A chill ran down everyone’s spine.
The boss demonic beast was already dead.
The implication was simple.
A far more powerful creature had passed through this place before them.
“Look at that. The flesh has rotted, and the blood has dried. It must have been dead for quite some time.”
“Urgh. The carapace has been contaminated by the decaying flesh and the poison from its fangs. It will be difficult to harvest.”
“Do you think whatever killed the boss demonic beast might still be nearby?”
“I’m not certain. We’ll have to venture farther inside to find out.”
They exchanged glances before nodding.
They could not simply turn back after coming this far.
Besides, they had to pass through the Boss Room to reach the Reward Chamber anyway.
“It’s dark inside. Everyone, watch your footing.”
The Boss Room.
It was the lair of the ruler that existed within every dungeon.
Regardless of the surrounding terrain, its interior was always spacious, and its environment could take a variety of forms.
Sometimes, it even contained anomalies that violated the laws of nature.
Just like the one before them now.
“Huh? That’s strange. We have plenty of oil, but the lanterns are barely giving off any light.”
“It must be a special property of this space. The darkness is swallowing the light.”
The area illuminated by their lanterns had shrunk dramatically.
Beyond the faint light lay nothing but impenetrable darkness.
It made the interior of the Boss Room feel even more ominous and dangerous.
“Let’s proceed as carefully as possible. Everyone, remain vigilant. Mr. Kranol, please prepare for battle as well.”
Kranol silently nodded at Birg, who stood at the front.
The party slowly advanced, illuminating the unseen darkness with their feeble lantern light.
Everyone held their breath in tense silence.
The chamber of packed earth was so vast that no matter how far they walked, there was no end in sight.
Despite its enormous size, however, it felt strangely oppressive, making it difficult to breathe.
Aria whispered in amazement.
“My goodness. It really is enormous. I’ve never seen a Boss Room this large.”
“Well, they are ants. They must have lived inside this cavern without any light for a very long time.”
“The thought that we were originally supposed to fight the boss demonic beast in such darkness is horrifying.”
“For now, let’s keep searching with the lanterns. There should be a passage somewhere leading to the Reward Chamber.”
The Boss Room was far larger inside than it had appeared from the outside.
The party wandered through the darkness for nearly thirty minutes.
With their vision obscured, the raw smell of earth and the scent of one another’s sweat became especially vivid.
Tap, tap.
At that moment, the invisible hatchling patted Kranol’s thigh with one forepaw, indicating that it had found something.
The hatchling could see farther and more clearly in the dark than the others.
That was because it possessed the ‘Darkvision’ trait.
“Birg, could you shine your lantern to the left?”
At Kranol’s request, Birg brought the lantern closer.
At the edge of the faint light, a structure became visible.
It was a door leading into another room.
“Wait, is that...?”
“There’s no doubt about it! It’s the Reward Chamber!”
“My goodness, Mr. Kranol! How did you know?”
Kranol offered an excuse appropriate to their misunderstanding.
“It was merely a mage’s intuition.”
They hurriedly opened the connected door and entered.
Beyond it was another sealed chamber, this one constructed from stone walls rather than packed earth.
The special property that allowed the darkness to consume light remained, so the room was still dim.
However, everyone sighed in relief when they discovered the chest resting undisturbed within it.
“The Reward Chest is still here!”
“Since the boss demonic beast was already dead, I thought someone must have looted it long ago.... What a relief.”
“SKREE!”
The invisible hatchling clung to one of Kranol’s arms as though demanding praise.
It truly was a little bundle of good fortune.
Thanks to it, they had reached the Reward Chamber without wandering any longer.
CREEEAK.
Filled with anticipation, they opened the chest inside the Reward Chamber.
Two objects rested within it.
The first was a pair of black leather gloves fashioned in a rather luxurious style.
The second was a large egg radiating a violet aura.
They examined the gloves first.
[Name: Gloves of Demonic Energy]
[Grade: ★★]
[Effect: Special equipment once worn by a Holy Knight who resisted a Lesser Demon. It absorbs evil power and converts it into minor increases in stats. Grants access to the Exclusive Skill, ‘Demonic Energy Absorption.’]
[+Equipping the other pieces of the set will alter the item’s effects.]
[+The resonant equipment is hidden within a temple somewhere on the continent.]
The demonic beast hunters’ eyes widened.
