The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 161

EP.161 The Ghoul with Solitude

In the eerie darkness, a flickering flame from an old candlestick cast a ghostly glow. Following the light revealed a staircase leading to the basement of a shabby building. Descending the stairs and passing through a narrow, long corridor, an ominous room filled with cobwebs came into view. The air was thick with the smell of mold and dampness. In the center of the room stood an old, rickety wooden table, eaten away and cracked in places.

Around the table sat two figures. They were members of “Eclipse,” a group of dark wizards yearning for the resurrection of the evil god. At the head of the table sat Sharia, the young leader of Eclipse. Beneath her black robes, her red eyes gleamed. Despite her young age, she possessed exceptional talent as a dark wizard, leading this shadowy organization. She gazed intently at the table with a serious and cautious look.

“The path we’ve walked has never been smooth. But the arduous trial before us now is more crucial than ever. Isn’t that right?”

Sharia’s gaze was fixed on a piece of bread on the table. The bread was hard, covered in mold, and emitted a musty odor. While it would be repulsive to an ordinary person, to Sharia, it appeared as sweet hope. She swallowed hard and looked at the red-haired man beside her.

“Hey, Lucas… Can’t we just have a little bit of that bread?”

The man she addressed was Lucas, the vice-leader of Eclipse. With his red hair, he had a cold demeanor and firmly shook his head despite Sharia’s desperate gaze.

“No, Leader. We must endure this level of hardship to resurrect the evil god. Besides, even at this moment, our members are out there desperately begging. It wouldn’t be right for us to indulge in this feast.”

Sharia nodded, swallowing her disappointment at Lucas’s cold demeanor. Indeed, once a name that struck fear across the continent, Eclipse had now fallen to a state where even moldy bread was a blessing. They dreamed of resurrecting the evil god more than anyone, but the harsh reality was that they didn’t even have food for today. Perhaps even the White Order had forgotten about Eclipse.

To soothe her melancholy, Sharia brought up a new topic. There was a specific reason why Eclipse, which had been lying low and silent, had convened a meeting after so long. It was because of a certain rumor.

“By the way, Lucas, have you heard the rumors lately? They say there’s a dungeon full of treasures… Do you think it’s true?”

Her eyes sparkled with longing. Among the adventurers of the Sael Kingdom, rumors about treasure were spreading. The rumor was that a dungeon in the Silent Mountains was filled with a vast amount of treasure. As the leader of Eclipse, struggling with financial difficulties, it was natural for her to be interested in such rumors. If the treasure was real and they could obtain it, perhaps the crumbling Eclipse could be revived. This could also hasten the resurrection of their great evil god!

However, Lucas’s response was cold.

“Leader, it’s probably just a baseless rumor. Even if it were true, the Sael Kingdom is currently under the watchful eye of the Order. They would likely be interested in this rumor as well. The risk is too great.”

“Is that so…?”

Sharia’s face darkened for a moment. As Lucas said, the White Order was currently keeping an eye on the Sael Kingdom.

‘Queen Elena…’

Queen Elena, hailed as the birth of a new saint, was also the ruler of the Sael Kingdom, making it natural for the White Order to be interested. As a result, there was a high possibility that priests or inquisitors would be dispatched within the kingdom.

‘In the end, they’ll become puppets of the Order.’

Given the situation, entering the Sael Kingdom was tantamount to walking into their own deaths. Inquisitors were known to be the worst enemies of dark wizards. Moreover, the Order was no fool. They would undoubtedly be monitoring this rumor and controlling the mountains adjacent to the Sael Kingdom.

Just as Sharia was about to give up with a look of regret, Lucas continued speaking.

“…But still, it’s worth attempting at least once. Nurturing the seed of possibility is the very reason for Eclipse’s existence.”

If they did nothing, the possibility would endlessly converge to zero. However, the moment they took action, even a small chance would arise. After all, Eclipse had gathered with the possibility of resurrecting the evil god.

“And if we avoid it out of fear of the Order, it would tarnish the reputation of our evil god.”

At Lucas’s words, a bright smile reappeared on Sharia’s face. Her mind was now filled with thoughts of finding the treasure.

‘If we find the treasure… yes!’

If they could find the treasure, they would be greeted with abundance and hope instead of moldy starvation. More importantly, they could get closer to the dream of resurrecting their great evil god!

‘Someday, I will bring the evil god to this place!’

Sharia dreamed of a hopeful future. Although they were currently in a situation where even moldy bread was precious, her heart was always filled with faith and passion. A gentle smile appeared on both Sharia’s and Lucas’s faces. The reality of their hunger, the shaky table, and the gloomy underground space didn’t matter. They had a firm and grand dream.

Thus, the two dark wizards harbored the brightest and hottest hope in their damp and dreary underground hideout. Smelling the mold and looking at the rotten bread, they were already envisioning the glorious moment when the evil god would awaken. For that day, they had to head to the Silent Mountains as soon as possible.

The flame of the old candlestick flickered in their eyes. Small, yet a flame of hope that would never be extinguished.

