༺ Infiltration (1) ༻
In another part of the fortress, Theresa spoke sharply to Hegrion.
“Why are you being so impatient?”
Hegrion flinched.
What followed was an apology.
“…I apologize.”
A heavy breath escaped his lips.
He tried to regain his composure, but it was pointless.
To Theresa, who was nearly unparalleled in terms of wisdom in Elia, his agitation was merely a cute struggle.
She chuckled and continued speaking.
“Don’t be impatient. We’ll surely find the Second Prince.”
Hegrion’s face turned red after hearing Theresa pinpoint the reason for his impatience.
He swept the back of his neck in shame and continued in a lighter tone.
“Yes, he is not someone who would get defeated so easily. He is probably up to something somewhere.”
“So why are you so restless? Are you feeling guilty? As if it’s your fault that the Second Prince was left alone here?”
Hegrion’s smile faded.
“…You are not wrong.”
It felt like a direct hit, and Hegrion felt an ache in his heart.
“That’s right. I’m so ashamed that I fled, leaving the Prince behind. I regret not staying with him courageously.”
“But you know such ’what-ifs’ are meaningless, right?”
“I do. However, the heart does not follow one’s logic so easily.”
Theresa laughed.
She found it delightful to see a young man grappling with genuine concern, and it was enough to make her smile even in this gloomy space.
“Your worries aren’t pointless. Concerns make you grow internally. If you regret it, then work harder not to make the same mistake next time.”
“Thank you for your wise words.”
Kkududk—
As they were having a conversation, a hand reached out from the wall of flesh.
Having already sensed it, Hegrion swung his claymore.
Whoosh—!
“Ah, such bad manners for interrupting our nice conversation.”
Theresa’s chuckle had an unmistakable calmness.
“We should move faster.”
“Will you be okay?”
“Don’t underestimate an old woman. In my youth, I made a name for myself with my fists.”
Hegrion looked relieved.
“Then, if you don’t mind, let’s speed up.”
“Go ahead.”
A warm, pink light of divinity emanated from Theresa. Then, it enveloped both of them.
Hegrion’s eyes widened.
“This is…”
“It’s the power bestowed upon me. Don’t worry about losing your stamina. The one I serve is abundant in love and will share that strength with you as well.”
A grin formed on Hegrion’s lips.
“I guess I’ll have to send a prayer when we get back.”
“That sounds great.”
Hegrion looked ahead once more, and Theresa also readied herself.
Immediately, red hands sprang up from all around them, and they began to fend them off without missing a beat.
***
After walking through a corridor inside the fortress for quite some time, Vera finally noticed something odd.
“…We’re going in circles.”
“Yes. No matter how big the castle is, there’s no way it wouldn’t change after walking for an hour.”
Vera frowned upon hearing Renee’s reply.
Something was off.
It was strange enough that they were circling the same spot, but what bothered him more was the utter silence that enveloped them.
According to the reports, arms should have jutted out of the walls or spirits should have attacked, so the lack of any threat despite walking for hours made his sense of danger soar.
“Is this Alaysia’s intention?”
“It must be.”
Renee’s expression turned serious.
Her nerves were on edge from walking on the squishy flesh the whole time.
Accordingly, her thoughts also sharpened, and she made an assumption.
“It looks like we’ve been tricked. If you think about it, Alaysia probably wanted us here from the start because it would be more advantageous for her.”
Combining her previous silence, the corruption she had planted in the soldier, and Hegrion’s escape, an assumption emerged.
It was the assumption that Alaysia’s goal from the beginning was to lure them here.
“What the hell is she trying to do…?”
Vera’s tone grew increasingly grim.
‘Is her goal to eliminate the Apostles?’
He wondered if she was trying to finish what she couldn’t do to Elia in the past.
He quickly dismissed the thought.
‘No, it’s too quiet for that. Moreover, it doesn’t explain why she would lead the Saint and I in circles.’
They wouldn’t be the only ones like this.
It was much more reasonable to think that everyone who had entered was also going in circles.
Vera thought that they wouldn’t resolve anything if they kept walking like this and took out something.
“Can we stop for a moment?”
“Have you thought of something?”
“There’s something I want to try.”
Renee stopped walking.
Vera, who also halted, drew a shortsword from his pocket.
It was none other than Gorgan’s legacy.
‘The shortsword is an eye.’
He recalled the knowledge he had learned during his previous battle with Gorgan.
Using this shortsword, he would be able to see the essence of all things.
‘I couldn’t see anything from outside the fortress.’
It was likely that there was some mechanism blocking the power of this relic.
However, now that they were inside the castle and seeing this flesh right in front of them, it was possible that he could see something else.
There was the risk of being counter-attacked, but Vera fortunately had a defense for that as well.
‘The bracelet is a veil.’
With the bracelet protecting his soul from malicious influences, it was worth trying.
“Are you using a legacy?”
“Yes, can you cast a protective spell around us?”
“…Yes, be careful.”
