Chapter 33: {V2 Start} |
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[Translator – Clara]
[Proofreader – DemonGod]
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[Start of Volume 2]
Truly, it was a scene worthy of being called a disaster.
Until yesterday, the village was filled with the sweet scent of ripe grains. The small hamlet surrounded by fields and mountains had the perfect terrain and climate for wheat cultivation, and the daily lives of the villagers flowed peacefully as they cultivated the wheat. Occasionally, goblins lurked around the fields, but the village had the capability to repel intruders with its militia alone.
There was no crisis in the village. The harvested wheat was sold at a high price due to its quality, and there was no economic hardship. People woke up with the sunrise, worked the fields, gathered for meals, shared laughter, welcomed occasional visitors, and went to bed when the sun set. Until yesterday, it was just another peaceful day.
— But, now…
The once comforting scent of grains that permeated the village for decades was nowhere to be found. Everything was decaying – the wheat fields, the wooden houses, and even the villagers themselves. The scent of decay from these rotten things Devourered the distinctive aroma of the village, and on top of it, a strong smell of blood lingered.
Unfortunately, not a single villager had survived the undead onslaught that had attacked the village. The faces of the corpses strewn across the ground all wore expressions of terror. Even those who had managed to survive against all odds could not escape unscathed.
Those who had hidden for survival eventually transformed into non-human entities. They gradually turned into members of the undead horde that had attacked their own village.
The village was no different from hell.
“We acknowledge your hard work.”
A low voice descended over the putrid fields.
The owner of the voice walked on a carpet made of corpses. With each step, the undead, who had been clumsily moving around to find living beings, stopped in their tracks.
The owner of the voice was dark.
More closely associated with death than the dead bodies themselves, he was a figure of awe for the undead.
Thin flesh clinging to grotesque bones, black skin, a physique twice the size of a lich of the same kind— the lord of the dead.
The boss monster of the Catacomb, “Corpse-Dying-Tera,” Erebus.
The oppressive weather accentuated the despair in the atmosphere of the devastated village. The black clouds that had covered the sun started pouring rain. The melted flesh of the corpses, drenched by the rain, clung disgustingly.
The sound of rain, occasionally mixed with echoing thunder. Only these two things stimulated the auditory senses in the space.
While all the undead bowed their heads, only the lord of the dead slowly raised his head. The sharp eye sockets faced the top of the mountain that blocked the plain and the village.
Beyond the mountain range lay a vast plain, and a river crossed the plain. Beyond the river, there was a massive forest. After crossing the forest and passing through several human castles, there lay the city of Léage.
The heart of the enemy.
“…The greatest enemy that will bring the empire to ruin.”
Erebus murmured quietly.
The dead began tearing apart the corpses again.
Prologue. 2
“Total chaos.”
The dungeon is a battlefield.
In any battlefield, there exists a virtue one must possess to survive, and one of them is ‘minimal tension.’
No, to call it a virtue would be an understatement. If you’re not on edge, you’ll die. Hunting unprotected enemies is as simple as it gets, but only if you are tense enough.
So.
So, a dungeon without even a hint of tension is already a doomed dungeon.
“If you call yourself a Demon Queen, please be quiet for a moment, Miss Melje! I’ve told you several times that silence is basic in Lord Devourer’s room! And! I’ve taught you multiple times, that you shouldn’t wander around when the other person is talking! Oops, don’t run around! Listen to Renee!”
“No! I will not! I’m a free dungeon monster! And Renee, the popular dungeons these days are all monsters from the dominant layer fighting for the welfare and rights of monsters from the subjugated layer! I was a Primordial core chef before becoming the Demon Queen, and I’ve come to talk with the dominator, Lord Devourer.!”
“Lord Devourer needs to sleep now!”
“That’s why I’m needed! I plan to stick close to Lord Devourer until he sleeps comfortably and share warmth! Renee is too stubborn in this regard! Too naive! You’re like a grandmother!”
“What? Did you just call Renee a grandmother? I’ll, I’ll kill you!”
Renee, whose eyes went mad, swung her teeth in all directions. Melje ran away, and the missed blade hit the cave wall. The blade danced in the enormous cave. Thud! Thud! Fragments fell from the cave wall where the blade struck.
“Haha.”
Yes, that’s right.
The Primordial core is indeed a doomed dungeon.
“It’s a mess.”
Patrick, sitting on a rock, sighed. Patrick raised his head, He held a little hope, and looked towards Devourer, who, for some reason, was tilting his head.
The four eyes were focused on where Melje and Renee were. The gaze contained sorrow, anguish, and worry. Patrick doubted his own eyes. Oh, is this it? It’s unmistakable. That’s a certain—constructive gaze worrying about the future of the dungeon.
“It can’t be….”
