Chapter 835
“What’s your name?”
Raon walked to the right and stood before the Iron Pillar Federation warrior subdued by Rimmer, tilting his chin.
-Why aren’t you getting straight to the point? Why waste time asking for his name?
Wrath tilted his head in confusion.
-A name is the most basic and important piece of information about a person. When someone reveals their name first, it puts psychological pressure on them—making it more likely they’ll spill real information.
There’s a big difference between speaking anonymously and speaking under your own name. Asking for the opponent’s name is a fundamental principle of interrogation.
-You sure know a lot of pointless things.
Wrath shrugged, calling him peculiar.
‘It’s not all that special.’
For someone who lived as an assassin, it was as natural as breathing. But for Wrath, who once reigned as a Monarch, it was an odd concept—their lives had simply been too different.
“Gapen…”
The Iron Pillar warrior spoke his name through trembling lips.
“Gapen. What was the Iron Pillar Federation doing in this dungeon?”
“T-Training warriors and researching s-sorcery.”
Because Rimmer was still tickling his soles, Gapen spoke through a pained expression, revealing the activities of the Iron Pillar Federation.
“So they really were trying to revive the Iron Pillar Federation.”
Rimmer shook his head, calling them absurd.
“Hey.”
Aris stepped in, her eyes chilling as she grabbed Gapen by the collar.
“You guys kidnapped people, didn’t you?”
“……”
Gapen didn’t respond, but his silence was answer enough.
“Is one of the people you kidnapped named Sif?”
“I-I don’t know. I’m only in charge of the outer perimeter. I don’t know who the hostages are.”
He shook his head, claiming ignorance about the prisoners.
“Think carefully! Red eyes and black hair! He’s so strong you couldn’t possibly miss him!”
Aris clenched Gapen’s throat and demanded an answer.
“I-I only arrived at this branch recently. That area isn’t under my authority…”
Gapen murmured frantically, face pale as death.
“You moron!”
Aris lost her temper and slammed her fist into Gapen’s face. She may have held back, but Raon thought it was excessive.
“Aunt, please calm down.”
Raon caught her arm and lowered Gapen back to the floor.
“Are you acting to resurrect the Iron Pillar Federation?”
“It’s not resurrection. We’ve always been alive. We’re only preparing for revenge!”
Gapen raised his voice in frustration, and a deep fury burned within his soul.
“They’re the ones who attacked first! You’d think we were ambushed if you heard him!”
Rimmer muttered in disbelief as he smacked Gapen’s forehead.
“Grr…”
Gapen still ground his teeth in humiliation.
“It’s likely the Iron Pillar remnants aren’t only in this dungeon.”
If he had transferred to this branch, there had to be a headquarters elsewhere.
And for a force that was supposedly wiped out a hundred years ago to speak of revenge—this dungeon was far too small in scale.
The exact location was unknown, but there was no doubt they had a much larger force than what was here.
But for now, what mattered more than the Iron Pillar’s main base was what lay below this place—and who they had taken hostage.
“Why were you hiding here?”
Raon exhaled and cast a sharp gaze at Gapen.
“…We—we found signs that someone had entered the underground base.”
Gapen clearly didn’t want to speak, but under Rimmer’s tickle torture, he opened his mouth again.
“Ugh…”
Paras clutched his temple, feeling responsible.
“We sent a signal while relocating the branch… to buy time—urk!”
Gapen suddenly grabbed his own throat mid-sentence. His eyes turned red as if soaked in blood.
“What the hell?!”
Raon pressed a hand to Gapen’s chest.
Bzzzzmm!
The flow of sorcery swirling through Gapen’s body suddenly twisted violently, and before anyone could react, his heart exploded.
“Guhh…”
Gapen let out a final, cracking moan and died on the spot.
“This is…”
“It’s sorcery.”
Raon removed his hand from Gapen’s chest and shook his head.
“They used the flow of sorcery embedded in Gapen’s body to burst his heart.”
It seemed they had inscribed a remote-activation spell on him to destroy him the moment he became a liability.
“Of course it’s the Iron Pillar Federation. Ruthless bastards.”
Aris bit her lip, eyes burning with frustration.
“That’s not even the real problem right now.”
Rimmer frowned at Gapen’s corpse.
“The Iron Pillar guys—they’re trying to abandon this dungeon.”
“That’s right.”
Raon nodded at Rimmer.
“The moment they detected an outsider’s trace, they immediately prepared to abandon the branch. That proves how dangerous they are.”
To consider one unknown intruder a serious enough threat to deploy guards and dismantle the entire base—they had astonishing decisiveness.
Raon could now understand how the remnants of the Iron Pillar Federation had survived this long.
‘We need to move as fast as possible.’
When underground factions abandon their branches, they often kill every hostage they held.
To rescue the kidnapped victims, they had to break through this dungeon at top speed.
“Aunt, we should head down right—huh?”
Rumble rumble rumble rumble!
The entire dungeon began to quake as the paths leading downward and outward collapsed.
Wooooooong!
Not just soil and stone, but metallic pillars of unknown origin surged forth, sealing both the entrance and the exit. It was all clearly the work of sorcery.
