Chapter 38

Chapter 38. Underground Dungeon (3)

In an instant, they had found themselves facing a situation where everyone’s lives were in danger, yet ironically, Balun felt relieved.

‘This was it. This was the cause of that unpleasant feeling.’

Balun grinned.

It had not been a betrayal by his allies. From the very beginning, there had been a third party targeting them.

That fact brought him a strange sense of relief.

He had not been pointlessly oversensitive. His instincts as a Warrior, honed through hard training, and the ability Calrent had called Mana Sense, had properly detected the danger.

‘My instincts were right. Look at this. There were enemies here. It is a fact that someone was aiming for me.’

Of course, it was extremely embarrassing. He had misunderstood and suspected his allies because he had thought wrongly. How could he hold his head up after something like that?

If he had his way, he wanted to apologize immediately, but he decided to leave that for later. This was not the time to relax.

‘First, I need to identify the enemies...’

Balun’s thoughts stopped. Suddenly, he could not see in front of him. The torches had all gone out at once without warning.

“Huh?”

“What the hell!”

The torches had been burning well, and yet they had suddenly gone out all at once even though no water had been poured over them and the oxygen had not been cut off. Naturally, there was only one cause.

‘The enemies put out the flames.’

“I-I cannot see!”

“Who put out the lights!”

“Everyone, group together! We survive if we group together!”

In the pitch-black darkness, he could hear the flustered voices of his companions. The advance party was panicking in the complete darkness that had suddenly fallen upon them.

Balun was just as flustered. No matter how strong a Warrior was, how could he resist darkness that suddenly descended?

However, Balun was a professional in battle. Balun had fought countless chaotic battles in the darkness. He quickly hid his panic, threw away the extinguished torch, and pulled the remaining hand axe from the left side of his waist.

He closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. The pounding of his heart sounded louder than the panicked voices of his companions.

However, Balun paid it no mind and continued to breathe deeply. As he repeated his inhalations and exhalations, he felt his senses gradually sharpen, and sounds he had not been able to hear began to reach him.

Something was fluttering. It was probably the hem of someone’s clothing. That meant the enemies were running this way.

Where were they coming from? The sound was so faint that it was not easy to gauge the direction.

‘I have to find them. If I do not, I will die. I will die.’

Fortunately, he found a clue. He realized that a foreign smell was hidden within the thick scent of dust.

Others might not have been able to explain it, but Balun felt as though he could describe this scent in a single phrase.

‘This is the smell of new clothes.’

Balun’s nose followed the smell. It was much clearer than the faint sound, so it was easier to track.

‘But why does this smell exist? Does this world also have synthetic fibers made from petroleum? Or did they pour a lot of chemicals on their clothes?’

Pushing aside the questions that suddenly rose in his mind, Balun focused. The smell was quite close. Close enough that if he fell forward, his nose would touch it. That meant an enemy had already come right up to him.

FLAP!

Amid the scene filled with screams, he heard the sound of a garment hem flapping fiercely. The moment he realized that the sound matched the direction where Gregory had been, Balun’s body moved.

Balun’s hand axe traced an arc.

WHOOSH!

CLANG!

With a clear metallic ring, Balun’s axe stopped in midair. A sword had blocked the axe. Looking at the blade, the only thing gleaming in the darkness, Balun asked.

“Who are you?”

“...”

“Who are you, and why did you target us?”

There was no answer. Balun did not ask again. He brought the axe in his left hand down. In that instant, the muscles in Balun’s left arm bulged and thickened.

CLANG!

THUNK!

He felt the blade break and the axe dig into flesh.

“Urgh!”

Then, along with a short groan, a silhouette gradually appeared.

Rustle—

He could not see it clearly, but he could vaguely make out the shape of a person. His eyes had already adapted to the darkness.

“Damn it!”

With a brief curse, the silhouette in the darkness trembled. Balun did not stay still.

SLASH!

“...!”

A head flew into the air. Blood sprayed like a fountain. The shaking silhouette stopped, and there was a thud as the body fell to the floor.

Immediately afterward, Balun groped along the floor, grabbed the fallen enemy’s clothes, and tore them with a rip.

He smelled them.

