Chapter 381: Troika (3)

At a glance, the old spider statue looked the same as the other statues scattered around the area. However, this one hid the passage to Baal's temple.

I never would've imagined it.

Who would expect the First Seat's temple to be hidden beneath such a rural dungeon? Perhaps that was the intention. An A-rank adventurer passing through would never sense anything odd about the statue. I only sensed something after raising Detection to Level 5, and even then, it took all the Strength I had to push it open.

I examined the spider statue carefully once more.

Should I go in?

I definitely had the strength for it, but caution tugged at me. The temple had been empty last time. However, with the Demon King's descent significantly accelerated, things were almost certainly different now. It would be stranger if they weren't. Even the Spiders were far stronger.

Something incredibly dangerous could be waiting inside, perhaps even one of Baal's apostles. Dying a day after Gith-Za-Rai told me to get stronger would be too ridiculous.

Still, I had become a Death Knight, and thanks to White Hood’s two knots in my Inventory, I could now manifest Lightning and Freezing Domains at will.

I had suffered a humiliating defeat, yes, but that was against a Demon King in the Demon Realm. Which meant that as long as it wasn't someone of that caliber, I would not fall easily.

If it's not strong enough to kill me, the stronger the better. More EXP, more Hero Points.

Fwish!

To keep an escape route, I swung the outer iron door wide open. I lightly pushed the statue with one hand, just enough to get a feel for it.

Rumble! Rrrrumble!

What?

I blinked. The statue moved inward easily when I'd barely pushed it. Was it because my Strength had increased?

Strangely, it didn't feel like that was the only reason. Even the stone dust didn't erupt as violently as last time. It felt like this passage had been moved already, perhaps many times.

Vmm...

I shielded myself and stepped inside. The wide, open chamber was as it had been. I approached Baal's altar. The size and shape were the same, but faint runes shimmered on the floor in front of it.

These resemble Baal's engravings...

More importantly, a massive spider body supported a carved human head, its mouth pried open to hold a red orb.

It ate it?

The crimson gem the Webslinger once carried—now darker, thicker, and far more ominous.

The explanation was simple. For some reason, the surface factions who followed the Demon Kings had grown far stronger than in the previous timeline. They had cultivated this dungeon, raised the boss, killed it, and then placed the orb in the statue's mouth. And thus, the dungeon had been strengthened by Baal's power.

This is probably happening all across the world...

As I stared at the statue, I noticed something. This dungeon still had no clear message. Should I shatter the orb? Or tear it out of the statue's mouth?

Boom!

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, something that had slumbered in the dark plummeted from above.

KA-BOOM!

Most likely, it had been hanging at a height completely out of Detection Lv. 1's range. Its descent had been quick, forming a mass of shadow so massive that it didn't even look like a creature. Slowly, it raised its head, coming into view.

A statue...?

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Every step it took scattered stone dust from itself. A rhinoceros-like stone figure, standing on two legs. Its two red eyes, glinting the same shade as the orb, glared at me.

Before I could react, the statue trembled violently. "You came! Pilgrim! Worried! Weak! All weak! Only me strong!"

"Pilgrim? What are you talking about?"

"You come deep! Deep inside! You make it! Pilgrim! So I pilgrim! Of Baal!"

Despite the clumsy speech, the meaning was clear enough. It seemed to be claiming itself as Baal's pilgrim.

"What have you been doing here?" I asked, examining it more closely. About five meters tall, its limbs nearly a meter thick each.

Huge hooves.The charge on this thing must be incredible.

It swung its massive arms threateningly. "What do? I break! It crumble! Make pulp!"

I understood enough. "Ah. The spider, right?"

I had expected to meet that boss again, but it seemed this thing had killed it.

The statue tilted its head. "Spider? No! Many legs! More! Many many legs! Dig ground! Come up again!"

What the hell...

Had the boss mutated into some kind of burrowing centipede-like monster? I didn't want to imagine it. With the Demon Kings' power increasing, the dungeon boss had likely as well. Whatever it had become, this statue had smashed it.

"Crushed! Smashed! Broke! Kneaded! Flattened!"

It seemed very good at words in that specific category.

I glanced at Baal's statue. "Did you place the red orb in its mouth?"

"Yes! Now you! Break apart!"

"What?"

I was planning to fight, but "break apart" was a bit much.

"Stop talk! No need talk! Baal answer when give orb! One more come here, kill, and engraving granted," he recited the words as if he had them memorized.

Only that phrase carried a strange resonance.

"What does that..."

"You break now! Smash! Become dust!"

Boom!

