I Became a Mythical-Tier Tamer Due To A System Error Chapter 93

♬~ ♩~.

Angela had once let me hear that organ sound.

As I went deeper inside, it rang out even clearer.

In this darkness, only a small candlestick faintly illuminated the surroundings.

‘It should be fine if I take this.’

I held the candlestick in my left hand and walked through the corridor.

I walked on the endlessly stretched red carpet while glancing around.

‘……It doesn’t feel like a monastery anymore.’

A place completely engulfed by Black Mana.

A dungeon created from suppressed desires and emotions exploding all at once.

At its center, Angela would be there.

Fwoosh―!

I stopped walking and stretched out the candlestick I held forward.

The path split into three; in front was a large lobby and the priest’s quarters, to the right a passage hidden in darkness, and to the left a staircase leading up to the second-floor main chapel.

Looking at the scenery around me, I recalled the strategy for the Briarflower Monastery.

‘The first floor had a mid-boss, and the second floor had the main boss.’

If I defeated the boss on the second floor, all the Black Mana in the monastery would be dispelled……

I shone the candlelight toward the left staircase leading up.

The staircase was completely blocked with briar thorns, making it look impossible to climb.

‘What if I cut them down.’

I swung my sword, but in the blink of an eye the briars regenerated.

Even burning them with Hwayo’s power was the same.

The briars blocking the staircase endlessly revived.

‘As expected, I have to defeat the mid-boss first.’

I turned my gaze to the passage on the right.

At the end of that passage was an exhibition gallery structured like a maze.

As the name gallery implied, it was a place displaying various artworks.

I took a closer look at it.

The gallery was decorated with a modern sense of aesthetics.

A sleek and simple corridor stretched ahead.

It was a landscape entirely detached from the medieval monastery image.

‘Art, huh…….’

When I had visited the monastery a few days ago, this so-called ‘gallery’ displaying artworks hadn’t existed.

Most likely, it was a space shaped under the influence of ‘a certain person’ who had contributed to Angela’s corruption.

‘I remember there being a main episode later where we cleared a dungeon related to art.’

I was able to glimpse it beforehand.

I stepped toward the unfamiliar corridor.

Before long, I reached the maze-shaped gallery.

Each maze was filled with incomprehensible art pieces.

A fish doll that had escaped an aquarium, a hanging noose dangling from the ceiling, an inverted cross, and old framed paintings were there.

Inside the frame’s painting, there was nothing but a desolate field with not a single figure.

The moment I saw it, I pressed down on it with my Flame Sword.

“Grrraaaah……!”

The burning painting let out a death cry before turning into black ash.

‘Right, there was this jump-scare part.’

If I hadn’t struck first, a headless ghost would have leapt out of the painting and attacked with a chain scythe.

‘This place is full of traps, so without knowing the strategy, one would have a hard time.’

But the strategy was all in my head.

Recalling it, I destroyed all the traps like the framed painting without wasting a step, and managed to reach the end of the maze.

It was a large room made entirely of white walls.

And there……

♩~ ♪~.

Small statues were singing hymns in tune with the organ sound.

“Angela is diligent~♩”

“The one most fitting to be Saintess is Angela~♪”

The statues in the form of nuns were praising Angela instead of the Goddess.

From behind the small choir statues, something massive appeared.

It was about two meters tall.

Like an idol, it was a huge statue identical to Angela.

Even the posture of holding both hands in prayer and smiling kindly was the same.

That figure almost looked like it was staring right at me.

‘Since that’s completely stone, it won’t match well with Hwayo.’

Flame attacks wouldn’t work on a statue at all.

I placed the Heart of Ilawne inside my chest.

As I unfolded subspace, I glared at the thing.

‘If I face that lump of stone with the Titanium Sword, my stamina will be drained too much.’

It would probably take heavy damage, maybe even break.

So I chose a substitute.

‘This wasn’t something I had prepared to use as a weapon, but somehow I’m ending up using it.’

I gripped an industrial hammer and confronted it.

‘Its reach is short, and it’s not even a proper weapon…….’

In battle, attack range is an extremely important factor.

The hammer I held was nothing special, just an ordinary hammer made for driving nails.

Against other monsters or dangerous figures, it held little to no value as a combat weapon.

‘But right now, this hammer should be perfect for that thing.’

As I gripped the iron hammer tightly, darkness wrapped around it.

Just as in the strategy, I waited for the statue to make the first move.

Flash―!

Angela’s statue sprang up from its place.

Thud―!

I avoided its crushing strike with a backstep.

‘It’s half a beat faster.’

It wasn’t the natural movement born from weight and gravity.

‘It feels more like someone is lifting the statue and slamming it down.’

The speed of its ground strike was unnaturally fast.

Thud―! Thud―! Thud―!

I kept dodging with forward rolls again and again.

Thud―! Crack―!

The statue’s body sank slightly into the ground and couldn’t lift itself.

This was its only damage-window pattern.

Not missing the moment, I swung the hammer at the statue.

Smash―!

As expected, striking the stone with a hammer instead of a sword was the right answer.

Even though it was a plain hammer, I succeeded in dealing damage to the massive statue.

The only flaw was that the hammer was far too small.

‘Even if it’s just a mid-boss, it’s annoyingly sturdy.’

