Chapter 24
"Aah, how long has it been since I've had souls! Now then, shall I have a taste?"
Souls trickled out from the children who had just been turned into dolls. Rodrigo gathered them to fill the wine glass he held and savored the scent.
"How sweet. The Master will be pleased."
"H-Hiek!"
The children turned deathly pale and dropped their toys and dolls. Rodrigo grinned wickedly and declared.
"Now! With this, the first game, 'Random Death Easter Egg,' has concluded! Congratulations to the surviving children!"
"Kyaaah! D-Demon! It's a demon!"
"T-Then this p-place is a dungeon...!"
"It saddens me when you look at me with such terrified eyes. I love children so very much. Let's play together happily, okay?"
"W-We have to r-run... escape...!"
"L-Look, a door! There's a door!"
The children swarmed toward the front door leading outside from the reception hall. However, the door didn't budge.
Rodrigo twirled a key ring on his index finger and smirked.
"Access to this mansion is under my control as the butler. The entrance was closed long ago, and searching for an exit is futile. Count Orshu's mansion is different from other dungeons."
What? A dungeon that doesn't generate exit and entrance gates even without encountering the boss?
Is it real or fake? I can't trust a demon's words.
['The Language that Builds the World' says it's true.]
['The Inspector of Heavenly Secrets Leaks' is startled and pulls out a yellow card.]
Unlike before, the Inspector is reacting intensely.
'Thank you for telling me, Language.'
The fact that exit and entrance gates don't open means hope from both inside and outside is cut off.
Not only is escape from the inside impossible, but it also means rescue forces can't enter from the outside.
In this case, the only way to escape the dungeon is to subdue the boss, Count Orshu.
"S-So we can't leave here? We're all going to die?"
"M-Mom... waaah!"
As the despairing children began crying loudly, Rodrigo shouted with a flushed face.
"Then let's start the second game right away! The next game is... ta-da! Death Hide-and-Seek!"
Three-headed clown dolls poofed into existence in the air.
"It's an easy game where you just have to run and hide from these friends... What? No one's listening to me. This is why brats who just cry... Oh, my! That slipped out. I love children so much! They're delicious!"
"Waaah! They said delicious! I don't want to be eaten!"
"Mama! Papa!"
"Save meeee! Waaaah!"
When the children raised their voices even louder, the noise was tremendous. Rodrigo plugged his ears and stepped back.
"Alright, alright! I'll create one way for you all to return home. So stop crying!"
"R-Really?"
"Yes, yes. You just need to ask the merciful Master. So stop crying and participate in the game with enthusiasm."
Rodrigo drew the seal of a contract.
To demons, contracts are absolute. It began to exert binding force based on the rules of this world.
For me, it was guaranteed in the form of a quest.
[
[
The demon yet merciful master of the mansion, Count Orshu! He has opened a dungeon escape method other than boss subjugation, so bow your head and express gratitude!
Achievement Condition: Become the sole survivor of this dungeon
Success Reward: Survival
Failure Penalty: Death]
[
...The sole survivor.
"The last remaining one will be allowed to leave! So don't give up hope!"
Right, this was how little Tesilid could survive alone in an S-rank dungeon.
"Then I'll count to twenty and we'll start. One, two, twenty!"
"Kyaaah!"
"Who counts numbers like that!"
Numerous clown dolls approached the children and swung their stubby arms.
Slow movements, slow attacks. But in that moment, a bloodbath unfolded.
[
Thanks to that, I came to my senses. Otherwise, I might have used Divine Descent.
"Uwaaah! No!"
"M-Mom... hiek..."
Some children ran into the corridor, some grabbed anything that could be a weapon and swung it, while others turned pale and froze solid.
"Hic!"
Thwack!
"Wake up and either run or fight!"
A clown about to attack a girl faltered when hit by the gift box I threw.
Only then did the girl scramble frantically out of the reception hall.
"You listen to me well. I was being ignored."
Tesilid, who had taken a toy wand as a weapon, confessed bitterly. It seemed she had saved a few children in danger and come back.
I was grateful that someone who could be a fighting force had come to my side on her own.