Its hoof slammed the ground, its speed warping the light around it. Stone dust blasted outward like an explosion. Twenty meters vanished faster than a droplet falling from a stalactite.

CRASH!

A fist half the size of my torso barreled in, only to strike empty air. It rebounded backward.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The statue stomped and leapt again, pummeling the air. "Ghh...!"

Even though space itself blocked every attack, its determination didn't fade. Flushed red all over, it began to rampage. Heat surged as if its core were boiling, stone cracking and flaking off as it punched relentlessly.

I watched quietly. Despite risking its life with each attack, the statue never landed a blow. Moreover, the recoil alone was steadily breaking it apart.

It really can't be reasoned with.

It was almost pitiful. I drew the sacred blade meant for the Heroes.

Vmmm...!

Invoking Sword Energy at maximum output, I thrust toward the statue as it kept punching the air.

Shhk!

Stone didn't have a heart. Yet whatever this thing had been made from, its passion for battle burned hotter than the hearts of a thousand living creatures. For a moment, its toughness even resisted the force of my Sword Energy. With that momentum alone, it could have shattered an entire battalion by charging straight through. Yet I overwhelmed it easily.

No matter how hard it struggled, it couldn't threaten me in the slightest, even if it blew itself apart.

This dungeon's rank was lower than the Desert God's. No wonder it's nothing special.

The Desert God had been ranked B++, but this dungeon was only B-rank. There was no point in dragging this out. My battles were only just beginning.

Thwack!

The statue finally collapsed with a crashing roar.

[Level Up!]

My ultimate class level rose far more easily than I had expected. Even when I was already overwhelmingly strong, I continued to grow stronger at a rapid pace.

At this rate, I'll unlock the other perks soon enough.

[Death Knight Lv. 2(new!)]

A level-up window triggered by a hunt that required no effort at all could only make me think that. Once I gained the full set of Death Knight perks, even Gith-Za-Rai would be shocked. The necromancer was already imagining her own death.

"If it looks like I'm going to die, just let me."

The way she said such things so casually was unbearable. This time, I would do it properly and break the Demon King's curse. Not only did it clarify the scenario that saved her, it also helped her reach Lindbrum's dream.

[Clear!]

[You have defeated the dungeon boss.]

[Rank Evaluation: B]

[Difficulty Evaluation: Despair]

[Difficulty bonus......]

Ding!

[You have gained 1,536 Points!]

Even as a Death Knight, my difficulty evaluation was still favorable, perhaps because my total level was still relatively low when I changed classes.

[Current Purchasing Power: 99%]

[Because you selected Anti-World...]

[You cannot use the Shop until you reach maximum Purchasing Power.]

There would not be many more chances to see this message.

One more place should do it.

That was when I heard it.

"Well... done..."

It was a vaguely familiar voice.

What?

I looked toward the sound. It was right in front of me.

"Excellent... You are more than worthy to become my slave..."

The voice echoed from the statue holding the crimson orb in its mouth.

"You are nothing like the one before... You require no further testing... I value you... very highly... you promising little thing..."

This voice...

I had definitely heard it somewhere before. The longer I listened, the filthier I felt. Deeply, disgustingly so.

Baal?

Maybe because the temple was active, it could transmit his will directly. Understandable. If he couldn't at least communicate within his temple, it would be hard to grant power to his followers in the first place. Still, this wasn't him. I had never heard Baal's voice.

I've never seen Baal.

Archdemon King Baal, the Demon King who fought alone on the worst battlefields. He did not "command." And there was no world in which I shared a battlefield with him.

"Kneel before the King's engraving... I shall teach you the detailed rites."

"You are..." Memory rose up within me. "Are you Grand Marshal Igulku?"

Grand Marshal Igulku, one of Archdemon King Baal's three generals. He led twenty-two legions and oversaw the conquest of the southern Empire.

"Khahaha... To think my name is spoken even up there... You are delightful... a delightful slave candidate..."

"So the contract will be with you?"

"Indeed... Baal does not personally preside over contracts... I... by his authority... stand in his stead..."

Sar'Uzel Tagarus Igulku. Of Baal's three generals, he was the worst piece of trash. He led twenty-two legions and oversaw the conquest of the southern Empire. The one who had commanded the conquest was, of course, my direct superior. Every bad feeling I had toward Baal stemmed from that bastard.

Before a legion made of low-ranked zombies and Skeleton Soldiers laid siege to a city, I once requested siege weapons, and I remembered exactly what he said in his "speech" to the troops.

