Chapter 176: Wounds of the Mind
Seraphina, of course, had been aware of Mistwalker's disappearance. Perhaps the others had failed to notice her absence due to being too occupied with the quarrel between the two leaders to pay attention to anything else around them.
Eventually, she answered while gazing toward the entrance that led deeper into the floor, "She went to survey the surrounding area in hopes of finding some clues regarding the perpetrator or the creature, as well as to confirm the danger level waiting ahead of us."
Valric let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that, "I see. That was a wise decision on her part."
Even so, Seraphina couldn't quite understand the reason behind his reaction.
Just then, Aerisyl approached them after stepping away from the group surrounding the sole survivor, where everyone seemed to be expressing concern regarding his unstable condition. Then she spoke with a frown on her face, "I understand her reasoning and all, but wasn't it far too reckless of her to head out on her own? She should've at least taken her assigned team with her... merely to ensure safety."
'That much I agree with, though she doesn't seem to be on particularly good terms with her own team, though.'
It had reached the point where Mistwalker still hadn't spoken to her own team even once, let alone issued any sort of orders yet. As for the team members themselves, they appeared to have gradually started changing their opinion regarding their leader's past and the various rumours they previously believed about her, though none of them possessed the courage to approach her directly due to being afraid that she might react negatively or become irritated by their presence. Because of that, the distance between them remained exactly the same without showing any sign of improvement at all.
'I can only hope they manage to resolve their issues eventually... otherwise, it may develop into a serious problem later on. Though, if necessary, I can simply...'
Aerisyl's frown deepened after waiting for a response but receiving none from her.
Noticing that awkward silence, Valric decided not to waste any more time and answered in her place instead, "There is no need to worry. I'm certain she will manage perfectly fine on her own."
Aerisyl still didn't seem entirely convinced by his reassurance, though her voice remained relatively calm when she responded, "Well, if you say so."
After remaining silent for a brief moment as if she had finally reached a certain decision, Seraphina spoke in a composed tone, "Ms. Aerisyl, I'm assigning you as the vice leader of that team from this moment onward."
Aerisyl blinked several times in visible surprise, "Huh?"
Even Valric appeared somewhat caught off guard by her sudden decision to the point that he instinctively looked away while subtly hiding his expression from her sight.
Seraphina tilted her head ever so slightly, "Do you have any objections?"
Aerisyl remained thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head lightly, "I don't, but..."
However, Seraphina changed the subject before she could continue and asked with the same cold expression as before, "Leaving that aside, how severe is his condition exactly?"
Aerisyl glanced over her shoulder toward the sleeping survivor lying nearby. The expression on her face gradually turned somber before she finally answered, "Worse than I initially expected, I would say. Judging from his current state, it's obvious that he suffered severe psychological trauma to the point that his mental condition practically shattered apart. At first, we attempted to calm him down and reassure him that he was safe now, but he refused to listen to any of us and kept trying to escape from this place repeatedly as though he had completely lost his sense of reason. Eventually, we had no choice but to forcefully put him to sleep."
She paused briefly before turning back toward Seraphina once again, then continued in a wistful voice, "Afterward, I treated his physical condition to the best of my abilities, however, even as a high-ranking healer, there are limits to what I can actually cure. Wounds carved deeply into someone's mind or heart cannot simply be erased through healing magic alone. Such matters lie beyond my capabilities. I cannot remove memories from a person's mind, after all."
She sighed softly, "Therefore, even after he wakes up again, I doubt his condition will improve in any significant way. So, if you are considering interrogating him in order to identify the culprit or inquire about the tragedy that occurred here, then I would advise against it... he is in no state to speak at all. In fact, he can barely think coherently as far as I can tell. Rather than questioning him further, it would be far better to send him outside as soon as possible and begin proper treatment immediately."
Seraphina listened to her explanation with an unreadable expression throughout the entire conversation, though inwardly, even she had been left momentarily speechless.
