Chapter 50: The Great Brother’s Record (3)
Splash!
My face sank beneath the surface of the lake.
Bubbling.
Bubbles escaped from my mouth as I blinked my eyes.
It was so deep that the water below was pitch black, and nothing was visible.
However... if I closed my eyes for a mont.
Wuuuuung!
From the other side beneath the water, thin and long strands of blue light stretched out and pricked against my skin.
"Puhaaa!"
I lifted my head to catch my breath and fell into thought.
"This... what do I do with this."
It was clear that there was sothing down there.
If my body had been in good condition, it would have been nothing to just shut my eyes and swim over.
But now, my condition was beyond bad, it was the worst.
My mana was barely a scrap, and much of my muscle had withered away.
But what could I do?
I couldn’t turn back now that I had co this far.
I took a deep breath and muttered.
"Well, I’m not going to die over this."
If I died here, it was all the Great Brother’s fault. You know that, right?
I looked down at the lake and steadied my breathing.
Then I took a big gulp of air.
‘Let’s do this.’
Splash!
Without hesitation, I dove back into the water.
I moved my arms and legs, propelling myself straight toward the depths of the lake.
Soon, the light vanished, and my breath began to run short.
My eyes widened.
‘...Is that it?’
Hwaaak!
At the center of the lakebed, I saw a small cave, and from within, a faint blue glow seeped out.
‘Huuurp!’
My lungs were already screaming.
I thought about whether I should turn back now that I had confird the location...
Bubbling.
Just then, I saw air bubbles rising from inside the cave.
‘There’s... space in there.’
If it was going to be hard anyway, I might as well do it all at once.
My face had gone pale as I forced my body inside the cave.
‘Luminous stones?’
Inside the cave, luminous stones were embedded at regular intervals, lighting up the space.
Clear traces of people.
But there was no ti to admire them.
‘Hurry... hurry!’
After all that damned suffering, I didn’t want to drown in a place like this.
I flailed my hands and feet desperately.
"Puhaaa!"
My body suddenly rose to the water’s surface.
"Huff, huff... I-I survived."
Damn it, what was so great that I had to go through all this...
I found myself missing the old days when I’d been called Daphne’s Seal.
‘Well, that’s not what matters right now.’
Splash.
I climbed onto the shore and caught my breath, then slowly lifted my head.
A massive underground cavern.
Directly ahead stood a huge stone door, carved from rock, and above it, the wave crest symbolizing Daphne was engraved.
The mont I saw it, I knew it instinctively.
The thing in front of my eyes was indeed the secret vault that those Calpion bastards had been after.
"Brother, I’m here."
You really hid it in a place worthy of you.
It was damn hard to find.
As always, whether then or now, you never knew the aning of doing things moderately.
"Hoo... let’s go."
With a smile tugging at my lips, I muttered to myself, then slowly lifted my body and pushed the stone door before .
Guuuung!
The stone door slid back with a dull rumble.
When I stepped inside, a long corridor, dozens of ters in length, lined with white luminous stones embedded in the walls, revealed itself.
"Hmm..."
I tilted my head.
At the far end of the corridor, right in the center, there was another stone door identical to the one before, and on either side of it stood two stone statues about three ters tall, shaped like knights.
It was an imposing sight, like a grand temple or an underground tomb, as if those statues were gazing down over the entire space.
"I’ve definitely found the right place."
The corners of my mouth lifted.
Anyone could see this was the Record.
As I looked around and strolled forward lightly, hopping along the corridor...
Clack!
"Huh?"
Along with the sound of tal interlocking, I felt sothing sink under my foot.
When I dropped my gaze, I saw that a tile beneath had been pressed deep.
"This is..."
A secret place, a sinking platform, so kind of chanism...
‘A trap?’
Taah!
I quickly rolled my body to the side and flattened myself on the floor.
Arrows? Or maybe a spike trap?
I turned my head around, staying on guard.
But...
"...."
What the hell... why wasn’t anything happening?