“W-What is this?!”
Martha clenched her lips while crouching to maintain her balance.
“The cavern—no, the entire dungeon is shaking.”
Burren also lowered his head, visibly tense.
“Hmm.”
To prevent a potential collapse, Runaan raised pillars of ice to support the cavern ceiling.
“Waaah! We’re gonna get buried! If we stay here, we’ll all die!”
Dorian flailed his arms wildly, urging them to escape quickly.
“It’s too late.”
Raon shook his head as he looked at the exit buried in soil.
“They plan to trap us in this dungeon until they’ve moved their base.”
It wasn’t just this cavern—the entire dungeon was shifting rapidly.
The enemies were willing to spend an enormous amount of sorcery to block their path.
“How arrogant.”
Aris clenched her fist and stood before the sealed path leading to the next floor.
“You think sorcery and all this crap can stop me?”
Instead of drawing her sword, she smashed her fist into the sorcery-formed wall.
KWAANG!
A colossal shockwave burst forth, reducing the stones and metal bound by sorcery into dust.
Hwooosh.
Aris unleashed such overwhelming force that what was once a narrow passage for two people was now wide enough to fit a giant.
“Just follow me.”
Aris shouted and led the way down the darkened path.
“That’s my aunt!”
Martha cried out in satisfaction as she followed Aris.
“I’m not fond of brute strength, but that was satisfying.”
Burren nodded as he stepped through the widened opening.
“Aunt…”
Runaan’s eyes sparkled with admiration as she jogged after them.
“Hmm…”
Raon didn’t follow immediately. He placed his hand on the ground.
He activated the [Ring of Fire], tuning into the flow of sorcery coursing throughout the dungeon.
-Why are you just standing there?
Wrath flicked his hand as if to say, “Hurry up.”
‘I’m tracking the flow of sorcery.’
Even if Aris was a transcendent, she couldn’t keep using her power like that endlessly.
If Raon familiarized himself with the flow of sorcery here, it would greatly help in any battle to come. He focused his eyes and senses to absorb it all.
-As if that’ll work!
Wrath snorted dismissively.
‘Even if it doesn’t, I’ll still gain something.’
Raon brushed the dirt off his hand and descended to the next floor.
“Always scheming something.”
Rimmer let out a sly smile as he left the cavern last.
* * *
Slaaash!
Aris’s [Spatial Sword] spread out in a semicircle, splitting the entire gray corridor in half.
RUMBLEEE!
Stones fell from empty space, arrows and harpoons snapped in two, and even traps hidden beneath false floors were ripped out entirely.
RUMBLEEE!
With a single strike, Aris destroyed the entire trap room.
“Let’s move to the next one!”
She grinned and pointed to an open exit on the right.
-Hmm…
Wrath narrowed his eyes as he watched Aris’s back.
-She’s pushing herself quite a bit.
‘Yeah. She’s using her full strength each time to minimize wasted time.’
Raon let out a murky breath and nodded.
-Even if she’s a transcendent, she can’t keep this up for long.
‘Exactly.’
Aris had cleared twenty floors by herself, never relying on others.
They had to reach the dungeon’s end before the Iron Pillar Federation remnants finished clearing out their base—and she had the Light Wind Division to protect as well, so she was pushing herself too hard.
Their speed was impressive, but at this rate, Aris might collapse before reaching the end.
“Aunt.”
Raon stepped in front of Aris to block her path.
“I understand how you feel, but let’s take it slower. You’ve been using too much aura and stamina.”
He shook his head, saying he would take the lead from here.
“You’re right, I’m overdoing it. But do you know why I can push myself?”
Aris gave him a soft smile.
“It’s because you’re here.”
“…What?”
Raon blinked at her.
“Because you’re behind me, I can afford to go all out.”
She spoke quietly, letting him know she trusted him.
“Am I wrong? If I’m in danger, or that idiot son of mine is—won’t you go save us?”
She tilted her chin at him.
“…I will. I have to.”
“See?”
Aris grinned and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll keep clearing the path. If anything happens—take care of it.”
She laughed boldly, saying she rarely trusted others to guard her back.
“Let’s go, brats!”
Aris yelled for them to follow and charged down to the next floor.
“She’s trusting you with her back. Must really like you.”
Rimmer smirked as he stood beside Raon.
“She’s always treated me like this, so I wouldn’t know.”
“She’s way softer now. I bet even Rabawin never heard her talk like that.”
He shrugged, saying Raon had completely won her over.
“It’s a bit overwhelming.”
Raon lightly clenched his fist as he watched Aris lead the Light Wind Division down.
‘Alright. I’ll trust Aunt—and focus on what I have to do.’
The traps in this dungeon were also powered by sorcery.
He hadn’t figured it all out yet, but with a little more observation, he felt confident he could decode the core mechanics of it.
Raon summoned the [Ring of Fire] and descended the dungeon.
* * *
The dungeon was endless.
It felt like all the traps and monsters from the randomly scattered paths had been dragged into one route. Even after going down ten more floors, the end was nowhere in sight.
