Chapter 34

In recognition of his contribution in discovering the secret passage, the snake's corpse became Woojin's spoil. Upon returning to the surface, he immediately gave its inner core to Rex.

"Eat this yourself. Don't give it up to the others."

As if sensing it was a rare treasure, Rex promptly swallowed it.

Crunch, crunch—

Rex chewed the inner core with relish before finally swallowing it. Seeing this, Woojin casually reached out and pinched Rex's side.

"Yelp?!"

Startled, Rex let out a sharp cry. Woojin felt a faint disappointment at the reaction.

'So he didn't inherit the ability.'

Unfortunate, but expected. The chance of inheriting an ability from an inner core was extremely low.

Still, it wasn't meaningless.

The more inner cores one consumed from demon beasts that possessed the same ability, the higher the chance of inheriting it. If they continued hunting creatures with Stonehide, Rex might eventually acquire it.

The problem was that demon beasts with the Stonehide ability were rather rare. It would likely take considerable time for Rex and the wolves to obtain it.

Just as he was thinking that—

'…Wait.'

A sudden sense of unease struck him.

Woojin examined the wolves closely. The aura around them felt different. It was as though their very rank as demon beasts had risen.

"Did you lot eat something good while I was gone?"

Someone else answered instead.

"Take a look at the corpses around you."

Bow, who had arrived at some point, gestured with his chin toward a kobold corpse lying flat on the ground. Woojin flipped it over with the tip of his foot.

There were gouged-out marks on its chest. It appeared the wolves had extracted and eaten its inner core. Looking around, he noticed it wasn't just one or two. The wolves must have circled the rocky mountain and consumed the inner cores of the kobolds slain by the soldiers.

It was good that the wolves had grown stronger—but the situation was slightly concerning.

"Those are spoils of the Order's alliance. Should the wolves really be taking them freely?"
"It doesn't matter. Those corpses were going to be burned and disposed of anyway."

Bow spoke casually.

Processing that many corpses—harvesting spoils and transporting them back to the Order's alliance—was troublesome. From the expedition's perspective, the kobold corpses were more of a nuisance than anything.

If left unattended, other demon beasts might catch the scent of blood, devour the inner cores, and grow stronger. Thus, the expedition planned to burn the corpses.

Since they were to be discarded regardless, Bow had turned a blind eye when he saw the wolves tampering with them. Thanks to that, Rex and the others had eaten their fill of inner cores.

An unexpected windfall.

'If handled well… I could drastically accelerate their growth in a short time.'

The expedition paid little attention to the corpses of weak demon beasts. That meant a large number of unclaimed inner cores would be left behind.

By trailing the army and gathering discarded cores, the wolves could grow stronger. Of course, this only applied to pack-dwelling beasts like kobolds, so such opportunities wouldn't come often…

Still, it was a significant opportunity.

"I'm glad I joined this expedition."
"You've been of great help, and the Order's alliance is merely rewarding you accordingly. The holy knights have been praising you quite a bit."

Though the expedition had only just begun, they had already achieved multiple successes.

They had located the Rift Core, discovered the hidden underground ruins, and slain the pack's leader. Results far exceeding expectations—all made possible because Woojin had found the secret door.

Yet Woojin had no intention of making a show of it. It hadn't felt like anything particularly special.

"Even without me, you would have eventually found the door. It was well made, but it couldn't have deceived your insight, Sir Bow."
"There's no need to downplay it. In the end, it was your accomplishment."

As they conversed, Woojin's curiosity about the underground ruins resurfaced.

"Do you happen to know anything about those ruins?"
"I've never entered the ruins you mentioned. I suppose it's time I do."

Bow had been surveying the surrounding area with his insight, ensuring no other demon beasts were approaching.

"In that case, shall we go together?"
"I'd be glad to."

Woojin and Bow walked back toward the rocky mountain and soon entered the underground ruins.

Inside, soldiers were busy transporting the remains of the Bigfoot. Its hide would be tanned and dried, while its organs, bones, and inner core would be preserved in a transparent solution and sent to the Wall.

'It's a bit of a waste to send the inner core.'

He had heard it would be used as research material for the Mage Tower. Wasting such a valuable core on uncertain experimentation felt regrettable—especially when it could greatly enhance his wolves instead.

But demanding that core as well would be shameless, so he merely observed. Meanwhile, Bow approached Roland, who was overseeing the site.

"Roland. Have you found anything noteworthy?"
"We searched the interior of the ruins, but unfortunately found no relics. The bookshelves were all empty. However, murals remain throughout, and through a priest we were able to interpret their meaning."
"And the result?"

After glancing around once, Roland lowered his voice.

"…It appears to be a temple of the old Dark Sect priests."

The Order's alliance had burned every Dark Sect priest it found. To evade them, the Dark Sect built hidden underground temples to continue their doctrine. This ruin was one of them.

