## Chapter 940 – How Long Has It Been?

“Minotaurs are monsters that support the main force. They are stronger than ordinary demonic warriors, but they have the disadvantage of not being able to use strategies that require independent thought and judgment, so they can be considered a type of troop that is operated alongside other types of soldiers.”
“Then what about Cyclops?”
“Cyclops… As you know from fighting one directly, they are very strong monsters. They are intelligent enough to carry out independent destruction missions… I learned that when I was young.”

So that’s why that guy was guarding this place.

“These two are the main types of troops they use, and of course, there are also large monsters or beasts with destructive power.”

Those demons are truly terrifying bastards.
To be able to command such beings.

“There are giant snakes with multiple heads, behemoths with hundreds of eyes, and various other things, but it’s best to be careful because I don’t know everything.”
“Beasts, huh… Okay, so there might be something like that down below. I’ll have to be careful then.”

I have a feeling this isn’t the end of it.

Anyway, we went back up.

ㅡCreak, creak.

I carried the Cyclops’ corpse on my back. The guy’s body was so big that his legs dragged on the floor every time I moved. But it wasn’t particularly heavy, so it wasn’t a big problem.

I made sure to draw the map appropriately each time we went up a floor.

“Katt, how are you going to report this?”
“That’s what I’m worried about, but I’m going to hide everything about Risha’s identity.”

I destroyed the evidence of the altar that sent signals to the Demon World, and I will hide Risha’s identity forever. Of course, this might create a threat of a Demon World invasion, but this is more important to me.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I can completely hide everything about the Demon World. I’ll have to make up a good story to warn them about the danger.

Our Saintess will definitely understand somehow.

That’s all I need to think about.

“So I’m just going to make up some stuff and only tell them about the danger of the Demon World. That should be enough.”
“Hmph… Do you think so?”
“It always has been.”
“Yeah. Of course, I’m not worried with Katt around.”

Anyway, we were going up non-stop when it happened.

ㅡWoo-ooo-ooo!!
ㅡKoo-ooo-ooo-ooo!!
ㅡKraa-aaa-aaa!!

We started to hear violent noises echoing from over there. It looked like the Holy Knights were fighting Minotaurs.

We immediately headed in that direction.

ㅡClang!
ㅡBoom!

There was a fierce battle going on at the scene, but it seemed to have just ended. A sword was stuck in the Minotaur’s neck.

It looked like the Holy Knights and Ascetic Crusaders were fighting together.

ㅡBoom.

I put down the Cyclops’ corpse and called out to them.

“Holy Knights!!!”
“Hmm?!”
“Wait! That voice!”

They immediately turned their attention to me.

ㅡThut-thut-thut!

They immediately used their three-dimensional maneuvering gear and rushed towards me. Running on the walls was basic, and they even flew up suddenly like balloons that had burst.

And, of course, they grabbed their heads and were shocked as soon as they came over here.

Because they saw the Cyclops’ corpse.

“Wh-what is that!!!”
“Isn’t that a giant’s corpse!!”
“A headless giant!!!”
“Hiss-ss-ss-ss!!”
“A giant!!!”
“A giant race!!!”
“Hiss-ss-ss-ss!!!!”

Maybe it’s because its head was smashed, but aside from the fact that its body was gray, it was no different from a giant with sculpted muscles.

“S-Saintess!!!”

Elise also rushed over, as if she was nearby.

ㅡSwish.

Her red hair fluttered as she ran so fast.

“Elise!!!”
“What is this!!!!”

Elise stood in front of me, and I shouted loudly.

“Everyone, listen! We have defeated a nameless giant!!!!”

Let’s pretend we don’t know it’s a Cyclops.
Minotaurs are famous, but we don’t know about this.

“A giant…!”
“An evil giant!!!”
“Is it a higher species of Minotaur!!”

