The Death Mage Who Doesn't Want a Fourth Time

Chapter 221: This is the Demon King’s ‘city’

“… Maybe I should have baited Birkyne out during summer when the sunlight is strong rather than winter?” Vandalieu wondered.

“You worry too much, Master! Against our light, their defenses may as well not exist!” said the ‘Fighting Dog’ Daroak who had become a light-attribute Ghost.

He had an overflowing desire to fight, but Gufadgarn was calm.

“Incidentally, Vandalieu, what should I do with these people? How about I use my space-attribute magic to move their physical bodies?” she suggested.

Even now, the brainwashed thirty or forty people of the orphanage were clinging onto Vandalieu… although conversation was only possible because most of them were small children under the age of ten and they weren’t speaking a word.

But it was almost impossible for Vandalieu to move about at all. Even when moving out of the chapel, several of them may have suffered bone fractures and dislocations if Vandalieu’s spirit form hadn’t been covering them. This may have been fine for Seris and Vestra, as they were Subordinate Vampires, and the orphanage’s head as well, as she didn’t appear to be an ordinary human either. But it would have risked the lives of the small children like Marsha.

“I think we should observe the situation for a little while longer. And even if he orders them to do something, we can deal with it here. The preparations are already done,” said Vandalieu.

As if waiting for him to finish speaking, Birkyne emerged from the hole in the chapel wall, covered in wind-attribute Mana. As expected of a Pure-breed Vampire, his wounds had already fully healed and his attractive appearance was restored, while there were still burn marks on the faces and hands of his subordinates.

“Commit suicide!” he ordered.

At that moment, the orphanage’s people that were clinging onto Vandalieu all attempted to kill themselves. The small children attempted to bite their own tongues off, while Seris and Vestra extended the claws that they hadn’t even known they possessed in order to cut their own throats.

“… See, for times like this,” said Vandalieu.

He used ‘Embodiment’ on his spirit form to prevent their suicide. His gel-like spirit form enveloped the teeth inside the children’s mouths and the nuns’ claws, preventing them from harming themselves.

Even with the spirit form stopping them from moving, Matthew, Seris and the others let out muffled shouts as they continued trying to carry out Birkyne’s command. The other orphans were trying to headbutt each other to break their skulls or suffocate themselves by pressing their faces into the materialized spirit form; they were very abnormally dedicated to following the command.

But Vandalieu’s spirit form was wrapped around their heads, absorbing most of the impact of their headbutts. For the ones that were trying to suffocate themselves, the spirit form formed tubes that reached into their lungs to provide artificial ventilation.

“Would the ‘Death Delay’ spell not have been sufficient?” Berkert murmured.

“You fool. ‘Death Delay’ only extends the time taken to die; it does not prevent injuries,” said Chipuras.

“So, now that things have come to this, it seems that I cannot use my puppets for negotiation. I am sure you are thinking that you can simply remove the brainwashing after you take the Demon King’s shadow from me, aren’t you?” Birkyne said quietly, showing no fury despite seeing Chipuras and the others looking so relaxed.

But showing no fury did not mean that he was composed.

“But haven’t you forgotten? This is the slum district in a city whose population is at least thirty thousand people even at a conservative estimate!” he shouted as a blazing fireball appeared in one hand and bright sparks flashed around the other.

His confidants also swiftly cast spells in different directions, away from the orphanage.

“‘Giant Boulder Screw!’”

“‘Great Blazing Cannon!’”

“‘Ice Spear Storm!’”

“‘Distortion Wave!’”

A drill-shaped boulder and a wave of flames flew out towards the orphanage’s thin outer walls to wreak havoc on the area beyond, and a rain of icy spears rained down upon the city. Space distorted and then returned to its original state, unleashing a destructive shockwave to the surrounding area.

“We have a countless number of hostages! ‘Summon Inferno Beast!’ ‘Lightning Rain!’” Birkyne shouted, sending beasts made of flames across the city and bringing lightning crashing down upon buildings from the sky.

