Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Burning Betrayal and Forgotten Ally
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Arms, legs, torso.
Wrists, ankles, head too.
Rumble rumble! Rumble rumble!
I bound the passerby with rock magic, ensuring no ordinary strength could break free.
Not stopping there, I set up dozens of trap spells and detection spells around him, and positioned Thompson behind the guy just in case.
“If something weird happens, like light suddenly shining from his body, smash him flat. He’s connected to the legion commander.”
“Got it, top ranker. Leave it to me.”
“Shouldn’t I handle that?”
“You’re on torture duty. If he doesn’t answer or tries any funny business, sear him with fire.”
“Sounds good.”
With that, every variable was sealed off.
Only then did I tap the passerby’s cheek to wake him.
“Hey, you coming around?”
After a short wait, he lifted his head, which had been slumped low.
“Where...?”
He hadn’t grasped the situation yet, glancing around.
As if those charred, hollowed-out eyes could see anything.
“Never mind that. Just answer my questions. Honestly.”
“......”
After a brief silence, he let out a mad chuckle.
“Heh heh, heh heh heh...!”
I wondered what was so funny.
“......I lost. Me. I actually lost...! Ha ha, hahaha!”
It was the laugh of despair at his current predicament.
Or maybe he’d truly gone insane.
“Should I fry him?”
“No, hold off.”
I stopped Kayla, who looked ready to launch a fireball any second, and asked the passerby,
“How did you know there was a dungeon there?”
It was my biggest personal question.
In the game, demons never mentioned dungeons or lured players there. Not once.
Over ten years of play.
‘I thought the system blocked access to them...’
Of course, this wasn’t the game, so it was entirely possible.
But that made this question even more crucial.
Who knew? The demons might be monopolizing the demon realm’s dungeons to grow stronger or collect artifacts.
‘If they know dungeons exist, there’s no reason they couldn’t.’
If that was true... it was no small matter.
It meant every demon’s combat power could be far beyond what I knew.
Demon legions wielding artifacts.
The thought alone was horrifying.
“If you don’t answer... you’ll torture me?”
“Well, if necessary?”
“Hahaha...!”
The guy laughed again instead of answering.
Thinking it was a joke, I acted immediately.
“Kayla.”
“Yeah.”
Fwoosh!
She conjured a fireball as if she’d been waiting and brought it to his arm.
“Gaaah—!”
A scream echoed through the building.
Honestly, it soured my mood.
It made me feel like the villain here.
‘......Damn demon scum.’
Familiars who received demon blood through contracts and reveled in slaughter with that power.
That’s what familiars were.
In the game and this reality... human trash unworthy of respect.
“Stop.”
Reminding myself of that, I pressed on with questions, free of any guilt or pity.
“I’ll ask again. How did you know about the dungeon there? And how do you even know what a dungeon is?”
“......An order. To secure the location of the District 7 dungeon. As for how I know what a dungeon is... what kind of question is that? What creature doesn’t know?”
This time, he answered right away.
Kayla’s fireball must’ve been persuasive enough.
‘From the way he talks, knowing about dungeons seems like common knowledge...’
What bugged me now was something else.
“An order... from the legion commander directly?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the purpose?”
“Heh heh, who knows? How could a small fry like me grasp his grand designs? I just follow orders.”
“Can demons enter dungeons too?”
“Never tried... but I heard they can’t.”
“Hmm.”
His tone was a bit mocking, but it didn’t seem like a lie.
Makes sense—they wouldn’t explain every reason for every order.
“So you got that role, and you found the dungeon yourself?”
“That’s right.”
“Then why lead us there? What, after our hearts?”
“......”
He hesitated at my question before continuing.
“Yeah. Though it ended in failure like this...”
Huh, a Valefor familiar, just as I suspected.
His goal from the start: our hearts.
‘So luring us to the dungeon was just to reduce our numbers...’
No matter how I looked at it, a ridiculous plan.
If we saw through him midway, or proved stronger than he thought, or if the dungeon lure failed...
Too many variables, too much risk.
If things went wrong, he’d face us in a one-versus-many fight.
Like right now.
‘Hm, not entirely bad, though?’
Of course, if we’d been even a little slower, his plan might’ve succeeded.
Kayla nearly got her heart eaten, and we’d have wandered the dungeon eternally.
Then it would’ve seemed bold, not reckless.
“......How did you know?”
