novelraw Chapter 123 : Are You, By Any Chance?
Chapter 123 : Are You, By Any Chance?
Are You, By Any Chance?
Flap, flap.
The tendons that shot out from the assassin's wound squirmed and shook in the air.
Seeing that, I couldn't help but feel utterly bewildered.
Those "tendons" were only seen in dungeons undergoing Abyssification.
Furthermore, I had only verified their appearance in 'Abyssal Exploration' videos posted on the Dungeon God community.
Why was something like that outside? And why had it burst out of a human body?
"Brother, what is this?"
Abyssal Tendons emerging from a human body. Upon seeing this, the first to react was Barkal.
It looked like he was particularly sensitive to it, since his older brother Darsan had experienced the same thing.
"This is strange."
But this time, I couldn't say anything either.
Like Darsan, "tendons" had shot out from his body, but this one felt a bit different.
Darsan had almost no sense of self. In contrast, this "assassin" definitely had a sense of self.
He was even quite articulate—probably more so than Barkal.
"These tendons were only ever seen in dungeons."
As Barkal added his words, the tendons soon began to dissolve and vanish.
The assassin was already dead. I started searching his body to find clues about the "tendons."
"Hm?"
Inside, I found something like a strange symbol.
Seven crudely entwined rings. When I pulled out the spiral-twisted object, Barkal leaned in to examine it.
"What is that, brother?"
Barkal asked, but I just slowly shook my head.
Despite all my experience with Dungeon God, I didn't recognize the symbol.
If it were a mark indicating a particular god, I'd know, but this was completely new to me.
"Broth—Brothers, are you all alright?"
Just as I was speculating about the assassin's identity, I heard the footsteps of Serena and Miriam.
The first thing I did was check on Serena.
Blood-stained hands. Under the moonlight, the red was clearly visible.
It was undoubtedly the assassin's blood.
"We're fine."
"So am I! He was so weak, I couldn't even get wounded!"
With a relieved sigh, Serena said they were okay.
I don't know if it was her mastery of martial arts or the blessing of Liberas, but there wasn't a single drop of blood on her pure white cleric robe.
If it's the former, that's a bit scarier. A martial art so skilled that no blood spatters at all is pretty far removed from the usual image of a cleric.
Still, now isn't the time for that kind of comment.
"Serena."
"Yes?"
"Did you notice anything strange when facing those assailants?"
Were they stronger than ordinary humans?
Or like this one, did "tendons" pop out when you punched them?
"If... if there was something unusual... ah!"
Apparently, something had occurred to her.
"One of the people I hit went flying really far! Usually, they'd just collapse to the ground, but... maybe he was trying to break his fall? If so, that would mean he's extremely skilled..."
Listening to Serena, I glanced at the fountain and statue where the assailant had been sent flying just before.
He'd run away with the help of a companion, and was no longer visible, but the traces of his flight remained.
"Serena."
"Yes?"
Serena cocked her head to the side.
I couldn't bring myself to tell her, with her beaming smile and blue eyes, "It's because your strength is like a gorilla's."
So, in the end, there was nothing special about the other assassins.
"Wait a moment."
While thinking this, my doubts about the situation only deepened.
Miriam, having recognized the symbol in my hand, approached.
"That symbol, could it be the 'Chil-yeon Nakin (Seven Abyssal Brands)?'"
What's that?
I looked at Serena and Barkal to see if they knew, but both shook their heads.
"It's only natural you don't know."
Why is that natural?
It's not some religion that exists solely in your imagination, right?
"They're extremely secretive and make sure to keep their presence hidden as much as possible."
"Like the Disguisers?"
When I brought up Disguisers as an example, miriam scowled.
"We're not particularly shady. We just do things out of the public eye."
That's exactly what the public would call "shady."
"In any case, never get involved with the 'Seven Abyssal Brands.' Those people are crazier than us."
Crazier.
Hearing such a raw description actually piqued my interest even more.
"Of course, they're lunatics who worship the Abyss. If you get entangled with them, it'll only bring you bad luck."
I could now understand why Miriam was so worked up.
Humans worshipping the Abyss?
They're just straight up insane.
That would also explain why I saw "tendons" erupt from the assassin's body just now.
