The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 332: The Violet Brigade (3)
Whoooong!
Space opened, and four figures stepped out into a snow-storming mountain range.
“Wind Shield.”
Sasha, who unfolded a dome-shaped barrier to block the raging snow, muttered.
“They really ran diligently. They’re rats in a trap anyway.”
“The will to survive is a human instinct, isn’t it?”
Even Chester, who had been released from confinement, showed no sense of vigilance in his voice.
Their attitude was as if they were going on an outing rather than heading into a fight.
Oscar, who wondered if he should say something, shook his head.
‘It can’t be helped.’
His gaze naturally turned to the old man standing at the rear.
Heavenly Sword.
An 8th-Level swordsman and a monster called the strongest human alive.
There was no way they would feel fear when they had brought such an absurd existence along as a mercenary.
“What are you standing around for? Move already.”
“Just a moment.”
When Sasha raised her hand and scattered mana, a single strand of thread shone clearly within the blizzard.
Pulling on the thread as they advanced, a massive cave soon revealed itself.
“A cave in a place like this.......”
“At a glance, it doesn’t look like a naturally formed cave.”
Oscar shared the same opinion.
Pillars set symmetrically at the entrance and ancient letters carved into the walls.
“It’s a dungeon.”
The cave bore the typical shape of a dungeon.
Sasha approached the massive stone door and pulled the thread.
The taut thread had already pierced through the gap between the stone doors.
“It’s certain. The Captain is currently inside this dungeon.”
“Hmm.......”
Oscar tilted his head uneasily.
Though brief, the Captain he had encountered was not a foolish man.
Yet he retreated into the interior of a dungeon with no escape route?
“Something’s suspicious.”
“Tsk tsk tsk. You worry for nothing. Did you shout at the top of your lungs that I’d be joining you?”
“No?”
“Then they wouldn’t know I’d be joining. They probably thought that if it was just you three, it’d be manageable inside the dungeon.”
“Hmm.”
It wasn’t baseless reasoning.
Choosing this place as the battlefield meant the Captain knew the dungeon’s gimmick.
‘On the other hand, we have no information about this dungeon.......’
By exploiting that information gap and pressing them, they might have calculated that they could somehow handle three people.
However, the variable they had overlooked was the asymmetrical force that had joined this party—Heavenly Sword.
“Hmm?”
At that moment, Chester’s eyes narrowed as he noticed something.
He approached the stone door, traced the pattern, and spoke.
“This pattern—I’ve seen it once before. It’s the symbol of fanatics who worship an evil god.”
“An evil god?”
“Yes. They’re unfamiliar beings now, but traces of their existence from the distant past can still be encountered through dungeons or artifacts like this.”
A dungeon of fanatics who worshipped an evil god, on top of an already unsettling situation.
Sasha turned around and asked carefully.
“What should we do?”
“Huh?”
Heavenly Sword, who had been standing with his hands behind his back, let out a scoff as if he had heard something absurd.
“Is there even anything to deliberate? If you insist on turning back, I won’t stop you, but I’ll consider that I’ve already helped once.”
“How petty.”
“Quiet. You’re the one who barged in at dawn while I was sleeping peacefully and kidnapped me, yet you have a lot to say.”
Could it be that he was still sulking over that?
Petty, so petty!
Narrow-minded, so narrow-minded!
After staring at the stone door for a moment, Oscar reluctantly opened his mouth.
“Let’s go in.”
“Will it be alright?”
“There might be another exit in the dungeon, so we can’t just wait forever.”
“I’ll go in first.”
It was Chester who stepped forward as the vanguard.
He stood proudly before the stone door and slowly pushed it.
Grrrrr!
The heavy, rusted stone door seemed to budge slightly, then didn’t move at all.
“Tsk tsk, the young fellow lacks strength. Is it because you’re all mages?”
Seeing this, Heavenly Sword stepped forward confidently and lightly tried to open the stone door.
Grrrrr!
But once again, the slightly pushed door didn’t budge.
“C-Cough! Sometimes there are dungeons like this that require conditions just to enter.”
“Maybe it’s this?”
