Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Erebos Emerges
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“Then… I’m pulling it.”
My companions nodded silently, signaling they were ready.
Clunk!
I confirmed and pulled the lever down.
All the way until it locked at the bottom with a thud.
Srrrr…
The mural began to change rapidly.
[Demon Kraken], [Giant Hydra], [Leviathan], and so on.
The types appearing weren’t much different from what we’d seen before.
‘If only we could choose the type too.’
Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.
All we could decide was the grade. What enemy we’d face was left purely to luck.
And the result of our luck was.
Click!
Not bad.
No, actually pretty good.
“Gorgon? Ain’t that a Gorgon?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Top-grade demon, [Demon Gorgon].
That was the one we had to take down this time.
A creature with its lower body and hair made of snakes, specializing in turning anyone who met its gaze to stone.
However, that petrification ability sometimes showed weakness depending on the opponent.
‘We can handle it plenty well enough.’
People like Barundel or me, who could sense energy, could track the petrification magic with our eyes.
In simple terms, we could block it.
That slashed the Gorgon’s difficulty by several times over.
‘We got lucky.’
Even thinking it over again, we were lucky.
What were the odds of drawing Gorgon for a party with two people who could sense energy?
That’s what I was thinking when.
“N-Number one! Th-this…!”
Thompson pointed at something with a panicked face.
He wasn’t the only shocked one.
Everyone in the party was staring at the same spot, eyes wide.
Yeah, including me.
Srrrr!
“What the…?”
The Gorgon’s image vanished completely, leaving us all stunned.
Because the mural was spinning again.
“…Did someone touch the lever?”
“N-No way!”
“Then what the hell is…?”
I couldn’t make sense of the situation at all.
Could the lever move on its own?
That question filled my head nonstop.
But right now, questions weren’t important.
What mattered was where the restarting mural would stop.
Gulp.
The moment I swallowed dryly, the image finally halted, revealing a new creature.
The party erupted in tense voices at the sight.
“What’s that? Do you know it, old man?”
“…Dunno? Never seen it before. What about you, dwarf?”
“Same here.”
Everyone seemed clueless.
No surprise there.
The thing on the mural was more than worthy of that reaction.
I was the only one muttering in a trembling voice.
“…Erebos.”
I had no idea how this guy popped up.
Even setting aside the lever moving on its own, this wasn’t even on the blue silhouette’s list.
No, before that.
“…The grade doesn’t match. And it’s not even a demon.”
It wasn’t a top-grade demon.
It was something beyond grades.
In simple terms, several times stronger than the top-grade ones.
I named it, ramping up my companions’ tension.
“It’s Erebos. Everyone, get ready for battle…!”
“E-Erebos?”
“First time hearing that name. Is it a demon too?”
No time to explain one by one.
Crackle!
I hadn’t even touched it yet, but it was already trying to emerge.
I quickly fired off a spell, crimson sparks enveloping the mural.
Spatial magic.
Just like with ‘Bune’ before, I planned to seal the exit before it could come out.
But was it too late?
Crackle-crackle!
Before my spatial magic could cover the mural, the crimson sparks went berserk.
The ominous feeling didn’t last.
Shunk.
Someone pushed through, emerging from the mural.
Towering height and massive build. Jet-black armor wrapping it flawlessly.
Shadows and darkness swirling endlessly around it.
Long limbs, sharply clawed hands, and amethyst eyes that made my heart sink.
Whoooosh!
Even compared to the other demon legion commanders I’d seen, it was on another level.
I thought I’d gotten a lot stronger, but the moment I saw it, my whole body froze.
I wasn’t the only one feeling it.
“Wh-what the hell is…?”
“…”
Everyone stiffened, staring into its two eyes.
In the chilling silence, it spoke first.
[Human.]
A heavy, slow, oppressive voice.
Like an echo from an endless abyss.
[It’s you, human. I’ve finally found you.]
Splat!
With that, it suddenly bent at the waist, thrusting its head forward.
About five meters between us.
Its amethyst gaze swept over me from top to bottom, like it was scanning.
Thump! Thump! Thump…!
My heart pounded wildly, but I kept my composure and spoke.
“…What do you want? Erebos. And why are you here?”
[Hmm?]
Erebos tilted its head slowly, as if intrigued by my question.
[You know me?]
“Yeah. I know you, Erebos.”
A decade-old Devil Fantasy veteran who’d even hit rank one.