‘So this was it. The smell of new clothes.’

A distinctive chemical smell. There was no doubt about it.

Holding the torn cloth, Balun quickly lifted the fallen Gregory up.

“Are you all right?”

“Lord Balun?”

Gregory spoke in a bewildered voice. He had thought he was going to die for certain, but he had survived.

“D-did you save me?”

“Clench your teeth. It might hurt.”

“Wh-what do you mean by... Urgh!”

Gregory let out a short groan. It was because Balun had suddenly snapped off the arrow embedded in Gregory’s right arm.

“Do not make noise. The enemy is coming.”

“Yes. Understoo—mmph!”

Balun tightly wrapped the torn cloth around Gregory’s wounded area, tight enough to cut off the blood flow. It must have been tremendous pain, but Gregory did not let out a single groan. He only broke out in a cold sweat.

“That will do. I stopped the bleeding for now. You should be fine for a while.”

“Th-thank you. I survived thanks to you.”

“Not yet. There are enemies. There will be many. Our allies are being attacked.”

Balun could not know the full situation either. He had only adapted slightly to the darkness; he could not see through it as though it were broad daylight.

However, one thing was certain.

A chaotic battle was taking place all around them.

The sound of steel rang out, and the groans of men could occasionally be heard. It would be good if those groans belonged to the enemy, but Balun knew that was likely not the case.

He wanted to save all of them, but he also knew that he could not.

‘Damn it, damn it all!’

He wanted to cry. But he could not cry.

Forcing himself to ignore his violently pounding heart, Balun looked around.

Amid the pile of stones that had fallen from the ceiling, he saw a faintly flickering blue light.

Balun dug through the pile of stones, pulled it out, and handed it to Gregory.

“H-how did you...”

“This is your magic staff, right?”

“It is. Thank you so much. I thought I would never find it...”

“Put your ear close. This is a secret.”

Balun whispered quietly into Gregory’s ear.

“It seems the enemies’ target is you.”

“Pardon?”

“Lower your voice. The enemy can hear.”

“Ah, yes!”

Gregory nodded vigorously. His expression was hidden in the darkness, but Balun could tell from his trembling voice that he was quite frightened.

“The most Killing Intent is aimed at you. That means you are the target. It is probably because you are a Mage.”

“I-I see.”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes. Clearly.”

Gregory nodded. Balun let out a small sigh. Perhaps because the man was a Mage, he understood quickly. That was good.

“Can you use magic?”

“I can, but if the enemies are aiming for me, it will not be easy.”

“Balun will protect you. Use magic.”

“Yes. In that case, what magic should I use?”

For a moment, Balun was dumbfounded.

‘No, why are you asking me that? You are the Mage.’

Balun had thought Gregory must be impressive because even the knights treated him respectfully, but perhaps that was not the case after all.

Of course, that was a thought Balun could have because he was experienced.

How many people could stay sane in a situation where their lives were at risk?

It was only natural that even a Mage, or a Mage’s grandfather, would find it hard to maintain his composure.

“Use something that creates light. Can you do it?”

“It is possible, but it will not be easy.”

“Why?”

“The flow of mana has become strange. It is far too unstable. There is a high probability that the magic will not activate properly.”

No, why was this so complicated? Could he not just make it go pop and fire it?

“They must have done something. I thought it was strange that my search magic could not detect them...”

“Still, do it. You must. That is how we survive.”

“Yes. Understood. I will try.”

With a solemn expression, Gregory raised his staff and began moving his lips.

As a shimmer formed along the blue jewel embedded in his staff, Balun suddenly felt the Killing Intent grow thicker.

‘As expected, I was right. They are trying to eliminate the Mage.’

They were coming closer. He felt a chilling Sharp Steel Aura. Balun swung his axe with all his might. His strength, empowered by Enhancement Art, was fully transmitted into the axe.

THUNK!

The sensation of the axe cutting through flesh traveled to his fingertips. A small groan followed. There was no evidence, but for some reason, Balun felt that these people had not even been flustered.

Balun immediately opened his mouth and shouted with all his strength. An unbelievably thunderous roar shook the area.

“Balun does not know who you are! But it does not matter!”

