For Anne, she had been looking forward to this banquet. After all, it was a banquet in another world, and she had hoped to experience a little exotic atmosphere. However…
"Uuuu… why do we have to come here…"
Standing in the foul-smelling sewers, Anne was on the verge of despair.
"Of course it's for battle. Don't tell me you actually thought we were going to attend the banquet tonight."
Duanmu Huai chuckled as he looked down at Anne curled up in his arms. Just as he said, although they had received an invitation, he had never intended to attend from the start. The reason was simple—his size alone made him far too conspicuous. Wherever he went, he would draw eyes. Stealth was out of the question.
Besides, the so-called banquet would definitely end up as a feast of blood and flesh. Duanmu Huai had no interest in that kind of "festivity."
Compared to suspicious dishes that might be poisoned or cursed, it was more important to quickly deal with the problem beneath them. Fortunately, thanks to his servo-skull scout, Duanmu Huai had obtained a full map of the royal castle and had already plotted a route of advance.
Of course, this was a route that most people would find unacceptable.
"Uuuu…"
"Alright, now's not the time to sulk. Let's move."
After comforting Anne, Duanmu Huai immediately began to act.
The castle sewers were secure, but that didn't mean they were without obstacles. In a place like the royal castle, the sewers had to be reinforced. Thick iron bars, as wide as a person's arm, sealed the passages, and even magical seals were placed to prevent tampering.
For ordinary people, this was an impossible barrier. But for them…
"Uuu…"
Though dejected, Anne obediently dispelled the magical seal as Duanmu Huai instructed. Then he stepped forward, grasped the arm-thick iron bars, and pulled with force.
"Creeeeak—!"
The next moment, the sturdy bars softened like noodles in his grip, twisting aside. Duanmu Huai tore open a wide gap, strode through first, and then Olgis, Anne, and the Elf Princess followed him into the castle sewers, making their way deeper.
For players, sewers in games had nothing special—just dirty water and a few monsters. But in reality, it was completely different.
The air was thick with the stench of rot. The murky green water carried filth of every kind—garbage, food scraps, and even rotting corpses…
"Uuuuu!!"
As soon as she entered, Anne buried herself in Duanmu Huai's chest, refusing to look outside. Olgis perched on his shoulder as usual, while the Elf Princess clutched his cloak and leaned against his back, silently but firmly expressing her unwillingness to touch or even look at the filth.
At the moment, Duanmu Huai was like the old song…
Left hand holding a chicken, right hand holding a duck, and on his back a fat little baby…
If not for his enormous size, he couldn't possibly carry three people at once.
The stench here was so overpowering that an ordinary person would faint quickly. Fortunately, Duanmu Huai wore a sealed [Power Armor], immune to the smell. Anne and the Elf Princess both cast purification spells as quickly as they could, while Olgis—being a doll—didn't need to breathe.
This was why there were no guards or patrols here. Even cultists wouldn't willingly die in this filth. Their path went unopposed. Smashing through several sewer gates, they finally reached the end of the underground passage.
Ancient sewer systems differed from modern ones. Flow and drainage had to be carefully designed. The castle's sewers used underground water sources to carry filth out to subterranean caverns and rivers. And if Duanmu Huai's sensing of the [Warpstone] was correct, it should be located at the source of the water.
"What do you think?"
Duanmu Huai glanced around, then looked at his two "magical consultants." Both of them pondered his words. Soon, the Elf Princess spoke up.
"Perhaps they plan to use the water to contaminate the entire city? Chaos Cultists often attempt such things. If the water here shares the same source as the city's underground water, the psychic taint would spread through the water and corrupt others."
"But I can feel intense magical activity below. It may also be that they're using the water to cool the heat from releasing powerful spells."
Anne gave her opinion as well. She didn't know much about Chaos Cultists, but when it came to sensing magic, even the Elf Princess couldn't compare to her. That alone made her words crucial to Duanmu Huai.
"Intense magical activity? Is it dangerous?"
"Of course. The magic below is highly unstable… perhaps the caster lacks the skill to control it. If it slips out of control, it could trigger an explosion."
"How big?"
"It could destroy the entire royal castle without question."
Duanmu Huai paused, then looked at Anne.
"Anne, if we charge in now and the magic goes out of control, how confident are you that you can suppress it?"
"Eh? Umm… at most, less than a minute."
"Will that be enough?"
"I can use Colette's Stabilization Spell to hold it steady first, then…"
She traced complex formulas in the air with her finger, as if solving advanced equations, and then nodded.
"No problem. I can do it."
"Good."
Satisfied, Duanmu Huai pulled out the [Thunder Warhammer], gripping it firmly.
"Listen well. The plan is simple. We break through to the water source, secure the [Warpstone]. Anne, when I draw their attention, you seize control of the magic. Don't worry about anything else. Olgis, protect Anne. Your Highness, support from the side. Understood?"
