Chapter 213: Boss (1)

— Ethan’s POV —

I felt disgusted with myself every time my fingers brushed against the curse mark on the back of my neck.

I’d ended up receiving some mysterious gift I knew absolutely nothing about, along with a piece of advice and an assassination mission.

My brief encounter with Schierke had thrown all my plans into disarray, forcing me to completely rearrange my priorities.

"The fourth princess... If I’m not mistaken, she’s the woman who chose Moon to become her knight... Rosewyn, the Princess of Thorns?"

According to Schierke, I was supposed to bring her a single rose every day until something happened.

But what exactly was supposed to happen?

More importantly... I knew absolutely nothing about Rosewyn.

If she turned out to be another deranged princess, she might order my execution the moment I knocked on her door.

"Let’s hope she isn’t that kind of person..."

I had my own concerns about the advice, but what truly occupied my thoughts was the assassination mission.

That was the real dilemma.

Schierke had said I had until the next full moon, but I had no idea when that would be. I was trapped underground, after all.

For all I knew, it could be tomorrow, or perhaps the day after.

"I don’t think that woman would give me an impossible task..."

I didn’t believe she was quite that insane.

Although she certainly looked the part.

The question was... Who should I assassinate, and how exactly was I supposed to do it?

"The only princess I know is that lunatic Lucille... She used me as a sex toy, then tried to throw me away the moment I became disfigured in her eyes..."

"Would that be enough of a reason to kill her?"

Morally speaking... I wasn’t sure it would be.

But if I ever found myself forced to put a sword against her throat, I probably wouldn’t hesitate.

I might not even blink.

’That bitch deserves a fate like that.’

At least, that was what I tried to convince myself.

Killing her would still be difficult, though. She could issue orders that I was incapable of disobeying, and her personal knight was powerful.

"What a damn dilemma..."

I let out a deep sigh before entering the cathedral.

I decided to put the matter aside for now. Reuniting with the others and leaving Old Ashvarn took priority over everything else.

Compared to my first entrance into the cathedral just a few hours earlier, this time was completely different.

The corridors we’d passed through at the beginning had vanished entirely, leaving nothing behind but a trail of destruction.

Such was the aftermath of battles fought at the highest levels, between individuals who had reached King rank and beyond.

The entire place was in a miserable state.

At first, I assumed I’d find everyone where Asterion had fought Ars, but the sound of approaching footsteps from somewhere in the distance proved me wrong.

I immediately went on guard, wary of another monster or enemy appearing.

Then I remembered that we’d already killed every monster in the dungeon.

There shouldn’t be any left.

From the darkness at the far end of the passage, an enormous silhouette emerged, more than twice my size.

Several smaller shadows followed behind it.

Thanks to Wise Raven Insight, I noticed their presence before they managed to spot me.

Jackson was leading the group.

Despite all the damage he’d suffered, he had somehow recovered enough to stand and walk without difficulty, even carrying an old man on his back.

It was Asterion.

His eyes were closed, and his body hung limply against Jackson’s back, seemingly unconscious.

Yet his features looked considerably more relaxed than I would have expected, given the severity of his injuries.

At the very least, I could tell that his life was no longer in danger.

Behind them came the remaining members of the Third Hunting Squad.

Luna and Moon walked at the front, the two sisters supporting each other.

Raiden followed behind them, apparently having regained consciousness, with Chai and Alicia helping him walk.

They looked as though they’d literally crawled out of hell.

Seeing them properly for the first time since the battle, I finally realized just how difficult this raid had been.

The fact that we’d succeeded at all was nothing short of a miracle.

After watching them from a distance, I took another step forward and approached.

The moment I did, Jackson stopped in his tracks.

Everyone behind him followed suit as soon as they saw him freeze.

Their bodies stiffened, and their expressions grew tense as they prepared themselves for the possibility of another enemy appearing.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who had momentarily forgotten that we’d exterminated every monster.

"It’s me, guys..."

I raised both arms high, revealing myself from the darkness.

Their expressions immediately relaxed when they recognized me.

I even caught a glimpse of happiness in a few of their eyes.

"Ethan... You’re alive."

Those were the first words I heard, spoken by Moon, while the others remained silent at first.

"Of course I’m alive. If I were dead, Aldrich would be standing here instead of me."

"Aldrich?"

"The dungeon boss you saw me chasing."

Apparently, they weren’t familiar with Aldrich’s name, so I calmly explained who he was, closing both eyes as I spoke.

But when I opened them again, I was surprised to find that everyone had surrounded me.

"What are you guys doing...?"

I barely managed to finish my question before Jackson suddenly caught me off guard and knocked me to the ground.

Then, to my utter disbelief, they all started stripping off my clothes, which were already torn to shreds.

"Wait!! Why are you taking my clothes off?! Stop!"

I shouted at them, but none of them paid any attention.

I could have forced most of them away if I’d wanted to, but I sensed no hostility from any of them.

Besides, most were injured, and I was afraid of hurting them if I resisted too forcefully.

That left me with little choice but to let them continue.

Although if any of them so much as approached my pants, I was going to blow them away with the Explosive Stake.

Fortunately, they didn’t go that far.