Violent explosions echoed out, and smoke rose from all around.

Birkyne began laughing uncontrollably with joy at the slaughter of innocent people who knew nothing. “How many people died from that, I wonder?! A hundred? Two hundred? But don’t worry, there are around thirty thousand of these lowly creatures in this city! Or perhaps it does bother you? The deaths of this city’s people that you’ve done business with and interacted in over the past two weeks! If you don’t want any more of them to die, then -”

As Birkyne’s gaze turned back to Vandalieu, he became speechless.

“Phew. It’s scary when people who normally show a lot of expression come towards you with no expression at all, isn’t it?” Vandalieu remarked.

“Vandalieu, it is unfortunately difficult for me to understand such feelings,” said Gufadgarn.

“Both of you are expressionless…” Chipuras pointed out.

All of them were perfectly calm.

Vandalieu slipped out of his mass of gel-like spirit form, leaving Seris and the others still inside as they continued trying to commit suicide.

“They kind of look like Legion, don’t they?” he said, not looking anxious in the slightest.

“Y-you bastard! Can you not hear Birkyne-sama’s words?! Do you not care about this city’s people?!” Mortor said angrily.

“… Can you really afford to take that attitude? Do you think that I am unaware of what you have been doing in this city? Your house, the red-light district, the Tamers’ Guild and Adventurers’ Guild, the Communal Church, the city gate with the Beast-kin guard, the earl’s house where you enjoyed your little tea party - I can destroy any of them from where I am standing!” Birkyne shouted.

Indeed, Birkyne was a Pure-breed Vampire. If he unleashed spells at full power, he could destroy the entire city. Each one of his subordinates was also capable of doing the same.

This city had several adventurers of C-class and above, and there were also elite knights serving Earl Morksi’s family.

But even all of them were nothing more than small fry to the powerful Noble-born Vampires here. It was the middle of the afternoon, which would make things a little harder for the Vampires, but this would only be a minor disadvantage.

“And you, on the other hand? You can’t use your full strength in the middle of the city, can you?! Even if you defeat me, it would be meaningless if the city were to become a ruined wasteland as a result! I’ll give you my sympathies for your inconvenient situation, o great Demon King that loves the people!” Birkyne shouted with a maniacal laugh.

But that laughter was cut short.

The next words he had intended to say were ‘If you understand the situation, obey me.’ But before he did, he suddenly realized that he could not hear the things that he should have been hearing.

He couldn’t hear any people’s voices.

Multiple destructive spells had been unleashed from the slum’s orphanage, and yet he could not hear the panicked voices of people fleeing for their lives or screaming for help.

The randomly unleashed spells couldn’t possibly have killed every nearby resident without leaving a single one alive.

“B-Birkyne-sama! The walls of the orphanage!” one of Birkyne’s subordinates said, his voice shaking.

Birkyne looked towards the orphanage’s walls to see that no damage had been done to it at the place where the ‘Giant Boulder Screw’ should have landed directly. The ground’s surface had been ruined a little, but the walls continued to stand.

On the other side, the area around the wall that had been struck by ‘Great Blazing Cannon’ was just a little dirty and black with soot.

“I-impossible! How can this be…!” Birkyne muttered, flustered and pale-faced.

“… My house, the Tamers’ Guild and Adventurers’ Guild, the city’s gate and the earl’s house, wasn’t it? If you think you can destroy them, why don’t you try?” said Vandalieu as he approached Birkyne.

Birkyne leapt into the air.

From there, he learned the undeniable truth of where he and his subordinates currently were.

At first glance, the cityscape below did appear to be the city of Morksi. The gate, the main road, the Guilds and the earl’s house were all the same size and in the same locations, and their roofs were of similar color. There were even silhouettes walking along the streets.

But looking closer, the roofs were made of colored earth and stone, and the decorations on the real buildings were missing on these ones.

