"Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!"
The ground split, the earth collapsed, and in the next instant, the three of them fell straight into the pitch-black abyss.
Duanmu Huai reacted quickly. He stretched out his hands—one hand seizing Old Bent, the other grabbing Guleya. His jetpack flared instantly, spewing thrust that halted their fall, before lowering them gently onto solid ground.
Thud!!
The heavy power armor met the stone floor with a muffled boom. Duanmu Huai released his grip, letting Old Bent and Guleya stand.
Only then did Guleya seem to realize what she had done. She stumbled up, bowing in panic.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Sir Knight, I'm sorry… it was my fault…!"
"Alright, it's not just your fault."
Duanmu Huai glanced around as he answered casually.
"Looks like those damn rats had hollowed this place out long ago, otherwise it wouldn't have collapsed."
"The rats!"
At that, Old Bent finally snapped back to himself.
"Where are the rats?!"
"Probably all dead."
Duanmu Huai knew very well how much power Guleya had unleashed. When she blasted that fire earlier, even his power armor's warning systems went off. Normally, no ordinary fire could trigger alarms on equipment designed for interstellar war. If even his armor had reacted, then those rats were probably burned to ash, not even scraps left.
But soon, under the beam of the searchlight, Duanmu Huai noticed something unusual.
"Huh? Now this is interesting."
He lifted his head, light sweeping across the wall. The stark white glow revealed stone-carved walls and half-collapsed gates…
"Sir Knight, what is this?"
"Well, whatever it is, rats definitely didn't build it."
Duanmu Huai strode forward, pried open the iron gate blocking the passage with his bare hands, and revealed a dark corridor inside.
"Alright. Let's take a look."
The three entered.
Luckily, the passage was wide enough for Duanmu Huai to walk upright. Under the beam of the searchlight, they saw rectangular niches on either side, each filled with skeletal remains.
"Looks like… a catacomb."
He swept his gaze across, then turned to Old Bent.
"You knew about this?"
"…I'd heard there was an old Nord tomb near the town. But no one ever went in, since such places are always haunted by the dead…"
Old Bent trembled, glancing about nervously.
"Yeah, then you lot built your graveyard right on top of someone else's tomb."
Duanmu Huai commented lightly and continued walking. Old Bent and Guleya followed, barely daring to breathe.
The catacomb was vast. Bones filled every alcove, and shriveled corpses stood armored and armed, stationed like eternal guards. Greatswords in hand, they still seemed to watch over this world of death.
"Sir Knight, where are we going?"
Watching their surroundings with dread, Guleya asked in a low voice.
"We'll see. This place can't just be coincidence. There's definitely a connection."
"I see… eek!!"
Her words cut off when a strange sensation froze her in place.
"Sir Knight, stop grabbing my tail!"
"…I'm in front of you. How would I grab your tail?"
"Huh?"
Guleya realized at once—he was right in front of her. Then who—or what—had tugged her tail?
She turned her head.
A desiccated corpse was stepping out of an alcove, its eyes glowing with eerie blue light, a sword clutched in its hand as it fixed its gaze on them.
"M-monster—!!!"
With a shriek, Guleya's thick tail whipped out, slamming the undead hard. The corpse's body snapped and flew into the wall, lying still.
But that blow had roused the others. From every direction, more undead stirred—shields, axes, greatswords, bows. All with eyes glowing blue.
Seeing them, Duanmu Huai sneered. He hefted his Thunder Warhammer.
"Perfect. I was getting tired of haunted house games anyway. Time for some warm-up exercise!!"
For Old Bent, it was sheer despair. He had never in his life faced something so terrifying—three against dozens of armed Nord undead. It seemed hopeless.
But reality defied his imagination.
The towering man in black armor swung his hammer and smashed the undead into fragments with ease. Their arrows couldn't even scratch his thick plating.
Even the timid girl had turned fierce—her right hand became a clawed, lizard-like appendage wrapped in fire. Each swing consumed the undead in flames.
If he hadn't seen it himself, Old Bent would never have believed it. He had lived long, seen adventurers before—but never ones like these.
"Haah!!"
Guleya roared, her flaming claw punching straight through a shield and hurling the undead back, burning it to ash.
At last, the last foe fell. Guleya exhaled heavily, when a voice came from beside her.
"Well? Feeling calmer now?"
"Huh?"
She turned to see Duanmu Huai, warhammer slung over his shoulder, watching her. At his gaze, her face flushed, and she lowered her head.
"Yes, Sir Knight… I'm sorry, earlier I was just… too panicked."
As a student of the Manaria Magic Academy, she had never feared ghosts so badly. But tonight had been overwhelming—rats, corpses, graves—and even she had lost her composure.
Especially the rats… thinking about it still made her shiver.
Yet after this fight, her fear had eased.
"It's fine. What matters is you're steady now."
He nodded, patting her shoulder.
"Don't dwell on it. Mistakes happen. In fact, yours gave us a clue."
"…Yes."
With that, they pressed forward again. But Guleya grew tense once more.
"Sir Knight, I smell… a strong stench of blood."
"Then we're on the right track."
Duanmu Huai gripped his hammer, eyes narrowing, scanning ahead.
Soon they reached the end of the passage—a massive stone gate.
Unlike the others, this one was sealed by a special mechanism, three stone rings engraved with owl, bird, and bear motifs, with three recessed slots at the center for some kind of key. Clearly, if this were a dungeon puzzle in a game, they'd need to fetch the key to open it.
But Duanmu Huai wasn't interested in such trivialities. He signaled the others to step back.
Then he retreated a few steps, roared, and ignited his jetpack, charging forward like a raging bull.
He slammed into the stone gate.
BOOM!!!
The impact tore the gate's frame apart. The stone door, over half a meter thick, shattered into pieces, blasting into the air. Duanmu Huai barreled into the chamber beyond.
And the sight froze before his eyes.
In the chamber's center stood a crystal glowing blood-red, spewing ominous power. Scarlet lightning crackled outward from it.
Around the crystal knelt robed figures, black hoods hiding their faces. They chanted loudly, voices echoing. Blood poured from their sleeves, flowing across the carved runes on the floor, forming a sinister pattern.
Whatever they were doing, it could be nothing good.
"Guleya, protect the old man! Leave these bastards to me!!"
Duanmu Huai bellowed, hefting his Thunder Warhammer, and charged straight into the ritual circle.
(End of Chapter)