Barbarian in a Failed Game

Chapter 088: The Dungeon (4)

“Just how far are we going…?” Lebron demanded an explanation as he was led by soldiers to somewhere within the outer district. However, the soldiers gripping his arms did not slow their pace.

‘What is it? Why are they hurrying like this…?’ At the moment, no one seemed particularly interested in them. After all, it was only a matter of time before those brutish men would create havoc in the inner city, leaving no room for concern about this side.

Yet, the soldiers’ demeanor hinted at a sense of urgency, as if being chased by someone. In other words, it seemed highly suspicious. Lebron’s eyes narrowed. If these weren’t familiar faces escorting him, he would have attempted to flee from them immediately.

“Please, enter. We will guard from outside.”

Guided by the soldiers, Lebron arrived at a desolate house located in an obscure part of the outer district. It seemed untouched by human hands for a considerable time, with an exterior that wouldn’t surprise anyone if it collapsed any moment.

It was the very image of what one might call a haunted mansion. Why would that person bring him here? The question drilled into his mind, but Lebron maintained a composed demeanor as he stepped into the mansion.

Squeak—

The neglected door screamed as it opened. The desolate landscape of the garden unfolded before him, reminiscent of a dark mage’s garden. Lebron genuinely wanted to flee right then. He forced his trembling legs to move and knocked on the mansion’s door.

Then, a series of loud thuds came from inside. Whatever the urgency, the sound of stomping feet reached the door. Lebron, consciously lowering the corners of his lips that had risen unknowingly, opened the door.

“Ha, Herrn, you! You’re really alive!”

Before he could react, Lebron was embraced tightly, his face scrunching in an attempt to break free. However, the old friend who hugged him did so with even greater force, as if to further assure the return of a friend thought to be dead.

“I could suffocate to death.”

“No, you mustn’t die. How on earth did you make it back!”

Had recent rough circumstances muddled his mind? The familiarly foolish tone was unexpectedly welcoming. The sight of his friend’s robust figure, which he had thought lacking in stature, now seemed comforting. Perhaps, Lebron himself had changed.

“It’s been a long time, Viscount Ermon.”

The collaborator whom Levin mentioned turned out to be Viscount Ermon, a nobleman and mayor of a neighboring city with whom he had been acquainted for a long time.

*
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“Khuh, truly a relief. Do you know how shocked I was when I heard you went missing in Al-Ranzas?”

Moreover, to have been done in by a paladin…?

Viscount Ermon’s voice, barely a whisper, was laden with tears. It seemed he was on the verge of bursting into tears outside, and it took some effort to calm him down and start the conversation.

“The church claimed it was just a rumor, but how can we believe that!”

“…It seems the nobles are quite upset.”

“Of course, they are. I was happy to see you well, but it’s true that the Duke has snubbed us. By forcefully incorporating us and then plundering our resources in exchange for troops… The atmosphere was already tense. And then these bizarre rumors began to circulate.”

“So, Levin… you contacted the intelligence guild, did you?”

Viscount Ermon nodded hesitantly.

“When I heard you had joined hands with them… I thought you must have had your reasons, so I accepted. I also approached other nobles.”

“…How did you approach them?”

“With dissatisfaction already rampant, I targeted those nobles who, like me, were being sidelined. I hinted at the information provided by the intelligence guild, saying just blending in would suffice. They all readily agreed.”

“Goodness.”

It was a sigh that would have been accompanied by a forehead slap had he been alone. While ultimately it may have been the right call to go along with it. How could he so easily spread such talk among other nobles?

If they had reported to the Duke…

‘This could complicate things.’

The Duke already seemed to be in a hurry. The moment he hears that the nobles are conspiring behind his back, there’s no telling what kind of rash action he might take.

“Where are these nobles now?”

“They’re likely taking cover in their own estates. In case things go awry, they plan to seize the opportunity amidst the chaos to sway the public’s sentiment…”

“This is madness.”

“Why, what happened all of a sudden?”

“Do you really not understand?”

Viscount Ermon wore a perplexed expression, his eyes wide with genuine confusion.

A dose of cold water sharp enough to jolt him awake was needed. No, perhaps a strong drink would be better… Lebron tousled his hair, as if to soothe his agitated mind.