The silhouettes walking about the city were all Golems made of rock and metal.

The forests and plains that should have been visible outside the city were all wastelands.

“Impossible, this is… a Dungeon made to look just like the city?! You are capable of building such a thing?!” Birkyne shouted in bewilderment.

“According to Gufadgarn, she never had a reason to do so before, but it’s not that she can’t,” said Vandalieu’s voice from very close by.

Birkyne tried to turn around, but he heard Vandalieu’s voice once more.

“‘Great Whirlwind Kick.’”

A black, grotesque figure… Vandalieu, who was covered in his own soul through ‘Soul Destruction Fighting Technique’ and ‘Embodiment,’ sent a roundhouse kick that bent Birkyne’s body in a way that it shouldn’t have been bent.

Screaming in pain, Birkyne was sent flying towards the fake high-class residential district.

Mortor and the other Noble-born Vampires screamed audibly in fear at the sight of Birkyne being sent flying like a shooting star.

“Birkyne-sama?!”

“H-help him!”

They hastily tried to leap into the sky, but they couldn’t.

Vandalieu’s allies, who had been hiding in the shadows of the building, appeared.

“I’ve been holding back my frustration lately. Let me use you for a little stress relief!” said Miles, who was capable of flying like them.

Pete, who was enormous enough to cover the sky above them, appeared with a fierce hiss.

Birkyne’s subordinates stopped moving, clearly exhausted.

“We don’t have the time to be messing with you!”

“You can stay over there protecting the livestock!”

With that, they unleashed spells not at Miles or Pete, but at Seris, Matthew and the others who were still bound by Vandalieu’s spirit form.

Rock projectiles, spears of ice and blades of wind flooded in towards them… and were promptly all swallowed by a hole that had appeared in space.

“I shall protect them even without you telling me to,” said Gufadgarn.

Another hole appeared in the space in front of the Noble-born Vampires, and the rock projectiles and ice spears came out of them.

They shouted in alarm, not having expected their own spells to be sent back towards them by twisting space. Discomposed, they focused on avoiding the spells. If they had relied on the regenerative abilities they possessed as Vampires and ignored the spells, they may have been able to go after Birkyne, but it was impossible now.

Seeing the ‘Dark Thunderbolt’ unleashed by Pete’s horns, rays of light emitted by Chipuras and the other light-attribute Ghosts and arrows fired from inside the buildings strike his companions down, Mortor gave up all hope of his own escape.

“I am Mortor, Birkyne-sama’s most loyal vassal! I don’t know how you got your power when you’re just a thug leader, but I’ll turn the tables on you!” he shouted.

He planned to defeat the ‘Starving Wolf’ Michael in the air, then get to Birkyne on his own while the other pursuers fought his companions that had crashed back into the ground.

“Who are you calling a thug leader! Have you really still not realized who I am?! I’m the ‘Kisser’ Miles!” Miles said, astounded.

“What?! You’re really Miles, the one who was one of Gubamon’s subordinates?!”

Both of them continued clashing in the air despite their surprise at one another. They struck each other with their sharp claws, and their fire-attribute and earth-attribute spells collided.

Their blood sprayed into the air, but Mortor was smiling.

“So, Birkyne-sama’s guesses were correct. But that is fortunate for me! I don’t know how you have conquered the weakness of sunlight, but I will easily break a youngster like you who has only lived for several hundred years!” he taunted.

Mortor had become a Vampire through Birkyne’s blood. He was a Noble-born Vampire who had lived for sixty thousand years. He was the oldest among all of the currently-living Noble-born Vampires belonging to the organization that worshiped Hihiryushukaka.

He was Rank 12 and had experienced numerous Jobs. Indeed, considering these facts, it would have been easy to break a Miles who was nothing more than one of Gubamon’s somewhat higher-ranking Vampires.

But Miles was a subordinate of Vandalieu.

“You’re right, you’re relatively lucky,” he said. “‘Beast Transformation!’”