It’d be weirder if I didn’t know it.
[Interesting. I thought I’d been forgotten in the human world by now…]
From its words, its actions over the past century matched what I knew.
If so.
‘…Might be possible.’
Maybe there was a way to survive this encounter.
Clutching that sliver of hope, I forced my mouth open.
“It’s not just knowing you. I know what you can do, what you’ve done so far, and what you’re after… Everything.”
[…!!]
Erebos’s amethyst pupils quivered faintly.
[Interesting… Very well, speak. Tell me how much you’ve pierced through me. Time for you to speak with that mouth won’t last much longer anyway.]
“Who knows? How much time’s left isn’t for you to decide—it’s ours.”
[…What?]
I summoned a magic circle and replied lowly.
“So, have you found a way to take down ‘Baal’ yet? Erebos.”
[…!!]
Erebos’s pupils shook again.
Hard to read its expression, but it felt like it was asking how I knew that.
And I pressed on more boldly.
“I’m asking if you’ve found a way to pierce its shell with darkness.”
Primordial darkness, Erebos.
That summed it up simply.
Number two in the Devil Fantasy world, the sole remaining archenemy of Baal.
That was Erebos.
Even if all records were buried deep, leaving few who knew.
‘I only pieced it together from chaining hidden quests myself.’
Plus, this was a century later.
Like it said earlier, maybe ‘Erebos’ was now unknowable to the human world.
Which made me shine even brighter.
[Haha, hahahaha!]
Reeeee!
Its low, booming laughter rang in my ears like tinnitus.
To overwhelm like this with just a laugh.
It hit me anew how strong Erebos was.
Then, abruptly, its laughter cut off.
Its amethyst pupils pierced right through me.
[Where did you hear that?]
Not a simple question.
Whoooosh.
Oppressive pressure crushed my body.
A silent threat to speak.
My breath felt like it’d stop any second.
But I couldn’t answer straight.
Backing down even a little here would doom us.
So I smoothly shifted the topic, distracting it.
“That’s not what matters. What matters is I know the method you’re seeking.”
[…]
Swooo.
The crushing pressure lifted.
Erebos spoke in a voice even more intrigued than before.
[You know what you’re saying, right?]
“What’s there to ask? You can tell already, can’t you? That I’m not lying.”
[…Yes, indeed.]
Swish.
It slowly raised a hand, and the darkness around it coiled over my body.
[Lie Detection].
One of its abilities.
Moments later, Erebos smiled in satisfaction.
[Your words are true, human!]
‘Good.’
Its expression suggested it had no immediate intent to kill us.
‘Bought some time.’
Of course, we weren’t fully safe yet.
We’d only covered half the plan.
I gauged the moment, then asked cautiously.
“Want to talk more?”
[And if I do?]
“Then let us out of here first. I’m sick of this dungeon.”
[Heh heh heh, let you out? You think that’s possible?]
“Cut the crappy act. I told you—I know what you can do.”
Erebos was primordial darkness itself.
It could freely warp space, so sending us outside the dungeon was trivial.
It being here now was proof of that spatial power.
‘Testing me.’
That’s why it asked—it was probing how much I knew.
Fortunately, I passed.
[Fun… Intriguing…! I never knew humans could be this entertaining!]
Erebos’s eyes flashed amid its intense reaction.
[Very well, human. I’ll release you from this place. But in exchange, you’ll give me the answers I want.]
“Yeah, sure.”
I nodded inwardly relieved, sighing in my mind.
Darkness flowed from its body, enveloping me, Kayla, Thompson, and Barundel.
Shhhh!
My vision drowned in darkness.
A world where nothing was visible.
Like stepping into a realm that absorbed all light.
But only for a moment.
Shiiiik!
My body floated weightlessly, the darkness before my eyes cleared, and a familiar sight spread out.
Altair Rock Zone.
We’d escaped the dungeon.
Erebos looked at me like, “Satisfied now?” and spoke.
[Your wish is granted. Now it’s your turn.]
Erebos dove straight into questions, impatient.
But Kazandur’s response was faster.
Hundreds of dwarf soldiers had already circled Erebos.
They thrust their weapons forward, and Bagran yelled from behind.
“You’re surrounded!”
[…]
Erebos slowly surveyed its surroundings.
The hundreds of dwarves gulped nervously, and Erebos turned back to me, murmuring lowly.
[Petty tricks, human.]
Its face somehow looked angry.