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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Millia. No, since you don’t have a head, you probably can’t hear me…”
The weight felt through the shovel handle was heavy.
Although it wasn’t an incredibly strong force, it was quite a hefty blow, so I had to take a few steps back before I could reduce the impact.
“It’s really moving according to clichés.”
Was the creator impressed after playing a horror game?
I kicked the stomach of the headless assailant who charged at me again before it could swing the axe.
The axe-wielding assailant sprawled powerlessly.
It seems weaker than I thought. Or maybe I’m stronger than I expected.
Despite being kicked in the stomach, the assailant got up as if nothing had happened and picked up the axe that had fallen on the floor.
It’s not good if this drags on.
I surveyed the surroundings.
It seemed that I was blocking the entrance to the altar area.
I couldn’t let it go out any further.
It would be easier if I could kill it, but the owner of that body is probably…
“I wish it would give me some time to think.”
I blocked the axe, which had hardened due to dried blood or was originally red like a firefighter’s axe.
Although I couldn’t discern its emotions due to the absence of a head, it was clear that it was trying to kill me.
My arm throbbed.
It had a bizarre strength befitting its grotesque appearance.
I couldn’t just keep defending like this.
I twisted the shovel handle.
Taking advantage of the moment when the axe, which had been trying to split my head in half, slipped to the side and its posture was disrupted, I kicked the headless assailant’s ankle and knocked it down.
It was a judgment I could make thanks to realizing that its body weight was light compared to its monstrous strength from the initial kick.
As soon as the assailant fell, I kicked the fallen axe far away so it couldn’t grab it again, took out the zombie powder I had prepared in advance from my leather pouch, and poured it on its hands and feet before using a skill.
“Crafting.”
Fortunately, my skill worked without any issues on the zombie powder.
The zombie powder, which had hardened into a round spherical shape in an instant, sealed the assailant’s hands and feet.
If I tied it up like this, it wouldn’t be able to move.
“Johann! Are you alright?!”
“Wh-what? What’s going on? Are you okay?”
I heard familiar voices from behind me.
It seemed that the two of them had noticed the sound of the axe falling and approached.
I looked at Karina and Millia, who was cradled in her arms, and said,
“Millia. I need to take a look at something for a moment.”
“What is it…”
Karina stood next to me with Millia and looked down at the assailant that my body had been blocking.
“N-no head…”
“Calm down. Karina. For now, I’ve sealed its hands and feet so it can’t move. Millia, is this your body?”
“…It looks similar, but it’s not my body. My body is definitely…”
Millia trailed off with a confused expression.
Then is this body just a replica modeled after Millia’s body?
Since Millia directly answered that it wasn’t her body.
Anyway, what should I do with this dangerous girl?
I pondered while looking at the struggling assailant and recalled the second room.
If I lock it up inside the iron bars, it won’t be able to come out, right?
Unless it can pass through the iron bars like a ghost.
I hefted the assailant and opened the door to the second room.
Fortunately, the room remained unchanged.
I threw the struggling assailant into the iron cage, took out the key, locked the door, and came back out to face the two.
“The one just now…”
“I found it after searching all the rooms. It was probably trying to attack me while I was investigating the rooms, but…”
“Thank goodness. If you had gotten hurt…”
“It’s nothing compared to the hydra.”
At least it’s not as big as a house, so it’s not a terribly difficult opponent to deal with. In fact, I easily subdued it.
I picked up the axe that had fallen on the floor.
Now that I could see it in a bright place, the bloodstains on the blade were clearly visible.
To think it was carrying around something like this. It’s brutal.
But it looks useful, so I can make good use of it.
If necessary, I can hand it over to Renny, and she’ll put it to good use.
I slung the shovel on my back and gripped the axe with both hands. The hefty weight and the crude grip felt comfortable in my hands.
“I’ll go join Renny, so you two wait here. If that headless guy pops out again, run straight to my side.”
“Okay.”
I immediately headed to the left corridor.
Hmm, there are five rooms on this side too.
I didn’t know where Renny was right now. Was it because the sound from inside couldn’t be heard in the corridor, or was Renny being quiet?
The lack of response was a bit unsettling.
“Renny! Can you hear my voice? If you can, answer me!”
Why isn’t she answering?
Did something really happen to her?
I strode and opened the door to the first room on the left. It was a familiar room.
