Hero's Coffin Chapter 97

Chapter 97

He was so dumbfounded he almost burst into a dry laugh. Sure, it might be better than the cold season, but wasn't this level of forced positivity like juice being squeezed out?

The snow-covered mountain soaring dizzyingly high was majestically beautiful, and the rocks occasionally visible between the perpetual snow-like white covering also created a spectacular view, but... he just felt overwhelmed. Did he have to mountain climb with this body?

The center of the snow-white mountain was faded to gray like ink spilled on white paper, but it felt somewhat different from previous Encroachment Zones. Though the mountain terrain was terrible, was the range relatively small? It looked smaller than even the southern Encroachment Zone they had visited first.

He narrowed his eyes to assess its location.

"Is that... cave the Encroachment Zone?"

"Yes, that's right! It's an enormously large cave, almost encompassing the entire mountain. They say many people used to visit it as a famous attraction long ago. We even have an interior map."

Noi immediately answered loudly, as if happy to be having a conversation with him. Though he was discouraged by how incredibly vast the cave's interior was said to be, he brightened at the information added at the end. A map? In that case...

"Do you remember it?"

"Of course! I drew it in advance on the way here!"

So that's what he had been busily sketching while spreading out paper in the carriage. Since he had been worried that searching with undead would be overwhelming if the cave's paths were more complex, this was very welcome news.

With this map, couldn't he just look around the interior with undead and mark where the cores were located? Though he would still have to go in together, even that alone was much less burdensome. After all, he had been quietly struggling while finding directions directly until now.

However, separate from the good news, the disadvantages of the snow-covered mountain terrain were too great.

"Huk, heuk..."

First of all, the path up to the cave entrance located in the center of the snow-covered mountain was extremely treacherous. Since human traffic had naturally ceased after the Encroachment Zone formed here, the mountain path had become rough from lack of maintenance, and with snow piled up thickly, feet sank deeply. Moreover, it was extremely slippery.

Though the trained knights of course, and even the fairy, walked gracefully as if specialized for natural terrain, it was completely arduous for him. As he climbed with difficulty, whoosh, his body finally tilted to the side and tried to roll down the slope.

Just as he was screaming "Aak!" inwardly, whoosh! His body was caught. Someone firmly wrapped their arm around his waist to support him. He stiffened. Usually in situations like this, the person who caught him was Haren, could it be...

"...Be careful."

However, the person who helped him was Mela. Embarrassment suddenly rushed in as she held him in a pose often seen in dramas, where the protagonist catches someone about to fall backwards on stairs. Her silver hair fluttering against the backdrop of the snow-covered mountain somehow appeared in slow motion.

With Mela's help, he properly planted his feet on the ground and awkwardly nodded.

"Uh, yeah, thanks..."

"...Want to hold on while walking?"

"No, I'm fine."

He declined when Mela offered her hand. However, she didn't withdraw and just stared at him, then held out her arm as if in substitution and walked pretending not to see.

But Mela strangely persistently kept her arm extended while following close behind him. What, why was she doing this? It wasn't uncomfortable because of gender, but he wasn't used to contact with anyone to begin with, and being looked after was also unfamiliar.

Moreover, it was disconcerting how Mela seemed ready to carry him on her back if he stumbled just once more. Since he wanted to avoid that situation at all costs, he stubbornly endured trying his hardest not to fall, and thanks to that, they safely reached the cave.

"Phew..."

It was the first time he felt relief upon arriving at an Encroachment Zone. He let out a long sigh, and only then did Mela step back. The reason was that she shouldn't interfere from nearby now that he needed to search the interior with undead.

Swoosh–

Purple energy swirled and spread from the boundary of the gray-faded cave in the center of the snow-white mountain. Shadows suddenly expanded from where he stood, then undead rose up en masse from the ground.

[Aaah...]

They were summoned much faster than before, and their rising movement was also smoother. Not only that, but their numbers had increased surprisingly this time.

"Almost double compared to the last Encroachment Zone..."

As Noi said, about a hundred undead rippled around him. He had heard before that Isaph had gained notoriety for controlling hundreds of undead, but he had been disappointed when he could only summon about thirty in the first Encroachment Zone. Yet now they had increased this much.

