Darkness was only a few steps away. Leaning on the flickering light of the torches, we stood in a tight formation. There were a lot of unpleasant looks around.

What are you staring at?

Hundreds of eyes blossomed in the darkness. It seemed that we were in a cruel fairy tale with a dark and grotesque atmosphere. Of course, this was only the atmosphere. The ending depended only on us. If we rise to the challenge, it will be a story of hope. If we fail, it will remain just a cruel story.

*Whistle!*

The shadow in the form of an awl, which had been absorbed into the shield, broke free and returned to the darkness. This has already been repeated several times. This bastard was apparently shy because he only shot from afar.

Perhaps this is good, since we have also decided to stall for time here.

Thinking so, I checked the condition of my equipment.

The shield was full of holes.

The warrior next to me muttered:

"You'll have to start with a new shield when you get out.

The words were spoken with the expectation that I would return alive. I grinned and said:

"Yes, I'll have to buy a new one."

We will survive. At least one of us.

*Breath*

After four continuous shots, I heard a sound from the darkness.

Well, have you overcome your shyness?

*Uu

Soon, with the sound of a terrible breeze, the creature appeared.

He was about two meters tall, and he was dressed only in a robe similar to that worn by the dead. He wore nothing even remotely resembling armor. Its outlines were similar to those of a human, only black smoke poured out of the exposed parts of the body, like those of a spirit-type monster.

*Flashed!*

The place where the head was supposed to be above the neck was covered by the shadow of the hood and a red eye glowed dimly from it. This was a clear difference from the human structure. First of all, only one eye emitted light. And it was located in the center of the face, and not on the right or left, which made it not only disproportionate, but also huge, as if the entire head consisted of a giant eyeball.

"Avoid eye contact if you can," Kyle said.

As soon as I was convinced of his appearance, I turned my gaze to his shoulder. The reason was simple.

"Don't be afraid.

As soon as you met his gaze, you had a certain chance of falling into an anomalous state of [Fear].

"Look at me.

If [Fear] was cast nine times, the character would forever become a servant of the Lord of the Abyss. Like countless monsters in a labyrinth, he turned into an enemy and attacked us.

Damn pattern of actions.

In fact, it was safe to say that it was a conditional instant kill, since Monstrization was not filmed even after the boss was killed.

Well, our task is not to kill him, but to hold out for 10 minutes...

I doubted that anyone would get to Monstrosity in 10 minutes, but you can't be too sure. After all, we came here unprepared. There was no resistance related to [Fear]. Simply put, the anomalous state [Fear] itself was quite threatening.

— Phew.

The warrior next to me clutched his head and groaned. It seemed that he had met the monster's eyes. If he had been affected by [Fear], he would have either dropped his weapon and run away, or he would have attacked us.

"Bjorn!"

"Careful!"

While I was checking on my friend's condition, a shadow stretched from Berzak's chest. It was the same awl that struck my shield every now and then. However, now it acted somewhat differently than before.

*Whistle*

A terrible flying shadow broke into dozens of pieces and rushed towards me like a net.

*Chong*

The shadow clung to my body like the suckers of an octopus. I could feel her pulling me with my whole body. His intentions were clear.

Since it would take too long to kill me with ordinary blows, he must have planned to drag me into the darkness.

Ha, we're not that clumsy.

— [Ecovir Iheran Ifun].

Kyle cast a pre-prepared spell, a 7th rank auxiliary magic [Attribute Endowment]. For reference, the attribute was the attribute of the sun, the opposite of the attribute of dark monsters.

*Whoosh!*

Pure white flames, combining fire and light attributes, absorbed the weapons of everyone except the knights.

The reason why he didn't use it on knights was simple.

*Colic!*

With the help of the Aura, it was possible to damage a monster without using attributes.

"Save Bjorn!"

The moment my body was bound by the shadow, the warriors rushed forward and sliced or shattered it with their weapons covered in flames. My body was freed in an instant.

However, before I could catch my breath, dozens of shadows escaped from the bastard's body again.

*Sweeeeist!*

This time it was a new template. The bastard was aiming not only at me, but at everyone. I hurriedly grabbed my shield.

Started.

It's time to start the battle in earnest.

