## Chapter 913 – Otherworld Dungeon

And so, I stuck to the very back of the group and advanced slowly.

Monsters appeared ahead from time to time, but the battle mage unit at the vanguard skillfully dealt with them, allowing us to enter without any hindrance.

“Hmph… At this rate, we might find it quickly?”
“I guess so.”

As Claudie said, if such a large group searched in a fan shape while advancing, we would be able to find that boss monster quickly.

The second floor probably isn’t that much wider than the first.

Ah, but if space is distorted, there’s a chance it could be. Of course, Risha would have noticed in that case.

“If it’s here, we’ll find it quickly.”

Of course, only if it’s here.

“But if it’s gone up to a higher floor, we might not find it.”

The palace isn’t just made up of two floors. Even if the ceilings are a bit high, there are probably several more levels like this. If the boss monster briefly came down to the second floor and then went back up, we probably won’t find it today.

“Then we’ll have to wait for the reinforcements to arrive.”
“We will.”

It’s a numbers problem, as Liz said.
A large-scale search requires a lot of people.

In any case, we kept walking.

“Hold the line!!”
“Masked entities have appeared!!”
“Maintain formation! Secure the rear!!”

We kept hearing those kinds of shouts from the front lines. We were in the back, but the vanguard was constantly fighting monsters.

“Katt, shouldn’t we go help?”
“Lormalza will take care of it. We don’t need to help with this kind of thing.”
“Hmm… Is that so…”

After all, almost all of the spoils from searching the rooms that appeared from time to time went to those battle mages. That’s why they were at the vanguard. The reason they’re fighting at the very front is precisely that: raiding rooms and taking spoils.

The rest of the people in the back will probably only get a small share.

Or maybe the ones who proposed the operation will get a basic wage.

“Halt!!”

That’s when it happened, as we were marching endlessly even while fighting.

“A fork in the road has appeared!!”

We heard that voice from the front lines.
It seems a fork in the road has appeared.

“We will divide the forces into two!! Of course, three people must remain at this fork!!”

When a fork appears, we divide the forces, leave three people at the fork for communication, and continue to enter. Eventually, when we can no longer divide the forces, we stop exploring and report to the command post.

And so, people who had nothing to do with us were left behind, and the divided forces each began to depart on their own.

If we keep dividing the forces like this, we’ll eventually be separated from each other.

Actually, that would be better.

* * *

In that way, we continued to advance, dividing the forces each time a fork appeared. As the forces dwindled, the monsters attacked with even more ferocity, and eventually, the exploration of this route was halted when another fork appeared.

With the forces split up like this, further advancement is impossible. We could, but they can’t.

Anyway, this palace is really damn wide.

“We will now retreat to the previous fork!”

The one commanding this side was none other than Mr. George. There was no particular reason; I just followed him this way.

I just felt like following him for some reason.

Soon, the remaining battle mages and other armed forces began to prepare for retreat. Since this side has been halted, the guys who split off before will probably retreat soon as well. Then, they’ll merge the maps they made at the previous fork and wait for orders.

I stared intently at Mr. George, who was giving orders.

“Wh-What…? What’s wrong?”

He noticed my gaze and approached with a pale face. This bastard, he’s very polite, probably because he’s been trained several times.

“Are we going back now?”
“Ah, yes… We’re going back now.”
“Is that so?”

Mr. George rolled his eyes anxiously as he answered.

Since they’re going back, we can send them away and continue exploring on our own. It doesn’t seem like that boss monster has been found yet. If it had been found, the people left as liaisons would have come to inform us in a relay format.

Then we might be the first to find it.

“Then have a safe trip back.”
“Aren’t you going back, Paladin?”
“Why would I go back?”
“Then… I’ll keep that in mind.”

No, you crazy bastard!!!

“You bastard!!! You should be worried when I say I’m staying behind!!!”

This son of a bitch dares to not react well when his superior volunteers to stay behind and advance!!! I really can’t control my anger when I see this bastard’s face!!!

“H-Huh!!! I-I’m sorry!!!”
“Is just saying sorry enough!!”
“No! I was wrong! Please forgive me!!”
“Then worry about me quickly!!!”

I shouted as if in despair…!

“I-It’s dangerous, so please be careful! The monster I saw was very large!! The reason this corridor is so wide and high is probably because it’s so large!! You must be careful!!”
“Whether that bastard is big or not, he’ll just die if he runs into me! Got it!!”
“Y-Yes!!”
“Now get lost!!!!!!!!!!! Please, quickly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I couldn’t take it anymore, so I yelled and chased Mr. George away. Why does this bastard keep appearing in front of me…! I felt like my fist would fly out if I let my guard down even a little.

Even someone with as much patience as me can fall into anger management issues like this. It’s truly difficult to endure.

“Understood!!”

Mr. George answered loudly and hurriedly left the scene, gathering his forces as if running away.

“Hehe. That darkie is so funny.”

Winnia, who had been watching the scene, covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

“Hehehe, right?”

Winnia also likes this kind of thing a little.

“Yes, it’s troublesome if a man forgets his grudges. Torment him a little more.”
“Hehe, Katt. You’re cool.”

Surprisingly, this kind of thing works well. Karin smiled and patted my back, and Claudie laughed as if she was having fun.

“I think you’d be good at being a general.”
“No, Liz. That’s not really the reaction to have after seeing that.”
“No. You just look like a general, you know?”

A general must treat his subordinates kindly. But Mr. George isn’t one of my subordinates; he’s just a shitty bastard.

