The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary

Proofreader: Xemul

Caves had different structures. Although there were exceptions because they were natural formations, most of them were simple structures that included several straightforward routes. If the size of the cave was large, it might be difficult to find your way back because of the many branches and paths you had taken, but in a normal-sized cave, it was unlikely that you would get lost inside.

The cave that Loren’s team entered seemed to be a straightforward type of cave, and the group were making their way along the almost straight pathway without any lights.

Darkness was a very troublesome thing for the human eye, as it made it impossible to see anything. But Loren seemed to have gradually absorbed the abilities of the King of Death, and he could see enough to determine what was where without having to call out to Shayna.

“I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not.”

The fact that he was taking on the power of the King of Death meant that Loren was becoming less and less human. Although it was still unknown at the moment how this would end, Loren had the feeling that it would not be a story with a happy ending.

However, he was not inclined to expel Shayna out of his mind, thinking that she would disappear if he did. He was somewhat inclined to let things be as they were for now.

“It’s just an ordinary cave as far as I can see. I wonder if there is really anything here that can stand up against the Evil God of Wrath.”

It was Lapis who raised such a question while looking around.

Indeed, there was no indication that anyone has tampered with their surroundings. It was somewhat difficult to imagine that the mere depths of this cave could conceal something like Yuri had mentioned.

“There was some kind of trap at the entrance, so it can’t be that no one was in there at all, can it?”

“The paper Yuri gave me and that fact are the only clues we have at this point.”

Lapis said and waved the paper, which was pinched between her fingers. It was now emitting an even stronger light than it had been at the entrance.

Yuri did not give any particular explanation for this, but Loren and Lapis thought that the increased light was probably a sign that they were getting closer to the desired object.

“It helps that there is only one path. I wouldn’t want to wander through a maze here.”

“Even though the it has eased up a bit, it’s still cold.”

The air was still cold enough to feel chilly, although it was not unbearable thanks to the cave and the coats they were wearing.

Loren did not want to stay long in this space, nor did he want to navigate the maze as Lapis had said.

“But what the hell is down the road?”

“I don’t know. I think it must be something that can counteract the power of fire, since it is something that can oppose the power of the Evil God of Wrath.”

“Simply put, something that possesses the power of water or ice.”

Gula joined the conversation from behind them.

She, too, was wearing a coat, which hid her usual attire, and she seemed to be somehow able to withstand the cold. Next to her, Luxuria had his arms crossed as if he were hugging himself, walking haltingly.

If he looked back at Gula, he would inevitably see Luxuria’s figure, so Loren asked Gula without looking back.

“If it’s going to compete with that, it must be pretty powerful, right?”

“That’s right. If it’s some half-assed item, it’ll just be burned to ashes.”

“Can we transport such a powerful item by ourselves?”

The simple assumption was that something with the opposite attribute to the Evil God of Wrath and with equal power was enshrined at the back of the cave where they were proceeding. Loren’s question was whether such a thing could be carried casually.

Gula was could not answer, and Lapis responded in a light-hearted manner.

“Let’s just assume it’s something we can carry with us. Otherwise, I’m sure Yuri wouldn’t have asked us to fetch it.”

“I’m sure the Commander would have thought of that…”

[‘Onii-san, there’s a doorway ahead.’]

Loren was speaking when Shayna’s voice in his mind stopped him. He turned his gaze forward.

With the King of Death’s vision, which could see through darkness, he saw, just as Shayna had said, a metal door that was clearly man-made at the end of a long stretch of cave wall that he had previously thought was natural.

Lapis and the others seem to have noticed it, too, and they all stop in their tracks.

“And something like that just appeared.”

Because of the incident at the entrance, Lapis observed the area around the door carefully without moving from the spot, but she gently shook her head after a while.

As was the case at the entrance, Lapis was unable to detect anything unusual around the door, even with her magical vision and knowledge.

However, it was hard to believe that there were no tricks being played, as it was obvious that there would be something beyond the door. As Lapis tilted her head, Loren stepped forward, acting as if he were a casual observer.

“Loren?”

“I’ll go this time. I think it’s too much to ask Gula and Luxuria to be flicked back again.”

“It’s not necessarily a trap that flick you back here though.”

“Then help me out. I’m counting on you.”

Just because the trap at the entrance was equipped with a device with comparatively low killing power, did not necessarily mean that the same kind of device would be used again here.

The possibility that something with a potentially deadly power might be set here could not be dismissed, but with a demon and two Evil Gods behind him and the King of Death named Shayna inside him, Loren was optimistic that he would manage somehow. He slowly walked up to the door at the end of the cave.

Loren was on guard to some extent, ready to deal with any situation that might arise. But with slow and steady steps, he eventually arrived at the door.

Having arrived at the door without incident, Loren turned toward Lapis, who was waiting for him at the same position where she had stopped earlier, with a look of disappointment on his face. Lapis shrugged and walked up to where he was waiting, beckoning Gula and Luxuria to follow her.

