Chapter 6
To illuminate the pitch-black floor, Lilia shoots magic toward the ceiling.
The entire floor is then illuminated at once, and the situation is revealed.
The floor itself behind the door was large, and at a quick glance, the open area alone was a cave the size of a baseball field.
Based on his previous experience, his intuition told him that the pathway branched off in a spider's web from the center of this large area.
However, Mars paid more attention to what he saw than to the structure of the dungeon itself.
He felt a slight chill down his back.
「Apparently, it's not that the people that challenged this dungeon so far were weak. ......」
「That's the deep monsters we encountered in 『Sekhmet』, isn't it ......? They are this close to the entrance?」
「I guess that means those guys are the weakest monsters in this 『Great Norn Tomb』.」
In the 『Sekhmet』 dungeon, which they had recently conquered, they saw a lion-like monster in the distance, one step short of the lowest layer of the dungeon.
It was about two meters in size.
Its sharp claws and fangs could easily tear a man in armor apart.
There were several of them wandering around.
「By the way, Nemu-chan, they look like cats, too, but do you have any resistance to them?」
「Nyaa? They can't get along with each other, they're enemies-nya.」
「That would be helpful. We've all encountered these monsters at one time or another, but never let our guard down. Stay close to either me or Lilia. Depending on the situation, evacuate to one of the treasure rooms. Let's go according to training.」
The leader is, of course, Mars. The deputy leader is Lilia.
This is not only because he trusts Lilia the most, but also because they have split their supplies in two.
All of them use 『Body Strengthening』 to prepare for battle.
As it turned out, it wasn't that hard to fight them off.
Compared to the first dungeon, the mental calmness is different.
「Isn't it kind of weak? These monsters feel weaker than in the previous dungeon. ...... Do they feel tired?」
「I felt that too. I don't think the monsters have high spirits. If that prince and his party passed by two weeks ago, they should have recovered from their fatigue long ago.」
「Are we getting stronger?」
「It is possible. This is my second time in the dungeon, and I have more experience in combat. But let us not be conceited.」
Lilia and Hazuki, in the rear guard, look somewhat disconcerted.
To begin with, this was an enemy that they had managed to encounter in the depths of 『Sekhmet』, that is, in a state of fatigue.
If they were in a situation where they had no physical problems, it would not be a big obstacle for Mars and his party.
If they appear in residential areas, even a single one will cause serious damage, but if they are poised as dungeon monsters, they are only slightly troublesome.
Even so, the lack of a formidable foe was also felt by Mars, who was engaged in melee combat.
「――They've got some stinky stuff mixed in-nya!」
「Smelly?」
「Wasn't there a ragged one-nya? The one Nemu killed didn't have a single leg and didn't bleed-nya. Nemu doesn't know how to describe it-nya.」
「There were some wounded ones, but ...... no blood?」
Nemu pinches her nose and makes a disgruntled face.
He can smell blood, but his nose is so used to it that he can't really tell.
The whole floor has a thick smell of death, but that is usually the case in dungeons.
Only Nemu, who has an excellent sense of smell, can detect the different types of smells in detail.
The monster Nemu had defeated had already died, of course, so it was impossible to confirm what Nemu was saying.
Mars felt a slight chill.
――No, no way right.
「Oh, that's ......」
「I've never seen the real thing either. ――A corpse.」
「Ugh. ......」
Along with the carcasses of the monsters, about three portions of corpses are found.
The reason for saying "about three portions of a corpse" is because the exact number of people could not be ascertained, as they were either eaten by the monsters or had not retained their original form.
They were dressed in the slave uniforms of Kruse's group.
It seemed that they had not been dead long, and their blood had not yet dried up.
He could not even tell if they were disposable or just died in battle.
Mars thinks, feeling helpless inside, that perhaps they were alive just a moment ago and were killed by the monsters just before Mars and others arrived.
He felt sorry for them as they were left to die without anyone to care for them or mourn them.
「I know we don't have that kind of time, but ...... I want to give them a burial. This is a big tomb, and as the Tomb Guard, I know what I'm doing!」
「――Good point. It's a little difficult until we find them, but we'll at least bury the ones we find.」
「It's a simple ceremony, but we will cremate them here. In the Tomb Guard's village, it's a rule that that's how the soul is released from the body. Even a corpse, if it has a body, the soul will be trapped by necromancy.」
Necromancy is the art of forcibly immobilizing a soul in a corpse and manipulating it at will.
In other words, it is forced enslavement after death.
Since the body is absolutely necessary as a constituent requirement if it is cremated, it can be freed from necromancy.
In this world, burial is the mainstream, but the Tomb Guard Clan uses cremation for this reason.
「The flame magic I use is actually funeral magic. In the Tomb Guard's village, it is the first thing they teach you as part of the Clan's work. My mother taught me and my father trained me.」
Hazuki points her wand at the entire area, including the monsters.
