Dungeon Breaker

Chapter 23

—–CROW—–

“My apologies for the late introduction. My name is Aris. I’m the village chief.”

The Village Chief – Aris – bowed her head again and introduced herself.

Village chiefs were typically envisioned as elderly men, but Aris was incredibly young and beautiful.

Though, of course, she was only palm-sized.

“Hmm.”

Cheon-ho looked at Aris with slightly complicated eyes, and Luciel smiled brightly and said,

“I’m Luciel, an angel serving the Five Goddesses. And that person over there is Saschiel-nim, the Battle Angel.”

Luciel had a way of making a favorable impression on everyone, not just Cheon-ho.

Aris smiled back and looked in the direction Luciel pointed.

Saschiel was growling, a Rat Man pinned beneath his paw. He seemed to be interrogating it.

“And this is Mitra-nim.”

Luciel pointed to the Heat Dagger hanging from Cheon-ho’s waist, and Aris’s eyes widened.

“Mitra-nim?  Are you referring to the Holy Sword Mitra, the Imperial Guardian Sword… the holy sword of the first Hero who defeated the Demon King?”

Her voice was filled with awe and surprise.

“Yes, that’s Mitra-nim. He’s with our Hero.”

Luciel’s face beamed with uncontainable pride.

No, she was openly boasting.

“Ahem.”

Cheon-ho coughed, feigning embarrassment but inwardly pleased, and Aris blinked, tilting her head.

“Um… but wasn’t the Holy Sword Mitra a longsword?”

The Holy Sword Mitra in legends – no, in history – was a greatsword with a black hilt and a white blade.

But the Heat Dagger at Cheon-ho’s waist was clearly a dagger.

Luciel flinched and pursed her lips.

“W-Well, there were some circumstances…”

“[Hmm.]”

Instead of a long explanation, Mitra made a short sound like Cheon-ho, and he flinched involuntarily.

Seemingly satisfied with that, Mitra chuckled softly and said,

“[You, draw me and show me to Aris.  If she sees the jewel embedded in the hilt, she’ll believe you.]”

Cheon-ho obediently followed Mitra’s instructions.

Aris, at first unsure after seeing Mitra’s jewel, then widened her eyes in wonder.

“It truly is the Holy Sword Mitra.  I apologize for my doubts.”

“Not at all.  It’s natural to be curious.  Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re so magnanimous. I’m impressed.”

As Cheon-ho replied gentlemanly, Aris, just like Luciel, gazed up at him with sparkling eyes.

Though, of course, she was only palm-sized.

“Hmm.”

Still, she was a beauty – no, it felt good to have someone look at him with such admiration.

But Luciel frowned slightly and quickly changed the subject.

“Ah! Saschiel-nim is coming.”

It was just as well. She wasn’t sure why she felt that way, but Luciel was relieved.

“Saschiel, this is Aris-nim, the village chief of the Forest Elf village.”

As Cheon-ho introduced Aris, Saschiel nodded curtly.

“I am Saschiel, the Battle Angel.”

“I am Aris. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Aris was still polite, but her voice trembled slightly.

It was because Saschiel’s approaching presence was terrifying.

‘He’s huge.’

He had been big even when lying down, but now, standing up with his wings spread, he was like an armored vehicle – no, a tank.

His shoulder height seemed to be at least two meters, and his body length was much longer.

Even Cheon-ho felt intimidated by Saschiel’s size, so to the palm-sized Aris, it must have felt like a mountain approaching.

“Saschiel-nim, did you find any information?”

Luciel asked, and Saschiel nodded with a grim expression.

“Rat Men are cowardly and treacherous creatures, so they spill information with just a little intimidation. Not only this village, but other villages as well… even the Queen and Princess of the Forest Elves seem to have been captured.”

“I just heard a similar story from Aris-nim.”

“Then that makes things easier.  For the fairy tribe, the Queen and Princess hold a different meaning than human royalty. They are the ones who decide the fate of the tribe, the present and future of the tribe. We must rescue them.”

Instead of replying that he already knew from the hidden quest, Cheon-ho waited. Saschiel seemed to have more to say.

“They seem to be gathering the captured Forest Elves in the center of the altar, waiting for the day of the ritual.  They plan to offer the fairies as sacrifices to the Plague God to generate the power needed for the ritual.  Truly wicked creatures.”

Aris’s face turned pale.  She already knew, but hearing it from someone else made her heart sink.

“The Queen and Princess also seem to be held captive in the same place.  The ritual seems to be about four days from now… when the moon fragment rises.”

Moon fragment.

It was the first time Cheon-ho had heard of it, but he could roughly guess what it meant.

Probably a moon with special significance, like a full moon or a crescent moon.

Instead of asking if the sun and moon also rose in the Labyrinth World, Cheon-ho focused on the more important part.

“Four days… then we still have some time. The hidden quest also shows a time limit of 102 hours.”

Since they were being held captive as sacrifices, they wouldn’t be killed before the ritual.

“But it won’t be easy. The place where the altar is located is swarming with the Plague God’s followers.  Their numbers easily reach hundreds, if not more.”

The situation was different from the first floor, where the altar had just been built.

On the second floor, a faction had already been established.

“[If the enemy numbers are in the hundreds, our current strength is insufficient.]”

Only Cheon-ho and Saschiel could actually fight in their party.

Moreover, this mission was to rescue the Forest Elves. Even though the two of them possessed the strength of a hundred men, they were still short-handed.

“Um… I have an idea.”

Just then, Aris raised her small hand and spoke.

Saschiel asked,

“Are you suggesting you fight alongside us?  Your heart is commendable, but it’s too dangerous.”

