Reverse Dungeon

However, the man was protecting the family of traitors.

Keith had judged that he had been deceived by the boy born of that traitorous bloodline. But the man had known. He had known the boy belonged to a family of traitors, and still he had protected those who had willingly abandoned God.

Keith had been deeply disappointed.

By his principles, he should have killed both the boy and the man.

But he had not.

Why?

Keith often thought back to that moment. He told himself he should have gone back and killed the man afterward. But he never had.

He was the first person Keith had ever spared by breaking his own principles.

And now, that same man was saving him.

The skin where they touched felt as though it were burning. A dull throb pulsed deep in Keith’s lower abdomen, and for a moment, he could not understand why.

No.

He did understand.

That dark magic.

The poison the Pope had forced into him.

It had to be causing abnormal reactions inside his body.

A human like the Pope could never have created such dark magic on his own. Demons were involved in this.

Keith spoke in a hoarse voice. With his chin resting on the man’s shoulder, he whispered into his ear.

“Demons are chasing us.”

“Demons?”

“Yes.”

The man gritted his teeth. For a moment, his gaze shifted as if he were staring at something in empty air. Then he said, “Head for the dungeon! We’ll hold them back. You wait where I tell you and ambush them. Can you do that? Are you actually on the verge of death?”

“No.”

“Don’t bluff.”

“I truly am fine. Have ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) you forgotten? I am a holy knight.”

The man blinked.

He remembered their first meeting too.

For some reason, that pleased Keith.

He did not know why this man was helping him. But he knew the man was risking his life to do it.

Keith pressed a hand to his own chest. Healing light emerged beneath his palm, pushing back the dark magic inside him.

This is only temporary.

He knew that.

But vitality surged through him, and strength returned to his grip.

This was enough.

Enough to deal with demons.

Keith had never once struggled against those filthy creatures before.

Then the man said, “Give me your sword.”

“......?”

Keith stared at him in confusion.

The man started to explain, but Keith’s hand had already moved to his belt. He unfastened the sword and handed it over, scabbard and all. It was a blade he had taken from the holy knights after fleeing the Vatican without his own.

“......?”

Now it was the man’s turn to look puzzled as he accepted the sword.

The moment he placed his hand on it, a beautiful light of purification wrapped around the blade and seeped into the steel.

The sword, now faintly shining with sacred light, slid back into its scabbard.

“Your role is crucial. If we can’t catch that demon, we all die.”

The man was accustomed to giving orders.

Perhaps he had lived a little too freely, thanks to his noble birth.

Keith had never liked people like that.

But this man was different.

“Yes. I will follow your command.”

Keith answered obediently, his voice so low it was almost a whisper.

His chin was still resting on the man’s shoulder, making the man narrow one eye as though the sensation tickled.

Why is he listening?

Ian found Keith’s obedience bizarre.

Wasn’t this the man famous for being so stubborn he made players want to throw their keyboards? Ian had expected Keith to bristle the moment someone he had once tried to kill started giving him orders.

But strangely enough, Keith was listening.

Is it because he’s half-dead?

When the body weakened, the mind weakened with it. Ian understood that much. He had seen plenty of people act arrogant when strong, only to become humble once they were beaten down.

But he soon realized he had no time for idle thoughts.

The sky was darkening.

“Demons...”

“Demons!”

The knights from the Vatican fell into uproar. Clearly, they had not been prepared for this situation.

Ian had not played far into Keith’s story, but he knew this much: almost everyone in the Vatican tried to kill Keith, whether they were directly following the Pope’s orders or not.

They wanted him dead because he had been branded an apostate.

But with even a little thought, anyone could see that Keith was not that kind of person.

In the end, they had simply chosen the easier path.

The path that looked easier to them.

After all, it was far easier to deal with one man labeled an apostate than to help him and turn hundreds of thousands from the Vatican into enemies.

Keith had fallen into crisis because no one wanted to be seen defending an apostate.

And yet, in Keith’s storyline, he survived.

Eventually, he punished the Vatican and defeated the Demon King.

However, it seemed the people of the Vatican did not realize demons were involved in all this.

Not that this helped Ian.

Or does it?

“Are you here to help Sir Keith?”

“They are colluding with demons!”

Some of the knights shouted in outrage.

But they fell silent when they saw the demon charging toward Keith with its enormous wings spread wide.

Was the Sir Keith they had been pursuing truly an apostate?

The demons were clearly aiding the Vatican army.

Ian did not miss the opening.

“You minions of demons!” he shouted. “You claim to believe in God, yet you feel no shame? Divine retribution will fall upon you!”

“......!”

“No!”

“What nonsense are you spouting? We—”

The Vatican knights protested furiously, but they could not stop the unrest spreading through their ranks.

The demon paid no attention to their confusion.

From the beginning, the Western Duke had never expected anything from these lowly humans.

“Keith!”

The Duke called out to the fleeing knight, his voice brimming with joy.

“Where do you think you’re going? Was it not your pride never to show your back to demons?”

“Don’t listen!”

Ian immediately tried to stop Keith from falling for the demon’s provocation.

But Keith answered in a voice that sounded almost dead.

“I will not listen.”

Why is he listening so well?!

Maybe people really did need to be half-dead before they became reasonable.

Perhaps Keith in the Keith route had simply been too healthy.

“Lord Ian, we’ve arrived!”

“Everyone inside! Lock it down!”

They had reached the dungeon.

Louise provided covering fire until everyone was inside, then followed them in.

The moment they entered, the dungeon shifted into wartime mode.

The people in the labor areas fled toward the living quarters tucked into the corners. Those trained as soldiers took their positions, and every creature in the dungeon moved to guard its assigned area.

Grrrrrr...

The dragon, who had been sleeping, woke at the commotion.

Ah. There he is.

Ian asked with a sliver of desperate hope.

He was not particularly lucky himself, but who knew?

This “Ian” was supposed to be a lucky character.

“Can you fight?”

“If Mom tells me to fight, I’ll fight.”

“No. Can you kill that demon?”

“That’s a Duke. I fought a Duke not long ago, so I can’t grow anymore.”

The dragon breathed out a puff of smoke, looking dejected.

So much for that.

What lucky character?

Ian became humble again.

Better to focus on defense.

“Wait. Duke?”

“Yeah. That’s the Western Duke. Mom told me when I was little.”

You’re still little...

What was this hatchling talking about? Had someone told him that while he was still inside an egg?

Ian felt dizzy.

Was there really a character being chased by a Duke before the tutorial even began?

Is there someone with worse luck than Ian?

But Keith had overcome that bad luck through sheer ability.

No. Then he isn’t less lucky than Ian.

Ian was the one without those abilities.

Just look at his starting items: alcohol and Portrait of Kingdom Beauties.

In any case, Ian had to make full use of this monstrous knight who could even heal himself. He needed Keith both to defend the dungeon and to save the five-star character.

Ian asked the dragon, “If you can’t fight him, can you lure him?”

“Just fly away and make him chase me? In my small form?”

“Smart! Yes, exactly.”

Ian was impressed by the dragon’s understanding. It was on a completely different level from Sema’s.

Praised, the small dragon happily flipped once in the air.

“I can do it.”

“Do it. Lure him through the trap zone, past the wolf area, and into the cave with the World Tree.”

“Okay.”

“If you can’t manage it, just run.”

“I can do it!”

Ian lightly patted the dragon on the backside.

The dragon fluttered away.