I dusted myself off awkwardly and stood up.
"So what is this, exactly?"
Clack! Clack!
I stepped on it again and again, lifting my foot and pressing down repeatedly, but there was no reaction at all.
"Hmm?"
Would my brother have installed a chanism here that did nothing?
The Great Brother I knew wasn’t that kind of person...
‘Well, it’s possible, I suppose.’
He could have changed his personality after I died, or maybe he ran out of money and left it unfinished.
There were countless variables in the world, and getting hung up on each one was just exhausting.
With a shrug of my shoulders, I walked over toward the statues.
When I reached the end of the corridor, I naturally pushed against the stone door again.
But then—
"Ngghhh!"
Even though I put so much strength into it that my arm was trembling, the door didn’t budge an inch.
"What is this... why won’t it open?"
The last one opened just fine, so why was this happening?
While I panicked and examined the door here and there...
Scrape, scrape...
I heard sothing beside , like stones grinding together.
Slowly, I turned my head in that direction.
"...Huh?"
The knight-shaped statue was staring straight at with glowing blue eyes.
....
I froze for a mont under the wave of dread creeping over .
The knight statue raised the greatsword in its hand high above its head.
‘What the hell?’
My face twisted in sheer bewildernt.
Buuuuung!
The thing brought the sword crashing straight down.
"Hup!"
Kuaaaang!
I reflexively rolled my body to the side, slipping out along a diagonal line.
The instant the sword hit the ground, the tiles shattered rcilessly and dirt exploded upward.
‘If that had hit just now... I’d be dead.’
Clicking my tongue, I quickly retreated to get a grasp of the situation.
‘A Guardian.’
A Guardian. That was the na for protective golems set to repel intruders who breached the place.
It was obvious the platform I stepped on had triggered it.
‘Tch... if I wasn’t in this condition, there’s no way I’d have fallen for such a pathetic trap.’
Thanks to the aftereffects of the Maelstrom, my mana sense had dulled... that must have been why I failed to notice the trap.
Honestly, it made feel like I was going to explode from irritation.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
While I sighed, the two Guardians began dragging their swords along the floor as they approached .
When the two of them ca within reach and almost simultaneously raised their swords—
"Damn it."
Kwaaaang!
I rolled my body forward again, dashing toward the opposite side of where their blades ca crashing down.
I slipped around behind the Guardians, quickly drew my sword, and struck behind one of their knees.
Kaaang!
"Ugh!"
Pain shot through my hand, and the blade bent out of shape instantly.
It was only natural—striking raw without any mana behind it.
I scowled.
‘Damn it.’
I had barely a scrap of mana left in .
No matter who I was, how the hell was I supposed to smash these things?
-Gooooooo!
"Hey, wait! Hold on a second! Slow down!"
Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!
"Shit!"
The Guardians swung their swords down at again.
Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!
Each ti I dodged, the stone floor shattered apart instead, breaking into pieces.
The only saving grace in all this was that the things moved sluggishly.
Thanks to that, I could sohow avoid taking a direct hit every ti, barely slipping away.
Whenever I had the chance in between, I stabbed my sword at them again.
Kaaang! Kaaaang!
But every ti, all that ca of it were a few sparks, not even a scratch on the golems.
"Brother! What am I supposed to do about this!"
I yelled while running away, but of course no answer ca back.
Kaaang! Kaaang!
"Hey, go easy! Easy! Heek, heek..."
All I could do was run, block, and strike in this corridor.
Because of the lingering effects of the Maelstrom, my face soon turned pale, and my breath grew ragged.
"Cough! Cough!"
Another fit of coughing burst out, and blood dripped steadily from my nose.
…I was going to die at this rate.
Damn this body—why was it acting up again now?
‘Should I turn back now? Or… is there so way to force that stone door open?’
Several ideas flashed through my mind, but none of them seed satisfactory.
Even if I ran away to regroup, it wasn’t like the mana I’d lost would co back… but I couldn’t exactly drag the clan bastards here and ask them to clear this place for , either.
