Chapter 405 - 338: [Cruelty]

Chapter 405: Chapter 338: [Cruelty]

"We found it! It’s right ahead!"

"What...?" Haver was stunned.

He cleared away the weeds and bushes in front of him with two slashes of his saber, then pushed aside the remaining branches to look.

The scene before them opened up dramatically.

Before the three of them was a massive, vertical rock face.

The rock face was about a hundred meters high with a jagged, uneven surface, and three caves were carved into it.

The caves were far larger than normal, each over ten meters wide and reaching a height of fifty to sixty meters!

Seeing this, the three couldn’t help but look up in awe.

For a moment, Haver and Sutton’s ulterior motives vanished into thin air.

The light from the Detection Crystal Stone in Old Delli’s hand flickered even more intensely.

"I didn’t expect a place like this to be hidden behind the Ancient Castle."

Sutton surveyed the surroundings. "This should be the place, right?"

"Looks like it," Haver agreed.

"I knew we could find it!"

Old Delli’s face was flushed with excitement, his wrinkles crinkling like a blooming flower. "Boys, we’re going to be rich!"

"Who are you calling ’boy’? Don’t get all high and mighty just because you’re old."

Haver frowned slightly and examined the three caves again.

They were just too massive. Even if intended to make the entrances look grand, it seemed overly exaggerated.

Besides, there was one crucial question...

’Which cave is the light curtain in?’

"Can that stone of yours detect it?" Haver asked, turning his head.

Old Delli raised the Detection Crystal Stone high and waved it in front of all three caves.

However, the frequency and intensity of the flickering didn’t change. It seemed they couldn’t find the right one this way.

"Tch... what a useless rock," Sutton spat on the ground.

Facing these three massive, unknown caves, Haver felt a profound sense of unease.

"Maybe... we should just head back."

After a moment of thought, Haver suggested tentatively, "We’ve found the general location, anyway."

"General location? Did you see the light curtain with your own eyes?"

Sutton scoffed.

"You’re not planning to just mark on the map, ’Hey fellas, there are three big holes here, but you’ll have to find which one has the light curtain yourselves. Good luck,’ are you?"

"Would you buy a guide like that if it was sold to you?"

A greedy light gleamed in Sutton’s eyes.

"Besides... if we can find the light curtain ourselves and be the first ones down to the third floor, who knows what other wonderful surprises we might find."

"I was just thinking about our safety..." Haver tried to argue.

"Then you can go back right now."

Sutton crossed his arms and shot Haver a sideways glance.

"When we sell the guide, you’ll get the smallest cut. And don’t even think about getting a share of whatever we find on the third floor."

Haver’s expression turned conflicted. He glanced at Old Delli beside him.

Old Delli didn’t seem very scared either.

He was still flushed with excitement, seemingly eager to go inside the caves and take a look.

The phrase "fortune favors the bold" began to echo in his mind.

"Fine...!"

After a brief moment of deliberation, Haver finally made up his mind. "Then let’s go in and take a look!"

...

The three of them chose the centermost cave.

Haver took the lead, with Sutton and Old Delli following behind him.

It was dark inside the cave. The rock walls weren’t embedded with Fluorite, and they hadn’t brought any torches with them.

The light from outside only illuminated the first few dozen meters of the passage. Any deeper, and it became pitch-dark.

The "DRIP, DROP" of falling water echoed around them.

The pitch-black environment, where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, combined with the extremely high ceiling and wide passage, only amplified their fear.

After walking a little further, Haver, who had been forcing himself to stay calm, finally couldn’t take it anymore.

He felt like he was walking down a tunnel leading into the gaping, bloody maw of some giant beast.

"Should we keep going? Maybe we should really call it quits this time, wait until we’re better equipped..."

But before he could finish his sentence, a sudden chill ran down Haver’s spine.

Because in the deep, dark recesses of the cave ahead, two cold points of light suddenly appeared.

That wasn’t the glow of Fluorite or some special mineral... it was a creature opening its eyes!

Haver could clearly see, within the light, black vertical pupils slowly contracting and focusing!

As the eyes opened, an overwhelming, tyrannical presence surged forward like a tidal wave!

Then, four more identical cold lights burst forth.

The monster lurking in the darkness actually had three heads!

