Chasing After the One Who Went First

“Darsan!!!!”

Barkal shouted.

He called out toward the giant at the top floor, the one wearing the skull helmet.

At a glance, it was obvious he was a barbarian. That muscular, unclothed body. The very image resembling ‘Barkal’—that atmosphere could only belong to a barbarian.

That’s probably why Barkal immediately recognized him.

However, the barbarian called ‘Darsan’ took no action.

In a way, that was only natural. ‘Darsan’ was dead, and it was said that his corpse had been revived as an undead.

If he reacted, then that would mean…

“Darsan!”

Huh, he’s reacting.

Contrary to expectations, the skull helmet gave a slight reaction at Barkal’s shout.

He shifted his head slightly to look down at Barkal from above.

Isn’t he actually not dead?

“What’s going on?”

I couldn’t help but ask in surprise.

An undead with sentience? It’s possible if it’s an intermediate-rank or higher undead.

But that isn’t the original will of the body—it’s the will of something else that was summoned.

And yet, Darsan reacted to his own name. Why?

“Darsan!!!!!!!!!”

Once again.

Barkal’s booming voice shook heaven and earth.

Hearing it up close, I wondered if my eardrums had been damaged from how grand it sounded.

“Why did you kill your comrade!”

Barkal’s voice was full of anguish. But this time, Darsan didn’t react.

As if he was entranced, the guy only headed deeper into the dungeon.

“Stop! Darsan!”

As Darsan entered one of the many corridors, his body was swallowed by the darkness.

Maybe feeling he might lose sight of Darsan, Barkal hurried forward at the front.

During that, some snakes that had been hiding nearby lunged at him.

“You’re in the way!”

With his brutish hands, Barkal tore the snakes apart.

“Brother Barkal! If you go too deep suddenly, it’s dangerous!”

“Barkal!”

That guy—isn’t he rushing out too suddenly?

Serena and I tried to stop Barkal, who had run forward, but he showed no signs of looking back as he started pursuing Darsan.

“D-Drmitan, what should we do?”

“Ahh… please, just don’t say we’re chasing after them.”

Serena looked at me with worried eyes, miriam looking exasperated. I nodded at the two of them.

Can’t be helped.

We have to follow, for now.

* * *

We entered the corridor, following after Barkal who had rushed ahead.

What greeted us was darkness.

Inside the corridor, the darkness was much thicker than at the entrance.

I could even feel an eerie energy swirling around.

Signs of ‘Abyssification’, probably. The energy of the abyss lingered all around the area.

“Uuu…”

Because of that, miriam grimaced.

“It’s hard to breathe.”

“You didn’t have to come along.”

“I didn’t really want to come either. But what can I do, my body just acts on its own.”

Her body acts on its own?

I couldn’t understand it. She hardly even got involved deeply, after all.

“You know, I’m helping you like this, so if I’m ever in danger, you have to help me too. Got it?”

Instead of answering, I just turned my head. Afterward, miriam looked at Serena, but Serena also simply turned her head away.

“Um, is it possible for me to die in here?”

Listening to her soliloquy, we continued forward.

Even though the darkness was thick, we could still see about a foot ahead.

As we walked and saw Miriam not react, does that mean there aren’t any traps deeper inside?

“Barkal!”

I called out Barkal’s name as we went down the corridor.

No answer came back. With no choice, we just kept on moving forward.

“… Huh?”

At that moment, Serena, who was at the front, stopped.

“What is it?”

“There.”

Serena pointed her finger ahead. The darkness made it hard to see deep inside, but I could barely make out outlines.

Alongside the corridor.

Statues were lined up against the walls. Of course, they weren’t just simple statues.

“They’re monsters, right?”

Goblins, ogres, and even monsters like harpies and centaurs.

They were all turned to stone and positioned here and there.

But for some reason, something felt off.

“They’re moving.”

The monsters that should have stopped after being ‘petrified’ were slowly—but surely—moving.

Thud.

The statues began to approach us.

One step, another step.

The way the stone figures drew nearer was something you’d only see in a horror movie—truly overwhelming.

“How can petrified monsters move?”

Serena asked, but I shook my head. It wasn’t long before I noticed dark energy clinging to the statues.

“Is it the aftermath of Abyssification?”

The black-purple veins I’d seen in Iushil’s underground in the past. It was clearly the same thing as what was clinging to these statues.

“I can handle this!”

