The Top Omega Hunter Wants a Quiet Life [BL]-Chapter 70: Ch : Returning to Dungeon #36- Part 3
"What happened to this dungeon? It has changed from the dungeon I know. Even the forest doesn’t look the same as it used to."
Lynn made the observation as he walked behind me and kept an eye on my back.
I had told him that I did not need someone to watch my back, but Lynn had insisted and I had given up in the end to not hear any more of his voice.
He was also the one who seemed to know more about this dungeon so I had a feeling his experience would come in handy.
Of course, the one who likely knew the most was Kuro and he looked extremely happy to see the changes in the dungeon.
"There are changes? Why won’t there be? The high priest’s ascension is a big deal. They are the closest beings to our lord and spread our lord’s will. Even humans feel something when they see our high priests."
Kuro likely meant adoration but when I had seen the high priest last time, all I had felt was a sense of fear and a need to run.
But I doubted those feelings were what Kuro meant.
"Ah, we are here. Before we go forward, here, wear these cloaks. They will mask your scent and make you appear as the same species in the monster’s eyes."
Kuro handed me and Lynn a cloak to wear. The material was firm and I immediately ran it under the system’s scan.
[Mimicking Cloak: usage - infinite as long as it is worn.]
"Huh-! What kind of artefact is this? I have never seen this before...hey wait-! Do monsters use artefacts as well? Why did we not know of this before?"
Lynn asked in a surprised voice but I was less surprised. I had already seen the previous high priest use potions. So this was nothing new for me.
"Why won’t we use artefacts when humans can as well? It’s just that...you humans usually kill the monsters who have no rationality or have lost their ability to think. But most of us are not like that. Ah, we are here...."
Kuro explained once more but he trailed off as soon as the prayers started to get loud.
We finally emerged in a clearing and Kuro signaled for us to walk toward the front so that we could see the ascension of the high priest.
A strong presence stood in front of me and all my instincts warned me about it. They told me to grab my knife and dig it deep into the heart of the monster in front of me.
However, a hand grabbing my hand stopped me and I tensed up...until I heard Lynn’s voice speaking to me.
"It’s going to be alright. I know what you are going through and I feel the same way. But you need to control your rage. Or we would be found out."
Lynn warned and I knew he was right. There were too many monsters around me for me to win this fight. All I could do was calm down and find a time to counterattack.
"FOR OUR LORD-"
"FOR OUR LORD-"
"FOR OUR LORD-"
Loud chants made my head hurt and I felt my knees weaken at the loud chants. The loud noises were making my head hurt a lot more than I expected.
"Ugh, these voices..."
I complained as I closed my eyes to get rid of the annoyance. Lynn’s grip on my hand went even tighter as he allowed me to lean against him.
"Don’t worry too much. I am here with you. If you feel too overwhelmed due to your senses, then focus on me and my scent. That will help you come back to yourself."
The alpha told me before he let out his soothing pheromones. I immediately felt better and my breathing calmed down as well.
Once I came back to myself, I looked around to see whether someone had noticed what happened or not. But thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed.
"I’m fine now. You can pull your scent back. It would be a disaster if someone else were to notice....but what should we do about all this?"
The chanting was getting louder and I felt the alpha holding me calming himself down so that his scent would not become irritating for me.
"I don’t know. I have never faced anything like this, even as the former no.1 hunter. However, I will follow your lead, Ace. Tell me, what should we do?"
Lynn asked as he tightened his arms around my shoulder. I tried to relax but I suddenly felt eyes on me.
The flame the next high priest was praying toward seemed to have eyes, and those eyes were looking at me and Lynn.
I immediately let Lynn go, not even caring that the alpha looked confused at my sudden actions. I just knew that if I did not do that, I won’t be able to get out of here alive...
Or rather, Lynn won’t be able to get out of here alive.
"Our lord has chosen. Our lord has chosen the next sacrifice to give to him. And once we make it, he will bless our world with his glance and we will live serving our lord."
The high priest candidate told us all and he extended his hand toward me...no, toward Lynn as he spoke.
"You, our lucky person, shall become the fuel that attracts our lord’s attention. Now come, and offer your all to our lord."
The high priest told Lynn and I tensed up. Lynn took a step forward, almost as if he were in a trance but I grabbed his arm to stop him.
"What do you think you are doing-"
I asked Lynn and he looked shaken as well.
"Huh-! What was I-"
Before either of us could make a decision or check what happened, our systems updated.
[New mission- sacrifice Hunter Lynn to the fire of the dungeon. Reward: The Lord’s favor.
Failure: anger of the lord]
This was not the first for me. The system had often asked me to sacrifice my companions before during the final dungeon, so I ignored the message.
But Lynn looked shaken.
"W-What-? What is this mission? Why would the system-?"
"Don’t pay attention to it. Once we take care of this mess, the mission will go away. Don’t let it bother you."
I assured the hunter beside me and from my lack of fear, he must have guessed that this was not the first time I had gotten this pop-up from the store.
Weirdly enough, the message never told me to sacrifice myself. It was always the people around me and it made me wonder why that was.
’Now is not the time to be thinking about all this. We have a dungeon to take care of and a high priest to stop from reviving.’
"Kuro, there is no need for you to interfere. This is not your fight. Just,...stay in the corner so that I don’t accidentally attack you."
I told our guide, and he nodded.
I should be fearing Kuro betraying me, but for some reason, all I felt was worry for him at this point.
