Chapter 35: 3rd Floor Hidden (3)

Chapter 35: 3rd Floor Hidden (3)

One of the three Paladins is a wicked being.

I couldn’t be certain yet. However, if that were the case, who would it be?

It doesn’t seem to be Delent.

He was the one who activated the Holy Artifact. If Delent were the traitor, would there be any reason for him to activate it right then and there? Of course, since I—not the Paladins—would be the one under suspicion anyway, he might have activated it specifically to deal with me.

But even that is a bit ambiguous. They all must have realized I was quite strong, so would they really pick a fight? Moreover, my help was crucial in avoiding the traps inside the temple. It seemed more logical to use me rather than eliminate me.

Most importantly, attacking Delent caused me to fail the conquest. If a traitor is involved, identifying or dealing with them should somehow be related to the clear conditions. If Delent were the traitor, would I have failed for attacking him? Probably not.

Therefore, the prime suspects were the other two: Slavan and Philip. And I couldn’t assume it was just one of them; it could very well be both.

What should I do?

Find the Holy Artifacts with the Paladins but there’s a traitor? ? Up until now, that was the general flow. Should I try something proactive to weed out the traitor? I considered various methods, but eventually concluded that I should observe them further.

Nothing was certain yet. Besides, I had one more chance after this, so acting prematurely wasn’t wise.

If there is a traitor, what is their objective?

Recalling Delent’s words, there was a high probability it was related to the Noctun Cult and the Great Demon. Maybe the traitor intends to use this temple to re-summon the Great Demon? And my role is to stop that. That was my guess for now.

For now, let’s just stay alert—especially toward those two. So that I can stop them the moment they try any tricks.

“I’ll take the lead. I have a good eye for traps.”

“Oh, is it because you’re a mage that you can perceive magic traps?”

“Something like that.”

I roughly remembered the path we took to reach the room where the Holy Artifact was.

“The left looks dangerous. Let’s go right.”

So this time, I headed down a different path. I thought about going to the room with the circlet first to secretly pocket it… but seeing how they recognized the divine energy immediately earlier, they’d likely catch me if I tried to hide it. So, I took a detour.

After passing several traps, we arrived at another room. A gargoyle statue stood in the center. This time, the gargoyle was holding something in its hands.

“Sir Delent! Look over there!”

“This divine energy… a Holy Artifact!”

The three were deeply moved as they retrieved the artifact. I asked casually, “Is this a Holy Artifact?”

“This is the Heavenly Music Box. It is undoubtedly a Holy Artifact our Order lost in the past!”

“Oh… what does it do?”

“Watch, if you infuse it with divine power like this…”

♩~ ♪~

A melody began to flow from the music box.

“It is said to play a beautiful melody that calms the mind and soul. It truly is beautiful!”

“Oh, it feels as if I can hear the revelation of the God of Dawn!”

That’s it? Well, at least it wasn’t a detection item, so that was a relief.

After securing the artifact, we moved on. We managed to find a few more Holy Artifacts through more traps.

“Oh, this is the Dawnlight Ring!”

“What is its ability?”

“If you infuse it with divine power, you can deploy a sturdy barrier.”

A bracelet that could deploy a barrier, a ring that increased healing power, and earrings that enhanced mental strength. I wondered if the conquest reward would be one of these Holy Artifacts. I just hoped they wouldn’t give me the music box.

“There are stairs here.”

Wandering further, we found a staircase. It was a spiral staircase that seemed to stretch up forever.

“It’s high. This might lead to the very top.”

“Shall we head up then?”

Come to think of it, I did see something peculiar at the top of the Pyramid earlier. After climbing for quite a while, we indeed reached the summit.

Rumble—

The sky was filled with even darker clouds than before. Emerging outside after being stuck in a cramped space felt somewhat liberating. Since the building itself was massive, the top of the Pyramid was as wide as a sports field. And the first thing that caught my eye was the structure I had been curious about from below.

“Is that… a cannon?” Slavan muttered, looking up at the massive structure.

