Chapter 35

After about thirty or forty minutes of descending, we finally reached the bottom of the underground dungeon.

The muddy ground was soggy with pooled water.

The air inside was still thick with the stench of rot and dampness, and with every breath, it felt like filth was sticking to my lungs, making me uncomfortable.

Looking up at the ceiling, the entrance we had come down from was shining like a coin in the distance.

The sunlight that had seeped through the hole seemed to have given up on following us, losing its strength halfway down.

The surroundings were pitch black, and even with my vision, I could only barely make out outlines, unable to distinguish the colors of objects.

“Uh… let me light the lantern first.”

Minea took out a metal lantern and lit it. With a *whoosh*, a crimson flame illuminated the underground.

The flickering light cast shadows that danced on the dungeon walls.

Beyond the damp, muddy cave, a brick archway came into view.

From beyond the dark entrance, the sound of wind howled like a giant groaning.

So, this must be the real underground ruins.

“…Shall we go?”

We moved toward the entrance of the ruins.

I took the lead, Minea stayed in the middle, and Nigel brought up the rear.

The mud clung to the soles of our shoes, making squelching noises.

So far, there was no sign of any living creatures.

As we passed through the entrance, the smell of the air changed.

Instead of the stench of rot, the scent of sand and stone mixed with the faint odor of beasts began to seep through.

The interior of the ruins was a brick structure, with walls, ceiling, and floor all made of bricks.

A wide corridor stretched out, wide enough for several people to walk side by side, and metal protrusions jutted out from the walls at regular intervals, as if something had once been hung there.

Maybe they were originally used for lighting?

“This isn’t from the early Empire era. It’s older, probably from the time of the Racial Wars.”

“You can tell that?”

Minea pointed upward. The ceiling, about 6 meters high, had faint cracks here and there.

Sand dust seeped through the gaps in the old bricks, and patches of moss-like growths were scattered about.

“The ceiling is too high for an indoor corridor. It’s a waste of space if it were a building for humans. Those trolls might not have wandered in from somewhere—they could have been the original inhabitants of these ruins.”

Before entering the dungeon, she seemed a bit nervous around me, but now that we were inside, she seemed quite composed.

Maybe she’s just more used to this kind of environment?

Her calm tone as she explained things showed a sense of professionalism.

“Baron Hebel would love this. Ancient ruins like these could yield valuable artifacts.”

“Really?”

I borrowed the lantern to light a cigarette.

Taking a drag, I felt my senses sharpen even more.

This must be why people can’t quit this stuff.

“Yes. Most ruins from before the human era were destroyed by Emperor Carolus and the Twelve Knights, leaving not even a foundation stone behind. So, unless underground dungeons like this are accidentally discovered, artifacts from that era are hard to find in the Empire. They might still exist in the lands of other races, though.”

“I see.”

Minea and I chatted quietly as we moved down the corridor.

Nigel, seemingly uninterested, followed silently behind.

—

The sound of three pairs of footsteps echoed through the empty corridor.

Gradually, the smell of the air began to change.

A foul stench and a fishy odor mixed together.

…It’s about time for something to show up.

I reached out to silence Minea and sharpened my senses.

My vision cleared, and I could see even beyond where the light didn’t reach.

My sense of smell became sensitive enough to detect subtle differences in scents, and I could even hear the faint sound of sand dust falling from the ceiling.

Thirty steps ahead, where the corridor turned.

From the sound of the wind, it seemed like a fairly large space.

The lack of swirling sounds suggested there were no structures inside.

From beyond that, a disgusting smell wafted out.

The smell of blood. Rotten entrails. The stench of beasts.

…There were no signs of life or breathing.

Then, these must be the corpses of the knight and soldiers who were killed by the trolls.

I drew my longsword and walked slowly.

Beyond the corridor was a vast space, resembling a hall.

The center was eerily empty, as if someone had cleared it out, and the walls were littered with broken, weathered fragments of unknown origin.

Among the fragments, what was once human lay scattered, about three-tenths of their original forms remaining.

The foul stench filling the room seemed to emanate from them, especially strong around their remains.

I stopped Minea and Nigel at the entrance and took the lantern from Minea.

I moved closer to examine the remains.

About seven bodies.

Well, now they were more like the remains of three people combined.

A corpse with only its left arm and head remaining.

A body flattened to half its size, its insides bursting through the skin.

A lump of flesh compressed vertically, its height and shoulder width now almost the same.

A soldier torn in half from the legs, split down to the collarbone, lying in two pieces.

And chunks of flesh, now unrecognizable as to which part of the body they came from.

