“What did you do?” He demanded.
“Ah… wait for it.”
We didn’t need to wait for very long. It was a clear day today, so the descending fireball appeared quickly. The last time I cast it, I had cast it right on my head. This time, I tried to aim it right on top of the tower in the distance. I actually didn’t know if it got that kind of range, but I assumed it would have to. After all, any closer, and it would definitely kill the caster every time.
That’s why I had to make sure I could flee. If I was wrong and it came barreling down on my head, then I wanted to be able to escape with the girls. Since it appeared over the tower, I breathed easier. I wasn’t out of hot water yet though. I had never seen the effect of the meteor, so it could still harm us. I didn’t think so though, as the girls all managed to escape it, and there was no way they had made it this distance in the time they had been running. Plus, if they were concerned it’d harm them or me, then they would have said something.
From a distance, I could see the massive meteor falling from the sky. It actually didn’t move like a real meteor. It wasn’t like a rock falling at terminal velocity. Actually, if it moved that fast, it probably would create extinction-level events. Instead, it descended down slowly, a supermassive rock of burning fire which obliterated everything that it touched.
Most dungeons were subterranean, so a meteor might damage the surface or take down a few levels, but I reckoned that this technique only would work on such a tower. Well, I had no knowledge on if it would work or not. The meteor was only just about to touch the top of the tower now.
The ground suddenly started to shake. As the fire descended onto the tower, the meteor actually stopped for a second. My eyes widened as I realized just how powerful these curses truly were. I could see the faintest warping as if there was a field of protection around the dungeon, pushing away the meteor. For a second, I thought I had just wasted all that mana.
Then… I heard a cracking sound. Sparks started erupting from the top of the tower, but then they moved down the tower like a shockwave. The entire tower looked distorted for a second like it was being bent in the middle. Then, there was the briefest moment of silence. Every eye was on the horrific scene of the meteor against the tower.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
A resounding boom and the ground shaking increased to the point we nearly fell to the floor. The top floor of the tower exploded, then the next, then the next. The entire tower was being obliterated one floor at a time. The meteor returned to its normal speed, engulfing the tower as it exploded in slow motion. Once the fireball reached the ground, it quickly dissipated, leaving behind a crater about the same size as the massive ball, which was about half a kilometer in size. The cliff suddenly collapsed into the sea. As for the tower… there wasn’t even a trace left.
“Ah… “ I snapped my finger. “It destroyed the treasure room too, huh?”
Just as I said that a hole suddenly opened in midair and an assortment of wealth suddenly exploded out and landed about a hundred feet in front of us. Through that hole flew something else. I couldn’t see it at first, but it came at us at a rapid pace. It suddenly stopped right in front of us.
“Dear Dungeon Diver, it was you who was responsible for this?” A ghost apparition demanded.
He looked like a normal man, with commoner’s apparel and the physique of a laborer. He was older, but it was difficult to tell how old given his appearance was fading quickly.
Did the boss seriously come out after his dungeon was destroyed? That’s what I thought.
“I did…” I responded defiantly, ordering the girls through communication to prepare for battle.
His expression suddenly turned to one of pure bliss. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“Eh?”
“I have craved to see this wretched lighthouse that had trapped me for so many years destroyed! I was once a Hero like you, but a wretched greedy lighthouse keeper was paid coin and poisoned me. He buried me under his lighthouse, trapping me for eternity! I only yearned to see the lighthouse destroyed so that my spirit could finally return to the reincarnation cycle. Thank you, great hero. You have figured out the clues I have left for you, and freed this curse. As an appreciation, I saved what treasure I could from the destruction. What that meager lighthouse keeper has hoarded over the years, I offer you so that you may continue on and save more cursed.”
“You’re screwing with me.”
“Farewell! I shall forever be in your debt.” The ghost disappeared just like that.
“Wait… wait… wait…” I held up my hands, did he mean…
A sudden glowing light appeared in the center of the treasure the ghost had taken with him. It shot out of the pile and into the sky and then started heading our direction. At first, it moved up, but then I realized it was moving in an arc… and that arc ended right where I was standing.
“No… No… No! I’m happy with just destroying the lore! I blew it up! You all saw it! There was nothing left to complete! One, two DP, that’s all I need!”
“He must have rescued the core too…” Miki said flatly.
“Curse him!” I turned and started running, but I only made it three steps when something struck me right in the back.
A familiar pain came flaring back as I screamed about the injustice of this world.