章節 9: There is a Monster Behind You!
"We should stop while we can still see each other!" Dante said, and the party came to a stop.
They were roughly a hundred meters into the catacombs. Going further into the cavern system without a light source would be dangerous. Furthermore, this place was a dungeon, a home for pygmy skeletons.
The skeletons were a kind of undead monsters, and like the most of the undead monsters, they didn't like the sunlight.
The daylight still could be seen due to the straight corridor of the catacombs. So there shouldn't be skeletons nearby. Their current location was safe for them.
Under the dim lights coming from the entrance, they could hardly discern each other's faces. However, Dante's strange behavior didn't miss from Nathaniel's and Ulfred's eyes.
"Boss, are you all right?" Nathaniel couldn't help but ask.
"Of course I am! Did you see the face of that spectacled bastard after I took down his man? It was priceless!" Dante's excitement was evident in his voice.
Nathaniel, "..."
Ulfred, "..."
He asked his question in excitement but received odd looks in return. At first, he couldn't understand why.
"What? You didn't see?" Dante was puzzled.
"We saw... and yes, it was priceless. It's just..." Nathaniel was stuttering while talking. For some reason, he didn't feel 'secure.'
"Dante." Old man Ul cut Nathaniel's words.
"You have just killed someone. We are amnesiacs, considering this fact, it would have meant that was your first murder in a sense. However, what I see on your face is nothing but excitement. If it was me..." Ulfred stopped for a moment. He was questioning himself. "At least, I believe I wouldn't feel excited. You are not normal."
Dante's excitement died down halfway through the words of Ulfred. His smile disappeared. He put on a serious, and at the same time, sincere expression.
"I understand your feelings. Somehow you are afraid of me. No, more like, you feel insecure beside me because I am not someone whom you think I am. I might be dangerous even for my own teammates. That's what was coming through your minds, am I right?"
Dante kept shifting his gaze between Ulfred and Nathaniel while talking, giving them a feeling as if he was an inhuman being.
"Y-yes. More or less you can say that." Ulfred had a strange premonition in his heart.
'This fellow is definitely not normal!'
Dante continued. "I won't lie to you. I'll be honest. I didn't even feel an ounce of guilt after 'accidentally' killing that fellow. I still don't. In the future, if I happen to kill thousands of the likes of him, I probably won't feel much different."
*Gulp*
Nathaniel's gulping sound was heard. His Boss was fundamentally different from them. He had not expected an answer like this.
Ulfred was thinking the same. Unknowingly, he raised his defenses against Dante.
"However, please don't take me as a monster. What I just said is for people unknown to me. You are my teammates. I can say with a clear conscience, as a fellow teammate, I liked you. Naturally, I would never hurt you... as long as you don't intend to harm me first."
Hearing Dante's words, and seeing his sincere expression, the two relaxed a bit, although the last part of his words lightly touched their nerves.
"I can't say I can give my life for your sake, but I can risk it to a certain extent. I can share the glory and sadness with you. I'll be your friend as long as you see me as a friend. I don't know what the future holds, but this is how I feel at the moment."
"Yes, I am excited, but it is not because I just killed someone. As I said before, I feel nothing about it. I'm excited because I'm itching for a fight. I want to get stronger as soon as possible!"
With the last sentences of Dante, the last bit of their uneasiness toward him disappeared into thin air. Even a warm feeling came into leaf in their hearts.
It was unknown to the trio, but right at this moment, they truly started to consider each other as friends and maybe even brothers.
"And I'm just getting to know myself. I don't even know why I am like this, I also think I am a little weird in some aspects, but this is who I am. You don't know yourselves either. Did you think about that? You might be a much more mentally sick psychopath than me. So think before judging me."
Dante was sincere toward his teammates. On the other hand, he had to clear up every possible misunderstandings between them. It was essential.
"Wha ha ha! You bastard! You didn't need to say the last part, but I must admit. You are right! I'm sorry for doubting your sincerity."
Old man Ul was the first one to give an apology. He wrapped one of his arms around Dante's neck and ruffled his hair with the other one like a loving grandpa.
'Dude, stop that! I'm getting goosebumps.'
"My boss might be a cold-blooded person but cares about his comrades! Naturally, as his first henchman, I can't possibly doubt him. I didn't question his character either."
Nathaniel again played the shameless and loyal henchman.
Dante didn't know if he was aware of his brazen behaviors and his sly nature. He seemed to play the dumb, but at the same time, he resembled a calculating person.
Dante's curiosity towards Nathaniel's intelligence stat was steadily growing. Of course, he wouldn't ask him about it. He had to see it with his own eyes.
"OK, all right! I see. You finally seem relaxed around me. I am happy. Now let me go bastard! I need to make a fire as soon as possible!"
Dante freed himself from Ulfred's compassionate arms. Seriously, the dude was starting to show his true colors.
"Are you gonna use the rocks you picked up before?" Ulfred asked.
"That's natural." Dante produced the rocks from his pockets. Due to the dim light, the other two couldn't see the rocks on his hands.
He continued, "Town's people clearly know how to make a fire around here. However, they talked about an absurd technique to those newcomers. Sigh... they are a bunch of vulgar people."
"The key is this rock. It is called marcasite. When you hit them to each other, they produce sparks. However, this is not enough to make a fire. The rocks I picked up earlier aren't ordinary marcasite samples."
"The blackish-brown blemishes on them are another key factor. It's a flammable mineral called flint. Strangely enough, they exist together in this place. All I need to do now, drop a spark on flint."
Dante put two of the marcasites on top of each other and held them in his left hand together. With the other one on his right hand, he knocked the edge of upper marcasite.
Immediately sparks fell on the lower marcasite. However, it wasn't enough to make a fire. The flint didn't ignite.
"Oh, it seems like it will work!" Ulfred commented.
One-try!
Two-try!
Three-try!
*Sss*
The flint on marcasite ignited with a sizzling sound!
"Quick! Give me a piece of cloth!"
Ulfred tore his grey robe's sleeve with a swift move and carefully put the piece of cloth on the burning flint. Before long, clusters of smoke began to rise into the air. It gradually intensified in a few moments of time.
*Whoop*
"Success!" Dante cried out. The fire's light hit into the face of the trio, revealing their smiling faces.
"You are full of surprises Dante. Tell me, where did you learn this trick?" Ulfred asked.
"Heh he! For now, let's say I have a reliable source of information. When we come out of this dungeon, I'll..." Dante's words have cut in his throat by the panicked scream of Nathaniel.
"B-B-Boss, there is a monster behind you!"
His voice sounded like a little girl who saw a scary ghost.
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