But with that, the flow of sorcery thickened throughout the dungeon—and Raon was now certain how the Iron Pillar Federation’s sorcery functioned.
Raon brushed soil infused with sorcery and narrowed his eyes.
‘It’s not just blood.’
The Iron Pillar Federation’s sorcery wove together fear and dread—concepts rooted in iron and blood.
Not ordinary blood, but the blood of the dead.
It wasn’t ordinary iron—it was iron meant to kill. This was how they used negative concepts to strengthen their sorcery.
“When is this ever going to end?!”
As Aris descended to a new floor, steel golems marked with bizarre runes surged up from the ground.
Even at a glance, there were over thirty, and their numbers kept growing.
“Get out of my way!”
She clicked her tongue and slashed her [Spatial Severance Sword].
Slaaaash!
Every golem—those that had formed and those still forming—was split in half by a single strike.
RUMBLEEE!
Aris hadn’t just destroyed the golems. It seemed she had also severed the sorcery powering this chamber. The ominous energy that had filled the space completely vanished.
“Huff…”
She planted her sword into the ground and wiped the cold sweat from her brow. Her trembling hands showed just how exhausted she was.
After breaking through over thirty floors of traps, monsters, and every steel gate that blocked the way, it was only natural.
KWAANG!
Once again, Aris shattered the steel gate blocking the path forward and gestured for the group to follow.
“Huff, let’s go!”
She exhaled a murky breath and led the way down once more.
“Huh?”
Aris suddenly widened her eyes as she descended the dark corridor.
“This place…”
“I-It’s the end! This is the end of the dungeon!”
Paras hurried past her, confidently claiming it was the final chamber, having visited twice before.
“He’s right. This is the last place.”
Aris nodded, confirming they had finally arrived.
“So this is the end of the dungeon.”
Raon clicked his tongue as he looked around the empty cavern, reminiscent of the first floor.
“Here.”
Paras pointed to the center of the floor.
“They opened the path to the secret area from here!”
He confidently positioned himself, recalling the exact location.
“Good. Move aside.”
Aris waved him away and raised her sword.
“I’ll break it open in one go!”
Clenching her teeth, she brought down a [Spatial Severance].
BOOOOOM!
A tremendous explosion shook not just the cavern but the entire dungeon.
However, the path Paras spoke of did not appear. Only a deep gouge in the ground remained.
“They sealed it with sorcery!”
Aris bit her lip as she stared at the carved-out earth.
“They must’ve gathered all the sorcery spread throughout the dungeon into this spot.”
Raon frowned as he sensed the powerful sorcery condensed across the floor.
‘Persistent bastards.’
Unlike the previous floors, there were no monsters or traps here.
They had simply concentrated their sorcery to block the final passage, determined to prevent anyone from entering.
It was like they had bundled their chains of sorcery into a spherical mass and embedded it into the ground. Even Aris couldn’t cut through sorcery itself in this form.
‘Judging by its density, it’s like they used the blood of hundreds—no, over a thousand people.’
No matter how thick they wove the spell, for it to endure [Spatial Severance] at this scale, they must have slaughtered hundreds—maybe thousands—within this dungeon.
“Damn it! I’ll just break it!”
Aris swung her [Spatial Severance] two more times, but she was too exhausted, and the sorcery-laced ground was too dense—her slashes no longer dug deep.
“Damn it! How many people did these bastards kill?!”
Aris slammed the ground with her fist, her expression dark and rigid—completely unlike her usual composed self.
“W-We’ll help too!”
The Light Wind Division joined her, striking the earth with their swords while maintaining the [Light Wind Formation], but predictably, the ground barely budged.
“Damn it! DAMN IT ALL!”
Aris screamed and began punching the ground with her bare fists. Even as blood burst from her knuckles, she didn’t stop.
‘Sif…’
Hang in there! I’ll get you out soon!
She hadn’t said it out loud, but a parent’s intuition told her—Sif was down there.
That’s why she pushed herself so far to get here. And now, being blocked just a single wall away—it was driving her mad.
‘There’s no other way.’
She had to use her [Sword Field Creation].
If she used it, she would be left completely drained, and this entire space might collapse—but she had no other choice.
She had to trust Raon and use her [Sword Field Creation].
“Raon.”
Aris turned around, breathing heavily.
“I’m going to use my [Sword Field Creation]. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
She extended a hand to her cherished nephew, declaring it was the only way.
“There’s another way.”
Raon shook his head and said her [Sword Field Creation] wasn’t necessary.
“We could go around and dig another way—but we don’t have time! We don’t know when they’ll leave!”
“It won’t take long. No—this will be faster than breaking through with [Sword Field Creation].”
His voice calm, Raon stepped up beside her.
“Faster? What do you mean…”
“I’ve finished analyzing it.”
Raon drew the [Soul Requiem Sword] and cut his fingertip, letting his blood drip onto the floor.
The moment his blood—burning with crimson flame—hit the ground, the dense sorcery below burst into flames.
FWOOSH!
Aris gulped dryly as she watched Raon’s flame consume even the sorcery itself.
“You… what are you…”
