Chapter 506: Episode 506
The first basement floor of the Gold Mine Dungeon was a truly alien space. It wasn’t a floor at all, but a vast cavern filled with a churning, red sea—a sea that had almost certainly not been red to begin with. Human corpses drifted aimlessly on its surface.
’They must have dumped the failed experiments here.’
The path to his next objective, the second basement floor, was a central causeway cutting across this foul sea. The causeway branched off into numerous smaller paths, from which a ceaseless tide of immortal soldiers poured forth.
"Prince! Send zombies to the seven o’clock position and hold them back!"
[Okay!]
"Erze! Create a web barrier on the side bridge!"
[As you wish!]
With every clash, the number of legion undead following them dwindled. It was unavoidable. With three basement floors to clear, he had to conserve his forces and fight with ruthless efficiency.
’More importantly,’ Simon thought, looking up. ’How is the space in here even working?’
A river of blood flowed along the ceiling of the level above, yet none of it fell. The water from this sea was somehow flowing up there, a clear sign of extreme spatial distortion. Then again, expecting the laws of physics to apply in a dungeon was foolish.
"Simon, the path is out," Kajan called.
Simon snapped back to the present and skidded to a halt. Just as Kajan said, the causeway ahead was broken.
’Nirti’s handiwork.’
Debris floated in the sea below, evidence of the path’s recent destruction. Hundreds of meters away, the causeway resumed.
’Thump! Thump! Thump!’
All the while, immortal soldiers continued to flood onto their position.
[What’s the plan, Simon?] Prince asked.
"No choice. We’ll leave the legion to hold them off here. The three of us will cross as fast as we can."
Simon was the first to move, kicking off the stone and leaping onto a floating piece of debris.
’Splash!’
The fragment rocked violently, threatening to sink under his weight. He immediately jumped to the next piece. "Ugh’, this is risky."
[Hehe! There’s no need for such a difficult crossing.]
Erzebet shot a web to the ceiling and swung into the air. She quickly attached lines to Kajan and Prince, lifting them, before pulling Simon up as well. With her in the lead, the three of them were carried through the air, suspended from her web.
"Nice one, Erze!"
It was an incredibly efficient way to travel. The entrance to the second basement floor was already in sight.
’This is it! Just a little further...!’
[Everyone, be careful!] Pier’s warning echoed in his mind.
The sea of blood erupted before them. A long, grotesque monster sheathed in crimson lava lunged from the depths, its maw gaping wide.
’Damn it!’
Erzebet flung her arm out, shoving the others to safety as the monster slammed into her, driving her down onto the far side of the broken causeway.
"Erze!" Simon shouted, landing precariously on a floating rock.
[Leave this to me and keep going!]
He saw her blast the monster back with her webs and struggle free. Simon, Kajan, and Prince nodded grimly and resumed their dash, using the floating debris as stepping stones.
Erzebet rose, facing the creature that had attacked her. [What in the world is that thing?]
It was a chimera, like a colossal earthworm, that sweated molten lava. It writhed in agony from its own searing heat, but the dungeon’s regenerative properties constantly healed its burns. It was a creature that could only exist here—immortal, and therefore eternally in pain.
[How pitiful. As a fellow undead,] Erzebet spread her arms. [I shall grant you the gift of a peaceful annihilation!]
She crossed her arms, and the webs she had laid in the air snapped shut, ensnaring the chimera. But the lava flowing from its body instantly melted the strands. Freeing itself with ease, the chimera charged.
[’Agh!’]
The impact slammed her into the ground again. The chimera bore down on her, its jaws wide. She held it back with sheer arm strength, her webs continuously trying to bind it, only to dissolve in the lava. She was at a severe disadvantage.
[Haaah.] She sighed in resignation. [I hate this.]
Her pristine white face began to fracture, revealing skin of a different color beneath.
The flesh at her waist rippled, and monstrous spider legs erupted, stabbing into the ground for purchase. In an instant, she was on eight legs, shoving the chimera back with raw, physical power. [I loathe taking a form that isn’t beautiful, even for a moment.]
