#033

The burial of the bodies took longer than expected. Contrary to the desolate village scenery, the sun was high in the sky without a single cloud. After examining the rest of the village, they concluded they could find nothing here.

“We should go to the mine.”

According to Arne, the disaster began about two weeks ago, coinciding with the arrival of strangers in the village. The fact that they wore black cloaks, and the suspicious coincidence of events, led Cullen to target the mine.

“Speaking of which, you said the strangers asked about the mine.”

Lasano agreed. Arne wore a troubled expression.

“That’s right, but I wasn’t the one who guided them. It was a young man named Kanna, but unfortunately, he lost his life.”

Then Kiyen spoke.

“Do you have a map?”

“Only nobles can possess maps, Kiyen-nim.”

Cullen’s words made Arne glance around, listening to the conversation. Seeing him act that way despite his tall stature and solid build, he looked like a timid beast.

“Then guide us to the largest mine.”

As Cullen looked on in confusion, Kiyen bowed his body towards him. Cullen tried to step back due to his disheveled state, but Kiyen was faster. Kiyen’s hand gently grasped Cullen’s shoulder.

“The power observed here, as I said, is fundamentally the same as what was used on you. It’s malicious. I can’t be certain as it’s a power even I don’t know, but I suspect the clue lies where the greatest malice resides.”

The whisper tickled his ear. Lasano’s meaningful expression and Arne’s widened eyes came into view. Cullen realized they appeared overly intimate.

The funny thing was, he didn’t dislike it that much.

“You said the greatest malice?”

“Yes. In other words, resentment. It’s similar in nature to death. So, wouldn’t that mean it’s the place where the most people died?”

As Kiyen’s whisper grew longer, the tickling sensation spread. He couldn’t tell Arne, who didn’t know their group’s true nature, the details, so it was a natural situation. Cullen tried to convince himself.

“I agree.”

Slightly belatedly, Cullen understood Kiyen’s words. If the mine was large, it would likely be old, and there was a high probability that many people had died there.

Even after the conversation ended, Kiyen remained still. Just as he opened his mouth as if to say something, Lasano interjected.

“Seeing you two so cozy makes me feel left out. This Lasano is sad.”

At the word “cozy,” Cullen flinched and stepped back. Kiyen turned sharply to look at Lasano.

“Your mouth doesn’t stop for a moment, does it?”

“It’s perfect for setting a desolate mood.”

As if he had achieved his goal, Lasano stepped back. Cullen clenched and unclenched his hand, still feeling the tickle, and said to Arne.

“As Kiyen-nim said, please take us to the largest mine.”

“Ah, alright.”

Arne quickly nodded, checked the time by looking at the sky, and started walking quickly. He seemed worried about the children.

Cullen drew his sword and scanned the rear, while Arne began walking ahead with Lasano. Kiyen was in the middle.

“I thought the red salt of the Duke Exion’s territory came from just one mine, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Lasano asked Arne.

“Yes. Most villages have at least one mine. Sometimes, a village might have two. Everyone living in the mountains makes a living by working in the mines. My parents were miners too.”

Cullen recalled the moment the healing magic had erupted. It was unlikely for a noble to get involved in just one village’s affairs, so that meant such incidents must have occurred in other parts of the Duke’s territory as well. Perhaps the center of the Duke’s territory had already fallen.

“Did this happen in other regions too?”

“I don’t know. We were completely trapped. We were waiting for the Duke to return, but two weeks have passed and there’s still no news…”

The three, excluding Arne, fell silent. Instead of mentioning what happened to Duke Exion’s carriage, Cullen asked something else.

“Do you have a security force?”

“No, everyone is in the mines, so there aren’t many people managing them besides those who work there.”

A guilty expression, the one Cullen had seen last night, flashed across Arne’s face. It was very bothersome.

“I don’t understand why the miners live in such a small village. Isn’t salt a high-priced commodity?”

Arne became increasingly flustered by Cullen’s sharp words.

“The salt we dig must be refined, and that’s done by technicians in the city. Most of them are relatives or acquaintances of the Duke…”

Arne’s complexion turned pale. He quickened his pace and mumbled.

“Since the goods are completed through those people, we only receive a fixed daily wage. Everyone is satisfied.”

“Do those people also die from lung disease or accidents?”

Arne remained silent at Cullen’s question. His hands trembled, and he managed a laugh, “Haha.”

Cullen recalled Kiyen’s words. This wasn’t just about corpses coming back to life. Judging by the state of the reanimated corpses, they weren’t intact. The misery that hinted at their appearance at the time of death was evident everywhere.