***

The big-eyed monster I killed earlier, the Void Watcher, was a summoning skill used by Berzak to choose the next victim after one fight. When it was used, he appeared throughout the cave, after which he wandered around in search of a victim. It was enough to encounter it once - and that's it. There was no way to kill the aggro, so I killed the eye without thinking. If no one attracted the main aggro, then it was impossible to lure him.

As you could see, until my comrades attacked the monster first to save me, this bastard only considered me to be his enemy.

While we were developing the strategy, someone asked:

"Then wouldn't it be better for someone to come forward and sacrifice themselves?"

But it was impossible. Let's leave aside the question of who will take on this role.

Berzak's viewing radius was about two kilometers. If we couldn't hold out until the expedition party was out of that radius, everything would be meaningless.

10 minutes.

Kyle estimated this time at about 10 minutes. If we had been defeated before that time, he would have pursued the expeditionary party again and carried out a massacre without any rules.

Therefore...

*Boom!*

And I held on, but not alone, but with the mages and warriors who followed me here.

'Behella

Wielding fiery weapons, we resisted the darkness. It was not an easy task.

*Whistle!*

We were regularly hit by awl-like shadows with great penetrating power. In a normal situation, I could have reacted to this without difficulty. Although I couldn't tell how long it would last, as long as I blocked it with my shield, I wouldn't be seriously injured.

Damned game.

The problem was that I couldn't see properly in front of me. Because my gaze was fixed downwards to avoid eye contact, I couldn't react in time.

For reference, in the game it looked like this:

[Don't look into Berzac's eyes].

If this command was applied to a character, no matter how high their agility score, their dodge speed and defense success rate would drop dramatically.

Like now.

*Blow!*

The shadow dug deep into my shoulder.

[Your body regenerates quickly with [Regeneration] (High)]

It got to the point that there were not enough potions. Even though the aggro was distributed, the main aggro was focused on me.

"Agh, ah!"

But even at this moment, the shadows didn't just strike. They also flew in the form of a net and dragged my comrades into the darkness. So far, we've diligently cut the shadows and blocked them, but we couldn't stop it forever.

Bloody hell.

In the end, the first victim appeared.

"Killian!"

Killian Neroff is the guy who followed me because he thought it would be great to tell this story later on a drinking party.

"Argh!" Agh! Ah! There were horrible screams in the darkness into which he had been sucked.

This gave me a very strange feeling. In the game, I thought it was just a performance to boost the mood.

Anger boiled in me, but the more it grew, the more I had to control myself. And this time there must be at least one such person.

"Stop."

"But...!"

"If you leave, you'll die too."

If he was already sucked in, it was impossible to save him. At least at our current level.

"Damn it!" The warrior vented his anger.

It's not that I couldn't understand. We could not even see with our own eyes the death of our comrade, with whom we fought side by side all day. We could only listen to the sounds coming from the darkness. I felt helpless. It was something I felt countless times throughout the day. But whether I felt helpless or not, the battle went on.

[Your body regenerates quickly with [Regeneration] (High)]

Berzak also used the skill [Call of the Abyss]. A skill that gathered all the monsters within the bastard's sight radius into one place.

"Grk!" Grook!

The Abyss Goblins who received this summoning released a bunch of [Monster Bags] and summoned more monsters and set traps. Because of this, one person died.

*Click!*

The traps were activated, and the monsters that jumped out of the pouches rushed into close combat. A shadow in the shape of an awl pierced the body of his comrade. Even the mages who used mana shields from time to time to prevent fatal injuries were unable to react to this.

*Fall*

So another died.

"Kyle!" How much more is left?!

- 4 minutes.

What, four minutes?

"It's been 4 minutes.

God, I was almost happy for a second.

*Crunch!*

And then the first variable appeared.

"It's a troll!" Push him back!

Another died. The cause of death was the Troll, summoned right in front of our noses. The problem wasn't with the Troll, but with the fact that the deceased was a mage.

Bloody hell.

The death of a warrior was considered inevitable, but with a magician, everything was different. They were placed in the center to protect them in all possible ways.

If that happens, the magic power will quickly run out...

This was the worst-case scenario. Even thinking about it, I kept moving.

Time passed again.

"There are 5 minutes left...

