The Barbarian of the Count’s Family Is Too Strong

Chapter 25: A Sinister Presence (1)

The dungeon was eerily silent.

The moonlight, dampened by passing clouds, cast a dim glow over the entrance.

It was neither particularly large nor small—a mid-sized dungeon at best.

Baekun gripped his staff tightly, stepping forward with careful deliberation.

But Agron, Elena, and Jacob showed no such caution.

Whether it was bravery or simple dullness, they advanced without a shred of hesitation.

“Agron, dungeons are dangerous places. You should be more cautious.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, ‘why’? Dungeons are filled with traps.”

“Then I’ll just avoid them.”

“There are bolt-firing mechanisms, too.”

“I’ll block them.”

“There are monsters—”

“I’ll kill them.”

“……”

Baekun felt his grip tighten involuntarily on his staff.

One day, I swear, I’m going to smack that smug mouth of his!

Of course, Agron had no ill intentions.

“Hm, there’s a trap to the right.”

“Yes, I see it too, Master.”

“I will confirm it!”

At Agron’s words, Elena nodded, and Jacob immediately stepped forward to inspect the trap.

Jacob had experience as a scout and tracker, skills he had honed to ensure Elena’s safety.

“Confirmed. If triggered, it sprays sulfuric acid.”

Jacob deftly disabled the trap using a knife and a special tree sap he had brought along.

“Agron, have you explored dungeons before? You spotted that trap with ease.”

Baekun asked, intrigued.

This wasn’t something one could simply read about in books and recognize immediately.

“There are many abandoned dungeons in Snowridge Labyrinth.”

“You’ve entered them before…?”

“Yes. All of them.”

Agron answered matter-of-factly.

“Wait, Snowridge Labyrinth, Master?”

Elena’s jewel-like eyes widened in shock.

“I never mentioned it? I am from the Winter Wardens tribe of Snowridge Labyrinth.”

“You mean that Demonic Realm?!”

“There are tribes there?”

Elena and Jacob were equally incredulous.

Most people believed Snowridge Labyrinth was a white hell, inhabited solely by massive beasts.

If Agron claimed to be from a northern tribe, they might assume he came from some obscure settlement near the labyrinth—but no one would ever guess he had lived inside the Demonic Realm itself.

“That’s right. Though, for some reason, people insist on calling it a ‘Demonic Realm.’”

“I always thought only dragons or similar creatures lived there….”

“Master, you are truly incredible! This Elena Rosetti has once again grown even more devoted to you!”

Jacob, like most, was shocked that Agron had come from the Demonic Realm.

But Elena, who actually knew about the beings that lived there, only became more reverent of Agron’s strength.

“Elena, do you know of the tribes in Snowridge Labyrinth?”

Agron asked.

Elena smiled proudly.

“Yes, Master. Long ago, I traveled through various Demonic Realms across the continent. That’s when I first learned of the tribes within Snowridge Labyrinth.”

“Oh—how interesting. What did you think of them?”

“Master, I can say with certainty that the warriors of that land were formidable. They were stronger than the famed knights of kingdoms and empires, and they called themselves warriors without the slightest hesitation.”

Agron, for the first time, looked genuinely pleased as he smiled at her.

“I appreciate the compliment, Elena.”

“I am overjoyed simply to see Master smile!”

“Ahem, perhaps we should save the romance for after we complete our mission.”

“Iiik! Do not ruin this moment with Master, brat!”

Elena glared daggers at Baekun.

At that moment, Jacob, leading at the front, raised a hand to signal a halt.

“I sense something.”

From the depths of the cave, a group of people staggered toward them.

“What a bizarre sight.”

Baekun muttered, pulling out a talisman from his sleeve.

Their vacant eyes, drooling mouths, and guttural growls revealed what they were.

“What are those?”

“They’re Jiangshi—or, as they’re called here, zombies.”

Baekun clicked his tongue and threw the talisman forward.

Fwoosh!

The zombies caught in the talisman’s glow erupted into flames, shrieking as they collapsed.

The stench was vile, and the sight was repulsive.

“I will take care of these filthy creatures!”

Jacob darted forward, slashing through zombie necks with his knives.

The undead clawed at him desperately, but he was too fast.

Their erratic movements made it difficult for Baekun to target them, but thanks to Jacob’s diversion, he was able to continue casting from a safe distance.

“……”

However, Agron’s gaze was fixed beyond the zombies—on two figures emanating an ominous aura.

One man, one woman.

“Both are mages, Master.”

Elena whispered.

