68 (6)Messiah's path

Everyone was horrified! Hulk didn't even have the chance to defend himself, but had died in an instant!

The group would have to change their strategy completely if they wanted to pass this boss. Simple combat wouldn't work. Everyone began debating the best way to solve the problem, but nobody could agree with one another.

But after ten minutes of arguing, Lotus called for everyone to be quiet. "Everybody, do you hear that?"

The strange, heavy sound of giant paws thumping came from far behind them, from the direction they had just come!

Lotus looked pale. "Something is destroying my beacons, and it's getting closer!"

Apophis replied, "We don't have time to debate anymore! I'll tank this new monster with my Susanoo. Chocolate, get ready to heal me. Everyone else, prepare to fight!"

But even as Apophis spoke, a pure black shadow fifteen meters high loomed in the fog! The idea of fighting this creature was absurd. Surely, this was an obstacle designed to force them to approach the bridge.

What were they supposed to do? They had an unbeatable enemy in front of them and another one behind! Apophis nodded, making his voice ring with authority. "Okay, we have no choice but to cross the bridge! If not, we're dead!"

Chocolate said, "I'll see if the Guardian's next question is any easier!" She approached the boss. "I await your question, Guardian!"

The boss answered, "What is the name of the Prophet?"

Chocolate, confused, made a wild guess. "Jesus!"

With the hiss of his blade, the boss lopped off Chocolate's head.

System: Party member "Chocolate" has died. Player "Chocolate" has left your guild "Eclipse." Player "Chocolate" has left your friend list.

Now, only Apophis, Lotus, and White remained. Was there any possibility that they'd succeed where their allies had failed?

White said, "Well, thank you for what you've done for us, Apophis! I won't forget it. We should meet up again after making new characters. It sure sucks that we all have to go back to grinding levels on Era, though." Then White did the same as Chocolate had, approaching the boss and saying, "I await your question, Guardian!"

The boss answered, "When was the Prophet of Truth born?"

Rather than answering, White drew her plasma rifle and shot the guardian in the forehead. She inflicted no damage, and a moment later…

System: Party member "White" has died. Player "White" has left your guild "Eclipse." Player "White" has left your friend list.

Behind them, the shadow of the giant pierced the fog—it was a stone colossus!

╔══════════════╕ 

╟─╼ ELITE MONSTER 

║ ╰╼[Name]: The Great Cleaner

║ ╰╼[LvL]: ??? 

║ ╰╼[Rank]: ???

╚══════════════╛

Lotus said, "Despite everything that I said before… I truly don't blame you, Alexander." They'd exchanged information out of game, of course, but this was the first time that she'd ever called him by his first name in this life. "You have created something very special in this game. I do not want you to think that I'm ungrateful. When we meet again with our new characters… I will continue to fight by your side until we are both as strong again as we are now."

Tears of gratitude came to Apophis's eyes when he heard these words. He was shocked at his own emotion. The confidence and trust in Lotus's voice was nothing like he'd ever heard before, not in his first life or in this one. Her voice had neither flirtatiousness nor admiration in it, as it had previously. She was, for the first time ever, speaking to him as an equal—nothing more or less.

"I'm so sorry I got you into this, Emma!" Apophis said in a hurried voice. "I should've shown more humility. Now, because of me, we're going to lose everything!"

Lotus replied, "Don't worry, you're not responsible! We all accepted the risk of doing the Dungeon in IronMan mode. The choice was ours, and we have accepted the consequences. You'd better not give up on Horus completely, Alexander, just because you ran into a little trouble. I'll never forgive you if you do!"

She embraced Apophis, then stepped in front of the Guardian.

"What is the name of the holy book written by the Prophet?" it asked in its hissing voice.

Lotus didn't bother answering, but only turned to Apophis and gave him a farewell smile.

The Guardian punished her failure to answer.

System: Party member "Lotus" has died. Player "Lotus" has left your guild "Eclipse." Player "Lotus" has left your friend list.

The stone colossus was now only about a hundred meters behind Apophis. He needed to either advance or die.

So he summoned his courage and stepped forward. "I'll hear your question, Guardian!"

It answered, "Do you have faith in the Prophet of Truth?"

Apophis was surprised at the simplicity of the question. The first word that came to his mind was obviously "Yes," but this seemed like an obvious trap!

Apophis asked his Soul, "Do you have an opinion on the matter, Enclabossa?"

It whispered back to him, "No, My Lord. I am sorry."

Apophis thought back across the whole Dungeon and the questions each team member had been given.

One thing quickly became clear. The Dungeon was intended for players between Levels 10 and 20, ones who had just unlocked space travel and would have no idea what any of the lore of Horus was.

But then, even Apophis, with his many years of experience in the game, didn't know what these questions meant. Surely the answers were supposed to be philosophical, rather than mere trivia!

Apophis summoned all his courage and said, "No, I don't have faith in the Prophet of Truth! I don't know this prophet at all! I don't even have any proof that it exists!"

The Guardian barely reacted. "The Prophet of Truth proclaims the truth which all mortals must believe."

Apophis's heart skipped a beat. The boss had responded to his words, rather than just killing him! So this was the proper way forward, after all, to stick to his convictions instead of just trying to guess the right answer! "I'll say it again! I don't believe in your prophet. This world is only full of facts and interpretations. I'm not letting any prophet tell me what the truth is supposed to be! To me, your god and your prophet don't exist!"

There was a long moment of silence.

"In the coming days, do not allow yourself to be fooled by your skepticism, Mortal," said the boss. "The truth exists whether you believe in it or not. Yet no creature who is content to allow another to define the truth for them can see it clearly. You alone may pass."

Then the Guardian of Truth vanished… leaving the bridge unguarded.