"4 minutes!"

As if to boost morale, Kyle announced the time with each passing minute.

"There are only 3 minutes left to hold out!

After the death of the magician, there were no more victims.

Like experienced explorers, their combat skills began to accumulate gradually. However, in the 8th minute, something happened.

"I can't use magic anymore. I can barely maintain a magic circle," Kyle said.

So we'll have to survive for two minutes without the support of a mage, right?

It happened sooner than I expected, but there's nothing I can do. One mage died. To leave enough mana to activate the magic circle, there was no other way out.

"Keeeeeek!"

When the magic of the wide area stopped, the monsters jumping out of the bags began to pile on us.

In the face of increased workload, reduced numbers and lack of magic, Berzak shot shadows like arrows without rest.

*Rustle!*

So another person died.

It looks like I won't be able to keep my promise.

In the midst of such a fierce battle, there is no way to leave a will.

It didn't matter if the opponent was a monster or a human, they weren't kind enough to give us time to do so.

Therefore, we agreed in advance.

"If you can take my equipment, take it to my comrades."

Such was the will left by the young man who had just fallen. But, as I said then, I can hardly afford it.

"Oh!" Help me! The guy standing next to me was pulled by a shadow and disappeared into the darkness. "Ah!" Ah!

I bit my lip as I listened to the screams that came over and over again.

"Tell this news to my son. I'm sure you'll be famous when you get out of here. The child will love it."

I thought I could keep that promise if I could get back alive.

"I'm using a magic circle now!"

There was 1 minute left before the end of 10 minutes.

The Magi activated the magic circle they had previously drawn. I swung my mace wildly. My shield was nowhere to be seen.

Oh, yes. I threw it away earlier, deciding that it would no longer be needed. It was impossible to fix it anyway, so I wasn't too upset.

"Mr. Yandel, come here!"

Oh, already?

Suddenly, a bright light appeared from the ground.

Berzak seemed to be alarmed: he stopped attacking and just watched us. The same thing happened with the rest of the monsters.

—…

Only for a moment, but the battle stopped.

I quickly scanned the surroundings. I could not see all the corpses. This was to be expected. Some were dragged into the darkness.

He must be somewhere nearby... and!

On the border where the light ended, lay the body I was looking for. I quickly ran up to him and took my sword and shield. I had to make a lot of effort.

Even when he fell, his eyes were still open and the weapon was in his hand.

"Bjorn!" Someone shouted, and I rolled along the ground to the center of the magic circle. The soldiers did not ask why I did this.

"This... Yes, we promised.

"His teammates will be grateful.

When I quickly stood up, I saw that monsters were approaching us. For a moment, they were frightened by the light emitted by the magic circle, but they soon seemed to decide that it was not a threat.

"Annoying to the very end, right?!"

"Hey, mage!" Don't you think it's time for us to leave?!

"A little more!"

I was looking straight ahead. I could see Berzak.

"I saw you.

And what the hell did you see, huh?

I stared at the bastard and replayed the names of the dead in my head.

Killian Neroff.

Neil Feimez.

Paul Agmus.

Garfen Goolan.

Matt Alvans.

Sir Joseph S. Smith.

There are six people in total.

Yes, we'll see each other again someday.

Riakis, Lord of Chaos,

Dragon Slayer Regal Vagos,

And Berzak, Lord of the Abyss.

[Kyle Pevrosk cast a rank 4 spell [Mass Teleportation]].

I hoped those bastards knew I wouldn't run forever.

***

When I opened my eyes, there were people around me. So we've come to the right place.

— How far have you covered?

"I don't know, it must be three kilometers. Now that we are completely out of sight, he will not be able to pursue us. Unless, of course, we stumble upon another Abyss Watcher.

I looked around as if possessed. In the darkness, I couldn't see any of those damn eyes. This meant that we had indeed managed to teleport such a long distance.

"That's amazing.

— Not really. If we hadn't entrusted the positioning device to this side, even I wouldn't have been able to cover that distance. Yes, and I got a share of the mana from other mages.

Even if he had spoken about it so humbly, it wasn't something everyone could do, no matter how much help had been. It was not so easy to use such magic in a place where the mana efficiency was reduced to a quarter.