The two standing behind the horde noticed Agron and Elena’s focus and spoke.

“Hey! These aren’t just regular adventurers.”

“Felipe, that idiot. He said we just had to capture the woman separately.”

“I thought this would be simple, so I didn’t even bring enough corpses… What now? My babies are getting slaughtered!”

“No choice. There are too many of them. We’ll have to split them up. Hold on to my robe.”

The male mage placed his hands on the ground.

Immediately, the cave trembled as stones from the ceiling and floor surged like a tidal wave.

Rumble! Rumble!

As the rocky tide swallowed them, the party cried out.

“M-Master!”

“Agron!”

But their voices never reached each other.

The rocks crashed down, separating them completely and scattering them into different areas.

***

“Ugh….”

Elena staggered to her feet.

Her vision swam, but at least she hadn’t lost consciousness.

This is why magic, spirits, and demons should never be trusted.

The moment she regained her balance, she immediately searched for Agron.

“I can’t sense him.”

If he were nearby, she would have been able to pick up the comforting scent of his blood—but she smelled nothing.

Whether it was due to distance or the overwhelming magical interference in the air, she couldn’t tell.

Eyes blazing with determination, she started walking.

The darkness around her was suffocating, but as a Vampir, she had no trouble navigating.

The cave was a labyrinth.

Some sections were so narrow that a single person could barely pass through, while others required leaps too high for an average human.

It was clearly designed to prevent captives from escaping.

“…Someone is here.”

Elena halted, focusing on the sound.

It was faint, like the rustling of an ant swarm, but her heightened senses caught it.

“It’s not Master. Not Jacob or the brat either.”

Stealthily, she glided through the shadows toward the source of the murmuring voices.

After running for some time—

“…What is this?”

Elena arrived at the source of the noise and immediately scowled at the sight before her.

A vast cavern, several times larger than the one she had been trapped in.

And at its center—an enormous magic circle, large as a house.

“That’s a summoning ritual.”

A closer look revealed dozens of figures seated in a circle, chanting in eerie unison.

The murmuring she had heard was their incantation.

“Wait… this chant…”

Elena’s crimson eyes narrowed in disgust.

Even as a Vampir, the very sound of the ritual sent shivers down her spine.

“These lunatics… They’re summoning something that should never be called.”

A scoff escaped her lips.

She could understand why they had tried to revive Jacob before.

If they had begged and groveled, someone like Jacob might have looked upon them with mild amusement.

But that being was different.

“There! The woman got out!”

Someone had spotted her and shouted an alarm.

A dozen burly men, weapons in hand, rushed toward her.

“Whew, so that old pig was making such a fuss over you… You’re even prettier than I expected.”

“Damn it, she’s too good to just hand over to Lord Felipe.”

“Let’s just say she accidentally died and have our fun first.”

The men licked their lips, their eyes roaming over her body.

“Hah.”

Elena let out a breath that was neither quite a laugh nor a sigh.

She gathered power at her fingertips.

“Hey, you want to come quietly, or do you want to get beaten half to death first?”

One of the men grinned as he reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

“What, no answer—GUH!”

At that moment, a hole pierced through his forehead, sending a spray of blood forward.

“Huh…?”

“Good thing Master doesn’t have to see filth like you.”

The instant Elena finished speaking, the men around her suddenly collapsed, riddled with dozens of puncture wounds.

They died like insects—without so much as a proper scream.

Elena snapped her fingers.

The blood they had spilled rose into the air, merging into a massive, swirling mass.

“I wonder if Master will praise me if I clean this place up.”

She snapped her fingers again.

The blood scattered and reformed—into dozens of crimson spears.

BOOM!

“ARGHHH!”

“What the hell is this?!”

The chanting cultists shrieked as they were impaled.

And it wasn’t over.

Elena snapped her fingers once more.

The newly spilled blood added to the growing pool, forming an even larger mass.

She raised her hand, directing the lances to skewer every remaining figure in the chamber.

Blood sprayed. Screams rang out. The cavern became a slaughterhouse.

As Elena took a moment to admire her work, her gaze locked onto a single figure.

“Hm?”

One man remained alive.

He sat in the very center of the summoning circle—completely untouched by the chaos.

Elena lifted a finger and launched another blood spear at the old man sitting cross-legged, stark naked.

CLANG!

An invisible force blocked her attack.

Elena frowned.

“…What?”

“STOP YOUR ATTACKS!”

A voice suddenly shouted from a distance.

It was Baekun—being carried on Jacob’s back.

“You know him, brat?”

“Of course not! That’s a Barrier of Magic Absorption!”