It was the same as the first room in the right corridor. Only the atmosphere was gloomier, and the room was messier.
I could see a broken box on one side of my view.
Did Renny break it?
Although I wanted to search the room more thoroughly because it bothered me, I should first confirm Renny’s safety and then do it, right?
I opened the doors to all the rooms and searched for Renny.
The rooms seemed to have the same structure.
It was hard to recognize the original form because the furniture and such were broken. The iron bars were torn off. The order was also jumbled, making it even more confusing.
If the right side displayed Millia’s life events in order, what did this side symbolize?
Suppressing my doubts, I arrived at the last room and was able to meet Renny, who was searching the room.
“What, you’re done searching already? What’s with that axe?”
“No. I came to check on this side. I picked this up. Did you find anything?”
“…I found a few unpleasant things.”
Renny took out some grotesque objects from her pocket.
A heart, lungs, liver, spleen… Were these the things to be placed on the altar?
There must have been a puzzle to solve on this side too, but how did she do it?
When I looked at her with a questioning gaze, Renny avoided eye contact and scratched her cheek with an embarrassed expression.
“Well, they told me to find a weird password, and I got annoyed, so I smashed everything with force, and they were inside…”
“They say when the body is weak, the mind suffers…”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
In the face of overwhelming power, petty tricks have no place… I received the pouch containing the organs from Renny, having gained a meaningless realization.
To be honest, I didn’t expect to obtain the offerings for the altar in such an absurd way. Well, whatever works.
For someone who wanted to reach the end of this unpleasant dungeon as soon as possible, there was no better fortune than this.
“I think we’ve gathered all the offerings for the altar now.”
“Really? Then let’s get out of here quickly. I want to leave this creepy place as soon as possible.”
“I feel the same way, but there’s something that’s bothering me. Have you ever found a notebook or something like that?”
“A notebook… You mean this? I couldn’t understand what was written inside at all.”
I took the notebook from Renny and opened it. As I quickly flipped through the pages, I noticed some red writing in the middle.
Was this the incomprehensible text?
…What does it mean?
Is it hard to understand because there’s not enough information, or is it just nonsense that’s hard to make sense of?
No, trying to understand a cult is wrong in the first place.
But I can roughly understand that it means to offer internal organs.
“Let’s get out for now. And as soon as we get out, look towards the dead end of the corridor.”
“Okay.”
We immediately left the room and looked to the left.
The dead end. And the standing headless assailant. The axe in its hand. Judging by the men’s clothing, it was a man. I had mistaken it earlier, but now I understood a bit.
Is that the body of those who attained immortality?
Even with their heads cut off, they can’t die and live as puppets. A miserable fate worse than death.
Was it Millia’s brother?
The one on the other side was her sister.
I don’t know how they can exist when their corpses are present, but looking for such common sense in this dungeon is nonsense.
“Renny. Subdue it. I’ll place these on the altar.”
“Uh-huh. Finish it quickly. And lend me the axe too.”
I handed the hefty woodcutting axe to Renny.
Renny held the axe with a stance that seemed accustomed to using it, and swung the axe with full force towards the headless man who charged at her like a hunting dog.
Seeing the assailant flying like a ball and crashing into the wall, I quietly returned to the altar and looked at Karina.
“Karina. I’ll offer the sacrifices to the altar now.”
“S-sacrifices…?”
Karina tilted her head. And when she saw the organs in my hands, she looked at me in horror.
“Th-this is…”
“Internal organs. Probably…”
I noticed Millia’s gaze and trailed off.
I had no intention of telling Millia the truth. It would be too much of a shock for her.
I quietly placed the eye, heart, lungs, spleen, and liver on the altar and stepped back.
…Why was there no reaction?
“Is the order wrong?”
Did I miss a hint about the order?
I stood in front of the altar and randomly changed the positions of the offerings, trying different combinations.
After repeating this for about 5 minutes, the ground began to rumble, as if I had offered the offerings in the correct order.
“…In the end, even here, persistence pays off.”
Fortunately, no traps or anything activated even though I got it wrong a few times.
I let out a sigh of relief and spoke to Karina, who had approached with Millia, and Renny, who had appeared by my side at some point.
“Shall we go down right away? Or…”
I glanced up at the ceiling.
Retreat or advance.
“Let’s just finish it quickly.”
“Yes. I don’t want to enter a place like this again.”
“…Then let’s go down.”
To the 4th floor.
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