Chapter 83
<Could it be… a dungeon boss? No. The burst only just happened. There’s no way the boss could already be here…>
“Reed.”
My trembling voice cut off Agnes’s confusion.
<Reed?>
I changed how I called him—for Agnes’s sake.
“…A newborn chaos of god.”
And then it happened.
As if responding to my call, Reed turned toward us, and our eyes met.
“……”
“……”
He’s looking at us.
Reed—the final hidden mastermind of this world.
My mind went completely blank. I couldn’t even swallow my saliva, freezing in place.
Then I saw it—his right hand slowly rising.
“…Ah.”
A slow-motion gesture.
A single movement of the strongest being who, in the original story, could incapacitate the protagonist with nothing more than a gesture. Instinct told me everything.
“No!”
I shouted—but it was already too late.
Whoosh.
A casual sweep through the air. The gesture originally aimed at the protagonist was now directed toward us.
[<System> Warning. Transcendent Skill ‘Shadow Devour’ is activating.]
With 9th-tier mana spreading out, a dark attribute wide-area spell activated instantly—no casting time whatsoever.
Shadows hidden beneath every living being’s feet twisted into predators and began rampaging.
If we used divine descent here, could we stop it? Could we escape?
No. There wasn’t even time to try.
We were going to die. Everyone here—
…but then.
Screeeech!
Kraaaagh!
Eek! Haaah!
“…!”
Only the monsters were being devoured by the shadow beasts. The cries of dying monsters shook the air as dark and demonic forces clashed.
The church was untouched.
What…?
<Inside the shadows…?>
“…Ah.”
Only then did I realize.
The surrounding light level had dropped sharply. The church was now engulfed in a massive shadow.
Reed’s shadow.
‘Don’t tell me…?’
I looked up at him in confusion. Of course, there was no answer.
When the monsters in sight were completely wiped out, Reed glanced at me once more—and then vanished via spatial transfer.
His blood-red eyes lingered as an afterimage, and I stood there, stunned.
<Wait… did he just… help us? Even though he’s the final boss…?>
“……”
I couldn’t answer Agnes.
‘Forget it. I don’t know. We’re alive—for now.’
[‘The One Who Builds Worlds, the Word’ exhales a breath it had been holding.]
[‘Inspector of Forbidden Secrets’ wipes its chest in relief.]
[‘The Cynic Who Balances All Things’ mutters that it almost died in vain.]
I entered the church through the broken roof and immediately looked for the village chief.
“The Burst’s momentum has weakened. I’ll enter the dungeon now and take out the boss.”
“What—what did you say, priestess?!”
The villagers who had been listening nearby panicked.
“You’re going in alone?!”
“That place is too dangerous!”
“No way! We can’t let someone like you go alone!”
“We should wait for reinforcements from the church!”
“That’ll be too late.”
I might have sounded too firm. I softened my expression with a gentle smile.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll finish it quickly and come back… ah, no. Actually, I might not come back even after finishing it. Even so, please don’t worry about me.”
“…!”
“Ah, so before I go, I want to thank you properly, village chief. The boiled potatoes you gave me earlier were really delicious.”
“Priestess! Hoo-hoo-hoo!”
“Priestess…!”
“Sniff…”
Ah. They’re misunderstanding something.
The elderly villagers were crying loudly. I felt bad, but there was no time to correct them.
“May God’s blessing be with you all.”
“Priestess…! No! Come back!”
I turned my gaze toward the black-purple hole on the mountainside.
The Burst Gate, now large enough to be seen with the naked eye, was spewing monsters again. I had to hurry.
After I entered the dungeon, the barrier placed on the church would disappear.
I reinforced a blessing across the entire church so it could hold for a while, then ran toward the dungeon.
I poured strength into my legs and climbed the mountain slope. Any monsters I encountered were cut down immediately.
Finally, I arrived at the source of the disaster—its pitch-black maw waiting for me.
Without hesitation, I threw myself into the gate.
[<System> You have entered A-rank Dungeon ‘The Sculptor’s Atelier’.]
[<System> Warning. Due to Burst conditions, difficulty has been elevated to S-rank.]
If you imagined an art studio because of the name, you’d be wrong.
The dungeon’s master was a high-ranking demon. Demonic “art” was naturally grotesque and anything but ordinary.
