In a cavern strewn with corpses, an old man slowly walked towards the center of the chamber and ran his hand over the monument there.
[The Last Great Sage, Diplan Groundel Gabrielius. In honor of his great first step].
The monument had been built to commemorate the achievements of a great hero of the past.
«...It's almost there», the old man murmured quietly as he withdrew his hand. He took a book out of his pocket.
¡Fwooo!
The book floated in the air, defying gravity, as its pages opened and flipped one by one. Finally, the last page of the Complete Book of Lords I appeared.
And so, the Pilgrim defiled his faith by succumbing to the fear that gripped his heart. Fleeing for his life, he finally met his end, where he discovered that he had fled from a fear into the jaws of another even greater than the previous one: the fear of no longer having anyone by his side.
The fear of loneliness swallowed the unprepared Pilgrim. It was a horror from which no one could hope to escape, which destroyed body and soul, turning anger and hatred inward. Not even the Mother Goddess could save the Pilgrim now.
As the Pilgrim's soul died out, a new power and authority began to possess him, imbuing the once mortal man with a violent and cursed energy.
Thus was born the one who sows terror and despises faith: Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror.
Hit.
The book closed with a snap, an old story buried in the annals of history, no longer remembered.
***
«I... only have to stab one person...?»
Versyl's question took my breath away. I wanted to yell at him, demand why he asked such a thing, but my whole body was still frozen, unable to make the slightest noise.
«Of course», the man responded with a wide smile, «just one person. As long as you kill one of them, the empire will accept you again».
After a while of hesitation, Versyl spoke, her voice trembling. I thought he would try to ease his guilt by apologizing to us, but instead, what he said was completely unexpected. «Now I'm sure. Mr. Yandel... You've been doubting me since before, right?».
Doubt? No, what the hell is he...?
«I seem to have another ability besides hiding my presence and healing wounds... I don't know exactly what monster ability it is, but I can feel your emotions towards me very clearly».
Damn, I can't believe she had something like that.
«Miss Tersia too... you feel the same. You doubted me and genuinely debated whether to kill me when he made you the offer. Even though you decided not to, you didn't make that decision because you trust me».
Erwen didn't respond, for obvious reasons.
«Of course, Miss Fenelin was the only one who had no doubts or suspicions towards me».
The more Versyl spoke, the faster my heart beat. We were doomed. I couldn't stop her. I couldn't even try to dissuade her because my body was cold and I couldn't say a word.
¡Ba-ba!
I had truly reached a new level of despair, one that even surpassed the one I felt when Dreadfear displayed the ability to use aura and an AoE stun.
«But I understand why you feel that way. It makes sense that you would find it harder to trust me since you haven't known me in as long as others». Suddenly, Versyl's hand stopped shaking around the dagger. «...That's why I decided to do it. If I don't do it, someone else will do it first».
Shit.
I closed my eyes. However, even then, I couldn't stop thinking of ways out of this. What could I do to avoid this disaster? There had to be something.
However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think of anything. Even when I hadn't been able to stand, even when my equipment, essences, and stats had been taken from me, I didn't lose hope even once. He was convinced that there would be a way to kill the boss monster and get out of this place alive.
But ya no.
¡Joder!
This was unfair. It was completely unreasonable. It wasn't like he died because he was weaker than a monster, made a big mistake, or hadn't completed a task in the set time.
«Stab a pilgrim. Cover your dagger with his dirty blood to demonstrate your purity».
Did one of us really have to die like this? Without even a chance to talk to her?
Versyl took a step closer to where I was being forced to kneel and leaned over so that we were face to face, allowing me to clearly see her expression.
«Mr. Yandel...» He looked like he was about to cry. «At this rate, we're going to fail, right?»
So in the end, it seemed like she was choosing to stab me. Since there was no way for us all to get out alive, he had to decide to escape on his own. He squeezed the dagger as I closed my eyes.
«This way we will make sure that we don't all die».
I was startled by the sensation of a soft hand caressing my cheek.
...¿What?
When I opened my eyes, I saw Versyl pointing the dagger at her own neck. He held her at an angle where Dreadfear couldn't see her from behind. «I've made the wrong decisions too many times».
No, wait a minute.
«But now, this is the obvious choice. Any of you would have made the same decision eventually. I was smart enough to think about it first».
I tried to open my mouth to stop her, but I still couldn't move.
«I considered every other option I could think of, but none of them ended well for us». He raised his hand from my cheek. «I won't make the same mistake again».
No, all I had to do was wait. I didn't have to do anything. Refusing to take a life could be the key to getting out of this alive. Why come to a conclusion like this instead? I didn't understand his logic at all.
«I told you. If I don't do it first, someone else will».
Suddenly, everything fell into place with that phrase.
«But you know, I think this is a situation where none of us can truly betray each other».
Stab!
In the end, we were the ones who pushed her to sacrifice herself.
[The first Pilgrim has died. The statistics of all surviving Pilgrims have increased by +400.]
Hit.
His body loosened and he collapsed on the cold, hard ground. All I could do was look at her while the knight behind her scoffed. «...That silly girl».
All the blood in my body rose to my head, leaving me stunned. I felt like the slightest contact made me explode and left me screaming at the top of my lungs.
She really…
Was dead?
I felt like I had drunk until I vomited and the contents of my stomach were now rising down my throat.
Beeeeee-
His voice cut the ringing in my ears as a coal-black mist began to come out of his body. «I'll give you one last chance».
[White Captain Dreadfear has released Time of Execution. The target's Fear level increases significantly].
