From a dark corner, Santiaga stood straight, watching the hero team. His hands were in his pocket.
'This would keep them busy for a while.' He smiled, turning around and walking deeper into the dungeon.
He had observed the group for a while; he should be able to find whatever they were looking for within the dungeon.
From what he'd listened to so far, the church called this place Dungeon Sanctum Number Nine. Apparently, they sealed some sort of divine beast here, and now they had sent the paladin Emira to retrieve it.
They were all D-class heroes, with Emira being the closest to C-rank.
This was her last mission before she was promoted to C-rank. And he's going to ruin it for her.
"Hehehehe..." Santiaga let out an evil laugh before vanishing into the darkness.
He didn't know when he gained the ability to see in the dark, but he could do it now.
'The more I go further, the more this place resembles a temple.' He thought, stepping on a bone, which made a loud crunching sound.
Grrrr...
He looked up to see a few dozen creatures hanging from the top of the cave.
He gripped his black knife in his hand and smiled, jumping up towards them with an excited look on his face.
...
A few minutes later, Santiaga was looking at a map. This was probably one of the most useful things he'd gotten here.
'It was nice of that wombat to drop this.' He chuckled.
He got it off one of those ceiling-creepy monsters while leveling up. He had managed to reach level five amidst everything.
"Now." He looked up at the large doors in front of him with a smile.
"This door is supposed to contain the sealed creature and a guardian." He smiled, slicing the large lock on the door.
He glanced at a lever on the side of the door and clicked it off the wall in one swing.
'The heroes are supposed to pull that to make the guardian fall asleep. But now it'll go after them.' Santiaga thought, pushing the door inwards before teleporting to the top of the cave.
Kakakakaka...!
The sound of a beak clapping together resounded in that part of the cave.
The creature finally came out, and Santiaga smiled as he looked at it.
'What the fuck is that?' he swallowed.
The creature's skin looked like raw flesh. It resembled a shaved cat. Its wings were attached to its arms, and its demonic red eyes scanned the environment.
It searched for the one who released it, growling quietly.
A dark aura emanated from it, making it hard to breathe from above. Santiaga soon began to feel sweat drop down his face, and he gritted his teeth.
Creaaaaaaaaa!!!
The creature let out a loud screech before it flew in the direction of the heroes.
"Success." Santiaga smiled, entering through the door.
Inside, he walked toward an elevated altar that lay in the middle of the room, and what he saw there made him smile widely.
...
Just as Emira and her team engaged the oncoming minotaur horde, the walls of the cave trembled. A low, guttural roar echoed from deeper within the sanctum—ancient, angry, and full of awakening malice.
"Ah, get ready! Something is coming!" the archer shouted, knocking three arrows on his bow.
The arrows glowed a bright golden color before they flew at astonishing speeds toward the target.
Emira held her silver sword high, making it glow with a bright golden light as she prepared for the attack.
Feeling the air change, she swung her sword to the side with all her strength.
"Rah!"
Clank!
A loud metallic sound echoed throughout the dungeon, making the walls shake.
The rest of the squad fell to their knees, then looked up to see a towering monster pressing Emira to the ground.
The creature was at least thirty meters tall in height, and the abomination had empty eye sockets and a sharp beak.
Its talons were currently pressing down on Emira's sword.
The first one to gather himself was Kairos. The archer immediately rolled and stood up, knocking an even bigger arrow on the bow before letting it fly toward the creature's chest.
The creature's balance tipped a bit, and Emira sliced its leg, making the creature enraged.
Creaaaaaaaaa!!!
"Isn't that the Bird of Verdict?! What's it doing out of the cave?!" Rin asked as she ran toward it.
A mist suddenly gathered around her and the creature, obstructing its vision.
She leapt up into the air, heading toward the creature's head.
Badump!
Rin's heart skipped a beat when the bird turned to look at her in that instant. She felt a chill run down her spine and instantly put her hands up to defend herself.
The bird twisted, whipping its long, bony tail at her.
Rin crashed into several pillars of the cave, finally landing on the ground.
Emira frowned as she saw this, then raised her sword. Her eyes glowed a bright golden color, and her entire body was covered in a golden aura.
She dashed toward the creature at great speed, leaving dust in her wake. Her metallic boots made a clacking sound as she moved.
From the other side of the cave, Santiaga watched from the distance with a quiet smile on his face. In his hand was a black oval-shaped ball that had a peculiar aura around it.
Feeling a presence behind him, he vanished from his position and hid behind a pillar. He looked forward to see Elden walking out with an identical black oval egg in his arms.
'His clone already found the decoy I put there.' He smirked, following the clone closely.
This was Elden's ability. He could create a clone equal to him in strength and capable of carrying out any command he gave.
'Monster!' Santiaga watched as Emira held back the Bird of Verdict all on her own. He saw Rin trying to enter a small tunnel and then smiled.
'Well, she fell into that trap.'
...
Rin entered a small space.
The place was dark, and she sat on the ground, panting as she held her broken arm—the arm she used to defend herself from the bird's tail.
At least she survived.
"Now this isn't going as planned." She let out a breath. "Mother Vale won't be happy with this."
"...the fuck. Did you just say Mother Vale," a calm voice echoed from the shadows of the tunnel.
Rin's breath caught in her throat. Her head jerked up—and there he was.
Santiaga stepped forward, his pale cyan eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. In one hand, he held the jet-black egg, pulsing with an eerie aura. In the other, his pitch-black blade dripped with thick crimson. His calm, collected expression twisted into a mocking smirk.
"I knew you were suspicious, but to think you work for the Ashen veil cult. You should've stayed loyal, little dagger girl," he said coldly.
The Ashen Veil, he couldn't believe that he met a member today.
They were a cult group that has been causing trouble in the cities surrounding Argenta. He didn't know much about them, but he knew that they weren't allies of the church.
Rin pushed herself back against the cold stone wall, trying to raise her good arm. The blade hidden in her sleeve slid into her hand, but her fingers trembled.
"You... you don't understand what you're doing, I have to finish my mission," she spat, glaring at him. "Surrender the egg or I'll take it from you."
Santiaga's gaze turned cold, glaring at the assassin in front of him.
"You're threatening me?" He vanished, appearing beside her.
Rin wanted to move, but her legs were weak.
Santiaga raised his hand, cleaving off the good arm off of her shoulder.
"Ahhhhhh...!" She screamed, crawling away with her legs like a snail
Santiaga smiled at this.
"That egg—it's not just some divine beast. It's a seal! You have no idea what the church is really up to! We can work together, yes!"
Santiaga tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly in mild interest.
"You think I care? All I see is someone who picked the wrong side." He raised his knife.
"You'll regret this!" she screamed. "The church—they'll burn the world before they let it fall—"
*Shhk!*
The blade sank into her neck.
Rin's body slumped to the side, her final breath escaping her lips in a soft, choked gasp.
Santiaga stood in silence for a moment, then stepped over her, blood dripping from his blade.
He looked down at the black egg in his hand as it pulsed once—just once—with a heartbeat not his own.
"Santiaga..."
The grey haired man frowned as he looked at the egg in his hand. It was even bigger than his head.
What happened next was surprising.