Chapter 901

EP.901 [Light Novel Side Story] Chaos Heaven’s Death Dinus Volume 2 Chapter 018

A little while later.

The group, having crawled through a secret passage about 30 meters long, arrived at the secret base of the sunglasses monster where Raon had been kidnapped.

“Ugh, what’s that smell?”

Nuri immediately wrinkled her nose upon standing up. Raon, who followed behind, closed his eyes as he scanned the surroundings.

“This place reeks like an old man. It’s correct. Though slightly disheveled, this is the spot.”

“It’s pretty dark in here.”

Yuna turned on the flashlight from her magical gear, illuminating the darkness.

“…Ah, we need some ventilation… no, it’s hopeless.”

Xian appeared much later than the others, his face extremely red with irritation.

“Uncle, why are you standing there awkwardly again?”

“…Don’t ask.”

Xian leaned against the wall, crossing his legs and folding his arms. While Raon kept his guard up and thoroughly searched the area, Yuna dusted off her skirt and sighed.

“I’ll turn off the lights.”

Pfft!

As if a fluorescent light had been switched on, the darkness dissipated in the cavern. Xian examined the furnishings in the small space, approximately six pyeong, and marveled.

“Looks like a bachelor pad.”

“It seems they gathered pre-cataclysm items and hid them here.”

Just as Raon deduced, various plastic furnishings were scattered around the cave, most looking worn out after years of use. Xian frowned upon seeing a mug covered in stains.

“They’ve been drinking burnt coffee too… Hmm…”

While Xian tilted his head in confusion, Nuri uncovered something wrapped in a blanket and blushed.

“Isn’t this guy completely deranged?!”

“Nuri, what is it? Is there something over there—”

Yuna stopped mid-sentence. Even Raon looked away uncomfortably. Xian scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“…Even monsters have those urges, huh.”

“UNCLE!!”

Nuri shrieked and quickly covered it back up. Most of what she saw was embarrassing, but even for Xian, some things were better left unseen.

“Just a moment. This could be evidence.”

Raon picked up underwear found beneath the blanket. A gray bra discovered in a man’s room boasted an overwhelming size. After a brief pause, Raon silently returned it to the blanket.

“…My apologies. This does not seem to be evidence.”

“Feels like evidence to me.”

“Perhaps he enjoys cross-dressing. Or maybe he has a fetish for collecting women’s undergarments.”

“Hmm?”

By now, Xian had regained his composure and began inspecting the surroundings. The fact that the monster had a sex life was certainly unusual, but to Xian, it was no different from animals mating.

Click.

As Xian pressed a strange switch on the wall, a crack appeared in the wall beneath him. He moved his hand along the wall.

“There’s another passage.”

It seemed this wasn’t just a simple cave but a genuine secret passageway. Xian’s face scrunched up; they might need to reestablish their perimeter above ground immediately. There was no contact with Magical Gear yet.

Rumble… rumble…

“What the—”

Suddenly, the ground violently shook. The unexpected earthquake made Xian pale.

‘This isn’t a natural quake—’

Rumble… rumble…

“Dangerous!”

Xian pulled Yuna into his arms and crouched down. Raon shielded Nuri, protecting their heads. After a brief tremor, Xian glanced at the return path with a worried expression.

“…Hiiiik.”

The way back was blocked. The aftershocks continued above ground, and traces of faint magical power lingered in the seismic waves.

“…Seems like there’s quite the commotion happening up there.”

“Xian, if this goes wrong…”

“Yeah. We could get crushed here. The problem is…”

Whoever was fighting above ground was doing so recklessly. Instinctively, Xian realized returning via the entrance would be impossible.

“Aah. Ah.”

Xian stuck his head into the passage and shouted. As expected, his voice echoed back.

“So, the way we came in is sealed off.”

“A, Uncle?”

Nuri, visibly frightened, looked around. Yuna also searched for another passage but found none besides the one Xian had discovered.

“Let’s go.”

Xian’s decision was swift. Bits of dirt were already falling from the ceiling.

