Chapter 425
Simon and Lete's expressions hardened simultaneously as they looked into the dungeon master's chamber.
"…What is this?"
There was nothing inside the dungeon master's room.
It was just empty. Simon, who had been tense, let out a dazed remark.
"Don't let your guard down. He might be hiding."
Lete spoke as she stepped inside.
However, even after running both Simon's Darkness-based detection and Lete's holiness-based detection, the dungeon master was nowhere to be seen. They stepped outside the room to search the surrounding area as well, but the result was the same.
It was the first time they’d encountered a dungeon without a dungeon master.
"Hmm, isn't this kind of a disaster?"
Simon frowned and placed a hand to his forehead.
"The dungeon master has to be destroyed for the dungeon to disappear."
"This is a situation I’ve neither seen nor heard of, my brain's frozen. Gimme a sec to think."
The dungeon master always remained inside the dungeon.
That was the fundamental concept.
There were cases where the dungeon master sent monsters outside, but never once did the dungeon master himself leave the dungeon.
The very fact that the dungeon remained intact even after the dungeon master supposedly left was bizarre.
"Help me out here, guys."
While Lete was lost in thought, Simon pulled out corpse spiders from subspace.
"Bring me anything that might be a clue."
Click!
The corpse spiders scattered all at once. Some of them dug into the bone mounds, wiggling their rears, while others scurried along the ceiling and walls.
And within a minute of issuing the recon command, one of the corpse spiders came crawling back toward Simon.
"Did you find something?"
Simon’s eyes lit up as he looked closely. A bug was stuck on the spider’s foreleg.
Click! Click!
The corpse spider jumped excitedly, as if proud of its discovery.
Simon only shook his head.
Click…
Looking dejected, the spider lowered itself, then suddenly popped the bug into its mouth and turned away.
From behind, Lete—who had quietly been observing—spoke up.
"Whuzzat? That spider’s kinda cute."
"It may look like that, but it’s still an undead."
"Those wicked little bastards."
"……?"
A moment later, another corpse spider returned, carrying something.
A strand of a woman’s hair. And an old piece of clothing.
Simon examined it closely.
"Hey."
Lete, who had gone back to search the dungeon master’s room again, called out to Simon.
"There's no point hanging around here any longer. Let’s step outside the dungeon. There might be some changes."
"Yeah, let's do that. That monster we killed earlier might've been the dungeon master."
The two of them exited the dungeon through the same gate they’d entered.
They held a faint hope, but what awaited them outside was the same cave as before. No major changes.
BOOM—!
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted outside the dungeon. Simon reacted sharply.
"Someone’s out there!"
"Let’s go!"
The two ran quickly and exited the cave.
Whoooooosh!
And there, surrounding the cave, stood people with gray hair.
'The Mizenashi!'
They were the ruling class of the village of Escaille. Among them stood Nenia Mizenashi, the village elder.
"So, you’ve finally found this place."
Nenia’s gaze turned icy.
"If you had pretended not to see and left the snowfield quietly, you could’ve lived."
Other Mizenashi members joined in with sharp words.
"How dare you set foot in our sanctuary!"
"You won’t leave here alive now!"
Snap!
Clack!
They raised their palms, aiming at Simon and Lete. Flickering on their palms was the pure elemental magic of ice.
'We can’t underestimate them.'
These mages had spent their entire lives honing only ice magic—its refinement was top-tier. It was reminiscent of Maelyn’s Darkness Ice magic.
"Sanctuary, my ass."
Lete stepped forward, radiating holiness. A dazzling white light wrapped around her body.
"Spit out where you hid the dungeon master, while I’m still being polite."
Nenia’s brow twitched, but she showed no further reaction.
Lete gave a sweet smile.
"Aww, guess I’ve got no choice then. Gonna have to beat it out of ya…"
BOOOOOOM—!
Another explosion rang out.
Simon’s eyes darted toward the source of the noise. It hadn’t come from the Mizenashi.
'That direction is…'
Escaille Village.
The village was under attack.
Judging from the use of explosives, it wasn’t a monster. The moment he narrowed the attacker down to a human, something clicked in Simon’s mind.
—We won't just sit here and wait for death, either.
He recalled the voice of Lord of Coola, glaring at the snowfield village of the Mizenashi with eyes full of hatred.
'The Coola people from the lower town!'
* * *
WAAAAHHH!
"Burn the village! Capture the mages!"
"The cause of the harsh winter is right before us!"
With the severe cold, extreme food shortages, and constant monster attacks…the people of Coola, pushed to their limits, had made a choice.
Coola’s vigilante corps and village men climbed the steep snowy hill, storming toward Escaille.
Swish! Swick!
People of Escaille, hiding behind fortifications, raised their bows.
"Those filthy Coola scum dare show ambition!"
"They stole our warm lands, and now they want our village too!"
"Defend Escaille with your lives!"
Arrows rained down. Coola attackers were struck and tumbled into the snow one after another.
But Coola had far superior numbers.
"Charge!"
Lord of Coola deflected arrows with his sword and roared.
"Don’t back down! This cursed winter ends here!"
Simon was watching the village from a distance. The cold had waned, and Escaille Village could now be seen clearly.
He didn’t know exactly what was happening, but the fence was on fire, and explosion after explosion rang out.
