Episode 12 Gluttony Flies (1)
Droopy Cerberus.
Greasy saliva and feces flow out of three mouths and one anus.
at the same time.
Tsutsutsutsutsutsu……
Right after Cerberus died, the spirit that was plucked out of his body dwelled in Vikir’s whole body.
This mysterious energy, called karma, experience, etc., makes the body and spirit of those who defeat monsters even more noble.
“It must be difficult to carry.”
Bikir tried to move Cerberus’ corpse, but gave up.
And they decided to leave Cerberus’ corpse alone here.
Anyway, the cause of death of Cerberus was clear, and there were many guide dogs who saw Bikir shaving a wooden spear in this hideout, so there were many people who could prove it.
So, all you have to do is remove a few important parts and entrails and bury them in a secret place.
……More than anything.
“It’s not that important right now.”
Vikir peered over Cerberus’ corpse into the deep waters he had come from.
Cerberus is basically a gatekeeper-type monster born with the habit of defending his territory.
Regardless of whether he was pushed all the way here by the barbarians, it was clear that there was probably a ‘dungeon’ guarded by Cerberus nearby.
A dungeon is a cave-like place that holds treasures that are usually the target of adventurers, but most of them are also habitats for powerful high-ranking monsters.
“Cerberus is dead, so it’s likely empty.”
In general, monsters are attracted to strong demonic energy, so there was a high possibility that relics with strong demonic energy existed in the dungeon where Cerberus was.
After all, Cerberus isn’t a monster that can live roughly in any tunnel.
Bikir searched the outside of the borders, keenly alerted to the usual spirit of Baskerville’s hounds.
Hellhound and quite a few monsters fled far away just by lightly smearing Cerberus’ feces on their bodies.
The hunter’s eyes trace back the footprints and drool marks of Cerberus, buried in the withered soil, rotten leaves, damp roots, and gloomy darkness.
As I crawled through the bottom of dead thorn trees and burnt-out roots and collapsed old trees, the depths of the flood were soon revealed.
Dungeon.
It was a low-lying crypt between large mounds of earth.
From above, it is embroidered in an exquisite position so as to be inconspicuous.
It was not made by Cerberus, and it is assumed that it has been there for quite some time.
Of course, this place was also a place in Bikir’s memory. It will be discovered in the next 10 years or so.
“…but it seems like it was an empty dungeon back then.”
But now it is different.
The smell of demons hidden behind the rotten smell.
An inexperienced hound might miss it, but Bikir managed to take it.
…clattering!
Bikir broke the parched mound and swept down the slope with earth and sand.
Eventually, you will see a dungeon made of reddish soil and rocks.
A vein of ruby protruded out of the mound, as if it was connected to the Red Awl Mountain, a tributary of the Red and Black Mountains.
As I entered the darkness of the cave, I saw a deep, winding passageway.
A place so dark and deep that you have to feel it with your hands.
But surprisingly, the inside of the dungeon was wide and bright.
There was a fairly spacious stone chamber, and a ruby stone the size of a fist protruded around it, emitting a twilight red light.
A stone chamber stained red like blood by ruby light.
Bikir looked at his own shadow that was cast on the wall of the stone chamber.
“…A dungeon with nothing in it.”
The stone chamber was just empty.
No, it wasn’t very empty.
At the end of the place where Bikir’s long shadow reached, a skeleton was scattered.
A skeleton with bones all over its body cut and broken as if it had been stabbed by a knife.
Looking closely, the inside of the ruby-colored stone chamber is covered in blood.
Judging by the brown, dried bloodstains, it must have been a very long time.
yet. Bikir found a page of handwriting written on the side of the skull.
First of all, it’s okay if it’s something like my name. I’ll just call him ‘Gain’.
Do I really need to stain this pure white paper with my name?
After thinking about it several times, I write down a few characters for the purpose of preventing future generations from making the same mistake as me.
It was an unusual diary from the start.
Bikir continued to read the text, relying on the color of red blood.
After some time, Vikir noticed that these letters were written in a script descended from the Baskervilles.
“Are they the ancestors of Baskerville?”
It was a reasonable inference.
This stone chamber is an ancient dungeon that has been talked about as a legend within the family. My brother and I accidentally discovered this place, went through countless trials to explore it, and finally reached the ‘last room’ here.
It turns out that this dungeon once had a fairly tough difficulty level.
Although now it remains only as an empty and lonely crypt.