Serena confidently stepped forward.

I examined her body. Just to check the tattoos she had drawn before coming into the dungeon.

Well drawn.

“Just leave it to me! One petrified monster is nothing…”

Crack.

As Serena spoke, the monsters positioned along the corridor began to move.

Two.

Three.

No, ten.

Speak of the devil. Because she said that, suddenly there were more statues.

Seeing the increased number of stone monsters, Serena looked troubled.

“D-did I just jinx us?”

I nodded vigorously, and Serena could only force an awkward smile.

“Brother Barkal must have gone this way.”

Serena muttered in a worried tone. Normally, she wouldn’t worry, considering Barkal’s strength, but after seeing Darsan, he lost his composure.

This was the first time Barkal hadn’t stopped even when I called him.

No, maybe it wasn’t the first? Whatever.

I just hoped that nothing bad happened to Barkal, who had dashed ahead of us.

* * *

“Darsan!”

Barkal’s voice echoed through the corridor. Still, there was no answer.

But it was certain that Darsan had gone ahead.

Traces left behind. The footprints stamped deep on the floor were clearly those of a barbarian.

“Darsan.”

Barkal muttered as he walked deeper into the corridor.

The deeper he ran following the footprints, the deeper the corridor became, and the vile energy of the abyss grew more and more intense.

And then…

Soon after, Barkal stopped.

Up ahead.

In the darkness, a massive silhouette came into Barkal’s view.

A skull helmet.

The tattoo of the Red Wolf Tribe.

A gigantic greatsword.

It was unmistakably Darsan Wolfroad.

“Darsan!!”

Even to Barkal’s booming voice, Darsan didn’t flinch.

He knew. His big bro was already dead. Even if he wasn’t, Barkal had repeatedly reminded himself that he would kill him with his own hands.

That was his vow when he left the ‘Red Wolf Tribe’.

An act of honor for Thrag.

Respect for the family that had to wear the ‘skull helmet.’

So Barkal didn’t stop and kept moving forward.

Soon, he was close to Darsan, who stood there like a corpse, and as if he sensed Barkal’s presence, Darsan began to turn his body around.

“Why do you wear that skull helmet on your head?”

Barkal asked.

No answer came back.

“Even in death, do you plan to disgrace our family?”

Again, there was no answer. Instead, Darsan gripped his greatsword tighter.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t answer.”

Barkal’s eyes sharpened.

“Thrag will give the answer.”

With those words, Barkal tightened his grip on his axe.

The newly acquired ‘World’s Precipice’ whistled as it sliced through the air, sharp and fierce.

Likewise, Darsan raised his greatsword.

And then, axe and greatsword clashed.

BANG!

A majestic sound that reverberated in the ears, accompanied by sparks bursting in the air.

“Crude!”

Between the sparks that flew as iron met iron, Barkal gritted his teeth.

Because he had fought Darsan in the past, Barkal could tell.

Darsan’s skills now were crude.

Maybe it was because he became undead, but his strength was even greater than before.

But his technique was lacking.

If it had been the Barkal of the past, he would have been overwhelmed and forced to kneel from the sheer power.

But through his journey,

and through Serena, he had mastered ‘technique.’

“Hrup!”

Barkal lowered his body and laid his axe to the side. The monstrous greatsword of Darsan slid down the axe’s surface and slammed into the ground.

BANG!

With an immense noise, a fissure appeared on the floor. Seeing that, Barkal swung his axe.

That was when it happened.

Awoooooo─!

A beast’s howl.

A wolf’s howl.

As the sound rang in his ears, Barkal hastily withdrew his axe and retreated.

“Thrag!?”

Barkal’s eyes widened.

A red wolf.

Who knows when it appeared, but a gigantic wolf was watching from the depths of the corridor, radiating overwhelming presence.

Was it trying to give a warning? As that thought flashed across Barkal’s mind—

“Grrrrrrrk…!”

Darsan’s body began to change.

All those abyssal veins Barkal had seen infesting both the living and the dead—disgusting things that piloted and controlled bodies—began to envelop Darsan as well.

If he had swung his axe and ended Darsan’s life just now, he would’ve been caught up in those veins for sure. Barkal thought Thrag had appeared to warn him of this.

“Kuaaaaaaa!”

Caught up in those veins, Darsan howled in agony.

With it, Darsan’s muscles began to swell monstrously.

—

**New Names, locations, skills, and Techniques**

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