Chapter 99
The black sphere was the egg of a grotesque creature.
The monster hatched from the egg and, in an instant, skewered the half ogre to death.
And then.
It was still looking for prey.
It wandered around, never straying far from the area.
'Shit.'
One mistake meant death.
His long-honed instincts were warning him of that.
The Count gritted his teeth.
He had to break through this ordeal somehow.
But.
How?
Judging by how the black mage had stopped the others' movements,
we were probably within that thing's range.
Its hearing wasn't particularly sharp.
But that didn't mean it was worse than ours.
Unfortunately, sound carried very well in here.
The surroundings were dead silent.
Maybe the metal securing the floorboards had loosened.
Every step produced a screeching scrape of iron.
If he moved even a little, he'd die.
The feeling of suddenly becoming a helpless fool was anything but pleasant.
It was absurd beyond reason.
'I knew what I was getting into, but still, this is....'
He exhaled as quietly as possible, worried even his breathing would be heard by it.
His heartbeat quickened.
It felt so loud he wondered if his heart always sounded this noisy.
"……."
The creature stopped walking.
And then it changed direction.
The Count's pupils widened.
It was slowly coming this way.
Could it have noticed them?
No.
Not yet.
If they had been discovered, they'd have been skewered like the half ogre.
It was searching.
It instinctively knew that making prey move this way would help it hunt.
It looked terrifying, no matter who saw it.
Breath, pulse, the closer it came,
the Count's body started making more and more noise.
At this rate, they'd be found out.
Was he going to die?
'No.'
He couldn't die here.
If I die, A dies too.
I can't fall before I fulfill my duty as a father.
The Count suddenly remembered.
The only way to break through this impasse.
'Sound.'
They'd said before that the creature hadn't killed the black mage.
Instead, it killed the PTSD knight who had been in a place where an alarm was sounding.
'We need to make him pick a target.'
The grotesque creature had priorities.
Its priorities were set by sound.
If they could create a noise that would draw it away from them.
They might be able to get through this.
Wasn't there some way to make noise?
The Count racked his brain.
He couldn't use a trap.
For one thing, he didn't even know what that was, and besides, look at how the alarm had kept ringing for so long.
If it went off, everyone would be wiped out.
'Then, among the things I have.'
The Count remembered the magic bomb he always carried on him.
It had been brought as a means to kill the dungeon master, but if it went off, couldn't it draw the creature's attention?
Its hearing was the same as ours.
Which meant that if something loud enough went off, it likely wouldn't be able to hear anything else.
Let's do it.
We'll make it happen somehow.
The process had to be extremely careful.
He couldn't make a sound.
If the creature identified their presence, it was game over right then and there.
Just as the Count was about to reach into his coat,
the black mage swung his arm wide.
Boom──!!
A fierce explosion sounded from outside.
And it continued for quite a while.
The creature's tentacles began to move menacingly.
It wasn't aiming for the group, but for the place where the explosion had occurred.
The Count and Nobleslayer were caught off guard.
But they were no pushovers.
What kind of opportunity was this?
No idiot here would let such a chance slip by.
The only place where they could avoid the creature.
They sprinted toward the center.
.
.
.
.
.
「That sound just now...」
「Should I call it an insurance policy I took out before going in?」
The black mage shrugged.
The explosion that had just occurred was a black magic soul explosion.
He'd used up some stock and set it up at the entrance beforehand, just in case they ran into the creature.
Thanks to that, they had barely managed to stay alive.
The Count bowed his head in gratitude.
「You saved us. Thank you.」
「Good, you know it... you stupid ogre bastard. If you'd just stayed still, you might have lived... but of all things, you had to make a sound, damn it.」
The black mage flexed his fingers.
His expression looked complicated.
Was it because of attachment?
Or because of a bond?
The Count also didn't feel at ease.
Someone had died.
One death in a situation like this hurt.
There was still a long way to go.
Clearing this obstacle wouldn't mean they could get to the core room.
There were still four areas left like this ahead of them.
Even if they had walkthroughs for Areas 1, 2, and 3.
Their chances of clearing this were extremely slim.
If the number of people dropped any further here.
That would be the worst possible outcome.
And the death of a companion is never pleasant.
Even if the one beside you is just a criminal you've never even met.
The atmosphere here didn't always make people ruthless.
"……."
It was Nobleslayer who broke the silence.
「Count.」
「What?」
「The sphere you saw in the well looked just like the one from just now, didn't it?」
The Count nodded.
Nobleslayer scribbled with his pen.
He listed the facts that had been uncovered so far.
「The black sphere is an egg.」
「The creature hatches by breaking out of the egg.」
「The one Black Mage saw, the one in the well, and the one just now.」
「That's already the third confirmed one...」
「If we assume there are more of those eggs in other places...」
The conclusion they reached.
These creatures were by no means few in number.
If they were a species that laid eggs and reproduced.
The more time passed, the more creatures there would be.
This place was shrouded in thick fog.
If we were already within their range and passed by without noticing them.
A dreadful ending would be waiting for us.
The Count fiddled with the escape scroll.
In Dreamland, every area has some kind of measure set up to block escape scrolls.
In Area 2, the head prefect confiscates the scroll.
In Area 3, the escape scroll itself can't be used.
It was highly likely that the same was true in Area 5, where we were now.
Only a silent sigh escaped him.
.
.
.
.
.
