The Descent

“…”

Silence. And then more silence.

Even the Pink Bear, who prided himself on having seen all sorts of strange things in the world, was a little at a loss. He had killed plenty of fanatical cultists in his time, but this was the first time he had seen one switch sides and surrender. What was he supposed to do?

“Don’t you believe me, boss?”

Seeing the Pink Bear’s silence, the scarred man thought he was being distrusted. So he picked up his greatsword again, walked over to the withered figure he had kicked away, raised his sword, and with a series of slashes, he chopped him up some more.

The way he swung the sword, with such ruthless precision, made one wonder if the withered figure had killed his entire family. But in fact, this was the first time the two had met, and just a short while ago, they had been allies.

“Stop, stop, that’s enough.”

Seeing that the withered figure was about to be turned into fine mince, the Pink Bear finally couldn’t help but call a halt. “I’ll believe you for now. Stop chopping. If you chop him up that fine, it’ll be a real pain to clean up later.”

“Really?”

The scarred man was overjoyed. He immediately trotted over to the Pink Bear and grabbed his hand, shaking it vigorously. “Thank you, boss! Thank you! Your kindness to me is like that of a second parent! It’s like…”

“Stop, enough…”

The Pink Bear disgustedly pulled back his bear paw and glanced at the scarred man. “Let me be clear. I don’t completely trust you. I’m just sparing your life for now. If you make any strange moves, I will immediately…”

“Huh?”

As if he had just discovered something, the Pink Bear suddenly grabbed the scarred man’s shoulder and seemed to be feeling for something.

A moment later, he said in astonishment, “You’re not corrupted by an Evil God?”

“Eh? Evil God corruption? What do you mean?”

“You’re not a believer of that disgusting God of Love?”

“God of Love?”

The scarred man scratched his head in confusion. A moment later, as if he had just remembered something, he said with a look of enlightenment, “You mean the one the High Priest was always talking about and making us worship every day? Why would I believe in Him? He doesn’t pay me.”

“But if you’re not a believer of the God of Love, why were you with those bastards?”

“Oh, that. I was just wandering the streets when I saw them handing out flyers. They said they could help me find my true love, so I went.”

At this, a look of anger appeared on the scarred man’s face. “And now I realize they’re just a bunch of liars! After I went in, they made me memorize some holy scripture, held some kind of trial meeting, and now they’ve even made me do something as dangerous as invading the academy! But I still haven’t found my true love!”

The Pink Bear was even more shocked. “You went to the Evil God’s den, and you still have a choice whether to believe or not?”

“Wait a minute. Don’t tell me…” The Pink Bear suddenly remembered something. He stroked his chin and carefully examined the scarred man. “You don’t have a single trace of twisted love in your heart? So the Evil God’s temptation has no effect on you?”

“What twisted love!” The scarred man roared in anger. “Even a boss like you can’t just defile my pure feelings like that! It’s true love!”

“…”

The Pink Bear was silent for a moment, then he suddenly asked, “I remember that so-called True Love Cult is that famous gay cult in Belland, right?”

“That’s right. It’s gay. Why else would I join them?”

“If I may be so bold as to ask, your true love…”

“It’s him!”

The scarred man suddenly pulled out a portrait from behind him and unfurled it in front of the Pink Bear, a happy blush on his face.

“He’s the man I’ll marry and take home to be my bandit bride sooner or later.”

“…This is…”

The Pink Bear leaned in and looked at the lifelike, handsome, golden-haired man in the portrait, a hint of confusion on his face. “Strange, this person looks very familiar. I think he’s that famous boy in the academy, and he seems to have some connection to Celicia…”

With that, the Pink Bear looked at the scarred man, who was blushing like a young maiden, and a grin spread across his bear mouth. “I think… I’ve just discovered something very interesting.”

“Um, boss, do you know him?” The scarred man’s eyes lit up. “His name is Ewan Campbell. Do you know where he is?”

“Well…”

The Pink Bear’s smile was full of a strange meaning. He patted the scarred man’s shoulder and said, “If you work hard for me, you’ll meet your true love sooner or later.”

“Yes, sir!”

The scarred man immediately puffed out his chest, looking like a loyal lackey.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“Corran.”

“Alright, Corran. First, go and clean up the floor.”

“Understood!”

Corran took the tools that the Pink Bear had pulled out of its black-hole-like mouth and trotted over to the withered figure’s corpse, preparing to clean up the remains.

But just as he was about to start, he suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold.

It was as if he were being watched by a pair of malicious eyes.

Corran subconsciously turned his head and saw that the withered figure’s head was still intact. And it wasn’t dead. It was staring at him with a cold, sinister gaze.

“What the hell? What’s going on?”

Corran was startled and instinctively reached for his greatsword, ready to chop it up some more.

But just then, he heard a sharp cry.

“Duck!”

Without a second thought, Corran followed the command and ducked.

A gust of wind blew past his head, making his scalp tingle.

And the Pink Bear had, at some point, appeared beside the withered figure, raising the spiked club in its hand—and smashing it down.

In an instant, half of the withered figure’s head was smashed to a pulp, red and white matter splattering everywhere, a disgusting sight. But the other half of his head was still alive, and it turned to the Pink Bear with a mocking gaze.

“Hehe… it’s too late… actually… just by my being here… and confirming the existence of that thing… it was enough…”

The withered figure’s half-mouth twisted into a grin, and he let out a piercing, metallic sound, a fanatical cry. “The moon… is eternal!”

In an instant.

The little bit of blood that had flowed from the withered figure’s shattered body suddenly began to writhe on its own, and then it coalesced into a strange pattern.

At the same time, the lantern that had been strangely forgotten by the scarred man and the Pink Bear appeared beside the pattern.

The light on the lantern suddenly went out, and a pale blue light emanated from the pattern, like moonlight, giving it a deathly silence and a cold chill.

The blue moonlight flickered rhythmically, as if it were communicating with some distant entity.

“This is… a coordinate for the Evil God’s positioning?”

The Pink Bear’s pupils shrank. He no longer cared about anything else. He smashed his spiked club down, shattering the pattern and the ground around it.

But it seemed, just as the withered figure had said, that it was too late.

Not even caring to imagine how angry Professor Planck would be at him for smashing such a huge hole in the floor made of rare metals, the Pink Bear looked up in horror.

Even through the hundreds of meters of thick rock above him, the Pink Bear could feel it. In the infinite sky above, a terrifying entity was slowly turning its gaze toward this place.

The gaze was so terrifying, as if it were an absolute suppression on a life-form level. Even from an infinite distance, it made the Pink Bear’s soul tremble.

In the sky above, a huge, blue moon hung high.

“What the hell, what the hell? There’s really a plan C?”

Corran, who had also felt something, his face instantly turned pale. He began to wonder if his quick change of sides had been a mistake. He didn’t know if he could switch sides again, if that big boss called something-moon would forgive him.

“Wait.”

Not caring about Corran’s little thoughts, as if he had sensed something else, the Pink Bear once again turned his head and looked in another direction.

That direction was… the student dormitories!

And his tone was even more grave.

“Don’t tell me… there’s more than one?”