Three pairs of enormous, cold, vertical pupils materialized in the depths of the cave, staring intently at Haver.

Awe and terror exploded in his heart.

He couldn’t even manage a terrified scream; the muscles in his throat had seized up. Haver immediately acted on his most primal instinct.

Run!

But just as he turned, a solid kick landed squarely on his chest.

Haver’s eyes met Sutton’s.

Sutton’s eyes were filled with utter indifference.

When you’re in danger, you don’t have to run faster than the tiger, you just have to run faster than your friends.

Caught completely off guard, Haver was knocked back several steps by Sutton’s kick and fell to the ground.

At the same time, the Demon in the depths of the cave began to move.

A foul, gusting wind swept toward them as the creature closed in on the group at extreme speed!

Having fallen to the ground, Haver quickly collided with it.

The Demon’s advance was slightly hindered.

"AHHHH... CRUNCH!!!"

Haver’s desperate screams came to an abrupt end, followed by the crisp sound of chewing from the depths of the cave.

’Damn it!’

Sutton, who had kicked Haver away, was also filled with shock and horror.

He hadn’t expected such a sudden turn of events.

He had originally planned for Haver to hold up the Demon for a while.

’How did he die so quickly?’

Everything happened extremely quickly. After kicking Haver, Sutton’s hand was already on the short saber at his waist, which he kept for self-defense.

Without a second thought, he drew the blade and performed a Vortex Slash, aiming for Old Delli beside him.

’Since you’re so hungry, I’ll leave one more person for you to eat!’

’The more you eat, the more time I’ll have to escape!’

However, his sure-hit slash struck nothing but air.

At some point, Old Delli had already vanished from Sutton’s side.

From behind him came the SWOOSH of a retracting mechanism.

Sutton whipped his head around to see Old Delli being rapidly pulled backward toward the cave entrance by a black thread wrapped around his waist!

’An Assassin’s device!’

’When did he set that up...? How did I not even notice?!’

Sutton’s heart leaped in shock.

But there was no time to think about that now.

He also turned tail and ran for the cave’s exit.

After chewing Haver to pieces, the Demon continued its attack.

The threat of death closed in from behind!

The light of the entrance was close...!

Only a few dozen meters left!

The final few dozen meters!

’Give me five seconds, and I can make it out!’ ℴ

In this life-or-death crisis, Sutton burst forward with speed far exceeding his usual pace.

But then came the WHOOSH WHOOSH of something slicing through the air.

Excruciating pain shot up from his foot, and Sutton fell to the ground.

He tried to force himself up, but a Flying Saber thrown by Old Delli was lodged deep in his ankle.

"Old Delli...! You bastard!!!"

Sutton’s eyes were wide with fury as he reached a hand out toward Old Delli.

At the border between light and shadow, Old Delli’s previously defenseless expression had vanished.

A cold sneer flashed across his face.

The device, similar to a Hooked Rope Spear, retracted extremely quickly—even faster than running—and Old Delli soon reached the cave entrance.

At the same time, the Demon from the depths of the cave reached Sutton.

A great, bloody maw opened, and in a single instant, it swallowed Sutton’s vicious curses along with his body.

The horrifying sound of crunching rang out once more.

By the faint light, and thanks to his vast experience, Old Delli instantly recognized what kind of Demon it was.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he ripped the device from where it was anchored at the cave mouth and bolted toward the forest.

Only after confirming that the terrifying presence would not rush out of the cave to pursue him did Old Delli finally stop.

He collapsed onto his rear, gasping for air, his eyes filled with lingering fear and shock.

’That was a goddamn trip to hell and back...’

Old Delli took a deep breath.

’That Demon just now... there’s no way I could be mistaken.’

A [Cruelty]-rated Demon, the Nine-headed Dragon Snake!

...

「Sengu Town.」

Pushing the shop door open, a wind chime hanging at the entrance tinkled.

Shopkeeper Mary, who was polishing a Crystal Bottle, looked toward the door.

The seductive smile that instinctively appeared on her face froze after barely forming.

The black-robed young man, backlit by the sun streaming in, walked to the counter.

"Hello, Shopkeeper Mary."

Zelir smiled and greeted Shopkeeper Mary. "We meet again."