WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈
Chapter 75: Dungeon (3)
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The pirates clung to their loot until the very end. Because of that, they had less room to move and met their deaths even sooner.
“Ugh... Someone, help...”
Thud!
Eugene’s men trampled over the dead pirates as they finished off the survivors.
At the gruesome sight, the priests of Rasta Monastery made the sign of the cross and prayed.
“Watch over the souls of those brave warriors, so the smell of blood may fade from them.”
They prayed for the souls of the relief force that had stained their hands with blood in their place.
The besieging force had been wiped out, but the monastery was still in danger.
“You can feel the sinister energy inside, can’t you?”
“Yes. It wasn’t this strong before the battle began...”
Marbas and Eugene sensed evil energy leaking from the monastery.
“We’ll collect the spoils later.”
Eugene hurried through the wide-open gates.
“We wiped out the pirates already. Can’t we take our time? There’s plenty to pick up.”
“Shut up and move.”
Only a few members of Eugene’s army knew about the monastery’s dungeon. The rest were puzzled, but quietly followed orders.
“You don’t think the priests would touch our spoils, do you?”
“That’s true.”
Trusting that the loot would still be there when they returned, the mercenaries’ steps grew lighter.
* * *
Rasta Monastery felt more like a barracks than a monastery, as befitted a place sealing a dungeon. Every priest had the body of a trained warrior.
Silver weapons hung from racks along the walls and corridors.
Everything in the monastery had been prepared for battle against evil enemies. Not invaders from outside, but the danger they kept sealed within.
Tap. Tap.
Rex tapped a silver sword twice with his finger, lifted it slightly to judge its weight, then put it back.
“It’s a silver-plated sword. The silver content is high, too.”
“You can tell that so easily?”
“Of course, Sir Knight. If you want to grab the most valuable things for their size while looting, you need to know their value on the spot.”
A true looter really was something else.
“Still, I can understand why they keep this place so closed off.”
Apart from the weapons, Rex was impressed by the silver ornaments visible everywhere. They were all symbols with religious significance.
“Silver itself has the power to drive away evil spiritual energy. Simply placing it around is enough to create an effect close to a barrier.”
A large rectangular stone slab stood in one part of the monastery. Judging by the densely engraved names, it appeared to be a memorial.
‘They shall be remembered until the end of the world.’
That was the inscription written upon it.
“Were these people killed fighting monsters that came out of the dungeon?”
“No. If that had been the case, it would at least have been noble.”
Marbas wore a troubled expression at Eugene’s question.
“Long ago, warriors of the faith gathered and formed a massive expeditionary force.”
“Did they go on a crusade to the holy lands?”
Modern priests considered shedding blood over holy lands the height of foolishness.
But in the past, when faith was rigid and fierce fanaticism ran rampant, several great religious wars had taken place.
“The target they sought to conquer was far more terrible and pointless.”
“Don’t tell me.”
Anyone with sense could guess where that expeditionary force had gone.
“People in the past understood little about the mysteries of the world. What do you think the Church of the Absolute believed when it saw holes opening deep into the earth, with evil creatures crawling out of them?”
“They tried to purify them in the name of God.”
“The summoners of the time all tried to stop them. They said those holes were no different from natural disasters, and that sealing them was the best course.”
Marbas sighed.
“Their advice was ignored, and a massive expedition departed in the name of a holy war. Knights of religious orders and priests descended into the depths below.”
“I can guess the outcome.”
“Most vanished, and every one of the few who returned had gone mad.”
Bottomless pits that plunged endlessly into the abyss. There was no glory or wealth to be found there. Only evil beings and darkness stretching on forever.
That was why dungeons were never mentioned in epics of knights, even those that featured every kind of monster.
* * *
“Welcome, brave warriors. I am Benedict, the abbot of this monastery.”
Boom!
A loud noise rang out before the greeting had even ended. Despite the great victory, the abbot’s face was tense.
“Please forgive me for not receiving you properly. Something is wrong beyond the sealing door.”
The sealing door, blessed by a saint long ago, was bound in chains. The holy energy emanating from it had weakened.
Boom!
The door shook as though it might break apart.
Clink. Clink.
The chains trembled as if they could no longer bear the terrible thing contained within.
“...”
Without needing an explanation, Eugene’s subordinates realized the situation was not over. The chatter stopped, and everyone steadied their breathing.
“This has never happened before. But suddenly, just a little while ago...”
“Evil is drawn to greater evil. The resentment carried by the hundreds of pirates as they died was drawn here. It must have weakened the seal and called forth the evil thing lurking in the depths.”
‘Is this because of me?’
Eugene’s expression hardened as he listened to the abbot and Marbas.
“This isn’t your fault, Sir Eugene! If you hadn’t dealt with the pirates, they would have entered the monastery and broken the sealing door themselves, believing there was treasure inside!”
Andrew hurriedly defended Eugene.
“Sir Andrew is right. The seal had grown old, so it was only a matter of time before this happened...”
Boom!
Crack!