"I understand."
"Yes, Master."
"Alright."
All three nodded in agreement. Duanmu Huai turned forward.
"Then… move out!!"
The instant his words fell, Duanmu Huai charged forward.
In the dark sewer, the massive figure in black armor darted silently like a phantom. This wasn't raw speed, but the power of the [Gravity Gauntlet]—a relic that allowed complete control over gravity, including his own. By reducing his own weight, he moved with incredible swiftness.
Simply adjusting gravity produced astonishing results. It truly was a player's artifact.
Thanks to this, Duanmu Huai dashed like a nimble cat, making almost no sound. By the time the guards at the water source noticed something wrong, he was already upon them.
"Who goes there?!"
The guards shouted and raised weapons, but Duanmu Huai extended his hand and clenched.
Invisible gravity shifted instantly, dragging the guards along with the sealed iron gate behind them. They screamed, their bodies flailing—not flying forward, but falling straight down toward the monstrous figure ahead. And then the hammer swung.
"Boom!!!"
The sweeping strike sent the armored guards flying, their limbs twisting grotesquely under the impact as they crashed to the ground with the gate. Duanmu Huai leapt forward into the water source.
Unlike the filthy sewers, the reservoir was crystal clear. In the center of a vast cavern, water surged from a round pool of white stone, cascading down channels. And there, at the heart, stood a massive [Warpstone], blazing with magical light—the very same that had once crashed into Mordheim's slums.
Around it, nine circles inscribed with eerie runes glowed, each occupied by a black-robed cultist.
But the scene was strange.
Beams of lightning-like energy burst from the Warpstone into the cultists. Their bodies convulsed wildly, twitching like puppets forced to dance.
What's going on?
Duanmu Huai's question was soon answered.
"As I thought, the magic's out of control!!"
Anne, rushing in after him, shouted in alarm.
"Out of control?"
"Yes! They must have been using these nine circles to stabilize and distribute the power from the center. But they failed, and now they're entangled with it—like people struck by lightning, unable to break free!"
"Ohhh…"
A glance at the pile of powdered stone by the circles told Duanmu Huai everything. These idiots had tried to use fake Warpstones for their array—stones he himself had swapped in earlier. Of course, mere rocks couldn't absorb magic.
And so, they'd blown themselves up. Hahahahaha!
"Can you absorb it?"
"Of course, but it'll take some time!"
Anne strode to the pool, lifting her grimoire high. With her chant, a radiant magic circle enveloped the raging power. Slowly, the turbulent magic began to calm.
"Phew…"
Duanmu Huai let out a breath. He wasn't as scholarly as Anne, but having studied at Manaria's Magic Academy, he could tell the magic was stabilizing.
But then…
He glanced at the cultists sprawled like dried corpses. Nine of them. Nine—the number of the God of Trickery. So that was the plan… manipulate the princes into killing each other, then harvest the fruits down here. But since the Warpstones were fakes, their ritual backfired, killing themselves instead. Hah! Truly the work of the God of Trickery's idiots.
Yet things weren't over.
"Well, well. Didn't think you'd get here so fast."
A voice rang out. Duanmu Huai turned. The Witch Hunter had appeared, dressed just as before.
"Long time no see. I thought you were dead."
"Hahaha, luckily… I wasn't—"
Before he could finish, Duanmu Huai raised his hand and clenched. Gravity crushed the Witch Hunter to the ground. He screamed, body warping, before bursting into a writhing pink mass of flesh with limbs and a gaping mouth.
"You—you… how did you—"
"Next time, don't show up so conveniently. It makes you suspicious."
Duanmu Huai's hand tightened, and the creature exploded into nothingness.
The Elf Princess stared in shock. "You knew it was a demon?"
Of course she recognized it—a Horrorling, daemon of the God of Trickery. They could mimic any form, perfect spies and infiltrators. Even elves struggled to tell them apart.
"Experience. And its timing was too perfect."
Duanmu Huai sneered. He even suspected that the first Witch Hunter he'd met in Mordheim had been one of these things. But it didn't matter. He hadn't shared his plans with the Witch Hunter—yet the man had appeared here, at the exact right time. For Duanmu Huai, that was enough proof.
This was why players trusted [Soul Cards] more than NPCs. Who knew if the "companion" by your side wasn't a Horrorling in disguise, waiting to stab you and whisper, Sorry, I was undercover all along.
But it wasn't over yet.
Through the servo-skull, Duanmu Huai detected a large group of life signals charging toward them.
Clearly, these newcomers had no good intentions.
"Olgis."
Duanmu Huai gripped his hammer, striding to the doorway to block the exit.
"Protect Anne. Leave the rest to me!"
.....
(End of Chapter)