Vampire Ruins Gate (5)

It had been five hours since Ian and Sophia entered the ruins.

"... Those bastards aren't coming back?"

The Johnson party, who had been lazing around in a corner of the base camp, was now starting to consider moving.

"If it was just a scouting trip, they should have been back by now. No way they started an assault with just the two of them."

"... Aren't they dead? Both the boy and the girl looked like brats, probably lacking experience. Guess they died showing off."

"Should we check? We were about to head in anyway."

Johnson, who had been lying down all this time, let out a groan as he got up.

"Johnson. How's your body? You okay now?"

Linda asked, glancing at Johnson.

"Don't pretend to care. I'm fine."

The injuries had already healed, thanks to that boy's potion.

The dose wasn't very generous, so he wasn't fully recovered.

If he moved too roughly, his bones and wounds would reopen right away.

Some tingling aftereffects still lingered.

But even so, he couldn't just let the brats' group do all the scouting.

'Can't let them just split that expensive sword among themselves.'

The Johnson party's target was the ultra-expensive longsword the girl had.

If those youngsters died in there, getting the sword would be as easy as pie.

If Johnson didn't tag along, it was obvious the others would just keep the sword for themselves.

'And besides...'

He also owed the gray-haired boy a fist—so he felt the urge to at least vent on his corpse.

"What about those guys?"

The thug Dean, tightening his knife belt, gestured toward the porters with his chin.

Johnson glanced coldly at the porters and spoke quietly.

"We'll kill them. After we deal with the brats first."

If the rumor spread that Johnson had been beaten so badly by that young boy, he'd have to kill all those porters as well.

That kind of pride and reputation was essential in this line of work.

"Leech-like bastards."

Even though the porters had badmouthed them during their rest, Johnson and his party had endured it.

It was because of the boy and girl said to be from Hisperion.

If they started something with the porters and ended up clashing with those brats again, they could really end up dead.

Outwardly, the five members of the Johnson party looked down on the young boy and girl, but inwardly, they knew the two were above them.

After all, the strongest in the party, Johnson himself, had been thoroughly wrecked by that boy, and he knew firsthand how fierce his punches were.

Besides, the brown-haired girl behind the boy seemed to be about as skilled as him.

Actually, since she looked older than the boy, maybe she possessed even more advanced martial prowess.

Honestly, he wasn't confident facing even the boy—just thinking about taking on both was terrifying.

Until they had a sure way to deal with those two, they had to minimize any conflict triggers.

"If you're ready, let's get moving!"

Johnson and his party skillfully put on their equipment and threw themselves into the ruin's darkness.

"Urgh...!"

They hadn't gone far when the thick smell of mold and the stench of rot hit them hard.

"Damn. My nose is going to fall off."

"What the hell is that smell..."

Holding back their nausea, they passed through the dim, humid corridor, and soon a staircase leading underground appeared.

― Footsteps. Footsteps.

Their footsteps echoed as they descended.

The deeper they went, the thicker the mold and rot became.

"Give me a handkerchief."

"What? Didn't you bring one?"

"... No."

"I only have one! Just use your sleeve! Ugh, urgh!"

"Damn... ugh!"

"Shut up, you idiots! We're in the ruins here!"

As they bickered their way down, the stairs soon ended.

"... What the hell."

At the entrance to the underground, they immediately spotted the source of the stench.

"Gargoyles?"

Two grotesquely mangled gargoyle corpses lay side by side on the floor.

But it was too dark to see them clearly.

"Bring the lantern!"

"Y-yeah."

Thug Dean held the lantern over the gargoyles.

The light revealed their brutal state in stark detail.

"My god..."

Johnson's pupils trembled at the gruesome sight.

"Have, have you ever seen anything like this...?"

One gargoyle was almost split in two from shoulder to chest, as if hacked by an axe, and the other had its skin peeled from chin to lower belly, spilling its guts like a split tangerine.

"How do you even do something like this...?"

Gargoyles were monsters with bodies tougher than most logs.

Even with aura, blades struggled to cut them, so you'd normally need a blunt weapon to fight one.

"These gargoyles are shredded like paper."

Johnson gritted his trembling jaw.

Meanwhile, dean examined the wounds more closely.

"Shit... Both were done in a single blow."

The bisected gargoyle was split cleanly, with no repeated strikes. The skinned one's flesh was torn in a single line as well.

"How strong do you have to be for this to even be possible?"

This level of performance... You'd need to be at least a peak-stage Expert.

Could those kids really be masters of that level?

'N-no. That's absurd.'

The most talented knight Dean knew from his connections barely reached intermediate-stage expert in his early thirties.

Even if those two were from the great Hisperion, there's no way brats barely in their mid-teens could hit peak-stage Expert.

Unless they were direct heirs of Hisperion, maybe.

But those two didn't look like direct blood relatives.

The Hisperion line only ever had snow-white silver hair, radiant blond, or flaming red hair.

But the boy's hair was faded ash, and the girl's was just plain brown—so they likely weren't direct descendants.

'No, wait.'

Even if they were, it still doesn't make sense to reach peak-stage Expert in the early teens.

'Then... Artifact?'

Did they have an artifact that gave them superhuman strength?

'No, that doesn't add up either.'

For a small gate like this, you barely had room to bring magical lanterns.

If they'd brought such a powerful artifact, it would've overloaded the gate and half the people here wouldn't have been able to enter.