“Since we’re already here, we have no choice but to move forward, regardless of what lies ahead—a monster, a fiend, or even a dungeon entrance. We can’t die buried here, right?”

With that, Xian ducked into the passage. Fortunately, this side wasn’t low enough to require crawling.

Thump, thump.

In the eerily quiet cave, only the sound of their footsteps filled the air. Soon, Xian spotted a door fitted into the cave wall, which looked suspiciously like an ‘exit.’

“Uncle, your shoes.”

“What? Shoes?”

Xian initially thought he’d misheard until he followed Nuri’s pointed finger to the floor. Shoes were scattered everywhere, old and varied in type, though similar in size.

“Why are there shoes…?”

Upon confirming the direction the shoes faced, Raon tilted his head. They seemed arranged as if placed when leaving the space.

“Is this…a foyer?”

At Yuna’s muttered observation, the other three nodded. Swallowing hard, Xian gripped the doorknob. If his assumption was correct—

Creak.

Xian turned the knob and pushed the door open.

“Ah.”

Exiting the fiend’s underground quarters via the secret passage revealed a vast common chamber. A spacious area the size of a tennis court greeted them, and animalistic growls echoed in the darkness. Nuri drew her sword and summoned her magic.

“Are there Penril’s monsters here too?!”

“Looks like we’ve hit the jackpot.”

Xian promptly turned off the flashlight from his magical gear. Its dim glow couldn’t illuminate the entire clearing, and soon Yuna conjured a light at the tip of her staff, sending it floating upward toward the ceiling.

Pfft.

“Wow.”

Xian marveled at the sight unveiled as the darkness lifted. It was less like they had emerged and more like these entities were waiting for them to open the door.

“Trap?”

“They might have lured us here.”

Thirteen fiends stood before them. Although not Penril’s fiends, they had lost their minds and were under the mental control of a ‘higher fiend.’

“Regardless, there’s definitely one Penril fiend among them! Uncle, scan them!”

“…Eight E-rank and four D-rank.”

Judging by sheer power alone, Xian’s side held a significant advantage. These weren’t the kind of foes who could withstand even a single bullet from his gun.

“Tch.”

Xian gripped his gun like a hatchet. With the sole ranged attacker switching to close combat, the other three also prepared for melee battles by summoning their magic.

“Hmph. Your trump card didn’t work, did it?”

From beyond the clearing, a familiar voice reached their ears. Xian groaned loudly, lamenting his misfortune.

“No way, how did I end up selected among twenty?”

“How should I know? What matters is that I’m back!”

Clad in the unique armor of a fiend lieutenant—revealing quite a bit of skin—the gray-haired woman stepped forth confidently. Her face was partially obscured by a mask.

“Sister…!”

“What’s the point of wearing a mask when we all know who you are?”

Nuri and Raon stepped forward, weapons drawn. The fiend tapped her mask lightly and chuckled softly.

“You see, this mask represents the new power given to me by my new master.”

Crack! As the fiend swept her mask aside with her hand, masks appeared on the faces of the zombie-like fiends standing around her.

“When my master first transformed me into a fiend, it was merely a transformation.”

The masked fiend raised her hand, laughing softly. In response, the fiends mimicked her movements, lifting their arms like puppets controlled by strings.

“But now, it’s different. My new master made me a subordinate…”

The fiend removed her mask.

“…and now this is possible.”

Nuri gasped upon seeing the face beneath the mask.

“M-Me?!”

“The body hasn’t changed.”

“Why would I want to become such a baby-faced brat? And this isn’t the end.”

The fiend whose facial features resembled Nuri’s sneered condescendingly before extending her hand and conjuring a water-made sword.

“Eh?!”

“…Copying someone else’s special ability?”

The stream of water encircling the sword was unmistakably the same special ability Nuri had developed after awakening to water affinity.

“Woah! Insane! Why are you stealing and messing with others’ stuff?!”

Nuri exploded with rage, heat rising to her scalp.

“Don’t get angry.”