Of course, that's not the only problem.
They had the technology to bring "tendons" outside the dungeon. That means the so-called "Seven Abyssal Brands" possess such power.
"Um, excuse me...?"
In the middle of our conversation, another voice cut in.
It was the prince of the Kerval Kingdom—the assassin's target.
"I... I think some of my memory has returned."
Thanks to the commotion, the prince claimed he'd regained some of his memories.
* * *
"What's all this racket... Huh?!"
Only now, after hearing about the commotion in the backyard, did a staff member of The Great Haven appear.
He rushed toward us, seemingly ready to scold us, but jumped in shock at the prince's face.
"Y-Your Highness Edwin!"
The neatly bearded staff member immediately tried to kneel.
"Wait."
I stopped him, implying not to make a fuss.
"We are currently carrying out a confidential mission."
Hearing my words, the staff member was startled and bowed his head.
"Forgive me for not recognizing... I apologize!"
"The repair cost..."
"No, not at all! We wouldn't dare...!"
I was about to tell him to charge the royals for the repairs, but with him acting like that, it should be fine.
"The prince's presence here is part of a confidential mission. So, don't tell anyone."
"Yes, yes!"
I say that, but chances are rumors will spread quickly. Tomorrow, we'll have to say goodbye to this comfortable Inn.
"Were we really on a confidential mission?"
As we walked away from the staff member, Serena whispered.
"You could've at least given us a heads up!"
Yeah, right.
Anyway, edwin von Kerval?
He really is a prince. Seeing the staff member recognize him immediately proved it.
But why didn't anyone cause a fuss when we first entered?
Oh.
He must've pulled that hood down deep when we came in. That explains it.
For now, we headed to my private room. Before closing the door, I checked to make sure no one was watching, assassin-style, and only then closed the door.
"What do you remember?"
I asked Prince Edwin. Even if it was fragmentary, now that he'd regained his memory, there were a lot of things we needed to find out.
"My name..."
That's not what matters.
"And... I also remember who beat me up at the end."
"Who would do such a terrible thing to you?!"
Dang it.
Please don't remember that part.
Now I was worried that seeing Barkal's face would trigger Edwin's memory even more.
With this in mind, I decided to assign the job of guarding the entrance to that guy.
"Is that all?"
"Not in detail..."
"The assailants who attacked you wouldn't have come for no reason, right?"
What about more detailed things, or even deeper stuff?
Why were the assassins trying to kill you?
Why are those "Seven Abyssal Brands" targeting you?
Well, if he remembered anything this detailed, it would mean all his memories had returned.
If it comes down to him demanding Barkal be executed, then I can ask about this later.
"Assailants... assassins..."
As I listened to Edwin mutter to himself, there was something I realized I hadn't considered.
He's a prince.
A prince of a whole kingdom.
There could be any number of people who'd want this guy dead.
Maybe from another country. Maybe even from his own.
Or even his own family could target him.
Power struggles are always filthy beyond belief.
"Ah, I remembered something."
Clapping his hands once, edwin's eyes sparked as he began to speak.
"The kingdom... the dungeon..."
Edwin started repeating words out of the blue. I didn't know what the connection could be, but decided to just listen quietly.
"The Abyss..."
The Abyss?
Dungeons, the Abyss...
Not words you'd expect from a prince's mouth.
How does he usually spend his time?
"Red Wolf Tribe..."
"Wait."
I cut off Edwin and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Did you just say Red Wolf Tribe?"
"Yes? Oh... yes, that's right."
I hadn't misheard.
Why did the name "Red Wolf Tribe" come out of his mouth?
"That's... I'm not sure either..."
Just as I opened my mouth to ask for more details, edwin suddenly grabbed his head.
"Agh, ahh!"
Groaning in pain, edwin cried out in agony. As much as I wanted to smack his head to jog his memory, I was too scared I'd get myself killed if I did.
"I remember!"
What, again?
"The archives! I was researching something in a big archive."
A large archive.
Probably, the one in the palace.
"If I go there, I think I might remember something."
So casually, edwin said he might remember something if he goes to the "archive."
Looking at him, I frowned.
"Was your memory loss a lie, by any chance?"