The expressions on the corpses were all twisted in fear and pain.

The remaining parts of their bodies dangled like tattered clothes, half-rotten eyeballs sliding down their faces, and entrails spilling from their mouths in a horrifying sight.

Their burst and torn abdomens oozed rotten entrails, emitting a terrible stench, and some soldiers had their abdomens completely hollowed out, as if someone had eaten them.

…Horrifying.

I forced down the rising nausea.

Just this…

The weak and ugly sight of vomiting in shock doesn’t suit Ha-shal-leur.

The body, which appeared to be a knight, was less disgusting because the armor somewhat covered it.

Though the limbs were torn off, leaving only the torso.

The blood that flowed out from the crumpled breastplate had dried black, and the helmet was flattened as if pressed in a compressor.

I didn’t even think about checking the inside of the helmet. There wasn’t even enough space left to call it an “inside.”

Just the dark, squishy pieces of flesh oozing through the helmet cracks were horrifying enough.

I thought I was quite used to seeing corpses, but there was a huge difference between a corpse killed by a human and one smashed to death by a monster.

Even if I kicked someone with all my strength, they wouldn’t end up like this. Such a corpse would just fly far away, so I never got a close look.

Since I didn’t sense any dangerous elements around, I called Minea and Nigel.

I couldn’t be the only one to see this.

…Not because I felt it was unfair for me to be the only one, but because they might notice something I missed.

—-

“Hmm… If the helmet is this badly damaged, there’s a high chance an ogre is nearby.”

Their reactions were quite calm.

Nigel was like that, but even Minea seemed unfazed by the corpse itself, only holding her breath due to the stench.

Well, unlike me, they must have seen this kind of thing often.

“An ogre? Why?”

“Trolls usually use blunt weapons, so the corpses are often torn or exploded. Crushing someone with sheer strength is a typical ogre hunting method.”

“An ogre… Are you two really going to handle this? I suddenly feel like going back…”

At Nigel’s mention of an ogre, Minea muttered nervously.

“Don’t worry, Miss Minea. Ha-shal-leur alone is more than enough to handle one ogre.”

…I’m starting to feel a bit unsure. I guess I’ll have to trust Nigel’s words.

The knight’s sword was still intact, so I picked it up.

It seemed much sturdier than the sword I got from the academy, probably made of high-quality steel.

I put the academy’s longsword away and switched to the knight’s sword.

It’s not like I’m stealing from the corpse. I planned to return it to the baron’s family if it didn’t break by the end of this.

Even if it breaks, I’d have avenged the knight with it, so he’d probably be satisfied in the afterlife.

—-

We passed the wide area where the knight’s corpse was and continued deeper into the ruins.

There were branching paths here and there in the corridor, but most were collapsed, making it impossible to see beyond.

It seemed better to explore the main corridor first.

The stench of blood and rot was so strong it felt like my nose was going numb.

The soldiers’ corpses, torn and eaten, were rotting all over the inner corridor, likely from when they fled to the hall.

I focused on the smell of tobacco to consciously ignore the foul stench.

– Huh…!

A breath sounded near my ear.

I immediately stopped and focused my senses in that direction.

From one of the side paths, I felt the presence of a large creature moving inside a room.

There were no other presences around.

It must have separated from its group and was doing something alone.

Listening closely, I could hear the faint sound of it chewing on pieces of flesh.

Ah. It’s eating, huh.

Gripping the sword tightly, I quietly moved toward the side path.

Beyond the path, its form came into view.

—-

A large gray mass was crouched, tearing into a human corpse.

Its massive frame, over twice the size of a human, was bulging with muscle and fat. Its round head was covered in veins.

Its ears were pointed, and its nose was flat.

It had no eyebrows.

Deep within its sunken eye sockets, red whites and pale pupils flickered menacingly.

Stiff hair grew sparsely on its jaw.

Blood and rot dripped from its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, and the pieces of flesh stuck between its teeth mixed with its breath, emitting a foul stench.

Its lower body was covered in tattered leather, likely human skin, judging by the limbs attached to it.

Through the gaps in the leather, its grotesque groin peeked out.

Is this a troll?

A large rock club, likely taken from the ruins, lay on the ground.

“Grrr…?”

Did it catch my scent? The troll, mid-meal, growled and raised its head to face me.

Just one, huh. Perfect.

I gripped the longsword and stepped into the room.

Seeing me, the troll threw the corpse aside, picked up the club, and stood up.

A heavy roar shook the ruins, and dust fell from the ceiling.

…Is it calling for its comrades?

If so, I’ll have to finish this quickly.

I raised my sword and charged at the monster.