After resting for a day, Duanmu Huai and his companions set out again and arrived at Dimhollow Crypt.
"To be honest, I'm really sick of these damned fetch quests…" Duanmu Huai muttered to himself as he stepped into the cavern before them. For players, almost every quest was about running around everywhere, but reality wasn't a game. The scenery might be decent, but running here and there like this was truly annoying.
Of course, there were things even more annoying.
"You damned Vigilants…"
The vampire, clutched by the head in Duanmu Huai's gauntleted hand, glared hatefully at Gulei. Its blood-red eyes gleamed. The vampires had attacked them the moment they entered the cave, but unfortunately, they were no match for Duanmu Huai. Aside from this unlucky one in his grasp, the rest were already corpses under his hammer.
"What are you looking for here? Answer me!"
He lifted the vampire and glared. In the flickering light of the torches, his bloodstained, grinning rabbit-faced helmet looked deranged and terrifying. Seeing it, Guleya shivered and turned her head away—last night she had dreamt of a rabbit larger than herself, grabbing people and eating them like carrots. She had been so terrified that she hid under the bed without moving.
She still remembered the rabbit's ghastly smile, its hands grabbing people and biting them apart like vegetables.
Now, watching this scene—it was like her nightmare had come true.
The vampire seemed to feel the same. Confronted by the horrifying rabbit-faced armor, it cried out desperately.
"I-I don't know! We were just following orders! We were told to find something sealed in this crypt and bring it back! That's all I know!!"
"Then you're useless."
With that, Duanmu Huai twisted his hand. Like opening a soda bottle, he yanked the vampire's head from its body and tossed both pieces to the ground.
"Ugh—!" Guleya gasped. It wasn't the first time, but… no matter how many times she saw it, she could never get used to it.
"Well, now it seems we've at least got some good news." Duanmu Huai clapped his hands and turned to Guleya and the Vigilant. "Since the vampires are still searching here, it means they haven't found whatever it is yet. Which means we still have a chance."
Just as he said, the vampires hadn't yet discovered the artifact hidden in the crypt. Soon, the group pressed on, reaching the deepest chamber.
When they stepped through the passage into the innermost chamber, the sight made them pause.
A vast underground lake lay before them. In its center stood a circular stone dais, like some ritual altar. Several vampires prowled about it, apparently searching.
"Sir Knight, should we attack?"
"No. Wait."
To Guleya's surprise, this time Duanmu Huai didn't strike immediately. He pulled her and the Vigilant back into hiding.
"Sir Knight?"
"They're clearly searching for that thing. So why not let them find it, and then we swoop in to take it?"
Watching the busy vampires, Duanmu Huai's face curled into a sinister grin.
Many dungeon quests had the same setup: the player solved puzzles, braved traps, and finally claimed the artifact—only to be confronted by the villain and his army, who smugly demanded it.
To players, that was infuriating!
Why is the player always the mantis, and the boss the oriole?
Why couldn't it be the other way around? And it was always a scripted cutscene—did they think the player couldn't fight? If it weren't a cutscene, I'd have shot the bastard in the head right there! Or smashed the artifact in front of them! Anything was better than such cheap story tricks.
And even if you did hand it over, you'd die anyway. He's the villain! You expect him to keep his word? What kind of brainless protagonist trusts that?!
No—I'll be the oriole this time!
"Uh…" Guleya and the Vigilant looked conflicted at his words. It felt underhanded. But thinking further… they didn't protest. After all, maybe only vampires could open the seal.
Below, the vampires were oblivious. They had found something. One of them stepped to the pillar in the platform's center and pressed his hand upon it.
Click!
Spikes shot out, impaling his hand. He screamed and collapsed. Blood gushed, pouring into grooves carved in the platform. Violet flames flickered to life, forming a strange sigil.
The vampire's body shriveled to a husk.
"Tsk tsk tsk." Duanmu Huai shook his head and looked at his companions. "See? Lucky it wasn't us."
"…." They could not argue. If blood sacrifice was the price to open the seal, none of them would volunteer.
The other vampires then pushed torches into place. The sealed floor opened, and a massive stone pillar rose from within.
Now!
"Go!!"
Duanmu Huai bellowed, leaping down with his hammer raised.
Ha ha ha, now you'll know how it feels to be the mantis caught by the oriole!
Sure enough, the vampires who had worked so hard to unlock the mechanism were caught off guard. As Duanmu Huai fell upon them, their faces froze in shock. But he didn't waste time with speeches like some idiot cutscene boss. All he had to do was kill them—and the prize would be his.
Really, those cutscene villains were fools. Why not just snipe the protagonist from afar and send lackeys to retrieve the artifact? Why all the bluster? Besides making players want to tear them apart, it served no purpose.
Or maybe enraging the player was the point, so they'd savor tearing the villain to shreds later?
Boom!
The last vampire's head burst like a melon. The battle was over. Guleya and the Vigilant hurried over.
"Well then, time to open the box." Duanmu Huai rubbed his hands and approached the pillar, gesturing for them to stay back. Who knew what lay inside? Better to be careful.
He pressed his palm to the surface. With a grinding rumble, the front of the stone column slid down, revealing the treasure within.
And then—
The three of them widened their eyes in shock.
"That's a… person?"
Yes. Inside the pillar was a person.
To be precise, a young girl, perhaps in her teens.
She had light-brown hair, wore a white blouse and a frilled gothic skirt. On either side of her head were bat-wing-like ornaments. At first glance, she looked like a noble's daughter.
"This… is the treasure??" Guleya was dumbfounded. She had expected some grand artifact. But a girl? Unless… this girl was special?
"I see."
Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes. He hadn't forgotten what Azura told him: the vampires were modifying Azura's Star to capture and control a soul. Now, it was clear who that soul was meant for… Hm?
Behind the girl was a long golden object strapped to her back. It looked like an enormous scroll, nearly her height, set with gems and silver patterns. Clearly priceless.
At the sight of it, the Vigilant's eyes widened.
"That's… an Elder Scroll?!"
(End of Chapter)