Chapter 146: CHAPTER 145
The current goal of Karnak's party is to rescue Edia.
However, that is not their official mission.
As part of the King's Order, their formal mission is strictly to "gather comprehensive intelligence on the Wellard branch of the Cult of the Dark God and report it to facilitate its subjugation."
The Etrial King's Order already knew that cultists were hiding somewhere in the Kalenta Great Forest.
They frequently appeared in Wellard City, causing all sorts of mischief, so there was no way to be unaware of them.
They had also identified that the cult was using an abandoned dungeon somewhere in the forest as their base.
The problem was that they didn't know the exact location of the base or how many cultists were hiding there.
That's why they couldn't make a move until now, but fortunately, the Etrial King's Order had received a request for cooperation from the Yustil King's Order.
Thanks to Karnak's interrogation, they discovered that the Wellard branch was hiding in the old abandoned dungeon, Maleficus.
Through adventurers' guild old records, they also determined which area of the Kalenta Great Forest the dungeon was located in.
However, the details of the information were still lacking.
The Kalenta Great Forest is a difficult place to navigate, even with a map. Adventurers, notoriously, are not the most diligent when it comes to keeping records.
The exact location of the Maleficus Dungeon and the route to reach it had to be confirmed on-site.
After infiltrating the dungeon and grasping its layout and the rough strength of the cultists, only then would the Etrial King's Order launch an official subjugation.
Rescuing Edia in the process was just a bonus.
Why not have Karnak's party simply wipe out the cultists in the dungeon?
'After listening, it turns out that's complicated.'
For various reasons, Karnak's party was currently roaming suspicious areas of the forest, hunting monsters.
No matter where you go, the easiest way to gather information is by contacting the locals. And in the case of the Maleficus Dungeon, the "locals" would be the cultists of the Dark God.
So, they were killing any monsters they came across, trying to see if there were any signs of necromancy.
Near the dungeon, the monsters would likely be controlled through necromancy, prepared for any external attacks.
However, after slaying monsters for over half a day, they still hadn't encountered any controlled by a necromancer.
Serati sighed.
[Can't Lord Karnak just look around like he used to and figure it out?]
In the past, when they had gone to subjugate cultists, Karnak had easily found their base. She was asking if he could do that again.
[If their base was in the mountains, I could. Evil energy or malevolent aura would rise into the sky.]
Karnak shook his head.
[But if it's underground, that's impossible.]
Even if he could see what others couldn't, something had to exist to be seen.
[Nothing rises from the ground, so what can I do?]
[I see. I guess we'll just have to keep wandering around like this.]
Finally, after killing several more monsters, they encountered what they were looking for.
A group of bipedal hyena-like monsters—Great Gnolls.
The monsters gripped rusty spears and long swords, speaking clumsy Isola.
"Humans!"
"Intruders!"
"Kill!"
Karnak smiled brightly.
"Oh, rejoice, everyone. We've found it."
Smiles broke out across the faces of the party.
"Finally!"
"At least we found it today."
"Thank goodness."
The cheerful bloodlust filled the forest.
A short while later, the sounds of monsters being slaughtered echoed throughout the forest.
"Keek!"
"Yelp! Yipe, yipe!"
***
In a dense forest near the southeastern entrance of Maleficus Dungeon, a young necromancer in his thirties was walking through the underbrush.
"Seems like nothing unusual today."
His mission, assigned by the Cult of the Dark God, was to guard the southern area of the Wellard branch.
Though the public considered cultists and necromancers terrifying, even they had much to fear.
Goddess worshippers were terrifying, the King's Orders were terrifying, and there were plenty of fearsome adventurers and Darkness hunters as well.
So he had to stay vigilant and check the state of the monsters he controlled in the forest.
'Huh? Did the Great Gnoll group die?'
He couldn't immediately conclude that an outside force had invaded.
The Kalenta Great Forest was a place where all kinds of monsters fought over territory. The Great Gnolls could have been killed by other monsters.
'I'll have to check.'
The necromancer turned his steps around.
About ten minutes into his journey, he suddenly heard voices behind him.
"Found him."
"What? He's wandering outside the dungeon?"
"We'll need to interrogate him again."
"Ugh, making us do the same thing twice."
The necromancer, startled, spun around.
"Wh-who are you?!"
But he didn't get to see his attackers. Before he could, a massive blow struck his face.
"What difference would it make if you knew?"
Thud!
Darkness filled his vision in an instant.
Without even a groan, the necromancer collapsed on the spot.
As he withdrew his fist, Baros turned to Karnak.
"Alright, let's get the information out of him."
As usual, he was about to disappear into the shadows with the necromancer when Millia raised her hand.
"I'll do the interrogation!"
"Hm? I can do it."
"No, Captain Karnak. I appreciate the offer, but…"
She placed her hand on her chest and looked determined.
"I am also an Inquisitor by rank. This is my duty."
She wasn't wrong.
For Millia to fully pull her weight, she couldn't avoid tough tasks forever.
Having no argument against that, Karnak scratched his head.
"Ah, well, go ahead then."
Millia immediately bound the necromancer's limbs tightly.
Thinking of Alius's interrogation, Serati asked,
"Do we need to step away?"
"No, not really."
Alius had avoided the scene to spare Laficel's sensibilities, but Millia didn't seem to feel the need for that.
Considering the gruesome monsters Laficel had slain so far, it was clear she could handle some brutality.
Summoning a gag of light, Millia forced it into the necromancer's mouth, and he finally regained consciousness.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Millia smiled sweetly down at him.
