Chapter 42: The Immortal King
In the deepest part of the underground third floor, in front of a wall of mist-like light, Kareena confirmed.
"Beth, have you set the return point?"
"Yes, I marked it at the labyrinth's exit. Once the barrier is broken, we should be able to teleport."
Kareena then explained to everyone.
"There's about a fifty-fifty chance, but if this is the last level, we'll have to fight the Labyrinth Worm."
"That's possible."
"If we manage to defeat the Worm, there's a chance the labyrinth will collapse. To avoid that, a mage can either use earth magic to support the escape or use teleportation magic to get out. Beth has learned the 'Return' spell, a teleportation magic specifically for escape."
Beth took over as the explainer.
"This morning, when we entered here, I engraved the magical mark for 'Return' right near the labyrinth's entrance."
Now that she mentioned it, I remember Beth making a gesture like an onmyoji (yin-yang master) when we first came in. So, that's what she was doing.
"Actually, it would be much easier if we could return all the way to the city, but it seems we can't do that."
Beth, always serious, tested the new spell several times immediately after she learned it before dawn.
"If we end up facing the Labyrinth Worm, as planned, we'll have to fight with magic at the center. But if this isn't the end of the labyrinth, we'll likely have to fight the master of the level, probably a powerful undead..."
In other words, we need to be prepared for both a silver sword and regular weapons.
Rina can handle both scenarios, so she remains in the mage version. Flame magic is somewhat effective against the undead.
However, for equipment, we'll take out the specialized ceramic armor and helmet from the item box and give her a silver sword. If the opponent is a huge Labyrinth Worm, a sword won't deal much damage either way, and when needed, the ceramic sword can be summoned quickly.
With everyone's preparations complete, we entered the barrier.
In front of us was the discarded exoskeleton of a Worm, similar to those on the previous floors.
Which means...
"It seems there are still lower levels," Cecily said, expressing concern for Kareena.
"Yes, we'll have to go one by one."
But what's this presence?
For a rare moment, Laruuk appeared lost.
"This is..."
"Is the master of this level also undead?"
"That's what I think... but I'm not entirely sure."
With closed eyes, Laruuk seemed to be desperately searching.
"I sense the presence of undead too, but I can't tell where they are or get a good grasp on them."
Laruuk conveyed the sensation of her detection skill.
"Go in and explore, please."
With Larouque's determined signal, Greon and I placed our hands on the crack and widened it.
Taking advantage of the gap, Larouque activated her hiding skill and slipped in.
The moment she did, sharp arrows flew, and cries of pain erupted.
"Larouque!"
Along with Kareena's scream, an arrow was stuck in Larouque's shoulder as she crawled back.
"It's dangerous to leave the arrowhead in there!"
Greon stopped Cecily from trying to pull out the arrow.
"I understand. Endure it for a moment."
Cecily took out a small knife and cut the flesh around the embedded arrow.
"Kuh!"
While Larouque gritted her teeth in pain, Cecily swiftly removed the arrowhead.
"Let the healing begin!"
Kareena immediately started the treatment. In the blink of an eye, the bleeding stopped, and the wound closed.
"Thank you, Princess. I messed up..."
"Never mind! Just don't talk."
Larouque, sweating profusely, turned to me. That's right; I saw it too, just for a moment.
"The master of this floor is not alone."
Looking into Larouque's eyes, I became certain.
"What do you mean!?"
Beth's surprise was understandable. The one inside the barrier should be the strongest monster on this floor.
"I don't know, but when Larouque entered for a moment, I saw five or six enemies on my 'map.'"
"And until I entered, there was no sign of them. And they disappeared in an instant."
Larouque conveyed my words.
"What does that mean?"
"I can think of... Maybe they also form parties or groups..."
"Ah! 'In terms of magic, a party is considered as one person'? No way!"
If we can enter the barrier as a six-person party, there is no reason why the monsters cannot do the same. It's just a speculation, though.
"An undead party..."
"Moreover, they can conceal their presence?"
We were bewildered by this unexpected situation, but we had no choice but to accept what was happening.
We quickly revised our strategy.
"It's alright now."
At Larouque's signal, I peered inside the narrow gap of the crack and created a clay wall there.
Greon and Cecily cut open the worm's shed using their familiar longswords instead of the silver swords. The tough and thick shell was not easy to cut through, but it seemed that the blades were somewhat effective.
Now, we were connected to the interior through the clay wall.
Using my map skill and Larouque's reconnaissance, we grasped the situation in the spacious area beyond the clay wall.
It was indeed larger than the room of the master of the upper floor. And faintly, we could sense the presence of several monsters. However, their positions were unclear. What does this mean? Do they all have concealment skills? It's also a mystery that they haven't launched any attacks yet.
"This isn't invisibility... It's a barrier!"
Beth whispered softly.
It was a magic that Beth couldn't use yet, a magic that could hide the entire party.
"But if it's a barrier, we shouldn't be able to touch them from the other side..."
"If there's a barrier, I'll find it and show you," Laruque replied.
Beth and Laruque focused on searching for the opponent's barrier.
An unpleasant intuition surged within them.
"There!" Laruque shouted, simultaneously throwing a silver dagger. Suddenly, a human-like shadow appeared on the inside of the clay wall, behind us.
!
The dagger had undoubtedly hit its mark, but the shadow slightly wriggled and passed right through it.
Then, the dark shadow embraced Cecily, who was standing nearby.
At that moment, her tall figure crumbled weakly, losing all strength.