Even upon hearing this, Bow showed little surprise. He seemed to have suspected the truth already.

"The expedition only just began, and already we've stumbled upon something troublesome… Any signs of human presence?"
"No. It seems to have been abandoned long ago. Perhaps it was unofficially purged by the Order's alliance in the past. In any case, the investigation is complete. We'll proceed with purifying the Rift Core."
"Very well."

With Bow's approval, Roland ordered all soldiers inside the ruins to evacuate—precaution against any unforeseen incident.

Woojin did not leave. He remained beside Bow. Opportunities like this were rare. Confident in his ability to protect himself, he intended to witness the purification of the Rift Core firsthand.

He studied the Rift Core and the murals surrounding it.

A mural of a woman with eyes closed, arms spread wide. And embedded squarely in the center of her chest was the Rift Core, resembling a heart covered in black slime.

The woman's image and the Rift Core blended seamlessly—almost like a single, unified artwork.

To destroy that harmony, Roland and the priests stepped forward.

"…We will begin."

The priests uncorked glass bottles and sprinkled holy water over the Rift Core. The blessed liquid began dissolving the black slime.

Ziiiing—

Roland played his violin. Unlike before, the melody was calm and gentle. In harmony with it, priests and nuns began to sing.

The Choir of Attunement.
Those capable of channeling holy power through song and performance gathered together, drawing forth greater strength through their chorus. Pure white divinity gathered around the Rift Core like morning dew.

Sssizzle…

When the white divinity met the black slime, smoke rose with a searing sound. The heart within the slime gradually turned ashen gray.

Woojin felt something strange.

"The unique aura of the Demonic Realm is fading."

The holy assault seemed to tear out the very foundation of the Rift Core. The Demonic Realm's energy steadily diminished. As if pressing the advantage, the choir raised their voices even higher.

The black slime burned away, and the heart of the Demonic Realm gradually ceased its pulsation. The now dull gray Rift Core fell to the ground.

Crack.

The heart shattered upon impact, crumbling like a snowball. Just as the onlookers were about to rejoice—

…Blink.

The woman in the mural opened her eyes.

The malice hidden beneath her eyelids swept across the chamber. Within her eyes writhed dozens of pupils. The clergy who met that gaze froze in terror.

Suddenly, the bonfires and torches went out. Shadows engulfed the ruin. A scream pierced the darkness. Regaining his senses, Roland shouted urgently,

"Draw your blades!!"

The holy knights unsheathed their swords.

Whoosh!

White divinity flared along the blades like flames. A brilliant radiance, as though the grace of the divine itself.

The woman in the mural mimed blowing a breath.

Like candles on a birthday cake, the light upon the knights' swords was extinguished. Absolute darkness returned.

The knights faltered. The clergy despaired. The woman in the mural burst into laughter.

The manic cackle sounded like the cry of crows. A dreadful headache pierced their skulls as mocking laughter echoed endlessly in their minds—noise that felt as though it would never cease.

Boom!!

A thunderous explosion erupted.

The laughter stopped as abruptly as it had begun. In the confusion, a small flame flickered in the shadows.

Woojin had conjured fire with magic. As the flame spread to the extinguished bonfires, light returned to the underground ruin.

Only then did everyone see what had happened. A hammer was embedded in the mural woman's head.

"It was distracting, so I smashed it first. Will that cause trouble later?"

Woojin muttered. Bow, having regained his composure, let out a relieved sigh.

"…Well done. A solution fitting of you."
"What exactly was that?"
"The Curse of the Rift. My first time experiencing it directly."

When a Rift Core is destroyed, it sometimes releases a grotesque curse in its final moment. It was exceedingly rare, scarcely mentioned even in the alliance's records.

"So we were simply unlucky."
"We should consider ourselves fortunate to have had your assistance… That said, how were you able to move under the curse?"

At Bow's curious question, Woojin answered without much thought.

"You just get used to it. Some creatures use similar attacks."
"So in the end, one must simply endure."

Bow sighed again. He prided himself on his mental discipline, yet even he had struggled to withstand it.

He recalled what he had seen with his insight.

At the moment the Rift Core shattered, the being connected to it had revealed its displeasure. An existence unspeakably ominous and powerful…

'…An Old One.'

The term used for beings that came from beyond the Rift. Sovereigns who had lived for incomprehensibly long ages. If the Order's alliance continued its expeditions, they would eventually face such monsters.

The martyr Yurgis had slain one of the Old Ones and become legend. Could humanity of the present age replicate that feat?

As Bow pondered this, he turned his head. Woojin was pulling his hammer free from the wall. With it came a cascade of falling stone bricks, and the upper half of the mural collapsed.

'…If it's that man, perhaps he could.'

For some reason, Bow felt certain of it.