Touched by overwhelming emotion, Patrick made a choked sound in his throat. Already his heart was a sea of tears, but since his body couldn’t shed tears, the bizarre sound of bones colliding echoed incessantly.
“Boss… you finally have that kind of look…”
“Patrick… they’re so noisy I can’t sleep…”
“…It’s unbelievable….”
What were you expecting, Patrick?
Self-reproach, and then, overwhelmed by the impending despair, he shook his head. Gray dust drifted like snowflakes through the joints of his fingers. Ah, all hope dispersed into the air.
“Why is it so chaotic….”
Renee, who had left the house and returned…
If asked whether it’s peaceful, one could answer that it is for now. Except for the fact that the young Demon Queen, who seems to lack some circuits in her brain, entered as a chef. Aside from her aimless wandering within the dungeon, nothing much had changed from before.
To Melje, the overly aggressive attacks of Devourer have apparently been recognized as a remarkable achievement—
‘I have nothing to do with that.’
In any case, Patrick was relieved by Renee’s lively actions. There might be a slightly awkward atmosphere remaining, but apart from that, the relationship between Devourer and Renee is not much different from before.
Without a doubt, it’s because of Devourer’s right eye.
That must be an incredibly meaningful item for Renee. Devourer’s eye, which was plucked out in an instant, regenerated just as quickly, so there was no loss of power. It’s a stroke of luck, or you could say that Devourer saw a few moves ahead.
Devourer’s response to the situation at hand was undoubtedly the best possible option, surpassing any alternatives by a wide margin. Thanks to it, describing the resulting peace as an overstatement wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
“Even if we say our dungeon is peaceful for now, the aftermath of this incident shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
The problem is that this peaceful situation is limited to the Primordial core.
Letting out a habitual sigh, Patrick unfolded the newspaper. The human newspaper with the most recent date—most of the articles in it were about the aftermath of the ‘Black Calamity.’ Dozens of articles had been published in the past three weeks alone. If you added incidents not covered by the newspapers, the number would likely exceed a few hundred.
While the world was in turmoil, the main culprit, Devourer, showed no signs of movement.
“How long do you plan to lie down like this?”
Patrick asked, but there was no reply. After a few seconds of delay, Patrick picked his sword. After poking with the tip of the sword handle several times and causing the ancient black monster to make groaning sounds, he finally spoke.
“Uh, Patrick. It’s good to be passionate, but how about thinking a bit after resting a little more.”
“I’ve said it several times before, Boss. We can’t just dismiss the aftermath of this incident lightly. Right now, you might not feel it directly since it’s not touching us immediately, but… do you know how the outside world is functioning?”
“Rebuilding Raize and Hastin after they were destroyed?”
“First of all, Riaze has strengthened its defenses. By gathering additional defensive forces from various parts of the empire, villages undergoing imperial changes are being turned into monster fields.”
“Ugh.”
“The Empire’s third princess is still in a coma. Unluckily, she happened to be on the palace balcony, and it seems she saw the boss’s real body.”
“Ugh….”
“And Hastin’s lord committed suicide.”
“…That’s quite serious.”
Even Devourer, who had consistently shown playful reactions, stiffened his expression at the latest news.
“Speculating on the situation, it seems like he took his own life before being held responsible by the imperial family. It’s like hanging oneself from the ceiling of one’s own room just before the harvest, you know? Thanks to that, Hastin is completely paralyzed.”
There is much more news to convey, but even this should be enough to convey Patrick’s feelings. Patrick didn’t dwell on the incidents any longer.
“Besides this, there’s a lot that needs to be done immediately. Assuming that the 116 black tentacles are slowly regenerating and Antropophagus in Room 5 is smoothly reproducing… we also need to fill the vacant rooms from Room 1 to Room 4. Even if you don’t know much about what’s happening in the Empire, Boss, Hastin definitely needs attention. You need to check the situation firsthand and find alternatives.”
Having finished speaking, Patrick planted Tanabella into the ground. A heavy sound of the blade digging into the earth echoed. Just then, Renee and Melje seemed to have changed locations as the silence of the room shifted.
“It’s time to make a choice. Boss.”
Delaying any longer might lead to unknown consequences. Devourer nodded as if acknowledging Patrick’s sincerity. A minute of silence passed. Soon, the ancient monster slowly opened its mouth.
“Patrick, I know how much you care about the dungeon. …Yeah, let’s take a little rest, just a little more—”
“Just a little more?”
“Just a little more, rest and think.”
“Haha, I guess I’m not angry anymore.”
Primordial core, one of the seven great dungeons, deemed temporarily impenetrable to human exploration and the ancient monster Devourer that shook the Empire—
“I might as well go on strike.”
It’s a mess.
Phase. 1
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[Translator – Clara]
[Proofreader – DemonGod]
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