Reverse Dungeon

“This way.”

Keith took the lead, guiding them toward the Vatican.

“This is the Vatican, the sanctuary that serves God.”

The instant Keith turned back to Ian after saying it, he went rigid.

Knew it.

Ian had expected this from the moment they chose this route, but he had said nothing to Keith. To Keith, the Vatican must have seemed like paradise on earth.

Yet in Keith’s original route, after his disappearance, the Vatican had become a desolate ruin—a dead fortress where no humans walked and monsters roamed at will.

Its pristine white walls had been defiled by dried bloodstains, the sky smothered beneath black mist, and sunlight had become a foreign concept.

It had not fallen that far yet. Even so, the place was ominous and bleak, as if it rejected anyone who dared set foot inside.

The drawbridge leading into the Vatican had been lowered, apparently with no one guarding it. Keith dismounted and crossed on foot. It looked like an old habit, the kind drilled so deeply into him that it still obeyed rules such as: no galloping within the holy grounds.

“Is anyone here? ...Anyone? Guards?”

Keith raised his voice, calling for the guards. Only his own echo answered, flung back at him by the eerie walls rising on every side.

They led their horses farther in. Within the walls, a small town had been built. There were no visible signs of life, but it was not entirely deserted. Faint human presences lingered here and there—people hiding, perhaps, avoiding attention and refusing even to light fires.

“...Monsters!”

It did not take Keith long to understand why no one was coming out.

Monsters were roaming freely inside the Vatican.

Chimeras—grotesque fusions of human and beast—skittered across the ground on six limbs or dragged their heads along the floor with wet, sickening thuds. They had been born from the demon tribe’s experiments, and no single species could define them. Their forms varied so wildly that they were all ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) grouped together under one name: chimeras.

“Monsters, huh.”

Ian spoke almost idly as he shot one of the chimeras down.

“This isn’t something you should be so calm about! Monsters should not be roaming inside the Vatican!”

“But they are.” 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“The barrier should have prevented this... The barrier... hasn’t been broken. Why?”

Keith looked around in bewilderment. The barrier surrounding the Vatican was still intact.

Which could only mean one thing.

The Pope had allowed the monsters into the Vatican deliberately.

Keith had never believed it could come to this.

“This can’t be.”

“What can’t?”

“Even if His Holiness abandoned me... he would never hand everyone in the Vatican over to monsters.”

“If he abandoned you, why wouldn’t he abandon everyone else here?”

Ian could not follow his logic.

“Because I... I have been difficult at times. I clashed with my superiors....”

Keith hesitated, groping for reasons that might justify his own abandonment. Ian stared at him, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“So because you annoy me sometimes, I should throw you to the monsters too? Does that make sense to you? Think before you talk.”

Keith shook his head.

“Stop spouting nonsense and look at reality. You already know the truth. The Demon Duke was after you. Who do you think made a deal with the demon tribe?”

“......”

Keith covered his face with one hand, as if he could shut the words out.

Why is his mind this fragile?

Ian was genuinely puzzled. The Keith he remembered from the game had been a fanatic armored in unshakable faith—a hero who declared, again and again, that all things followed God’s will and that divine providence would guide him. A paragon of virtue who would never compromise with non-human races.

But the Keith standing before him was not that man.

This Keith was a version who had diverged somewhere along the original route. If that divergence had shattered his mental state, then the fault lay with Ian.

And the realization stung.

Is this my fault again?

Ian had no idea how to comfort someone. He was not exactly the kind of person whose friends stayed around long enough to become upset or traumatized in front of him. The idea that his poor social skills could even affect a game would have been laughable.

And yet here they were.

As Ian floundered awkwardly, Keith finally spoke.

“Lord Ian. I haven’t fully explained what happened when I fled this place.”

“...You don’t have to if it’s too hard,” Ian said, carefully reading the mood.

“I’ll explain. It isn’t a long story. When the Pope betrayed me, the Holy Knights attacked. My squire, who had my sword, did not come to my aid. Whether he refused or simply could not, I still don’t know... but the circumstances make it clear that he abandoned me. Later, I learned that I had been formally excommunicated. That means I am denied God’s blessings in life and barred from His presence after death. For all intents and purposes, I am no longer alive.”

“......”

Ian did not know what to say.

Even so, Keith still seemed devoted to God. He did not look like a man who truly believed he had been forsaken.

Keith shook his head.

“But that is their misunderstanding. God does not reside in rituals or institutions. He watches over all things from above. Titles such as ‘Pope’ and words such as ‘excommunication’ are nothing more than formalities. I have not turned my back on Him, so why would He abandon me? In fact, He sent you to save me. Now it is clear who truly forsook God—the ones who consort with demons, like the Pope.”

Keith’s voice grew steadier as he spoke, conviction returning to it.

To Ian, it sounded dangerously close to cult logic. Still, the important point was clear.

Keith had already reached the conclusion that the Pope had abandoned God’s will. That aligned with Keith’s role in the original story. One of the key quests in Keith’s route was bringing down the Vatican.

But Ian had no intention of doing anything that dangerous.

Why should he destroy the Vatican?

His only goal here was to retrieve the Holy Sword.

And Ian already knew who had it.

“Right... As the wise one sent by God, I think the Pope is a bad guy. But I also think you should meet your squire first. Talk things through, get your sword back. What do you think?”

Why did I come here with only him?

Ian regretted not bringing backup. If there had been at least three of them, he could have forced Keith to agree to his plan by majority vote. But now, if Keith insisted on doing something else, Ian had no way to stop him.

Keith had strength.

Ian had nothing but a silver tongue.

This guy...

Keith looked at Ian, who had spent the entire journey wavering between rejecting and embracing his role as “the wise one sent by God.” Keith found himself wondering why he had ever taken Ian seriously.

“...All right. That’s fine.”

“Good. Then let’s start with your squire.”

Ian beamed, delighted that his suggestion had been accepted.

Keith could hardly believe such a person existed.

What is he?

Then Ian began studying Keith’s expression again.

“...Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Well, as the wise one sent by God, I think... talking to your squire might get a little complicated.”

“It will be fine.”

“Oh, really?”

Does he have some kind of immunity to hesitating when it comes to fighting his own squire?

Ian’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

Keith replied calmly.

“I have never considered you wise.”

“......”

Keith froze as he realized what he had just said.

“...Though I do think you are perceptive.”

“Right... Thanks....”

Is he picking a fight with me?

Ian had never dealt with provocations phrased so politely. If this was a fight, was he supposed to grab Keith by the collar?

“...Before we confront my squire, there is someone I want to meet first.”

“...Who?”

“There is a hospital where his younger sister is being treated. She has been frail since birth, even when I saved them both from their village. She is likely still there. Her condition would not have allowed her to leave.”

“If she’s there, she’ll help persuade him.”

“Yes.”

The two barely avoided an argument and finally settled on a direction.