A tower stood tall in the center of the summit like a lighthouse. Looking up at it, a giant pillar peeked out. Just as he said, it was a cannon barrel. While the three, who were only interested in finding Holy Artifacts, looked around, I climbed the ladder up the tower.

“Oh.”

The cannon barrel had a design that screamed “Magitech” at first glance. A giant gem, like a Magic Stone, was embedded in the center of the barrel. It even had a control stick to adjust the direction…

“…?”

As I grabbed the controls, information suddenly appeared.

“…Item info is showing up?”

Can I use this? The Ultra-Extermination Compressed Mana Light Cannon. The name alone was grand. This was the first time a usable item like this appeared during a conquest. But if something like this exists… doesn’t that mean there’s a reason to use it?

“…Look over here!”

Down below, things were getting noisy. I climbed back down from the tower and approached the three. They were staring at an object with grave expressions. It was a golden chalice, half-corroded and blackened.

“Is this perhaps the Chalice of Dawn?” I asked. This was the artifact they mentioned was particularly important.

Delent nodded and spoke in a voice suppressed with rage. “…It seems Katerun intended to use the Chalice of Dawn itself as a medium to summon the Great Demon. The Chalice of Dawn has been tainted.”

The serious atmosphere made me look at the chalice with equal gravity. I couldn’t be sure, but even to me, the energy coming from the chalice felt ominous.

Slavan spoke up. “It seems the power of the Chalice and the power of the Great Demon are barely in balance. If the balance of power inside shifts even slightly… there’s no telling what might happen.”

Philip also spoke urgently. “T-That’s right. We must hurry and take the Chalice back to the Order! The Saintess will surely be able to purify it.”

Delent and Slavan both nodded in agreement. “Let’s head down first.”

It seemed the three prioritized the Chalice over finding any more artifacts. Since the building was a Pyramid, we didn’t have to navigate the maze back; we simply climbed down the outer walls.

Once on the ground, the three began to talk again. “What should we do about the investigation? There might be more artifacts…”

“Is there any issue more urgent than the Chalice of Dawn right now?”

“I’m just worried the Noctun heretics might discover this place.”

Then Philip said, “Wouldn’t one person be enough to return? Sir Delent, I will return first with the Holy Artifacts.”

“Can you do that for us?”

“Yes. You two should continue the investigation here. The Chalice is important, but the remaining artifacts are also a serious matter. As you said, others will soon discover this place.”

Delent nodded. “Then I ask this of you, Sir Philip.”

Philip, having received the Holy Artifacts including the Chalice, nodded with a face full of resolve. “I will stake my life to deliver the Chalice to the Saintess as quickly as possible. I hope you both return safely. Sir Seohyun Kim, I am truly grateful to you as well.”

I nodded instinctively. The three of us saw Philip off to the edge of the temple.

…Is it just going to end like this? It would be nice if it ended on a heartwarming note. But was this really all? Of course, I had broken through traps and faced various hardships. Yet, I felt extremely uneasy.

I stared at the back of Philip as he walked ahead.

Traitor. Right, the traitor. Who currently held the Chalice of Dawn, the core item of this conquest? It was Philip. Who was now about to leave here alone.

What if Philip is the traitor?

Then the conquest would be a failure. It would mean the traitor had made off with that vital item. If so, what should I do? Naturally, even if I, an outsider, claimed Philip was a traitor, the other two wouldn’t listen. The fact they handed over all the artifacts and sent him off alone was proof of how deep their trust was.

Then should I just let him go and see if the conquest fails? If it fails, it means Philip is the traitor, and I can just try again with my final chance.

But… was there really a need for that? I was already almost certain. That guy was the traitor. I made my decision and called out to Philip.

“Sir Philip, could you show me the Chalice again for a moment?”

“…Pardon?”

“Something has been bothering me for a while. There might be a spell placed on the Chalice.”

Delent was surprised. “A spell? What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure yet, so I just want to double-check.”