It was a Two-Star piece of equipment.
It was far more valuable than the One-Star materials they had discovered earlier.
Its effects were also exceptional.
It was equipment capable of raising ‘stats.’
Increasing even a single stat point required tremendous hardship.
A person could only raise one after undergoing an experience that pushed them beyond their limits.
That was why most people chose the alternative of training their skills instead.
The Gloves of Demonic Energy, however, possessed an effect that increased stats.
Naturally, it was an item whose price would soar to astronomical heights.
“Gulp.”
It was a reward that made everyone swallow involuntarily.
Yet their astonishment did not end there.
There was still another reward.
[Name: Egg of Calamity]
[Grade: ★★★★★]
[Effect: An egg that is extraordinarily dangerous compared to the difficulty of the dungeon in which it was stored. Due to a delivery error by the fairies, it was placed inside the wrong Reward Chest. As a calamity beyond normal classification, exceptional caution is required. Safety cannot be guaranteed if the creature inside reaches adulthood.]
“What the— This is insane!”
“My goodness...! Am I seeing this correctly?”
“Isn’t this completely absurd?”
It was a Five-Star item.
An item of such a grade was rare even across an entire nation.
Depending on its type and purpose, it was a treasure whose seller could effectively name any price.
However, its description was deeply ominous.
“Wow, its appearance is incredible. It’s larger than an ordinary bird’s egg.”
“But if it’s going to become a calamity, shouldn’t we make certain it never hatches?”
“Judging from the description, it sounds like we should destroy it immediately before something terrible happens.”
Kranol shook his head at those frightened by the Status Window’s description.
That was an excessively human-centered interpretation.
A calamity did not necessarily have to be a calamity for ‘humanity.’
“It’s a form of wordplay. A calamity does not necessarily refer to something that threatens humanity.”
The ‘calamity’ mentioned in the description was actually directed toward the beings of the Celestial Realm, not humanity.
Unlike the setting of Act One, the Celestial Realm was a place inhabited by incomprehensible entities such as angels and demons.
That was also why the demonic beast had falsified the ancient records and attempted to lure others into destroying the egg.
It desperately wished to curry favor with a demon and form a contract.
“Hmm. It still makes me uneasy, but since you say so, Mr. Kranol... should we try hatching it?”
“But how are we supposed to make it hatch? Do we need to keep it warm?”
As everyone discussed what to do with the Egg of Calamity—
BANG!
They all turned toward the sudden noise.
The door leading out of the Reward Chamber had slammed shut.
No one had touched it.
—Why do you not destroy it?
An unfamiliar, sinister voice came from somewhere nearby.
Everyone flinched and hurriedly drew their weapons, assuming a combat formation.
For a moment, they wondered whether they had imagined it, but the unpleasant voice continued.
—Can you wretches not even read? Why do you refuse to shatter that egg?
“Huh? Look over there!”
The demonic beast hunter named Bunet raised a lantern and pointed into the darkness.
The corpse of an enormous beast was hanging upside down from the ceiling.
It resembled a long, rotting bat.
Upon closer inspection, however, it possessed the distinct form of another creature.
The moment the lantern light reached it, the grotesque monster spread its wings.
WHOOOOSH!
“Urgh!”
“Wh-What is this?! Aah!”
An immense gale erupted as it swept its wings.
Its presence was so overwhelming that the wind felt like a small-scale storm.
The party’s prepared formation collapsed helplessly. Everyone lost their balance and fell as the wind swept over them.
At the same time, they experienced a strange sense of familiarity.
“Wh-What is this whirlwind?! It feels familiar!”
“It’s the same as the whirlwinds that were raging around the cavern!”
“D-Don’t tell me that thing was the cause of the disaster?”
The corpse-like monster slowly approached the party.
Decaying flesh clung to its entire body.
Bones protruded viciously through the gaps in its damaged scales.
Upon closer inspection, it was unmistakably a dragon.
“A-A Rot Dragon!”
“Damn it! Why is something like that inside this dungeon?!”
A Rot Dragon.
It was smaller than a fully grown dragon, but it was still a medium-to-large creature roughly the size of three bulls.
It appeared to be the reanimated corpse of a dragon that had died before reaching full maturity.
Nevertheless, a dragon was still a dragon.
As befitted a superior species, it was a powerful demonic beast that would not be easy to subjugate even with dozens of fighters.