Power flowed throughout Miles’s entire body, transforming it.

Now in the form of a Werewolf, Miles howled and kicked the air behind him to throw himself at Mortor. Mortor was surprised by Miles’s use of ‘Beast Transformation,’ but quickly used magic to create a rock shield to protect him from Miles’s attack.

“‘Phasing Claw Strike!’” Miles roared, his martial skill tearing through Mortor’s arm while leaving the rock shield completely undamaged.

“Impossible…!” Mortor groaned.

“I’m using ‘Transcend Limits’ and ‘Magic Fighting Technique,’” said Miles. “I wouldn’t be able to chase you without these, would I?”

Mortor let out a scream of irritation.

His severed arm had already begun to regenerate, and it would be back to normal in a matter of seconds. It was far from a fatal injury.

But his initial plan of breaking Miles and killing him quickly would be impossible.

Miles calmly began moving to dispose of his enemy.

As Miles said, Mortor could have been considered relatively lucky. He was fighting one-on-one, and his foe was still fairly ordinary.

“Hmm, I feel like I’m on the verge of getting something to click…” said Saria.

“Nee-san, let’s just defeat her! I haven’t killed anything recently, so it’s been building up!” Rita said impatiently.

“That would be a waste, Rita. It’s rare for us to have a strong enemy that we can kill without causing any problems, so we need to practice our Skills properly -

“If you’re going to call me a strong enemy, don’t use me as a practice dummy!” their enemy said angrily as she endured her pain and forcibly pulled the arrow that was embedded in the side of her abdomen.

She was a female Noble-born Vampire of human origin. The bloodthirst she was exuding was enough to make any ordinary person lose control of their bladder and faint, but neither Saria or Rita seemed phased at all. They were speaking with no tension in their voices; it was as if they were joking around while going shopping.

But who are these people?! They constantly radiate a sharp thirst for blood, and they aren’t showing an opening for me to go to Birkyne-sama. And they are actually strong! the Vampire woman thought, enraged.

These were the reasons why she couldn’t close the distance between herself and the Living Armor sisters.

Are there skilled enemies with the others as well? If that’s the case, then at this rate -

“Are you feeling impatient that you’ll be left behind if you don’t get back to your master?” asked Rita.

“Wha -”

The woman’s face stiffened as Rita’s words hit the mark.

“Ah, did I guess right? All of you are trying to get back to Birkyne, so I wondered if that were the case,” said Rita.

“… So what if you figure that out? You’ll regret it if you look down on me and think of me as a rat in a trap,” the woman said threateningly.

“No, we’re not doing that, but… I thought we would need to beat you down again!” said Saria.

She leapt forward with her halberd raised, her feet kicking the dirt of the ground that she leapt from with an explosive sound. There was a rage that was even visible in her hollow eyes.

“‘Transcend Limits!’ ‘Distortion Mirror!’” the Vampire woman shouted, activating a Skill and casting a spell that warped space and concealed her by refracting light.

She likely believed that this would fool the eyes of the Living Armors, allowing her to go for a counterattack.

But she could not fool the eyes of Saria, who possessed ‘Special Five Senses’ that differed from the senses of living beings.

“‘Single Flash Massacre!’” Saria shouted.

As her torso was slashed diagonally from the shoulder by Saria’s halberd, fear appeared on the Vampire woman’s face.

“You lack the heart of one who serves… the heart of a maid!” said Rita.

The Vampire woman’s fear turned into anger once more.

“W-who are you calling a servant?! ‘Space Distortion!’” she screamed.

She detonated the air in the same way as she had done in the city earlier, but on a smaller scale, and drew her sword.

“I am Birkyne-sama’s most loyal servant, one who has survived the nights of tens of thousands of years -” she began, trying to threaten her foes by giving her name, but she stopped mid-sentence with a scream.

Unable to completely defend herself against Rita’s glaive, her blood sprayed into the air once more.

