Ch.112 I suppose it’s ti to retreat this ti.
News that the Church of Death had discovered the location of Daphne’s tomb reached the King of the Dead.
“So they’ve finally found Daphne’s location?!”
Delighted, the King of the Dead exclaid. Cardinal Davinus knelt on one knee.
“Yes, Your Majesty. We have finally found the opportunity to bring You the god.”
“Ohhh…! Where is it? I shall fly directly to Daphne’s tomb at once!”
As the King eagerly declared he would depart imdiately, Davinus rose and unfolded a map from within his robes.
“Right here.”
Roy glanced at the spot—close by, not far at all.
He pulled a black staff from Hans’s spatial bag.
Altarion’s Staff.
Holding the staff imbued with divine power, the King softly chanted a spell:
“Teleport.”
In an instant, both were swallowed by azure light.
The scenery shifted imdiately.
A vast plain and mountains ca into view.
Daphne’s tomb was likely sowhere within those mountains—but searching the entire mountain range alone would be no easy task.
“Where is it? Where’s Daphne’s tomb?”
“Please wait a mont. Let
locate soone from our Church.”
Davinus vanished, leaving the King to stare fixedly at the mountains.
“You always did favor this place, Daphne.”
Though the landscape had changed considerably since his mory of it, the King still recognized these mountains—they were where he used to visit often with his close companions during his reign.
“That you’re buried here… you surely understand it’s an insult to .”
Fuming at the betrayal by soone once dear—and at the desecration of a place he cherished—the King glared fiercely at the mountain for a long while, unmoving even as the sun slowly set.
Eventually, Davinus returned, bringing a young man before the King.
“I… I present myself before Your Majesty.”
The young man imdiately bowed his head upon approaching.
The King gave him a cursory glance.
“That took quite a while.”
“My apologies. The one who knew the way wasn’t high-ranking, so it took so ti to find him.”
The Church of Death operated as a decentralized cell network. Even as a cardinal, Davinus needed ti to coordinate with local operatives to secure a guide.
Waving his hand dismissively, the King said, “Enough. Lead the way quickly.”
At this command, Davinus signaled to the guide.
“I shall serve you well. This way, please.”
Thus, the three set off toward the mountain.
After a long climb, they ca upon an ancient gravestone.
Exposed to the elents for centuries, the inscriptions on the stone were so weathered they were nearly illegible.
“What’s this?”
Frowning, the King read the least eroded na still visible on the stone:
“Daphne.”
At that mont, a long sword appeared in the King’s hand.
Summoning the blade, he plunged it into the earth before the gravestone.
“Daphne, once my loyal counselor—arise.”
Infused with the King’s wrath, the sword responded, exuding a murky violet liquid that seeped into the ground.
Davinus watched, puzzled.
‘But her soul is long gone… What’s the point of resurrecting her?’
After all, Daphne had died long ago—her soul no longer existed in this world.
Weren’t the King’s own soldiers rely soulless husks?
Just then—
A slender white hand burst forth from the earth.
From the damp soil saturated with violet fluid, a woman erged crawling, clad in aged priestly robes.
Her black hair and crimson eyes ford a striking visage.
‘She looks just like Selena.’
The King currently inhabited Selena’s body—his previous form having been destroyed. Davinus was astonished at how uncannily similar this woman was to Selena.
“It’s been a while.”
Daphne’s eyes held no focus.
The King gripped her chin, inspecting her face.
“So you didn’t live long after my death—otherwise, you’d have aged by now.”
His voice mingled longing with fury. Daphne gave a slight nod.
“Never mind that. Where did you hide the Seal Stone?”
At the King’s question, Daphne searched for sothing.
“Davinus—bring the map.”
“Right here.”
Davinus handed over the map. Daphne pointed to a spot on it with her finger.
“Is it here?”
She nodded.
The King pulled ink and a quill from his spatial bag and tossed them to Davinus.
“Mark it on the map.”
“Yes!”
As Davinus dipped the quill and marked the spot, Daphne’s hand moved again.
Five marks now appeared on the map.
“Your Majesty! We’ve finally located the Seal Stones!”
Davinus’s face lit with joy—but the King’s expression remained grim.
He leveled his sword at Daphne.
“Is death and returning to dust the price you paid for betraying ?”
She stared back with unfocused eyes.
“How hollow… how foolish.”
Her face showed no reaction to the King’s words heavy with regret—after all, though her body existed, her soul did not.
“How pitiful is the fate of a traitor. Tsk, tsk…”
With a weary sigh, the King clicked his tongue.
“You don’t deserve entry into paradise. No—should you sohow be there, I will drive you out myself.”
With that, he swung his blade.
-Scritch!
Daphne’s head fell cleanly from her shoulders.
-Thud.
Her headless body collapsed.
“Anyone else might deserve paradise—but not you. Truly, you are unworthy.”
Her severed head rolled on the ground—
-Crunch!
—and the King stomped on it.
“I will beg and plead before Him—no matter how rciful He may be, He will not grant you salvation.”
Putting the past behind him, the King pulled the Altarion’s Staff from his spatial bag and commanded:
“Teleport!”
***
Late at night, just as I was about to fall asleep, Icira ca to see .
“What? The King of the Dead has arrived at the Seal Stone dungeon?”
Already? He’s finally here?
Honestly, I expected him to show up much sooner—it actually feels a bit delayed.
After all, we’ve been fully prepared for quite so ti.
“Heh heh—where exactly? Which dungeon?”
“He’s reached Dungeon No. 3.”
At her words, I nodded and called out to the knight standing outside my door.