Simon felt certain his guess was right. The Coola people, driven to desperation by the winter, were attacking Escaille.
"Shouldn’t we go check on the village?"
Lete spoke disinterestedly as she looked at the Mizenashi.
"You lot are probably the strongest force in your village."
Even as their village was being attacked, the Mizenashi didn’t budge.
Nenia Mizenashi simply raised her staff and struck it against the ground.
A massive ice magic circle began to form.
"Erasing the witnesses right here and now is more important. That is the duty of the Mizenashi."
They weren’t people they could reason with. Simon turned his head.
"Lete, go to the village and stop the war."
"…And you?"
"This time, I’ll take them on alone. I’m enough."
Lete looked at Simon with concern, then tightly closed her eyes and gave a firm nod.
"I believe in you."
"Yeah."
Tap!
Lete took off across the snowy mountain. Nenia Mizenashi shrieked furiously.
"Catch that wench!!"
The moment the Mizenashi mages unleashed their ice spells—
Craaaaack!
Violet lightning struck all around Lete, erasing the ice magic without a trace.
"......!!"
"What was that just now?!"
The bolts of lightning dyed the air purple in a frenzy, then returned, one by one, into Simon’s hand as he soared through the sky.
<Simon’s Original – Chaos Spear>
Simon threw another spear of chaos, planting it right in front of the Mizenashi members chasing after Lete. They flinched and froze in place.
'That bastard!'
Lete glanced back briefly and let out a scoff.
'Still hiding tricks like that?'
"Bring out the golem! Do whatever it takes to stop him!"
At Nenia’s order, a mage summoned an Ice Golem from the ground.
"You won’t get past here…!"
CRACK!
BOOM!
Two spears of chaos flew in like arrows and embedded themselves into the golem’s torso, exploding immediately.
"You’re not getting through."
Thunk.
Simon landed on top of the chaos spear embedded in the ground, feet firmly planted.
Meanwhile, Lete leapt through the explosion and dashed downhill toward the village.
"I prepared this in case I had to fight the dungeon master, never thought I’d use it on you guys."
Simon’s hand reached toward the magic circle on his waist.
Like a knight drawing a sword, three crackling violet spears emerged between Simon’s fingers.
"Who the hell are you?! Mr. Shaun!!"
Nenia Mizenashi screamed in a near tantrum.
"Who sent you?!"
"I’m afraid I can’t answer that question."
Simon flicked the three spears into the air. The violet lightning danced through the sky, darting unpredictably in every direction.
"But if you’ve got nothing to hide, then you shouldn’t care who sent me."
With a ripping sound, the chaotic flashes fell upon the Mizenashi.
* * *
"Fire! Keep firing!"
"Move in!"
The battlefield had overheated.
Whether Escaille or Coola, once the long-standing resentment erupted, all that remained was hatred. No one was left trying to make a rational decision.
It devolved into a chaotic melee.
The tide of battle was impossible to predict.
Coola clearly had the advantage in numbers and training, but they’d climbed a snowy mountain with empty stomachs, through severe cold, leaving their stamina and condition at rock bottom.
Escaille, for their part, was mentally overwhelmed, and their strongest force—the Mizenashi—was absent, so they couldn’t be said to have the upper hand either.
Arrows flew, metal clashed against metal. Coola’s men lit rum bottles and set the village fences ablaze, tearing through magical barriers.
As the barrier broke, the cold and blizzards began seeping into the village.
Massacre.
At this rate, no matter who won, everyone would freeze and die in the end. But no one was willing to stop.
Then, at that moment—
"Everyone, stop!!"
A voice called out to stop the madness.
A white-haired girl walked boldly through the blood-soaked battlefield.
"Ms-, Ms. Leah!"
"My Lord! That’s the priest who saved the fief!"
Lete walked through the center of the battlefield with complete composure. Stray arrows occasionally flew past her, but she didn’t even blink.
"Priest!"
Lord of Coola leapt forward in a panic.
"Please step back! It’s dangerous here! We will—"
Grab!
Without warning, Lete grabbed the lord by the collar. Then—
SLAAAP!
She slapped him hard. His cheek turned bright red as he tumbled to the ground.
"M-My Lord!"
The terrified vigilantes raised their swords toward Lete.
But as Lete glared at them with eyes wide open, the ones who looked ready to lunge halted in their tracks, flinching.
"Ugh, seriously!"
She cursed as she swung her arm again toward the lord.
Whack!
But it wasn’t an attack. She had caught an arrow mid-air, with her bare hand, one that had been aimed at the downed lord.
Crack!
With a squeeze, the arrow split in two.
"Do my words not sound like words to you bastards?!"
Then, she grabbed the choker around her neck—the one sealing her Saint’s power—and crushed it.
FWOOOOOSH!
Instantly, the chill receded, the night sky brightened, the dark clouds parted, and radiant light descended upon Lete.
[My name is Lete Chardena!]
In her eyes, a clear star-shaped pattern glowed.
[I am the Saint of Stars.]
Woooooooong!
As she raised her arm, the stars in the night sky shimmered in response. Countless white meteors began to fix themselves in the air.
"S-Saint?!"
"Ms. Leah is a Saint?!"
Both sides erupted in chaos.
[Choose.]
She shouted, her eyes bloodshot.
[Will you stop fighting, or will both sides just die by my hand?!]
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters