C834
Raon immediately used his Snow Flower Perception upon hearing Alice's words. He felt a mystical sensation as if the mana in the air was transforming into his skin, and extended his Aura Perception beneath his feet.
"It's definitely there."
Not directly below, but about three floors down, he sensed people hiding with bated breath.
"Shamans? No, martial artists with magical artifacts."
It seemed they hadn't been detected by his Aura Perception because they were concealing their presence with magic.
'Haha...'
Raon let out an ironic chuckle while looking at Alice.
'Did Auntie notice this immediately?'
He had been satisfied with his growth after defeating the Second Apostle, a Transcendent Warrior, but it seemed he still had a long way to go to become a true Transcendent Warrior.
"I didn't need to worry."
He thought Alice had rushed in, worried about her son Sif, but even in her dizzy state, she hadn't forgotten her duties as a leader. As the saying goes, one shouldn't worry about a Transcendent Warrior.
"When we first arrived at this dungeon, there were only monsters and traps."
Alice lowered her voice and nodded slightly.
"Judging by the lack of external footprints, it's safe to assume they came up from below."
She pointed her finger down, indicating they should consider them enemies.
"Oh, they came up from below?"
Paras blinked and looked at the ground.
"It seems your traces have been discovered, Paras."
Raon narrowed his eyes as he placed his hand on his sword hilt.
"Me? No way! It may not seem like it, but I'm a descendant of great thieves, and I even received hellish training from Alice..."
Paras insisted with trembling lips that he had perfectly erased his tracks.
"Nothing happened when you entered the dungeon alone again, right?"
"Y-Yes. I simply followed those shamans secretly."
He rolled his eyes, claiming nothing had happened at the time.
"I can now sense the magical energy of the martial artists below us. They wouldn't be suddenly on guard, so it's reasonable to assume your traces were discovered."
Raon calmly shook his head.
"Ah..."
Paras grabbed his head with both hands, seemingly feeling it was his fault.
"I-I'm sorry. Because of my strange actions, I put the Young Master in even more danger..."
"It's not your fault, Paras."
Raon gestured towards Paras's pale face.
"They probably didn't find any traces, but detected it through magic."
"M-Magic?"
"Yes. The instinct that made you feel it might be dangerous to follow the shamans to the secret space at the end of the dungeon was probably your subconscious detecting the magic engraved in that space."
Unlike normal magic, magic using negative mana has unparalleled power in tracking and detection. Paras's footwork and ability to suppress his presence are impressive, but his overall martial arts level isn't high enough to deceive magic.
"S-So, they already realized we've entered...?"
"That's unlikely."
Raon shook his head, sensing the presence of the Martial Artists still hidden motionless in that place.
"Covering the entire dungeon with magic to detect intruders would be a huge waste. The martial artists down there are probably sentinels sent to reduce magic consumption."
The martial artists remained hidden in the magic, motionless as statues. Judging by their current state, they were clearly sentinels meant to alert headquarters about intruders.
"Of course, this is just my opinion, but I think it's best to proceed with our senses sharpened as much as possible from now on. There's a high possibility that detection magic has been installed."
"As expected of my nephew! How sharp!"
Alice smiled and patted Raon on the back.
"Let's move forward while suppressing our presence as much as possible, as Raon said. I'll handle the magic detection. Just follow me silently."
She slightly bent her knees, indicating she would take the initiative from now on.
"I'll create an aura barrier to block the sound of the Light Wind division."
Raon absorbed the surrounding mana to envelop the entire Light Wind division. He couldn't block all sounds, but it was enough to muffle the swordsmen's footsteps.
"Then let's set off again."
Alice took a deep breath and headed towards the dungeon. Whether or not they trusted the sentinels, there were no visible traps or monsters.
After descending the winding path for about five minutes, a small entrance leading to a brown cavern appeared.
"They're there."
Alice lowered her voice even further as she shifted her gaze.
"I can't see anyone?"
Paras widened his eyes and said there wasn't even the shadow of a person.
"I can't see anything either..."
"Yes, it seems like a normal, ordinary cave."
The swordsmen of the Light Wind division also didn't seem able to detect anything. The magic seemed too strong for even Masters to detect.
"Three martial artists are hidden in the magic, guarding the entrance."
Raon shook his head while examining the entrance.
"It seems they're positioned in such a way that if one is taken down, the other two can report. Seeing how well they've blended with the magic, they really do seem to be remnants of the Iron Chain."
"Then the three of us can take down one each."
Alice nodded towards Raon and Rimmer.
"Center, lower left, upper right, correct?"
Rimmer also seemed to have detected the presence of the Martial Artists hidden by magic as he rotated his finger.
"I'll take the left."
"Then I'll take the right."
Alice and Rimmer grabbed their sword hilts, each claiming the left and right side.
"Wait a moment. If those guys have artifacts or something similar, the report could be sent before we can subdue them."
Raon raised his hand to stop Alice and Rimmer. Even the slightest movement could alert headquarters, so rushing wasn't a good strategy.
"Then what do you suggest?"
Alice frowned.
"We can't proceed without going through this entrance."
"Let's toss one."
Raon gestured towards Dorian, who remained expressionless.
"Me? What am I supposed to throw..."
Dorian's eyelids fluttered nervously.
"Please."
Raon smiled and tossed Dorian towards the cavern entrance.
"W-Wait a second!"
Dorian tried to resist but ended up falling into the cavern entrance.
"Now's our chance."
Raon didn't miss the opportunity, as the sentinels' attention was focused on Dorian. He stepped onto the steps of supreme harmony. With the gale-style wind at his toes, he charged towards the martial artist hidden in the center of the cavern.
"Ah."
The sentinel's gaze shifted from the fallen Dorian and urgently looked upwards, but it was too late. Raon's fingertips were already at his throat. The sentinel collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, struck directly by Raon's technique. He was dominated by Raon's aura, unable to move a finger.
Almost simultaneously, two more impacts were heard. Rimmer and Alice had also managed to take down the hidden sentinels and descended to the ground.
"Fortunately, it wasn't transmitted."
The magical energy in that space hadn't moved at all. Luckily, it seemed they had subdued them before they could send any signal.
"You were right."
Alice nodded, showing a small button that had been in the sentinel's hand.
"It seems pressing this would send a message next. How did you come up with that plan?"
She smiled, saying his judgment was swift and his plan was good.
"I've done it often."
Raon returned the smile and shook his head. Judging by his appearance, Dorian is the very picture of a harmless creature like a rabbit or a squirrel. Anyone would be surprised to see such a naive guy trembling alone in a cave.
"I keep saying this, but our Division Leader's true talent isn't swordsmanship, it's his intelligent mind."
Martha shrugged and said his mind works incredibly well.
"We have a mission. Don't say he has an intelligent mind, but that he has good judgment."
Burren shook his head and told her to show respect to the division leader.
"What nonsense!"
Wrath shook his head.
"This guy's true talent is neither his mind nor his swordsmanship, but his mouth!"
He frowned, wondering why they didn't understand.
"I want to try throwing Dorian too..."
Runaan slightly clenched her fist and said she also wanted to throw Dorian.
"D-Don't! If even Runaan does it, I'll really die!"
Dorian's lips trembled as he said his heart almost dropped.
"As expected of the Light Wind division's quartermaster. Now he's even offering himself as bait."
Kerin whistled mockingly at Dorian.
"Hey!"
Dorian, as if he couldn't hold back any longer, lunged at Kerin.
"Let's begin the interrogation."
Alice lowered her hand and said each of them should interrogate the subdued sentinels.
"Yes."
Raon nodded and examined the sentinel's condition. Seeing the iron armor connected by magic, he really did seem to be a martial artist from the Iron Chain.
"What's your name?"
He asked the name, but the sentinel kept his mouth shut without even lowering his gaze.
"That's alright. It's been a while since I used this."
Raon smiled and applied his self-developed heat and cold torture method to the sentinel's body. Given how much he had grown, the quality of the heat and cold had increased, making it impossible to endure no matter how strong the willpower.
"..."
Usually, people would start making a fuss immediately, but this sentinel only blushed without shouting or showing any excessive reaction.
"You're from the Iron Chain, right?"
"..."
"Answer me!"
Even Alice, using the subtleties of her Space Sword to tear at the sentinel's flesh, couldn't make him open his mouth.
'This might take some time.'
He decided to examine the magic engraved on these subjects' bodies as his torture gradually increased in intensity. As time passed, his torture would inflict greater pain, so he would interpret the magic covering the sentinel until he opened his mouth.
"You don't even know the character for 'magic', do you?"
"I don't know it, but I can see it if I use my traits."
