Chapter 93 – Chapter 23. The Devil’s Den.
The brave team finally arrived near the catacombs after two days.
Jihyeok said he was almost there, but his colleagues did not quite understand what the captain was saying. … The place they were now was an empty plain with only a few rocks.
“Are you almost there? … Can’t you see anything?”
Big Bruce asked as he glanced around. Jihyeok smiled.
“I’ll find out when I go a little further.”
The warrior team only followed Jihyeok. Everyone wondered what the hell was going on here.
“Get your mind straight from now on. It’s where the demons are. I could really die if I was sorry.”
Everyone nodded their heads nervously. After Jihyeok warned him, he moved again. He headed for a boulder taller than the others.
From there, we headed northwest and started walking. After walking about a hundred steps, a huge entrance to the basement appeared on the floor.
“Fuck…”
Even the tall Bruce couldn’t help but be horrified when he saw it. The entrance to the underground passage, which seemed to lead to hell, was terrifying like the mouth of a monster. In addition, there were many traces of something red scrawled around the entrance. There were also paintings depicting demons.
All of the demonic energy that had spread throughout the Devil’s Land was pouring out from here. Whoa. Ludwigne felt a light orgasm.
“Fuck it, it’s fucked up, this.”
The kobold Zepopo also shook his head as he gulped down his saliva. Having been a mercenary for nearly 20 years, it was the first time I had ever been to a place I didn’t want to go into.
At that time, Jihyeok once again spoke to his colleagues in a stern voice.
“Don’t be afraid. As long as you keep your mind straight, everyone can finish the mission safely.”
There, Grendal helped out with a word.
“He is the one who caught many demons. So don’t worry and trust me.”
Those words eased the teammates’ anxiety a bit. Jepopo shouted as he slammed the iron-cored mace on the floor.
“Yeah fuck you, do you search once or twice anyway? Let’s go, chief.”
“Fuck, this bastard pretends to be cool by himself. … Let’s shred the devil bastard, chief.”
Bruce, too, was determined to fight. Anyway, Grace and Grendal no doubt trusted the captain, and Ludwigne drank plenty of magi and looked rather happy.
Jihyeok encouraged everyone once more and then set up a formation. Jihyeok took the lead first, followed by Ludvine, Grendal, Grace, Jepopo, and Bruce.
“I hear ghosts like the one in the back.”
“You son of a bitch, don’t talk nonsense. Cleave the expansion head and throw it away.”
“No fuck, superstition is like that. Baby, are you scared?”
“Fuck, what a shame!”
Jihyeok clapped his hands and drew attention.
“Now go in. Everyone is nervous.”
Jihyeok slowly passed through the passageway entrance and descended the stone steps. The aisle was quite large, enough for the two of Grendall to stand side by side.
There was pitch-black darkness below. Ludbine created a sphere of light and launched it into the air. But the long aisle stretched all the way down without knowing the end.
Clap clap clap clap.
The entrance soon disappeared from sight. The sound of six footsteps and breathing continued to spread along the long passage.
“Fuck, how deep is that?”
With no end in sight, Bruce had a shit line. It was because of what Jepopo had said earlier, a sense of fear came over me, as if something was about to come out from behind me. The big scar held back the desire to hit the back of the head with this unlucky dog head right in front of his eyes.
Just as Bruce was about to ask again how far they had to go, they finally reached the basement. An eerie aura hit my body.
“Ah…”
A huge number of skeletons greeted them. Skeleton heads were lined up side by side on the top shelf of the wall, and all sorts of bones were piled up underneath. It stretched endlessly on both sides.
“Fuck, what is this…”
It was a place where my body trembled.
“I said Catacombs. This is right there.”
Ah.
“Sir, that’s fucking scary.”
The kobold Zepopo clicked his tongue once and shook his head. Jihyeok took out a structure diagram folded several times from his luggage and spread it out on the ground.
“Ludbine.”
A sphere of light illuminated the schematic. Team members gathered around it. Jihyeok tapped the entrance with his finger.
“Now we are here.”
Those fingers went smoothly and without hesitation through the maze-like path. Of course, the faces of the team members who saw it gradually hardened. Soon, Jihyeok’s fingers reached the end of the schematic and stopped.
“Let’s go this far.”
My popo said while kicking his tongue as if he was embarrassed.
“It’s so damn complicated, isn’t it?”
Jihyeok folded the structure diagram, got up from his seat, and tapped the kobold’s arm with a grin.
“So you have to keep your mind straight so you don’t get lost.”
He swallowed them all. Here, he was dizzy just thinking about getting lost and wandering. Moreover, it’s not just a maze, it’s a place where bones are all over the place. It was strange that he wasn’t afraid because there was even a devil there. Ludwig and Magi were okay, but the skull looked scary.
“Let’s go.”
There was only one thing Jihyeok wanted. On the way, unlucky enough not to encounter only devils.
I didn’t want to run into a demon that had nothing to do with my mission and lose my strength. Even the guy I have to fight with is a troublesome bastard.
The warrior team moved from the direction of the entrance to the passage on the left. This formation consisted of two lines. Jihyeok and Bruce stood at the front, Ludbine and Grace in the middle, and Grendal and Zeppopo at the back.
The road was pretty wide. So even if you go in two lines, there is quite a bit of space left on either side.
“Fuck, how dead are you?”