“No, that’s not it… I know a place where we can ask for help.”

If they were short-handed, they just had to increase their numbers.

“Oh… is there a tribe of Treants nearby?”

If the Treants, who could be considered living trees, helped them, things would be much easier.

Aris nodded.

“Yes, there is a Treant tribe. But there’s someone else we must ask for help.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“The Forest Dragon… the great guardian of the forest, resides not far from here.”

“Oh.”

Saschiel gasped, and Luciel’s eyes sparkled.  Cheon-ho also inwardly exclaimed.

‘Forest Dragon!’

He didn’t know what it looked like or what kind of being it was, but he couldn’t help but feel excited.

It was a dragon, after all.

A dragon.

The essence of fantasy.

The flower of fantasy!

“But Aris, if the Forest Dragon is nearby, why didn’t you ask for help sooner?”

At Saschiel’s question, Aris’s expression turned gloomy.

“We did. But strangely, the Forest Dragon hasn’t responded.  The Dragon Maidens who serve the Forest Dragon haven’t answered either.  But if the angels ask for help… I’m sure there will be a response.”

Just like the earthbound spirits he had met in the tower on the first floor, angels seemed to hold significant meaning for the inhabitants of the Labyrinth World.

‘Well, they are literally messengers of God.’

In a world where the existence of God was taken for granted, it was natural for angels, God’s messengers, to be treated with respect.

Cheon-ho glanced at Luciel, and she, sensing his gaze, looked back at him and smiled brightly.

‘Hmm.’

As expected, Luciel was the best.

But aside from that, there was one part of Aris’s words that bothered him.

“Dragon Maidens?”

Aris nodded at Cheon-ho’s question.

“Yes, they’re fairy sisters who serve the Forest Dragon.”

So they were Forest Elves as well?

“They are fairies like us, but… there’s a big difference.  They’re from the Shadow Elves.”

“Shadow Elves?”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve heard.”

“[Shadow Elves are especially agile among the fairies and skilled in dark magic.]”

“[There was a Shadow Elf among the companions who adventured with Leon…]”

As Mitra suddenly went into reminiscence mode, Cheon-ho recalled a conversation with his father.

‘Father, I have a question.’

‘What is it, son?’

‘Listening to your stories, I was wondering, why are they all women?’

Wherever his father went, it seemed he encountered women.

The Elven Queen, the princess of some kingdom, the saintess, a staple of fantasy, and even the occasional dragon or demon he met happened to be female.

At young Cheon-ho’s innocent question, his father had smiled a manly smile and, gazing into the distance, said,

‘Well, I wonder why.’

Perhaps it was an adult matter.

Young Cheon-ho couldn’t understand his father’s answer. He just thought his father’s expression as he gazed into the distance looked cool.

And actually, his father’s stories included plenty of men. It was just that Cheon-ho didn’t remember them well.

“Hmm.”

Nodding thoughtfully, Cheon-ho asked Aris again,

“Aris-nim, how far is it to where the Forest Dragon resides?”

“It would take several days on foot for us… but for the Hero and the angels, it won’t even take a day.”

“I see.  Then let’s eat first.”

“Yes, th-that… what?”

Aris asked back involuntarily, and Saschiel also blinked.

“Eat?”

“Yes, it’s lunchtime, and we just had a fight.  Besides, we still have time before the ritual.”

There was no point in rushing.

To exert their full strength at the crucial moment, they needed to sleep well, eat well, and rest well to maintain peak condition.

“W-Well, that’s true.”

“The Forest Elves must be tired as well.  We need to eat to have the strength to work, so let’s eat first.”

Saying this, Cheon-ho looked at Luciel, and she reacted differently from Aris and Saschiel.

She was already used to it.

And Cheon-ho’s cooking was always welcome.

“Yes, Hero.”

Luciel smiled brightly and opened her inventory.

At the same time…

Auriel, following the window of light, bit her lip and let out a low groan.

The window of light that had been guiding them had disappeared.

[Distress Call]

[The distress signal has disappeared.]

It was one of three possibilities.

The target of the rescue was already dead, had escaped the danger on their own, or had been rescued by someone else.

“W-What should we do?”

Azel asked in an anxious voice, and Raguel, instead of answering immediately, remained silent for a moment.  Auriel started walking again.

“Let’s keep going.”

If their comrade was in an impossible situation, they would go to avenge them. If they had escaped on their own or had been rescued, they would go to join them.

The map had disappeared along with the window of light, but she roughly remembered the location.

“Yes, that’s the best we can do.”

When Raguel agreed, Azel nodded hesitantly.

Raguel patted Azel’s head.

“It’ll be alright. Don’t worry too much.”

“Yes, senior…”

That was as far as she got. Azel’s stomach suddenly growled.

Embarrassed by the rather loud noise, Azel blushed, and Auriel smiled sadly.

Raguel patted the head of the embarrassed Azel, who was looking down, once more and took out an emergency ration from her pocket.

“Eat this.”

“B-But that’s yours, senior…”

“I’m fine. I saved it because I was full.”

It was an obvious lie.

Azel’s eyes welled up, and Raguel placed the emergency ration in her hand.

“Auriel, let’s go.”

“Alright.”

Auriel’s voice was very subdued.

It wasn’t just because of the current situation.  She saw Luciel in Azel’s tearful face as she ate the emergency ration.

Poor Luciel. How scared she must be, all alone.  It had already been three days; how hungry she must be.

“Let’s go.”

Raguel said again, and Auriel nodded.

Clutching her aching heart and empty stomach, she took a step forward.

***

“Burp.”

—–CROW—–