The Holy Knights busily examined the Cyclops’ corpse. Risha handed them the eyeball she was holding. That led to a second shock, and the dungeon was filled with terrible screams and cries.

“Aaaaaaaaargh!!!”
“Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!”

I don’t even care when I hear these sounds these days.
No, I actually like it.

“Saintess! What on earth happened underground!!! A giant like this!!!”
“Something terrible happened!!!”
“Wh-what kind of!!!”

Elise was shocked, and I distorted my face and pointed at the Cyclops’ corpse, shouting loudly.

“I witnessed that giant underground!!!!!!”
“Th-that’s a terrible story!!”

Terrible stories like this are rare.

And damn, it also had the ability to terrify people. I had to scream and cry like a child because of it.

It was really scary.

ㅡFear.

As the power of fear in the Cyclops’ eyes struck my mind, I was seized by a bizarre delusion that the ancient one-eyed giant race slaughtered and devoured the ancestors of modern humans, Homo sapiens sapiens, without any basis or evidence.

It was a very strange feeling.

A feeling that was terrifying and unbearable.

I don’t understand why I suddenly believed that. I know very well now that it was just a delusion. But the power in the Cyclops’ eyes… made me do it.

I need more mental training.

There are powerful enemies in the world who can destroy my mind. Just like the Cyclops did.

Let’s cultivate my mental strength based on today’s lesson.

I won’t show such a disgraceful appearance next time. How can a grown adult be so scared of a one-eyed monster that they cry like a girl?

“Anyway, it’s a terrible story! But that’s not all!!! Holy Knights!! We went all the way down and found this!!!”

I announced this fact.

“I fought him evenly and eventually won! He was stronger than a Minotaur, not even comparable!!”
“So strong!”
“A very dangerous being!”
“We’ll have to combine teams if we go any deeper!”

The Holy Knights were in an uproar.

“It seems that monsters of unknown origin are sleeping underground!! There may be more like this!!!”

As soon as I finished speaking, Elise grabbed her head and frowned.

“To think that such demonic beings are gathered together…! This is an act that can never be forgiven!!! These evil monsters have no freedom of assembly or association!! They have no right to gather! They must all be executed!!!”

ㅡHiss-ss-ss-ss!!
ㅡHiss-ss-ss-ss!!
ㅡHiss-ss-ss-ss!!

The Ascetic Crusaders cheered as Elise finished her speech.

Certainly, these monsters have no freedom of assembly or association. How dare they form a group? They must all be executed.

“We must advance further down!!! We must destroy these evil beings with our power!!! Even the mother’s womb would have hated these monsters and spat them out! There is no mercy for such beings, and all we can give them is the pain of endless death!!!”

Elise was spewing out very violent words and glaring, as if she had had a seizure after seeing the Cyclops’ corpse.

“Hiss-ss-ss-ss!!!”
“A terrible death to a terrible being!!”
“That nun speaks very well! Woo-ooo-ooo!!”

The Holy Knights cheered as if Elise’s speech had worked well. Elise raised her flail, making a firm expression as if she was proud of something.

Elise is growing too.

After that, there was a busy exchange of countermeasures and discussions.

“I think it’s some kind of nest.”
“It would be terrible if the awakened ones came up to the surface.”
“We must kill them all inside the dungeon no matter what.”

As I was watching it, I called Elise.

“Elise.”
“Yes! Saintess!”
“I heard that Minotaurs came from the Demon World, or something like that?”
“Yes. But it’s not accurate…!”

Elise, whose face was slightly flushed as if she hadn’t calmed down yet, answered while breathing.

“Is there a one-eyed giant like that among those presumed to be the Demon World’s forces?”
“A one-eyed giant… Hmm… I don’t know much about that one-eyed giant either.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m so frustrated that I can’t answer your questions even though you’ve gone through so much trouble to come up here…!”
“Oh, it’s okay, let’s calm down.”

Elise’s tension is excessively high.