In the game, using a massive hammer weapon, one or two hits would have been enough.

But compared to professional blunt weapons, the industrial hammer was much smaller.

Even strengthened with Shurk’s power, I would still need to swing it several more times to break it.

Smash―! Smash―!

After quickly dodging, I repeated the pattern of attacking whenever the statue got stuck in the ground.

Soon the cracked statue grew unstable.

‘I can see it.’

My eyes caught the weakest-looking spot.

I brought the hammer down on it.

Crunch―!

The stone shattered weakly.

Thud―! Rumble……

The statue broke into hundreds of fragments and collapsed completely.

The choir statues stopped their praise, and the statue’s shattered body no longer moved.

Step, step……

I walked toward the fallen statue.

It kept smiling silently without revealing what was inside.

Once I smashed it apart…… the ‘hidden thing’ inside Angela’s statue revealed itself.

Between the fragments, I picked up something.

A rectangular-shaped box.

When I opened the lid, there was a long iron rod inside.

Next to it, I also saw a small winding key.

‘……A music box.’

As I stared at it intently, a hologram appeared.

Angela’s Heart

An old music box.

This wooden box was the only means of peering into Angela’s thoughts.

‘In the game, it wasn’t specifically depicted, but let’s see how it is now.’

Creak―, creak―.

I turned the music box’s winding key.

“I…….”

Instead of a beautiful melody, Angela’s voice flowed out of the music box.

“I wanted to become a Saintess. I worked harder than anyone else.”

Hearing the voice, I recalled Angela’s settings I had seen in the strategy guide.

“Did my efforts pay off? Soon, everyone began to acknowledge my conduct and looked up to me.”

When looking at her portrait in the game, Angela appeared to be the kindest and most benevolent among all characters.

But that was only her outward appearance.

To be blunt, Angela was not truly a devout nun.

“To be honest…… receiving gazes of respect was the first sense of accomplishment I ever felt, and it was my only pleasure.”

Rather than approaching God, she pursued virtuous deeds and exemplary behavior simply to achieve the goal of becoming the Saintess.

As a nun forbidden from all pleasures, Angela had tried to gain satisfaction by at least earning recognition from those around her.

“At some point, rumors spread that this year’s Saintess would definitely be me, Angela. But…….”

From the music box came Angela’s voice, sounding like she was forcing out each word.

“……I was not satisfied. I sought an even more certain way to become the Saintess.”

As the Saintess Succession Ceremony drew near, I pictured Angela taking on all kinds of tasks.

“Ah, that day…… I thought it was God who helped me. As long as I succeeded, it was certain I would become the Saintess.”

I now sensed that the reason Angela had entered the path of corruption would finally be revealed.

I focused and listened closely.

“That method was…….”

Hearing the story that followed, I sat quietly for a long while.

I left the gallery and stood before the staircase leading to the second-floor chapel.

‘They’re all gone.’

The briar thorns had melted away, and the staircase appeared in its usual state.

Creak― creak―

As I climbed the stairs, I took out the Heart of Ilawne from my chest.

After a short deep breath, I stepped into the vast second-floor chapel.

This was the source of the organ accompaniment that had been echoing endlessly.

The sound now rang louder and more magnificent.

For me, this was the third time seeing this place directly.

The first was during the Victory Festival incident.

The second was when Angela introduced it.

And now, the sight of the chapel…… gave me chills.

‘So this is where they all were.’

A grotesque atmosphere.

Countless nuns had lost consciousness and sat in the pews.

And then……

‘As expected.’

My eyes immediately caught the large cross on the altar.

Hanging there was a girl in a nun’s habit, with shimmering golden bobbed hair.

It was none other than Dana Arowell, who had become the Saintess.

She appeared unconscious, eyes closed.

On her head was a crown woven from briar thorns, and her arms were bound to the cross.

And beneath the cross……

“Let us pray!”

stood the dungeon’s main boss.

It was a monster wearing a necklace around its neck.

Though dressed like a nun, it was by no means human.

Its height was about three meters.

Its back hunched, and its torso was unnaturally large.

Its twisted body was nothing like that of a person.

‘How grotesque. I’ve seen something like that in an art book before.’

A collage technique.

All kinds of petals, candlesticks, Bible pages, and organ keys were plastered across its face and body.

“So that our voices may reach God, let us worship with sincere hearts!”

Despite its horrific appearance, the monster acted like a benevolent Saintess.

“I am Angela, the 87th Saintess of Briarflower Monastery!”

At that moment, the monster called itself ‘Angela.’

There was no doubt the corrupted Angela dwelled inside that hideous creature.

Angela’s once-beautiful voice was twisted into something that made me frown.

“Everyone, let us pray-!”

Had it noticed my gaze?

Angela’s eyes belatedly turned toward me.

“Who are you? You…… look terribly wicked.”

Angela stepped cautiously toward me, one step at a time.

As if she were an owl, her neck twisted 180 degrees.

“Ah! Aah!”

Suddenly, Angela let out an exclamation and began jumping like a child.

Each time she leapt, thud! thud! the floor shook.

“Have you come to repent, by any chance? Ah, then it is such a great blessing!”

Angela grinned hideously and revealed her long claws.

“Come, let us repent with flowing blood!”

Bang―!

And she sprang from her place, leaping straight toward me.