'Then, how the hell did they... do this to the gargoyle...?'

Besides, the distance between here and the base camp wasn't even that far.

It was odd that no one heard a single sound despite a fight happening so close by.

That must mean the battle ended quickly and quietly.

Not a single scream or shout, just done cleanly—like blowing your nose.

'...'

Johnson touched the blood with his fingertip.

Slightly cold and sticky.

Looked like they'd been dead for exactly five hours.

Which matched when the boy and girl entered the ruins.

Meaning these weren't previously dead bodies, nor was this done by some other monster.

'Shit... This is scary.'

So really...

Even at the highest estimate, kids barely in their mid-teens did this to a gargoyle in one hit...?

How?

Dean's thoughts grew more complicated.

"Dean. Get up. Let's keep going for now."

Johnson grabbed the dazed Dean and pulled him up.

Seeing the gargoyles like this sent chills down his spine, but it wasn't enough to make him run away just yet.

First, they had to check whether those two were dead or alive.

"Give me the lantern."

Johnson took the lantern from Dean and led the way.

The other four followed behind him.

"What the..."

"Shit, damn..."

"Ugh, fuck..."

Every corridor they passed was strewn with bodies, just like the earlier gargoyles.

Man-eating beetles splayed out against the walls and ceilings, as if hit by a windmill.

Vampire bats squashed into the floor like chewed gum.

Skeletons and ghouls shattered as if hit by cannonballs.

With each gruesome scene, the expressions of the Johnson party stiffened further.

"Did they really do all this with just the two of them?"

Even if the Johnson party went all-out, it would've taken days to subdue those monsters—now, still-warm blood proved they'd all died nearly at the same time.

And the boy and girl hadn't just blasted through; they'd looted everything, too.

"... Only the best loot is gone."

Jars and chests that might've contained treasure were empty;

The rarest mushrooms and plant roots had been picked clean from the walls and ceilings;

Pricy materials like the gargoyle's jewel or vampire bat ears were all taken.

"W-what kind of brats have this level of strategy..."

It wasn't just that they cleared fast—they took all the choicest loot as well.

Johnson gulped nervously.

'Even platinum-rank adventurers wouldn't be this skilled...'

Maybe only the most legendary adamantine-rank adventurers could've handled it this well.

But those two were still kids, not even in their twenties.

And yet their dungeon-crawling skills far exceeded those of the Johnson party, a party of silver-rank adventurers.

'N-no way...!'

"Are—are they heading all the way to the boss room?"

"That can't be, right? You think those kids can clear a gate in a day? It'd take us at least a week!"

"Y-yeah, but still..."

"Let's just focus on finding the bodies. They probably died showing off."

Damn it. Shit!

Johnson chewed on his growing inferiority complex as he quickened his pace.

But the boy and girl's corpses, which Johnson hoped for, didn't appear.

Instead, there were only the even more brutally mangled bodies of monsters.

The gargoyle, once in two pieces, was now smashed into three; the gouls that had already been torn apart had burst like water balloons.

"W-what the hell is this..."

Johnson, sweating cold, jaw trembling.

'The deeper we go, instead of getting tired, they're getting even stronger...'

― Gulp!

The bodies grew more numerous deeper in.

The chill crept deeper into their bones.

How long did they walk like this?

― Crack! Tak! Crack!

At a turn in the corridor, Johnson heard the faint sound of a campfire.

"Stop."

He halted the party and hid at the corner, peeking past the wall.

"... Found them."

About 50 meters ahead, the boy and girl sat by a campfire.

The girl was roasting marshmallows, and the boy sat hugging a greatsword, seeming to meditate.

"They're alive..."

Damn it.

"They're resting?"

"So they don't have infinite stamina, after all."

"Wait. Doesn't that mean they're tired right now?"

"... Hmm. If we're going to ambush them, now's the time."

"So what's the plan, Johnson?"

All eyes turned to Johnson.

"Hmm."

For once, Johnson actually pondered.

Usually he would've attacked without thinking, but...

Having suffered a beating already, and after what they'd seen of the monsters...

Even if those two were tired, he honestly felt scared charging in.

They might have more numbers, but he didn't feel they had any chance of winning.

In fact, he had a gut feeling that if they acted rashly they'd be slaughtered.

'Especially that girl...'

She was roasting and eating marshmallows, covered in the monster's disgusting blood.

Didn't even seem fazed by it.

'Must have some guts...'

It was obvious she'd had countless dungeon runs.

Otherwise, how could she be so relaxed, roasting marshmallows like she was in her own home?

'Maybe the real powerhouse is that girl.'

She looked a bit older than the boy, so it was likely her skill was even greater.

If they'd grown up in the same environment, she'd have trained even longer.

'Ugh! This is chilling.'

For a moment, Johnson imagined getting slaughtered by recklessly taking them on.

"... We don't attack now."

Johnson gritted his teeth and shook his head.

"Now's not the right time."

"Then what?"

Johnson let out a shallow breath and continued.

"No need to join up with them, either. If we leave them alone, they'll make their way to the boss room. We'll wait somewhere suitable, and take another shot at an opportunity..."

He was about to finish the sentence when—

"You should speak up if you're here, you know?"

"W-what!?"

Suddenly, Ian popped out from behind the wall, causing Johnson to bite his own tongue.