This ability had an effect similar to Bloodlust. It paralyzed your sense of reason, making it impossible for you to maintain your sanity. Your body felt danger approaching and reacted accordingly, spiraling into panic. The urge to flee as far away from here as possible flooded my senses.
«Flee», someone whispered in my ear.
But then suddenly a thought came to my mind.
«Greyhound».
What if Versyl had made a different decision? In this state, would it have even been possible for us all to have full faith in each other and refuse to take that dagger?
Tal leads.
But she must have made the decision she made because she was worried about what would come next. As the Dungeon and Stone player that she was, the first thing she did was try to figure out the game designer's intentions for this level.
Goteo.
His blood was beginning to accumulate on the ground.
¡Zeeeeee!
The moment his blood came into contact with the statue, the entire cave began to shake as if a crack was opening.
[A mysterious presence has embraced the soul of the noble Pilgrim. The altar has been activated].
¡Rumble!
A cluster of lights appeared on the stone statue in the center.
[The Light of Faith has expelled inner terror.]
At that moment, the ability that had been holding our bodies disappeared.
Stomp.
I immediately stood up and grabbed my gun. The gentleman looked at us, visibly upset but totally unconcerned. «Do you think this changes anything?».
I didn't know, at least not yet. But I was sure of one thing, and that was that we had at least passed the first phase.
What other skills do you have?
It was really disgusting how powerful it was. All he had to do was say: «Believe me», and suddenly we trusted him when he said he would let us live if we killed each other. There should be a limit to how powerful a character can be.
«It's not too late for you yet. But the only way for you to get out of this cave alive is to prove your innocence».
What was he talking about? Who would believe him after all that?
«Lord, I have regained my strength, at least to some extent.»
Oh really? Fortunately, it seemed like I wasn't the only one who had a buff.
«Ainar, from Versyl.»
«...Okay.» Ainar quickly grabbed Versyl without question.
Seeing him, the knight quickly reduced the distance between us, brandishing his sword.
Fwoosh.
It was a quick and strong blow, far superior to any attack by the soldiers we encountered along the way. However, perhaps because our power had recovered a little now that the altar had activated, it was not difficult to follow the trajectory of his blow.
Our legs?
It wasn't aimed at our hearts or our necks, so he must still be planning to continue his little prisoner's dilemma game.
¡Tap!
Instead of trying to block his aura with my shield, I jumped into the air to dodge his sword and hit his head with my mace. He was not able to dodge it, probably because he did not expect it to attack him.
¡Zas!
However, this guy was a tough bastard. As expected, there was no chance that beating him would be so easy. The only reason I was able to hit him in the first place was because he was being careless and not taking us seriously.
Not yet...
Fighting my urge to kill him right there, I shouted: «What are you doing? Run!»
We couldn't face him yet. Luckily, thanks to the significant increase in our statistics, the soldiers around us were no longer a problem.
«Raaah!» Ainar charged forward like a rhinoceros, piercing the soldiers like bowling. I quickly ran after her and left the central cavern.
«Get out of my way!» The knight seemed to have recovered from the blow to the head I gave him, as he was now running after us. With that speed...
...He's a little faster than us.
At this rate, it would catch up with us. Something had to be done.
We ran with all our might as I racked my brain. Why did our statistics suddenly increase? Was it an upgrade to the altar being activated? Or maybe there was another condition?
And more importantly, what is the condition for overcoming this event?
Was it the hiding place? Maybe if we kept running from him, our stats would increase over time and we would end up being strong enough to defeat him.
Right now I couldn't be sure of anything, but at least I could set a short-term goal.
«...Where are we going?»
«Out of the cave».
Our first objective would be to go outside, in case activating the altar and escaping from the cave was the clear condition.
However, things were never so simple or easy.
«...Lord, we cannot continue fleeing like this».
It was only a matter of time before it reached us. Ainar and Erwen took turns offering me their opinions.
«Bjorn, let's fight him. We have to avenge the wizard!»
«No. The three of us are not strong enough to defeat him. I'll stay behind and throw him off».
Fighting him head-on or having one of us stay behind as bait... They weren't terrible options. «...Okay», I accepted. «I'll stay behind and distract him, then.»
«No», Erwen replied. «I have to be the one to do it because I'm the only one capable of finding you again... In fact, they gave me a skill when we got here».
«¿Skill?»
«I can feel where everyone is. I didn't know exactly what I was feeling until we all met downtown, but now that I know, I'll be able to find you even after we part...»
Was it like when some explorers had the ability to sense the location of the portal? If so, then it definitely made sense that she would be the one to lure him in and catch up with us later.
«Trust me. I am the right person for the job».
What should I do? Was this really the best plan? As usual, he only had a split second to make a decision. «...Don't get hurt.»
Despite hearing my orders, Erwen said nothing in response. He just slowed down and sent us away with a reassuring smile on his face.
***
Huff… Huff…
I did everything I could to hold my heavy breathing with every step I took. It had been about two hours since Erwen separated from the group.
We are halfway...
It had taken him eight hours to reach the center of the cave when the event began, but now we had covered half the distance in just two hours.
I think I'm at a third of my usual power...
That was just in terms of raw statistics, of course. That figure didn't take into account the fact that I didn't have my usual essences to fight this guy.
The real problem is... that our statistics have shown no signs of rising any further.
Not knowing if this previous increase had been something specific, Ainar and I continued running towards the entrance of the cave as fast as we could. Some time later, a thought I had been trying to suppress for hours came to the surface of my mind.
Erwen... When is it going to catch up with us? A while ago. Something has happened?
Just as anxiety began to run up my spine, another sensation suddenly flooded my senses.
[The second Pilgrim has died. The statistics of all surviving Pilgrims have increased by +400.]
It was another increase in statistics.