Sasha, who had found something near the stone door, called everyone over.
Upon approaching, they saw a stone altar with two palm-shaped grooves carved into it.
“It looks like you have to place both hands on this altar to enter. Maybe. Or maybe not.”
“I’ll try first.”
As Chester rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, Heavenly Sword glanced at Oscar with narrow eyes.
“Shouldn’t the youngest one step up and do things like that first?”
“Ah, well.......”
“Tsk tsk. Seems the White Tower doesn’t even know basic etiquette.”
The biting assessment felt unfair, but there was nothing he could really say in rebuttal.
Sasha and Chester in front also pretended not to hear and simply did their own tasks.
“Hmm!”
At that moment, Chester, who had placed both hands on the altar, frowned.
“W-Why? Is something wrong?”
“For a moment, I felt a stinging sensation in my fingertips.”
When Chester withdrew his hands, round drops of blood had gathered on all ten of his fingers.
Those ten drops of blood that fell moved somewhere along the altar.
“I’ll try opening the door again.”
This time, without even needing to push, the door opened as Chester approached.
But when Heavenly Sword casually stepped closer, the door shut sharply.
“Hmm. So it’s saying not to try any tricks.”
In the end, only after all four people had their blood drawn did the stone door fully open.
Grrrrr.
The moment they stepped inside, a massive cavern came into view.
On the floor of the cavern, red blood—including theirs—was flowing along faint channels.
Heavenly Sword, upon entering, immediately surveyed the enemies.
“Twenty-three in total. Nine at Level 6, fourteen at Level 7.”
There were no Level 8s, but for a mere faction, it was an astonishing composition.
Moreover, Oscar and Sasha noticed something.
“The Captain and the Mad Fiend aren’t here.”
“Nor is Oran Quil.”
“That guy moved into the inner chamber with the Captain.”
Kaya, who walked out from the opposite side, said with a powerless smile.
“Something about removing the thread stuck to the mask, or whatever.”
“......Move aside, Kaya.”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
“Sorry, but I can’t.”
Kaya shook her head with a grimace.
“I’ve got a debt to repay to the Captain.”
“I’m sorry, but that wasn’t a request—it was a warning.”
“I know. Honestly, I’m pretty surprised right now. One of you is already tough enough, but.......”
Her gaze turned to Heavenly Sword, who stood with his hands behind his back.
“......To think another monster would be added. That wasn’t in the calculations.”
“You never mentioned anything like this!”
Even within the Violet Brigade, several members shouted while breaking into cold sweat.
They had been guarding this place under duress out of fear for their lives, but for Heavenly Sword to be added to the opposition—
“Damn it, then whether we die running or die fighting, it’s the same, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. The difference in power between the two sides is obvious. So stop spilling pointless blood and move aside.”
“You fools, calm down first.”
Kaya, who had calmed the agitated members, looked at Heavenly Sword.
“The Captain’s not some idiot moron. Do you think he told us to gather here without any countermeasures?”
“Countermeasures my ass! There are two Level 8s—what method could there possibly be......!”
“There is.”
Kaya replied firmly and muttered while looking upward.
“It’s about time you started.”
The moment her words ended, the river of blood flowing across the cavern floor bubbled and began to flicker.
Faster, even faster.
Soon the flickering blood became blindingly bright—Flash!
After searing itself intensely into everyone’s vision, it vanished spectacularly.
“......!”
After staring briefly at the now eerily empty cavern where the blood had disappeared, Oscar flinched.
‘My mana... it’s draining?’
He instinctively opened his palm.
Wind rose above it, but the output was not even half of usual.
“The Sanctuary of Hierarchy Inversion. As expected of an ancient evil god, it’s quite an amusing ability.”
“Power... power is overflowing.”
“T-To think the day would come in my life when I’d handle mana of this magnitude.”
The ones trembling in exhilaration were the Level 6 members of the Violet Brigade.
They could not contain their excitement at the omnipotence that felt as if they had become gods.
And for good reason—the power dwelling in their bodies now was that of Sasha and Heavenly Sword, respectively.
“So, how is it? Feels doable now, right?”
“.......”