Hazuki's magic is powerful enough to burn a wide area at once.
Lilia also said that even though she is usually dumb, her magic skills must be in the realm of genius.
「......? ――Pervert woman, get away from that corpse!」
「What's going on?」
「Just do it! Quickly!」
「O-Okay!?」
Lilia pointed her bow at the corpse with a pale face and alerted Hazuki in a voice strong enough not to be heard by the monsters that might be somewhere around.
Mars, who had a bad premonition, sharpened his nerves and grasped his sword.
Then, with a jolt, the fingers of the corpse's hand move.
The corpse slowly and unnaturally bends its joints as it rises.
「Eh, he's alive!? I'm going to heal you!」
「Stop it! "It" is not a living person by any stretch of the imagination!」
One arm crumbles off the corpse as it stands up.
Rather than being torn off, it collapsed forcefully, as if the wind had blown the residue of fire.
The bloodied, earth-toned skin showed no temperature, and the unresponsive spirit, even with a body part missing, showed even more that it could not be a living person.
「Zombies......!」
「It's a moving corpse ...... this is too much of a joke!」
「There's a lot of them coming from behind-nya! It smells and zuruzuru-nya!?」
One after another, the corpses of the slaves begin to move, and even the corpses of the monsters that Mars and the others had just defeated begin to rise.
Mars and the others found themselves surrounded by several zombies.
They were wearing simple armor made mainly of animal skins, which are not mainstream now, and were carrying rusted and chipped weapons. As far as Mars knew, they were old enough to be used for children's games.
They were clearly corpses of a different era. And yet, somehow, the flesh had not decayed.
「Nyaaa!? There are hands-on Nemu's feet-nyaa!? Only hands-nyaa!? Nyaaaaaa~! That's disgusting-nyaa! Take it off-nya!」
「I-it's heavy! Don't jump on me out of the blue! ――Eeekkkk!」
Screaming and jumping on Lilia's back, Nemu was hanging on to Lilia's neck, swinging one leg in a swinging motion, trying to get rid of the wrist attached to her ankle.
The thing holding Nemu was moving only by the wrist.
Lilia screamed as she realized what was happening.
「Uoghh!? Disgusting!? What is this!」
「There are people with only hands like this-nya!? Get it off me-nyaaaaa!」
「They're not here! Everyone come to my side! Hazuki-chan too, quickly!」
Mars pulls off the wrist, which was tightly gripping Nemu's leg, and throws it as hard as he can at the approaching zombie's head.
The zombie's neck breaks as the wrist strike it, and it falls to the floor in a heap.
Yet, it does not stop moving. The neck was also clicking its teeth.
All of them were in a slight panic.
The quality was worse than those of the monsters, including the mental aversion.
「Oh ...... oh ......」
「I-I knew it, I-I guess I can't talk to them. ......!」
A vacant stare and a muffled voice with only air passing through the throat.
Hazuki slowly backed away from the approaching zombie, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Then something hit Hazuki's back with a thud.
When she turned around, she saw a zombie standing there, its face so disfigured that she could not recognize its original form.
It seemed to be coming at Hazuki from the aisle, and she was surrounded by several others.
「Eeeekkkkkk! I was so populaaaar!」
「Don't be silly, get down!」
Mars cuts off the upper bodies of several of them and escapes with the cowering Hazuki.
When he cut the zombies, it leaves his hands feeling more fragile than monsters, and he felt a little guilty.
「T-th-they're after us, even if it's just the upper half of their body!?」
「Anyway, we'll keep our distance!」
With Hazuki in his arms, they all run away from the zombie hordes.
As expected, the speed was faster for the living Mars and the others.
「Hazuki-chan, are you sure that that was a corpse that was revived by necromancy?」
「M-Maybe ...... I've never seen it before either, but ......」
Hiding in the shadows and taking a breath, Mars asks Hazuki.
It is not a zombie panic caused by a mysterious virus, but in the case of this dungeon, probably by necromancy.
They infected themselves with the virus.....It is difficult to imagine the worst-case scenario that he would like to think that the worst is unlikely.
「I thought necromancy was something that revives you in a more solid state like this,......I can't believe it works in that condition. It's magic similar to slavery magic, and it seems to stop if the operator is eliminated. ...... Is the High Priest Norn the operator of those things?」
「I think so. But I don't think she is anywhere near here.」
「Are you saying she is operating remotely? The magic systems are so different, I don't know much about necromancy either」
「I don't think she is using necromancy remotely on a specific person, but probably on the whole area of this dungeon! And for a long, long time ago. Norn is a genius necromancer who can do such unbelievable things.」
He does not know the structure of this dungeon, but even if he was to take a rough and optimistic guess, the entire area would be about the size of one large city.
If assuming that magic that releases magic outside the body is basically more difficult, he can see the substandard strength of the necromancer named Norn.
It's a level of bullshit, to say the least.
