Chapter 233: Treasure Chest Monster! Rest in peace for the dungeon master!
With a loud bang, the heavy stone door slammed shut, completely isolating the endless undead army outside.
Kazuma, whose stamina had reached its limit, stumbled, knelt on the ground, and gasped like a broken bellows.
"Finally... finally safe!"
"You were using Stealth the whole time, following me. What exactly were you so afraid of?"
Arthur casually threw Darkness and Aqua, whom he had dragged along, onto the ground and took out a magic stone lamp from his storage pouch, lighting it.
The faint light dispelled the Darkness, but what greeted their eyes was not the eerie and terrifying BOSS room they expected, but...
A study filled with signs of life?
Kazuma looked up blankly: "Where is this place?"
Arthur casually picked up an ancient book from the table, flicked it with his fingertip, and dust billowed.
" 'Comprehensive Guide to Elemental Magic'? It seems this was where the great archmage lived in his later years."
Kazuma instantly switched to player mode, his eyes gleaming, and began rummaging through the room.
Unfortunately, those cupboards contained nothing but old dust and tattered cobwebs.
Forget about treasures, not even an eris copper coin could be found.
"Tch, nothing valuable."
Aqua, who was also searching, froze and reluctantly withdrew her hand.
"I say, Kazuma, your line makes me feel like a shameless thief."
"Don't say it out loud! I'm already feeling that way myself, it's quite embarrassing."
Kazuma slammed the cabinet shut with a 'bang', scratching his face awkwardly.
Arthur, still reading the ancient book, added without looking up.
"This dungeon is the private property of Archmage Kil. We uninvited adventurers are no different from thieves."
Kazuma's face flushed: "Why even Big Brother is saying that..."
"Hm!?"
Aqua's eyes suddenly sparkled. She raised her hand and pointed to the corner of the room, her voice incredibly excited.
"Look quickly! It's a treasure chest! A treasure chest that hasn't been opened yet!"
Seeing the treasure, she instantly forgot everything else, took off running, and rushed over.
Kazuma quickly yelled at her: "Hey! Wait! You idiot! A treasure chest so obviously placed alone in an open space, don't you think it's a trap?"
Saying that, Kazuma activated his Trap Detection skill.
Sure enough, the strong threat reaction came from that treasure chest.
"It seems this is what the seniors often refer to as a Mimic."
Hearing the words "Mimic," Darkness, who had been sprawled on the ground, twisted her neck like a zombie and cast a burning gaze.
"Such a dangerous monster! You all step back! Let me deal with it!"
She scrambled forward, using both hands and feet like a bizarre creature, and the moment she touched the treasure chest—
The surrounding walls and floor suddenly came alive, forming a giant mouth that swallowed her upper body whole!
Crunching and gnawing sounds were incessant, but from inside the Mimic came an inexplicable, pleasurable groan.
Arthur and the other two watched this scene expressionlessly, offering deep sympathy to the Mimic that had been chewing for a long time but couldn't swallow.
Although Darkness was a masochistic Crusader whose attacks always missed their target, her defense was enough to make any top-tier shield bearer ashamed enough to change professions.
A mere Mimic from a beginner dungeon, even if it broke all its teeth, wouldn't be able to bite off a piece of her skin.
Bang!
A crisp cracking sound rang out.
"Hm!?"
Kazuma was stunned by the strange noise. Had Darkness really broken the Mimic's teeth?
Only to see a faint glow rising from the wall surface, bricks peeling off and dissipating into magical particles, revealing a long-sealed secret chamber.
A dry voice, like sandpaper rubbing, came from the depths of the gloomy secret chamber.
"Excuse me... has a Great Priest arrived?"
Hearing this voice, Kazuma and Aqua, who had just pulled Darkness out of the wall, shivered violently and simultaneously hid behind Arthur.
"Who... who's there!?"
Accompanied by stiff, slow footsteps, a Lich in tattered robes slowly walked out.
It gazed silently at everyone with its eye sockets burning with a faint blue phosphorescence.
"It has been too long... since I last saw living people, so long... I've almost forgotten how to greet them."
"Bold Lich!"
Aqua's palm glowed with a holy purifying light, instantly illuminating the entire room as if it were daytime.
