The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 158

EP.158 Adventurers Caught in a Trap (3)

Ibis quietly infiltrated the mansion through a window. She was not just an adventurer but also someone who followed the orders of Kyle, the Guild Union Leader. Although she was far from an ordinary adventurer, her skills were undeniable. Thanks to her ability to produce powerful toxins from her body, she had risen to the platinum rank. With Kyle backing her, she was not far from being promoted to the diamond rank.

Kyle’s orders to Ibis had been simple, investigate the person of interest, Ralph. He had even laid out detailed conditions, including withdrawing if the situation became unfavorable. After all, even the Adventurers’ Guild Union couldn’t interfere with the internal affairs of another country.

However, Ibis had decided to delve deeper than Kyle’s orders and had secretly infiltrated Ralph’s mansion. While her performance was important, she was driven by a particular curiosity.

‘What is the purpose behind spreading these rumors?’

Initially, she had dismissed it as the rumor of a nouveau riche. She thought Ralph had suddenly come into money and hastily hired mercenaries. But that wasn’t the case. The entities outside the mansion, which she had thought were mercenaries, were merely scarecrows dressed in empty armor.

Why had they set up these scarecrows? And what was the source of the rumors?

Ibis was intrigued.

Shay had spent an entire day flying around in the form of a crow to observe the mansion’s movements. Shay had mentioned that there was no movement from the mercenaries. At the time, Ibis had dismissed it, which had led to the current situation.

At least it was fortunate that they realized it now. Ibis, along with Shay and Faren, began to explore the interior of the mansion. There was no immediate sense of danger. If anything went wrong, they could always call for help from Herad, who was waiting outside.

“From now on, search quietly. If you are discovered or if anything seems off, send a signal immediately,” Ibis whispered her orders. Shay and Faren nodded in agreement.

They spread out to inspect every corner of the mansion. Several minutes passed before they regrouped, each with a troubled expression.

“Leader, something’s not right,” Shay was the first to speak.

“Every room is covered in dust. The bookshelves, the curtains, everything is filled with cobwebs,” she reported.

Every room she entered was thick with dust. Furniture and decorations, as well as the bookshelves, were layered with dust, as if they hadn’t been maintained for a long time. It was as if no one lived there.

“Leader, could it be that we’ve really fallen into a trap?”

Shay’s voice trembled with unease.

If the rumors were true, there was no way the mansion would be left in such a state of neglect. The condition of the mansion’s interior and the scarecrow mercenaries outside all pointed to the unsettling possibility of a trap.

Ibis gently patted Shay’s shoulder to reassure her.

“It’s alright, Shay. We’ve always succeeded, haven’t we?”

Ibis displayed the confidence of a true leader. Indeed, they had spent considerable time together and had always managed to overcome their challenges.

Throughout the many missions they had undertaken, there had indeed been numerous dangerous situations. Compared to those, it was ambiguous to say that they had fallen into a trap now. After all, this seemed to be just an ordinary, empty mansion.

Ibis, while comforting Shay, turned to Faren. He noticed her glance and began to share his observations.

“It’s definitely strange. There’s no sign of life in the mansion,” Faren said.

As an elf, Faren had senses that were more acute than those of humans. He had used this heightened sensitivity to examine the energy within the mansion but found no trace of anything. There was no sign of life; it was as if time had stopped.

“More importantly, the spirits are uneasy,” Faren mentioned. The spirits he commanded had clammed up, seemingly afraid of something. This reaction was new to Faren, an elf, and it left him feeling unsettled.

“Wait a moment…”

While examining the spirits, Faren suddenly covered his nose and groaned.

“Faren, what’s wrong?” Ibis asked.

“There’s a strange smell…”

Ibis looked puzzled at his reaction. She sniffed the air herself but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. There was the musty smell of mold due to the mansion being neglected, but it wasn’t something that would make one cover their nose like Faren did.

“……”

There was only one explanation. It was a scent that only Faren, with his elven senses, could detect.

“We must leave immediately!” Faren’s face turned pale.

“It’s the smell of death! The entire mansion is shrouded in death! We need to get out of here fast!”

Ibis and Shay were taken aback by Faren’s sudden reaction. The smell of death? What did he mean by that? It didn’t take long for them to understand.

Clank— Clank— Clank—

An unpleasant metallic sound echoed through the mansion’s corridors. The beings that emerged were the mercenaries they had seen outside.

“What is that?! They weren’t just empty armor?” Ibis exclaimed.

The mercenaries, which they had thought were mere scarecrows in empty armor, were now moving. They were advancing slowly, forming a perimeter around Ibis and her group.

“Prepare for battle!” Ibis commanded, and Faren nocked an arrow onto his bowstring.