“No, we will turn you into a maid! In fact, you cannot become anything other than a maid!” Rita said determinedly.

“We have already agreed with Bocchan that we will make sure to turn you into an Undead, so give it up!” said Saria.

The Vampire woman wanted to scream at them and question their sanity, but the bottom half of Rita’s body detached itself from her top half and delivered a knee blow that crushed the woman’s organs, and Saria’s arm detached itself from her torso to sever the woman’s upper body so deeply that her shoulder was no longer properly connected.

Death and reemployment (as an Undead) were all but decided for this unfortunate Vampire woman, but the most unfortunate among Birkyne’s servants was likely the Elf Noble-born Vampire.

The Elf Noble-born Vampire groaned as his slender body was impaled by Pete’s horns, and a large amount of blood began pouring from his mouth.

But Pete hissed and mercilessly unleashed his ‘Dark Thunderbolt.’ The Vampire’s scream echoed out, and the stench of burning flesh filled the air.

“Y-you… you damned insect!” the Vampire screamed, his delicate, attractive Elf features twisting in anger.

He used his claws to sever the sides of his own body, then connected the two holes he had created in his torso to separate the upper half of his body from the lower half in order to escape Pete’s horns.

Normally, this would have been suicide, but the Vampire flew into the air and took out a bottle of fresh blood that he kept hidden in an Item Pouch in his pocket. He emptied the bottle in one go.

“Return!” he shouted.

In order to rejoin the lower half of his body with the top half with the ‘Rapid Regeneration’ Skill that had also been enhanced by the ‘Bloodwork’ Skill, he summoned the lower half of his body using the ‘Long-distance Control’ Skill.

This Elf Vampire was known among Birkyne’s confidants for his versatility… though that versatility paled in comparison to that of Vandalieu’s companions, of course.

What are these things?! Gah… I need to return to Birkyne-sama’s side as soon as possible. If this is the inside of a Dungeon, we must rely on Birkyne-sama’s shadow to escape!

Exhausted, the Vampire hurriedly tried to rejoin the lower half of his body that had returned to him, but although it should have been under his control, it unleashed a powerful kick towards him.

“W-what?! These are not my legs?!”

His legs made a wobbling noise.

They were, in fact, the Satan Blood Mimic Slime Kühl, who had mimicked the Vampire’s lower half and seemingly flown into the air via magic.

The Vampire evaded Kühl’s kicks as he searched for his real lower half.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” said Eisen, a woman with green skin and clothes made of leaves. She was holding something that resembled withered branches in one of her hands. This was the Vampire’s lower half, from which she had completely absorbed the essence from.

It seemed that she had acquired some nutrients while also making Kühl fly with ‘Telekinesis.’

“D-damn you! But don’t think that something like this will be enough to kill me, an elite among Noble-born Vampires -” The Elf Vampire began, but he was interrupted by the sound of a large number of buzzing wings.

From the inside of the Dungeon’s countless buildings that had been modeled after the buildings in the city of Morksi emerged a countless number of monsters that resembled a mixture of women and bees… Gehenna Soldier Bees.

There were easily over a hundred of them.

“Formation! Front lines, raise your weapons! Back lines, supporting magic! … Charge!” commanded the Gehenna Absolute Queen Bee Quinn.

In response to her command, the soldier bees at the front raised their spears, and the ones at the back began reciting incantations.

“W-wait, I surrender. I surrender, I’ll tell you everything I know about Birkyne’s organization. S-stop, stop, STOP!” the Vampire screamed desperately.

With the lower half of his body missing, he was helplessly overrun by the Gehenna Bee swarm, whose soldier bees had been strengthened by Vandalieu’s guidance, his ‘Strengthen Subordinates’ Skill, Quinn’s ‘Bee Swarm Commanding’ Skill and the soldier bees’ own ‘Strengthened Attribute Values’ Skill.

“Wasn’t he saying something?” Quinn wondered.

“I don’t know. I couldn’t hear him,” said Eisen.