“.......”
The two Level 6 members who had suddenly grasped the power of Level 8 looked at each other.
Then, with sly smiles, they slowly approached Kaya.
Seeing this, Kaya let out a faint sigh.
“Hoo, just as expected. I’ll give you some advice—don’t.”
“How laughable. Right now, I feel like I could even slice a mountain in half with my sword. Why should I listen to the likes of you?”
“.......”
The moment Kaya’s eyes turned indifferent, two of the Level 6 members vanished from her sight.
‘It works!’
Overwhelming speed, overflowing strength!
Right now, they could make Kaya Lockwood—who usually looked down on and ignored them—kneel!
The two grinned broadly at the thrilling ecstasy rising from the soles of their feet.
“......Huh?”
“Uh?”
It vanished.
The power that had dwelled in their bodies—the power that made even gods seem frightening.
“Are you idiots? Do you really think the Captain would give you that kind of power without at least a minimum safety device?”
Kaya snorted, lightly flicked her hand, and two corpses were added to the cavern.
Immediately after, the expressions of two other Level 6 members changed.
“H-Hey, hey!”
“I-It’s coming to me this time.......”
“No need to explain it twice, right?”
Kaya looked at them in a slanted posture and warned,
“Don’t harbor any stupid thoughts. Just hold back the enemies in front of you. That’s enough.”
“......Understood.”
As the Violet members nodded and surrounded the enemies, Heavenly Sword was examining his own body with fascination.
“Ho ho.”
In an instant, it felt as though he had returned to his Level 6 body.
There was no sword aura he could release in torrents at will, no mind-sword that could kill enemies with mere thought.
Perhaps because he had fallen to Level 6, even his once-healthy bones and muscles—strong enough to defy age—were now screaming.
It had been so many decades since he had been this frail that he could barely even remember.
“Interesting.”
Even so, Heavenly Sword grasped his sword.
Funnily enough, he was feeling joy right now.
An overwhelming dopamine he couldn’t feel even after hitting the jackpot at a casino.
“Can this old man... cut down a Level 8 with a Level 6 body?”
To think he had the chance to realize in reality the idle fantasies he entertained when bored.
Suppressing his pounding heart, Heavenly Sword spoke.
“I can’t hold back. I’ll go in first.”
With that, Heavenly Sword dashed recklessly toward the enemies.
At that reckless charge, Oscar and Sasha hurriedly used support magic.
“Huh?”
The swordsman who had instantly gained the power of Level 8 let out a scoff as he looked at Heavenly Sword rushing toward him.
Not even a trace of sword aura was carried on the old man’s blade.
Just a thin layer of sword energy that even a Level 5 could apply.
In contrast, explosive sword aura was continuously bursting from his own blade.
Even a passing three-year-old would know who would win when the two swords clashed.
‘Looks like he lost his power and his mind along with it.’
The member tightened his grip on his sword.
Though Heavenly Sword had lost his power, he was still called the greatest human on the continent.
Just imagining cutting that man down with his own hands made a hot thrill surge up from the soles of his feet.
“I’ll still send you off without pain, as courtesy to a senior!”
A crude sword aura slashed in a cross.
At that moment, Heavenly Sword’s knee buckled half a beat late.
Creaking sounds rang from his bones.
‘The old man’s balance is broken—it’s over.’
The member thrust his sword toward the defenseless Heavenly Sword, certain of victory.
However, Heavenly Sword made full use even of that aged, collapsing balance.
With two short steps, the tip of his foot scraped across the ground as if he were about to fall—
Thrust! His sword pierced the opponent’s throat.
“Ke-Kegh! Khrk!”
“Huff, huff.”
Heavenly Sword breathed roughly.
Each time, his chest rose high and then fell again.
Not even when fighting the Demon King Belpher had his body been this exhausted.
And yet, the corners of Heavenly Sword’s mouth were lifted.
“Hoo. Yes, it’s nice to work up a sweat after so long.”
Having reached lofty heights, he had at some point forgotten the joy of swinging a sword.
The face of Heavenly Sword, who felt that joy again after a long time, looked more delighted than ever before.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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