This Isn’t an E*otic Game?

It took a full day to clean up the aftermath.

I couldn’t keep crying just because I was sad or depressed.
I got up, helped collect the expedition’s dead, dug graves, extracted mana stones from the beasts to resupply the Hunters’ stones… when the guildmasters and Captain Jerome called me over.
“There’s good news, and bad news,” Mayor Lagote began, his voice far too heavy for someone about to deliver good news.

“The good news is that the death toll was lower than expected. Final count: 52 fatalities. Considering we fought dragons and hundreds of high-threat monsters on the 6th floor… that number is nothing short of a miracle. We owe that to Ban, who rode Alcassas in at just the right moment.”
It really was good news.
Statistically, it was a miracle.

But no one smiled.
Lagote didn’t smile either.
“The bad news… After inspecting the bodies of the two slain dragons, we confirmed that both the Dragon Hearts and the horns are missing.”

“They’re gone?”
“Gone. The largest and most powerful mana cores in the strongest beasts are missing. We believe Balam harvested them and took them with him.”
Murmurs broke out.
Everyone looked stunned—no one had seen it coming.

Understandably so.
“…It’s the first time anyone’s ever killed dragons of this size. I can’t even guess what they’d use those for.”
Slaying the Eastern and Western Kings was a first—for both the Hunters and the cultists.

Ban scratched his head.
“Hunters have taken down hatchlings or wyrmlings now and then, sure. But a dragon this old? Never happened before.”
Captain Jerome frowned in deep thought, then said what everyone else was too afraid to voice.

“Could it be… necromancy? Using the heart and the horn to bring the dragons back?”
Father Mathieu shook his head.
“To use necromancy, you need the whole body. You can’t just bring a dragon back with its heart and horn.”

“Then why? What the hell’s the point?”
No one had an answer.
What were they planning?

Lucifer had lost a huge number of his followers in this assault.
Because of Alcassas.
To lose so many and walk away with only a heart and a horn?

“If Balam and those black mages had fought properly instead of retreating, they could’ve caused way more damage. So why pull back?”
“Maybe… they only came for the horn and the heart.”
No one could say for sure.
But whatever the case, the expedition’s objective hadn’t changed.

“We’re still heading to the 7th floor. We don’t know what they’re scheming, but the cult’s suffered heavy losses too. We strike now while they’re reeling.”
Everyone agreed with Captain Jerome.
“We continue downward. To the 7th floor.”

And with that, the meeting ended.
I left the tent.
Walked back slowly to my wagon and collapsed onto the bench seat inside.

[Amayel. You okay?]
“No.”
My body was wrecked.

Priest Mathieu had called it divine backlash, hadn’t he?
Every muscle screamed in dull ache, every nerve weighed down like lead. My body was practically yelling that if I kept pushing it, it would fall apart.
[Let the expedition handle things for a while. You need rest. Seriously. If you recklessly use Asmodeus’s power like that again, you’ll break. Only use what your body can handle.]

“Yeah. I think… I’ll have to.”
[And listen—this is just between you and me. Remember what I told you before?]
“What?”

[That I could smell a virgin mare from twenty kilometers away.]
A laugh escaped my mouth before I could stop it.
“I remember. That wasn’t a bluff? You were serious?”

[Dead serious. And I’m saying it because… something stinks. There’s something foul—something filthy and wrong. I can feel it.]
“What are you talking about?”
[Something’s down on the 7th floor. It’s faint—like it’s been deliberately blurred out—but it’s there. And it’s bad. Really bad.]

I sat up.
“We’ll be okay. I’m here.”
[I’m saying this because you don’t look okay! Can’t we just take one more week off? You need time to recover before we push on!]

I wanted to agree with Corn.
I really did.
But the cultists were moving ahead of us.

We didn’t have time.
“The expedition is still intact. And the cult doesn’t have many people left. We’re close. There’s no time to rest.”
[Yeah… figured you’d say that. Damn it. I just hope nothing happens.]

“Me too.”
I looked out toward the expedition, now preparing for departure.
Please…

“Let nothing else happen from here on out.”
 
****

The descent through the 6th floor went smoothly.
“Smear the blood of the dead Alcassas and Dalloran onto the wagons and armor. As long as we smell like dragons, no beasts will dare touch us.”
The advice paid off again, brilliantly.

Not a single skirmish. We traveled in peace, taking in the scenery as we made our way toward the 7th-floor entrance.
The expedition’s mood remained heavy.
Meals were quiet.

Sleep was different than before.
There had been casualties.
And the unknown threat of the 7th floor loomed closer with each step.

But it wasn’t always so grim.
“Saint.”
When mealtime came around, Hunters and Golden Company troops gathered around me.

The Hunters, still awkward with the Imperial tongue, would smile shyly as they handed me food.
War was painful and exhausting. But those who endured it together… forged strong bonds.
I knew now that they no longer saw me as an outsider.

The expedition was heavy-hearted.
But also tightly united.
And I was at the center of it.

“We’ve reached the entrance to the 7th floor.”
After about two days of travel, the 6th-floor descent finally ended.
A massive black maw opened before us—so dark it made one instinctively recoil.

I peered down into it.
Pure darkness.
That was all.

“The 7th floor is a whole different beast. There are no glowbuds here. It’s always dark.”
Ban gave the explanation, then shouted something in the northern tongue to the Hunters.
A moment later, orbs of light bloomed in the air.