The sculptures here were made by slowly petrifying living beings while they were still alive.
In other words, the materials were living creatures.
As proof, the system map labeled this place as a “storage room for materials.”
Inside were humans, beasts, monsters, and all kinds of beings locked in cages.
Most of them were chimeras formed by combining two or more species.
Awooo!
Kraaaagh!
They screamed endlessly, bleeding from their eyes—begging either to be released or killed.
Most cages were empty now due to the Burst.
‘Tesilid… where is Tesilid?’
The original story, only three pages long in its 17th cycle, barely described his death. There wasn’t enough information.
While I looked around anxiously—
“Ohoho! I was just thinking I needed a pretty human female, and here’s a jackpot!”
[<System> Dungeon master, Demon Sculptor ‘Silevan’, rank 799 in the demon realm, has appeared.]
A blue-skinned demon dressed like a refined noble greeted me.
A boss right away—how convenient, given how little time I had.
“Inspiration… inspiration is overflowing!”
Silevan’s eyes gleamed behind his glasses as his fingers moved grotesquely fast.
“You’ll be perfect as a pair for my current work, ‘The Wailing Silver Angel’! With pink-dyed harpy wings, and that seductive expression as you lie beneath the silver angel…”
I didn’t have time to listen.
“Be purified.”
“Kuhhkk!”
A wave of holy light swept through the area, followed by repeated strikes of divine energy.
Silevan was far weaker than Obscuria, and especially vulnerable to divine power.
As sacred energy flooded in like that of a saint, he melted away.
[<System> Congratulations! You have defeated dungeon master ‘Silevan’, Rank 799 Demon Sculptor.]
Ughhh…
Kehheeeek…
Most monsters died along with him, but a few cages still held survivors.
I gave them mercy with my blade and ran through the corridor without slowing down.
<Where are you going, Ailet?!>
“I think the silver angel the boss mentioned is Tesilid. I’m heading to where they store the harpy wings.”
<How do you know that?>
“Because it’s on the map.”
As if confirming I was going the right way, angel-like statues lined the corridor.
Hands clasped in prayer, arms open in revelation, kneeling in tears.
It was a disturbing kind of sacredness—made by a demon.
“Purify.”
Crash! Smash!
I destroyed them as I ran, pushing my legs harder.
Soon, I reached my destination.
A massive arched iron door blocked the way.
Tesilid was beyond it.
Creeeeak!
I pushed the doors open with force.
Light from the corridor spilled into the dark room.
“…!”
[‘The Scales That Judge Souls’ is shocked.]
A scene the original story never described unfolded before me.
A man stood on a circular altar.
Kneeling with broken knees, arms chained, massive white beast wings embedded into his back.
Wires pierced and held his body in place.
“Te…”
I took a step forward without thinking—then froze at the sound of splashing.
Blood had already pooled up to the doorway.
<Ailet… it looks like he might already…>
I ignored Agnes’s words and approached him.
“Tesilid!”
I immediately poured healing magic into him. The fact that his wounds began to close meant he was still alive.
<He’s still alive like this…?>
“Reed.”
I spat the name and stopped healing.
Not yet. I couldn’t fully heal him yet.
I began removing the wires embedded in his body one by one.
A cold sensation. I gritted my teeth and continued.
“…Tesilid was supposed to suffer for a very long time and die insane.”
<You’re insane…>
I tilted his head back carefully and poured potion into his mouth. He couldn’t even swallow, but I forced in ten bottles.
His arms were still chained above him.
There was something else to do.
I wrapped my arms around him from behind.
Swallowing back curses, I spoke gently.
“This might hurt. Sorry.”
Riiip.
I tore out the harpy wings embedded in his back.
“Gghk…!”
For the first time, Tesilid—who had been completely unconscious—let out a groan.
I quickly held him tighter and flooded his back with healing magic.
“You did well. You endured well. It’s okay now. It’s over. It’s okay.”
I couldn’t tell whether I was speaking to him—or myself.
As I unchained him, Agnes looked around.
<By the way… where are the other members of the raid party?>
“I don’t need to look for them.”
Even I was surprised at how cold my voice sounded. Agnes, sensing something, didn’t ask further.
“Let’s move.”
I opened the closing gate and escaped the dungeon. The moment we exited, I shattered the multi-person teleportation stone.
There was a place I had prepared in advance.
