"Other than the Magic Tower graduate Anxious, Coma, or the Boss, there's no one in particular-ssi...!"

At those words, Friede let out a hmph- sound.

"If it's Anxious, he's the mage our party captured in the cult war last time. Didn't that fellow go to the Prison City?"

I also killed Coma.

To be precise, he committed suicide by biting his tongue just as Hippolyte was about to deliver the finishing blow. Then, does that leave the Boss of the cultists?

But the Boss of the cult is Baltma, the head of the Mars Guild.

I can't imagine Baltma doing something like this here. In fact, Baltma spared no support for my expedition.

Then the opponent is an unknown.

Is it a subordinate of those Gigas or Elf bastards?

In any case, I can see that there's someone who isn't pleased with us going to the labyrinth.

Targeting the carriage and the coachman first must have been to tie our feet. Targeting the lantern would be to make it impossible for us to know the way.

It's just my headcanon, but it's a damn plausible deduction. Is this the performance of Hassan, the God of Wisdom who parallel-processes his left and right brains?

I said, shivering at my own thoughts.

"Let's keep moving for now. If we stay like this, the sun will set soon, and then there might be no answer."

Whatever the case, we must avoid camping in this bizarre snowfield.

Cold-weather training where you don't know when you'll be attacked. Damn, I really want to decline just that.

So we hurried our steps even more.

Fortunately or unfortunately-.

In the snowfield where the snow was fluttering heavily, we were able to find an entrance.

"Hassan, isn't this the place where, like, we killed that cow monster?"

Luna jingled the bone helmet amulet hanging behind her neck.

Just as Luna said, the place we arrived at was the entrance to the underground labyrinth where we had ganged up on and killed the headless bull monster, Asterius.

How did I know this was the place-.

It was because our signatures were written at the entrance.

「Bronze Tier adventurer party Hassan of Samaria, Shaman Luna, Decider Velmina, Dwarf Didier, Convert Paranoy were here-.」

It was a mark we had carved into the wall with a dagger when we used to frequent the dungeon.

Back when Luna and I were promising rookies in the Bronze Tier, and when Paranoy was ordered to explore the Pluto labyrinth to convert from a cultist to a Vesta priestess.

"I remember-. I also know something about this place-."

MnZBMElkRjFKc3ZCR0RiWklQRlA5WlZINzRaZThhUzZ1cnMyS01IbEgxWmQxSDB0emwxUzJJbC9tZmc5QzJpSg

Hippolyte also said a word as if she knew something about the entrance to this labyrinth.

She couldn't not know, because the one who ordered our party to conquer this labyrinth back then was none other than Hippolyte.

Jiing-.

The lantern emitted light toward the black and cool entrance of such a place.

Is this really the right place?

This is a place we've already been to once.

While I was feeling uncertain, Paranoy let out a loud "Aat-!".

"Th-that's it-ssi...! This Paranoy, the Discerner of Truth, has realized everything-ssi...!"

"What have you realized, Paranoy?"

"Why, why the excellent Coma was dispatched to this insignificant marshland of Kalan...! Also, why the headless knight, Asterius, was guarding a labyrinth that seemed like no big deal-ssi...!"

Various emotions were burning in Paranoy's clear orange eyes as if they were on fire.

"This land of Kalan, which was called the Garden of Kore, was indeed where the entrance to the underworld was located-ssi...!"