If you cannot fight because you lack siege engines, what nonsense is that! If there are no catapults, then lift stones and throw them! If there are no rams, smash your skulls into the gate! Do you not know how hard a skull is? If there are no ladders, jam your hands and feet into the cracks and climb up to tear the enemy apart with your teeth!

And he always finished his orders the same way.

Whose soldiers are you! You are the glorious soldiers of Archdemon King Baal! Retreat is forbidden for all eternity!

Naturally, the result was annihilation.

I almost died there, too.

His treatment of low-ranked undead was brutal. Maybe he thought siege engines were a waste because disposable lesser undead could just soak up the defenders' weapons. Even though many of those low-ranked undead could eventually grow if managed properly. And yet, he treated anything below the elite forces brought directly from the Demon Realm like garbage.

I could vividly recall comrades I had crossed death's threshold with, crushed as they clung to the walls with no ladders. Even without exchanging a single word, a comrade was still a comrade.

"Why... do you say nothing...?"

"Oh, I'm just surprised you're so eager to grant me an engraving, all of a sudden."

"Baal has many names... but they matter little... The core is simple... Baal's legion acknowledges only the strong... Hence the honor... of becoming the slave I acknowledge... I will use you very dearly..."

A slave he would "use dearly," was it. I fell silent for a moment, then knelt on one knee before Baal's statue. "How do I receive the engraving?"

"Haha... Your tone is insolent but your body is honest... The engraving will make you obedient... First, carve the reflected engraving from the floor into the statue holding the crimson orb..."

"Fine. Then what happens?"

"I will descend a portion of my power into this statue..."

I did as he said, and the crimson glow on the floor grew stronger. I watched the deepening engraving in the stone. A presence swelled within the orb clutched in the statue's mouth.

"Now engrave it upon your body... With me before you, the rite will be smooth..."

"Wait. Before that, I have a question."

"What is it... Normally I would ignore such noise... but since you spoke my name before Baal's... I shall grant you the privilege of asking..."

"Is this the only temple you oversee?"

"This is the center... and regrettably... there are but three in total... The shadow cell deep in the Cold Crypt Tunnel... The secret gate beneath the Daydream Grotto... From now on, you will assist in their management as well..." He went on to explain their locations in detail. "If you understand, hurry and engrave it... There is little time left..."

"Yeah."

Crash!

I swung my sword, wreathed in Sword Energy, and shattered the statue along with the orb.

The half-toppled statue trembled. "What madness is this...!"

Crunch!

I drove my blade into its mouth and twisted, spinning it around. The statue crumbled easily. The orb shattered into powder and scattered, and the crowned Baal fell face-first in a ridiculous heap.

"Kraaaagh! My descent body...!"

I had only wanted more information about dungeon locations, but this was an unexpected bonus. I stomped on the statue and the remains of the orb until the noisy voice finally vanished.

[Burnt Offering Devourer, Demon King Baal, is watching you.]

[Baal is watching you.]

[Baal is watching you.]

Mm?

So there was still some influence left.

[Baal is watching you.]

[Baal is watching you...]

[Baal is...]

Crunch! Crack!

I shattered the engravings carved into the floor as well.

Rumble!

Then I pulverized every statue and ground them into dust. No more system windows appeared.

"Ah... that's better."

It felt like I'd finally coughed out something that had been choking me. With this, I had probably delayed the Demon King's descent, however slightly. On top of destroying his temple, I had also gained the locations of several others.

Given where those are...

I pieced the new information together and reconsidered my route.

I can push a little further...

BOOM! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

To prevent anyone else from entering after me and rebuilding it, I completely collapsed the temple from the entrance inward.

Still not enough?

Rrrrrumble...!

I brought down not only the ravine, but even the winding entrance tunnels from the very beginning.

Good. Time to go.

Fwhoosh!

***

[Clear!]

[You have defeated the dungeon boss.]

[You have gained 208 Points!]

[Clear!]

[You have defeated the Voodoo Golem.]

[Level Up!]

[Death Knight Lv. 3(new!)]

[You have gained 525 Points!]

[Current Purchasing Power: 99.7%...]

[Clear!]

[You have defeated the boss of the Cold Crypt Tunnel.]

[Level up!]

[Death Knight Lv. 4(new!)]

[Rank Evaluation: C-Plus]

[You have gained 736 Points.]

Crack!

I destroyed the white orb clutched in Baal's statue's mouth.

Stringing orbs together, is that your grand plan?

"Fo... ol... You think you'll get away with this...? The price will be...!"

Igulku's lines were textbook demon theatrics. I felt nothing. My attention was fixed solely on a certain message.

[Purchasing Power has reached 100%.]

[The Shop is now available.]