Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Why Do You Weep So Sadly?
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The first underground floor of the Rose Pavilion was teeming with monsters that were incomparable to those on the ground level.
The grotesque beasts that had grown deep in Lilith's garden by feeding on demonic energy possessed a level of strength utterly different from the lewd creatures on the upper floor that attacked with a seductive flair.
This was due to Lilith's perverse design, born from her desire for adventurers to savor every part of the labyrinth she had created. After slaying weak monsters and gradually facing stronger ones, exhausted adventurers would inevitably collapse, becoming food for the beasts or Lilith's slaves. It was a tactic employed by most of her executives.
In that sense, Kaiyen was an existence that should never have been in the Demon King's army. The reason was simple.
Hwoosh──!!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have hunted the low-grade monster, Dalmaqui. Hero Kaiyen's level has risen after accumulating sufficient experience. HP and MP have been fully restored.
The Dalmaqui that had just been caught by Kaiyen's hand and roasted from the inside out like barbecue was one of the monsters in the garden that Lilith cherished dearly. With the instincts of a hunter that preyed on humans from the shadows, and physical prowess capable of tearing apart imperial knights in their armor in a single blow, it was no slouch compared to mid-grade monsters like Dark Trolls.
It was a headache-inducing beast in Lilith's garden that toyed with and hunted weary adventurers, but to Kaiyen—who never tired thanks to the level-up system—it was merely a troll without regeneration, and even weaker at that.
"...To think I still haven't found him after searching this much."
In just ten minutes, Kaiyen had already cleared more than half of the first underground floor, and he was noticeably stronger than when he had entered the Rose Pavilion. But separate from the sensation of his own growth, the fact that he still hadn't found Arthin was making Kaiyen increasingly anxious.
"...She said it's a room you can't leave without having sex. How many minutes has it been now? If he's already gone and done it with that unicorn..."
Gnawing anxiously on his thumbnail, Kaiyen decided to hurry and check the traps on the first underground floor more carefully. There was no guarantee Arthin was here, but leaving that male beast alone with him down here was a horrifying thought he didn't even want to entertain.
But contrary to his urgency, Arthin was nowhere to be found. After clearing a dozen corridors and opening eight rooms in just a few minutes, all he encountered were traps and monsters. Occasionally rescuing unconscious civilians brought quest rewards, but that was it.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!! Arthin! Just hold on a little longer, please... really, just a bit more..!"
As Kaiyen grew frantic from not finding him no matter how hard he searched, the staircase leading to the second underground floor that he had spotted earlier loomed in his mind. What if Arthin was waiting for him down there?
"...Ien..!!"
It was then.
"Ah, Arthin? Was that you calling me just now?!"
"...Ien! Kai... come quick..!!"
A desperate voice calling his name echoed from the end of the corridor around the corner. Kaiyen surged his mana and dashed down the hall, arriving at a dead-end passage—one of the rare ones here.
"Kieeeek!!!"
"Kyarruk! Krraaah!!!"
Beyond the monsters baring their ferocity at the sound of his footsteps, at the end of the corridor stood an iron door like those used to cage prisoners.
"Kaiyen, help me..!! Stop it, Unicorn...!!"
"I'm sorry, Arthin! This lord can no longer hold back!"
Through the small barred window in the iron door, Kaiyen heard the Unicorn's voice, brimming with lust as it lunged toward Arthin, and Arthin's frantic pleas calling for him.
"...There you are, Arthin. You haven't been defiled yet, have you?"
"Kyaaaaak!!!"
As Kaiyen murmured softly with a rare happy expression, the monsters charged at him in unison. For some reason, they were far stronger and more coordinated than the ones from elsewhere on the first underground floor, but it made no difference to Kaiyen.
From the second heart in Kaiyen's right chest—not the human one—immense mana flowed out, igniting a clear blue flame along his aura sword.
One Sword ─ Flash
Kaiyen's breathing stopped, his muscles tensed. As his mana condensed and his energy gathered, the monsters seemed to think the human before them was exhausted and lunged with all their might to tear him apart.