‘Those monsters, they might indeed assassinate the Duke. Even if they fail, the public’s sentiment will surely turn against him.’

Given the infiltrators’ identities, one being the grandmaster of the Mercenary Guild and another, a barbarian warrior highly favored by the king’s relative, the Black Wing Duke.

Even politically unversed citizens would inevitably sense that the rebellion would not be welcomed by the continent. And there was Abbess Berta from Al-Ranzas.

While she may not represent the Church of the All-God in entirety, the mere fact that a paladin stands against the Duke would undoubtedly shake public sentiment.

“If that happens? Not only the people of the dukedom, but the subordinate nobles and the armed factions will turn their backs.”

Nobility means to rule. However, their power ultimately stems from the voluntary cooperation of those subjugated. Once the people’s hearts turn, the dukedom will naturally collapse on its own.

“If the Duke falls from power…”

Even when he was called the Duke, he had been the de facto ruler of the North.

Should such a ruler disappear, the North would inevitably face great chaos, and chaos breeds new opportunities. Those opportunities would be granted in proportion to one’s contribution to the Duke’s downfall.

“We need to act.”

“Act? Where? Are you suggesting we leave dukedom?”

“No, we will stay in dukedom.”

Lebron… no, Hern’s eyes sparkled with ambition.

“Who would have thought a mere city mayor would become the head of a rebel state?”

It’s an opportune moment. Since catching the eye of the Duke to become a court minister, and being kidnapped by an executioner to infiltrate dukedom, an ordinary life had ceased to be an option for Hern. Waiting passively for the situation to resolve would only mean being dragged around as a key witness.

“Positions where other nobles are staying… If you know any, tell me everything.”

Perhaps even this move of his might have been intended by the executioner. That barbarian, cunning enough to make it plausible. But Hern decided not to care.

“Taking that vacant place, if it’s me, wouldn’t matter.”

And so, Hern embraced his new ambition.

────────!!!

A terrible scream as if it was being shouted directly into his mind. Oddly, no sound was heard, yet the sensation clearly felt it as a scream and distinctly perceived it. Even more bizarre, every human in dukedom simultaneously heard it.

“Hyeeek!”

Viscount Ermon stumbled over his own feet with a shriek. Hern moved his legs toward the window with an astonishing calmness. Despite his composed demeanor, his heart pounded as if it would burst, but his coldly rational mind screamed to check the source of the sound.

Thump. Creak!

He forcibly opened the squeaking window, breaking the aged frame in the process, but that was the least of his concerns.

Hern stuck his head out of the window and craned his neck toward the distant Grand Ducal castle.

“……!”

Hern gasped in silent shock. Whatever he saw made his pupils tremble as if seizing, and his fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white.

“What on earth is… Huh!”

Ermon, regaining his senses late, awkwardly stood behind Hern and, upon seeing the same scene, froze like a statue.

“We, we need to move. Quickly…!”

As if possessed, Hern, having gazed at the Grand Ducal castle, suddenly cried out.

Realizing the severity of the situation, Ermon, for the first time, quickly guided Hern to another noble’s residence. There was no other choice.

The sight of the castle, a symbol and pride of Ro-Elpellan for ages, being engulfed by a dark-red mist, with thousands of faces emerging above, endlessly screaming, demanded it.

“O gods.”

Viscount Ermon, who had never sought the gods of the pantheon in his life, sincerely hoped.

“Please, save everyone in dukedom.”

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“There’s no end!”

Pashantu, having just dispersed another spiritual body with her axe, was breathing heavily.

It was inevitable. Though she could disperse the form of a spirit with her axe momentarily, fully annihilating it was impossible.

However, the opposite was true. The nails of a spirit body could tear through flesh with the slightest touch due to their sharpness, and occasionally, they possessed a physical force that made one’s insides churn.

“Tsk!”

Pashantu staggered from a shallow wound on her waist. Despite it not being a grave injury to shatter her form, the momentary immense pain that enveloped her caused her consciousness to wane.

For a barbarian warrior unafraid of pain, it was a horrific pain that made her halt in her tracks. Clenching her teeth, she quickly regained her senses, but by then, another spirit had appeared behind her.

‘Danger…!’