He asked, curiosity piqued.
Probably wondering how I figured out it was about the hearts.
Well, half a guess, but the reason was obvious.
“I’ve been targeted too many times.”
Old Man, Redhead, Silver-Haired Knight Shuhan.
Every incident involved mage hearts or some nonsense.
That monster silver-haired knight business wasn’t even over.
He was probably still out there hunting my heart.
“......”
I was sick of anything heart-related.
Anyway.
That cleared up the dungeon questions, but more remained.
Survivor locations, why the demon legion invaded District 7, what they were scheming now.
As I thought that and moved to the next question—
“Aaah...... Aaah......!”
Out of nowhere, he started groaning.
At the same time—
Sizzle!
His body heated up red-hot, like iron in a forge.
We instinctively dropped into combat stances, raising our guards.
“......The connection?”
We’d delayed longer than expected.
The legion commander might’ve noticed by now and activated it.
We had to kill him before anything happened.
But—
Sizzzzzle!
“Guh, gaaah—!”
Something else unfolded.
His body began burning from the toes up.
Like paper in flames.
I’d seen it a few times in the game.
I stopped Thompson and Kayla, who were about to attack.
“No need to step in.”
“Gaaah! S-save...!”
There was one case where a demon familiar ended like this.
When their contract was severed.
The legion commander had unilaterally broken it.
Better to discard him than empower him further, I supposed.
“Va-Valefor...... sir.”
After groaning in agony, the passerby tilted his head back slowly, as if the pain had faded.
He stared blankly at the empty air.
Purple, sticky fluid oozed from his hollow eyes.
“......Aaah.”
There’s a saying.
Familiars see visions, right before death, of how they could’ve lived without the contract.
If true, what was he feeling now?
Regret? Satisfaction?
No way to know... but one thing was certain.
Fwoosh!
Whatever it was, this was the end for a demon familiar.
“......”
The passerby crumbled to gray ash and vanished completely, leaving silence.
“......Let’s go.”
I broke the mood first.
Dwelling on this would hold us back.
***
“......This is seriously bad, isn’t it?”
Thompson said gravely as we descended the stairs.
“......How could we forget? Yoo Han, you really didn’t know either?”
Kayla’s face was pale as she spoke.
The two, who stayed calm through most crises, couldn’t hide their shock.
No, make it three.
Including me.
‘We’re screwed......’
Even I didn’t know how to handle this.
It was absurd—I had no idea what to say when we met him...
“......He’s not dead, right?”
“......”
“......”
Kayla’s blunt words sank the mood again into silence.
No one could refute it.
Even someone that strong—after this much time—who knew?
At least the demons hadn’t reached the second floor.
If something happened to him, the aftermath would’ve hit up here.
Realizing that, we exhaled in relief.
“......Miss, don’t say ominous stuff like that. Our dwarf isn’t that fragile......”
“......R-right?”
And finally.
Thud.
We reached the first floor and beheld the unbelievable sight.
“......”
“......”
Hundreds of demons easily—heads burst open—piled like a mountain.
Stunned, we gawked around, mouths agape.
After a long daze—
“......Dwarf uncle!”
Kayla suddenly bolted somewhere.
Toward the top of the corpse pile.
Thud! Thud! Thud...!
She frantically dug through the bodies.
Soon enough—
A familiar someone tumbled out in her grip.
“Uncle! Dwarf uncle!”
Barundel Damascus.
The one who’d kept us safe, our forgotten comrade.
Dash dash dash!
Kayla grabbed the unconscious Barundel and shook him.
Thompson rushed over to check his pulse, and I pressed my ear to his face.
‘......He’s alive.’
Thankfully breathing.
Whether that was a relief...
“Ugh, ugh......”
Moments later, Barundel groaned faintly.
Kayla beamed and asked,
“Uncle! You awake?”
Like emerging from a coma, he slowly opened his eyes.
He met our gazes one by one, then said,
“......Who are you?”
Kayla and Thompson recoiled in shock.
“......What do we do? He must’ve hit his head!”
“......Dwarf! You really don’t recognize me?”
The mood grew dire at our precious comrade’s injury.
Everyone fretted with worried eyes.
Except me.
I was taking this seriously in a different way.
‘We’re screwed......’
Our eyes met—Barundel’s.
A chill crawled up my spine.
Did no one else notice?
Those eyes, seething not just with anger, but fury.