Why Are You Like This?
“Why are you all like this?”
Irene and Reina approached the path out of curiosity, their steps quickening. From the other direction, figures also emerged. It seemed they had noticed Irene’s raid group, for their voices grew louder and faster as they ran toward them.
“Everyone, fall back.”
The knights drew their swords and formed a wall in front of the purifiers. The approaching group became clearer and clearer. They were definitely not monsters. Among them were even some from the fortress who had passed by Irene’s raid several times. But when they saw the faces of the newcomers, everyone froze, unable to utter a single word.
“What happened to them?”
Reina blinked in disbelief beside her. The princess and her people, rushing toward them, looked as if they had been rolling around outside for weeks. It was not just their clothes. Their eyes were hollow, cheeks sunken, lips cracked and bleeding, and their eyes were bloodshot—red, as if they had gone mad. Even the whites were red.
Seeing Irene’s group, they shouted in a frenzy. “People! Do you have food?”
With that, they rushed straight into the group and devoured the food Irene’s party had prepared for sharing as if they had lost their minds. Everyone recoiled in shock at the bizarre, deranged behavior. The princess’s party—knights and purifiers alike—tore into the food like beasts and guzzled the water from their bottles. The entire group appeared utterly ravaged.
Before Irene could ask what on earth had happened, the woman in the center snatched an empty water bottle and hurled it away in irritation. “There’s none left! Where is the water bottle?!”
Irene could hardly believe her ears and eyes. “Princess Cecilia…?”
The Irene who remembered Princess Cecilia was the very picture of royalty. Her waist-length black hair, her small, rounded face with perfectly balanced features. She was adorable yet arrogant, overflowing with both grace and nobility. Her status as a princess made her even more special, and her rank-one purification ability had only heightened her presence. There was not a single country on the continent that did not watch her every move. Even the notoriously unlucky fortress bowed before her. She lived in the fortress with even more aloofness than she did in the world. She had never once touched the ground with her bare feet, despite having lived for years. Yet the woman stuffing bread crumbs into her mouth right in front of her was unmistakably Princess Cecilia.
“What on earth is going on? Why are you all like this? What happened?”
If they had merely been battered by monsters, the sight would not have been so shocking. The strangeness in everyone’s eyes came precisely from how long they had suffered. They had entered the dungeon barely three hours ago, yet their clothes were torn and their bodies were gaunt and shriveled. How could this be?
“What happened to you? Why are there still supplies left?”
In response to Irene’s question, Princess Cecilia snatched an apple from Irene’s hand and snapped, “Why are there supplies left? It’s only been a few hours since we entered. Isn’t that obvious?”
“A few hours?”
The princess’s face twisted in a strange way at those words. She spoke in a disbelieving voice. “We have been trapped here for two full weeks!”
***
Irene’s group and the princess’s group drew an invisible line between them and took separate seats. Reina crouched and whispered to Irene, “I’d really like to talk, but the smell is just too strong…”
She knew it was rude to say so, yet Irene nodded anyway. Those who had gone over two weeks without washing, fighting monsters, and being drenched in blood and filth gave off a truly vile odor. But staying apart like this was impossible. Irene steeled herself, stood up, and approached Cecilia’s distant seat among her own group, ignoring the wave of stench that hit her face. Her expression stiffened on its own. The princess noticed and her own face twisted. If it had been the usual Cecilia, the sight would have infuriated her. But Irene’s eyes were fixed on the empty seat beside the princess. A pair who had died. The princess’s pair, Sir Britton, had been the strongest knight in her kingdom. He was even said to be the youngest knight commander. He had treated her with perfect deference—not because she was a princess of his land, but because she was his purifier. Anyone could see the passion burning in his gaze whenever he looked at her. So it made perfect sense that she would have kept him close. A gathering with no one of Michael’s caliber. The only reason such a gathering could raid a high-level dungeon was that the knights had fought for their lives against the monsters. No matter how much the purifiers could heal wounds and purify demonic energy, the pain and shock during the battle itself could never be erased. That was why, after dungeon raids, knights often remained unstable for a time. Sir Britton was no different. He was the beloved one who brought her peace, the one who held her life in his hands. She had watched him give everything to her over and over again. “Sir Michael, where is he?”
The princess was more concerned with Irene’s empty seat than the one beside her. “He went to scout. There is something strange about this dungeon.”
Irene told her everything they had experienced so far—not only for her but also so the others could hear it. It was necessary to reveal their information first in order to gain the princess’s trust and obtain theirs in return. When Irene mentioned that the other raid group had been wiped out, everyone gasped. But when she added that Michael was safe and would return soon, the princess’s face brightened. “That’s all the information from our side. Then, how about you? What happened over there?”
Irene’s question made the princess bite her lip hard before she began to recount their ordeal. The princess’s raid team had proceeded smoothly through the dungeon. As expected for a mid-to-high level dungeon, they had encountered suitable monsters and gathered a few reward chests. But the princess had not been satisfied with that. “We must return as quickly as possible and with as many rewards as possible.” To counter her rival group, she had declared that this time the rewards would be divided fairly among everyone. Yet the departing members returned with excuses as if nothing had happened. The princess had wanted to send them away immediately, but this time she had to accept them and even give them plenty of rewards. So she urged the knights forward. While they were walking for a long time, another purifier spoke to the princess. “How are things on the other side?” The princess, realizing which side she meant, smiled softly. “Well, they say the raid is about thirty strong. Since they haven’t worked together as often as we have, it must be difficult.” “But there is Sir Michael over there, so perhaps they are performing better than expected.” Michael. The moment that name was spoken, the princess could not control her expression. Why was Michael always helping her? The Michael she knew would never have assisted in a raid. He viewed his abilities as a gift from the gods and gave everything he gained through his own power back to the gods. Yet he was here, helping mere humans with their greedy little raid. It must be because of her. Irene Rodiam. Just thinking of her made the princess burn with anger. She had worked so hard for years to obtain him from Michael… “It seems he simply came running because Irene Rodiam was nearby.” The moment she heard the ridiculous reason why he had chosen Irene, Cecilia was stunned and furious. Becoming a pair for such a nonsensical reason. Still, as a paladin, he had always maintained a certain distance from his own pair. He only came when he could not endure it any longer and merely held her hand. She had not heard that he had even visited Irene until recently. But a week ago she learned that he had summoned that woman to the temple. The temple staff were welcoming her, yet there had been no physical contact. “He even gave her sword lessons directly.” The princess bit her lip at that revelation. She would have accepted it if they had simply shared a bed. When demonic energy rampaged out of control, one could lose one’s reason and do something reckless. But the fact that Michael was acting as if he truly cared about Irene, as if he was paying attention to her, struck even deeper at the princess’s nerves. While the princess was walking and thinking about Irene, it appeared.
“We saw many monsters, but never anything like this before. It was so strange. It floated in the air and stared at us for a long time… then it started moving.”
The princess trembled as she recalled that moment. A little distance away, Cynthia spoke with a shaking voice. “No way… could it be that?”
At those words, everyone’s gaze turned toward the ceiling of the dungeon that Cynthia was pointing at. From high above, a grotesque lump of meat with huge eyes stared down at them all.