Erzebet lifted the monster and slammed it into the floor. Lava splattered everywhere as the chimera shrieked. It had been a long time since she had fought in her true form. Her dark blue webs began to blanket the area. [I’ve changed my mind. Before you’re allowed to perish, you’ll have to pay the price for angering me.]
---
Thanks to Erzebet, Simon’s party reached the second basement floor. If the first floor was a fortress, the second was a massive prison. Cells lined every wall, their doors hanging open as the undead residents of Tarados poured out, swarming Simon’s group.
[There’s no end to them!] Prince charged forward, pulling his fist back. [Hidden Card Puuunch!!]
The undead soldiers were sent flying like leaves in a storm, splattering against the ceiling and walls. But even as pulp, their bodies were already beginning to regenerate.
"Their recovery rate is accelerating." Kajan clicked his tongue as a zombie with a shattered leg lurched back to its feet.
"Let’s split up here," Simon announced, glancing at the map. "On the second basement floor, there’s a Secret Experimental Wing. Below that, on the third floor, is Nirti’s personal lab. Kajan, as planned, head to the second floor and find Kal. I’ll send Prince with you."
"Understood."
"I’ll go down to the third floor and settle things with Nirti."
Prince stared at Simon, startled. [What? Will you and Pier be alright on your own?]
"We’re more than enough. Besides," Simon added, extending his right hand to open his subspace, "did you forget there’s one more of us?"
He immediately snatched the staff that flew from the portal and slammed it against the ground.
"Transmute to Gold!"
The dungeon floor shimmered, its stone transmuting into solid gold before shattering into a thousand glittering shards that erupted upward, catching the immortal soldiers in the blast and hurling them through the air.
"I’m counting on you again, Herseva."
[Of course! Just trust me, kiddo!] Herseva declared, levitating the gilded floor once more to send another wave of immortal soldiers flying.
"Simon, we’ll head down to the third floor as soon as we’re finished here," Kajan called out.
"Right! See you in a bit!"
Kajan and Prince pressed forward while Simon broke away, searching for the stairs that led to the third and final basement level.
Was this Nirti’s last, desperate stand? The undead pouring from the prison cells had become a veritable sea of bodies.
’So that’s how you want to play it.’
Simon gripped Pier’s greatsword in his right hand and Herseva’s staff in his left. With the power of one Ancient Undead in hand and another at his back, he couldn’t have felt more secure.
"Transmute to Gold!"
With Herseva’s power, the floor once again turned to gold. The Greatsword of Ruin descended, scraping a deep furrow across the gilded surface as he advanced.
"Slash!"
A cataclysmic slash tore across the floor. That was the first strike. The golden fragments scattered in its wake rained down as a secondary assault of glittering shrapnel. In an instant, a path was carved through the undead army. Simon sprinted down the trench his attack had created.
’Almost there!’
Just ahead, he could see the stairs leading down to the final level.
---
"Th-Thank you!"
"We thought we were going to die for sure."
On the second floor of the dungeon were the holding cells where residents were kept before becoming test subjects. Serne’s feather soldiers held back the immortal legion as she evacuated the prisoners.
"Alright, this way!" she commanded. "Keep your heads down and move quickly!"
She guided the refugees by controlling a few of them with her feathers, while she herself stood back, arms crossed, letting out a long, drawn-out yawn.
"So tiresome."
Despite the danger, she showed no hint of tension—only the profound composure of the powerful. She plucked a speck of sleep from the corner of her eye and yawned again.
"Honestly, Simon, leaving me with such tedious chores."
"U-Um..."
Her half-lidded eyes drifted to the side where a filthy, grimy little boy was hesitantly approaching.
"Thank you for saving my mommy and daddy!" he chirped, bowing deeply.
Serne stared blankly at him for a moment before waving a hand dismissively, her annoyance clear.
"Th-This is for you."
The boy held something out in his grimy hand: a piece of hardtack, as stiff and solid as a rock.