“...”

“You attacked Balun! I will split you apart! I will split every last one of you apart!”

THUD!

Balun struck the ground. The entire space shook. He saw the silhouette of a person stagger.

‘There.’

Balun threw his hand axe without hesitation. The hand axe flew in a straight line and lodged squarely in the man’s forehead. His body collapsed and covered his companion beside him.

The enemy moved to avoid his falling comrade, but by coincidence, that movement created an opening.

Balun did not miss that gap.

With his empty left hand, he grabbed the man by the collar. The sturdy man’s body was lifted helplessly.

“Guh!”

The man dangled in the air and struggled.

Balun grabbed him by the neck and swung him toward the front like a club. He felt several things get caught in the swing.

The formation of the enemies charging at him was collapsing.

The enemies behind them did not dare approach Balun. That was understandable. Who would have expected someone to lift a human being and swing him like a club?

“Let go! I said let go!”

On top of that, the man who had been reduced to a club was struggling like mad, so anyone within range could not avoid being kicked by his flailing legs.

“You ignorant bastard...!”

“Let go? Understood.”

Balun released his hand mid-swing. The human club flew in the direction it had been swung and crashed into his own comrades. There was a crash as they all toppled over.

That was precisely when Gregory completed his magic.

FLASH!

Balun narrowed his eyes.

“Why is it not bright?”

“I-I am sorry! The mana will not obey me properly! Still, I did my best...!”

The light was dimmer than expected. It was not even as bright as a torch.

However, that alone was enough. Only then could Balun grasp the situation at the scene at a glance.

In the chaotic mess filled with dust from the collapsed walls, their allies and men in black were tangled together in disorder, swinging their swords.

‘This has gone to hell.’

Balun clicked his tongue. The situation was worse than he had expected. How many of the advance party members were already lying on the floor?

‘There is nothing I can do about the ones who are already dead. I have to protect the ones who remain.’

In an instant, every gaze focused on Balun. More precisely, they were looking at Gregory, whom Balun was protecting.

The moment he felt their murderous intent pouring down on them, Balun pulled out the two-handed axe from his back.

“Do not let the light go out. I will be back soon.”

“Yes!”

Balun took a broad step forward. One of the men in black opened his mouth.

“What are you?”

“That is what I want to ask. What are you?”

“How can you be fine? The Mana Poison should have spread properly.”

Balun tilted his head.

‘Mana Poison?’

What was that?

“Mana Poison!”

Gregory’s voice suddenly burst out.

He muttered with furious eyes.

“I thought something was strange. To think you used such a despicable trick!”

‘Despicable trick?’

What was that supposed to be?

Just as he was about to ask, the voice of the man in black was heard.

“You. You should not be able to use magic or Aura, so how are you producing that kind of strength?”

“I could not use them in the first place.”

“What?”

“Balun does not know how to use Aura in the first place.”

“You do not know how to use Aura? Impossible. How can you use that kind of strength without Aura?”

For a moment, irritation surged within him.

Was that bastard making fun of him? He was already sad because he could not learn Aura or magic.

On the other hand, Balun now understood. He had wondered why the advance party members, who were all fairly skilled in their own right, were struggling so much, and apparently, it was because they had been affected by something called Mana Poison.

‘Was I affected too? But I cannot really tell.’

It was only natural that Balun could not feel it.

Mana Poison was a poison that dispersed the mana within the body.

Whether one was a Mage or a knight, it was fatal to any skilled person who handled mana, but why would something like that matter to Balun?

He had no mana.

“So it was you.”

“What?”

“The voice from earlier.”

Balun pointed at the man in black who had been speaking.

“I will split you apart first.”

“What a ridiculous thing to say. A bastard who cannot even use Aura dares to—”

The man in black’s eyes narrowed. Balun had suddenly thrown his hand axe.

The man in black immediately raised his sword to block it. His sword broke just like that. The flying hand axe had shattered the blade.

Then his eyes flew wide open.

“What the...!”

THUNK!

He met his end without even being able to resist.

As silence settled over the scene, Balun extended his two-handed axe forward and spoke.

“Do not feel left out. I will split all of you apart too. You can go to the afterlife together.”