Reincarnated as an SSS-Ranked Blacksmith Who Refuses to Forge Weapons-Chapter 71. Consuming Darkness

Chapter 71: 71. Consuming Darkness
The carriage ripped through the night like a possessed metal beast. Greg sat in the passenger seat while Bork drove with surprising skill.
His years of precise metalwork made it easy for him to drive the car. The Eternal Engine Core hummed steadily, giving them more than enough power to keep up their breakneck speed.
Felix was behind them, checking and rechecking their supplies. His usual crazy energy was focused on getting everything ready.
Seraphine had spread her research notes out on one of the tables so she could look at dungeon layouts and magical theory at the same time, just in case they needed to break through whatever had sealed the Citadel. Mira floated close to Greg, and her golden eyes showed how tense he was.
"Master-forger-darling hasn’t touched the crystal in seventeen minutes," Mira said in a soft voice. "That’s the longest we’ve been apart since we left."
Greg’s hand moved to the communication crystal around his neck without him thinking about it. The broken one from the hurt adventurer was in his pocket all the time, reminding him of what was at stake. "There’s no need to check. It won’t start working all of a sudden."
"But Marina’s fine," Mira said with the confidence that only a spirit could have. "Mira can sense it. She’s alive and waiting for you."
"I hope you’re right."
The crystal around Greg’s neck suddenly got warm, and Lylia’s voice came through clearly, even though they were far apart. "Greg, do you hear me?"
"I hear you," Greg said right away, sitting up straighter. "What’s the matter? Did something happen?"
Lylia said, "The adventurer finally woke up," and there was a lot of tension in her voice. "He’s stable enough to talk."
"You all need to hear this."
Greg’s system pinged with a warning, that feeling he always got before bad news. "Put him on. We’re listening."
There was a rustle of movement, and then a weak male voice came through the crystal. "Greyson? You’re really on your way to that dungeon...?"
Greg said, "We’re already halfway there."
"Tell me what went wrong. How did the group get stuck?"
Greg could hear the pain in the man’s cough, even though they were magically connected. "At first, it was going well..."
"We finished the first three levels faster than anyone thought we would especially your tools made everything easier."
The lanterns never went out, the ropes held up against things that should have broken them, and the communication crystals kept us all on the same page even when the dungeon tried to split us up."
"But?" Greg asked, knowing there had to be more.
"Level four." That’s when everything went wrong. The man’s voice got so low that it was almost a whisper. "We ran into another group..."
"Adventurers with high ranks, even S-rank. They said they had been looking around in a different area and wanted to work together to get to the deeper levels."
"Let me guess," Bork said angrily from the driver’s seat. "Gray hair? Golden eyes? "Arrogant as a fucking prick?"
"Do you know him?" The hurt man seemed surprised.
"Just a wild guess, but I heard it from Boss himself." Bork said it with confidence.
"Yes, that’s exactly correct! He said his name was Elias Grimhart, and he said he was one of the best in the whole world."
Greg’s hands were so tight that his knuckles turned white. Seraphine quickly looked up from her notes, her face showing both recognition and fear until Felix stopped checking the inventory and his face got darker because he seemed to know about Elias.
"That fucking bastard," Greg said through clenched teeth. "What did he fucking do this time?!"
"At first, there was nothing strange. He and his group helped us get through level four. They were forceful, so everything ’looked easy’ for them." The man stopped to take a breath.
"But when we got to the stairs that led to level five, everything changed. The dungeon began to move, closing off exits. We thought that was just how the Citadel acted, but then Elias started to laugh."
"He set it off," Seraphine said, putting the pieces of her analytical mind together. "He did it on purpose to turn on whatever mechanism seals the dungeon."
"How did you find out?" The man asked in a weak voice.
"Because he said he would do just that," Greg said, remembering what Elias said when they left the village. "He promised to get back at him. He said he would take everything from me and make me watch."
"Well, he’s doing it," the man said angrily. "Once the seals were set off, everyone in his group turned on us."
"They don’t want to kill everyone right away because that would be too quick. They are dragging it out, torturing people, and breaking them down mentally and physically."
"Elias goes after anyone who talks about you or has your tools."
Greg felt something cold and scary settle in his chest. "Marina... How about Marina?!"
"Last time I saw her, she was still alive. Elias seemed very interested in her."
"She kept asking about her relationship with you and why she had the special crystal that could reach anywhere." The man’s voice broke. "She didn’t say anything to him, not even when he hurt her."
"Don’t worry, Greyson. She’s strong and more powerful than any of us."
The crystal in Greg’s hand got hot, not because of magic, but because his anger was so strong that it heated the metal. His system was pinging quickly, giving him choices he had never seen before.
[ALERT: Emotional limit reached]
[WARNING: Hostile intent detected]
[OFFER: Unlock Weapon Crafting Protocols?]
[RESULT: A permanent change in how people think about forging]
[Is it that time already to become your real self?]
"No," Greg said out loud, which surprised the others. "Not yet."
"Boss?" Bork asked with a worried tone.
"Not talking to you. Keep going."
The man who was hurt was still talking, and his words were getting more urgent. "You need to know something else, Greyson."
"Elias isn’t just evil... he’s not even human anymore."
"He has something wrong with him, something dangerous inside of him. This black energy flows through his sword, and anyone it cuts starts to rot from the inside out."
"He’s working with some kind of being that gave him power."
"The shadow figure," Greg said in a low voice. "It has to be."
"What shadow figure?" The man asked.
Greg was about to say something when the man suddenly let out a hysterical screams. The sound was painful and raw, like a knife cutting through the crystal’s connection. Everyone in the carriage jumped.
"What’s going on?!" Lylia’s voice came through in a panic. "His chest...! There’s something, oh god! Darkness is coming out of him!"
They could hear chaos through the crystal. The man was screaming in a way that made no sense, and his words turned into animal sounds of pain. Lylia was yelling for Elwen and Donetta, and their voices were mixing together in urgent calls for help.
"Get him out of there as soon as you get the chance...!" Greg yelled into the crystal. "And don’t let that darkness touch you, whatever it is!"
"I’m doing my best!" Lylia’s voice was strained. "It’s spreading from his chest. It’s like smoke but solid!"
"Elwen, help me carry him!"
The sound of quick footsteps, a door slamming open, and then Lylia’s voice again, this time ordering. "Throw him! Get him away from the workshop!"
There was a moment of silence, and then a loud bang that shook the crystal in Greg’s hand. When the noise stopped, they could hear Lylia’s shaky voice and heavy breathing.
"He’s gone...!"
"The darkness took him over completely and then blew up."
"The whole workshop would have been ruined if we had been any closer and I hadn’t thrown him out in time."