'He truly suffered the worst...'
First, he had been trapped inside the dungeon for more than a month, then just when he finally managed to escape alongside his comrades, their party ended up falling into the hands of some cruel criminal who treated them as nothing more than a source of amusement before encasing them inside those shells and hanging them from above.
There, they had been forced to struggle every single second merely to continue breathing through those tiny openings while desperately trying to stay alive.
Perhaps not long after, he witnessed his friends being swallowed alive right in front of his eyes by the creature, while he stood there helplessly, unable to do anything meaningful to save them at least... but even so, he tried. He seemed to have struggled desperately with everything he had in an attempt to save them at any cost.
It became apparent through the sight of the victims' blood hovering frozen beneath their bodies, which upon closer inspection appeared to be clear ice rather than the culprit's crystal-ice. Which suggested that the sole survivor, Luce, was an ice element user, something that was later confirmed by his fellow companions as well.
But luck was never truly kind to him either. His desperate attempt to save his friends ended in complete failure, but at the same time, the same struggle ultimately bought him his own life instead. Such a cruel outcome must've dealt an unbearable shock to him, enough to leave him drowning in regret after surviving while the others died before his eyes, over and over again... until eventually, he lost his sanity altogether.
Was that truly the repayment he deserved after dedicating his life to protecting others?
Her fingers curled into tight fists at her sides, while a faint glimmer surfaced within her blue eyes.
Of course, she had an idea regarding the true culprit behind this incident as well. There was only one person she knew to whom human lives held no value at all. In fact, that person had been turning humans into monsters in pursuit of greater strength all this time, so something like this was nothing unusual to her either.
Seraphina looked toward the man without a single hint of emotion appearing on her face.
Eventually, she let out a soft sigh, "Alright... send Luce away for proper treatment. Also, prepare a burial nearby for his comrades. It's the least we can do for them."
Aerisyl's lips curled upward as a bright smile appeared on her face, "Understood."
Not long afterward, the adventurers gathered at one side of the hall and held a simple burial ceremony for the deceased. Since they had no proper tools or materials, they used earth magic to create crude coffin-like stone boxes before carefully burying the bodies within them.
Of course, the dungeon would eventually devour everything in due time. But this method would allow the graves to remain intact far longer than they normally would have, since they had not directly damaged the dungeon itself and had merely created an additional layer above its surface.
It was a meaningless act in the grand scheme of things perhaps, but even so, it was still the least the adventurers could do to show the fallen some measure of respect.
After everything was over, Seraphina found herself standing near the circle once again.
It had been quite some time since Mistwalker left to scout ahead, but there was still no sign of her returning. In truth, enough time had passed to traverse across the floor back and forth at least twice.
So, what exactly was delaying her this long?
Had something happened to her?
Or had she perhaps encountered the creature somewhere along the way?
Either way, the adventurers had finished their preparations and were ready to advance once more, aside from Valentina's party who would be escorting the survivor back first. So regardless of the situation, they would learn the truth soon enough.
At that moment, an unusual silence quietly swept through the group, as though the entire hall itself had suddenly fallen still.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Within that unnatural stillness, the deafening sound of steel crashing against steel echoed throughout the hall, while terrifying shockwaves spread across the surroundings, powerful enough to flutter their hair and clothes violently into the air. It almost felt as though a storm was beginning to form within a place where even the wind did not exist.
The adventurers' eyes widened instantly, while even the group carrying the survivor came to an abrupt halt.
"That sound..."
"Could it be..."
"Mistwalker must've engaged in battle."
"But against whom? Regular monsters, or the one responsible for this massacre?""
"It's definitely the latter... it has to be. Otherwise, her blade wouldn't produce sounds like these against ordinary minions."
"Guys... I think... something's changing."
"Huh? What're you even blabbering about?"
"No, he's right. I can feel it too."
"The sounds of their clashes... it's becoming louder with every passing second. Does that mean... they're getting closer to us?"