“How can I not?! You old hag copying me! My special ability too!!”

Was it the betrayal felt during the abduction process, anger at having her painstakingly cultivated ability copied, or perhaps the stark difference in presence between her own exposed breastplate and the fiend’s revealing armor? Xian couldn’t tell.

Cracks appeared on the fiend’s face bearing Nuri’s features.

“You kids these days have no manners. Back in my day—”

“Doesn’t that outfit embarrass you?”

Xian interjected sarcastically.

“If you’re here to fight, shut up and fight. Or step aside.”

He wasn’t sure what thoughts drove his opponent, but one thing was certain: this enviable possessor of abilities had become not just an enemy tied by bad luck but an immediate foe requiring a decisive battle.

“Hehehe, got it. You…blonde…”

The fiend exhaled purple energy from her eyes.

“You sure liked planting that shot firmly in my chest early in the morning, didn’t you?”

The fiend, Tian Chun Yi, mocked Nuri using her face.

“I’ll repay that! Die, all of you!”

“Counterattack!”

In the underground secret clearing of Seoul.

Team Death Dinus clashed with the Dark Legion’s underlings.

* * *

<Meanwhile, at a café in New Seoul.>

Seoul, Penril appears.

Whether it was Penril herself or one of her subordinates, one of the long-quiet lieutenants of the ‘Dark Legion’ had started serious activities.

“Hey, Seoul’s in chaos. Hahaha, Penril’s making a scene!”

“It’s probably not her. If she came, the Shilla Princess Barrier would’ve been shattered instantly.”

“The Shilla Princess made the right call. If she’d listened to the whining students and spared Seoul, we’d be in deep trouble!”

Unlike the turmoil in Seoul, New Seoul monitored incoming information moment by moment, observing the situation from afar like spectators across the river.

Reports from dispatched hunters, coverage from journalists sent to the outskirts of Seoul, and the agile responses of the Hero Association mobilized after a long hiatus.

Though it wasn’t confirmed whether Penril herself had appeared, the current situation reflected well on Shilla Princess’s competent handling.

“<Red Pine>, what were they doing letting the fiend containment facility get exposed and attacked?”

“Maybe they should’ve just sent it straight to Daejeon instead of getting greedy and exposing themselves?”

“Hey, watch what you say. You’ll end up being ‘pine-coned’ yourself!”

Already, the situation had spiraled out of control, and the truth about <Red Pine> and its background spread far beyond anyone’s ability to suppress it. People who usually kept mum were now gossiping like fish in water.

“One of the special ability users targeted in this attack belonged to Yu Sung’s guild. Galaxy must be furious!”

“If the chairman collapses from a fit, it’ll be disastrous. Right now, according to his will, that reckless guy would inherit the group.”

“Signs of national collapse, signs. Hey, rather than that, isn’t that woman sitting over there insanely beautiful? Holy crap, she looked amazing when she walked by earlier too.”

“…Tsk.”

Until then, quietly listening to people’s conversations, a girl with blue hair clicked her tongue and picked up a teaspoon. The man watching her eat strawberries blushed and swallowed hard—

BOOM.

” ?!”

The man collapsed onto the table, clutching his stomach in agony as if his appendix had twisted. Supported by his companions, he was rushed to the hospital immediately.

“Tsk.”

Shaking her head, the girl stirred the ice cream in her parfait with her spoon. While gathering intelligence was useful, she disliked the idea of collecting it in such a messy environment from the start.

“Why don’t you just kill them and be done with it? Why create such chaos?”

As the girl watched and listened to the noisy news on the wall-mounted TV, she fell into deep thought. The Dark Legion’s resurgence, Penril’s landing in Korea, the actions of other lieutenants, past incidents—all of it set the nation ablaze with chatter.

“I asked you to prevent this kind of thing from happening…”

She had royally messed things up. The girl cooled her boiling frustration with the ice cream in her parfait.

“You keep failing. I’ll make sure you meet your end.”

On the opposite side of the girl, an unclaimed mint chocolate ice cream melted silently.