Baekun leapt off Jacob’s back and hurried toward the summoning circle.

“What the hell is that?”

“It absorbs magical energy from attacks. This formation is incredibly intricate….”

“Can you break it, brat?”

“Hmph, I’m not a specialist in magic circles.”

“Then what are you good for?”

“……”

Baekun glared at her.

He was too old to stoop to childish insults.

“I’m a talisman master. Every mage, warlock, and witch has their specialty. Just analyzing another person’s spellwork is already a difficult task.”

“Hmph. So you’re saying you’re impressive?”

“…It’s a figure of speech.”

Baekun pulled out several dispel talismans and affixed them around the magic circle.

It was unclear whether they would work against something of this scale, but he had to try.

Just then, the naked old man in the center opened his eyes.

Though ancient, his gaze burned with fanaticism as he stared at Baekun and Elena.

“You’re too late, you pathetic creatures.”

His voice rang sharp and discordant, like a shattered string instrument.

“All of you here shall become offerings to Him. Khhuhuhuhu…”

Baekun stepped forward and demanded,

“What exactly is this fool trying to summon? If he’s a Vampir like you, Elena, perhaps we can talk some sense into him.”

“No… It’s not a Vampir. It’s something far worse—”

SQUELCH!

Suddenly, a black, grotesque arm burst from the old man’s stomach.

“Ugh… Ghhk!”

The old man convulsed violently, blood gushing from every orifice.

The owner of the blackened arm ripped its way out from the summoner’s body, drenched in gore, and stepped into the center of the magic circle.

『Krrrk…』

Its golden eyes burned like miniature suns.

Two sharp horns jutted from its forehead.

It flicked out a serpentine tongue, its bat-like wings unfurling behind it.

“…A demon.”

Baekun collapsed onto his rear, trembling.

『I am Death. The father of wandering wraiths.』

The demon stood amid the dripping, viscous blood, its gaze predatory—like a beast sizing up its prey.

“Ghh…!”

Elena bit her lip hard, then forged the pooled blood into a massive spear and hurled it at the demon.

──!

But the demon stopped it with a single finger.

Elena’s crimson eyes widened in horror.

『Child, I have bathed in the blood of Vampirs.』

The demon’s voice was like metal scraping against stone.

A mere sound, yet it sent a violent tremor through their skulls and churned their insides.

Baekun and Jacob felt bile rising in their throats.

Then, with a casual wave of its hand, the demon unleashed a storm of force.

BOOOOOOOM!

Elena, Baekun, and Jacob were sent flying—slamming against the cavern walls.

“Ghhak…!”

“D-Damn it… This is… impossible…!”

Jacob coughed up blood. Baekun, too, bled from his nose and mouth.

Elena, barely able to stand, pressed against the wall for support, glaring at the enemy.

If only my body were fully healed, I could have fought properly…!

No matter how fearsome a demon may be, this one had only just been born.

It had only been in the world for mere days—there was no way it should be strong enough to crush them effortlessly.

Just as despair and helplessness began to take hold—

“Hm? There you all are.”

—A familiar, yet terribly unwelcome voice rang out.

Elena’s expression turned pale.

“M-Master! Run away!”

“Agron! You can’t be here!”

Even Baekun, coughing up blood, shouted desperately.

But Agron ignored them and strode forward without hesitation.

“What a mess you’re all in. Old man, Elena, Jacob… You all look terrible.”

“Master! You must flee! Jacob and I will hold it off—just go!”

Elena was a warrior, bound by her honor.

She had sworn to serve her master.

If necessary, she would lay down her life to protect him.

『You reek of a witch’s stench.』

The demon flicked its serpentine tongue, fixing its blood-red eyes on Agron.

“What’s with this burned-out bastard?”

“N-No, Agron…! Just this once, listen to me…! Y-You must run!”

『Krrrkk… How amusing, nameless Barbaroi.』

The demon grinned, baring its razor-sharp white fangs—then unleashed a wave of killing intent.

Baekun, Jacob, even Elena collapsed under its pressure, clutching their chests.

『I will devour your entrails while you are still alive.』

The demon lunged, its claws aimed straight for Agron’s heart.

CRUNCH!

No—it tried to.

『—What?』

Agron had caught the demon’s arm mid-strike.

And now, with his cold, blue gaze, he stared the demon down.

『W-Why isn’t my attack working?!』

“You’re just a mass of magic energy. Sorry, but magic doesn’t work on me.”

In the next instant, Agron’s iron-clad fist smashed into the demon’s face.