Chapter 338: The Unfixable Morning Star

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Walking through the scorching desert of Dustbone Corridor, the three remained silent. Even Eir, who had proposed taking revenge on the dungeon, now walked at the head of the party without a word.

They should have realized it when they first met in Novis Town. The Morning Star party could only maintain its integrity when Will was around. Now, without its “captain,” its very soul, the party was less than scattered sand—merely a shell of a name.

But they pressed on, step by step, towards the deepest part of this deserted dungeon.

The setting sun, in sync with the outside world, hung at the edge of the desert, casting their long shadows on the sand. Their footsteps were buried by a gust of wind.

—Why did we come to this dungeon?

Leah lifted her hat slightly, looking at the setting sun, asking herself.

—Why did we want to clear it ourselves?

Treya looked down at her hand, gripping the hilt of her sword, asking herself.

—Why do we keep moving forward?

Eir stared at the “gate” to the next floor at the end of the desert, asking herself.

They seemed to hold onto a sliver of hope… that even if he was gone, perhaps… the “Morning Star,” which held so many memories of him, could still fight as before, could still be preserved…

Hope?

…

Fifth Floor.

A three-story tall sandcastle monster revealed its claws, raising its sandy hands to crush the three below.

“Blazing Inferno, Third Power Form.”

Leah extended her hand, raising the “Staff of Ancient Flame.” The Blazing Inferno shot from the center of the staff, striking the sandcastle’s “eye” with precision, instantly reducing it to a pile of sand.

Such a thing was easy for her.

She held her staff, feeling the sand rain down on her large witch’s hat. She remembered something Will had once told her.

—”Teacher Leah. I certainly believe your firepower is the strongest. But, the strongest firepower should also be used in the most appropriate place.”
—”Simply put, if our party encounters a monster where you need to destroy its core, we can only rely on you.”
—”Bang! Boom! Use your magic and make their cores disappear!”

She smiled.

She habitually looked to her side, where Will should have been standing.

See? It’s so simple, so easy. For a witch like her, this is nothing.

So, praise her, acknowledge her, look at her!

She was now a capable mage, a reliable damage dealer in the party.

The wind and sand blew past her. She turned her head…

That spot was empty.

Eir and Treya were both melee fighters who needed to be at the front. The Morning Star had always been her and Will at the back, as ranged attackers.

Now, she was alone in that position.

Come to think of it, as an adventurer party, the Morning Star hadn’t experienced many battles, but… why had she gotten so used to it?

It was a difficult question. After all… as a “human,” he was just a small part of her long life, those three years fleeting…

Her thumb caressed her left ring finger, where she wore Will’s ring alongside her own, feeling the metal of the two rings resting against each other.

But now, those memories kept flooding back.

…

Fifteenth Floor.

A red scorpion suddenly burst from the sand, its segmented tail whipping across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Treya moved swiftly across the sand, easily dodging all of the scorpion’s attacks. She drew her sword, leaping from its front to its back.

“Slash.”

The giant scorpion was cut in half, its blood splattering in a long line on the ground. She slid a long step on the soft sand, her blood-stained sword leaving a mark.

She glanced back. The suddenly appearing, highly threatening red scorpion was now dead.

—”Because your agility and flexibility are the highest, if we encounter a surprise monster, we’ll have to rely on you to react first and take it out.”
—”No need to overthink, no need to wait for my command. Just rely on your own intuition and take it out in one blow.”
—”Don’t worry, I trust your combat sense.”

Treya spun her sword in her hand, then sheathed it.

She looked up, towards the spot where the party’s priest would stand. Every time she killed a monster, she would receive an approving look and a nod from that spot.

But, all that was gone.

That place was empty. No one would nod and smile at her anymore.

Treya froze for a moment, then touched the white earring on her other ear, her mood calming slightly.

Rarely… she felt “emptiness.” Since she first met Will, she hadn’t felt such an emotion for a long, long time.

…

Twenty-fifth Floor.