Marbas’s words were drowned out by the sound of the sealing door breaking. Everyone felt a deathly chill flow from the gap.
Crash!
At last, the door burst fully open.
Dozens of writhing figures emerged from the darkness and entered the monastery. They were Wights, the lowest-tier undead.
“Oh, God!”
“No!”
The monks, who had prepared to fight with firm expressions, stared in horror.
The Wights wore the same clothing as them. The weapons they carried and the religious symbols around their necks were the same as well.
“They’re the expeditionary force that departed in the name of that holy war.”
Had he expected this? Marbas spoke calmly.
Though the Wights had been dead for centuries, their bodies had barely decayed. It was likely due to the chill of the world of the dead filling the depths below.
“Grrrgh...”
“Grrrk...”
Growls echoed from lifeless throats. The priests, who had bravely faced even more dangerous battles, twisted their faces in anguish.
This was the true end that had awaited their predecessors in faith, who had been recorded as noble sacrifices. Contrary to what they had learned, they were merely the wretched dead who had fallen into corruption.
“Fire!”
At Eugene’s command, bolts and arrows swept forward like a hailstorm of steel.
The Wights could not withstand being shot at close range in such a narrow space, and fell one after another.
Grrrrr...
But Wights continued pouring out from the pit.
More importantly, a pair of red eyes burned in the darkness. They radiated an entirely different level of pressure.
“Damn it! It’s a death knight!”
Even the mercenaries who had remained calm before the Wights screamed.
The black surcoat marked with religious symbols was ripped and worn down until it looked like rags.
Its iron armor was rusted and damaged, but the mercenaries instinctively knew they could never pierce it, no matter how much they attacked.
Even those unfamiliar with the mysteries could feel the magic of Hell radiating from the armor.
“This can’t be.”
Andrew muttered, his face twisted in grief.
A Hospitaller knight dressed like himself had been corrupted into the worst kind of monster and was staring at a successor from a distant future.
* * *
A knight was someone who lived closer to death than anyone else. Some who were spiritually sensitive caught glimpses of the mysteries tied to life and death while fighting desperate battles.
When such a knight died carrying powerful resentment, they sometimes rejected death and rose again based on the understanding they had gained in life.
A death knight born that way became a disaster for all living things.
“Damn. We didn’t bring silver arrows.”
Rex and the tribal warriors had expected an ordinary pirate hunt, so they had prepared plenty of regular arrows.
“They’re coming! Raise your shields properly!”
“Bring every last one!”
While the mercenaries in the front fought the Wights, those in the rear gathered the silver weapons hanging throughout the monastery.
“W-wait!”
The priests finally came to their senses at the sight of outsiders stripping away the monastery’s treasures.
“Hey! Those belong to our monastery...”
“You’ve all been standing around in a daze, so aren’t we the ones stepping in?!”
The priests had nothing to say and bit their lips.
“Don’t engage the death knight. I’ll handle that bastard.”
The energy it radiated surpassed even the Guardian knight Eugene had fought before. He knew the mercenaries would be slaughtered if they rushed in.
Thud!
“W-what kind of strength is that?!”
A mercenary who blocked a Wight’s mace with a shield staggered. It would have been dangerous if a companion had not protected them immediately.
“They aren’t ordinary Wights!”
“Anyone without a silver sword, fall back!”
Even with supporting fire from the tribal warriors, the combat priests and mercenaries struggled.
“Look at their arms! They’re thicker than ours!”
Ordinary Wights were usually made from low-ranking soldiers or refugees.
But these ones had been warriors who joined a holy war. They had powerful bodies and were all heavily armed.
If not for Marbas’s support, several people would already have died.
“Pitiful dead, follow my guidance. Seek the final fragment of memory within your souls!”
When Marbas completed his spell, the Wights at the front swinging their weapons hesitated.
Eyes that had burned with hatred for the living swept over their own bodies.
Clang!
Clatter!
Weapons fell from their twisted hands.
“Uuuugh...”
“Uaaah...”
The Wights clutched their heads and howled in pain. Some knelt and placed their trembling hands together in a posture of prayer.
Thump.
Thud.
Many of the Wights struck by Marbas’s magic fell like puppets with their strings cut.
“I briefly revived their memories from when they lived as people of faith. The most dangerous enemy can lie within.”
Turn Undead.
There were two kinds of magic that destroyed undead returned from death.
One was used by high-ranking priests, a straightforward method that eradicated evil with holy power.
Summoners, on the other hand, turned undead souls against themselves. They appealed to the conscience and beliefs the undead had held in life, causing them to collapse on their own and find rest.
Its power was less stable than the method used by high-ranking priests, but in a situation like this, it was exceptionally effective.
“Excellent, summoner!”
The abbot nodded as the number of Wights was cut in half. Unlike blasphemous mages, summoners had always been reliable allies of the monks.
But it did not work on the death knight.
Whoosh!
It swung its sword and split apart the magic rushing toward it.
“It’s moving!”
“I see it.”
Eugene had not joined the battle, keeping his attention fixed on the death knight the entire time.
