I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy-Chapter 458

Lucia hesitated only for a moment.

She quickly calmed her breathing and turned her gaze to the approaching Ian. "Please explain in detail. Was the exit buried?"

"The path to it was," Ian replied, continuing to walk as he spoke. "This whole place was already partially sunken—must've been caused by shifting ground layers. That earthquake just now caused it to sink even deeper... and collapse more."

"We shouldn't have touched that altar," Diana added from behind them, her voice drained of energy. "That's what buried us deeper."

Ian silently clicked his tongue and walked past Lucia. As Lucia naturally turned to follow him, she looked back at Diana. "But, Diana, why are you soaked like this?"

"There was groundwater pooled up. It must have originally been used as a water source for this place. When the whole area collapsed more of it seemed to have welled up," Diana answered flatly.

Lucia looked at her for a moment, then said with dawning realization, "So you went to check if there might be a passage through the water."

"Well, something like that." Diana hesitated, then nodded.

The truth was, she'd thrown herself into the water in a desperate attempt after realizing there were no other exits—ignoring Ian's warnings in the process.

"But it was a waste of time," she added, her voice barely above a whisper. She cast a brief glance at Ian.

Just then, Ian looked back at Lucia. "Anyway, thanks to her, we now know for sure that the water is clean enough to drink."

He held out a water pouch that looked full, as if he'd just pulled it from his pocket dimension.

Accepting the cool water pouch, Lucia murmured, "Was there any hidden passage or something? ...Never mind. Even if there had been one, it would have collapsed by now."

"Yeah. Probably," Ian replied grimly. He clicked his tongue again and met her eyes. "I'm sorry. I should have been more careful."

Lucia paused. Only now did she realize—he'd been blaming himself this whole time.

Looking up into his dark, downcast eyes, she shook her head firmly. "No. If it weren't for you, Sir Ian, we wouldn't have even made it back from the rift."

"That's true. And we had no idea the altar would do that," Diana added.

When Ian looked at her, the expression in her eyes behind the mask softened slightly. "Why? Did you think I was blaming you or something, Ian Hope?"

"You kept going on about the altar," Ian pointed out. "Just now, too."

"No, that was... I was just... stating the facts..." Diana muttered, looking away slightly at Ian's comment. A faint smile touched Ian's lips.

"I..." came a strained voice from ahead. "I... will try... to do something... Agent of the Saint..."

Ian and Diana's heads snapped forward almost at the same time. Their eyes finally focused on the Black Lion stirring beside Moro, who had lifted its head and was looking their way.

"Sir Seren is awake," Lucia said quickly. "She's not in any condition to move yet, though."

"No... I'm not..." Seren forced out, her voice strained as she tried to suppress another groan. She pushed herself up with one arm. Bracing herself with one arm, she sat up. It was slow, clearly painful—but she was pushing through.

"I've... rested... enough..."

"Then right away—" Diana started, her voice suddenly hopeful—but she cut herself off.

Lucia had grabbed her arm and gave her a small, deliberate shake of the head. Diana clicked her tongue in frustration and let out a soft groan.

"I... will try to let His Highness know... that we're alive..." Seren said, now upright and breathing heavily.

Ian walked toward her and nodded. "That would help a lot. But are you sure you're up for it? We don't even know where we are."

"I won't be able to send an exact message or location," Seren said between breaths. "But... if I can just resonate with His Highness, that should be enough. He'll sense our general location."

Seren caught her breath, then looked up at the approaching Ian. "He will probably organize a rescue team himself. If he realizes that we're buried... he'll summon the brown mages. A few of them should still be at the main base."

"The ones who buried an entire city in the ground, you mean..." A hopeful light flickered in Diana's eyes as Ian readily nodded.

He didn't know how many mages it would take, but they should certainly be capable of opening a path. They might even be able to lift these entire ruins to the surface. Of course, their food supply was a bit low, but they had enough drinking water. If they rationed carefully, they could last for quite a while.

Growl...

As Ian stopped, Moro snorted and nuzzled its head against his side. Stroking its mane, Ian shifted his gaze.