“We’ve arrived.”

Arne stopped in front of the cave and pointed to the entrance. A giant cave, gaping like a black maw, stared at them.

The stoves and wall lamps that should have been lit were scattered on the floor. A chilling wind blew.

They cautiously surveyed the surroundings but saw nothing moving. There was no sign of life. The silence on the way made them feel uneasy.

“It’s larger than I expected.”

Lasano admired it nonchalantly.

“This mine is the oldest. While the newly discovered mine in the neighboring village produces more salt, this was the first mine to be excavated, so it’s the largest in scale.”

The prosperity of the Duke’s territory went hand in hand with the salt mines. It must have been centuries old. They must have dug deep into the earth.

“Did you go inside too, Arne-nim? A Common Priest usually acts as a physician.”

Lasano asked, and Arne’s discomfort grew. Each of their questions seemed to touch upon something within Arne.

“…Yes, there were many injured and few priests, so I often traveled to various places.”

Having said that, he faltered and stepped back. He rubbed his forehead, glanced past Cullen and Kiyen, and spoke quickly.

“Th-then, I’ll return to the temple for now.”

“Are you serious?”

Cullen asked. Arne quickly nodded.

“As you can see… I’m very timid, and I’ll only be a burden to you travelers. Besides, the children are waiting. Quite some time has passed, so they must be scared.”

Cullen was greatly bothered by something Arne was hiding. Given his disposition, he didn’t seem like the type to plot something, but judging someone by their appearance and assumptions was forbidden. He had, after all, misjudged Kihelene.

“You might encounter corpses on your way back, are you alright with that?”

It was Lasano who stopped Arne. He smiled cheerfully and asked Arne.

“Ah…”

Arne blinked, perhaps not having considered that. Kiyen seemed to have stopped listening to their conversation since arriving at the cave. His gaze was fixed on the interior of the cave.

“If you wish to go alone, I won’t stop you, of course.”

His tone was calm, as if teasing. Though he had felt it from the first time he saw him, Lasano was adept at skillfully manipulating people with his easygoing demeanor.

“So… then…”

Arne looked back and forth between the forest path they had walked and the cave. After a few seconds of silence, he made a difficult decision. A shadow fell over Arne’s face.

“Then… I… will guide you inside the cave…”

“This is reassuring.”

Lasano responded cheerfully, as if teasing Arne. Following Arne, who walked like a beast being led to the slaughter, they entered the cave entrance. A cold wind blew from within. It was bone-chilling.

Was the inside of the cave also in disarray due to this incident, or was there simply no light? Cullen looked around and picked up three wooden sticks that could be used as torches. He handed one each to Arne and Lasano.

“Please light them, Lasano-nim.”

“You’re the first person to treat me like this. Cullen-nim, wouldn’t you prefer to treat me with more care?”

“You’re also the first person I’ve met who talks this much.”

Lasano complained to Cullen with a smile, but accepted the sticks.

Arne, not understanding their conversation, stayed close behind Lasano, who was slightly shorter than him, and surveyed their surroundings. It seemed being with another priest made him feel more at ease. Cullen thought it would have been better for him to be near Kiyen.

“Here you go.”

Magic, which was not very useful in combat, proved helpful here. Cullen handed the torches to the two priests and held one himself. It was then.

“Everyone, quiet.”

Kiyen spoke at that moment. Cullen brought his torch towards the direction Kiyen was looking.

“Is something…?”

He swallowed the rest of the words. Cullen belatedly noticed the scene in the darkness that Kiyen was gazing at.

There were many eyes. Eyes hidden in the black darkness were revealed by the light.

Dull white eyelids without pupils stared at them silently from the darkness. One pair, two pairs, no, dozens of pairs of corpses sat hunched in the darkness, unmoving.

Why didn’t I sense them?

The question was soon answered. Corpses don’t need to breathe. Therefore, as long as they don’t move, nothing can be sensed.

“Th-that…”

Arne looked ahead with a face as if he were about to faint, and began to back away. He shouted.

“R-run, run, run, run away!”

While the warning itself was commendable, his scream led the situation in a bad direction.

As soon as the loud noise was heard, a screeching, groaning sound began to echo. The mangled monsters, which had been sitting silently, began to charge at an unbelievable speed. Moreover, they were running on four legs, not two.

“Why are they suddenly charging like beasts…!”

Lasano’s cry echoed.

Rumble—!

A loud sound echoed from the earth, and the ground they were standing on began to shake. Although the entrance was not far, hundreds of corpses moving at once caused it to collapse directly into the darkness.

Gray stone dust rose hazily and soon swallowed the group.