Luca and the Void Followers carefully moved forward, step by step, more cautiously than before.


    The recent incident where a Void follower had lost his mind and attempted to attack hisrades, followed by the gruesome fate of thatrade—his neck and body severed by Luca—had made them cautious.


    As a result, their progress through the dungeon slowed significantly, but there was no one whoined.@@novelbin@@


    It was true that the Void Followers didn’t fear death, but that didn’t mean they were willing to ept a pointless death so easily.


    In the end, their caution became a mistake. As they became more afraid of taking damage, themanders began to move more freely.


    Those who had be stiff from overthinking were no more than easy targets for their opponents. It was only natural that another Void follower would soon lose his sanity.


    The moment the follower began to show signs of madness, Luca swiftly severed his head, all the while idly ying with the dagger’s hilt as he watched the other followers'' anxious expressions.


    <em>It’s so annoying. Should I just kill them all?</em> He thought. <em>I can’t believe I’m dragging around this worthless bunch of fools who couldn’t even be fireflies, let alone stars.</em>


    Though he had reluctantly put up with the situation, ready to throw them all away likeb rats for something the young Lady Alrn had prepared, the inconvenience of it was beginning to outweigh the practicality.


    "Professor Luca. Is there still a long way to go?"


    "...Hmm. I think we’ve passed half of it," Luca replied, not looking up.


    "Still?" the follower leading the group asked, his voice tinged with dissatisfaction, but he didn’t challenge Luca directly.


    That decision kept the group alive. Had the leader of the followers shown even the slightest sign of rebellion, Luca would have killed them all without hesitation and proceeded alone.


    In the heavy silence that followed, they continued forward until they arrived at a certain room.


    It was a room filled with what seemed to be several small huts, and in the center of it sat a woman who appeared to be the owner of the ce.


    The woman’s appearance was quite remarkable.


    Her round eyes exuded childlike innocence, and the faint smile on her lips was soft. Her posture radiated the elegance typical of a noblewoman.


    But she had several significant ws. One was that her appearance was semi-transparent.


    Another was that the aura surrounding her was so powerful that even the Void Followers, followers of an evil god, broke into a cold sweat from the pressure.


    "Wee. Guests. Did you enjoy the hospitality of the mansion staff?"


    As she lifted the hem of her dress to greet them, one of the Void Followers jumped out, attempting an attack. However, themander who had blocked the attack with ease intercepted him before he could reach the woman.


    "I apologize for the sudden visit. We weren’t fully prepared..."


    "…Tera?" Themander who had blocked the attack had a familiar face.


    There was no mistaking it. They had worked together many times, and this person had entered the dungeon with them. How could he have mistaken her?


    "Do you like reuniting with yourrade? She had a lot of lingering resentment, so it was easy to make her into amander."


    "How dare you, you crazy woman!" The man, losing hisposure,yered the Void''s power onto his mask.


    What he was trying to imitate was the appearance of the greatest warrior he knew.


    Even in this space filled with the Void''s blessing, it would be impossible to perfectly recreate that appearance, but the small trace of it was enough to bring this woman’s downfall.


    "...Kgh." Themander’s spear emerged from the follower’s feet, piercing through his body. He tried to conceal his wound with his power, but it was toote—the fall of his body came faster than his attempts at healing.


    As one life was extinguished, anothermander appeared beside the originalmander.


    "My, my. You must have had a lot of grudges. I didn’t expect you to be friends so quickly," the newmander said, in a voice that made the Void Followers shiver. They had always operated in the shadows, so they knew a thing or two about necromancers and necromancy.


    They had worked with them a few times, and that’s how they learned what amander was capable of. Therefore, they knew just how twisted it was to have someone kill their own to turn them into their subordinate on the spot.


    "Is that it?"


    Amidst the bewildered expressions of the Void Followers, Luca spoke, and the woman chuckled.


    "Of course not. There’s more prepared," she said.


    With a snap of her fingers, moremanders emerged from various ces around the room—ceilings, floors, walls, and furniture. Their gaze was fixed solely on Luca.


    Luca understood why they were staring at him.