If I pretend to calm her down and guide her a little, I might be able to perform Divine Cross for the first time in a while.

“Still, it’s a bit disappointing. If there was such a story about that one-eyed giant, it could have been a discovery of the Demon World’s traces.”
“Th-that’s true! Certainly! You can definitely judge it that way!!!”

Elise clapped her hands.

“Then Elise!!!”
“Paladin!!!”

Vice-Commander Jaynant called me at that moment.

“That is a monster called a Cyclops!!! It’s a monster with almost no records, but I know it because I read countless books in the Order’s library when I was a child!!!!”

He had an expression as if he had realized something.

“I’ve definitely seen a phrase that speculates that it came from the Demon World!!! What Paladin said might be true!!!”

Huh?

“Th-then, could it be!!!”
“That’s right!!”

He had a very serious face.

“Vice-Commander! Then this is perhaps the Demon World…!”

Another Holy Knight who was listening to the story from the side said that.
I shouted as if to encourage it.

“It’s a great achievement!!! It’s still just a guess, but I think it’s worth studying!!”
“Yes…!”

Jaynant was even grabbing his head.

“The demons who participated in the Idol War contributed to destroying the world, as evil beings usually do!!”

A story about demons!!

“But they suddenly disappeared, and it is known that the gate was completely cut off and can no longer be seen…! But that doesn’t mean that their traces have completely disappeared from this world!!! They definitely remain!”

All eyes were on him.

“And this is!!!”

He raised his hand.

“I think it might be a hidden outpost of those demons!!!!”
“An outpost of demons!!!”

I couldn’t help but be shocked.

“S-Saintess!!! Is this really happening!!”

Why does it seem to be resolving itself?

Jaynant had information about the Cyclops’ identity.

If things go this well, I can just shift the blame by saying that evidence of the Demon World has appeared without having to use my head. Since they have been resurrected, demons may come. I can mix in those words.

Very ideal.
I’ll go with this.

Thank you, Thumb Hedgehog, no. Thumb Cyclops.

ㅡCheok.

As I expressed my gratitude, it seemed as if the Cyclops was giving me a thumbs up from the depths of the darkness.

“This is a very serious matter!! Let’s go up for today!!!”
“Oh!!!”

So we went back to the surface again.

* * *

After going up, there was a busy meeting.

To summarize, it was mainly about how Minotaurs and Cyclops are both said to be beings from the Demon World, so we should assume that this place is an outpost of the Demon World, and we must destroy it no matter what.

Of course, we have to.

We have to prevent the invasion of another world, and it would be a big problem if the guys inside woke up and crawled outside. We have to kill them all inside. Of course, we have to identify their identities.

“Saintess! This heart that seems to be boiling…! We are now facing evil! An outpost of demons!!! This is the first time since the Idol War!!!”

Elise, who had seized the keyword of war with the demons, seemed to be very excited.

“Therefore, this is a holy war!!! Izzermart is definitely looking down on this place now!!!”

Certainly, fighting a war with demons seems to have a high achievement point.

“Yeah! But Elise! What exactly are demons! I don’t really feel it because there’s so little information compared to demons!!!”
“It’s natural for you to think so! But let me tell you just one thing!!”

Elise grabbed my hand tightly and shouted.

“They are just evil forces that must all be killed!!!”
“Yeah!!!!!”

But Elise.

My wife is a Demon World princess.

“Saintess!!! Even if the demons invade, there’s nothing to worry about if you’re here!!! Saintess will surely stand at the forefront and slaughter them!!! I can’t help but feel overwhelmed just imagining that sight!! It’s holiness itself!!!”

Elise, filled with fanaticism, shook my hand and shouted.

“Good!!! Then that’s when Divine Power is needed!!!”
“That’s right!!! Divine!!!!!”
“Crossㅡ!!!!!!!”

Elise and I made a cross with our arms and carried out our resolution.

After all, Risha’s identity must be hidden for life.