Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 34 - D-Rank Dungeon: Bloodbird's Banquet (4)

Chapter 34 – D-Rank Dungeon: Bloodbird’s Banquet (4)

 

Although Bloodbird’s Banquet only recreated a portion of a real mountain range, it was so vast that walking from one end to the other would take an entire day.

As a result, there was more than just mountains inside it.

“We’re here.”

Thanks to Rosalia carrying me without stopping, we reached our destination comfortably without exhausting ourselves.

A cliff overlooking the sea.

It stood right on the edge of the dungeon’s boundary.

“Put this in your mouth.”

I took a seashell out of my leather bag and handed it to Rosalia.

It was the same magical tool we had used in the Fire Ant Nest, allowing underwater breathing and conversation.

“I’ll go first!”

Setting my leather bag nearby, I jumped straight off the cliff without hesitation.

Splash!

“Oof, that’s cold.”

The seawater was much colder than I’d expected, but I calmly opened my eyes and looked around underwater.

The seabed was littered with the corpses of beastman soldiers discarded by the Imperial Army.

Schools of fish happily feasted on them as though attending an endless buffet.

It was the kind of sight that would make anyone with a weak stomach squeeze their eyes shut.

As someone as soft-hearted and delicate as myself, it wasn’t an easy challenge…

But I endured it and continued swimming downward.

Slash.

Rosalia, holding her crimson-bladed dagger, cut a large fish in half the moment it curiously approached us.

“That was a little much. It’s not even a monster. Just an ordinary aquatic creature…”

In fact, even if you attacked them first, these fish never retaliated.

They only fled.

“…”

The merciless assassin silently looked down at the bisected fish for a moment before quietly putting her dagger away.

“This way.”

As we approached, the remaining fish scattered frantically in every direction.

After landing on the seabed, I moved aside several beastmen corpses… an arm here, a lower body there.

Hidden beneath the sand… A rusted metal handle protruded from the ground.

[A door leading somewhere. Its condition is poor. If more time passes, the handle will completely fall off.]

It was a gimmick.

If you arrived after the handle broke off, you could no longer enter.

Because it was so remote, and every expedition since the dungeon first appeared had been obsessed solely with hunting the Bloodbird…

No one had ever discovered this place.

[You’ve found another Hidden Piece. I won’t bother acting surprised every time anymore. :｜]

“Aw, come on. At least pretend to be surprised…”

I whined in disappointment, but the cold-hearted Eye That Perceives Truth didn’t even dignify me with a scoff.

Covering my right eye with one hand, I turned to Rosalia.

“Please force this door open.”

CRAAASH!

The corroded iron door groaned loudly as it swung open.

A passage leading downward revealed itself.

Descending through it… We eventually arrived in an underground chamber.

“This is it.”

A massive rectangular room illuminated by bright mana lamps.

The space, about the size of a school gymnasium, was packed with glass tubes containing beastmen submerged in blue liquid.

[:O]

Every single one of them had been horribly mutilated.

Both arms severed.

Eyes gouged out.

Tentacles embedded in their backs.

Feet where hands should have been.

The traces of unbearable suffering were carved into every inch of their bodies.

 

[The laboratory of an unknown mage. Hidden away like a rat, conducting biological experiments on beastmen in secret.]

[Even cultists nowadays require permission from the hypocrite goddess’s church before acquiring living sacrifices. Such atrocities could never happen in the present era.]

 

It wasn’t a pleasant sight.

Recalling that, in real history, the owner of this laboratory had eventually been executed for his crimes…

I calmed myself.

‘Peaceful…’

Removing the seashell from my mouth and slipping it into my pocket, I slowly brushed my bangs back.

Rosalia followed behind, removing her own shell before hurriedly pulling her mask back on.

Then she lightly poked my side and looked deeper into the room.

“You’re asking what reward is here, right?”

Nod, nod.

“The Mysteries Tome containing the results of all these experiments. It’s exclusive to the Warrior class, so neither of us can learn it.”

Since District Three was where Warrior characters began… Most Hidden Pieces here were likewise intended for Warriors.

Even so…

The reason I’d come to this laboratory, proof that mages were truly despicable, was because of a certain genius swordsman who would soon be joining our expedition party.

“It’s an excellent mystery. Let’s take it and give it to Pendrick as a gift. He’s joining us soon anyway.”

Walking between the rows of glass tubes… We eventually reached the back wall.

A lone Mysteries Tome rested atop a desk.

 

[Second-Rank Mysteries Tome – Resistant Body]

[Temporarily transforms the body in response to attacks that inflict injury.]

 

A mystery that truly shone during prolonged battles.

