The three of us ran while I held Mira's arm.
"You need to find a secure place and stay there," I said firmly. "I'm going to defeat the Dungeon Boss, but I need your full cooperation if you want to get out of here alive."
They nodded vigorously, desperation written all over their faces.
I led them to a nearby room I had already cleared and checked thoroughly, then shut the door behind them.
"Once I leave, don't open this door for any reason," I instructed. "After I defeat the Dungeon Boss, a notification will appear. Accept it, and you'll be able to leave safely."
"Stay quiet and stay hidden. No matter what happens."
The two of them nodded.
"Stay safe, mister!" Mira said.
I patted her gently on the head. "I will."
Then I moved.
[System]
[The hunters of Chrono Guild have entered the dungeon]
Damn. They're here already.
I need to finish this before they catch up.
I activated the skill my sponsor had granted me earlier, and my speed surged.
I have to find the Dungeon Boss… but where?
The mansion was massive, and all I had encountered so far were ordinary monsters, none of them worth slowing down for. I cut through everything in my path as I searched.
Think, Xavier. At this rate, the other hunters will reach the boss before you.
Wait…
An idea sparked.
Right. This place looks like a noble's mansion.
Which means…
Wouldn't the Dungeon Boss be the master of the house?
I shifted my search, looking for a room that fit the head of the household's office.
And I found it.
Inside was a grand office, with shelves lined with books along the walls. At the center stood a massive desk facing a tall window.
Seated behind the desk was a massive man with a thick, unkempt beard. His body was broad and muscular, but his flesh had begun to rot. The skin was dark, cracked in places, and sagging as if it could no longer hold together.
His eyes were empty.
Not just lifeless, but hollow. Blood poured from them in slow, heavy streams, running down his face and dripping onto the desk.
He wore what remained of formal clothing, now torn and soaked with stains. It looked like the uniform of an official, once a symbol of authority. A massive sword rested in his arms.
On his arm, just above the sleeve, a small bite mark stood out. The flesh around it was swollen and blackened.
His lips moved slightly before any sound came out. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and broken, like something caught between life and death.
"The goddess has abandoned us..."
Blood continued to fall from his eyes as he spoke, each drop landing against the table.
He did not look at me.
But he knew I was there.
He slowly stood up.
"The Vallion Empire has fallen..."
He spoke unconsciously, as if he didn't know what he was doing.
"I must defend this mansion..."
His words were clear, but empty of awareness.
Then his hollow eyes turned and locked onto me.
In the next second, he lunged forward and swung the massive sword.
I managed to react in time and blocked the attack.
The impact was heavy as hell. The monster's strength was overwhelming.
I pushed him back, and we continued to clash.
He was fast and strong, like a veteran soldier. It was hard to keep up.
While fighting, he kept murmuring, but I could no longer clearly understand what he was saying.
Unlike the other zombies, he didn't act wildly or try to bite me. He moved with purpose, like a corpse replaying what it used to be.
Then he swung again.
I barely dodged, the blade slicing through a strand of my hair.
This isn't good.
If I keep this up, I might end up dead.
Meanwhile, at the hall of the mansion, the Chrono Guild hunters were scouting the area.
"What a bizarre mansion. There aren't a lot of dungeons that show a setting of human civilization."
A man named Zahir said as he looked around the dark hall.
"It smells awful in here. I want to barf."
Liora covered her nose with disgust.
"You're overreacting, Liora. It's not that bad."
Nox shrugged casually while walking beside her.
Liora shot him an annoyed glare.
"Is there something wrong with your nose, Nox? Can't you smell that rotting scent?"
The smell was impossible to ignore. It lingered heavily in the air, thick and disgusting, like something had died and been left to rot for weeks.
Then Liora suddenly turned around.
"Stop shoving your smelly hand near me, Nox."
A mischievous grin spread across his face.
"Hehehe... that isn't my hand though."
"What are you sayi—"
Liora froze.
Slowly, she turned around and saw Nox holding a severed hand, casually using it to poke her shoulder.
Her face instantly turned pale.
"KYAHHH! WHAT IS THAT?!"
"A hand, obviously."
Nox answered with a completely straight face.
The sudden scream caught the attention of Zahir and the other two members of their party. They stopped checking the nearby area and immediately turned toward the commotion.
"You absolute brainless idiot! Isn't that a real hand?!"
Liora shouted as she grabbed Nox by the hair.
"Ow! Ow! Relax!"
"Nox! Where did you even get that?"
Zahir asked frantically, his expression growing serious.
Nox lazily pointed toward a massive door at the end of the hall.
"I found it near that big door over there."
The joking atmosphere immediately vanished.
Zahir frowned and cautiously approached the large door. The others followed behind him, suddenly alert.
The closer they got, the stronger the rotten smell became.
"What in the world happened here...?"
"What is it?"
His party quickly caught up.
Then they saw it.
A hallway full of human corpses.
Bodies were scattered everywhere, piled on top of one another like discarded trash.
Some looked freshly killed while others looked like they were already rotting for a long time.
Blood stained the walls and floor, leaving dark trails that stretched endlessly through the hallway.
Liora's face turned pale again, but this time not because of Nox's prank.
"What the hell...?"
The atmosphere suddenly turned heavy.
---
Right now, I really regretted my actions earlier for making my sponser leave like that.
If he was here, wouldn't he have given me hints or some other cool stuff to help me defeat this guy?
Guess I don't have time for regrets when I'm literally fighting for my life right now.
I quickly switched places and moved to the side of the table just as he swung his sword again.
CRASH!
I barely moved away in time, leaving him to split the table in two.
The things on his desk came crashing down.
The papers, pen , ashtray, and picture frames fell to the floor with a big sound.
I expected him to ignore it and continue attacking me.
But surprisingly...
He stopped.
Since our fight began, the monster stood still. He stared at the fallen objects on the ground.
What could make him stop like this?
I didn't understand it, but I wasn't stupid enough to waste an opening.
I took my chance and struck.
I stabbed his back, aiming exactly where the heart should be.
But I didn't stop there.
I swung my sword a second time.
Slash.
His head separated cleanly from his body.
His body slowly dropped to its knees before eventually collapsing to the floor a second later.
I stood there for a moment, trying to catch my breath.
"Finally..."
My hands trembled slightly from exhaustion.
After calming myself down, I cautiously approached him again.
Just to make sure he was really dead.
Then my eyes drifted toward the things scattered on the floor.
The picture frames.
I picked one up.
Inside was a picture of a woman and a child standing beside a man.
And judging by the build...
The man looked identical to him.
So this must've been him.
Before all of this happened.
His family.
Before he became... whatever he turned into.
I just stared at the photo for awhile.
Then suddenly—
[Congratulations for clearing "The Dead Mansion"! (Class A)]