"How dare you hide in a beginner dungeon and harm adventurers! I, Lady Aqua, shall thoroughly purify you!"
"Look at its profound eyes! That powerful lordly aura! This must be an unparalleled expert who can bring me endless torment!"
Darkness, who clearly hadn't been chewed enough earlier, now had shining eyes and puffed out her chest, standing in front of Aqua.
"As a knight, I should shield my companions from all harm! Evil Lich! Do your worst, come at me!"
"Please, please wait!"
The Lich hastily raised its two bony hands, making a gesture of surrender.
"I swear on my soul fire! I absolutely have no intention of attacking or cursing you all!"
The Lich urgently begged Aqua and Darkness to calm down.
However, Aqua had no trust in the undead, and the holy light she was condensing was about to blast out.
Bang!
Arthur picked up the thick, brick-like 'Comprehensive Guide to Elemental Magic' and precisely slapped it on Aqua's head, physically interrupting her spellcasting.
"How long has it been since Wiz's incident, and you haven't made any progress?"
Aqua crouched down, holding her head, glaring at Arthur with teary, pouting eyes.
The Lich visibly relaxed and performed an intricate and ancient noble bow to everyone.
"I am Kil. I wonder what infamy I bear in today's legends?"
Arthur waved his hand: "The storybooks say you abducted a noble lady, became an enemy of the kingdom, and were ultimately annihilated by a righteous army."
Kil walked back into the secret chamber with difficulty, sat on the throne, and let out a soft sound that was both a sigh and a bitter laugh.
"Is that so... It seems our story, hers and mine, ultimately didn't have a good ending."
Hearing the desolation and sorrow in its tone, Kazuma and the other two fell silent, listening to its next words.
"I did abduct that noble lady, because that damned king had no intention of letting her go."
Kil's jawbone clicked, and his voice was filled with immense pride.
"When I proposed to her, she accepted without hesitation. The story after that was a grand love escape, belonging to her and me."
The laughter gradually subsided. Kil raised a skeletal finger, pointing to the corner of the secret chamber.
There lay a beautiful bed, upon which rested a quiet skeleton in a lovely dress.
"This is my beloved. I had intended to stay with her like this, until this decaying body also turned to dust. But—"
Kil's gaze turned to Aqua, and the phosphorescence flickering in his eye sockets ignited a trace of longing, almost pleading.
"During the long wait, I suddenly felt an unprecedented divine aura. I couldn't help but fantasize, perhaps... perhaps you could purify me?"
"Please, undead creatures cannot commit self-termination. I have... made her wait far too long."
After hearing Kil's plea, Aqua, who was usually carefree, also fell silent.
She tugged on Arthur's sleeve and said in a low but firm voice.
"I'm going to use divine power to purify him, to help him reunite with that lady. You're not allowed to report me to the divine realm!"
"Huh?"
Arthur looked bewildered, completely failing to understand what strange settings this idiotic goddess was privately imagining again.
Aqua stepped forward, emitting a soft and clear holy light that filled the entire secret chamber.
「Archmage Kil, who abandoned the divine law and willingly fell to become a Lich. In the name of Aqua, Goddess of Water, I forgive your sins.」
Enveloped in the holy light, Kil's body, kneeling before the bed, gradually became transparent.
He gazed affectionately at the long-departed skeleton, his voice carrying a hint of relieved liberation.
"Thank you for your... help."
The purification ended, and the secret chamber returned to silence. The scattered light particles slowly dissipated, like blue and white fireflies encountered in a forest.
On the way back, Kazuma, with a smile on his face, carried the true treasure Kil had left behind, excitedly discussing the distribution with Aqua.
Darkness, however, occasionally looked back into the depths of the dungeon, her expression slightly melancholic.
Seeing this, Arthur leaned closer to her and teased in a low voice.
"What, thinking about your own situation? Lady Lalatina?"
Darkness trembled all over, suddenly raising her hand to grab Arthur's collar, her earlobes so red they looked like they might bleed.
"Wait! You... how do you know that name!?"
Arthur spread his hands, feigning innocence, and explained.
"I'm not an idiot like Aqua. The quest on the bulletin board looking for a runaway blonde, blue-eyed noble lady had an absurdly high reward; it was hard not to notice it."