As a “pseudo-mage” who had filtered out all the traps in the temple, my words carried plenty of weight. Delent and Slavan looked at Philip. For a split second, I saw Philip’s eyes twitch almost imperceptibly. Hiding that expression instantly, Philip handed me the Chalice.

“Here it is.”

I pretended to examine the Chalice.

If I’m wrong, I’m really sorry.

Wham!

I swung my Mace in a surprise attack and bashed Philip’s head.

“…!”

Delent and Slavan attacked me in horror.

…I knew it was the right choice. I shouted while dodging the attacks and backing away.

“Look! At that!”

Delent and Slavan paused and looked back at Philip, then recoiled in shock. Where Philip’s head had been smashed open, disgusting tentacles were writhing.

“…Heretic! Noctun!”

“Get back!”

What is that? Gross. Since it looked like he was still breathing, I fired a Flame Strike.

KABOOM!

As the smoke cleared, a massive form was revealed. Philip was nowhere to be found, replaced by a bloated, grotesque mass of flesh.

“How… did you… know?”

A voice that sounded like vocal cords trapped in fat drifted from Philip. Delent shouted in rage, “Philip! To think you were a Noctun spy!”

“But it is too late. The ritual… has already begun…”

Philip laughed sinisterly and suddenly screamed, “Great Balruk! I offer everything to youuuu!”

A red aura erupted from Philip’s mass of flesh. Even though there was some distance, that red aura began to be sucked into the Chalice I was holding.

“…!”

The alarm of my Sixth Sense. I immediately threw the Chalice away. Philip’s mass of flesh began to wither like a deflated balloon. Soon, the Chalice, having absorbed all the red aura, began to take on a certain shape.

“B-Balruk… Balruk is being resurrected…!” Slavan said, unable to stop his voice from trembling.

For now, as soon as the cooldown was up, I poured out another Flame Strike and Bullet.

KABOOM!

The Chalice, which was gradually taking form, took no damage. Ah… is this it? Do I have to retry? No, should I summon Fligas one more time…?

Then something flashed through my mind.

…The cannon!

The terrifyingly named Ultra-Extermination Compressed Mana Light Cannon! I immediately turned my back and ran toward the Pyramid. I shouted to the two men.

“Come this way!”

I leaped up the outer wall of the Pyramid, using my Leap skill to climb toward the summit. I reached the top. I climbed the tower and grabbed the cannon’s controls.

[

This is a decisive weapon, practically the culmination of the ancient Rune Magic Empire’s magitech. Its power is immense, so use with caution.

Willpower Consumption: 600

Cooldown: None

Why on earth would a special item like this be here? Isn’t it provided specifically to take down that guy? The willpower consumption was a whopping 600. As mentioned in the description, the power was worth looking forward to. The cannon was huge, but with my strength, I could easily turn the barrel. Looking down at the Chalice, it had almost completely taken the form of a demon. I aimed the cannon at him.

“Move to the side! I’m going to fire this!”

At my shout, the two men, who had climbed halfway up the Pyramid, scurried to the side.

Sizzzzzle!

As I used the item, a dazzling flash began to gather at the end of the barrel with a roar that tore through the air. Alright, let’s goooo…! A flash condensed to the size of a bowling ball was fired and flew toward the resurrecting Balruk. It was only the size of a bowling ball, but its power was…

…KABOOOOOOM!!!

A blue mushroom cloud rose along with an explosion that shook heaven and earth. The shockwave reached me, and I was almost blown back for a moment. I regained my balance and stared blankly at the scene.

Isn’t this… a nuke? The power was far beyond my expectations. Of course, it couldn’t compare to a real nuke, but it looked to be about 0.1 Nukes.

Rumble—

It took a long time for the mushroom cloud to clear. I saw Delent and Slavan, covered in dust, finally making it to the summit.

“S-Sir Seohyun Kim…! What on earth did you do?!”

I simply gave a thumbs-up to the two men looking up at me in shock. “The power on this thing is killer.” At this rate, no matter how much of a Great Demon he was, he wouldn’t be safe.

