My Husband Was Clearly a Paladin
Chapter 48
‘He said it was an unstable dungeon this time too.’
Most dungeons appeared only in specific areas.
Namely, at the base of the massive mountain range situated right in front of the Fortress.
When dungeons first appeared in the world, the small kingdom that existed here was annihilated by monsters pouring out of them.
Nowadays, humanity knows how to hunt monsters and possesses purifiers to counter the threat, but back then, people were utterly helpless.
In less than a year, not even a single ant survived in the vicinity, and it became a desolate, abandoned land.
Years later, this land—officially left without a master—was cleared by a subjugation force formed by an alliance of various kingdoms.
The longest wall in the history of the continent was erected around the territory where dungeons appeared.
And right in front of the region where the dungeons manifested, this very place, the Fortress, was built.
Since then, it had become both the most dangerous and the wealthiest place on the continent.
Humans were creatures who wished to share the danger but keep the wealth for themselves. Within a few years, the number of humans dying from infighting over interests threatened to surpass the number killed by monsters.
Realizing that they might be wiped out by their own hands before they could even subjugate the dungeons, the people established a new organization called the Kingdom Alliance.
Representatives from each nation held joint authority, which rotated at regular intervals.
Lands with unclear ownership were treated as common property, while the wealth gained from them was divided with mathematical precision.
In the beginning, there was much debate over whether it was truly fair, but as years passed, the Kingdom Alliance established its foundation and became the most powerful organization on the continent.
Naturally, the Kingdom Alliance prioritized their own safety above all else.
Because of this, the Fortress had been rebuilt several times. They moved whenever they found a more secure location.
The place where they finally settled was its current site.
A piece of land close to the dungeons where one had never actually appeared.
It was discovered much later that an artifact buried deep underground had turned the surrounding area into a space where monsters could not enter, much like a Room of Reward within a dungeon.
Once that fact was revealed, the Fortress developed even further.
As a result, the Fortress today was no different from a massive city.
Every year, when dungeons formed and artifacts began to emerge, people from all over the continent flocked to the Auction House.
Naturally, several hotels for visitors existed within the Fortress.
These were located on land considered the safest in the Fortress, second only to the quarters of the purifiers and knights.
It was only logical to ensure the safety of those who came to spend their fortunes here.
Irene headed to the Archive first.
She wanted to check the scale and form of the dungeon that was reported to have appeared yesterday.
When she asked about yesterday’s dungeon, the clerk handed her a piece of paper duplicated by an artifact, as if they had expected the inquiry.
“If you didn’t see it for yourself, you can’t imagine the chaos. Anyway, because a high-rank dungeon appeared inside the Fortress, the high-ranking officials are in an absolute frenzy.”
The issue must have been causing quite a stir since yesterday.
The clerk, unable to hide their excitement, recounted the events to Irene.
“It truly was an extraordinary occurrence. Who would have guessed an unstable dungeon would manifest right in the middle of the Fortress? Moreover, it was in such a volatile state that no one knew when it might vanish. If Michael-nim hadn’t entered, they wouldn’t have even been able to recover the victims’ bodies.”
“But if it was a high-rank dungeon, didn’t anyone else go in with him?”
Even for an unstable dungeon, once its manifestation is reported, the person who discovered it is granted the first right of entry, just like with regular dungeons.
Since this one appeared in the center, there must have been many people who could be considered the first discoverers. Furthermore, since civilians were involved, people could have entered under the guise of a rescue mission.
“Sir Michael advised everyone to stay outside as much as possible, saying it looked dangerous.”
“Even so…”
These were knights who entered dungeons daily.
Seeing an unstable dungeon like that usually stirred a sense of competitive spirit in some, making them itch to enter.
Of course, the fact that unstable dungeons had a higher probability of yielding artifacts played a role as well.
No matter how much Michael warned them, they didn’t go in?
“Actually, one other knight did go in at the last moment, but he came right back out. He looked completely shell-shocked, like someone who had seen something horrific.”
“Just what did he see in there?”
“Read the report for that. Sir Michael’s report hasn’t been processed yet, so most of this was written based on that knight’s account.”
The clerk continued.