Not essential… But quite useful for Warrior classes.

It would’ve fit perfectly into my Immortal Cultist build.

Unfortunately, class restrictions prevented me from learning it.

Not that it mattered.

I planned on obtaining an even better Mysteries later anyway.

“We’ll just take this too.”

Beneath the desk, I found a model heart.

 

[An artificial beastman heart created through experiments by an unknown mage. It emits the thick scent of blood detectable only by monsters.]

 

Rosalia stared silently at the heart in my hand before tilting her head slightly.

“You’re wondering what this thing is for? Just watch. Do I look like the kind of cultist who does meaningless things?”

“…”

“Why are you nodding without hesitation? That’s hurtful.”

Anyway… That completed our Hidden Piece collection.

Next… I lightly touched the nearby wall.

A previously invisible magic circle suddenly glowed brilliantly.

In the next instant… We were teleported back to the top of the cliff.

Tap.

While picking up my leather bag again…

Rosalia quietly approached, lightly struck my back, and looked toward the sky.

“You’re asking if we’re finally going to hunt the Bloodbird? I think it’s about time.”

The sky was still blue.

Which meant no other expedition had defeated it yet.

Since we were already here…

Claiming the boss’s reward wasn’t a bad idea.

“This time… We won’t even have to search for it ourselves.”

We already had the perfect partner to serve as bait.

“Right Eye.”

Caw!

My right eyeball immediately leapt out, transforming into the blind crow once again.

This was the ability gained after The Eye That Perceives Truth reached Second Rank.

Now it could leave my eye socket even without performing a sacrifice first.

Unfortunately… While in crow form, it couldn’t display messages before my eyes.

But as a scout… It was perfect.

“Take this. Find the Bloodbird and lure it here.”

I placed the artificial heart we’d found in the laboratory into the blind crow’s beak.

“It’s probably near the mountain with the fewest trees by now.”

Caw!

Flapping its wings vigorously… The crow flew toward the location I’d indicated.

Rosalia watched it disappear into the distance with obvious skepticism regarding the artificial heart’s usefulness.

Moments like this called for my cheat code.

“Lidni told me. That artificial heart will help lure the Bloodbird over here.”

“…”

Only then did the distrustful assassin finally look somewhat convinced.

“Now all we have to do is calmly prepare for battle. Let’s wait.”

Tap. Tap.

As I stretched in place while waiting…

Rosalia lightly tapped my back and pointed into the distance.

She meant that it was dangerous, so I should leave the fighting entirely to her and stay back.

“No. What’s the point of an assassin fighting head-on?”

Assassins were classes that only displayed their true worth when someone else kept the enemy occupied.

Normally, that role belonged to a Warrior.

But I could perform it as well.

My Immortal Cultist build had been designed from the very beginning around taking hits instead of avoiding them.

“And there’s another reason you shouldn’t handle everything alone.”

Rosalia tilted her head slightly.

I explained the most important point.

“If we fight together… Wouldn’t only your soul rank increase, since your level is far higher than mine?”

“…”

To be honest… That was what mattered most to me.

“So stay hidden. Only step in if things become truly dangerous. Just keep it in check. Don’t deal any fatal damage.”

Rosalia quietly studied me.

Then, incredibly… She spoke three whole syllables.

“…Protect yourself.”

Her words were blunt.

Her voice was cold.

But beneath them was genuine concern telling me not to get hurt.

“Of course. I’m a cultist who values his life far more than people think.”

How much time passed after that?

Ting.

I sat leisurely atop a broad rock.

Suddenly… A faint pain pricked the back of my mind.

It was the effect of Insight That Sees Chaos, vaguely foretelling imminent danger.

Caw!

The blind crow hurried back into my eye socket.

SCREEEECH!

Immediately afterward… A gigantic swan-like bird came flying toward us.

Everything below its head was blood-red.

 

[Bloodbird Blarive (Level 3)]

[A monster that delights in devouring the hearts of corpses. With the pointy-eared assassin here, you won’t lose… but never underestimate it.]

 

SCREECH!

The only monster inhabiting Bloodbird’s Banquet.

The Bloodbird… Blarive.

Judging by the fresh blood still coating its beak… It had already feasted well on other explorers’ hearts.

So many adventurers had entered this dungeon… Yet none had managed to kill it.

It truly was a formidable opponent.

Still… There was no reason to fear.

SCREEEECH!

The artificial heart, this Hidden Piece, emitted a unique scent that intensely provoked Bloodbirds.

Drawn in by the smell… The Bloodbird’s senses became dulled.

It could only display less than half its usual strength.

