novelraw Chapter 113 : Ghost
Chapter 113 : Ghost
Chapter 113: Ghost
It could not have been a ghost.
Where in the world would there be ghosts.
It was just a monster he had never seen before.
Robin’s fighting spirit flew precisely toward the monster.
Shiiiit.
The fighting spirit that flew diagonally pierced straight through the monster.
“W-What is that…….”
As if light were passing through a glass window.
As though it were only natural, there was no damage at all.
“Is it really a ghost?”
Kkeu heu heu heu.
Letting out a chilling laugh, the thing approached.
Its speed was endlessly slow, but the cold air it exuded made it obvious at a glance that it was no ordinary thing.
“Let’s see if it’s still fine after this.”
Robin gripped his sword with both hands and raised it toward the sky.
Ung. Ung.
More condensed than before, the fighting spirit writhed menacingly.
He closed the distance between them and slashed straight down vertically.
Saak.
A clean, no-frills vertical slash.
The thing that had let the fighting spirit pass through it earlier was cleanly split in two.
“As expected! I trusted you, Robin!”
Sigbard stopped breaking down the door and came down the stairs.
In the meantime, the thing that had been split in two slowly reattached itself from the lower body up, as if coated with adhesive.
“W-What is that! The ghost didn’t die!”
This was the first time since the troll.
It was not only trolls that possessed exceptionally high regenerative ability.
However, the monster before their eyes felt strange to call it recovery.
Saak.
Robin slashed again.
Before it could fully reattach its body, the thing was cut horizontally.
‘If I condense the fighting spirit, the blade does go in.’
Sak. Saak. Saak.
When he had swung the sword about ten times.
Perhaps lacking the strength to reassemble its fragmented body, the thing gradually faded away.
“The ghost disappeared.”
“…….”
He thought about correcting that, but let it be.
Robin, too, felt uneasy in one corner of his heart.
That vague form and unpleasant laughter were more than enough to be called a ghost.
‘For now, let’s focus on getting out.’
He sheathed his sword and lit the match again.
“Sigbard, you swung the rod and the door still didn’t open?”
“No. I didn’t use the rod.”
At Robin’s words, Sigbard took out the rod.
While going up the stairs, he suddenly stopped short.
“Robin, it appeared again.”
He turned to look in the direction Sigbard pointed, but there was nothing there.
“It’s deeper inside.”
“A monster like before?”
“There’s something more dangerous.”
“Let’s get out first and think.”
“Understood.”
Bwoong!
The rod swung from bottom to top struck the door.
Kwa-jik.
With the sound of breaking, light seeped in.
The half-destroyed door dangled, and their eyes met with those who had closed the door from above.
“Huhp!”
As if they had not expected such a situation, everyone wore flustered expressions.
Sigbard retrieved the rod and cracked his neck.
“What will you do. It might disappear while we go up.”
Robin only felt cold air. He sensed nothing beyond that.
Even setting that aside, what had to be done was clear.
Maria, whose eyes met his, hiccupped, “Hik,” and hastily stepped back.
“There’s plenty of time, so let’s take a slow look around.”
Sigbard nodded slightly and swung the rod again.
Bwoong!
Kwa-ja-jak.
The door they had entered through was completely smashed.
“What are you all doing! Run!”
The sound of chaotic retreat came from above.
There was no intention of letting them be.
“Anyone who runs now, I’ll break their legs.”
Despite Sigbard’s warning, they did not stop.
“Let’s catch them first.”
By the time Robin went up, Sigbard was already swinging the rod at their legs.
“Uaaaaah!”
It did not take long to round them all up.
A total of six people were trembling before Robin.
Of them, five had broken legs, with bones sticking out or bent at grotesque angles.
It was the result of ignoring Sigbard’s warning.
The barbarian with a calm expression spoke lowly.
“Lift your heads.”
Even though his voice was fairly composed, they could not easily meet his gaze.
Looking at Sigbard, Robin felt pleased inwardly.
For a barbarian, he was very gentlemanly.
“Why is everyone like this? If there’s a problem, I’ll fix it.”
Sigbard grabbed the neck of the man closest to him.
With his left hand on the neck and his right hand gripping the head, he lifted it straight toward the sky.
Udeuk.
Perhaps he used too much force, as the neck and head formed a right angle.
The man caught by Sigbard died instantly without even screaming.
‘So much for being gentlemanly.’
“Robin, something’s strange. Why is this man’s head dangling?”
“…You used too much strength.”
“Oh dear, I made a mistake.”
Udeuk.
This time, he bent the man’s head forward, and the cervical vertebra bulged out from the back of the neck.
“…He’s already dead.”
“Dead? Don’t joke around. There’s no way he’d die from just this much.”
“You shouldn’t assume all humans are like you.”
Sigbard, looking unconvinced, told the man to get up.
Naturally, there was no way he would.
When Sigbard grabbed him by the collar and shook him, the man’s dangling head drooped at an angle that could never be bent back.
“This is… hard to accept. Does this mean most humans are this weak?”
Those who had been looking only at the ground all lifted their heads at once.
At the very least, none of them wanted to die with their necks snapped.
“Maria.”
She responded immediately to Robin’s voice.
When he looked at her with eyes demanding an explanation, she could not properly continue her words out of anxiety.
“T-That is, so…….”
“It would be better not to lie.”
Robin placed his hand on the sword hilt.
Maria swallowed dryly and continued.
“My goal was to bring the two of you down there.”
“What exactly is down there.”
“I don’t know the details… but among those who went in, no one ever came back alive.”
‘So we weren’t the first.’