“He was the brave one, relatively speaking. It seemed everyone else lost the will to enter the moment they saw the entrance.”
The clerk pointed to the bottom of the paper they had handed to Irene.
There were drawings of strangely distorted circles.
Some were elongated ovals, while others were mangled shapes that looked like they had been drawn by a child first picking up a pen.
Then there was a square with blunt corners, and a drawing of a jagged thorn shape, much like a star.
“Those are all the forms the entrance of this unstable dungeon took. Have you ever seen anything like it?”
Irene shook her head.
In her past life, she had read and memorized every single dusty, ancient record in the Archive.
Among them, unstable dungeons had particularly piqued her curiosity. From the location of their emergence to the entrance, the monsters within, and the rewards—nothing followed a rule.
“Furthermore, looking at the records, it seems the internal structure was also unlike anything seen before.”
The clerk pointed back to the main text on the paper.
The moment Irene saw the names of the monsters sighted, she almost let out a groan.
Listed there were the names of the most horrific monsters she knew.
What was even more appalling was the form of the dungeon itself.
The dungeon was one giant trap starting from the very entrance. Just a few steps in, there were deep pits lined with thorns taller than a man.
It was a dungeon that radiated a pure, malicious intent to kill anyone who entered.
“It seems the victims caught in the dungeon’s manifestation died there as well. The bodies Sir Michael recovered were riddled with large holes. And there were so many slash wounds… We know monsters are cruel, but the state of them was so gruesome that one might think they were murdered out of a personal vendetta.”
A personal vendetta.
At those words, a chill ran down Irene’s spine.
When the people at the Auction House had directed insulting remarks at her, she had briefly harbored ill will toward them.
And Michael had seen that.
Suddenly, she wondered. How did Michael react when he realized the victims caught in the dungeon were the very people who had outbid others for her Stone of Silence?
* * *
There was a Temple within the Fortress.
A place for measuring purification power, treating commoners, and welcoming those seeking prayer.
Naturally, the Temple was not on particularly good terms with the Kingdom Alliance.
However, they could not ignore Michael’s fame and his contributions to dungeon subjugation.
Separately, they could not ignore the demands of those who wished to visit the Temple, and priests were needed to verify the abilities of purifiers.
Thanks to this, despite various power struggles, the Temple was able to maintain its own space in a corner of the Fortress.
And in a corner of that Fortress, there was an incinerator used for burning waste from the Temple.
A young priest, wiping away sweat in the gradually warming weather, headed toward the incinerator carrying trash from the Temple.
There, he spotted someone in front of the incinerator.
“Who is… Oh! Is that you, Sir Michael!?”
At the priest’s delighted greeting, Michael gave a silent, polite nod.
Even for priests, seeing Michael was a rare occurrence.
He held a special position even within the Temple.
A knight who truly lived up to his alias, the Sword of God—the strongest of this era, and perhaps even in the history of the continent.
Was it not all thanks to Michael that the priests were able to regain the faith of the believers and spread the divine teachings so widely?
Thus, the young priest looked up to him as if looking at a god.
God was far away, but he was a miracle standing right before his eyes.
“What brings you to the incinerator? If you have something to burn, please give it to me!”
It would be an honor just to have a brief conversation with Michael.
At the young priest’s words, Michael replied with a thin smile.
“No, it is fine. It was something filthy, and I simply came myself as I was hesitant to show it to others.”
“Pardon? Just what could it be…”
The priest peered into the roaring flames of the incinerator.
In that moment, he caught sight of a shirt stained with dark red blotches being swallowed by the fire.
“Ah… It must have been quite dirty indeed. Still, if you had left it to us, we would have taken care of everything for you.”
Whether it was an object or clothing, if it was a request from Michael, the priests would have lined up to do it.
Michael shook his head at the priest’s words.
“No. How could I leave my own task to another? Besides, it was so foul that I simply wanted to dispose of it quickly.”
The moment the young priest saw his expression as he spoke, he reflexively flinched and took a step back.
As he watched the dancing flames, Michael looked profoundly satisfied.
As if he felt a great sense of relief from completely incinerating things that were beyond repair.