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Meanwhile, in the Silent Mountains, a procession of skeletons and ghouls stretched endlessly. The sight of skeletal figures and eerie ghouls walking in a line evoked the image of a death march. However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that they clutched small pouches instead of weapons. If anyone were to witness this scene, they might think these creatures were transporting something important, given the overwhelming atmosphere.

As the wind blew, the pouches slightly opened, revealing the glittering items inside. The pouches were filled with a vast amount of gold coins and jewels. The creatures continued to march, carrying the pouches full of gold coins, until they eventually stopped.

“Clink-clank.”

The leader of the death march, Necros, halted. Necros pointed somewhere with his hand. There lay the corpse of an adventurer. Without hesitation, Necros rummaged through the corpse’s pockets.

“Clink!”

When gold coins emerged, Necros’s expression brightened. He quickly placed the gold coins into a pouch held by a skeleton. Of course, Necros didn’t keep them all for himself. He handed some of the gold coins to the Death Knight beside him, strengthening the bond of friendship among the undead.

The Death Knight, having received the gold coins, called his subordinate ghouls. In terms of transporting gold coins, ghouls were overwhelmingly efficient. Despite their decayed skin, they still had flesh, allowing them to hide gold coins within their bodies, making them far more efficient than skeletons who could only carry pouches.

“……”

However, it wasn’t long before the Death Knight’s expression subtly changed. His gaze, fixed on the ghouls, sharpened.

“……”

Sensing something amiss, Necros approached.

“Clink-clank?”

(What’s wrong?)

“……”

In response to Necros’s question, the Death Knight nodded, pointing at the ghouls. Realization dawned on Necros’s face, turning serious.

“Clink-clank?”

(One is missing?)

One of the ghouls following them was nowhere to be seen. Moreover, it was the ghoul carrying the Death Knight’s secret stash. Necros and the Death Knight began to ponder seriously. Where could it have disappeared to? They didn’t even consider the possibility of betrayal. The ghouls involved were all created by the Death Knight himself, making betrayal impossible.

After a moment of contemplation, Necros moved his jaw.

“Clink. Clink-clank.”

(Let it go. We can keep collecting gold coins.)

“……”

The Death Knight agreed with his words. They could always earn more gold coins. Having wandered around for days collecting gold coins, they didn’t feel much regret. The same went for the ghoul. With adventurers flocking to the mountains, losing one ghoul was no big deal. If they needed more ghouls, they could simply kill passing adventurers and create new ones.

However, they recognized the need to learn from this incident and establish measures to prevent repeating the same mistake.

“Clink-clank. Clink!”

Under Necros’s command, the skeletons and ghouls began moving in pairs. This marked the birth of the first undead buddy system.

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“Guooor?”

A lone ghoul was left crying by itself. Where was this place? The ghoul was confused by the current situation. It thought it had been following the procession well, but when it came to its senses, it found itself alone.

“Guoooor.”

In the distance, it faintly sensed the aura of its master, the Death Knight, who exuded death. The ghoul began to walk aimlessly. If it followed that aura, perhaps it could rejoin the procession eventually.

“Guoo?”

While walking, the ghoul discovered a human lying on the ground. The person seemed to be unconscious but still alive. The ghoul immediately took action. It reached out and rummaged through the unconscious human’s belongings. This habit had been ingrained in it after following the Death Knight and Necros for days.

“Ugh, where am I…?”

As it was searching, the adventurer regained consciousness. However, the first thing the adventurer saw was the ghoul’s horrifying appearance.

“Ahhh!!”

The adventurer was so shocked that they fainted again.

“Guooor…”

The ghoul continued to rummage through the adventurer’s belongings.

The coins from the human’s belongings sparkled in the ghoul’s palm. Although there were no gold coins, only silver and copper ones, the ghoul held them tightly. After looking around, it began to shove all the coins into its mouth. The ghoul’s body was already storing a lot of money.

With a light step, the ghoul started moving again. The forest was vast. As it walked through the forest, it noticed a creature crawling on the ground. The ghoul stared at the creature, and a thought came to mind.

“Guooor.”

It remembered seeing a vampire named Aren in Area 3 holding a similar creature and saying, “Long friend!” before bringing it to his mouth.

“Guoooor…”

(Long friend…)

Of course, there was a big difference between the long creature Aren held and the one the ghoul was holding. The long friend the ghoul had was much more colorful, and its multiple fangs looked terrifying. Despite its dangerous appearance, the ghoul was unfazed. It immediately grabbed the long creature and shoved it into its mouth.

With the ferocious snake monster now inside its body, the ghoul continued to move. Soon, it discovered another creature, which also triggered a memory. Aren had once said, “Squirrel friend is a tasty friend!” while holding a similar creature.

“Guooor…”

(Squirrel friend…)

However, the squirrel the ghoul held looked very different from the one in its memory. This squirrel was entirely green and had bright red eyes.

“Kyaaa-!”

The creature bit the ghoul’s hand in resistance. Although its hand was covered in strange green liquid, the ghoul felt no pain. Being undead, it couldn’t feel anything.

“Guooor.”

The ghoul shoved the biting squirrel(?) into its mouth as well. It continued to move, swallowing coins and creatures indiscriminately. However, the ghoul was unaware that the creatures it had swallowed were fighting and devouring each other inside its body.