—... Then I'll move on.

"Without rest?"

"I can rest on the go.

I opened the bottle with the potion and poured it on my head.

While the rest of the warriors were being treated, I headed forward.

Soon I found the people I was looking for: Garfen Gulan's teammates. They were very close, so close that they had come all the way to the front rows to try and pick him up from there.

"You—" They recognized me too, and froze. Their eyes were fixed on the sword and shield I was holding.

"Take them.

—... He died? The researcher asked with tears in her eyes, and I said nothing. It took some time before her mouth opened again.

"This... I'll take it. But take this.

Taking her sword, the woman handed me a shield.

"I think you'll need it."

—... Thank you.

I did not refuse and accepted the shield. After all, I lost mine. Giving it up will only hurt them more.

"Then I'll go."

I continued to move forward. Moving in this way, I reached my comrades.

"Did anyone get hurt while I was gone?"

—…

No one answered my question. They just stared at me blankly. Mike's hands even trembled.

Oh, is she going to scold me for getting hurt? We need to run, faster.

"If you're not hurt, then I'll go..."

"Stop.

—…

"Please stop and rest." You've done enough. Ok?

"Yes, Mr. Yandel. Do as Miss Karlstein says. Going to the front in your condition, you will still not help in any way. You said there might be a big fight later, right?

I also threw away my stubbornness. Raven was right. Even after going through all this, there was still a mountain to climb. It was necessary to save strength.

*Top, top, top!*

While the other warriors cleared the way on the front line, I recuperated by following my comrades.

"[Stop!]

A long time passed, and an order came from the Communication Stone to stop the procession.

I intuitively felt that we had reached our destination.

[Portal open?] Kyle asked.

It was followed by the voice of Teterud, the leader of the dwarven clan entrusted with the front lines.

— [Open].

It means that we have come to the right place. For some reason, my legs buckled. If this place had been destroyed, I would have really lost my temper.

"Raven, take care of this side.

"Yes, go." You'll still go even if we stop you, right?

—…

I walked through the researchers and headed for the front line. As soon as I appeared, Teterud greeted me.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Will you go in there right away?

"As soon as the preparations in the rear are over."

"And this time you will be in charge again?"

— Does it make sense? You guys will immediately follow anyway.

"Haha, that's true.

Soon I was standing in front of the portal. About 10 minutes later, I received a message from Kyle through the Message Stone.

"[Preparation complete, you can now enter].

I closed my eyes and straightened my breathing. Even I felt that my breathing had become uneven, but the more it happened, the more I tried to think positively.

There will be no one there.

From Noark's side, it could be assumed that even if someone returned alive, it would be a small number.

It would be better for them that we should return to the city, testify to what the palace had done, and make a fuss.

Of course, this was only one of the possibilities. They could deploy troops and plan carefully to finish off even the few survivors.

But...

I'm sure they haven't left too many of them.

No matter how many supplies they devoured on the 1st floor, they couldn't live off it. The main forces would go up to extract mana stones.

Bloody hell.

Even thinking about it, I can't convince myself.

Nevertheless, I took a step forward.

This is not the first time.

How many times have I been truly sure?

In any case, we were left with no choice. Even if we waited patiently here, our numbers would only decrease because of the Abyss Goblins.

*Top!*

I took another step and entered the portal.

[You entered the Goblin Forest on the 2nd floor].

My vision darkened for a moment. Soon I felt my body floating. When I opened my eyes, I saw a green forest.

"!

There was good news and bad news.

The good news was that there were few troops nearby.

And the bad news...

Hell, I never thought those bastards would be left.

I expected that the main forces would go to get mana stones, but I was mistaken.

*Slap*

After finding my balance and landing on the ground, I watched three people in the forest. I could tell who they were just by looking at their clothes—at least two of them.

— The first survivor.

It was the one who destroyed all the portals,

Scientist of Destruction.

"Haha, I told you that someone would show up if we waited. Hey, barbarian! Congratulations. It's been a difficult journey, hasn't it? The unknown beastman asked.

"Oh?" It's you again. The last man was still wearing a white mask. "Perhaps we are destined to meet?" Hee-hee.

Without taking his eyes off me, the Corpse Collector smiled.