STGB Episode 486

The Pilgrim (4)

A cave littered with several corpses.

An old man slowly approached the center, and gently stroked the monument as if brushing something away.

[In honor of the last Great Sage, Diphlun Graundel Gabrillius—commemorating his great first step]

A monument erected long ago to commemorate the achievements of a great hero.

“…We’re almost there now.”

The old man murmured softly, almost as if reciting a verse, then removed his hand from the monument.

He then pulled out a book from his robe.

Whoosh—!

The book floated in mid-air, defying gravity, and opened itself.

[Chronicles of the Monarchs I]

The book, bearing this title, flipped through its pages and soon reached the last chapter.

[…Overwhelmed by fear gripping his heart, the pilgrim abandoned his faith and fled again and again to preserve his life. Yet in the place he ran to escape fear, an even greater terror awaited him.]

[The terror of having no one left at his side.]

[In a flash, the fear of loneliness overtook the pilgrim. It was a fear from which there was no escape. Rage and hatred directed at himself ruined both his body and soul. Not even the care of the Earth Mother could save him.]

[As the pilgrim’s soul vanished, new power and authority were bestowed upon ———. Thus, a mere human, an insignificant creature, came to possess a cursed power.]

[The one who spreads fear and despises faith. The birth of the Lord of Fear, Dreadfear.]

Thud.

The book closed.

An old story, long forgotten by those who once remembered.

***

“Do I… just have to stab one person…?”

I choked on my breath at Versil’s question.

I wanted to shout, “What kind of nonsense are you spouting?” but my body was frozen, and I could do nothing.

“Of course. Just one. If you kill just one, our empire will welcome you back.”

His response seemed pleased.

Then Versil spoke with a trembling voice.

I thought she might apologize or try to ease her guilt, but her words were completely different from what I expected.

“Well… I think I understand clearly, Mr Jandel… You doubted me before, didn’t you?”

Doubt?

No, what on earth is she talking about—?

“I’ve developed another ability. It’s not just invisibility and healing…”

“……”

“I’m not sure exactly which monster’s power it is, but I can feel emotions directed at me more clearly than ever before.”

Damn it.

I didn’t expect there to be such a catch.

“Lady Tersia… was the same. She doubted me and hesitated whether to kill me first or not. In the end, she didn’t, but not because she trusted me.”

“……”

“Of course, Lady Pheneline was the only one who didn’t show any suspicion towards me.”

As Vercil’s voice continued, my heart raced uncontrollably.

I’m doomed.

There’s no stopping this.

I desperately tried to think of something to say to change her mind, but my mouth was sealed, and I couldn’t utter a word.

Thump—!

Despair, which I hadn’t felt even when Dreadfear used his aura skill and cast a wide-area stun, began to rise within me.

“Of course, I understand. It must be hard to trust me. I’m not part of your long-standing, close-knit group.”

Vercil’s trembling hand, holding the dagger, steadied.

“……So I’ll do it.”

“Because if I don’t, someone else will.”

Shit.

“……”

I closed my eyes.

Even as I did so, I kept thinking over and over again.

What can I do, what can I do now to prevent this tragedy?

There was nothing.

It was too much to bear.

Even when all my equipment and the essences I had painstakingly collected were taken away and this thing was thrown at us as a boss mob, I had refused to admit defeat, thinking there must be some way.

Damn it.

This is unreasonable.

This is just too unreasonable.

It’s not like we’re going to die because we’re not strong enough, or because we made a big mistake, or because we didn’t finish the objective in time.

“Stab, pilgrim. Cleanse your dagger with filthy blood and prove your purity.”

Does someone really have to die?

Without even a chance to argue?

Swoosh.

Versil stood up.

And approached me, bowing her head.

Then I saw her expression properly.

“Mr. Jandel…”

She looked as if she would cry any moment.

“If this continues, the raid will fail, right?”

Yeah, so she’s decided on me.

Since there’s no way out, she’s resolved to survive alone, even if it means sacrificing me.

Swoosh.

The moment I shut my eyes tightly.

“Please, don’t let everyone fall.”

A gentle touch caressed my cheek.

‘…Huh?’

When I opened my eyes again, I saw Versil holding the dagger to her own throat, at an angle invisible to Dreadfear.

“I’ve made many wrong choices before.”

Wait, just a minute.

“I thought it was natural, that anyone would do the same, that I was smart.”

I tried to speak, but of course, my mouth wouldn’t open.

“But the outcomes were always bad.”

Versil removed her hand from my cheek.

“I’m trying not to repeat the same mistakes.”

No, if that’s the case, you could have just stayed still.

Maybe that was the key to clearing this situation.

Why did you make this decision?

I couldn’t understand it at all.

But…

“I told you, if I don’t do it, someone else will do it.”

That one sentence made it all make sense.

“But this seems like a situation where no one is supposed to betray anyone.”

Thud—!

It was us who pushed her from behind.

***

「The first pilgrim has died.」

「All stats of the surviving pilgrims have increased by +400.」

Her body, now lifeless, collapsed to the cold ground.

The bastard looked at the corpse and muttered a curt comment.

“…What a pathetic bitch.”

At those words, blood rushed to my head.