Did I get him? Right, this is a resurrection spell. But no “flag” was triggered. Once the cloud cleared, there was no trace of the demon’s form. Perhaps I was able to handle it easily because it wasn’t fully resurrected. I thought this was the end, but…

Shudder!

A sudden chill ran down my spine as my Sixth Sense warned me. I looked around. In the distance, along the horizon in all directions, a pitch-black wave was surging toward us.

Undead? Tens… hundreds of thousands? Maybe millions. An endless legion of Undead that made counting meaningless. This happened during the regular conquest, and it was happening again. I climbed down from the tower. The other two had also spotted the Undead army and were staring blankly at the horizon.

“The Undead are swarming.”

“…It seems they are being drawn to the power of Balruk’s brief resurrection.”

Is that how it is? Since the Undead were literally surrounding us from all directions, there was no place to run.

No conquest message yet… It seemed I had taken the wrong route. Should I have defeated Balruk faster? Or dealt with Philip even earlier so he couldn’t do anything? Anyway, now that I had all the core information, I just had to do better on the next try.

But… a thought suddenly occurred to me.

Do I really have to retry? I looked up at the Ultra-Extermination Compressed Mana Light Cannon and spoke to the two.

“Sir Delent, Sir Slavan. Do you like miracles?”

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I’ll show you one. A miracle.”

I climbed back up the tower and grabbed the controls.

This is a decisive weapon, practically the culmination of the ancient Rune Magic Empire’s magitech. Its power is immense, so use with caution.

Willpower Consumption: 600

Cooldown: None

One peculiar thing about this item is that it has no cooldown. Of course, the willpower consumption is massive, so normally the Tower would have intended it to be used exactly once to kill Balruk. But that wasn’t the case for me. Because I can refill my willpower infinitely. This probably wasn’t the intended clear route, but…

What would happen if I wiped out all those Undead? I was curious too. So, I was going to try it myself starting now.

—

Delent and Slavan braced themselves for death before the approaching army of the dead. But…

“I’ll show you one. A miracle.”

Seohyun Kim said something nonsensical and climbed back up the tower. Was he going to use the cannon again? They had witnessed its terrifying power, but there was no way he could keep using such a monstrous weapon. There was no way he had any mana left.

But…

…KABOOOOOOM!!

The cannon fired again, landing to the west and causing a massive explosion in the distance. Seohyun Kim turned the direction slightly and fired to the northwest. Then North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest…

The cannon rotated 360 degrees, firing incessantly every second. Each time, with a sound of thunder, a disaster bloomed amidst the Undead host. The numbers, once so immense they covered the earth, were visibly dwindling.

“W-What in the world is this…”

Neither Delent nor Slavan could believe the reality unfolding before their eyes.

—

Fire one shot, refill willpower, then fire another. This was not a fight against the Undead, but a fight against mental endurance. At 1% per minute, with my willpower at 1,000, it would take 60 minutes to refill 600 willpower. In my perceived time, I was firing one shot every hour. Of course, in real-time, I was unleashing a merciless, all-around bombardment from 1 o’clock to 12 o’clock every second.

After firing over thirty shots, I got so bored I thought about quitting… but it felt like a waste of the effort I’d already put in, so I kept firing with the mindset of seeing it through to the end. Most of all, I wanted to try deviating from the set route at least once. I wanted to spite the Tower, so to speak. Though I didn’t even know if the Tower was an entity with intelligence or emotions.

I must have fired nearly a hundred shots like that. Finally, the Undead were all vaporized.

“Phew…”

I released the time-stop and looked around at the ruin I had created. The place that was once a plain was now completely devastated, looking like the surface of the moon.

Well, I finally did it. There are no more Undead left to swarm. So, what are you going to do about the conquest now?

“…”

No message appeared. I didn’t know why, but I felt as if the Tower was being silent. Why? Did you not imagine this either?

Then, a message appeared.

“…Huh?”

A message I had never seen before.