Of course, generals must violently oppress shitty beings.

“Katt-nim is more suited to be a king!! A man born with the qualities of a king…!”
“Ah, really. A king.”

I couldn’t help but laugh when Hilde said that.

“If that happens, will there be eight queens?”
“That’s about right!”

Well… If I get stronger smoothly like this and surpass Karin, I might be able to get a territory and have a position. But I don’t think being a king is possible. It’s not like dynasties are being replaced all the time.

“Hilde is right. Katt can become a king, surpassing the Great Warrior.”
“No, don’t embarrass me.”
“Father will do well no matter what he does.”

It’s getting hotter and hotter on my back.

“Well, if not a king, maybe I can become a great lord. If I become stronger than my sister, I can do that much, right?”
“If that happens, please leave the management to me.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s stop this story here and get going.”

Anyway, after chatting casually, we started moving again.

—Thud, thud.

Now, we’re the only ones left here. The rest are all waiting at the fork behind us. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter to us even if we’re surrounded from the front and back, so there’s no need to worry about that.

Whatever comes out, we can just smash it all.

—Tsupat.

How long have we been walking?
I could feel monsters running from over there.

“Darkie, just grind them all up.”
“Okay.”

After all, ordinary monsters are no match for us.

—Tutatatatatat!
—Tutatatatatat!
—Tutatatatatat!

Soon, hideous otherworld monsters from beyond began to run on all fours, screaming.

“Kkeuaaaaaaaa!”
“Kkeua!!!”
“Kkeuaaaa!”

It’s an unpleasant sound no matter how many times I hear it.

—Kwaang!

I immediately kicked off the ground and flew towards them. Just one step. Just one kick off the ground, and my rapidly launched body arrived right in front of them.

—Peok!

As I flew, a light punch shattered the head of the one running in the very front. Blood and flesh splattered, and fragments of the shattered skull scattered.

“What!”

But the monsters that appeared this time were accompanied by Brain Monsters that I had seen before. Five Brain Monsters were floating in the back, wriggling their tentacles as they flew.

—Kwaaaang!!

Of course, there was no need to bother paying attention to them. Risha, Winnia, and Hilde’s magic flew from the back, and the monsters hit by it burst like water balloons or burned like matchsticks and fell.

Besides, Claudie, Karin, and Liz lightly walked over and smashed them very easily.

I also just walked slowly towards the Brain Monster.

—Squirm, squirm.

A long spine-like organ dangled below the bloated, brain-like torso, and several tentacles were fluttering.

—Shwoooooong!

Perhaps recognizing me, it shot out its tentacles all at once.

—Sreung!

I immediately swung Vugal once and cut them all off.

“You think that would work?”

It’s not that fast, and it’s even less powerful. These bastards can’t handle superhumans like us. They can easily subdue ordinary people and turn them into their own kind.

But not us.

—Puk!!

I didn’t hesitate to stab Vugal into what was presumed to be the monster’s forehead. —Brrrr! As soon as the sword went in, the monster trembled like a drug addict on drugs. Then, I poured my inner energy into the sword I had stabbed in.

—Peeong!!

That was the end. The Brain Monster’s torso, including its head, exploded like a grenade, scattering pieces of meat in all directions.

“I’m sure it’s impossible to invade with guys like this…”

The other monsters were already lying around as miserable corpses. Not only the ordinary monsters but also all five Brain Monsters had been completely destroyed.

“Five of them came out. This is unusual.”
“We haven’t seen many either. Were they gathered somewhere here?”

Risha said as she examined the corpse, and Karin nodded.

“Perhaps they’re slowly coming down from the upper floors? Should we say that they’ve finally noticed… Maybe they’re finding the entrance and coming down.”
“That seems possible.”

We can’t know yet.

Anyway, after examining their corpses appropriately, we moved again. We traversed the large corridor and turned whenever a corner appeared.

That’s when it happened.

—Buooooooo.

“…!”

A sound like the wail of a whale began to be heard faintly.

“…Darkie, did you hear that?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you hear it too, sisters?”
“I heard it.”

It seems to be not too far away. After stretching for a moment, we moved towards the source of the sound without hesitation.

“Oh.”

What appeared as we were going was none other than a huge staircase leading to the third floor.

“Is it on top of this?”
“The sound was faint, so maybe.”

Winnia answered Claudie’s words.

“Let’s go up.”

Anyway, we went up right away.

* * *

The third floor was nothing special either.

We slaughtered all the monsters that were rushing in and searched the rooms that appeared from time to time. However, it was no different from the first and second floors. We were simply making a map recording the directions as we moved.

“This corridor…”

In the middle of doing that, we arrived in front of a corridor of even greater scale. Unlike other places, this place had a red carpet laid out, and it seemed like a passage for something huge to pass through at a glance.

We decided to ignore everything else and move along this corridor.

It’s late, but what are we supposed to do?
Our stamina is monstrous.

—Thud, thud.
—Thud, thud.
—Thud, thud.

And so, we traversed the huge corridor. We kept going straight, turned when a corner appeared, and if a fork appeared, we simply chose the right path and moved on.

—Buooooooo.

At some point, that sound began to get closer and closer.

Finally.

“K-Katt-nim…!! Th-That!!!!!!”

Hilde shouted.

A corridor wide to the left and right, and wide above.
From the corner at the far end.

—Sreureureureuk.

Something began to reveal itself.

“Oh.”