“Nothing happened.”

“There were several signs, but none of them were triggered.”

Loren had not noticed, but Lapis, who was watching from behind, had seen signs of movement of something that was probably an anti-intruder device. However, they were not triggered even when Loren passed by.

“I’ve been wondering who the hell you are, Loren. There have been a few things that have seemed a little strange to me.”

“Even if you say so, I have no idea. I don’t even know where I was born.”

“Once this is done, we may need to try to squeeze it out of Yuri. For now, we have to deal with the matter at hand first.”

Saying this, Lapis moved her face closer to the door in front of them, being careful not to touch it.

The metal door, which had some kind of pattern engraved on its surface, had no handle or keyhole, as far as the eyes could see. There was also no place to put a hand on it; the door seemed to be impossible to open in any way. Lapis turned away from it to Loren and said in a somewhat dismissive tone of voice.

“If Loren pushes it, maybe it’ll open?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Why don’t you give it a try? There doesn’t seem to be any kind of trap.”

Loren then checked with Shayna to see if it was true.

Shayna, with fluttering wings in Loren’s field of vision, stared at the door for a moment, then nodded.

If both of them had checked and found no traps, Loren thought that even if there were traps, he would not be able to tell. Without letting his guard down, he gently put his hand on the door.

“What the hell is going on?”

“That’s exactly what I want to ask.”

As Loren heard the conversation of the Evil Gods in the background, the metal door disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place as soon as he put his hand on it.

Loren was unable to comprehend the scene before him, but as if to drown out his thoughts, a gush of cold air suddenly burst forth from the open doorway, and Lapis let out a small scream and clung to Loren as the two Evil Gods began to scream in unison.

Even though they were wearing coats, the cold air seeping into their bodies made Loren and the others wince, and their exposed skin felt only stinging pain.

Loren feared for a moment that he was going to die as his body heat was being snatched away from him, but after a while, the wind died down, the cold air settled a little, and Loren was finally able to let out a deep breath.

“I thought my insides were going to freeze.”

Loren said. He was neither joking nor speaking figuratively but felt it sincerely. He lightly tapped Lapis, who was burying her face in his arms and clinging to him, on the shoulder.

“Hey, are you okay over there?”

After seeing Lapis look up, he called out to the Evil Gods behind them. Gula raised her hand as if to say she was okay, though she was shaking so hard that her teeth could not even chatter. Luxuria, on the other hand, was deathly pale and motionless. Loren wondered if he had frozen to death, but when he saw Gula, while trying to withstand the cold, put her hand on Luxuria’s neck and let out a sigh of disappointment, he realized that he seemed to be alive.

“The cold air trapped inside the door burst out all at once. I thought I was going to die.”

“Me too. I heard that freezing to death is one of the most comfortable ways to die.”

Loren had heard from someone that it would literally be like dying in his sleep, but he could not imagine that he would want to die here, no matter how comfortable it would be.

Leaving Luxuria, who was not likely to move, and Gula, who was watching over him, behind, Loren and Lapis stepped into the room.

“Is this it?”

They hadn’t proceeded much further when Lapis pointed to the end of the cave, where a single-edged sword with a slightly curved blade was thrust deeply into the ground.

Loren and Lapis approached the sword, which was glowing pale in the darkness as if it were pushing the darkness away, and stared at it intently.

“Scimitar, I think that’s what it’s called.”

“Isn’t it a falchion?”

“What’s the difference?”

“A falchion is thicker and heavier.”

When Lapis looked at the blade of the sword again, she saw that it was indeed quite thick, with a weight that would make it a little difficult to handle with one hand. A bluish-white light was emitting from the blade as if clinging to it, and she could see that it was an intense cold magic.

“I think this is the countermeasure he was talking about. Let’s call it an ice falchion.”

“So it’s ice against fire, huh? But, can it really stand up to that powerful Rage?”

“Let’s believe it can. The Commander said so.”

As she answered, Lapis was about to put her hand on the hilt of the sword that was stuck into the ground, but hesitated for a moment and then stepped aside to let Loren take her place.

Loren felt as if the sword could have been pulled out by anyone, but since Lapis has specifically given him the task, he thought that it must mean something. So he moved forward to the spot Lapis had vacated and gently put his hand on the hilt of the sword.

The cold stung his palm a little, but nothing more than that happened, and with a light effort Loren was able to pull the sword out of the ground.

“I think there was a legend that once upon a time, whoever pulled out a sword that was stuck in a stone or something could become king.”

“It’s not that big a deal, is it? We’ve got what we need now. Let’s get out of this cold place as soon as possible.”

As the sword had been stuck into the ground, there was no sheath to hold it. Loren urged Lapis to return to the entrance, thinking it would be necessary to return to the wagon and find a cloth or something to wrap the sword with.

“What the hell?! What the fuck are you doing here?!”

“You followed us huh, pervert!”

Just then, Gula’s impatient scream and Luxuria’s resigned voice came from the entrance.