"Wet your throat first, Sir Seren," said Lucia.

She handed the candlestick to Diana, then quickly uncapped the water pouch and moved to Seren's side.

Seren watched her for a moment, still catching her breath, then suddenly raised a hand to her helmet. It seemed she was only just then realizing that one side of her visor was completely torn off.

"Shall I help you with that, Sir Seren?" Lucia asked a moment later, gently supporting Seren's back with one hand.

Seren blinked at her for a second, then gave a small shake of her head. "No. I'll do it myself."

She brought both hands up to the sides of her helmet.

Click.

She unfastened the clip of her neck guard and slowly, carefully, removed the helmet.

A pale chin emerged first. Her lips were dark and crusted with dried blood, and a single canine tooth protruded slightly from one side.

Even with her face smudged with blood and grime, her complexion was unnaturally pale—so translucent that the faint traces of veins were visible beneath the skin. Her large eyes slanted sharply at the outer corners, and the blue irises within looked more like a monster's than a human's.

Most striking of all were the horns—pitch-black, curling from either side of her forehead and sweeping around her skull like those of a mountain goat. Her wild, dark hair, tinged with a bluish-black hue, fell messily around her shoulders like a mane. Her overall appearance was somewhere in a strange middle ground between human and demon.

Diana, who had been casually running a hand through her hair while sneakily watching Ian and Lucia's reactions, quickly looked away, pretending not to have seen anything.

Neither Ian nor Lucia looked particularly surprised. Of course, they had long since known what Seren truly looked like.

"Just open your mouth, Sir Seren," Lucia said, bringing the water pouch close to Seren's face.

After a moment's hesitation, Seren tilted her head back and opened her mouth. Sharp teeth were visible between her dark lips; some were broken, while others looked like they were newly growing in, pushing through her gums.

Lucia calmly poured a stream of water into her mouth. Though Seren's eyes twitched slightly as if in pain, she gulped the water down eagerly.

"That must be the price of accepting His Highness's darkness," Lucia said eventually, her voice quiet and steady.

"It's because our souls are weak," Seren replied, her voice still hoarse.

"We try not to lose our humanity, but... little by little, we're being tainted by chaos." She paused, then added with a faint breath, "Thank you," before turning her gaze to Ian.

"The reason I look like this... is probably because this is the typical depiction of a demon recorded in the scriptures of our order. His Highness... he is deeply anguished by it, believing it to be a manifestation of his guilt. Even though there's absolutely no reason for him to feel that way."

"But you, Sir Seren, seem to feel a sense of pride in it," Lucia said as she capped the water pouch.

Seren nodded without the slightest hesitation. "Yes. Some of the others do not feel the same. But for me, at least, this appearance is neither shameful nor embarrassing. Not even if I were to be judged by the Goddesses for it."

She looked back at Lucia and offered a pale smile. "The only reason I don't usually show my face is simply to avoid startling or frightening others."

Somehow, these corrupted ones seem more noble than most...

Ian gave a short nod. "Well, just be careful not to be completely devoured by chaos from now on."

Seren turned to him, smiling faintly. "So you do understand."

She already knew that Ian, too, carried chaos within him. Of course, Ian had no intention of explaining the full story.

Seren looked at him for a moment longer, then finally, with effort, bowed her head. "My thanks come late, Agent of the Saint. You had no obligation to save me, and yet... I'm truly grateful."

With one hand braced on the ground for support, she placed her other hand over her breastplate and added, "I will surely repay this kindness."

"I accept your thanks," Ian said with a nod. He then added, "As for how you'll clear that debt, let's talk about it again after we get out of here safely."

A faint smile touched Seren's lips. "Indeed... The Agent of the Saint is certainly a decisive man."

"So, how about offering those prayers to His Highness now?" Diana interjected just then. "Seems like all the pleasantries are over and done with."

Her glance avoided Lucia as she spoke, making it obvious her patience had snapped.

As Ian chuckled softly through his nose, Seren nodded. "My rambling went on too long. Then, right now... I will begin."

