NOVEL NEXT As the sun set, the ground was painted entirely red.
Yona gazed at the disappearing sun beyond the western hills and smacked the back of Alex’s head with a resounding slap.
“What the hell is wrong with you this time?!”
“It’s your nonsense about bad vibes that’s causing this!”
Alex, who was glaring at the growling Yona, subtly averted his gaze.
Of all the parties, they were the Vanguard.
Kaiyak, the Lizardman Warrior, was moving around incessantly, making audible popping sounds from his joints.
“Why is this Alex’s fault, Yona?”
With a thud, Kaiyak slammed his hammer down and grinned slyly.
Among the adventurers gathered, he was the highest-ranked, a 3-year veteran Silver-ranked warrior.
As a beastman born to fight, and a Lizardman who was renowned for his aggression, Kaiyak was already trembling with excitement for battle.
“You’re the reason we’re in the Vanguard.”
“No way, why am I—?!”
Yona screamed in a high-pitched voice, knowing full well that all eyes were on her, blushing furiously.
“Why? What did I do?”
Kaiyak let out a snorting laugh.
“Look around. Is there a healer of your rank nearby?”
“…Ah, so wherever I am becomes the Vanguard, huh?”
“Exactly.”
At that moment, Alex smacked the back of Yona’s head.
With a sharp sting that nearly brought tears to her eyes, Yona glared at Alex.
“It’s your fault, you worthless bastard!”
“Shut up, idiot!”
“Darn it, you crazy girl.”
“You jerk!”
“Alright, enough.”
The two were on the verge of a fight, but Kaiyak’s words quickly doused the sparks.
They weren’t really going to fight anyway.
“You know a Copper-ranked healer is rare, right? If you have one, that place becomes the Vanguard.”
“Fine, I get it, I get it.”
“Just understood that. It’s starting to get dark. Get ready.”
Kaiyak said as he looked around.
At his words, the other party members, who had been slacking off, began to gather their gear haphazardly.
Vanguard, Alex: A Copper-ranked tank using a one-handed axe and tower shield, human.
Healer, Yona: A Copper-ranked healer with a non-class Sacred Barrier, human.
Warrior, Kaiyak: A Silver-ranked warrior wielding a two-handed axe, Lizardman.
Archer, Emerson: A Copper-ranked archer using a shortbow, Kobold.
Archer, Kobold.
Mage, Freaky. A short-statured bronze-ranked Mage wielding a slim wand, Goblin.
The party, consisting of five members, was now set to take the lead in entering the Catacomb.
“Hey, Alex. Give me my shield.”
“Why don’t you carry it yourself, you damn brat.”
“Just shut up and hand it over already.”
Grumbling, Alex took out a round shield the size of a platter that was clipped to his tower shield and handed it to Yona.
Once Yona strapped the shield to her left arm, she was fully ready.
“Alright, I’m all set.”
“I wish Alephri was here.”
“Oh… that, the buffer girl?”
Alephri, the rare buffer.
She didn’t directly engage in combat, but having a buffer who bestowed beneficial effects to allies from the back made a significant difference; having one was a great help.
“Yeah. She’s dead though.”
She recently bit the dust when her waist got snapped in half during a wild orc hunt.
As they peppered their conversation, the darkness had fully settled in.
Though they could barely see each other’s faces, if they ventured closer to the underground dungeon, even that faint visibility would vanish into pitch blackness.
A torch flickered to life through the dark.
From now on, they had to keep their voices down.
Yona began to slowly channel her divine power from deep within her abdomen into her right arm.
It was more of a warm-up, something she had never skipped even once; a kind of preparatory exercise.
Feeling the divine power flow smoothly through her right arm, Yona moved slowly as per Kaiyak’s silent instructions.
“Holy moly, look at that ominous sight.”
At Alex’s whispered words, Yona almost chuckled.
But it was understandable, as the dungeon entrance before them was oozing a sinister aura that was downright creepy.
Although she possessed divine power, Yona, being a healer, couldn’t shake the feeling that the magic swirling around was anything but ordinary.
‘Was it this intense before?’
It hadn’t been.
This wasn’t her first time in this underground tomb.
She had been here several times before.
When the extermination had just started, during the ongoing purge, after it ended, and when it was all tidied up.