Compared to the Elf Vampire who was destroyed one-sidedly with his last words gone unheard, Birkyne’s last confidant was considerably more fortunate. At first glance, he appeared to be an elderly gentleman.

“Do none of you have any pride as Vampires?! Know some shame (haji)! You have become the servants of the one who killed your master!” he shouted, raising his staff and unleashing spells.

“What? Are you saying that I don’t know what edges (haji) are?” said Berkert, who had the appearance of a slender, handsome, sensitive young man.

When he was alive, he had been pale-skinned even for a Vampire, and there had constantly been bags under his eyes as if he were ill. But now, he was simply completely white.

But this appearance, which resembled the appearance he had while alive, transformed in an instant.

“Don’t take me for a fool! I do know what edges (haji) are! Edges are the opposite of the middle!” Berkert shouted.

Note: This is an odd conversation that arises from the fact that shame (恥) and edge (端) are both pronounced ‘haji’ in Japanese.

Strange beams of light streamed from his wide-open eyes and a scream rose from his mouth. The Vampire quickly created a shield of darkness using light-attribute magic in order to block it.

“I knew that he was mad when he was alive, but I did not think he was a fool…!” the Vampire muttered, his face twisted as if he had swallowed something bitter.

He had not been particularly close to the Five Dogs, Ternecia’s loyal confidants, but he had met them several times.

Even though he is a Ghost, I suppose he is not the same person he was when he was alive. Indeed, even his strength is not so great now that I am accustomed to the way he fights, the Vampire thought.

While alive, Berkert had been a Rank 10 Vampire Earl. Even for the elderly Vampire, who was a Rank 11 Vampire Marquis who had experienced many Jobs, Berkert would not have been easy to defeat in battle.

But Berkert was not so powerful now. It was true that he attacked using the light attribute, a weakness for Vampires, and this was problematic. But his power had clearly deteriorated.

If the elderly Vampire dealt with him calmly, he would be able to defeat him.

But before the elderly Vampire could begin a counterattack, the ‘Fighting Dog’ Daroak closed in on him.

“You have guts, saying that we have no shame!” Daroak shouted.

Wielding a sword made of light-attribute Mana, he attacked the elderly Vampire who was still unable to move because he was blocking Berkert’s beams of light.

“I will show you the power of light! ‘Light Sword!’” he shouted.

“You are a fool who only knows how to charge straight ahead, just as you were in life!” said the elderly Vampire. “‘Lightning Spear!’”

With his left hand maintaining his shield of darkness, he unleashed a spear of lightning with the staff in his right hand.

“Take this, ‘Tearing -’”

“Even your fighting techniques are the same as they were when you were alive. But you are too slow! So slow that I pity you,” said the elderly Vampire.

His spear of lightning pierced Daroak’s body. At that moment, Daroak’s body vanished.

But at the same time, the elderly Vampire felt a violent, searing pain on his back. As he screamed in pain, Daroak, who should have been impaled by the spear of lightning, appeared behind him.

“I-impossible, why are you behind me?! With your speed, that should be…”

“What you saw was my ‘Projection,’ an illusion created by refracting light! It seems that you have underestimated the power of light!” Daroak said triumphantly.

The elderly Vampire wanted to demand if the power of light also included attacking from behind, but he was too focused on Daroak.

Berkert, who had simply been continuing to attack the shield of darkness, laughed maniacally.

“Bend! Light is me! I am light! Me light beam!”

He unleashed a twisting beam of light that went around the elderly Vampire’s shield. Unable to evade it, the Vampire screamed.

“To think that the ‘Light Beam’ spell could be bent…!” he groaned.

The spell he was using to protect himself from sunlight did lessen the damage he took to some extent, but the elderly Vampire fell onto the ground. But as one would expect of a Noble-born Vampire who had lived for tens of thousands of years, he steadied himself before landing onto the ground and raised his staff, focusing on how he would continue the battle.