In that instant, Kaiyen's sword gleamed blue.
The suppressed energy, mana, muscles, and breath swelled explosively as his sword swung. It looked as if it merely sliced through empty air, but the space of the corridor itself appeared cleaved and distorted where the blade had passed.
Soon after, the massive mana surging from the Dragon Heart filled the warped corridor, and only then did the monsters realize their deaths.
"Ku... Kurruk!?"
Kwaaaang──!!!
As the mana detonated violently, the corridor that had been swarming with monsters moments ago became a grotesque scene of blood and flesh chunks.
Regardless, Kaiyen sheathed his sword and hurried to the iron door. Though firmly locked, it tore away like cardboard when he gripped it.
"Arthin!"
"Ka, Kaiyen! Save me!"
Inside the room, the naked Unicorn was pinning Arthin down with brute force. Arthin's uniform was half-torn, and upon seeing Kaiyen burst in, he desperately cried for help.
At the sight, murderous intent toward the Unicorn surged within Kaiyen, but he calmed himself, reminding himself it was all Lilith's fault, and knocked the frenzied beast unconscious with a strike from his sheathed sword.
"Kueeeek?! Ughk."
With a bizarre and pathetic scream, the Unicorn collapsed in a heap. Seeing this, Arthin let out a sigh of relief, then looked at Kaiyen with tears welling up.
"Th-thank you, partner...! I thought that crazy colt was going to ravage me... I'm so glad you came...!"
"No big deal. You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
Fortunately, Arthin hadn't been violated by the Unicorn yet. Kaiyen breathed a deep sigh of relief. A thick sweet pink mist hung in the air, but it was irrelevant to Kaiyen, who was busy scanning Arthin's bare form.
"N-no, I'm not hurt... But staring like that is embarrassing..."
"Ah, s-sorry, partner. I didn't mean to..."
Seeing Arthin blush suddenly, Kaiyen cleared his throat awkwardly. He realized he had been staring intently at Arthin's important parts without thinking.
As Kaiyen hurriedly turned away, about to replay the image of Arthin's body using his perfect memory ability...
"P-partner? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
"I... my body is still so hot, partner... Lilith did something weird to me..."
As Arthin blushed and clutched at his collar, a strange emotion began to well up in Kaiyen.
'Snap out of it, Kaiyen. You have a plan! The plan for that day you promised with Arthin...'
As Kaiyen swallowed hard and closed his eyes, trying to shake off the hand, Arthin suddenly shoved him against the room's wall.
"Pa... partner?! What the hell are you doing all of a sudden!?"
"Sorry, Kaiyen... I need it to be you..!!"
**
In a dark room beyond the corridor littered with monster corpses on the first underground floor of the Rose Pavilion.
"Ugh... Not there.. Arthin.. No.. that's no good..."
Seeing the black-haired young man asleep due to the sleep authority that activated the moment the door was removed, Sirka—one of Lilith's kin, an upper-rank dream demon—let out a sigh of relief.
"Seriously, I almost had a big problem there. A man who wields dragon mana, of all things."
Sirka, who had been preparing the ritual on the second floor of the Rose Pavilion, was flying hurriedly to the second underground floor at Lilith's furious roar. She had sensed the explosion by chance and hidden upon seeing the black-haired young man massacring the monsters Lilith had prepared.
Should she ambush and kill him? Even as an upper-rank dream demon, she'd take damage from someone that strong. And what if the Unicorn's contractor joined? That one had even partially shattered Lilith's authority.
In that brief moment, Sirka racked her brains to avoid disappointing her master, but her worries soon proved pointless. The black-haired young man forcibly ripped off the iron door, then succumbed instantly to the trap infused with Lilith's sleep authority.
'O-opportunity!'
Probably intoxicated deeply by Lilith's mist, the young man collapsed in one go despite his powerful Dragon Heart's magic resistance. Sirka rushed to him immediately and activated her own authority to induce sweet sleep.
It seemed to work; the black-haired young man let out cute noises, writhing as he fell into a deep slumber. The sight was so seductive and beautiful—even to an upper-rank dream demon like her—that Sirka was momentarily overcome with the desire to drain his essence.