Though she’d been here many times, she had never felt magic so palpable that it made her Sacred Barrier tingle right upon approaching.
‘Maybe it’s because the passage down is open.’
Having awakened the demon resting here, it made sense that the magic leaking from it was this overwhelming.
Yona swallowed hard, pondering over her thoughts.
When she glanced to the side, Alex looked as tense as a statue, his face stiff.
“Hey, Alex.”
“What?”
Even when she whispered softly, Alex understood her like a hawk.
“Are you nervous?”
“Shut up, as if the great Alex would be nervous.”
But honestly, he looked really nervous.
“Alex.”
“What the hell, you bimbo?”
“I was gonna let you touch my boobs if you said you were nervous.”
“Uh, I am nervous. I’m going out of my mind. I think I’m gonna die.”
“Shut your mouth, you jerk.”
Yona spat out a nasty curse and turned back to look ahead.
Five women clad in pure white priest robes were slowly making their way toward the underground tomb.
Priests.
Unlike Yona, a Healer blessed with divine healing powers, these guys had purification divine powers.
In other words, the so-called ‘noble bodies.’
To exterminate demons like this, they needed to take down their magic, which is why they were lined up at the entrance of the tomb.
A torch flared back to life.
It was the torch signaling entry.
*
Since this was the vanguard party, they decided to receive five extra silver coins as a reward.
Not bad, but considering it was for their lives, it felt downright dirty.
“Alex, be careful.”
Yona, walking in step behind Alex, suddenly checked up on him.
Carrying his shield and slowly moving, Alex nodded without looking back.
She looked around.
The rock walls were still piled high with damp moss, and the corridor was soaked with some unknown liquid, making a squelching noise with each step.
It was quiet.
The adventurers had refrained from speaking since they entered the dungeon.
There was no need for communication now, and making noise would only attract the demon’s interest.
Sigh… my fate.
Even if she sighed inwardly, nothing changed.
No matter how much she rubbed her eyes, this world was so different from the one Yona had originally lived in.
Even when she was broke and poor back then, she didn’t have to worry about her life, but now, she was broke, poor, and had to put her life on the line.
She never thought she’d be walking through an underground tomb corridor.
Yet, here she was, matching her steps behind Alex.
– Shiri-liri-lick!
She heard something scuttling quickly.
Alex shot his right arm up, and at the signal, Yona raised her right arm as well.
He raised his right arm.
Those who confirmed the stop signal each raised their right arm to relay the signal back.
As the group came to a complete stop, Alex pointed at his sling bag while gesturing towards Yona.
Then, as he opened and closed his hand while blinking, Yona nodded.
With his shield and hammer in hand, Alex slightly leaned his waist forward, and Yona opened his sling bag to pull out a glowing object.
Normally just a bead shape, if you squeeze it hard enough to break the core inside, it emits a very bright light for about a minute.
“Throw it?”
When Yona asked, Alex nodded and pointed forward with his chin.
“One, two, three.”
At the same time, Yona swiftly threw the glowing object.
The glowing object rolled into the darkness and soon emitted a very bright light—
– Kieeeek!
“Oh, no…”
From what could be seen, there seemed to be at least ten little monsters, about the size of dogs, scattered around the village, shrieking in surprise at the light.
Something had gone wrong.
Both Alex and Yona thought the same.
Even if they were just little monsters the size of dogs, they still had teeth and claws.
In fact, in such darkness, those small monsters could be more dangerous.
Of course, Alex determined that even Kaiyak should step back now.
“W-wait…”
Just as he was about to say that—
– －－－－－－－!!!
A terrifying roar echoed from the deep, abyss-like darkness.
And at that moment, a chilling air abruptly cut off.
The entrance vanished.
The adventurers had entered first, but the knights and priests leading the hunt had not yet entered.
The entrance was gone.
– Thud, thud, thud, thud…
Alex gripped his shield tighter.
Yona’s hand, wrapped around his Sacred Barrier, gently stroked his shoulder.
“…I’m scared.”
“Hey, you said you’d trust me. How can you say you’re scared, you damn brat?”
The faces of the forty or so adventurers who had entered were growing increasingly pale.
And those at the very front, Alex and Yona, were becoming even more ashen.
– Thud, thud, thud, thud…
The underground tomb corridor began to rumble.
It’s coming.
It’s coming.
Something was approaching.