Was the feeling of his body stabilizing earlier really because his character play proficiency had increased? Even the dizziness that came with each skill use seemed to have decreased. He looked down at his palm dazedly. Though his physical strength was still poor and the undead all still looked like ordinary citizens...

Putting aside his thoughts, he sent the undead into the cave. They smoothly entered following his intentions with just hand gestures. Numerous scenes began flooding into his mind.

Thanks to checking Noi's map in advance, organizing the information was much easier. He calmly marked the cores' locations one by one on that map.

"Ugh..."

Though the familiar dizziness came by the end, fortunately he didn't collapse unsightly like before. He steadied his breathing while leaning against the wall, then held out the map.

"I identified eight cores this time. It's quite a lot, but there weren't any inaccessible places like where the altar was last time, though instead I saw a strange scene in this corner. Should I say there was a heat haze, no, a mass of light that interfered with visibility?"

It was a different phenomenon from last time. Above all, there shouldn't be light in an Encroachment Zone, especially inside a cave, yet he had seen light spreading. Was it like reflection in a prism, or should he say it was like light scattering in all directions as if shining through a diamond? It was hard to find an exact comparison.

Kalterik took the map. In the past, Haren had usually stood beside him asking various questions and talking, but this time he didn't move, so Kalterik hesitantly stepped forward.

"Th-that, were there any missing persons?"

"Doesn't seem like it."

He deliberately shrugged more nonchalantly at Kalterik's awkward question. He wasn't certain since he had never sensed any movement while looking around Encroachment Zones with undead before. Even the Dium they always encountered hadn't been sensed beforehand. Though there was a chance he hadn't seen anything because the undead moved too quickly...

"This time was... strangely quiet."

He was rather puzzled by how extremely calm it was except for the mass of light discovered in the corner. The gray cave just gaped open like the maw of a huge beast.

The companions memorized the locations marked on the map while preparing to enter. Noi took out and put on a purification filter mask from his bag, and the holy knights wrapped holy power around their bodies.

As he just stood there blankly, Kalterik kept glancing at him and spoke.

"C-Commander. Won't that guy get contaminated right away if he enters the Encroachment Zone without a holy relic? Should I quickly go down and get something...?"

"No, it's fine. He said he took care of it."

Since Haren had always handed him holy relics before but wouldn't even look at him this time, it seemed Kalterik was being considerate instead. As even Noi and Mela glanced at him, he showed them his index finger.

"A magical tool from Lara Workshop."

"Ah, I've heard about that place. They boast performance comparable to holy relics..."

Relief washed over him as Noi nodded and spoke. If he knew about it, it meant Lara Workshop's skills weren't false. As he preciously held the ring, Noi suddenly tilted his head.

"But I heard such items are extremely expensive, how did you buy it? You shouldn't have money. Ah, perhaps the mercenaries you became close with there bought it? Or lent it?"

"...Let's go in."

Ignoring Noi's various speculations, he moved into the cave first. He didn't even want to recall the memory of being forced to buy it. At least as he walked into the Encroachment Zone, he felt the ring's effectiveness, which reduced his resentment a little. There was no difficulty breathing at all.

Though it was midday, the cave was naturally dark.

"The things Her Highness gave us are so helpful!"

Noi exclaimed brightly. Before leaving, Beatrice had gifted them several artifacts, including a badge that emitted light. It was a kind of attachable lantern that lit up the front when pinned to clothes. Since his flashlight had just been taken by Laria, he had gratefully received it.

With the darkness blocking their path resolved and having a map too, they moved more easily than in other Encroachment Zones. The entry was smooth, and finding and destroying the first core, then dealing with the next core was also easy. Though he had worried since this Encroachment Zone had many cores, they cleared them very quickly.

So... it was too easy, to an unsettling degree.

After instantly destroying the fourth core, Haren quietly looked down at the remains. Though even very small sounds tended to echo loudly in the cave, as if realizing something from that, he spoke softly.

"There's no presence at all in this cave except for us."

"What? You mean..."

"It seems there isn't even a Dium."

It was clearly news to be welcomed. But because of the ominousness pervading this space, he absolutely couldn't feel that way. The reason was intuitive. They had now come deep into the cave, which meant...

"...If the cave collapses, we'll all die."