Chapter 49

The abandoned mine gaping behind Karnak village was like a vast tomb in itself. Closed down decades ago when the ‘shadow iron ore’ ran out, it had become a forgotten place. Rotting wooden supports and broken carts lay gloomily strewn at the entrance, and a cold, damp wind that seemed to herald specters blew from within.

The joint expedition of the Holy Kingdom and the magic tower stood at the mine entrance under taut tension. Distrust between them remained, but the intense evil emanating from the darkness before them bound them to a single purpose.

“Paladins, form a shield line at the front! Lumina Sisterhood, prepare purification prayers in the rear!”

Commander Gerard barked the order in a booming voice. Dazzling sacred light pulsed from the massive Warhammer in his hand, ‘God’s Mace.’ The paladins moved in unison, forming a massive wall of light that sealed the mine entrance.

“You’re hasty, Commander. Flaunting power before even checking what’s in that darkness.”

The mage Lucas clicked his tongue and produced a mana-detecting crystal. As the crystal faced into the tunnel, it trembled and spewed a frantic dark-red light.

“The internal mana contamination is beyond imagination. This isn’t mere remnants of dark Magic. It’s as if… a living organism, devouring mana and reproducing.”

Gerard’s face hardened at Lucas’s analysis. He disliked the mages’ chatter, but he could not ignore this warning.

“All units, enter the mine! No room for the slightest negligence!”

The two behemoths finally stepped into the mine of death. Inside was far more horrific than expected. Walls and ceilings were covered in black spores, and the nauseating stench of rotting flesh and blood assaulted their nostrils. Bones and fragments of unknown monsters littered the floor.

The sacred light the paladins emitted lit the darkness, but the black spores touched by that light did not dissipate; instead, they smoked and writhed more violently.

“What the—! They’re reacting to divine power! Fortify the barrier, everyone!”

Gerard cried in alarm. Contrary to his expectations, the evil here did not fear divine power.

Then, dozens of red eyes rose in unison from the deep darkness of the tunnel. With earth-shaking sounds, grotesquely twisted monsters began to pour out: corpses of miners consumed by the plague, contaminated Goblins crawling on all fours like beasts, and abominations formed from horrid fusions of multiple corpses. A true army from hell.

“Filthy horde of evil! In the name of God, I will judge you! Light Smash!”

Commander Gerard roared and charged first. His Warhammer struck down, unleashing a storm of light upon the oncoming monsters.

KRAK!

With a tremendous crash, several lead monsters turned to dust in the light. The paladins boldly surged at the creatures. Divine power pouring from their swords and spears cut through the darkness, tearing and burning the bodies of the dead.

But Lucas’s expression only grew sterner.

“Foolish! The more you kill them, the more spores spread! Battle mages, stop the spread! Ice Wall (Ice Wall)!”

At Lucas’s command, the mages of the ‘Blue Flame’ chanted in unison. In an instant, a massive ice wall surged up, halting the monsters’ charge and blocking the spores from spreading.

“Mages! What are you dawdling for? Lend strength to wipe those filthy beasts out!”

Gerard shouted, but Lucas ignored him.

“Gather combat data! Analyze individual weaknesses! Their movements are simple! Aim for the black core on their chest—the center of life activity!”

The paladins fought with strength, the mages with wit. Each force battled in its own way, but the number of creatures showed no sign of falling. If anything, they grew more ferocious as they absorbed spores sprouting from their comrades’ corpses.

At that moment, the ‘marker’ Rian’s shadow had planted took effect.

Amid the chaos of battle, a paladin was shoved by a monster into an old wall of the tunnel. At that moment, a weakened section of the wall collapsed, revealing a new passage. From within it poured an evil force far stronger and denser than anything before.

“There—! It’s the source of the plague!”

Gerard and Lucas’s gazes turned there at once. With no time to hesitate, they led the remaining forces and plunged into the new passage.

But it was not a kindly path Rian had shown them. It was an entrance dug by the Ashen Worm cult, leading straight to a true hell.

At the end of the passage, when they reached a vast hollow, they finally faced the true masters of the mine. Dozens of robed cult priests were conducting a grim ritual. And at the center of the altar… lay a massive ‘plague golem’ formed from the fusion of hundreds of corpses and monsters that had died in the mine.

“Heh heh heh… Come closer, foolish spawn of gods and men.”

The one who appeared to be the senior priest sneered at them.

“Your fresh blood and souls will be the finest offerings to awaken our lord’s great creation!”

He raised his staff, and red light began to flare from the plague golem’s hollow eye sockets.

The two titans finally realized they were not the hunters, but the hunted.