It looked over the Wights falling all around it, then slowly made the sign of the cross. The movement was the same, but it held only praise for evil.
“Why does an evil being make the sign of the cross? Your duty has already ended. Do not dishonor God any further.”
The death knight did not stop its hand, no matter how the abbot shouted. Evil energy rapidly gathered around it.
Rumble.
The silver ornaments throughout the monastery shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Clink.
Twitch. Twitch.
Seeing the fallen Wights begin to rise, Eugene charged without hesitation.
The silver blade of Last Autumn flashed like lightning.
Bang!
The Aether-forged sword, filled with monstrous strength, carried power that even the death knight could not ignore.
Thud!
Thump!
As the unholy sign of the cross was interrupted, the Wights that had begun to rise fell one after another.
The strongest knight among the living and the strongest knight among the dead.
Both swung swords, but the sounds of their collisions went beyond anything swords should produce.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Either blow held enough power to split an ordinary person apart in a single strike.
“No one come near! You’ll only get in the way!”
Eugene shouted at Haind, Andrew, and the tribal knights who were about to rush in with silver swords.
The space was narrow, and Wight corpses lay scattered everywhere, hindering movement.
It was difficult to surround the enemy, so they would constantly be forced into one-on-one fights. The risk of knights dying was too high.
Bang!
The death knight’s sword struck Eugene’s iron shield.
The black evil energy carved into the shield by its rusted blade was immediately washed away.
‘The holy water and blessing are working.’
The shield, soaked in holy water blessed by the abbot, displayed powerful defensive strength.
The death knight attacked several times more often than Eugene. Unlike Eugene, who had limits to his stamina, the enemy did not know fatigue.
But as the Wights were all dealt with, the tide of battle turned.
“Aim for the joints!”
The moment he heard Rex’s shout, Eugene stepped back. Arrows hastily soaked in holy water immediately rained down.
Countless sparks of blue flame scattered as the death knight was struck across its entire body.
Eugene unleashed a fierce assault in that opening. Each time the Aether-forged blade passed, the magic of Hell shattered and the armor became more and more like torn rags.
[Krarr...]
The death knight leaped back, raised its sword, and exploded with evil energy.
It had no chance of winning alone, so it intended to resurrect the Wights quickly, even if it had to overexert itself.
“Damn it!”
The mercenaries shuddered as the heavily armored Wights they had barely brought down began rising all at once.
“Show mercy. Grant the Lord’s warmth to those who cannot repent on their own!”
But the monks’ united prayer scattered the evil power dwelling within the undead.
Thud.
The Wights that had been rising fell face-first once more.
The death knight had left itself open by using too much power, and Eugene landed a blow.
Slash!
The Aether-forged blade severed the death knight’s right arm.
But the enemy was a top-tier monster that possessed both the indifference of the undead and a knight’s combat skill.
Instead of retreating, it kicked off the ground and rammed Eugene.
“Ugh!”
The two tangled together and rolled across the floor. Fortunately, Eugene ended up on top.
He immediately tried to drive the sword in his right hand into the death knight’s neck.
Grab.
The death knight seized the gauntlet on Eugene’s sword hand with its remaining hand.
But it seemed not to know that Eugene had beaten several people to death with his shield as well.
Bang!
The edge of the shield smashed into the death knight’s face. A thunderous sound rang out, and blue flames scattered.
The blessing within the shield transformed part of Eugene’s monstrous strength into a spiritual blow.
[Kyaaaah!]
The death knight was still afraid of the Aether-forged sword, so it did not release Eugene’s sword hand.
“Fine. Let’s see how long you can hold out.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Eugene enthusiastically hammered it with his shield. The unholy breastplate and helmet began to crumple badly out of shape.
Crunch!
Then the helmet was completely crushed, and the death knight went limp.
Eugene felt the corrupted soul dwelling in the armor shatter and scatter.
* * *
“What a truly great victory!”
As Eugene slowly rose to his feet, the monks’ eyes filled with tears.
This was more than a simple battle between a knight and a monster.
Life and death.
Good and evil.
They had witnessed representatives of opposing extremes clash, with light emerging victorious.
As the priests made the sign of the cross, many of the warriors joined them. It was hard to deny the feeling that God loved them and stood with them.
“The stories I heard about you from the Order’s headquarters were not exaggerated. If anything, they understated your greatness. Thank you for saving the soul of our suffering predecessor.”
Andrew approached and offered his deep gratitude.
“It isn’t over yet.”
As he accepted their thanks, Eugene pointed at the collapsed entrance.
They had won a great victory, but a more important task remained. They needed to seal the broken entrance again.
“Leave the rest to me.”
Marbas stepped forward, patting Eugene’s shoulder.
He stared into the black passageway. The others seemed to feel a chill from that hole, but Marbas felt unpleasant heat flowing from it.
“I’ll cut you off from this world forever.”
A debt to Eugene, goodwill toward the monks, a contribution to the world.
Setting all that aside, it was a hole he wanted to seal shut even out of personal resentment.
Footnotes:
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