Chapter 107

Chapter 107: The Demon King's Castle (2)

After the contract with Thanatos, the Double Dungeon—its purpose served—vanished like a mirage.

As if nothing had ever been there, the Heroes blinked in confusion when they emerged.

"What just happened?"

"B-beats me......"

"The dungeon? The Gate? Don't tell me all the monsters inside got released too?"

"The expedition is over."

"......!"

The expedition was over.

The Gate would no longer threaten the desert region, so it wasn't technically wrong.

In terms of objectives, the expedition had succeeded.

"Oh, ohhh......!"

"Did Professor Cha kill the boss inside the violet Gate?"

"Yes."

That wasn't a lie.

The intended meaning of "kill" might differ from what they imagined—what I'd actually done was hook a sucker, not slay a monster—but either way, I'd "gotten" it.

"Hell yeah, the crisis is resolved."

"As expected of Professor Cha."

"When we get back, let's have a proper celebration. Good days call for drinks."

The Heroes basked in victory with thoroughly relaxed spirits.

Given the crisis that might be looming ahead, it was a remarkably carefree reaction.

But for now, letting them be was fine.

I couldn't bring most of them to the Demon King's Castle anyway.

They were exhausted both physically and mentally, and more importantly, the vast majority simply weren't skilled enough.

"Professor Cha!"

Figures approaching from the distance came into view.

Zhuge Soyon and the Heroes she'd brought.

Lie Xiao. Edelin Pierce, Guild Master of Unicorn. And other familiar S-rank Heroes whose faces were a welcome sight.

My warning about an S++-rank dungeon must have landed—a formidable force had assembled.

The expedition Heroes were mostly astonished upon spotting the reinforcements.

Relief washed over Lie Xiao's face when he confirmed I was safe.

"I heard you were trapped inside a dungeon. I'm glad you're unharmed."

"Your concern is what got me through."

America's Hero, Edelin, also approached.

Her presence felt even more powerful than when we'd last met.

Had Edelin gotten stronger?

No. I had changed—and that change let me perceive more clearly just how tall and thick the wall between us was.

"It's been a while. I've been hearing a lot about you. I read the Monster Taming paper too."

"Thank you. Though it can't compare to what the Unicorn Master accomplishes."

"Oh, I appreciate that."

"Hmm, I hear you received help from Lie Xiao?"

A subtle emotion colored Edelin's voice.

Too faint to identify precisely, but clearly not a positive feeling.

"Yes. Lie Xiao made it easy."

"Next time, call me. I owe you a debt, Professor Cha."

Competitive spirit.

That was how I interpreted what I sensed from Edelin.

At present, Edelin was the strongest—but not so unrivaled that she had no peers.

One such peer was the Dragon of China, Lie Xiao, who'd arrived with her.

To become the undisputed number one who'd achieved everything, you needed the will and hunger befitting a champion.

Edelin likely viewed the Dragon of China as a threat to her throne.

"Having the world's strongest Hero on my side is deeply reassuring."

"I mean it."

Murakami chuckled and muttered.

"Lie Xiao... seeing him in person, he's certainly impressive. His presence doesn't diminish even with Edelin beside him."

"Hmph. Obviously. He's the strongest Hero in China."

When Baekryeon boasted about Lie Xiao, Murakami snorted.

"Well, this certainly confirms that your claim about being one of China's 'Two Young Dragons' was utter bullshit."

"Wh-what? He's a teensy bit better, sure, but I'm not that far behind!"

While Murakami and Baekryeon bickered in the background, Wang Sheng shook his head and spoke.

"In the end, all these incredible Heroes came for nothing. I appreciate them showing up, but it's already over."

"It wasn't for nothing."

"Huh?"

Everyone looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head.

Originally there'd been nothing on the schedule, but a new item had just appeared.

Not an S++-rank dungeon—but one just a teensy bit harder.

I welcomed the reinforcements with a bright smile.

"As it happens, a place that needs your help has just come up."

***

Beneath Florian Academy.

A place most Academy personnel didn't even know existed, let alone what lay inside.

The SSS-rank dungeon, the Demon King's Castle.

A seal more catastrophic than any event in human history had broken.

To overcome that crisis, the party leaders from the Sahara expedition and the reinforcement Heroes from Unicorn and Cheongseong united.

The all-S-rank Hero expedition—a luxury lineup—hit an enormous wall right at the entrance.

"So... we have to clear this?"

"Insane. Someone please tell me this is a joke......"

GOOOOO─

The titanic mana pouring from the Gate overwhelmed even S-rank Heroes who'd weathered every battle imaginable.

Every last one of them was paralyzed with fear.

It was as if the Gate itself was whispering to them.

Enter, and you die.

Even I—who'd cleared this place countless times in the game—felt my skin crawl, so the others needed no mention.

The fact that they weren't screaming and fleeing was, by their own standards, the best they could manage.

"Professor... why is something like this under the Academy?"

She had the cause and effect backwards.

It wasn't that it was under Florian—the Academy had been built on top of it.

As for why it existed—I didn't know either.

Whether it had always been here naturally or someone had created it for a purpose, that was beyond what we needed to know.