My mind went blank, like a fragile circuit on the verge of shorting out with the slightest touch.

‘Really…’

She’s dead…?

It felt like I had drunk to my limit, something rose up inside me

Beeeeeeeeep—

Amidst the ringing in my ears, I could hear Dreadfear’s voice.

“I’ll give you one more chance.”

Then, a dark haze began to flow from his body.

「The Lord of fear, Dreadfear has activated [Execution Time].」

「Fear towards the target has greatly increased.」

In a way, it was similar to killing it.

In the way that it paralyses reason and makes it impossible to think straight.

“……”

 

“……”

My body’s survival instincts screamed like crazy, and the only thought in my head was to escape from this place.

[Run away.]

Someone whispered in my ear, over and over.

But even in the midst of that, this thought came to me first.

“Hold on.”

What if Versil had made a different choice?

Could we still have trusted one another and refused to pick up that dagger until the very end?

“Maybe…”

She must have feared this exact moment might happen.

Like a true player of Dungeon & Stone, she understood the creator’s intentions all too well.

Srrrk.

Her blood formed a small pool on the ground as it flowed…

And then—

Ziiing—!

The moment that spreading blood touched the statue—

[A mysterious being cradles the soul of the noble Pilgrim]

[The altar is activated]

The entire cave shook as if a rift had opened.

Rumble—!

A bright light emanated from the statue.

[The Light of Trust dispels the fear dwelling in your heart]

All at once, the force binding our bodies lifted.

Tap.

I scooped up my fallen weapon and got back on my feet.

He just looked annoyed; there was no hint of wariness in his eyes.

“Do you think anything will change because of this?”

Well, I don’t know about that yet.

But we’ve definitely cleared one pattern.

‘What kind of skill is that?’

Even now, it’s a disgusting skill.

‘Believe’—with just one word, he made us believe that betraying our comrades would let us survive?

There’s a limit to toying with people.

“Even now, it’s not too late. There’s only one way for you to leave this cave alive. Prove your purity.”

What are you talking about? Who would believe that now?

“Mister, my strength has returned somewhat.”

In fact, the reason I managed to hit him this time was because I caught him off guard.

Yeah, so…

‘Not now…’

I suppressed my rising urge, like a volcano about to erupt, and shouted.

“Everyone, scatter!”

It wasn’t the time to face him head-on yet.

Thanks to the significant stat boost, the imperial soldiers surrounding the cave were no longer a problem.

“Ugh, aaaaah!”

The soldiers fell like autumn leaves, unable to withstand Aynar’s rhino-like charge.

We quickly followed and escaped from the cave.

“Move aside!”

The guy who took the big hit quickly regained his composure and began chasing us.

His movement speed…

‘A bit faster than ours.’

Which means, if this continues, we’ll definitely get caught.

I need to find a way.

So, I ran with all my might, thinking and thinking until he was right on our tail.

Why did our stats suddenly increase?

Was it just a buff from the altar being activated?

No, maybe there’s another condition.

‘What’s the clear condition, anyway?’

Is it a game of tag?

Hmm, maybe if we keep running away from him, our stats will increase, and eventually, we’ll become strong enough to take him down.

Nothing’s certain, but I set a goal.

“…Where should we go?”

“Out of the cave.”

Leaving this cave.

Maybe activating the altar and escaping is the condition for clearing it… but…

That’s not easy either.

“…Mister, we can’t keep running like this.”

If this keeps up, we’ll be caught soon.

Aynar and Erwin each gave their opinion.

“Bjorn, let’s fight. We need to avenge the mage!”

“No. The three of us can’t win. I’ll try to lure him away.” Erwin suggested

One suggested fighting, the other using a decoy.

It’s not a bad idea, but…

“…Alright. But I’ll stay behind and lure him.”

“No. I should do it. I think I can move alone, and… actually, I’ve had this ability since the beginning.”

“An ability?”

“I can sense where everyone is. I didn’t know what it was until we reunited back there…”

Is it something like the Guide’s authority to detect portals?

If that’s the case, then she could lure him away and still regroup with us without too much trouble…

“Trust me. I’m the right person for this.”

What should I do?

What’s the best choice?

As always, the time was fleeting, and I had to make a decision.

“……Don’t get hurt.”

Erwin didn’t respond to my answer.

She just smiled as if to say, “Don’t worry,” and slowly began to slow down.

“Huff, huff…”

I tried to maintain a steady breathing rythm as I pushed forward. It had been about two hours since we parted ways with Erwin.

‘We’re probably halfway now…’

From the cave entrance to the center, it took nearly eight hours, but we’ve covered more than half that distance in just two hours.

‘With these physical stats, it feels like we’re at about a third of our usual strength…’0

Of course, that’s just based on stats alone. Without any skills, we’re still far from being able to take him on.

‘The problem is… there’s no sign of our stats increasing further.’

Was the stat boost a one-time thing?

I don’t know, but Aynar and I kept moving toward the cave entrance.

And then, after some time…

‘Erwin, when is she going to show up? Did something go wrong?’

Just as that unease began to creep in…

「The second pilgrim has died.」

「All stats of the surviving pilgrims have increased by +400.」

Our stats increased once more.