And under that light—
The expedition began its descent to the 7th floor.
The air changed.

Unlike the 6th floor’s gentle warmth—
Here, the cold crept into our skin.
Steam curled from our lips.

Ban adjusted his grip on the auto-shotgun and jumped from the wagon.
“We don’t know what could jump out, or when! Stay sharp! Saint—keep your eyes open!”
I nodded.

Then looked down at my pendant.
“Corn. Anything?”
[Nothing. It’s too quiet. And on the other hand… that stink in the psychic field is getting worse. Something’s not right.]

Corn’s voice trembled.
I narrowed my eyes, staring into the dark.
Nothing.

The entire 7th floor was drowning in a silence as thick as the shadows that filled it.
We followed the winding tunnel down, and down…
Until finally—

"Seventh floor."
The expeditionary force had arrived at the seventh floor of the labyrinth.
Everyone’s expressions were tight with emotion.

And at the same time, steeped in tension.
They stood still for a moment, gazing out at the vast plain made entirely of cold stone.
“We’ll now proceed to the location where the last expedition discovered Hero Karim’s banner.”

Slowly—
The expedition began to move forward.
“Scatter the dragon’s blood we brought in all directions! We still don’t have a complete bestiary for the monsters that appear on the seventh floor! We have no idea what abilities they might have! Avoid combat at all costs!”

At Mayor Lagote’s command, dragon blood was splashed in every direction.
Perhaps thanks to that, there had been no monster attacks even after reaching the seventh floor.
But the mood among the expedition only grew heavier.

Because any monster bold enough to approach despite the scent of dragon blood couldn’t possibly be ordinary.
After moving for about three more hours—
“It’s here. According to the last expedition’s testimony, this is where they discovered Karim’s banner.”

Beneath a massive stone pillar.
The expedition came to a halt at a place littered with countless human remains.
Corpses clad in antique armor, clearly dating back three hundred years, filled my view.

“These people…”
Everyone looked toward the bodies.
Mayor Lagote glanced briefly behind him, then pointed in one direction.

“From the seventh-floor entrance to here—we’ll continue following the direction Karim’s expedition moved in. Without a map or information, this is the best course of action.”
No one objected to Mayor Lagote’s suggestion.
No matter how one looked at it, it was indeed the best option.

The expedition continued onward.
Relentless darkness.
So deathly silent that the quiet itself made the anxiety worse.

“Every step we take right now becomes history, Saint. We’re heading into a place that no one—aside from Hero Karim—has ever set foot in.”
It was the voice of old Ban.
What awaited us ahead?

The answer didn’t take long.
“Halt!”
The expedition came to a stop once again.

I stepped out of the wagon.
“We can turn off the lights.”
One by one—

The lights illuminating the heads of the expedition members went out.
It was fine.
Because the terrain that had thus far been nothing but empty stone ground...

Was now gone.
And before our eyes stretched an enormous forest.
But it wasn’t just a forest.

It was a forest made of crystal.
A gentle light radiated from the crystals, illuminating the area all around us.
A place where tens of thousands of crystals, large and small, rose densely from the ground.

“Ponemkin…”
Priest Mathieu uttered the name of his god in a trembling voice.
Captain Jerome and Mayor Lagote exchanged a brief glance—then began issuing commands.

“If Lucifer’s cult launches an ambush, it’ll be in there.”
“The layout’s obviously a nightmare. Prepare for close-quarters combat. Ditch the rifles and grab shotguns.”
“Fix bayonets, all of you.”

The expedition began preparing to enter the Crystal Forest.
Priest Mathieu and old Ban readied their weapons, preparing to enter the forest as well.
“Please, let our prediction be right. Ponemkin… please… be in there…”

Mathieu’s voice was nearly sobbing.
“He will be. Without a doubt.”
I patted his shoulder and said so.

Preparations were finished quickly.
Just as the entire expedition was about to enter—
“What the hell?”

“What is that sound?”
Thud!
A massive noise suddenly rang out behind the expedition.

Everyone turned their heads toward the sound.
The pounding, thunderous noise was steadily drawing closer.
The expedition halted, frozen at the threshold of the Crystal Forest.

Slowly—
The barrels of their guns turned around.
“Saint, fall back behind the expedition.”

Old Ban and Priest Mathieu stepped in front of me.
And then, the massive noise—
Stopped.

Now everyone could see the source of the sound with their own eyes.
A young, handsome man with white hair.
Valram, High Priest of the Cult of Arrogance, emerged from the darkness with a relaxed expression.

Before he could even open his mouth to speak—
“FIRE!!”
The expedition’s guns roared as one.

Valram didn’t even flinch.
The bullets fired at his body curved away effortlessly, almost mockingly, veering off their intended path.
“Opening fire instead of talking, huh? Now that’s a savage way to start a conversation.”

Valram gave a lazy smile.
And with that—
Figures stepped forward from the darkness behind him into the light.

A single bicon with two horns.
And a hulking slab of meat that towered into view.
The meat-mountain had the form of a human, but with the face of a massive goat with giant horns.

Strange magical sigils glowed faintly all across its body, and the sensation radiating from it was nauseating to the point of revulsion.
Seeing the two figures emerge into the light—
[Th-That bastard!! That bicon!! That son of a bitch killed me!! F-Fuck, why—why is he—!!…]

“Lucifer!!”
The screams burst from both Corn and Priest Mathieu at the same time.