Debuff Master-Chapter 1080

Chapter 1080
The atmosphere within the Allied Forces was solemn, even though they had won the battle.
Despite their triumph, their morale had taken a slight hit due to Beggarius' death. The soldiers of the Allied Forces marched in silence with black armbands wrapped around their left arms to mourn Beggarius.
Soon, they occupied the fortress abandoned by the Holy Alliance and regrouped.
Meanwhile, Siegfried was hard at work in the field hospital made from converted tents, tending to King Leonid and General Draculis. The two were gravely wounded, after all.
King Leonid’s condition was dire. He had lost so much blood that he couldn't recover his consciousness at all, but more critically, his internal organs were so badly damaged that it was a miracle that he hadn't died on the spot.
“...It won’t be easy. He will need long-term care," Saintess Janette said after administering emergency treatment.
“Will he survive?” Siegfried asked.
“He will. But... It will take him at least six months of complete rest to recover somewhat. Even after that, the aftereffects will be quite bad for at least a year or two.”
“
Ah...
”
Siegfried’s expression darkened.
If that was true, then it could be said that King Leonid had effectively lost his combat prowess.
‘
It’s a miracle he’s alive. Yeah, I should be grateful for that, at least,’
Siegfried thought.
Rather than lament King Leonid’s absence on the battlefield, Siegfried was relieved that the king would survive.
“Please take good care of him.”
“I will, Your Imperial Majesty,” Saintess Janette replied with a nod before moving King Leonid away.
Then, Siegfried turned his gaze and muttered, “And...
Eh?”
Draculis was sitting on a folding bed and receiving treatment from a medic inside the field hospital.
“General Draculis?”
“Yes, my lord?”
“You’re... completely fine?”
Siegfried looked dumbfounded as he scanned Draculis from head to tail.
The arm and tail that Draculis had lost had been reattached and could already be moved.
“Hold on, did you get some surgery on these? Was it successful?”
“We, Dragonkin, can just pick up our severed limbs and stick them back on.”
“
Haha... Hahaha...”
Siegfried laughed awkwardly, sounding bewildered. Then, he said, “I guess that’s certainly convenient.”
“It is, my lord.”
“Anyway, you’ve been through a lot. I’m really glad that you’re safe, General Draculis.”
“No, my lord. I suffered a disgraceful defeat at the enemy’s hands. I do not deserve my lord’s kind words.”
“That’s not true. The fact that you survived is already a win in itself.”
“But still...”
“Elder Beggarius fell in battle, and King Leonid is in critical condition. Just having you survive is already more than enough for me. Don’t blame yourself and wallow in self-pity, but rather, use this time to steel your resolve. After all, there’s still one more place for you to climb, no?”
“...Excuse me?”
“The realm of Grandmasters,” Siegfried said, pointing to the ceiling. Then, he added, “You just need to get stronger, right?”
“Such wise words, my lord!”
“Okay, for now, get some rest. You will need to recover before the next battle, got it?”
“As you command, sire!”
After encouraging Draculis, Siegfried began making rounds throughout the camp with Hamchi, checking in on the wounded soldiers.
‘
Ugh... This damned war...’
Siegfried grimaced at the brutality of it all.
It was then.
“Your Imperial Majesty! We have received a call, sire!”
“A call? From who?”
“It is from Sir Michael, sire.”
“
Oh?
Sure, I’ll be right there.”
Siegfried promptly made his way to the communication tent and took the call from Michael.
“Did something happen?” Siegfried asked.
— We have found another one of my wings.
“
Oh?
”
— And if you’re not busy, I’d like you to come right away.
“Yeah, I’m not busy right now. I’ll head there now.”
Siegfried actually welcomed the timing of the request. With the major battle over, he had about two or three days to himself as long as nothing unexpected occurred. If he could retrieve Michael’s wings during that time, then he'd obtain five additional levels.
Thus, there was no reason for him to hesitate.
“Let’s go, Hamchi.”
“
Kyuuu!
Let’s go, owner punk!”
And with that, Siegfried stepped into the warp gate and traveled to the region where Michael and Shakiro were waiting for him.
***
Michael and Shakiro were waiting for Siegfried in a small village located in the southern region of the continent.
“Hello.”
“There you are.”
Michael and Shakiro warmly welcomed Siegfried and Hamchi.
“How did the battle go? Let me guess, you won yet again?” Shakiro asked.
“Well...” Siegfried responded to the question by delivering the news of Beggarius' death.
“
Ah,
I see...” Shakiro muttered, his face hardening at the grim news.
He and Beggarius had been quite close. Back when he had been traveling the world in search of Herbert’s masterpiece, he had crossed paths with Beggarius several times, and through those encounters, they had developed a certain bond.
“I never thought... he would pass so suddenly,” Shakiro said, his voice heavy.
A friend he had known for so long had perished so abruptly, so how could it not hit him hard?
“Master Shakiro..." Siegfried looked at Shakiro and found himself reliving the sorrow he had felt when he found out that Beggarius had fallen.
Shakiro remained silent for a while before finally speaking again, “There was this thing he used to always tell me.”
“What did he say, Master?”
“That he was fated to die alone, with no place he could call home, and that he was destined to perish on the roadside as just another nameless beggar.”
“
Ah...
”
“But that wasn’t true, was it?” Shakiro said, smiling faintly. Then, he continued, “He hadn't died as a nameless beggar. He died as a hero of the Proatine Empire.”
“...!”
“I’m sure he has no regrets after dying the way he truly longed to die.”
There was conviction and certainty in Shakiro’s voice. He was confident that he knew Beggarius well enough. He was confident that the Beggar King actually held a deep resentment toward himself—a resentment that had been plaguing his heart throughout his life.