「I mean ...... that's what happens when you die here ......」
Pulling a pair of red-rimmed glasses from her pocket, Hazuki begins her explanation by drawing an illustration on the ground with her cane. Incidentally, they are date glasses that she bought solely because they are cute & make her look smart.
The illustrations are included for Nemu.
She was eager to learn, but when Hazuki talk about something a little difficult like this, Nemu understands more quickly if Hazuki mixes it with illustrations.
The undead, which is supposed to be grotesque, are drawn on the ground in fancy illustrations.
「I-I'm probably the one who knows the most about the undead, so let me explain: ...... First of all, the undead who are not receiving instructions is supposed to be acting on instinct! The undead's instinct is to turn the living into the dead. And then ...... they eat them. ......」
「Indeed, there were many bite marks on their bodies. But, you know, it didn't look like their metabolism was working in any way, so what was the point of eating them?」
Mars had an image of zombies as something that attacked and ate the living, but he was not sure what that meant.
If it were a horror movie, the reason would be that it is a horror movie.
But if they exist in reality, there must be some meaning to them.
「The undead are not ordinary creatures, just corpses that magically move. So they are said to feed on the magic power of living things to maintain their bodies. So obviously, even undead from older times still have some meat left in them!」
「So that's why pervert women with large amounts of magical power were very popular. I thought they were looking for a fleshy one.」
「I-If that's the case, Lilia-san has her boobs, too!?」
When Hazuki speaks, the atmosphere loosens up.
That's the charm of Hazuki, but at times like this, it's a little depressing.
「You don't become undead just because you were bit, do you?」
「If that doesn't kill you, it's impossible, you know? Well, that's just dirty, though ......!」
――I guess It's still not as bad as being bitten and infected and turned into a zombie
But I think I'm going to get sick.
He stopped Lilia and Hazuki, who had started to make a fuss, and asked them about something that had been bothering him.
「Say, that undead guy, how close are his abilities to his pre-life state?」
「There are stages of necromancy,...... Let me think, I think all the people in this hierarchy are limited to just attacking you with their hands or wielding the weapons they have. In short, they are moving corpses」
「How strong are they?」
「I think that even those who have undergone strong necromancy have a weakened bare body, but ...... you might still think that they are mostly intact. For example, if it were me, I would probably be able to use magic as it is.」
Reason does not exist in the undead, but some intelligence does.
They can use the weapons they used before they become undead, and individuals with a good degree of intelligence can even use magic.
「In short, If Hazuki-chan becomes an enemy, she can use magic as she was still alive. ...... That's nasty. And you can't even communicate with them.」
「Pervert women sometimes don't understand words even at this stage. I thought you were undead.」
「And it smell-nya?」
「I-I told you those things are fashionable!」
The zombies he saw earlier were probably adventurers, although their attire was from a different era.
If that is the case, there may be some very strong ones. There may have been those who came to the Norn Tomb after conquering the dungeon, just like Mars did, and there may have been those who did not conquer the dungeon but were able to do so easily.
As she was already fed up with imagining what was ahead, Lilia, who had also used her imagination, crouched down and sighed heavily.
「This is the basis of magic, but the further away from the magician, the less powerful the magic becomes. That would be no different for Norn, who has supernatural power. Conversely, the closer you get, the stronger it gets ......, So I guess we are far from Norn at the moment. I'm feeling heavy.」
「Nyaa....does that mean that if we go through the dungeon, there will be a lot of strong zuruzuru (undead)?」
「Exactly. You guessed it right. I feel a little uncomfortable when you put it into words.」
Nemu, who was doodling with her finger next to Hazuki's illustration, says with a look of inspiration on her face.
Not only is the dungeon vicious, but it doesn't even physically decrease when you defeat the monsters.
Moreover, there are a thousand people in Kruse's group who might turn into zombies.
「The more people in the party, the more difficult it could be. After all, familiar faces become enemies.」
The chain of command will be disrupted at once because our friends are turning into enemies.
For example, if Prince Kruse becomes undead, the group can be said to be at a standstill at that point.
If worse comes to worst, it could be a fight among the living.
「It would be the same for the monsters. And for what it's worth, the undead gets along well with each other regardless of race.」
It makes sense that the monsters were not well.
Their own kind, who were supposed to be dead, had risen and turned on them.
Since they had the life force to move even after cutting off the upper half of their bodies, the lion monsters would not be able to cope with them.
As a result, they could only flee and the monsters were exhausted on their own.
That is why there was no response.
「But I had no idea that the dungeon was in such a state. ......」
「............」
――Hazuki-chan's parents, they never return from here.
It was more than ten years ago. It is hard to imagine that they are still alive and continuing the attack.
Maybe ....... we will encounter them. But that would be in the worst way.
I can't help but imagine it, even if it's hypothetical.
What should I do then?
Lilia looked at Mars and nodded her head as if she had come to the same conclusion.
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