“Wake all the elves and gather them to my room.”
“Yes!”
As the knight departed, I stepped back into my room.
“Wait for
outside. I need to put on my armor.”
If the traps were breached, I intended to confront him personally—so I donned the Arbiter’s Armor.
Perhaps from having worn and removed it so often, I could now don it quite quickly by myself.
Just as I was nearly finished struggling into the armor—since the strength-enhancing effect didn’t apply while equipping it—I heard Icira’s voice from beyond the door.
“By the way… you really ant it about hiding in my lair if we actually stop the King of the Dead?”
“Yeah. If I stay here… things could get really bad.”
Right now, everyone’s attention was focused on the King of the Dead’s dramatic arrival.
But once the situation cald down?
I’d be tornted by the Hero Party mbers—whose sanity was, frankly, questionable.
An ordinary woman might welco their affections…
…but these won were clearly not sane.
“Sigh… I truly don’t understand why humans waste their brief lives like this.”
Fully armored, I opened the door and said, “I didn’t choose to live like this, either. Anyway—show
the situation.”
At my request, Icira entered the room, furrowing her brow slightly.
“Illusion.”
At her soft whisper, a screen materialized on my white-walled room.
“Now… let’s see the King of the Dead’s face. Where are you, King of the Dead…?”
The screen revealed the scene—
“Huh?”
One figure was Davinus, as expected…
…but the other—was a woman I absolutely hadn’t anticipated.
My body froze in shock.
“You… how can you be here?”
No—how could Selena be with them?!
It was incomprehensible.
Selena—the woman who’d nearly drowned
to death—was part of the Church of Death?!
“Huh? Isn’t that Selena?”
I glanced around to find Sand Elf, Mia, and Aria had entered my room and were staring at the screen.
“Selena?”
Mia narrowed her eyes intently at the image.
“Is that the woman who tried to drown the Sage?”
***
On a night lit by the full moon, the King of the Dead gazed at the dungeon entrance—a cave barely wide enough for a person to pass through.
“I sense unusual magic fluctuations. Be cautious.”
Having detected the strange magic pattern through Icira’s magic, the King spoke.
“This is a dragon.”
“A… dragon, Your Majesty?”
Davinus was astonished—dragons were believed to be extinct.
“They were thought to have gone extinct long ago…”
“Heh heh… Those creatures could never truly vanish. Let us hurry. We must restore Him as soon as possible.”
The King and Davinus slowly entered the cave—
-Bang!
—and the entrance collapsed behind them in a thunderous explosion.
“W-what is this?!”
Davinus panicked in alarm.
“Don’t lose your composure.”
Smiling calmly, the King stared into the cave’s depths.
“If we’d found the Seal Stone so easily, it would have been dreadfully boring. Now… let’s see what awaits us ahead.”
Seeing the King’s confidence, Davinus hesitated, then replied,
“Understood.”
“I’ll go first.”
Bravely, they pressed forward.
Not long after—
-Clang!
—a shattering sound rang out, accompanied by an intensely pungent stench that numbed the senses. Both clapped hands over their noses.
“What is this sll?!”
The King’s head swam from the acrid, burning scent.
“Ghk!”
Suddenly, Davinus clutched his throat, coughing blood as he collapsed to the ground.
“Y-Your Majesty… this appears to be poison gas.”
His face twisted in agony as his lungs seed to lt from within.
The King looked down at him.
“Such cruel thods… I shall ease your suffering.”
With that, he drew his sword and struck Davinus’s neck.
-Clang!
Davinus’s head rolled across the floor.
The King imdiately charged forward—lingering ant certain death.
Having assessed the situation, he sprinted ahead at full speed to escape the toxic area.
Each step sent waves of pain through his flesh, but finally—
“Ugh… What’s this?”
—he erged into a cavern flooded with holy energy, and a sigh escaped his lips.
“It’s as though… this place was made specifically to counter .”
Indeed, Hans had hidden holy relics throughout the cave to purify dark magic.
Amidst his dissolving lungs, the King calmly surveyed his surroundings.
‘A ruthlessly unexpected tactic.’
Dragging his heavy, failing body forward—
-Crroooom…
—the ceiling and walls of the cave began slowly closing in.
‘Is this magic?’
Whatever it was, crushing intruders by compressing the tunnel was undeniably brutal.
“Pah! Is this the tactic of those who claim to follow the divine? Such cowardice!”
With grim resolve, the King forced his body to rise.
He poured every ounce of strength into a desperate sprint.
Faint light glimred ahead—
he pushed himself beyond his limits, finally bursting out of the cave just in ti.
-Thud!
Blood surged up his throat as he barely escaped.
“Cough… cough!”
An alarming amount of blood poured from his mouth. He wiped it away with his arm—
“Ptooey!”
—and spat more onto the floor.
“My lungs are damaged.”
Though coughing up this much blood should have been excruciating, the King rely looked exhausted.
As he scanned the area ahead—
“What’s this?”
—dozens of golems lay hunched in slumber.
Their eyes flickered to life, rising to their feet.
“Hah… poison, traps, golems—and now Guardians too?”
His gaze fell upon five formidable Guardians. A faint smile crossed his lips.
“I suppose retreat is the wisest choice this ti.”
He didn’t know what lay beyond—but he instinctively knew that, in his current state, he couldn’t defeat them.
After all, each Guardian alone was more than a match for any human.
Even at full strength, facing so many would be grueling—now, poisoned and weakened, it was impossible.
Without hesitation, the King raised his blade—and cut his own throat.
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