Chapter 65: The Cataclysmic Death Knight Returns

Chapter 65: Dungeon (3)

The extermination team fell, entangled with debris.

“Ah!”

The soldiers and paladins wailed like children.

No matter how experienced they were, falling into the endless darkness was a first for them.

‘To completely destroy such a vast area of land. They must have been well-prepared.’

Even Demian, standing on the ground, did not feel any sense of disorientation. This was evidence of the ground's considerable thickness.

It was no easy feat to collapse such a large area of land all at once.

‘It’s deep. I can’t see the bottom.’

Even with his magic power enhancing his vision, he couldn’t see the bottom.

Even the renowned sturdy paladins would find it difficult to survive a fall from here.

‘Did they scrape out the entire interior of the mountain? That’s why the entrance to the dungeon was on the mountainside.’

The reason the dungeon was located in the mountain seemed to be to create a cavern of this depth.

‘The Corpse Player didn’t lure the extermination team here for nothing.’

With Demian’s skills, he could have stepped on the debris and leaped to safety.

However, Demian did not make that choice. It was due to the dark magic power he felt from below.

The place where Demian and the extermination team fell.

From the depths, where layers of darkness piled up, a terrifying dark magic power could be felt.

Until now, the solid ground had blocked it. Once it was gone, the dark magic power could be felt vividly, as if it were right in front of him.

‘There you are, Corpse Player.’

A smile appeared on Demian’s lips. He had finally found the prey he had been expecting.

“Listen up, soldiers and paladins!”

At that moment, Gamal’s voice echoed.

A 2nd-class paladin could use the debris to escape from a trap, as Demian had thought.

However, Gamal was falling with the extermination team, trying to save as many people as possible.

Margareta and Sanus also fell with the extermination team.

“Activate the holy relics provided by the Order! Using the holy relics, you can survive the fall from this height!”

This was to save as many people as possible.

“Once you hit the ground, don’t move and wait for rescue! We will definitely come to save you!”

Gamal shouted to Sanus.

“Sanus! Use your miracle! You must protect everyone!”

“Sure, I got it.”

Even in this situation, Sanus still looked calm. As Sanus clasped his hands, a bright light enveloped the extermination team.

The holy power seemed to surround their bodies, providing protection from the impact.

Unfortunately, the effect was not significant due to the urgency and the large scale of the deployment.

“Margareta! Once you hit the ground, move immediately! You must save as many people as possible!”

“Got it! Just trust me!”

Just as Margareta shouted, the extermination team collided with the ground.

* * *

Just before hitting the ground, Demian rotated his body in mid-air.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he bent his knees and waist to absorb the impact.

He landed as quietly as a feather.

“Ouch, that’s stiff.”

Still, there was some impact. Demian stretched his back and grumbled.

“Ah!”

At that moment, someone else fell. A large noise accompanied the creation of a hole in the ground.

“Gah, gah… gah…”

Someone crawled out of the hole. To his surprise, it was Dyonisio, mixed in with the snowstorm.

“D-Demian Haksen?”

Dyonisio was equally surprised. He looked at Demian with a dubious expression.

“Why don’t you hurry and heal yourself? You’re not in good shape.”

“Who’s not in good shape? This level of impact… gah!”

Dyonisio screamed as he tried to stand up.

Dyonisio lay on the ground and summoned holy power. His wounds began to heal.

“Damn.”

Dyonisio grumbled as he stood up. It seemed he had fully recovered.

‘This is why paladins are a headache.’

Paladins could self-heal by consuming holy power.

While it was difficult to use during battle and consumed a lot of holy power, it was undoubtedly a huge advantage.

“Of all people, I had to fall with you, Demian Haksen.”

Dyonisio glared at Demian and grumbled. Demian shrugged.

“You complain a lot. Anyone would think you came here to play, not to fight.”

“W-Who’s complaining! Anyway, you’re a pain in the neck…”

At that moment, Dyonisio’s eyes changed.

He lunged at Demian with a spear. The spear blade aimed to pierce Demian’s face.

Demian did not dodge the attack. The spear blade grazed his cheek and stabbed behind him.

-Screech…

A bat-like flesh golem was impaled on the spear, screaming.

“Don’t let your guard down. We’re in the black mage’s dungeon.”

Demian looked at Dyonisio with a surprised expression.