He had expected it, but hearing it directly made it even more infuriating.
Maria had approached them deliberately.
From time to time, she offered lost travelers to guide them.
After bringing them to the valley, she drove monsters toward them to create a crisis.
Once they reached the shelter, she shoved them underground.
Anyone who went underground disappeared from the world just like that.
Maria was the figurehead, but they were one team.
“So, in short, you’re bandits.”
It was expected to some extent.
That was why he had not stopped Sigbard even when he killed the man.
‘I just didn’t expect there to be six of them on one team.’
“I, I opposed it.”
As Maria hurriedly added that, the others opened their mouths in protest.
“Opposed it? You were the one who suggested we do it first!”
“Don’t try to be the only one to get out of this!”
‘So they weren’t that close after all.’
Accusations toward Maria poured down like rain.
Crimes they had committed until now spilled out without even being asked.
Each of them rushed to condemn her, trying to make Maria look like the worst person possible.
“Enough.”
Even though Sigbard tried to stop them, they did not stop.
Once the flames of accusation were lit, there was no sign of them dying down.
Maria listened to it all in silence.
Thud.
“I said enough.”
Only after his thick voice spread as he slammed down the rod did they one by one close their mouths.
He understood their motive.
But one most important thing still remained.
“What is down there.”
“I don’t know…….”
“You didn’t even know what was there, and you used it to dispose of people?”
“I was only told that there was something dangerous.”
Maria did not seem to be lying.
‘They purely used it as a corpse disposal device?’
“How long can a person last down there?”
“…Not even an hour.”
Robin cast his gaze underground.
Cold air was still flowing out.
‘Humans really are the most dangerous.’
Something he had not been able to feel while living with barbarians in the snowy mountains.
He knew that when traveling, it was not only monsters one had to be careful of.
But facing it directly left a bitter taste.
He had known that the road ahead would not be a romantic journey filled with adventure.
‘Still, to think teenagers who aren’t even adults yet would stab you in the back.’
Most of Maria’s group looked to be in their teens.
Even the oldest among them seemed barely twenty.
Robin pondered briefly, and it did not take long for him to reach a decision.
“Do you want to live?”
At the gentle voice, the gang was tempted.
Without anyone prompting them, they all shouted that they wanted to live.
Where they had hidden their luggage, that they would give him money once they reached the city…….
They poured out everything they had without holding back.
They had the instinct that if not now, they would never get another chance to confess.
“I-I’ll do anything!”
“I’ve committed unforgivable sins.”
“If you spare us, I’ll definitely repay this kindness!”
Their expressions and tones were filled with sincerity.
For a moment, a feeling of pity brushed past him.
“I’ll give you a chance.”
Hope rose on their desperate faces.
But the words that followed were no different from a death sentence.
“Go down underground for one hour. If you endure one hour, I’ll spare you.”
“Th-That’s impossible!”
A woman with a fierce-looking face protested.
“You had no problem pushing perfectly fine people in there, but now that you have to go in yourself, you’re scared?”
“But… I’m sorry! I’m only fifteen now. Isn’t that too young to die?”
It was laughable.
What did age have to do with anything.
“Fifteen…….”
“Y-Yes……! I’ll never do such bad things again! So please……!”
He cut her off.
“When I was young. I had a best friend, and he died at a young age.”
At the sudden remark, the bandits did not know how to react.
“He was a friend with a promising future. He died after being stabbed.”
“I-I see?”
“The one who stabbed him was fifteen at the time.”
“Uh……?”
“I’m still resentful that I couldn’t kill that bastard.”
Robin slowly drew his sword.
“What you said only makes me angrier.”
“I was wrong… please…….”
“If you don’t go in by the time I count to ten, I’ll force you in.”
One, two, three…….
The bandits, stricken with terror, went down underground.
The only one with intact legs, Maria, went last.
“You said you’d spare us if we endured one hour. Will you really keep that promise?”
“No.”
“I thought maybe, but you’re a liar. You suspected me from the beginning, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
With a detached face, Maria told him one thing.
“The path I guided you on really is a shortcut.”
“You think I’ll believe that?”
“Check it later. At least one thing was true.”
With those words, Maria also disappeared from sight.
Looking down below, all six of them were gathered together.
They must have judged that the place where even a faint light reached would be relatively safe.
“If we use this, we can block it.”
Sigbard came carrying a wardrobe with one hand.
When Robin stepped aside, he completely covered the entrance leading underground.
“A-Ah, no……!”
The faint cries were quickly cut off.
Sigbard dusted off his hands with a few pats.
“There’s no need to show mercy to criminals.”
“That’s true.”
After checking the time, Robin looked out the window.
In two hours, the sun would set.
It was an awkward time to descend the mountain.
“Sigbard, how about we sleep here tonight.”
“H-Here, you say?”
“Yes. You’re not scared, are you? Someone who’ll become a great warrior.”
“What are you saying! I’m a barbarian! There’s no way I’d be afraid of ghosts!”
‘Does he have some kind of ghost trauma…….’
“Rest here for a bit. I’ll go get the luggage.”
“No! I’ll go!”
“Do you know where I hid it?”
“I do! Didn’t you hide it in the bushes!”
He left before Robin could even say please.
Left alone, Robin cleaned up the surroundings.
Exactly one hour later. Sigbard returned.
“Let’s open it now.”
Even Robin was unsure of what had happened.
Surprisingly, all six of them might be safe.
Sigbard moved the wardrobe aside and shouted.
“Hey! You young bandits! Can you hear me!”
There was no reply.
Nor were there any corpses to be found.
The six bandits disappeared like that, without a trace.