Now that things had come to this, it would be best to defeat his enemies with spells that struck over a wide area. But before he could do that, Chipuras appeared over his head.

“Berkert and Daroak have both lost most of their memories, with the exception of some things such as their spells and martial skills. Even I had to begin as a Rank 1 Wisp to come to where I am now. But that is why I was able to awaken to the power of light!” said Chipuras. “Take this! ‘Great Ice Beast Flood!’”

Chipuras summoned a beast made of ice with an advanced spell of the water attribute, something that he was skilled at while alive.

“‘Great Chaotic Wind Blades!’” the elderly Vampire muttered, unleashing a wind-attribute spell at the ice beast.

It seemed that he believed that the two spells would cancel each other out.

But before the spells collided, a powerful light radiated from the ice beast.

“You fell for it, you fool!” Chipuras shouted triumphantly.

In the next instant, a large hole appeared in the elderly Vampire’s chest. Chipuras had summoned the beast of ice not to attack, but to use as a lens to amplify his light. As the elderly Vampire realized this, his consciousness fell into darkness.

Despite having been sent flying with his spine broken, Birkyne was still conscious. To a Pure-breed Vampire like him, an injury to the spinal cord was not fatal.

Groaning in pain, he straightened his body so that it was no longer bent at an obscene angle and regained control over his trajectory in the air before he crashed into the ground.

Breathing hard, he quickly hid himself in the shadow of one of the buildings. Struggling to stay calm and not become hysterical, he desperately began thinking to understand the situation and formulate a plan.

But there was almost nothing that could make things go his way.

He tried using the method of movement that he had evaded Gufadgarn’s eyes with… moving from shadow to shadow with the Demon King’s shadow. But it looked like this was impossible.

“Perhaps Gufadgarn has taken steps to prevent me from using it, or perhaps it’s because this is a Dungeon… Either way, it seems that it is impossible for me to get out of here by moving to the infested shadows of the livestock,” he muttered.

It was likely that the entirety of the orphanage had been covered by Gufadgarn’s ‘gate.’ It would have been connected to this Dungeon no matter where they exited from - the windows, doors or through the walls.

With that being the case, it would be extremely difficult to escape, but not impossible.

If the Golems in the city are monsters that appear in this Dungeon, then this Dungeon should follow the same rules as other Dungeons. There is definitely an exit that is connected to the outside. If I get out through that exit, it should be possible to move into a shadow and escape -

“I don’t know whether you are taking a break or if you are busy thinking, but it seems that you have some time on your hands,” said Vandalieu’s voice, bringing Birkyne back to reality.

Before Birkyne could look up, the walls of the building he was hiding behind changed shape as if it were made of clay, twisting around his limbs like snakes.

“Damn it!” Birkyne muttered as he tried to free himself.

But it was not mere stone and wood that was wrapping itself around his arms and legs. It was the same material that made up the floors and walls of Dungeons. It would never break, even when attacked with the strength of a Pure-breed Vampire.

“Now then, here we go, Guduranis,” said Vandalieu.

Monster explanation (Written by Luciliano): Wisp

Their appearance resembles the ‘Demon Fire’ spell that is used by Master. They are what are known as disembodied human souls in other worlds.

They are Rank 1 Ghost-type monsters, and although they do not have strong hatred or regret and have lost most of their memories from when they were alive, they are souls that were unable to return to the circle of transmigration and became bound to corrupted Mana.

Due to this, they are extremely weak. They cause no damage even when one collides with them; at most, they look ominous when spotted in uninhabited areas. There is no need to dispose of them, as they disappear on their own within several hours or days due to their unstable nature. Naturally, no materials can be harvested from them. Even at the Adventurers’ Guild, they are just considered to be a sign that monsters in the area are more likely to be Undead.

When created by Master, it is when the spirits are so severely damaged that they become Wisps rather than Ghosts.

However, it seems that they can regain their memories and personalities from when they were alive by persistently increasing their Levels and Ranks.