“Siegfried.”
“Yes, Master?”
“Do you know why he lived as a vagrant?”
“No, I do not, Master.”
Siegfried couldn’t understand why someone as powerful as Beggarius had chosen to wear rags and wander around the streets. Even if he was considered to be the weakest one among the Masters, that was only because he was being compared to other Masters.
Any nation on the continent would welcome him with open arms and grant him at least a title of marquis along with his own territory.
That level of status and special treatment was the norm for Masters.
“
Ah,
so you didn’t know. I guess he had never told you,” Shakiro muttered.
“Was there a reason behind it, master?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you another time.”
“...Understood.”
For now, Siegfried set aside Beggarius' story and decided to focus on the reason he had come to this rural southern village.
***
About fifteen minutes later...
“So basically... you can sense your wings inside this cave?” Siegfried asked, pointing to a cave situated just outside the village.
“Yes, it is faint, but it’s definitely there,” Michael replied confidently.
“Have you tried going in yet?”
“No, not yet. But I think it’s very deep inside.”
“
Oh?
Why do you think so?”
“We threw a rock down, but I didn’t hear it hit the bottom.
“Okay, let’s go take a look.”
With that, Siegfried stepped forward and ventured into the cave with Hamchi, Michael, and Shakiro.
As soon as they walked in front of it, they heard the sound of whirling winds coming from inside the cave.
“
Kyuuu!
That thing is crazy deep, owner punk!”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
They had no way of checking the total depth, but just standing at the edge made them feel like it would go thousands of kilometers deep.
‘
Michael’s wings are in there. I’ll gain five levels if I find them, which means I’ll hit Level 438...’
Fueled by the desire to level up, Siegfried stepped forward without hesitation.
Thud...
Whoosh!
Then, he hurled himself into the cave.
“
Kyuuu!
What the hell is he doing?!” Hamchi shrieked in horror before jumping into the cave.
“Shall we go, too?” Shakiro asked.
“Sure,” Michael replied.
The two jumped into the cave as well.
Their plan was to let themselves descend freely for now. Once they could see the bottom, they would then switch to flight mode, but then...
“Shouldn't we be seeing the end of it now?” Siegfried asked, turning to Hamchi.
“
Kyuuu!
It feels like it’s been more than five minutes!”
“How deep is this thing?”
Something definitely felt off. Three thousand meters was usually enough to hit the ground even when skydiving. After deploying a parachute, one would usually hit the ground in around a minute.
However, he had been falling for five minutes straight without seeing the bottom.
There was no way to even begin guessing how deep the cave was.
“Still, it can’t take ten minutes, right?”
With that thought in mind, Siegfried continued falling.
But even after ten minutes, the bottom remained nowhere to be found.
'I think we would have already broken through the stratosphere if we were falling upside down.'
An hour later, they were still falling
‘
Is this some kind of sick hidden camera prank?’
At this point. Siegfried was starting to wonder if the cave had some kind of spell cast on it.
Regardless, it was definitely not an ordinary cave, as they had been falling for quite a while now.
Eventually...
“Hey, I’m gonna take a nap. Wake me up once we hit the bottom, okay?” Siegfried closed his eyes and dozed off.
He couldn't log out, so he figured he would catch some sleep inside the VR capsule.
“...”
Hamchi, Michael, and Shakiro were momentarily speechless at his carefree attitude, but none of them said anything, as they, too, had no clue how long this fall would last.
In addition, letting Siegfried get some rest was not a bad idea at all.
Two hours later, Siegfried woke up from his nap. “Hm?”
“...What?” He grimaced upon opening his eyes.
Why?
It was all because they were still falling.
Hamchi sprawled out on the air and munching on some nuts nonchalantly asked, “Slept well, owner punk?”
“What the hell? We’re still falling?”
“Yup!
Kyuuuu!”
“This makes no sense!” Siegfried raged. At this speed, they ought to have reached the bottom a long time ago—no, forget about the bottom, they ought to have blown through the crust, mantle, and be in the inner core by now.
From what Siegfried could recall, the Earth’s inner core was about five thousand one hundred kilometers beneath the surface.
Of course, comparing the real world and a game was a stretch, but even so, this fall was abnormally long.
“We can’t even fly back up at this point...”
“
Kyuuu!
Let’s just keep going, owner punk! There’s got to be an end eventually!”
“You think so? Oh well, screw it. I guess we’ll get there sooner or later,” Siegfried let out a sigh.
“
Kyuuu!
That’s right! This is a test of your endurance, owner punk!”
And so, the group continued falling, and each one of them was determined to reach the bottom of this endless void. However, even after an hour, two hours, and ten hours, they had yet to hit the ground.
“Hey, Hamchi. It’s your shift now. Don’t fall asleep, okay? We’re gonna crash if you do.”
“
Kyuuu!
Don’t worry! I’m wide awake!”
It got to the point that they started keeping guard on shifts while the others caught some shut-eye.
And just like that, an unknown amount of time went by...
‘
Eh? What the...?’
Siegfried grimaced and woke up after sensing something prickling his skin.
"S-Siegfried!" The one on watch duty, Shakiro, suddenly shouted, “We have a problem!”
“
Huh?
What’s wrong, Master?”
“Look below us!” Shakiro screamed, pointing down.
‘
Huh? What’s got him so rattled? He’s usually very calm, no?’
Siegfried wondered and looked down.
It was then.
Rumble...
He jumped in shock at what he saw.
Why?
It was all because a raging river of lava was waiting for them at the bottom of this absurdly long drop.