As the sounds of the battle gradually drew nearer, Seraphina wasted no time and immediately sprinted toward the entrance.
"Everyone... Prepare for battle!"
Her cold voice echoed throughout the hall.
That was only because the sounds of weapons striking against each other had disappeared from deeper within the floor.
'How strange!'
The moment Seraphina reached near the entrance, her expression darkened slightly.
She immediately sensed that something was rapidly approaching her direction. Even her instincts were warning her of imminent danger.
In an instant, something indeed cut through the air at a terrifying speed and passed closely by her, moving so unbelievably fast that, even though she turned her head toward it at the perfect moment, she still failed to make out its shape or perhaps simply didn't have enough time to properly see what it was at all.
In the next split second, that thing crashed directly into the wall behind them, releasing a violent shockwave throughout the hall. Countless cracks spread across the surface of the wall one after another before the entire thing shattered apart loudly, pieces of stone scattering everywhere as a large crater formed in its wake.
A cloud of dust immediately spread through the area, forcing everyone to cover their eyes at once. Some coughed repeatedly while others simply stood frozen with wide eyes, wearing expressions of pure shock as though they hadn't even realized something had entered the hall until now.
As the dust began to settle down little by little, they finally managed to notice that someone was laying there against the ruined wall, her body partially buried beneath the broken debris while her chest slowly rose and fell. The navy blue armor covering her figure was covered in deep grooves and visible damage, but despite everything, the helm protecting her head remained completely intact.
"L-look... i-it's Mistwalker."
"Oh gods... what happened to her?"
"What kind of creature is even capable of doing such a thing to her?"
"Impossible... b-but she's one of the strongest among us."
The moment Aerisyl noticed her condition, she no longer wasted any more time and immediately hurried toward the injured woman.
At the same time, Seraphina halted where she stood, her eyes widening slightly.
'The creature defeated her this quickly? Or had it ambushed her instead? Either way, it's definitely coming here.'
Turning her head toward the entrance of the hall, she quietly placed one hand onto the hilt of her sword.
Just as she expected, faint sounds of footsteps soon echoed from deeper within the floor itself, each step arriving in an oddly unnatural rhythm which undoubtedly belonged to the creature.
But something about it felt wrong.
Why was it taking its time to approach them?
Monsters never acted like that under normal circumstances, especially not after attacking prey that had managed to survive its assault. Not to mention, this creature was clearly fond of devouring human flesh.
'So why?'
At that moment, the dungeon light that illuminated the uneven stone walls resembling a natural cave deeper into the floor darkened all at once. It almost seemed as though the unnatural light itself had dimmed unnaturally before slowly spreading darkness into the hall itself.
A strange wind swept through the hall, disheveling everyone's hair and loose clothing while the force of it caused several people to stagger backward instinctively.
"What now?" someone shouted anxiously.
Just then, an indescribable sensation spread among them, causing almost everyone's body to tremble violently. Some felt their knees weaken beneath them while others experienced chills crawling down their spines as though an invisible force was pressing directly onto their bodies, trying to force them onto their knees.
"I can't move... damn it!"
"I can't breathe properly."
"Agh, m-my legs."
Even Seraphina's eyes quaked slightly at once.
'This pressure...'
Valric immediately unsheathed his greatsword before turning toward her, "Captain... can you feel it too?"
Seraphina nodded while wearing a dark expression, "Yes. There's no doubt about it, it's the same pressure an Archwitch naturally gives off."
Aerisyl, who had nearly reached Mistwalker by now, turned her head toward them, "But how could this be? How can a mindless abomination possess such a pressure?"
Valric smiled darkly, "Probably an ability of sorts, if not... beats me. I don't have a clue."
Meanwhile, the dungeon light, which had always been considered impossible to extinguish or even interfere with due to the lack of any tangible source and humanity's incomplete understanding of its nature, finally began to flicker repeatedly for the first time.
"T-there! At the entrance!"
'It's finally here.'