She reacted. But there wasn’t enough time to respond.She hesitated as she was about to face the incoming attack with her body. It wasn’t fear or pain that stopped her in her tracks, but the eerie aura of the sword that swept around her, chilling her to the bone.

“Just hold on a bit longer!”

With a speed hard to believe of a mere human, Kal Elson arrived, catching his breath before scattering another round of sword strikes. In a flash, a dozen slashing attacks swept through the spectral figures.

“Woaaaah…!”

At that moment, a huge wail escaped from what seemed to be the leader of the spectral entities, a colossal figure, and the dispersed specters regained their original forms.

Crack!

As if telling the massive specter to shut its mouth, Neria’s magical drill pierced through its head. However, much to their dismay, the specters, long finished with their recovery, reshaped themselves unharmed, including the colossal one.

This cycle had already repeated itself dozens of times.

‘…No solution in sight.’

Khan clicked his tongue as he drew back, retracting his magic drill.

Specters were already the worst match-up for a warrior like himself, but under the influence of the Demonic Realm, they even resorted to physical attacks. What made matters worse was that not even Neria’s magic drill inscribed with spells could kill them.

‘If neither spells nor the sword saint’s slashing strikes nor pure physical force work, what in the world can kill them?’

This is why the Demonic Realm is the worst. Monsters that are already tricky become even trickier within it. But that didn’t mean they gave up. This realm, as irrational as it might seem, always had a clear breakthrough. They just hadn’t found it yet.

Think.

As he split the giant specter’s head with an axe and completely tore its torso with the spell of the drill, Khan delved deep into his own thoughts.

‘Dungeons with unkillable enemies have appeared before. In such cases, you either destroy a certain object, leave the area where the monsters spawn, or destroy the core itself….’

The second option had been tried long ago.

Attempting to escape through the stairs after killing the monster about ten times, they were blocked by a crimson darkness and failed.

The third option required defeating the dungeon’s boss, which was impossible since the boss wasn’t in this space.

That left the first option, but…

‘We’ve smashed everything in sight during the fight, but nothing seemed to respond.’

It’s highly likely that the first option isn’t the right answer either.

‘Then what is the solution?’

Khan’s eyes sharpened as he recalled dungeons from a now distant memory.

A corridor that led nowhere but in circles. When they tried to break free, the dungeon’s boss forcibly teleported them to the central hall. Looking back, the very fact that Khan could disrupt the constancy of the Demonic Realm was odd.

At the time, he simply accepted it due to his unique abilities…

‘Could it be?’

Thinking of a new possibility, Khan turned his back to the specter. Naturally, the colossal specter, unwilling to let him go, followed. But Khan had no intentions of engaging it anymore.

He put Neria’s Magic Awl in Aecharis’ pouch, taking out Draupnir instead, ignoring the vengeful spirit’s complain about being picked up. He clasped the cursed blade with both hands.

“Hey! What are you doing all of a sudden?”

“A warrior does not show his back!”

Kal Elson and Pashantu called out to Khan urgently, but he ignored that as well.

‘A brute who knows nothing but fighting making sense for once. It was my mistake not to suspect anything from that moment.’

The giant specter attacked Khan. Not just that, but smaller, insignificant specters that Kal Elson and Pashantu had been dealing with climbed onto Khan’s back, slashing wildly at him.

With every scratch, excruciating pain whitewashed his mind, but Khan smiled.

While smiling, he activated his skill.

[Surging Strength]

The specters tried to hinder his movements with their physical attacks, but it was futile. At this moment, only giants from ancient times, long since extinct, could possibly stop him.

Khan’s sword strike that tore through all hindrances stabbed into the floor of the central hall.

At that moment –

*Krugkrugkrug*

The images of Pashantu and Kal Elson, who fought alongside him against the endlessly reviving specters, fractured and dispersed like broken glass. And from where his sword was buried, cracks spread across the floor, expanding throughout the space.

And then –

He woke from the dream.

“…You.”

Suppressing the sudden surge of pleasant exhilaration, Khan’s eyes snapped open to meet a familiar gaze in an unfamiliar face. An automaton with that gaze was sitting on a lavish throne looking down at him.

“How did you escape…”

“Save the cliché for later. This time, I’ll turn you into experience points.”

You pseudo-human bastard.