「For now, I don't see the creature. Maybe it isn't coming.」
「What are we going to do? Are we heading back like this?」
「No. Now that we've learned the monster hatches from eggs, we need to search as thoroughly as possible. If we missed something and have to come back later to re-investigate, it could get even harder.」
「As you all know, if the alarm sounds, we all die. Pay attention to every little thing you do.」
The group hurried along.
.
.
.
.
.
The place where the group was currently standing was the center of the building.
And in the middle sat a massive machine of unknown purpose.
The black mage blinked.
It looked vaguely familiar.
Then he looked at the blueprint he had been carrying in his coat.
「What's wrong?」
「I'm checking it against the machine described in the blueprint I found in the warehouse. It looks similar.」
「And?」
「At a glance, it matches. Come over here and take a look, all of you.」
Nobleslayer and the Count stopped what they were doing for a moment and approached.
To summarize the complicated contents written on the blueprint:
The name of this machine is a generator.
The generator is responsible for supplying the power source needed by the devices inside the facility.
'A power source, and noise...'
The Count fell into thought.
The reason the elevator we found wouldn't work.
Could it be because there was no power source?
Like a magical tool with no mana.
If that really was an elevator.
They'd have to somehow get the generator working.
「First, if we're going to make this so-called generator work, we need to establish one premise.」
「You mean that the elevator here actually has to be a real elevator, right?」
「Yeah. I'm not convinced that's a real elevator. This whole thing could be a trap, so I think the best thing is to check every remaining place—north, west, east, and so on—before we move on.」
Searching was no easy task either.
At each location, they had to watch out for traps and creatures.
And there was no telling how much time it would take.
And then.
「Wait a second.」
The black mage scratched his head with a troubled expression.
.
.
.
.
.
「Damn it.」
「No, now that I think about it, this is ridiculous, isn't it?」
「I'm not some kind of mage engineer.」
「At least give me proper instructions on how to use it.」
「How the hell am I supposed to make this thing work?」
「I don't have the slightest clue.」
The group still had one huge problem left.
They roughly understood what the generator was for.
They weren't certain, but they also knew that it was probably needed to make the elevator work normally.
But we don't know how to do that.
The black mage stared at the blueprint intently.
But no answer came.
Honestly, he was the smartest one when it came to this kind of thing.
If he didn't know, then the Count and Nobleslayer didn't know either.
If operating the generator was the correct answer.
Then we wouldn't be able to get out of here without knowing how to operate it.
「This is a pain.」
「Let's head back for now. We might be able to get information in another location.」
「Yeah....」
.
.
.
.
.
The group left the abandoned power plant, holding their breath.
'I'm going crazy.'
The Count frowned.
Strange sights unfolded in the foggy landscape.
There were eggs in the clumps of grass that hadn't been there before.
And one by one, grotesque creatures began appearing here and there.
The group scowled.
Were these bastards able to reproduce without even mating?
「Should we try quietly destroying the eggs once?」
「Don't. Judging by how they were the same size as an adult when they hatched earlier, we might just be speeding things up.」
「Dragging this out definitely isn't good either.」
Unfortunately, the Silent Village was vast.
The sun had already set and the moon had risen.
Sleep and stamina were important matters.
Especially in a place where one mistake could cost you your life.
Time was short, but they had to rest.
「For now, let's return to the village. Be as careful as possible around your surroundings. It looks like the number of creatures has increased.」
「Yeah. I can't say the village is the only place in this area where we can rest... but it's at least the closest thing.」
「You guys go on ahead without me.」
The black mage parted ways with the group.
His gaze was directed east.
「I don't need much sleep, so I'm fine. I'm going to take a look in the eastern forest. I want to inspect the place where the knight died.」
The black mage's reasoning was as follows.
The PTSD knight must have triggered some kind of trap.
The alarm would have gone off, right?
Even if the corpse had been taken by the creature and they couldn't find it.
There should still be blood, flesh scraps, or something like that left at the place where he was first discovered.
Since he died almost at the exact moment the alarm sounded.
There must definitely be a trap around the bloodstain.
「I want to see what kind of trap it was, so it should help reduce the odds of dying, right?」
「Wouldn't it be better if we went with you too?」
「Forget it. Get some rest.」
The black mage waved a hand.
It must mean he could manage fine on his own.
He disappeared.
The Count was left alone with Nobleslayer once again.
「Let's go back.」
「Yeah.」
They headed toward the village.
「It'd be best to take the night watch.」
「Yeah. We can't rule out the possibility that a creature might invade the village, slim as it is.」
「I'll take the first watch for now.」
「Then wake me up in four hours. We'll switch then.」
They arrived at the house they had stayed in yesterday.
It was still an empty house today.
Nobleslayer lay down on the bed first.
The Count confirmed that Nobleslayer had fallen asleep.
And then he started walking.
There were no creatures around the village.
There should definitely be a creature that came from the well around here.
It was more instinct than evidence.
Maybe the village was the only safe zone in Area 5 where they could rest comfortably.
"……."
He walked through the village.
This wasn't just a casual patrol.
There was a clear purpose in his steps.
The Count arrived.
The place was Anemone's house.
It was only for a moment, so it should be fine to step away for a bit.
When the Count reached the front of the house.
As if she'd been waiting for him, the door suddenly flew open.
「You're here?」
The Count nodded at Anemone's bright smile.
He slowly stepped inside the house.
Thud.
The door closed.