A giant cactus blocked the path, its body covered in countless needles. It swelled and swelled, until all its needles shot out.

Eir took a deep breath, planting her shield in the ground, a high wall rising from its base.

“Rimefrost Phalanx: Sky.”

The needles falling from the sky were all blocked by the ice wall she had created. She looked up, watching Leah’s light and Treya’s blade directly destroy the cactus.

—”That’s right. Though it sounds heavy…”
—”…in battle, our lives are in your hands. Although you can’t deal direct damage, you’re an indispensable support.”
—”Especially for a fragile priest like me. I’d be done for without you.”

Eir smiled contentedly and turned, her maid dress twirling, her tail wagging happily.

“Young Master, now you don’t have to be afraid…”

Then, behind her—where Will should have been—she saw nothing. The familiar routine, in that moment, was gone.

Eir looked down, her left hand touching the collar on her right wrist—she had put the collar Will had taken off there.

What was she to do now? The “mission” of guarding him since birth seemed to have been stripped away. She had come here for revenge, so she should have accepted this outcome. But now, she only felt so sad.

…

Thirtieth Floor.

“Ahem… if I remember correctly, this area should be off-limits to other adventurers. You guys…”

When they arrived, it seemed the “Radiant Knights,” who had entered a little earlier, had just arrived and were about to fight the Empress of Dustbone Corridor—the Sand Queen. But they were interrupted.

“Sorry, excuse us. We’ll take it from here.”

Eir blocked their path with her shield.

“You can just watch from the side.”

Leah raised her staff, looking at the monster before them.

“Anyway, do you recognize this? This place is now under the jurisdiction of the royal family.”

Treya took out the classic royal family crest and walked past them.

And then…

The three of them faced the Sand Queen, who was riding a pyramid-shaped chariot, and began a “subjugation” with a calmness that bordered on ruthlessness.

On the dark desert under the setting sun, the Sand Queen shed her “human” form, her feet turning to sand, eventually merging with all the sand on the ground. After she finished her “BOSS” introduction, Eir, Leah, and Treya began a new “attack.”

Eir precisely sealed the Sand Queen’s escape route with her ice wall, a wall that extended dozens of meters underground, even blocking her ability to move through the sand!

—”If we encounter a BOSS that’s very agile, we’ll have to rely on you to control its path.”

Leah’s light was already aimed at the Sand Queen’s heart. The instantaneous burst of fire blasted a hole in her heart, which controlled her sand manipulation powers.

—”Teacher Leah, after Eir has controlled the enemy, it’s your time to unleash your firepower. This is the key to our victory.”

Treya quickly pressed forward from the rear, cutting off her head with the fastest sword technique.

—”Treya, Teacher Leah will definitely create an opening. It’s up to you to hold the BOSS and deliver the final blow.”

…

It didn’t feel like a “BOSS subjugation.” Anyone who saw their fight would think so. It was more like an “venting of anger.” An “venting of anger” for an unknown reason. Complete control with no room for escape, the strongest firepower, and a flurry of slashes. The further they fought, the less restrained they became, just wanting to use all their skills to show their anger.

But…

One could see something was missing in their fight.

A Holy Shield without someone to protect.
A mage without any buffs.
A swordswoman with unhealed wounds.

The three of them were fighting as if “someone” were still there.

Finally…

On the moonlit desert, they stood, looking down at the loot on the ground. With the sound of the dungeon being “cleared,” their revenge-like venting finally ended. And then, in the desolate desert, they finally realized…

Will was dead.

And “Morning Star” was truly a team built around him.

Without him, every battle had an unfillable void. Even clearing this place couldn’t bring back the past, and they had to face a future without him.

No amount of “revenge” or “venting” could piece together the now-defunct “Starting Star”—

“Let’s end it here.”

Eir spoke first.

“…You all felt it too, right?”

Leah laughed self-deprecatingly.

“Yes. We… go our separate ways.”

Treya nodded.

—