As expected of a holy knight who would be called the First Sword of the Holy Nation in the distant future—such a devoted knightly spirit.
Swallowing my emotion, I picked up a heavy gift box and said.
"Don't be discouraged. Do you think they can hear anything right now? They're just running on instinct."
"I'm not discouraged. More importantly, do you know that?"
"Know what?"
"You're the only one not being attacked."
"...Huh? Really?"
The clowns were subtly avoiding my vicinity. A stark contrast to how persistently they chased the other children.
Even Tesilid, who radiated divine power, wasn't an exception, but I was?
'These guys must be undead.'
It was clearly because of my passive skill, 'Infamy Resounding Through the Undead World.'
Coincidentally, a skull overlapped on the white face of a clown flying nearby, and when it attacked the children, a fearsome scythe revealed an afterimage from its blunt hands.
Mid-tier undead, Grim Reaper. That was the true identity of the clown dolls.
A fortunate thing. At this point in time, the protagonist would only have awakened divine power, and undead were especially vulnerable to divine power.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.
'Wait? Then did Tesilid stick by my side to use me as a shield?'
My impression crumbled.
Meanwhile, Tesilid narrowed her eyes at me.
"It's definitely true that fewer attacks come when I'm next to you. Don't tell me... they're not attacking because you're on the same side as the demons."
A frightening and troublesome misunderstanding. I immediately asserted my innocence.
"Hey, I'm on your side."
"..."
Tesilid's sea-blue eyes widened.
"You're on my side...?"
I raised my right hand as if taking an oath.
"Yeah, on your side. Really. I swear."
"...Fine, whatever. I'll treat it as that for now."
With a reluctant answer, Tesilid averted her gaze. It seemed she would let it slide.
After haphazardly taking sides, I fell into deliberation.
What now?
Regrettably, saving everyone like a hero was impossible for me.
Divine Descent is a no-retreat skill meant for quick decisive battles, so I had to save it for the showdown with the boss.
Attacking the butler demon recklessly and causing a rampage was also useless. The master of this dungeon only appeared when you reached the boss room.
As expected, I should stick close to Tesilid.
By now, almost all the children had fled into the corridor.
The clowns would keep pursuing persistently, but it was better than the reception hall, which was their spawn point.
"Oh my! The situation in the west annex where you all are is the worst. Is it because there's only one Holy Mark bearer? Even so, you seem completely powerless. Ah! Perhaps the weakest among the Holy Mark bearers?!"
Tesilid simply didn't match well with these many-on-one battle situations. I hadn't been needlessly provoked.
"It seems there are multiple hiding spots. I need to join up with my friends over there, but the clowns aren't decreasing in number."
"Are you using divine power?"
"No. Since they're object-type monsters, I'm trying to conserve it."
"Use your divine power. These guys seem to be disguised with something like illusions, but they're actually mid-tier undead. You can't see it, but they're holding scythes, so be careful."
"How do you know that... You're becoming harder and harder to figure out. I'll believe you for now."
Tesilid threw the toy wand to the floor.
"Hm? What's this?"
It was the moment Rodrigo sensed something unusual and fixed his gaze on Tesilid.
White light gathered in Tesilid's hands. It looked like she was casting an extremely holy and powerful skill.
Divine power and magic couldn't skip the incantation process, so I would soon learn the skill name.
"Baptism of Condemnation."
Crunch!
The head of the clown doll clutched in her hand crumbled to dust. The destructive baptism continued in succession.
"Ooh! Now you're finally showing some skill! But it's useless! I can make as many clowns as needed!"
Tesilid silently destroyed the grotesquely appearing clown dolls.
"The clowns will keep you company until you're exhausted. Then I have some entertainment in the south annex, so I'll take my leave!"
Only Tesilid and I remained in the reception hall. I called out to her back.
"This should have bought enough time for the children to escape the reception hall."
"Why didn't you run?"
"I'm acting as your shield right now... Tesilid, behind you!"
A clown's scythe slashed toward the back of Tesilid's head as she turned to look at me.
At this rate, the sweet potato is in danger of being mashed!
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