"Don't worry about the gag. It'll come off naturally once your soul becomes honest."
Her expression, oddly gleaming with anticipation, was unnerving.
The others quietly took a step back.
'Whoa, why does she look like that?'
'I suddenly don't want to get any closer to her.'
Then, with glowing hands, Millia began to pray.
"Lady Latiel, forgive your servant…"
Her eyes gleamed even brighter, more beautiful.
The party, having taken one step back, now took another.
'M-Millia unnie can make a face like that?'
Her hands, radiant with holy light, wrapped around the necromancer's head.
At that moment, a brutal scream erupted from the gag.
"Mmmbbbbbb!"
It was only then that Serati understood why Alius had said it wasn't a sight for children.
The necromancer's eyes bulged. His veins swelled, his skin turned purple, and his body trembled violently like a leaf in the wind.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
His face contorted so grotesquely, it looked like a masterpiece representing the very concept of "pain."
Serati, Laven, and Laficel all felt a chill run down their spines.
About ten minutes later, the necromancer's struggle ceased, and a limp figure remained.
'Ah, his eyes are dead again…'
Serati clicked her tongue in disbelief.
Even after witnessing it, she couldn't quite understand.
'What on earth happens to make someone's eyes look like that?'
Turning back, Millia beamed at Karnak.
"Interrogation ready, Captain Karnak!"
***
The subdued necromancer eagerly answered all questions.
According to Millia, he fully cooperated with the interrogation under the blessing of the goddess.
He revealed the cultists' approximate strength, population, landmarks, and more.
Most importantly, they discovered a route to infiltrate Maleficus Dungeon.
Pointing at a map Laven held, the necromancer spoke in a daze.
"There is a secret passage connecting to the outer part of the dungeon here…"
Technically, it wasn't a secret passage but rather a neglected one.
After all, the Cult of the Dark God hadn't built the Maleficus Dungeon. It was an ancient ruin they had simply refurbished for temporary use.
There were collapsed corridors and gaps between broken structures throughout the dungeon.
If there were gaps large enough for a person or two to crawl through, that was essentially a secret passage.
It was a structure full of hidden routes.
Having extracted all the necessary information, Karnak looked down at the dazed necromancer.
"What should we do with him now?"
Baros mumbled awkwardly.
"Well, we can't exactly kill him."
It wasn't that they had suddenly developed respect for the sanctity of life.
There was a practical reason.
Necromancers could use necromancy to summon the souls of lost comrades. It wasn't uncommon for information to leak even after death.
When it was just Karnak, Baros, and Serati, they could clean up after themselves, but now, it was better to keep him alive to hide their approach.
Serati scratched her cheek in hesitation.
"Yeah, but we can't just tie him up and leave him anywhere."
If they did that, he'd become food for monsters, and letting him be eaten alive, even as a necromancer, seemed too cruel.
Millia smiled brightly.
"It's alright. The Inquisitor's manual has a procedure for situations like this."
The mercy of the Goddess embraces even wicked necromancers!
"So here's how the Goddess Church deals with it."
First, they'd dig a hole and bury him deep. They'd insert a straw in his mouth so he could breathe.
Then, they'd cast a discreet barrier around the straw to prevent monsters from detecting him.
"He'll be a bit uncomfortable, but he can safely last for about three days."
The expressions of the party members turned grim.
"…A bit uncomfortable?"
"…Three days?"
"That sounds like a perfect way to drive someone mad."
Still, Millia's bright smile remained unwavering.
"They're already mad. They betrayed the Goddess and committed forbidden acts. This punishment isn't even severe."
If someone had sinned, how could they expect to live comfortably? This pain would cleanse them of their sins!
That seemed to be her logic.
[The Goddess Church has a surprisingly ruthless side.]
Karnak smirked at Serati's comment.
[The Church of the Seven Goddesses has always been terrifying. Did you think I avoided them for no reason?]
There's a reason why cults like the Dark God's can spread.
If the Church of the Seven Goddesses were flawless, the Cult of the Dark God wouldn't have gained such influence.
Rolling up her sleeves, Millia enthusiastically shouted,
"Now, help me dig!"
It took only a few minutes to bury the necromancer alive.
The only sign he was still alive was the faint sound of breathing through the straw.
Laficel murmured quietly.
"If we don't come back in time, he'll die here like this, won't he?"
"He'll cleanse his sins and return to the embrace of the Goddess, so it will be a blessing for him."
Millia's expression was pure and serene, like that of a saintess offering a prayer.
Laficel quietly hid behind Serati's back.
"Millia unnie… is scary…"
***
The entrance to Maleficus Dungeon was hidden in a crevice between large rocks in the forest.
An old metal door lay shrouded in shadow. The small door was just large enough for two people to squeeze through at a time.
"Looks like it wasn't intentionally hidden, but rather blocked by rocks from an earthquake or something."
Karnak mumbled as he pulled out his wand.
"I'll break it."
Laven stopped him.
"I'll try opening it first."
Given how vast the forest and ruins were, it was unlikely their approach would be detected by sound or vibrations.
"But it doesn't hurt to be cautious, right?"
He pulled out a specialized lock-picking set for ancient ruins and smiled.
"Back in my treasure-hunting days, I was known as Laven the Master of locks."
Baros looked at him with a skeptical expression.
Laven was certainly skilled, but whether he was top-class was debatable—just enough to have earned that title, perhaps.
'Why do you even have that nickname!'
However, it seemed the title wasn't entirely misplaced. After a few minutes of tinkering, the metal door groaned open with a rough noise.
Creeeeeak…
"Let's go."
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