He had known from the start that a flesh golem was approaching.

He had let it happen out of curiosity about Dyonisio’s actions. He didn’t expect Dyonisio to save him.

“I thought you had a grudge against me.”

“Yeah! I do! I’ll definitely get my revenge later! …But I can’t just let you die.”

Demian looked at Dyonisio with unexpected feelings.

He had thought Dyonisio was a reckless kid when he expressed his anger.

Now, he saw that Dyonisio could distinguish between personal and professional matters.

“And if you die, Agnes will be sad.”

“What, do you care about Agnes?”

“What, what nonsense!”

Dyonisio shouted. His reaction reminded Demian of his brother Abel.

“Stop talking nonsense and follow me! We need to meet up with the others!”

Dyonisio took a few steps. But his steps didn’t last long as a ragged man appeared from the darkness.

“…A human?”

Dyonisio looked at the man with a confused expression.

“I am a paladin sent by the Order. Did you escape from the black mage?”

Dyonisio tried to approach the man. At that moment, Demian grabbed Dyonisio’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“Look closely. That’s not a human.”

Demian pointed at the man. Dyonisio squinted.

His eyes widened.

“…His skin is ragged like a patchwork?”

Demian had known from the start that the man was not a human but a flesh golem.

‘This is the Corpse Player’s lair. The fact that a masterpiece is already appearing confirms it.’

The Corpse Player had a peculiar obsession.

The more meticulously crafted the flesh golem, the more human-like it was made.

What he called aesthetics was, to Demian, merely a terrifying taste.

A flesh golem in the shape of a human.

The Corpse Player gave it the absurd name ‘masterpiece’.

-Wooh!

A beast’s cry erupted from the man’s mouth. Soon, his entire body began to swell.

The man, who had a normal build just a moment ago, transformed into a muscular figure surpassing an ogre.

“Damn, that’s a flesh golem too.”

Dyonisio lifted his spear with a look of exasperation. A gray coldness enveloped the spear.

“I don’t have time to deal with the likes of you!”

Dyonisio lunged at the flesh golem, aiming to pierce its chest with the spear.

However, the moment the spear blade touched the skin, the coldness dissipated.

“…What?”

A spear without holy power was just a regular blade. The spear blade failed to pierce the flesh golem’s skin.

-Wooh!

The flesh golem swung its palm and struck Dyonisio. Dyonisio rolled on the ground, spitting blood.

“H-How… how is this possible…”

Dyonisio looked at the flesh golem with shock.

He hadn’t hallucinated. He had clearly thrown the spear, but the holy power had disappeared.

“D-Demian Haksen…! Run…! That thing… is dangerous…! You shouldn’t face it…”

Dyonisio shouted at Demian Haksen. Injured and unable to run, he wanted to save Demian Haksen.

But when he saw Demian Haksen’s face, Dyonisio felt a chill.

A smile.

Demian Haksen’s face was twisted into a grotesque smile, as if someone was pulling his facial skin from behind.

“I thought there might be a possibility.”

Demian gripped his holy sword. The blade glowed eerily.

“Indeed, there was a connection.”

Demian’s aura seemed to provoke the flesh golem, which roared and charged.

Demian Haksen also charged without dodging. The flesh golem’s fist descended from above.

Demian didn’t dodge but countered with his sword. The moment the sword blade met the fist, the fist split in two.

Demian Haksen slightly adjusted the angle of the blade. The flesh golem’s massive arm was cleanly severed.

-Wooh?

Surprised by the lighter fist, the flesh golem looked at its hand.

Meanwhile, Demian swung his sword at the flesh golem’s legs.

A line was drawn in the air, and the knee was severed in half.

-Wooh!

The flesh golem’s body tilted to one side. It flailed its arms to regain balance.

Demian climbed onto the flesh golem’s chest. When he stepped on it, the flesh golem fell backward helplessly.

-Wooh!

The flesh golem swung its arms to grab Demian.

Demian, looking annoyed, cut off the arms. The thick arms of the flesh golem flew far away.

“Corpse Player! I knew from this era!”

Demian uttered incomprehensible words. He began to mutilate the flesh golem with great enthusiasm.

“You must have received it from him! Where did you put it? Here? Or here?”

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere. Demian’s body turned red.

But the strange smile on Demian Haksen