Thanatos provided the answer.

【That is a Primordial Dungeon. It was born alongside this world. Where there is light, shadow must follow. A Primordial Dungeon is the residue left over from the birth of life. Normally, its seal should never break before the world's end—but dimensional assimilation has caused it to surface.】

So there'd been fairly complex backstory I didn't know.

For the record, Thanatos hovered near me in a ghostly form. Only I could see and converse with him.

Of course, I couldn't openly cite him as a source, so I told Edelin I didn't know.

Announcing Thanatos's existence would only cause unnecessary panic, so I kept it secret.

"Let's go."

"...Really? We're going in there? P-Professor, wait!"

When I strode forward, frantic calls chased after me.

Dawdling at the entrance only bred more fear without solving anything. Times like these called for action to shake off the dread.

"Phew."

I was the first to step through the Gate.

The Demon King's Castle.

I became the first human in history to set foot inside an SSS-rank dungeon.

A hologram achievement window appeared. By now they were too familiar to warrant surprise—I walked right past it.

The sky was pitch black. Not the beautiful black of night—a black that inspired nothing but dread. Three moons hung in the dark sky: one red, one blue, one green.

The Gate connected to the summit of a mountain with near-vertical slopes.

Four needle-like peaks surrounding the mountain were striking.

And then—the Demon King's Castle.

Before my eyes stood a citadel blacker than even that dark sky.

The towering structure suited the name "Demon King's Tower" better than "castle."

Just looking at the castle from a distance made my whole body tremble. No mental attack—simply the overwhelming power differential making fear consume me.

The only reason I could still stand was because I possessed a method to clear this place.

Conversely, being this terrified despite knowing it was clearable spoke volumes about how dangerous it was.

"Gah! Shouldn't have come!"

"I can barely breathe. What kind of place is this?"

"Will we... make it out alive?"

The Heroes who'd entered behind me each voiced their grievances.

I calmed them and led them toward the castle.

Shortly after, I found myself facing a great many resentful stares.

─......

The Demon King's Castle's front gate.

As with any dungeon, the weakest foot soldiers were waiting as gatekeepers.

Knights in shabby armor.

But their helmets floated separately above their bodies, glowing with crimson light—declaring them inhuman.

A knight order composed entirely of Dullahans guarded the entrance.

The Heroes charged with what confidence they could muster.

And were annihilated.

Humanity's all-stars were effortlessly crushed by the Demon King's Castle's lowest-tier grunts.

So there we were, trussed up with rope, being dragged inside.

"...What is this? Why did we come to a place like this so completely unprepared?"

Edelin—who'd resisted to the very end and fought the hardest—spoke in a small voice laced with deep resentment.

"Was this really the best plan?"

"Did we really have to do this?"

"Um, Professor Cha?"

Edelin called to me in a low voice, but I walked on in silence.

As her voice threatened to rise in frustration, a Dullahan slammed the butt of its spear against the floor—and Edelin went quiet.

Though the Dullahan could do nothing about her piercing glare.

Then again, the Dullahans wouldn't care what we did amongst ourselves as long as we didn't cause them trouble.

"Everything is going according to plan, so please be patient."

"According to plan?"

"Yes. Brute force won't work here. I have a plan, so bear with me a little longer."

We were taken to a dark underground dungeon.

Though "dark underground" was somewhat misleading, since the outside was equally dark.

After the Dullahans withdrew, every Hero came looking for me.

Lie Xiao's reaction was the crowning moment.

"A masterful strategy! Infiltrating the enemy's interior without a fight, then breaking out to strike the boss room—only you could conceive such a plan, Professor!"

"Ooh! So that's the idea!"

"I knew there was a reason! Sorry for doubting you!"

What kind of third-rate misunderstanding plot is this?

Lie Xiao had fabricated a nonexistent plan and begun praising me, and the other Heroes started parroting him.

A few stared at me with expressions that clearly asked 'is that really what happened?'

Of course not. We didn't enter without a fight—we got our asses kicked and were dragged in.

"That's not what happened."

"Excuse me?"

I was sorry to rain on their parade, but cold water had to be thrown.

What didn't exist didn't exist. I couldn't pretend otherwise.

***

A day passed.

The environment made it impossible to distinguish day from night, but Awakened senses tracked the passage of time precisely.

It was a harsh captivity without water or food, but one day was endurable.

Eventually, the cell bars opened and we were reunited with the Dullahans.

─......

They were taciturn creatures, but their gestures made their intentions clear.

Follow us.

We complied and trailed behind them.

Only footsteps echoed in the corridor.

The day in the dungeon must have given the Heroes much to think about.

Some had given up.

Some were biding their time.

Fortunately, most seemed to be the latter—their eyes were sharp.

We soon arrived at our destination.

An open hall. The place in the Demon King's Castle where the darkest energy was most concentrated.

The Dullahans' voices rang out—metallic, like grinding steel.

─We present ourselves to His Majesty......

They bowed before the man on the throne at the room's far end.

We bowed with them.

No—"bowed with them" wasn't quite right. The moment we faced the man on the throne, our bodies bent of their own accord.

We had come face to face with the master of the Demon King's Castle—the Demon King.