"Purify!" Carena shouted and raised her left hand. At that moment, the shadow faded and vanished.
"Did it work?"
"No reaction. But more importantly!"
Cecily, supported by Greon, seemed conscious but unable to muster any strength. Carena used healing magic, and I changed Linna into cleric mode to apply overlapping recovery.
"I'll be fine... The moment it touched me, I felt cold, and then all my strength drained away."
For a brief moment, I saw
"Reis is an entity-less evil spirit. It's said to drain the life force of those it touches," Beth seemed to have seen through the monster's true form. So, Cecily was hit by Energy Drain. Her HP was absorbed.
"Troublesome, huh? It can pass through walls and appear and disappear..."
"If we can purify it before it escapes, we can probably deal with it," Carena laid out the plan to Greon's concerns.
It seemed best to keep Linna in cleric mode as well.
"It's premature to conclude that walls are entirely useless," I remarked.
"They've also dispelled their barrier," Laruque said. Either they thought they couldn't hide forever from Laruque's reconnaissance or they decided to launch an attack. Their presence became apparent.
Four figures appeared ahead at a distance of about 50 paces.
I made peepholes in the clay wall for the number of party members.
What appeared at the distance were:
Which of these could be adventurers that formed a party?
"The Lich is a high-level undead, sometimes called the 'Undying King,' known for being a high-level mage or royal undead. Be careful with Skeleton Knights and Undead Lords, as their jobs vary in different cases, including warriors and adventurers," Linna suddenly conveyed this information aloud, which was unusual.
Everyone was surprised, and I followed up, "Linna has leveled up and become wiser. Knowledge comes in handy!"
"Thank you."
Beth replied quickly, launching a fire spell at the group of four undead.
Caught off guard, one of the Skeleton Knights was engulfed in flames, while the others dispersed. Then, an intense cold blast erupted from the tip of the staff held by the Lich.
In an instant, I sealed the peephole in the clay wall. From above, the sound of a raging blizzard colliding with the wall reached my ears, and the cold air enveloped the other side of the wall.
If the hole had remained open, I would have been frozen solid.
Once again, I tried to make a hole in the clay wall, but it was blocked by ice.
"Lina, deal with the ice!"
I assigned Lina the task of melting the ice.
"Thank you!"
Beth returned her focus to attacking through the reopened peephole.
Laruc, Cecily, and Gleon also used bows, while I controlled the clay wall.
On the opposing side, the Undead Lord and the remaining Skeleton Knight retaliated with their bows, and the Lich cast spells. The Lich's magic seemed to be of a higher level than Beth's.
But just as I thought we had a slight advantage in this ranged battle, the Undead Lord chanted "Silence."
Oh no.
I hadn't anticipated they would sacrifice their most potent weapon, magic.
Moreover, by that time, they had already abandoned their bows and charged in for hand-to-hand combat.
Some of them wielded shields and longswords, while others carried large battle axes. If they landed a hit, the clay wall might not hold up.
"We're in close combat too!"
Gleon and the vanguard switched from bows to swords and engaged the approaching enemies. Just as I thought we finally hit the Undead Lord, suddenly another Wraith appeared behind us.
They managed to escape purification again. But it's not like we weren't on guard for their appearance.
Karina swiftly confronted the Wraith, and Lina changed back from a mage to a priest.
However, at that moment, another hostile presence attacked from the blind spot of our focus on the Wraith.
Cecily tried to jump in between Karina and the assailant, but she was a split second too late.
By the time I realized this, a rusty dagger had pierced Karina's leather armor from the back.
Larouque's thrown knife penetrated the gap in the enemy's helmet, immobilizing him, and Cecily followed up with a decisive strike.
Lina quickly purified the Wraith that was about to cover Karina and finally eliminated it.
It all happened in an instant.
Yes, the party was limited to six members. Including Rayce, they were still one person short.
The sixth member was a Skeleton Knight, most likely a scout or some other job, who possessed a skill that allowed them to conceal their presence even without a barrier.
Didn't Lina warn us that there could be various types of jobs?
However, now is not the time to regret such things.
"Lina! Purify Kareena!"
I remember Kareena could perform both healing and purification magic. Even just one of them...
The heavy impact of the battle axe created a large hole in the clay wall.
One more strike. The wall was no longer useful.
Among the three who came rushing in, Greon cut down the leading Skeleton Knight with his silver sword.
I threw a silver knife at the face of the axe-wielding Undead Lord who jumped in from beside him. It was easily deflected by his axe.
But swinging such a large axe again would take some time. While he was protecting his face, I thrust my sword into his abdomen with my weight behind it. I could feel the sensation as it passed through the entity, along with some resistance.
The effect of "Silence," which had sealed magic, should have been lifted when I inflicted an arrow wound on him earlier.
Beth was trying to cast an offensive spell. However, the opponent was slightly faster. Just as the power of the lich was about to burst forth from the tip of his sword, the "Silence" that should have disappeared earlier enveloped the surroundings once again.
When the lich's magic dispersed and his movement momentarily stopped, Larouque's silver dagger, which had stealthily approached from behind, sliced through his neck.
An inaudible wave of agonizing turmoil reverberated, and as if some curse was being lifted, the lich's form disappeared.
"In the end, I have to deal with my own clumsiness, huh? Glad I made it."
While catching her breath, Larouque smirked with his usual smile as Lina supported her, and Kareena, who had cast the "Silence" spell, embraced her.