And it is presumed that the person who wrote this memoir and the skeleton scattered here must have been twin brothers.
My brother and I killed countless monsters and arrived at this place.
However, the last task we received in this stone chamber kept our brothers on their feet. For a whopping 3 years!
Bikir raised his head.
What is the ‘task’ I am talking about?
The question was soon resolved.
It was because I could see the writings engraved on the stone wall in the direction where the skeleton’s skull was facing.
‘One comes in, two come in, one goes out.’
It was a strange riddle.
Bikir looked at the notes again.
My sister and I pondered over this gloomy phrase for a long time.
However, considering that this dungeon has been passed down as a legend in the Baskerville family, the meaning is clear.
me and my brother Doesn’t that mean only one of them can achieve what they want in this dungeon?
Twin brothers who entered the dungeon.
They were originally one when they were conceived in their mother’s womb, but split into two when they came out into the world.
And to get what they want out of this dungeon, they must become one again.
Realistically, the bodies of the twins could not be joined as one, so they had to kill each other to remain as one whole.
It is the custom of the Baskerville family to instigate rivalry between siblings.
The two brothers started fighting each other for a long time, and the match ended with the death of the younger brother.
“Then, does the younger brother here become ‘Abel’?”
Cain and Abel.
The older brother who had to kill his younger brother to receive the ‘choice’.
Bikir thought as he looked at the skeletons scattered on the floor.
A skeleton that was almost weathered even in a windless stone chamber, no matter how long it had been dead.
However, the content of the manuscript was quite unexpected.
I killed my brother after a fierce battle. Now, I am the only one left in this stone chamber.
However, despite this, there was no change in the stone chamber.
A handicraft that gradually becomes colored with madness.
The handwriting also became more and more crooked, and in the end, I had to understand the meaning of the letters at an almost decipherable level.
Even though it was obviously two to one, I didn’t get anything!
You can’t get out without getting anything!
nothing! nothing!
However, as for the last handwriting, it was returned in a neat handwriting, probably written after a long time had passed.
I’ll stop wasting time and get out of here.
If there are brave descendants who will visit this place in the distant future, I would like to recommend it.
get out of here right now
It is said that nothing can be obtained in this devil’s den, which only deceives and mocks people.
In the end, what Sugi wanted to say was clear.
He passed through all the barriers and came here, but it was dog hair.
And latecomers are also encouraged to go back the way they came from without losing their strength.
……But Bikir thought differently.
“I’m not a twin.”
Despite the fact that Bikir is not a twin, the content of the assignment is still valid.
That means that Cain and Abel, who were here, misinterpreted the contents of the text.
“When you came in, you were one, but when you came in, you were two, so when you go out, you have to become one again?”
Baskerville looked at the cave behind him.
A jet black without a single light stared at Bikir with its mouth wide open.
And in front of it was a stone chamber stained with blood.
Then Bikir turned and looked at the skull.
What hangs over the end of the skull is its own shadow. shadow!
“……Right.”
Bikir raised his fist.
Then, he smashed the large ruby ore that lit up the stone chamber red with his fist and broke it.
Clink!
When the ruby shatters, the faint magic within it also disappears.
The inside of the stone chamber was plunged into darkness for an instant.
OK.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-kwak!
A strange thing happened.
The stone wall on one side of the stone chamber had collapsed.
The wall was so thick that the thickness alone could reach tens of meters.
It is so large that you would never think of it as a door.
Bikir nodded.
The answer to the riddle was simple.
shadow.
When you enter, you are completely alone in the passage of darkness, but the moment you enter the stone chamber illuminated by ruby light, the shadows separate.
And when the ruby is removed and complete darkness comes, the shadow returns to the body.
When they become one, the final stage of the stone chamber will be opened.
Bikir carefully groped ahead.
Fortunately, the space beyond the stone wall was a flat, single road, and there were no traps.
Cain and Abel would have sorted out the swarming monsters long ago, so all that remains is to check the dungeon’s rewards.
Before long, something cold touched Bikir’s fingertips.
It’s the handle of a sword.
The sword was firmly anchored vertically into the rock, and an inscription was inscribed in front of it.
Bikir fumbled with his fingertips and read the words.
‘Only the blood of the Baskerville family can pull out this ‘……’.’
The text mentions the last name Baskerville and Carl’s first name.
And the moment he learned the name of the knife, a shock like a thunderbolt hit Bikir.
“…Is this an artifact found here?”