    "Hello, you failures. I didn’t think you’d still be alive in this world," he said with a smirk.


    These were the ones Luca had driven to the brink in the past. They were those he had sacrificed to create a light brighter than the Sword Saint, but they had fallen from grace and were now discarded remnants.


    As Luca listened to their curse-filled words, he raised his lips in a smirk.


    "Bemem. Lal. Ruda. I’m sorry to some of you, though. Back then, I was still inexperienced. You could have shone brighter."


    Luca apologized for his past mistakes that had led to their fall, and then turned his gaze toward the others,ughing openly.


    "But not for the others. I gave you the opportunity to be stars, and yet you fell into the trash. Why should I apologize to you?"


    The curses against him grew fiercer as Luca’sughter echoed, but Luca appeared unfazed, disappointed at their weak attempt.


    "Did you think that you could trouble me with such failures? Lady Alrn? How disappointing."


    The strength amander held was generally directly linked to the strength they had in life. They could be stronger or weaker, but there wouldn''t be any significant differences.


    No matter how strong their resentment was, there was no way they could defeat Luca. These failures, having given in to trials, would never overpower him.


    "You should have acted the moment you noticed. If you had, you might have been able to present me with some true desperation. But you wasted time, and now you’ve given me nothing but useless leisure."


    Luca gripped a dagger in each hand and readily acknowledged his own shorings.


    "So now, I suppose I have to clean up your mess."


    As Luca took a step forward, his body passed through themanders and arrived in front of the woman. With the speed gained, he swung the daggers, aiming for her neck.


    He wasn’t sure who exactly this woman was, but it was clear she was cooperating with Lady Alrn.


    Luca thought that if someone close to Lady Alrn unexpectedly died, it might make her a little desperate. That’s why Luca was making this move. But the woman’s reaction made him pause for a moment.


    Despite the sudden attack, the woman simply smiled as the dagger flew toward her. Had she not seen iting?


    No, someone of her caliber couldn’t have missed it.


    Was it a trap? There was nothing outwardly suspicious.


    With doubts rising in his mind, Luca took a step back, but the woman openly mocked him, and the othermanders joined in theughter.


    Their ominousughter filled the space.


    "What’s so funny?"


    "Heh, of course! It’s just hrious that someone who was spouting off like they were something great ends up being toyed with by a little brat!"


    "...Brat? Lady Alrn?" Luca asked, confused.


    "Yes, that... Oh, wait, yes. Lady Alrn."


    Did the young Lady Alrn predict my actions? What does that mean?


    "To quote her exactly: <em>The perverted professor is so useless that when he shows any kind of meaningful move, he’ll run away. He’s a pitiful man who can’t even trust himself.</em>"


    ...Is this woman deliberately provoking me? I shouldn’t fall for it.


    "You think I’ll just stand here and listen to your taunts? You really are pathetic. You act like you''re something special, but deep down, you know you’re just a loser. How did someone like you be a professor?"


    Luca, who had been provoked by the woman’s words, said nothing and simply gripped his daggers tighter.


    "Well? Was Lady Alrn’s assessment urate?" she mocked.


    "Haha. I didn’t realize Lady Alrn was so interested in me," Luca responded with augh.


    "To answer for Lady Alrn, your self-awareness is too much. No one would care about someone like you. Sure, we might pity you, but there’s no reason for us to be interested in you—whether as a jeweler, a craftsman, or anything else, you’re nothing but pathetic."


    Luca, ignoring the ridicule of the manymanders, leaped forward again, but the woman didn’t respond. Instead, she sank into the ground, disappearing.


    The othermanders did the same, hiding behind walls andughing without openly attacking.


    "Professor Luca. What now?"


    "...It’s a stall," Luca replied.


    "What?"


    "Don’t listen to their words. They’re just trying to slow us down as we reach the inner chambers."


    If someone falls for the provocation like before, we’ll exploit the gap.


    "This isn’t a dungeon. It’s a ce where the dead y with the living."


    Luca spoke to shake off the Void Followers’ anxiety, but his mind kept circling back to the words the woman had just said.


    "Let’s keep moving. It’s toote to turn back now."