In other words… Even a Level 2 Cultist like me had a real chance.

“…”

Rosalia stared at the Bloodbird with slightly widened eyes.

Then turned toward me… And quietly gave me a thumbs-up.

“So? Now, do you understand just how much knowledge Lidni bestows upon me?”

‘Nod. Nod.’

Rosalia nodded slightly.

Scarlet flowers immediately bloomed over her body, enveloping her entirely.

The innate Mysteries of the Wood Elves:

Verdant Companion.

Its species… Crimson Death Rose.

A flower capable of scattering powders containing countless varieties of poison.

“That’s reassuring.”

This battle… Rosalia would act solely as support.

SCREEEECH!

Locking eyes with the Bloodbird…

I smiled.

“You’ve eaten that much… And you’re still hungry?”

SCREECH!

Perhaps offended by my remark about its appetite…

The Bloodbird shrieked furiously before stabbing downward with its beak.

A simple… Yet devastating attack.

Before the strike could reach me… Rosalia transformed into a shadow, gliding across the ground.

Her kick smashed directly into the Bloodbird’s neck.

THUD!

Despite the force… It barely budged.

Immediately checking its condition… I noticed that its body was generally lean.

Only its belly bulged grotesquely outward.

‘Looks like it really stuffed itself…’

Between the dungeon’s existing corpses… And all the adventurers entering to challenge it… The Bloodbird sometimes overeats.

When bloated like this… Its physical abilities increased dramatically.

Especially… Its defense.

FWOOSH!

The Crimson Death Rose exploded into a cloud of purple powder.

A hallucinogenic poison.

While the poisoned Bloodbird stared off in the wrong direction…

Rosalia swiftly retreated to my side.

Using Shadow Folk… She melted into my shadow.

‘Shhhh…’

As expected of a Level 5 Assassin…

She would undoubtedly carry out my instructions perfectly.

Now… All I had to do was perform my part.

Screech…?

Perhaps confused because the elf that had hurt it suddenly vanished…

The Bloodbird finally shook off the hallucinations.

It looked around frantically… Then spotted me.

Confidently clacking its beak… It began advancing.

Apparently… Even to a monster, a Cultist looked like easy prey.

“You’ve got a pretty good eye.”

SCREEEECH!

With a deafening cry… The Bloodbird charged.

It felt as though an enormous stone wall was rushing toward me.

The sheer weight and pressure were overwhelming.

Naturally… With my physical abilities…

There was no chance of dodging or deflecting it.

THRUST.

So… I simply took the hit.

Its beak pierced straight through my chest.

A fatal wound that would have killed an ordinary person instantly.

“…Did I really look that delicious?”

Yet… Life stubbornly remained inside me.

 

[You should express sincere gratitude. ;)]

 

Thanks to Veil That Defers Wounds, automatically activated by the newly evolved Second-Rank Eye That Perceives Truth…

The rate at which my life force drained slowed dramatically.

“Eating cultists gives you stomachaches.”

Suppressing the consciousness that almost slipped away…

I activated Ghoul’s Mobility.

With my temporarily skyrocketing Stamina…

My dwindling life force immediately began recovering.

Crackle!

At the same time… I activated Blooming Black Lightning.

Transforming part of my upper body into living lightning… I wrapped both arms around the Bloodbird’s head.

SCREEEECH!

Electrocuted… The Bloodbird violently shook its head, trying to throw me off.

A futile effort.

Its beak still pierced straight through my body.

Like a pathetic lover refusing to let go after being dumped… I stubbornly clung on while roasting the entire creature with black lightning.

 

[The filthy Sue’je’s Mysteries won’t be enough to bring down the Bloodbird.]

 

True enough.

Despite being scorched by lightning… The Bloodbird never lost consciousness.

Its eyes remained wide open.

SCREECH!

Still thrashing wildly…  It suddenly whipped its head toward a nearby boulder.

“…”

Rosalia burst from the shadows.

A powerful side kick slammed into the Bloodbird’s body… Knocking it over.

FWOOOOSH!

A cloud of paralysis powder slowly burst outward.

While the Bloodbird remained preoccupied trying to shake me off…

The poison entered its respiratory system.

SCREEEECH!!

Having successfully immobilized the monster…

The assassin vanished back into the shadows.

At last… I had uninterrupted damage time.

I touched the trump card on my left hand.

A ring engraved with a crimson flame.

The Hidden Reward from the Fire Ant Nest… The artifact Spark of Glory.

Its effect was simple. It breathed fire.

“Bloodbird.”

Grinning… I shoved my left hand into its gaping beak.

“Tell me… Are you bad with spicy food too?”