With the increased ranges of his Fire Ring, Evil Eye of Wrath, and Snow Flower Perception, he could sufficiently interpret even unknown powers if given enough time.
"Hehehe, since your own abilities are deficient, you depend on strange traits. That's why you can't grow..."
'But aren't Snow Flower Perception and Evil Eye of Wrath your powers?'
"Oh..."
Raon silenced Wrath and concentrated on the flow of magic.
"It's nice and calm now."
* * *
The sea otter cub stopped after swimming in the sea at high speed as if it had become a shark.
"Hey!"
The sea otter, Merlin, pointed to the empty space on the right.
"Why are you going that way?"
A pink current undulated in the sea to the right in response to Merlin's shout.
"Isn't it this way?"
The pink current, Lust, tilted her head in confusion.
"It's the sea! We have to go to land now! Why are you still going in different directions?"
Merlin pounded her chest, saying she didn't understand.
"Oh, is that so?"
Lust nodded and flowed southward.
"That's not it either!"
Unable to contain herself, Merlin threw the Soul Crystal she was holding into the sea.
"Aaaah!"
She panicked and dived into the sea to retrieve the falling Soul Crystal.
"Ah, I think I understand now."
Lust said she understood and approached Merlin.
"Just follow me without doing anything. Understand?"
Merlin nodded her chin, telling Lust to only intervene during fights.
"I understand."
Lust nodded confidently, not seeming intimidated at all.
"Sigh, how frustrating."
Merlin sighed and started moving through the sea again.
'Why can't a Transcendent Warrior find their way?'
Lust's martial prowess is strong. Especially the size of her soul, which was larger than any being Merlin had ever seen. She still couldn't understand how such a powerful monster could get lost.
'We should have arrived by now, but because of that damned... Eh?'
When she looked back, Lust was flying again towards the distant sea.
"That's not the way!"
Merlin shouted in a hoarse voice.
"Idiot!"
* * *
"I think I understand now."
Raon nodded as he withdrew his hand from the sentinel's chest.
'It's magic that uses blood and negative mana.'
The magic, armor, and artifacts the sentinel possessed had in common a feeling of blood and negative mana. The magic itself wasn't very complex, but it exuded a vicious, sticky malice.
'Is this enough?'
The sentinel's entire body was covered in bulging blood vessels due to the torture he had endured so far. If he suffered any more, he might die or go insane, so Raon only released the paralysis around his mouth.
"What's your name?"
"Puaj..."
Despite being on the verge of death from pain, the sentinel still wouldn't open his mouth. He only emitted short gasps without even looking at Raon.
'Is he resisting?'
People who could withstand his torture were only known to belong to the White Blood Religion and Eden, both infamous for their madness. He hadn't expected the remnants of the Iron Chain to be so relentless.
You'll die in a few more seconds if we continue like this.
"Urgh..."
The sentinel seemed unconcerned whether he died and kept his mouth shut to the very end, before running out of breath.
"This bastard's crazy! He didn't open his mouth even when I tore his insides apart!"
Alice also frowned, having failed to make the sentinel speak before killing him.
"That's right. These guys are from the Iron Chain."
She bit her lip as she continued.
"The magic-bonded armor and tenacity are reminiscent of the White Blood Religion. They're exactly like the Iron Chain members I've heard about."
Alice shook her head as if feeling nauseous.
"W-Why would those people kidnap the Young Master?"
Paras swallowed hard as he looked at Alice.
"We're not even sure it's Sif yet!"
Alice shook her head, telling him not to say nonsense.
"R-Right."
"For now, let's not think the worst..."
As she tried to comfort Paras, it happened.
"Iron Chain..."
The name 'Iron Chain' coming from Martial Artist Rimmer's mouth was torture.
"V-Vice Leader?"
"What? How did you make him talk?"
Raon and Alice gasped simultaneously, looking at Rimmer.
"Just..."
Rimmer tilted his head as if finding it strange.
"I tickled his feet with the wind?"
He blinked and said he just tickled the soles of his feet with the wind.
"Tickling?"
Raon's eyes widened.
"We told you to interrogate, why are you tickling him?"
"Interrogations aren't my style, so I trusted you two, but look how it turned out. As expected, the hero of the Light Wind division is me!"
Rimmer laughed and called himself a genius.
"As expected..."
Wrath shook his head.
"As expected, you're true to your reputation as the original madman."
-
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