Chapter 7
No one except authorized elves was allowed inside.
That rule certainly existed, but there had almost never been a situation where anyone actually needed to enforce it.
On the surface, the Four Great Powers maintained a cooperative relationship.
But that cooperation existed only because they had joined forces to conquer the Dungeon.
Now that their views regarding the Dungeon had begun to differ, a subtle hostility had naturally formed between them.
On top of that, the next Dungeon expedition was just around the corner.
Surely no one would deliberately stir up trouble at a time like this.
That was what they had believed.
At least, until a human man who introduced himself as Yohan suddenly appeared and turned the entire place upside down.
“Kh... Kuh...”
“You should’ve listened when I asked nicely.”
“…You think you’ll get away with this after what you’ve done? The others will be here to capture you soon!”
“Then I’d better move quickly. I’m not finished here yet.”
Yohan grabbed the elf guard by the collar and asked,
“Those remaining elves who came up from the Dungeon... Where are they now?”
His ice-cold eyes made one thing perfectly clear.
If the guard tried to avoid answering again, Yohan really would kill him this time.
If one were asked why the Holy Land of Karaam existed, there could only be one answer.
The Dungeon.
A mysterious labyrinth said to contain every secret of the world.
It opened only for a brief moment once every year.
And the expedition teams that tirelessly threw themselves into it were practically symbols of the Four Great Powers.
Their overall quality might have declined compared to the past.
Even so, expedition teams still consisted of the finest warriors each faction had to offer.
The elite expedition members from the Elf and Were factions in particular possessed strength far beyond ordinary imagination.
Even during Yohan’s prime, there had been very few occasions where he fought an entire expedition team alone.
Of course, it was not because he could not defeat them.
Their objectives might have differed, but when it came to challenging the Dungeon, their path was closer to his than anyone else’s.
There was simply no benefit in unnecessarily turning such people into enemies.
And more importantly—
Nuadilen Westport was currently here.
A great challenger who had attempted to conquer the Dungeon more than ten times over the course of roughly two hundred and fifty years, failing each time.
Even before Yohan had lost interest in operating within the Dungeon, Nuadilen had already been active.
He was the symbol and strongest member of the expedition team known as Uel Ferda.
Though their encounter had been accidental, Yohan had finally formed a connection with Nuadilen.
It would be better not to damage that relationship.
That was why Yohan had tried asking as politely as possible.
Unfortunately, those guards had been far too inflexible, and things had gotten complicated.
Still, after having his life threatened, the guard obediently revealed the location.
Yohan knocked him unconscious, cleaned up the scene, and immediately headed toward his next destination.
“…Well, I doubt they’ll complain if I deal with those bastards for them.”
Whether it was because of the non-aggression treaty or for some other reason, Yohan did not know.
But Dagon’s followers had to be troublesome for the elves as well.
As expected, their hideout was located at the westernmost edge of the elven territory, in the area closest to the Dungeon.
As Yohan approached his destination, a familiar unpleasant sensation spread across his entire body.
The stench of fish struck his nose.
After scanning the surrounding area, Yohan stopped and stared down at the ground beneath his feet.
“…Around here.”
He extended his left hand.
A massive sucker belonging to a tentacle burst from his palm and latched tightly onto the ground.
Crack.
Cr-cr-crack.
BOOOOM—!
The tentacle unleashed freezing energy before violently ripping the ground apart and hurling it away.
With the earth beneath him gone, Yohan naturally dropped downward.
And then—
A hidden underground sanctuary, concealed behind a transparent barrier, appeared before his eyes.
“……”
The earlier stench was joined by the damp smell of wet soil, making the atmosphere even more unpleasant.
The muddy ground clung stubbornly to Yohan’s feet, almost as if it did not want him to proceed any farther.
Ignoring it, Yohan stepped forward.
He headed toward the center of the sanctuary, where a faint light could be seen.
The closer he came to the altar, the heavier the moisture in the air became.
Roughly stacked stones served as an altar.
Huge magic circles had been drawn across both the floor and the walls.
And standing proudly behind them was something else.
One of the Great Old Ones.
A statue of Dagon.
Dark-blue skin.
A heavily muscled body.
A hunched back with protruding vertebrae.
Large, round eyes.
Sharp teeth.
A jutting jaw.
Thick webbing stretched between both hands.
And pointed scales rose from its body.
The gloomy and ominous image of that ancient ruler stood surrounded by symbols of the Deep Ones—
Dagon’s creations, as well as his children.
Frames hanging around the altar contained images of a dark and dreary port town.
Their homeland.
Their paradise.
Their forward base for spreading their faith.
Innsmouth.
There were many other religious objects as well, though Yohan had no idea where they had obtained them.
A rust-covered purple crown.
A copy of scripture containing the teachings of Dagon’s cult.
Parchments filled with cursed incantations.
And glowing turquoise stones.
Yohan followed the traces of that profane faith with eyes filled with contempt.
Then a voice came from behind him.
“An arrogant human has crawled into the great altar with his own feet.”
Splash.
Splash.
The sound of wet footsteps echoed through the sanctuary.
Worshippers appeared, their entire bodies concealed beneath robes.
Yet even with their bodies hidden, they could not conceal their murky mana.
It was unmistakably elven mana.
But it belonged to elves who had never possessed nobility in the first place.
Elves who had chosen Dagon simply as a means to survive.
“How did you discover this place? Did those expedition bastards help you? Hmm?”
And then—
Among them stood a single elf who was not wearing a robe.
Though calling him an elf was already becoming difficult.
“If you intend to remain silent, fine. Do as you wish. But I assure you, your death will not be easy.”
“……”
“First, I’ll slowly peel away your skin.”
“Then I’ll burn your eyes and crush your brain.”
“I’ll remove your organs one by one and feed them to the fish.”
“After that, I’ll grind what remains of your bones into powder and scatter them across the Dark Swamp.”
Bulging eyes.
A completely hairless head.
An unnaturally deformed body.
And the thick, fishy smell coming from within him.
“Even that would hardly be enough punishment for your disrespect toward Him, but there’s no helping it.”
“The rest of the debt can simply be collected from your fellow humans.”
“…Haa.”
The moment Yohan saw the man’s face, he sighed and rubbed the corner of his mouth.
The Goddess blinked several times before tapping Yohan’s shoulder with a smile.
[You were right. That bastard isn’t an Apostle.]
He probably truly believes he is, though.
[This is going to be boring.]
[Even if an actual Apostle had appeared, it would’ve only been enough to kill a little time.]
[But now I have to watch you fight some pathetic Deep One? How dull.]
Ignoring the Goddess’s complaints, Yohan calmly pointed toward the enemy.
He had already decided what he wanted to say before coming here.
“Do you know the difference between an Apostle and believers like you?”
“…What?”
“Apostles are chosen beings who directly receive authority from the ancient rulers.”
“But people like you are different.”
“Simply possessing faith doesn’t mean you’ll be given their power.”
Especially when the ruler in question was Dagon.
The answer was obvious.
“You don’t even realize you’re just being used by a foolish god who tries to compensate for his weak authority and influence with overwhelming numbers.”
“Your minds and souls will become completely corrupted.”
“Eventually, you won’t even be able to die or truly live.”
“You’ll wander beneath the sea for eternity.”
Yohan’s gaze remained cold.
“And you’ll mistake that fate for happiness.”