"Don't push yourself, Sir Seren," Lucia added gently, stepping back a little. Ian, his arms crossed, watched as Seren bowed her head slightly.

One hand still resting on her breastplate, Seren closed her eyes and moved her lips silently.

Swirl...

A dark, bluish-black aura of energy rose from her.

Then, all at once, her shoulders gave a sharp tremble—and so did Ian's. His brow furrowed, and without thinking, he placed a hand over his breastplate.

"Ghhck!"

The dark aura surrounding Seren wavered violently, and she jerked her head upward in a convulsive movement. Indigo and purple light swirled chaotically in her wide-open eyes.

"Sir!"

Diana's eyes widened in alarm, and Lucia gasped as Seren suddenly lurched forward, nearly collapsing. She barely caught herself with one hand braced against the floor, the other clutching her breastplate with a death grip that made her fingers look ready to snap. Her breath came in shallow, ragged gasps.

"What... in the world—" That was all she got out before she started coughing up blood, her body trembling violently.

"Sir Seren! Sir, are you alright?" Lucia rushed to her side in panic.

But Seren couldn't answer. Another mouthful of blood splattered from her lips before she finally slumped, limp and unresponsive.

Shwaaaa...

The dark aura that had wrapped around her dissipated into the air like smoke. The faint purple glow that had crept up her neck faded along with it, melting into nothingness.

"Sir Seren!" Lucia urgently checked for her pulse. Diana gasped, staring blankly. "No... W-What is this?"

"It seems..." Ian's low voice cut in just then. "Two different kinds of chaos collided inside her."

"What do you mean?" Diana frowned and looked back at him—but then faltered. A fading trace of purple still lingered in Ian's eyes.

"Sir Ian's... chaos?" Lucia asked, looking up at him while cradling Seren gently.

Ian let out a long sigh and nodded. "She was still being corrupted by Inaskurgl's chaos. If we'd left it alone, it would've killed her—or mutated her beyond saving. So I used my chaos to drive it out..."

His eyes shifted down to Seren, her bloodied lips parted slightly in unconsciousness. "But in the process, mine ended up consuming hers."

The moment Seren had begun her prayer, his bead of chaos essence had let out a low, resonant thrum, as if expressing a lingering attachment to an unfinished task.

Lucia opened her mouth, then looked down at Seren again, piecing it together. "Sir Ian's chaos... and His Highness's chaos both interacted with Sir Seren's stigmata. Instead of resonating, it triggered a rejection."

"So what that ultimately means is..." Diana interjected, looking back and forth between Ian and Lucia with somewhat dazed eyes. "Does that mean she failed to resonate with His Highness?"

Ian looked back at her, clicked his tongue briefly, and then said, "I'm not entirely sure... but probably."

"And even if she wakes up again, nothing will change?"

"I suppose if we tried again a few more times," Lucia answered, her gaze wavering for a moment. "But Sir Seren won’t be able to take it. Her stigmata too... and perhaps even her soul."

"Crazy.... No, th-then, couldn't you just suck your chaos back out of her, Ian?" Diana added urgently, quickly turning back to Ian.

Ian clicked his tongue again, sharper this time. "It's not that simple. It's not like I can just pick and choose only what I want to pull out like that."

His bead of chaos essence would likely only try to further taint Seren's stigmata. Even setting that aside, since her chaos and his were already mixed together, there was a much higher probability that in the process of trying to absorb his own, he'd end up sucking out all of her chaos as well, killing her in the process.

Diana, who had been staring intently at Ian's face as if desperately searching for some glimmer of hope, finally squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "We're screwed, shit...."

Ian inwardly mouthed the same curse.

To be trapped underground, buried alive, with no way out. The question of whether this was really a situation in the game flashed through his mind once more.

Killing them off, sure, that could happen. But trapping them in a dead-end space with no quests or monsters was far from how the game usually operated.

At the very least, this underground cave should have collapsed entirely. If he'd encountered something like this back when he was playing, he'd have assumed it was a glitch.

But now, that possibility suddenly felt a lot more real.

Ian's eyes twitched.

This time... it really might be something like that.

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