Chapter 25
“……”
“……”
From Isabella’s point of view, those words had been both a warning she had risked her life to give and an honest statement of her beliefs.
But Johan’s reaction remained completely indifferent.
“Do whatever you want.”
Then a faint, almost amused smile appeared on his face.
“As long as you’re fine with receiving absolutely no help from me until we reach the 33rd floor.”
Isabella’s expression hardened.
“…Are you threatening me right now?”
“If that’s how it feels to you, then I suppose I am.”
That was Johan’s honest answer.
Vika Harad was not particularly useful to him.
But Johan’s presence would undoubtedly be priceless to Vika Harad.
Naturally, the side that needed the other more would be the one to lose out.
If she hated that, she should never have expected his help in the first place.
Johan himself knew it very well.
The only reason he had been able to maintain such an arrogant attitude all this time was because he was strong.
It was also because there was no one who knew more about the Dungeon than he did.
Isabella knew this fact better than anyone.
Because of that, she eventually had no choice but to withdraw her position.
“…You really are the worst human being alive.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
As soon as their conversation came to a rough conclusion, Aren started chattering again.
It was more than thirty minutes later when they finally arrived at the underground lake.
Drip.
Drip…
Small pools formed from gathered droplets filled the areas around the uneven stalagmites and stone pillars.
Water dripped from the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, the sound quietly echoing through the cave.
Isabella quickly scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes, then tilted her head in confusion.
“…There aren’t even any signs that magical beasts were here.”
“Seems that way.”
Aren’s eyes lit up.
“A-A lake! I-It’s my first time seeing one! C-Can I go in?!”
He asked for permission with his mouth—
But his body was already rushing toward the lake.
“Ugh!”
Isabella casually grabbed him by the back of his neck and stopped him.
She sighed.
“Haa… I feel like a babysitter.”
Johan stepped forward.
“I’ll check it.”
He casually removed the worn cloak from his shoulders and the sword from his waist.
Then he jumped straight into the water.
Splash!
Bubble, bubble…
The lake was not particularly large.
The water quality was fairly good as well, allowing him to see quite far ahead.
After swimming around the entire inside of the lake for about five minutes, the result was clear.
[It’s completely empty. No magical beasts, no passageways, not even any fish.]
This time, Johan descended toward the deepest part of the lake.
When he reached the bottom, something caught his eye.
Human bones.
…….
Looking more carefully, he could see skeletons extending from the lakebed toward the wall on the right.
Most seemed to have simply been abandoned after death.
However, some of the skeletons were kneeling.
Others were lying face-down.
Almost as though they were worshipping something.
Johan followed the direction of their worship.
There—
A detailed statue of an extremely unpleasant being had been carved into the wall.
[What the hell? That’s Dagon.]
Even underwater, its distinct deep-blue skin, protruding bones, and bulging round eyes were painfully clear.
The sculpture carried the unmistakably disturbing sense of beauty that could only come from fanatics blindly worshipping a divinity.
Its enormous webbed hands.
Its muscular body.
Even its face, packed with the teeth of a creature that constantly spoke lies, had been carved with terrifying detail.
…Well, there aren’t many others who would arrange skeletons like this.
There might have been some exceptions, but ordinary followers could not remain underwater for very long.
That narrowed the possibilities down to one.
[Deep Ones, probably. Leaving such an obvious mark all the way up on the fifth floor… That’s actually pretty surprising.]
So there was a reason Dagon worship managed to spread all the way to the Holy Land.
The first ten floors of the Dungeon were where the interference of the Inner Gods was weakest.
They were also the floors that the four major powers had explored most often and for the longest period of time.
Unlike the floors after the 11th, there were also no other races commonly living there.
Of course, Dagon was the kind of Inner God who compensated for his weaknesses through sheer numbers.
Even so…
There should still have been quite a few divinities that disliked him expanding his influence like this.
[Maybe there’s no faction left strong enough to keep Dagon in check?]
…Or maybe there’s simply no longer any reason to keep him in check.
Either way, they needed to descend quickly.
Before those creatures became aware of their presence.
They did not have much time to spare.
What had happened in the Holy Land would eventually reach Innsmouth on the 16th floor and Yansley on the 30th floor.
Once that happened, there would be no avoiding an all-out war with the Dagon Cult.
So saving Dexter Boyle back then ended up connecting to this.
The goddess laughed softly.
[Would it have been better if you hadn’t saved him? There isn’t any compulsion forcing you anymore, right?]
[Human deaths are easy enough to ignore if you really want to.]
…Either way, let’s hurry.
I don’t want to experience the nightmare of being surrounded by an army of Deep Ones before we even reach the tenth floor.
The goddess immediately stretched both hands forward with enthusiasm.
[Ugh! I really hate that idea too!]
[All right! Let’s get moving, darling! Quickly, quickly!]
Before leaving the lake, Johan pulled out one of his tentacles.
Then he completely smashed apart the statue of Dagon that the skeletons had been worshipping.
Since Dagon’s people already had him marked as an enemy, Johan intended to cause as much trouble as possible before leaving.
CRACK!
CRUNCH!
The impact sent violent waves rippling all the way to the surface of the lake.
Fragments of the shattered statue scattered everywhere.
Johan and the goddess both smiled in satisfaction at the same time.
[Haa… Now I finally feel better.]
[I’m so sick of those bastards.]
Outside the lake, Aren and Isabella had been staring at the exact spot where Johan had jumped in.
When he suddenly surfaced from a completely different place, they hurried over.
Splash.
Splash.
“M-Mister! H-How was it inside? I-Is it really cold?”
Isabella snapped at him.
“Is that really what you should be asking right now?!”
Johan casually answered.
“It’s warm enough to swim in. If you’re curious, just dip your feet in.”
Aren’s eyes sparkled.
“R-Really?!”
Apparently, he had heard somewhere that stretching before swimming was important.
He immediately started moving his arms and legs around, preparing to enter the water.
Johan roughly squeezed the water from his clothes and picked up his cloak and sword.
Isabella carefully asked,
“…This isn’t the place, is it?”
“No.”
“Then that means…”
Splash!
Aren finally jumped into the lake.
Both Johan and Isabella watched him for a moment before naturally turning their gazes toward the rear—
toward the outside of the cave.
After fastening his equipment again, Johan pointed in the same direction.
“We cross the sea and head for the sea cave.”
At the same time.
The elites of each faction who had awakened around the sea cave and the nearby coast had already gathered together and finished discussing what they would do next.
One of the Were warriors hesitantly asked,
“…Are you truly sure about this, General?”
General Kalkerak nodded.