He might lose consciousness if he used the legacy, like before, so he had to leave the defense to Renee.
“…Then, here it goes.”
Vera gripped the shortsword with both hands.
He began to resonate his soul with the shortsword in a movement that had now become familiar to him.
Wooong—
There was a low hum.
The moment it overlapped with his heartbeat, Vera stabbed the shortsword into the ground.
Wham—!
And so, Vera’s thoughts sank into his subconscious.
***
Marie and Friede stopped in their tracks, captivated by a large cavity in front of them.
“This is…”
The atmosphere of the cavity was strange.
The blood dripping down the walls and ceiling formed a pool of blood underneath.
To add to the gruesomeness, an unidentifiable light was reflecting off the puddle.
Is this a new area?
The thought crossed their minds for a moment but quickly subsided.
Upon looking closely, horrifying traces revealed that this space had been created intentionally by someone.
Flesh hung in tatters on the walls, and arms regenerated from the edges.
The blood pooled on the floor like a swamp.
The signs of destruction were unmistakable.
“…It’s Gorgan’s work.”
Marie’s brow furrowed at Friede’s words.
Seeing it now, it made sense.
“There are claw marks.”
The red gashes on the ceiling resembled the marks of a beast’s claws.
But that wasn’t all.
“It’s not regenerating, either. It definitely looks like that puppy’s doing.”
The next question that arose was ‘why?’
It was a question that had to be asked.
“If it can only be seen here… then it means that Gorgan shrank his size down again.”
The hollow was a perfect hemisphere.
If Gorgan had kept moving at his full size, the passage should have stayed this wide all the way, but the path in the distance narrowed again.
Friede speculated in response to Marie’s question.
“It could be one of two things. Either he used up too much energy and needed to conserve it, or there was another reason he had to shrink.”
“It’s basically the same thing, isn’t it? Still, an Ancient Species wouldn’t be so easily worn out.”
Friede nodded and muttered.
“A reason to shrink down his size…”
After pondering deeply, Friede finally let out a sigh.
“…I have no idea. The only thing that comes to mind is that he might have discovered the advance party, but Gorgan probably wouldn’t care about that.”
“Right, he’s not the type to stop just to spare a few more humans.”
It became an unresolved issue.
After spending some time examining the hollow for clues, the two concluded that there was nothing more to gain from this place and exhaled deeply.
“Shall we keep going? There’s only one path ahead, and it might lead to Gorgan or something else.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
The two resumed walking, leaving the empty cavity behind.
Drip.
Drip.
Only the sound of blood dripping onto the puddles eerily echoed in the space they had left.
***
Slash—!
Once again, a red arm was cut off.
Hegrion took a deep breath and shook off the blood on his claymore.
“It seems we are indeed going in circles.”
“Yes. No matter how big the fortress is, running around like this should eventually lead us somewhere.”
Hegrion’s face scrunched up.
“It’s strange. Last time, breaking through the wall led us somewhere.”
“It seems we have to accept that your previous escape was part of their plan.”
Clench—
Hegrion gritted his teeth.
His pale blue aura turned colder, reflecting his emotions.
His impatience flared up once again.
Thanks to Theresa’s power, his stamina was still fine. However, it also had its limits.
At this rate, they might collapse before they could find Albrecht.
They needed a breakthrough.
As they both had the same thought…
— Aaahhh!!!
A scream echoed from somewhere.
Their heads snapped towards the source of the sound.
“—It’s from behind the wall.”
Hegrion’s eyes lit up.
He immediately recognized who the voice belonged to.
“It’s the Second Prince. It’s the Second Prince’s voice!”
Hegrion’s aura expanded dramatically. It engulfed him and started to burn the walls. Then, he raised his claymore without saying another word.
Theresa tried to say something, but it was too late.
“Wai…!”
Swish!
The sword cut through the wall, and nauseating blood spattered all over.
A distressed look appeared on Theresa’s face.
‘His voice was strange…!’
The voice sounded strange.
Even she, who didn’t know Albrecht well, could tell that something was wrong.
Theresa looked at the torn wall.
Just when she felt an ominous sensation and started to use her divinity…
Claaaang!
Someone burst out from the wall and attacked Hegrion.
Screech!
Fortunately, Hegrion reacted in time, and his claymore clashed with a red-hot blade.
Hegrion held his breath and looked at the man wielding the sword.
“Second Prince…!”
It was Albrecht.
He was attacking him, and he was covered in blood from head to toe.
What in the world was going on?
As Hegrion’s strength momentarily faltered amidst the shock, Theresa shouted.
“It’s an illusion spell! He’s under a spell!”
Hegrion’s body flinched.
His sword twisted.
It was a moment of distraction, and his opponent was formidable.
Slide—
The red-hot sword slithered up his claymore like a crawling snake.
It aimed for Hegrion’s chest.
Hegrion’s eyes widened and he tried to dodge quickly, but…
Squelch—!
What followed was the sound of the blade piercing his flesh.