—You humans, once immeasurably primitive, have become rather clever. You always placed absolute faith in the words written upon a Status Window. I never imagined you would attempt to hatch the egg.
Its imposing presence was not its only remarkable feature.
The medium-to-large demonic beast could even employ refined vocabulary.
Even the experienced demonic beast hunters could not close their mouths.
“A demonic beast... is speaking the human language?”
That meant it was highly intelligent and belonged to a mutated strain.
It was undoubtedly the mastermind that had used the ancient records to lure the hunters to this place.
Kranol also knew why the Rot Dragon had gone to such troublesome lengths.
‘Demonic beasts cannot open Reward Chests. That’s why it deceived adventurers and lured them here.’
Unable to destroy the egg itself, it had attempted to use someone else’s hands.
The Rot Dragon continued in an arrogant voice.
—In my eyes, you are no different from ants. Lowly vermin have no need to become needlessly wise.
A ghastly blue light flared from within its bare skull.
—My name is Girognal. I shall bring Divine Retribution upon you.
The demonic beast hunters stared in silent horror.
It was a ‘Named Monster’ that even possessed a name of its own.
This was not a creature that should have appeared in a dungeon of this level.
It could easily have ruled an entire region as its undisputed master.
Amid everyone’s confusion, however, one person alone remained calm.
‘First, I’ll conceal myself with Invisibility. Then I’ll have to use every Hidden Piece I possess, along with the hatchling.’
Kranol was already calculating his moves.
He still possessed a few Hidden Pieces he had collected while completing mercenary requests.
He had used all his holy water to save the hatchling, but the ‘Pure Silver Cross’ and the ‘Rod Stained with an Angel’s Tears’ still had uses remaining.
Even with those items, however, the coming battle would by no means be easy.
“SKREE.”
The hatchling growled grimly beside him, equally prepared for battle.
Kranol was about to activate the Invisibility he had copied when an unexpected variable arose.
“Huh?”
The Rot Dragon Girognal spread its skeletal wings.
Opening its decaying maw, it unleashed a tremendous roar.
—GRRROOOOOOOAAAAAR!
The majestic sound thundered through the Boss Room.
Even covering their ears could not keep the noise from feeling as though it would rupture their eardrums.
Everyone lost their fighting spirit and succumbed to fear.
For one person in particular, however, the roar inflicted critical damage.
“...!”
“W-Wait! Mr. Kranol is bleeding!”
Aria, who stood beside him, panicked.
Blood had burst from Kranol’s nose and was streaming down his face.
The amount of blood far exceeded an ordinary nosebleed.
It was enough to soak his entire face.
“...Mr. Kranol? Are you all right?!”
Birg shouted without daring to look away from the Rot Dragon.
Everyone assumed Kranol’s bleeding was caused by the Rot Dragon’s skill.
They were mistaken.
This was the madness that afflicted Kranol alone.
His trembling hands compulsively searched inside his clothes.
“Urgh... Ugh, urgh.”
With bloodshot eyes, Kranol began stuffing herbs into his mouth.
Blood continued pouring from his nose as he swallowed them like a drug-addled addict.
No matter how one looked at him, he was far from normal.
—GRRROOOOOOOAAAAAR! Consider yourselves honored to have encountered me! I shall graciously spare a few of you and imprison you within the torture chamber! GRRROOOOOOOAAAAAR! Become entertainment for the great being charged with destroying the egg! GRRROOOOOOOAAAAAR!
Even after Kranol devoured the herbs, the accursed noise did not stop.
His head felt as though it were about to shatter.
Kranol’s blood-soaked face twisted as he glared at the Rot Dragon that continued roaring without a hint of restraint.
He gestured with one hand.
“...Fuck. Shut up.”
—What?!
The Rot Dragon Girognal froze.
Its open maw twitched.
Then the bones throughout its body began to crack....
—Ghk!
CRUNCH!
...And it exploded into fragments, scattering bone dust in every direction.
It could not even be called a single blow.
Kranol had merely traced one line with his finger.
That alone brought everything to an end.
“Huh?”
Silence fell over the chamber.
The demonic beast hunters stared blankly at the scattered bones.
Even after witnessing it with their own eyes, they could not believe what had happened.
The superior undead creature that had appeared with such overwhelming grandeur had died instantly.
All it had taken was a single gesture from Kranol.