'No! If I drain his essence and this hunk wakes up, what about the Unicorn's contractor..!'
Sirka shook her head firmly. No matter how pleasure-devoted dream demons were, slacking on her lord's orders would surely earn severe punishment from the watchful Lilith.
'Right, deal with the Unicorn's contractor first, then this super-premium hunk next..!'
Steel ing her resolve, Sirka used even a portion of the power directly bestowed by Lilith to ensure the black-haired young man remained in deep sleep—just in case. In this state, he wouldn't wake even if his body were hacked apart.
"Wait for me, super-premium hunk! I'll make you my servant when I get back!"
Sirka immediately flew toward the Unicorn's contractor. Inside the room with its door gruesomely torn off, Kaiyen lay lost in sweet dreams.
"Ahh... Arthin... Actually, I also... want you..."
In the quiet room, only Kaiyen's hollow sleep-talk echoed emptily.
**
Outside the Rose Pavilion, Arthin's lovers—led by Agnes—waited, trusting in Kaiyen.
"Oh my~ Kaiyen, was it? Our handsome boy is out♡ Who's next?" But at the sudden voice of a woman emerging from the pink mist, Agnes could only groan.
"For even Mr. Kaiyen to fall... the interior must be extremely dangerous."
Kaiyen was always suspiciously eyeing Arthin with a strange gaze, but his skills were undeniably top-tier. If even he had fallen, how horrific was the situation inside the Rose Pavilion?
"I'll go next! I'm the strongest among us three. I'll definitely bring big brother back!"
The first to step forward was Shaomei, wearing the black dragon greaves Arthin had made for her. Her strength was unquestionable, leaving Agnes with no choice but to concede.
"No helping it, Shaomei. Please bring back Arthin..."
"W-wait! Instead of Shaomei, couldn't I go..!"
At that moment, the usually quiet Violet hurriedly gripped her staff and stepped forward, leaving Shaomei and Agnes puzzled.
"V-Violet sis..? I get you're anxious, but I'm the strongest here, so I should..."
"Yes, I also desperately want to go rescue him myself like you, Violet, but I think Shaomei going is best."
Violet wasn't weak. In fact, considering talent, Shaomei knew best that in the 3rd cycle, Violet—who excelled in combat—had shown the strongest performance, and Agnes vaguely recalled it too.
But that was 3rd-cycle Violet. The current Violet, without a direct contract with Mephistopheles, fell short in reliability.
Of course, Violet knew that best herself. Yet she shook her head, clutching the staff Arthin had made as if leaning on it for courage.
"I-I fought Lilith directly in the 3rd cycle! With the staff Arthin made me, I won't go down easily."
"B-but sis..."
"Besides, if even the strongest Shaomei falls, we really have little hope. So let me go clear the path as much as I can."
Shaomei could only panic at those words, while Agnes furrowed her brow in deep thought.
"Indeed, Lilith is said to excel in schemes. If brute force won't work, then you or Violet entering might be right, but..."
"Hey, wait! Doesn't that mean I'm useless unless I fight?!"
Ignoring Shaomei's desperate outburst at the sharp words piercing her insecurities, Agnes still felt uneasy about sending Violet. Ultimately, it would be using her as a stepping stone to save Arthin.
"Please trust me, Princess. I'll make it this time."
Faced with Violet's determined gaze, Agnes had no choice but to nod. If they didn't trust her now, even saving Arthin later would leave a deep scar on Violet's heart.
"Alright, Violet. I'm counting on you. Please save Arthin."
"Yes, I'll stake my life on it."
Violet nodded resolutely and slowly stepped toward the Rose Pavilion, leaving behind the hurt Shaomei and the pleading Agnes.
The firmly shut doors of the Rose Pavilion creaked open, then slammed shut with a heavy thud as Violet entered.
"...Please, Violet..."
"Um, Princess. Even I study hard enough not to fail every class in 5th year... What did you mean just now..."
Agnes gazed desperately at the closed door, praying that when it opened next, she would hear Arthin's lively voice again.