No matter how I looked at it, the best outco was… for to personally smash those two things to pieces.
‘…But how the hell am I supposed to do that with no strength?’
Even if I had all the combat experience in the world, even if I were a master swordsman—
At the very least, I still needed enough strength to be able to cut those bastards down, or it was all pointless.
I grabbed at my hair and stared straight ahead.
The two Guardians and the massive swords they were dragging ca into view.
‘Honestly, calling those things swords is generous—they’re too damn big.’
In that mont, a random passage from the saga of a berserker I’d read long ago ca floating up in my mind.
The part where he was betrayed by his best friend, a white-haired knight, and set off on a long journey to avenge his fallen comrades…
‘Get a grip. That’s not important right now.’
I slapped my cheeks a couple of tis, then flicked my tongue over my lips to wet them.
With that, I focused my eyes and cald my breathing.
In an instant, my head cleared.
‘…I’ll go with that thod.’
I exhaled deeply, then carelessly tossed aside the sword I’d been holding. I lowered my posture, readying myself to sprint.
"Hooooo…"
Right now, that was the only option I had.
The Guardians were rapidly closing in.
I shut my eyes tightly for a mont, then snapped them open again.
Then—
"Hup!"
Taaah!
I dashed straight forward at full speed.
As if they’d been waiting, both Guardians raised their swords.
But I didn’t stop. I pushed myself even faster, plunging right into the space between the two of them.
And then—
Buuuuuuung!
Just like before, the bastards swung their swords down at in a perfect arc.
The only difference was that this ti, the direction those swords fell…
Crack!
…wasn’t onto , but onto each other’s shoulders.
"Urachacha!"
Sliding out cleanly to the far side, I imdiately turned and fixed my gaze on the Guardians.
Buzz… Crack, crack…
From the Guardians’ shoulders, fragnts of stone crumbled down in chunks.
"Alright, let’s get this started."
From now on, you’re going to kill each other.
A faint smile curved over my lips.
---
A little while later, on the floor of the corridor—
"Cough! Cough! I’m… I’m gonna die."
I squatted on the ground, dripping nosebleed all over and drenched head to toe in sweat, gasping raggedly.
When I turned my head slightly, I saw the corridor, now no different from a battlefield.
And right in the middle of it… were heaps of debris that used to be the Guardians.
A sour taste rose in my mouth, and my vision swam.
-Hey! Hit him! I said, hit him!
Thirty minutes had passed since I’d started telling them to kill each other.
Though calling it thirty minutes sounded simple, in reality, I’d been in a situation where even a single blow would have smashed my head like a lon.
On top of that, I’d had to throw myself again and again, reading the precise angles and timing of their attacks—
My brain… and my heart felt like they were going to burst.
But, still.
"Uhehehe… Uhehehe. I’m Varlach Daphne, you bastards."
Even without mana, I could still crush things like you.
I let out a sly grin and spoke again.
"Are you watching, Brother?"
No matter what kind of nasty prank you pull, it won’t work on , that’s what I’m saying.
Just as I was wallowing in my pitiful triumph—
Wuuuung! Clack!
"Huh?"
At the sudden sound behind , I turned my head.
There, the stone door engraved with the wave crest, which hadn’t budged an inch before, was now glowing with a blue light.
The mont I saw it, I knew.
That door was about to open.
"…It’s, it’s done."
Trembling.
I sohow managed to push myself up on shaking legs.
Every part of my body ached, and my vision was going blurry, but it didn’t matter.
I was almost there.
Once I passed through that door… the Record overflowing with priceless treasure would be waiting for .
Step. Step.
"Uhehehe…"
I took one step after another, reached the door, and shoved it open with all my strength.
At that mont—
"Urk!"
A blinding light flared from inside.
I squinted, my eyes narrowing to slits, and waited until they adjusted.
Then, gradually, the inside of the stone chamber ca into view.
And in the very next instant…
"…What is this?"
My face twisted into an expression of pure bewildernt.
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