The underground dungeon in Zorn

"So, what did they tell you?"

Once we got back to the inn, I immediately asked Dasha about the oracle.

"..."

She stared at me with a blank expression.

Huh...

"Okay, what's your name?"

"M- Maria..."

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you about this, but from now on you are Dasha."

"...right."

She looked at me as if she was afraid of being hit.

Well, that's only natural.

I did violate and strip her of all her powers as a Saint, so there was no need for her to have any human respect for me, and I'm fine with that. I don't need it.

But the curious part is: she can answer other questions...

"Do you know what your current role is?"

"I don't know."

"The truth is: you're mostly useless. But you have some worth still, as a female. I would kill you, but the souls of your countless victims are probably gonna' haunt me in my dreams if I let you off so easily. So I'll have to keep you around for now, maybe as a sex slave or something."

The annoying part is: if some of the people she killed were strong-willed enough to turn into spirits, they definitely could find ways to return to the physical world and haunt someone.

"Yes..."

She had the expression of someone who gave up trying.

However, her eyes still had that weirdly strong faith.

One of the gods told her something weird, I'm sure...

"So, as my slave, you have to answer my question honestly: what did the gods tell you?"

"..."

Her faithful eyes suddenly went blank.

The exact same thing as before happened.

Tch, the wretch got cursed.

That damn god probably sealed her ability to speak about it.

Fine. I'll figure it out myself.

Since coming back from the cathedral, she's had that strong, faithful look in her eyes, so let's start from there. I noticed that she kept that faith even when she heard that I'd make her a lowly sex slave.

From now on, I'll try to be even more cruel to test that newfound faith of hers. I may not be able to uncover its true purpose, but if I can see how far that faith will take her, maybe it'll tell me something.

Great, now there's one more thing for me to be paranoid about, even in this alternate timeline where I'm supposed to be having fun. Being at the mercy of the gods sure is a shitty way to live...

"Really though, both you and your damn backer are a pain in my ass."

"Agh!!"

I grabbed Dasha's hair and threw her down on the bed.

"If you weren't such a garbage human being... well, no, I shouldn't wish for that. If Maria Rosemary did not exist, I'd probably be trapped on the other side forever. 'Guess I'll at least be a little grateful."

"...I'm sorry."

She weakly apologized.

"Bit late for that. Actually, I'm curious. What really went through your head when you tortured and murdered all those people who, mind you, were all faithful believers of the Saint?"

I grabbed her face and made her sit upright.

"...I thought... no matter how many bugs you played with and killed, they would just reproduce again... so it was normal to..."

"Heh. Yeah, I figured."

I let go of her face and opened the door.

"Should I... follow..."

Dasha stood up, too.

"Huh... did I tell you to?"

"You... did not."

"Yeah."

"R- Right."

"Here's the key. If you go somewhere, come back here before evening, and don't die. I don't wanna' waste my mana on resurrecting a wretch like you."

"Yes..."

Please, fuck off...

I left the inn and quickly entered one of the empty alleyways nearby.

I quickly returned to the cathedral.

The dumbasses at Believers of the First Light decided that it was a good idea to build all their cathedrals using the exact same architectural design, so I already knew all of their secret entrances.

I circled around to the back of the cathedral and jumped down the well.

It was a long swim down in a limited space with even more limited lighting.

The higher-ups of the cathedral would normal travel down here with the help of a spirit, but I had the means to infiltrate without alerting the security magic circle buried under the soil.

Until Thelynna have successfully corrupted most of the big shots, I'll keep it low and quiet. War can happen at any time, but to choose when and where means to create my own advantage.

With Light magic, I finally found the secret passage.

However, before entering, there was another Light spell I had to cast. It was only possible with [Pledge of Light Lv.9], but that requirement was not a problem for me.

A thin layer of light particles was wrapped around my body.

This 'coating' not only diverts light rays and makes me invisible, but also lets mana particles permeate right through me, rendering barriers and mana detectors useless.

I swam into the passage and got out at the end of the underwater tunnel.

"Here it is... the dungeon."

Every First Light cathedral had a dungeon like this.

[Thelynna.]

[Yes, my liege.]

[Send me a clone.]

[Please forgive me. I am constrained by a meeting with the archbishops at the moment."

[I see. Don't worry about it then.]

[I am ashamed of my incompetence...]

[It's fine. What're they gathering for, though?]

[They are planning a summoning ritual. A large amount of gold crystals is involved, it appears.]

Ahh...

That could be troublesome.

It's starting sooner than I've expected. I guess 'Maria' did report that the hero summoning ended in a failure and a rogue hero roaming the world freely, so they're moving up their schedule.

If they're rushing it, however, I do wonder if they'll be able to bring 'that thing' into this world in this alternate timeline. They succeeded in the original world... by sacrificing a whopping 10% of the human population.

I should be a little more careful as well.

[Thelynna, we're pushing the plan forward. Even if it's a little forceful, I want you to get your hands on archbishop Walther as early as possible. He's a known troublemaker, so if he starts acting up, they won't suspect anything while we slow their plans down.]

[Understood.]

[And don't forget to set up the portal when you get the chance.]

[Of course, my liege.]

Now, this dungeon is full of 'guard dogs,' lesser demons summoned by the priests to protect their secrets. If I needed skill tokens, I'd fight them, but since I planned to be discrete, I decided to simply sneak past them this time.

Even though every cathedral had a similar dungeon, the labyrinth within the dungeon was different for every cathedral. It would take me half a day to explore everything, but with [Pledge of Light Lv.9], I simply needed to use Light magic to draw a map in my head.

Making my way through the confusingly branching paths of the dungeon, I found no few prison cells and torture chambers. Some of them, I could guess what happened based on the dried up corpses. Others, it was impossible to tell from those big splashes of blood and bodily substances; not even a body was left behind in these cases.

Our very lovely Saint had her own dungeon in the capital's cathedral. It was an even more horrific place, since her victims were always kept barely alive. The passages would be filled with screams and beastly noises all the time. I only managed to sneak in there once, but it left such a strong impression, I still remember it today.

—thwack!—thwack!

"C'MON! SCREAM! A BITCH LIKE YOU CAN'T BE THAT TOUGH!!!"

The sounds of violent whipping became clearer and clearer as I found my way to the center chamber. This is where most of the First Light's crimes are planned and put into action.

Peaking through the window, I spotted a tall priest and a one-horned dragonkin female.

Ohoho... I recognize that broken right horn....