‘This was a mistake,’ Ibis thought, narrowing her eyes as she observed the mercenaries. ‘I never imagined they would set such an obvious trap.’

She berated herself for not being more thorough in her investigation. Quietly, she spoke to Shay and Faren, “Our priority is to subdue them just enough to escape the mansion.”

Causing more commotion here would do them no good. Their primary goal was to flee the mansion as quickly as possible and regroup with Herad, who was waiting outside.

‘I should have just stuck to observing!’ she regretted, focusing her energy into her hands. A green, spherical orb began to form above her palm—the ability that had elevated her to the platinum rank: poison generation.

Without hesitation, she launched the compressed poison orb.

Boom!

The poison exploded, creating a green mist. Given its potency, it should have subdued the mercenaries in an instant. No matter how well-armored they were, they couldn’t possibly withstand the poison. Ibis planned to use the ensuing chaos to escape.

As the mist cleared, however, the situation was not as she had anticipated.

“……!”

The mercenaries were completely unaffected.

“W-what is this…?”

“Ibis! Snap out of it!” Shay shouted, bringing Ibis back to her senses.

Faren took over, firing an arrow that struck a mercenary’s helmet. Despite the direct hit, Faren was shocked.

“Why… It hit the head, but…!”

The mercenary moved as if nothing had happened, even discarding the helmet as if the arrow was merely an inconvenience.

“!”

Everyone saw it then. The mercenary’s true nature was revealed—not a human, but a skeleton.

“Skeletons…?”

Simultaneously, the other mercenaries removed their helmets, revealing that they were all skeletons.

“Leader, this is really dangerous!” Faren exclaimed.

Shay’s shout finally snapped Ibis out of her daze. She realized why the poison hadn’t worked—they were undead.

Click— Click— Click-click—

The skeletons moved their jaws in unison, the sound of bones clattering echoing through the corridor. More skeletons, not even armored, began to swarm.

“This was planned from the start.”

Ibis muttered, biting her lip as she grasped the situation.

Someone had deliberately released monsters into the mansion. But how? This wasn’t some remote area of the Sael Kingdom; it was the capital, where the queen resided and security was tight.

‘Could it be the royal family…?’

Ibis stumbled upon an unsettling truth.

‘Yes, it was strange from the beginning.’

The spread of rumors had been too deliberate. And how could so many monsters be hidden in a mansion within the capital? This could only be possible with royal involvement.

But why? For what purpose?

Ibis’s mind raced. If the royal family was involved, it likely meant Queen Elena of the Sael Kingdom had a hand in this. Queen Elena, the hero who had thwarted the Seven-Star Calamity. Could someone under the scrutiny of the White Order be orchestrating such a scheme?

“Ha, could it be that the calamity itself was fabricated?”

Ibis speculated, her thoughts growing more tangled.

The calamity had indeed appeared. She had seen the stars falling from the sky herself, so that much was undeniable.

‘The calamity was real. But what if…’

What if Queen Elena hadn’t defeated the calamity but had instead succumbed to it? Or worse, what if the calamity had been orchestrated from the beginning?

‘Damn it!’

The scattered pieces of the puzzle in her mind came together. She reached the conclusion that Queen Elena had been behind the major events that had transpired. This truth needed to be conveyed immediately.

“…Shay.”

Ibis spoke softly after finishing her calculations.

“You need to get out of here. Join up with Herad and go straight to Kyle.”

The mansion was now filled with skeletons. Judging by their aura, they weren’t ordinary skeletons.

‘They must be three-star level skeleton knights.’

Aside from Shay, who was non-combat personnel, only Ibis, at the platinum rank, and Faren, at the gold rank, could face them. However, there were far too many skeleton knights to count.

Therefore, Ibis made a choice. She decided to buy time so that Shay, who could transform into an animal, could escape.

“Go to Kyle and tell him the whole truth. Tell him that Queen Elena of the Sael Kingdom has made a pact with an evil god.”

It was highly likely to be the truth. If this truth were buried here, the continent of Eldorado would be doomed. Thus, it was crucial for at least one person to escape the mansion and inform Kyle, the Guild Union Leader.

“Leader…”

Shay understood the gravity of the situation.

The leader was willing to sacrifice herself for Shay.

“Shay! Stop dawdling and go now!”

Ibis shouted once more. Time was running out. The skeleton knights were steadily advancing.

“…Alright. Leader, I’ll bring help. Please stay alive.”

Shay nodded and chanted a spell. She transformed into a crow and flew out of the mansion through a window.

As the crow’s form disappeared, Ibis focused all her energy. Faren, too, discarded his arrows and gripped his bow tightly. Against the undead, arrows were useless. Moreover, the spirits were too terrified to be of any help.

