A heavy, muffled heartbeat echoed through the foul air.

The chittering of rats—or perhaps countless crawling insects—sounded in the hollow depths. At the chamber’s center, a shadow sprawled across the high platform. A massive white cross was driven through its body, while thick roots wound upward, binding it fast.

It looked at once like a man kneeling and like an inverted tree. Around it, countless monsters stood frozen, still as statues. Upon its back swelled a dark, sticky tumor of flesh, writhing in rhythm with each beat.

It was the creature’s heart, pierced by the cross, forced out of its chest, and warped.

Suddenly, the tumor sprouted countless red, twisted tendrils. They skewered nearby monsters, sucking them dry. The beasts stirred, but did not resist. In moments, they shriveled to husks, husks to bone, bones to dust.

When finished, the tumor coiled its tendrils about the cross, straining to wrench it free. The cross glimmered faintly, immovable.

A rasping shriek tore from the thing—pain or rage, it was impossible to tell.

Only then did the black‑robed figure approach, glancing at the field of corpses.

Using monsters to harvest stray mana was efficient. But the leylines and the cross’s seal were far too strong; even tens of thousands of beasts could not break it.

Yet he was in no hurry. Monsters were endless. The leylines were failing, the seal’s light weakening.

The tumor rumbled low. The black‑robed man chuckled. “Patience. You’ll be free soon. The Sage has noticed, so we must move faster. Eat more—I’ve prepared a feast.”

He turned, muttering incantations at another tunnel.

Roars and shrieks echoed, then a flood of monsters shambled in. They stopped as if turned into stone, lifeless, awaiting.

The man frowned. “Wrong number?”

He chanted louder. This time, no answering cries. No surge of beasts.

His brows knit. Venturing deeper, he found a collapsed passage.

‘So it was blocked. I thought the Sage had broken through. Gave me a scare.’

He shook his head, summoning larger monsters to dig. Soon, the tunnel opened into a vast cavern—only to reveal fields of corpses where countless beasts should have been.

“What happened here!?” His voice shook. Overhead, he saw a gaping hole in the rock, its outline faint in the dark.

“What is this…”

His face hardened. He withdrew, ordering monsters to bury the tunnel once more.

Returning to the tumor, he drew from his robe a gnarled black branch—sharp at one end, sheared clean at the other. Holding it, he held his breath.

‘The Sage moved too quickly. I’ll have to use this… We must hurry. I can’t linger. The absorption won’t be perfect, but I’ve no time left.’

With grim resolve, he thrust the branch into the tumor.

The mass convulsed. From its surface sprouted countless fine black roots, burrowing deep, sinking the branch within.

He staggered back, throat tight, eyes fixed on the spreading black threads. “This… should be enough, right?”

…

Elsewhere, Ayla rinsed herself with water from her ring, washing away the gore until she was clean.

‘That should do.’

When she returned, Vivian was speaking with a knight. Upon spotting Ayla, he stepped forward.

“The catacomb is now closed. Leave at once.”

“Closed?” Ayla glanced past him. In the central necropolis, adventurers were being herded out by the Knight Order and Mage Corps, shoulders slumped.

It wasn’t unheard of. Dangerous evolutions sometimes forced temporary closures. Soon after, they reopened.

Still, Ayla asked, “What happened? Why close all of a sudden?”

The knight’s patience was thin. “Everyone asks. Does it matter? Just leave. You’ll know soon enough.”

“I found a cavern swarming with monsters.”

“I’ll look into it.”

“Don’t go near. It’s full of miasma.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

Clearly in a rush, his courtesy extended only as far as Ayla’s nun’s habit. She said no more, tugging Vivian away. The knight moved on.

By then, it was evening. The sun set red across layered clouds, painting the dark forest in blood.

“What do you mean by closed? What’s going on?”

“I just got in, and they’re kicking us out! Ridiculous!”

“I spent ages forming a party, earning my pass. First day, and it’s gone. My loss…”

Outside the catacomb, adventurers and mercenaries gathered, voices rising in angry complaints.