"This is for you, miss!" He pressed the bread into Serne’s hand and bowed again before running back toward his parents.
She examined the bread with a blank expression. It was truly rock-hard. Only the very edge was slightly damp, slick with saliva. It seemed the child had been trying to make it last, sucking on the corner to soften it because it was too precious to eat all at once.
"Serne Aindark."
The sharp click of heels echoed from the darkness. As a figure emerged, the fleeing residents caught sight of her and scattered in terror.
"Well, what’s this?" A slow smile spread across Serne’s face. "Looks like it’s my lucky day. Was the boss here all along?"
It was Nirti, the director and head researcher of the Tarados branch of the Order. Her face was lost in shadow. Serne casually produced a feather, holding it ready.
"Serne Aindark. Eighteen years old, a second-year at Kizen. An orphan by birth, but now the official heir to the Ivory Tower."
Serne’s brow furrowed in displeasure.
Nirti continued with a smile. "I’ve wanted to meet you for some time."
"Me?"
"Yes. Your journey from adopted child to swallowing the Ivory Tower whole was quite impressive. I drew a great deal of inspiration from it." Nirti placed a hand on her hip. "However, your actions since entering Kizen have been a string of disappointments."
Serne said nothing.
"Even after suffering the humiliation of being taken hostage and forced into a Kizen uniform, you’ve remained docile for an entire year. I thought perhaps you intended to destroy the school from within, but that no longer seems to be the case." Her tongue flickered like a serpent’s. "Why is that? Did you give up, overwhelmed by Kizen’s power? Or have you grown proud of that uniform, happy to have become one of them? To think you’re just obediently freeing prisoners, exactly as they intended!"
Nirti chuckled and held out a hand. "Stop this nonsense and join me."
Serne’s expression soured as she eyed the outstretched hand.
"Me? With you?"
"You must have guessed by now, haven’t you? The purpose of the Order’s latest experiment."
"Immortal soldiers."
"Correct. It was only possible inside this dungeon, but we can now operate them on the outside as well." Nirti spread her arms wide. "The very same immortal soldiers the great lords feared! Not even Kizen can win against undead who can neither die nor be destroyed! You’ve seen them, haven’t you?"
"Hmm."
"We have a common enemy. Kizen is the immortal soldiers’ first target. If you help me, Serne, things will be much easier." Nirti grinned. "This experiment is nearly complete. We just need a little more time. When the promised day comes, if the Ivory Tower and the Order rise up together...!"
"I think you’re mistaken about something, you old monkey," Serne interrupted, crossing her arms with a smirk. "I can assure you, your little toys can’t do a thing to Kizen."
"Toys?" Nirti bristled with rage.
"And you said you were disappointed in me, but I feel the opposite." Serne wagged a finger. "I am very, ’very’ satisfied with my life right now. The one who will bring down Kizen—the one who will change the game—is right by my side. The path I’ve chosen is not wrong."
"Don’t be ridiculous! There is no better plan than my immortal soldiers and the Order!"
"Oh, but there is," she purred. "Simon Polentia. The future of the continent will soon be reshaped around him. There’s no greater blow to Kizen than snatching him away from that wretched, living witch of death and her daughter."
"You’re telling me a mere prospect is more valuable than me and the Order?"
"Of course." Serne raised the feather in her hand. "And if you’re going to make me an offer..."
’Thwack!’
Her feather shot forward, piercing straight through Nirti’s abdomen.
"...isn’t it proper etiquette to at least show up in your real body?"
"Gah!" Nirti’s form turned the color of dry earth and crumbled into dust. "You’ll regret—!"
Serne crushed the dissolving head under her heel, turning away with a flick of her ivory hair.
She glanced down, noticing the hard bread the little boy had given her was still clutched in her left hand. Staring at it for a moment, she tossed it over her shoulder.
"You eat it."
The bread sailed through the air and landed squarely in the palm of one of the people she was controlling. As he devoured it ravenously, the corner of Serne’s lips curled into a faint smile, and she walked away with light, delicate steps.