“Faren. Hold the line. We must hold on!”

“Yes, let’s make sure we survive and have a drink together.”

Soon, Ibis and Faren clashed with the skeleton knights.

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***

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In her crow form, Shay was flying over the mansion’s garden, trying to escape and join Herad. Suddenly, she noticed two adventurers walking through the garden, seemingly heading towards the mansion.

‘Oh no…’

The mansion was in utter chaos. Shay lowered her flight altitude and headed towards the adventurers. Simultaneously, she dispelled the magic and reverted to her human form.

“You two, stop right there,” Shay called out, looking at the two adventurers.

One man and one woman. Judging by their appearance, the woman seemed to be a mage. The man had a slightly pale face and didn’t look particularly strong. They were perfect targets for the skeleton knights if they entered the mansion.

Shay pulled out a gold badge from her pocket and showed it to them.

“This place is dangerous. Turn back.”

Despite Shay’s warning, the two adventurers remained still, exchanging words with each other.

“Sir Dambi, it seems this is the rat Lady Celia mentioned.”

A rat? And who was Celia? Shay wore a puzzled expression. There wasn’t enough time to understand the situation. Before she could react, the male adventurer’s hand pierced through her torso.

“Gah!”

Shay coughed up blood from the sudden attack.

“W-what are you—”

As her consciousness faded, she saw the man’s face, particularly his sharp fangs. He wasn’t human.

“V-vampire…”

That was Shay’s last word. Her body collapsed like a discarded shell as the man withdrew his hand.

“Lils, let’s take care of the remaining rats.”

“Understood, Sir Dambi.”

With that, the two continued their steps toward the mansion.

The once noisy mansion was once again enveloped in silence.

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***

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The early morning in the Sael Kingdom was as peaceful as ever. The only difference was the presence of Sael Kingdom soldiers surrounding a particular mansion. Naturally, this drew a crowd.

“Huh? What’s going on? Why are there so many soldiers?”

“I heard a thief broke into the mansion overnight.”

“Really? Wow, whoever tried to rob that huge mansion must be pretty bold.”

“Isn’t that the mansion of the person from those rumors? They say he became rich, so I guess that’s why this happened.”

The story of a thief breaking into the mansion of the rumored wealthy individual spread quickly. As the tale spread, the adventurers’ hearts burned with the desire for treasure.

Meanwhile, the soldiers were investigating the break-in and guarding the mansion. At that moment, a woman in a robe approached the mansion. A soldier raised his spear to stop her.

“Sorry, you can’t enter this area.”

However, the woman pulled out an emblem from the White Order from her pocket. Not just any emblem, but that of an Inquisitor. The soldier’s expression turned to one of shock.

“Oh, my apologies!”

Inquisitors had the authority to investigate across national boundaries. While their jurisdiction was typically related to heresy, that detail was often overlooked. Simply claiming suspicion of heretical activity was enough to justify their investigation. It was unthinkable for an ordinary soldier to obstruct such a figure. Fearing repercussions, the soldier quickly stepped aside.

“Thank you.”

the woman said, leaving a word of gratitude as she walked through the mansion’s garden.

She stopped at a particular spot.

“…The smell of blood.”

There was nothing visible on the ground, but a faint scent of blood lingered. She placed her hand on the floor, and a holy aura emanated from her palm.

“I can sense the traces of a vampire.”

She closed her eyes, feeling the aura. These were no ordinary vampire traces.

“As expected, this must be the work of Baalzerith.”

Her identity was none other than Jeremia El Esteban, an Inquisitor of the White Order, driven by a singular mission to capture Baalzerith.

“The inn murder case, the Yenarian Lake, and now the capital.”

Jeremiah retraced her steps in the pursuit of Baalzerith. It began with the inn murder case, where dozens of bandits, including their leader, were found shriveled and dead—a clear act of a vampire. Next, she discovered that someone suspected to be Baalzerith had been at Yenarian Lake. And now, she was here.

“Tsk, such a filthy ability, using blood,” Jeremiah clicked her tongue.

The mansion reeked of a strong scent of blood. “They used blood to subdue their opponent.”

While she couldn’t determine exactly what had happened inside, it was clear that blood had been used to handle something. A vampire capable of manipulating blood to this extent could only be Baalzerith. Jeremiah slowly scanned the mansion.

“I will find you one day, and you will pay the price,” she vowed, turning to leave the mansion.

The mansion fell silent once more.

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***

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“Hmm? Who is talking about me?”

Baalzerith, who was diligently planting carnivorous tentacle plants outside the dungeon, suddenly felt her ears itch and paused her work.

“Well, it probably has nothing to do with me.”

The only ones looking for him would be from the Demon Merchant Association. Baalzerith continued her peaceful day.