Bruce shook his head, clicking his tongue at the endless display of bones. Even if you count the number of skull gourds that were lined up in a row, it seemed that there were already well over four or five hundred.
Jihyeok answered his curiosity.
“This maze is full of these.”
“Yes?!”
“Probably several thousand. There are a lot of pagans like the Demon Cult. This place was used as a hideout for them.”
Chills down the spine The team continued walking, gasping nervously.
Because a place is a place, the walking speed slowed down a bit. It was because of the tension of not knowing what would come out of the darkness.
Jihyeok picked up a torch because he couldn’t keep the light sphere on. Of course, the field of view narrowed. However, it was not good for him to keep draining Ludbine’s mana. You never know when or where you might need her magic.
After walking for a while, the road forked again. Jihyeok told his teammates that he had to go there first, pointed his finger in the direction, and told them to take a break.
“Ah, sir.”
She sat down on the ground while everyone was screaming in pain. A cold chill rose from his ass. Even the air against his skin was as cold as ice because he had come down underground for so long.
Whoop Whoop.
Everyone was exhausted from sharp tension. Jihyeok was also constantly vigilant in all directions. As soon as he senses something’s not right, he’s ready to make a move.
Ludbine was slightly intoxicated with Magi. She wondered how dangerous her witch’s blood was. It was clearly not normal for her to be able to feel joy in such an eerie place.
After resting for a while, Jihyeok said let’s start again. They lifted up their heavy bodies.
Margie had terrifyingly tightened their necks. The cold air, the ghastly demons, the terrifying places—all of these things were eating away at their psyche.
Jihyeok checked Grace’s condition from time to time. Apparently, she has anxiety, so she couldn’t be sure when she would have a seizure. Of course he had told her to tell her ahead of time if her anxiety was going to flare up, so she wouldn’t explode.
A road soon came out. Jihyeok decided to stay here for a day.
Everyone was finally able to unpack and sleep, but their expressions were not good at all. This place was already the devil’s mouth. It would be nice if I could even sleep comfortably, but it’s definitely impossible.
“Today, two of us will stay vigil. Watch one side of the aisle, one by one.”
Jihyeok decided to stand with Grace first. She always seemed to like being with her and her mate here.
The team members ate their fill and quietly lay down on the rug. Jepopo, who always makes jokes before going to bed, was at a loss for words. … No, no one opened their mouths. The terrible tension did not even allow them to have a comfortable conversation.
Jihyeok and Grace each looked at the aisle while holding their bodies close together. He reached out to her side and held her hand tightly. She clenched her hand too hard.
“Can you hold on?”
“Yes I’m okay. It’s not as difficult as you think.”
“If it’s hard, don’t hold back and tell me. Understand? I put up with it thinking about myself, and later it explodes. … It’s getting better little by little. Nothing gets better all at once. Because I understand everything.”
“… Yes.”
Grace suddenly wondered why the captain was so devoted to helping her. She debated whether or not to ask this, but she finally opened her mouth.
“… Captain.”
“Uh.”
“Why do you do this to me… , Are you doing well?”
The words were cut off. She wondered if she had asked for nothing, and she regretted it. Thinking back, how embarrassing the captain must have been!
“I am the chief. You are my dear friend.”
Grace touched her heart there.
“It is natural to be considerate. Even if Grendall had anxiety, I would have comforted her. … Oh, was the analogy like that?”
Hehe.
The two laughed lightly. Grace eased her sharp tension slightly.
The conversation was long interrupted. However, the tightly clasped hands continued to connect and did not break.
Grace suddenly remembered her lover who had died. Ah. Her cigarette was in a hurry.
“Can I smoke a cigarette, please?”
“Then. Come on.”
She quickly asked for a pipe. And she sucked in the acrid smoke. With that feeling of her slightly dizzy, the image of her former lover was momentarily erased.
Woo woo.
She stretched her hand out to the side again, which she had briefly let go of to refill her cigarette. Her hand, which had hurriedly fumbled on the floor, caught the captain’s hand again. There, her anxious mind calmed down a little.
The smoker healer suddenly had a strange urge. I feel like I have to say something.
Didn’t you regret it a long time ago?
She couldn’t say the last word she loved to her dead lover.
The thought came to me suddenly. And it stabbed Grace’s chest relentlessly.
I wanted to tell the captain.
Thank you.
… And, I like it.
She was overcome with a strong urge to speak now.
After the accident a long time ago, she realized that her death would always stick by her side.
When you die, it’s all over.
It’s too late to regret it
“Captain, sir.”
Grace opened her mouth.
“Huh.”
She was silent for a long time. But he kept waiting. Until she has her say.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you. It’s something you have to do, of course.”
For two years, no one had done what he was supposed to do. It was the captain who brought her out of that terrible hell.
“To Reig… , Sorry.”
“You couldn’t help it.”
“Yes that’s right. It was unavoidable.”
“Then forget about it.”
“So sorry… Regards… I feel like I’m forgetting him…”
He was silent
“I… , I must be a mean woman.”
“No.”
“No, I am not good. It’s a very bad bitch.”
Then she turned her head and looked at Jihyeok. Her captain also saw her.
She said with an expression that neither cried nor laughed.
“I… , Captain, I think you like it.”
Jihyo didn’t say anything. He squeezed Grace into the hand she was holding.
“… I like you, Jihyeok.”
