The sounds of my steps echo throughout the empty hallways.

After getting my bearings, I flew down to the large entrance at the main mausoleum.

Opening the wrought-iron doors with a creak, only a dark room awaits. Several 10-meter tall armored statues stand motionless around a sarcophagus in the middle. The sarcophagus were inscribed with strange symbols.

At the center of the back wall, a flag was hanging. A crest stitched in gold majestically overlooked the room. An emblem perhaps?

Opening the sarcophagus was of no problem. Though it may have been heavy for a mortal, this stone slab is nothing for my godly strength!

A piercing light flashes in the darkness. Adjusting myself to the sudden exposure, I take a closer look and see it filled to the brim in treasures. Countless ornaments, gemstones, and coins are stacked upon each other.

Before I can turn away, I hear the sound of grinding metal and a passageway appears, leading straight into the depths. Despite this being a grand tomb, the stone passage is suspiciously clean. What should be a place covered in dust or algae, is pristine albeit completely dark.

It isn't overwhelming but I notice that this place smells similar to that of the Underworld. To accentuate the stench of death, alcoves on either side of the passage, hold several human-shaped objects covered in burial shawls. Even without lifting the shawls, I can tell these are corpses.

Unlike the first room, this passage is slightly lighted, with white ceiling lights spaced at regular intervals.

I continue to move along, on guard for any traps or monsters to appear.

I stop after a few more steps.

As if hearing my thoughts, a group of skeletons appears in the distance. They get closer, to the point that the sounds of their bones rattling deafens my ears.

Though I should have expected a tomb to utilize skeletons, I'm still a little chagrined. Using the undead on me? Laughable.

To make matters worse, these skeletons seem even weaker than the average ghoul from the Underworld! I was expecting spartoi not these shriveled bones barely passing off as a true skeleton.

Releasing a small bit of my presence, each of the skeletons promptly shatters and their fragmented bones scatter on the floor. Even with my divinity being sealed to that of a regular god, the slightest bit of pressure instantly destroyed these skeletons.

The dream of fighting against a strong monster quickly vanishes away as I struggle to check my disappointment. I begin trudging through the passage once more, leaving behind the heaping pile of bones behind me.

––––––––––

As wave after wave of undead approaches, I continue to raise the amount of aura I'm releasing to match their strength.

This time, I hear soft groans and badly swollen corpses emerge out of the darkness.

Their bodies seem to be on the brink of bursting and I just raise my aura once more.

Instead of dissipating or falling, these undead explode upon death. After a disgusting squelching sound as the last one explodes, I move on.

The passage narrows into a series of winding corridors. Following one of the tunnels, my footsteps begin to get matched by a rhythmic tapping on the floor.

A figure covered in a luxurious robe appears, dragging along a wooden staff in one hand. It floats slightly off the ground and the skeletal face has a malevolent light in its rotting eyes.

Without a word, the creature begins firing off magic attacks that are easily countered by my defensive body. After seeing its attacks bounce off, it hesitates before stepping aside. I raise my eyebrows but soon, several more of these creatures appear.

Beginning a large incantation, the mana of all these undead pool to create a singular destructive spell. They probably think that this combined spell of theirs will be able to destroy me...

To humor them, I don't bother obliterating them and tank the spell. As I expected, this spell is a destruction-type and instantly blows up half of the corridor. Miraculously, the walls and ceiling repair and clean themselves leaving only a scorch mark on the ground as proof of the cast.

The smoke clears and I smile crookedly at the astonished spellcasters. Though they can't make any facial expressions, they're most certainly surprised. After an explosive wave of divine aura, they instantly perish and dissolve into the air.

Going further into the passage, I come across a dead end. As I stare at the wall, wondering if there's a concealment illusion, a glowing magic circle floats off the ground at my feet.

I feel myself floating and passing through the floor.

I find myself in a damp, pitch-black stone room. Even with my night vision, the room still seems to be shrouded in darkness. Magic strong enough to affect me? Before I get caught in its implications, I sense the presence of several beings creeping up on me.

They are using a form of concealment magic but it's not strong enough to escape my senses. Five beautiful women with well-shaped features, crimson-red eyes, and white dresses are trailing behind me. Jewelry ranging from tiaras to earrings can be seen and they're all watching me with clear hostility.

With my now concealed aura and hidden wings and ears, to them, I only appear as a normal human. I smirk and slouch against the wall.

Everything about this room screams MONSTER! and I patiently wait for whatever creature to appear. And my expectations are answered. Not too long after my arrival, the whole room bursts into a bright light. With several clicks, massive torches flicker on the walls. After the torches light up in a circle around the room, I hear the light footsteps of something approaching.

*tik*

*tik*

*tik*

*tik*

A person shrouded in darkness appears. At her appearance, the five women instantly vanish and reappear at her sides, this time without any concealment. The women stop but the figure continues to walk closer. Now only a couple meters away, the darkness vanishes, revealing a short-statured, pale-skinned woman with the appearance of a teenage girl.

Her silver hair is tied in a ponytail with a large laced ribbon.

With her left hand grasping a black umbrella with red tips, she picks up the hem of her dress and curtsies.

She's undeniably beautiful, and her crimson-red eyes flicker along with the torchlight. Glancing me over, she grins widely and suddenly takes a large sniff in the air.

Not bothering to hide her flushed expression, she puffs up her chest and a small bit of drool dribbles out of her delicate lips.

Seeing my raised eyebrows, she regains her composure and coughs cutely into her hand.

She glances back at the women behind her and turns around again in satisfaction. The women haven't made the slightest movement and are only staring vacantly at us.

I blink twice at the strange course of events. Though quite the pervert, the little girl before me seems very strong. As if she can read my thoughts, the expression of the girl turns to one of slight annoyance. Her aura flares up and I widen my eyes.

An unparalleled beauty? Hell no! This strange-looking girl would be better described as a nightmarish monster. No less hideous than the monsters in Tartarus, I can see the smokey outlines of this girl's true form concealed within her mana. A hunched creature with a gaping circular maw and a long, curled tongue. Instead of her tiny, delicate hands, she has deadly claws that look sharp enough to cut through steel. Yeah, I'd much rather prefer this cute lolita over that monster.

Eeyaaa. I shiver at the contrast and force a smile on my face. "What kind of cruel person would place such a pretty girl in such a shithole dungeon?"

She growls at my words and her eyes flash dangerously. "Oh-ho-ho-ho. Insulting my masters' home in front of me? I was going to take you in as a sex slave but you've gone too far! Prepare yourself brat! I'll wipe you off the face of this world."

Ignoring the irony of her calling me a brat, I yawn disrespectfully and sit with my ass on the cold floor. "Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. At least do me the honor of knowing who my killer is."

With a crazed giggle, she speaks in a booming voice.

"Very well! My name is Shalltear. Shalltear Bloodfallen. The Guardian of the first, second, and third floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick!"