Seraphina's frown deepened as she fixed her gaze toward the entrance ahead, though the unstable light and surrounding darkness made it difficult to see it clearly.
Despite that, within that darkness, she somehow managed to make out the vague outline of the creature's silhouette.
It appeared roughly humanoid in shape while standing at well over two meters tall, with long twisted horns coiling outward around its head in a grotesque manner.
Deep within the darkness, two crimson eyes burned unnaturally with a frightening light.
The creature took a single step forward.
The moment it did, every remaining source of light within the hall disappeared instantly, plunging the entire place into complete darkness and nearly causing panic to spread amongst everyone present.
"That shouldn't even be possible."
"Don't tell me that thing is causing this."
Seraphina, however, showed no sign of wavering at all.
Instead of retreating or hesitating, she calmly began walking forward through the darkness while quietly following the glow of those malicious eyes.
Eventually, she stopped directly before the creature, standing face to face with it.
The creature did notice her presence, but instead of attacking right away, it simply stared down at her for a moment.
After a while, it released an overwhelming amount of pressure into the air, attempting to threaten or crush her where she stood.
The sheer force of it carried enough killing intent that an ordinary person would have died instantly merely by standing there.
But Seraphina remained unbothered by it.
In fact, not only did she refuse to step back, she didn't even flinch.
In the next split second, countless sparks of lightning burst into existence around her body before gradually encasing her figure bit by bit. The brilliant light radiating from those violent arcs illuminated the hall once again, becoming bright enough that everyone could finally see clearly.
Her dark cloak danced wildly behind her.
Now that there was enough light, Seraphina could finally observe the creature properly from up close.
It didn't seem to possess a face at all, because its entire head was covered by a white skull that resembled that of a goat, making the ominous glow of its eyes shine directly from within its empty sockets. Unlike an actual goat skull, however, it possessed no teeth whatsoever, instead, long vicious fangs protruded from there.
Its chest, abdomen, and arms possessed the structure of a human body, though layers of bones covered parts of its black hide like a natural armor that protected it elegantly. Its fingers also ended in sharp claws that looked capable of tearing through flesh effortlessly.
Below its waist, its entire lower body was concealed beneath strange dark layers of soft cloth that occasionally swayed gently despite the still air around them. Long dark hair flowed behind its back while several loose strands rested over its shoulders.
But what surprised Seraphina more than anything else was the weapon resting at its waist.
It was a long jian, though unlike a normal one, the tip curved strangely near the end.
The weapon obviously belonged to an adventurer at some point, meaning the creature had most likely taken it from someone's corpse or picked it up afterward.
Seraphina unsheathed her sword before aiming its tip directly toward the creature's chest, but the only response she received was the creature tilting its head slightly as though observing her actions with curiosity.
Having no intention to wait any longer, she stepped forward and drove her sword into its chest with a terrifying thrust.
But the strangest part was that she felt absolutely no resistance whatsoever.
Her sword slid into its body far too easily, almost as though the layers of bone covering its chest didn't exist at all.
Or at least, that was what she believed for that brief moment.
In the next moment, the creature's fist slammed into her abdomen with such monstrous force that her body was sent flying through the air like an arrow before crashing heavily against the wall behind her, causing countless cracks to spread across its surface upon impact.
"Captain?!"
Valric's eyes quaked violently.
He hadn't even managed to comprehend what had just happened before everything was already over.
It had all occurred far too quickly.
Within the blink of an eye, the creature appeared before Seraphina's fallen body, without taking a step forward. Its blade already rested near her neck, preparing to slice through it.
A thin trail of blood slid down her skin as the monster swept the blade across her throat in one smooth motion.
Seraphina opened her eyes, though her vision still felt hazy from the impact, but she could still feel the coldness of the blade resting against her skin.
Despite the danger she was currently in, however, a cold smile appeared on her face instead of fear or hesitation.
'How peculiar!'
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(Chapter Ended)
To be continued...