This black-robed man was the creator and engineer of this underground space. His job was to maintain and expand the area, which meant he spent almost all of his time subterranean.
Naturally, this made him extraordinarily bored. Every day, waking and sleeping, was nothing but work. Now that three mice had barged in, he finally had toys to play with. He was certainly in no hurry to kill them, preferring instead to savor the moment.
The expression of a pitiful, helpless, cute young girl struggling in despair—just thinking about it was delightful, wasn't it?
However, after hearing his words, Freya didn't show the terrified, frightened expression the black-robed man had anticipated. Instead, she asked in a remarkably earnest tone, “Are you sure there won't be anyone else here?”
The black-robed man froze, instinctively answering, “Yeah...”
Freya asked again, “Is there any occult array with surveillance effects here? For instance, something that lets people elsewhere see directly what's happening here?”
The black-robed man said, “No? Wait, aren't you... afraid?”
Only then did Freya react as if just realizing, “Oh, right!”
With that, she took half a step back, drew her neck in slightly, pouted, and put on a timid expression as she looked at the black-robed man. “I... I'm so scared~ P-Please don't kill me...”
The black-robed man: “?”
For some reason, a sudden creepy chill washed over him. He wasn't an idiot; the situation was turning stranger by the second!
In an instant, his playful mood vanished, replaced entirely by the urge to end this quickly. Raising his hand lightly, he unleashed the same move as before. A dense cluster of small spiral earthen spikes erupted from the ground, accompanied by sharp whistling sounds as they hurtled toward Freya. This time, there were visibly more of them, far denser—several times more than the barrage aimed at Victor!
Before they could reach her, however, a figure materialized out of thin air directly in front of Freya.
Thud, thud, thud—!
Like stones crashing against solid steel, the figure neither dodged nor deflected, making no move at all. She simply stood ramrod straight, taking every single spike head-on. The black-robed man could even see one spike strike her cheek and shatter into fine gravel, yet leaving not even a faint red mark on her skin.
“That's it?” War Freya was more androgynous and dashing compared to Freya. Crossing her arms, she said, “Any last words? You'd better spit them out quickly.”
“Damn it! Where did you pop out from?!” The black-robed man's expression twisted in terror, but his hands didn't slow down. He raised both hands and slammed them together.
This entire underground space was his masterpiece, his domain, his home turf. Here, his combat prowess was naturally at its peak.
For example, he only needed to cause a cave-in directly above his target. Keep in mind this place was eight to ten meters below ground—the sheer weight of the earth was enough to crush a person to pulp in an instant!
Rumble!
And that was precisely what the black-robed man did. The corners of his mouth curled into a smirk. Who cares if you're human or a ghost? I'll just flatten you into a meat patty!
Yet in the very next second, he realized the red-haired girl who had suddenly appeared was gone again. “Where did she...?”
Those words became his last.
Squelch—!
Before he knew it, War Freya had appeared right beside him. Thrusting her claw forward, she drove right through his chest. Her other hand locked onto his throat. Then, with a sickening rip, War Freya tore the black-robed man in two with her bare hands!
This black-robed man had been at least Rank Four, possibly of the ‘Cursed Path of the Earth.’ Freya didn't know what extraordinary abilities he possessed, but she didn't need to.
No matter what abilities you have, you get one-shotted!
...
Shifting back to Victor and David's perspective: after being forcibly separated, the two looked at the thick stone wall before them, completely helpless. Moreover, other footsteps were approaching from all directions.
This underground space naturally didn't house just one black-robed cultist. With such a massive commotion breaking out, the others had naturally come running.
Gritting his teeth, Victor said, “No good, we have to go, get out of here. If we get surrounded, we're done for!”
Pulling David along, he activated his ability to boost his luck and picked a random direction. But to his surprise, Victor couldn't even budge David on the first pull.
Standing rooted to the spot, David said, “Wait, what about Freya? Are we just going to leave her behind?!”
Victor was momentarily at a loss for words. Separated now, did David think he was worried about Freya's safety? No, no, no. On the contrary, with Freya no longer by his side, Victor was worried about his own safety!
Victor said, “She'll be fine. Let's go first!”
David still looked hesitant. “But...”
Many movies had similar tropes: characters reassuring themselves by saying “so-and-so will be fine,” only to reluctantly abandon an ally and agonize as they fled the danger zone.
The problem was, Victor was telling the absolute truth! “No more 'buts'! Let's just worry about ourselves first!”
The two retreated rapidly. Relying on his absurdly good luck, they brushed past rushing cultists multiple times without bumping into a single one head-on. In fact, Victor had used his ability while running earlier too, but that black-robed man had been the creator of the labyrinth and possessed the wall-phasing ability to meld into earth, which was why Victor hadn't been able to shake him.
As they fled, David couldn't help asking, “What do we do now?”
Victor groused back, “How the hell should I know?! If I'd known this place was a cultist stronghold, do you think I would've brought you here?!”
Bickering as they ran, Victor suddenly realized they had managed to exit the labyrinth. A straight corridor was lined with rooms on both sides. Inside each room was an emaciated person dressed in tattered rags, their eyes dull and hollow. When they heard Victor's footsteps, fear flickered in many of their eyes, and they curled up tightly against the room corners.
This place was unmistakably a dungeon!
Seeing this, both Victor and David froze. David asked, “These people are...”
Victor replied, “This is a cultist stronghold after all. Nothing those cultists—those lunatics—do would surprise me. As for these people, nothing good ever comes to those captured and brought here.”
Either consumables or experimental subjects; Victor couldn't imagine anything else.
Right then, a voice echoed from the depths of the dungeon: “Why wouldn't anything good come to them? These people are lambs destined to be sacrificed to our Lord God. They should feel honored. But you two mice—how did you scurry all the way down here?”
...
Rate on N.U.
