The Belly-Bashing Surprise
At the very moment Pahuu and Ryun vanished from Gremory’s dungeon, those left behind were busy dealing with intruders.
"Good work."
"It was nothing. Hmph."
Meari and Eila bound a group of adventurers they had rounded up with vine ropes. They confiscated every item that looked valuable and stripped them down to their very underwear. Three men and four women. A fair number of adventurers had raided the dungeon, and excluding those who had unfortunately died, they had achieved the feat of capturing seven alive.
"You traitors to humanity! How could you side with the Demon King's army!"
"P-please, spare us! We won't tell anyone outside about what happened here! We're the same kind of people!"
The adventurers reacted in their own ways, some begging for their lives while others cursed the human subordinates, including Eila and Meari.
Meari shoved the prisoners into the jail with a bored expression, and Eila smiled bitterly as she locked the gate.
"If you receive His love, your thoughts will change too."
"You fallen knight...! You're insane!"
"Yes. I am crazy for Him."
Eila drew her sword toward the woman who looked at her with utter disgust.
"Know that the only reason I don't kill you right now is because of the Master's generosity. Do you see what happens if you resist?"
Eila pointed to a woman being eaten alive by Line in the middle of the common area. The woman, a former thief, had tried to untie her ropes and escape, only to be caught by a ghoul and eventually become food for the human-shaped slime.
"...There really is so much to keep track of. What if the prisoner jail fills up?"
"Well. Let's just tie them up with vines for now. We can ask when Papa returns."
"I wish we could launch an attack from this side, too."
Several hours had already passed, but there was no way to know if Pahuu was alive or dead. Pahuu had refused to let anyone follow him. Only someone capable of defeating a 2-star max-level Andras in a 1:1 fight could stand by Pahuu's side.
"...The two of them will support him well, right?"
"Of course, they are the two strongest."
Eila and Meari looked up at the ceiling. The strongest slime, which usually waited on the ceiling, was not here right now.
"Still, going to dig through someone else's dungeon is a bit much..."
"We can only hope for a good outcome."
The two waited, expecting news of Pahuu's victory.
The System was certainly a miraculous technology that Solomon provided for dungeon management, but it had many holes. Just as I had summoned Estu, the administrator, by targeting those holes and attempting rapid development, the System ultimately had its flaws. Therefore, I decided to actively exploit those flaws whenever I saw them.
Gremory didn't show up despite my cheap provocations, and in the meantime, we succeeded in building a very plausible base.
"Hehe, they must be looking for us by now, right? Ah, Lime. Let me know immediately if there's anything in front."
Kkeureureuk.
Lime, who had buried her head in the wall, ate through the wall in her oval slime form for the first time in a while. The path Lime was digging was so narrow that it was difficult for even the two of us, Ryun and me, to stand side by side.
"She never would have imagined I was hiding under her wing-garment."
Lime had been stuck to Ryun's clothes from the start, hiding. She also served as Ryun's armor in case of an emergency, and above all, the fact that the Slahole had crossed over had to be kept strictly hidden.
"They're obviously going to be setting up a formation in the corridor, so why go that way? We can just make a new path."
We had plenty of time. While I was in a lull after beating up all the gargoyles, Lime, having detached from Ryun, made a hole in the wall right next to the portal. I crawled in on all fours, barely squeezing through the hole, and after we entered, Lime spat out the dirt she had swallowed to fill the hole back up. We hid by creating another path in the wall of Gremory's dungeon. Gremory didn't notice at all.
"Master. What if we get caught by the enemy like this?"
Ryun kept worrying, keeping a close eye on our rear. Even though we had advanced quite far from the portal, Ryun was anxious that the enemy might notice our operation.
"It's too dangerous..."
"It is dangerous. But it's fine. If they had noticed, they would have known the moment we started digging the hole next to the portal, right? If you were the one who discovered us, what would you have done?"
"Um, I would have shot an arrow at the wall or stabbed it with a spear."
"Right? But they aren't doing that at all right now. It doesn't even show up on the minimap. Not unless they discover the tunnel we're digging."
If the System were informing her that her own dungeon was being remodeled in real-time, she would have sent troops long ago. I raised my hand and knocked on the wall next to me.
"Look at this. They don't know from the outside."
"Master!!"
Ryun let out a shrill scream, warning me. The knock echoed well enough to make a hollow sound. I raised both hands.
"Lime, that's enough. Widen the space so we can stand."
Kkeureureuk.
Lime, who had only been digging at the height where we could crawl, stretched her body upward. The speed at which she ate through the cave slowed down compared to before, but thanks to that, Ryun and I were able to stand up straight and walk forward.
Kkeureureuk.
And the moment we were about to move forward a little more, Lime reacted to something. Ryun and I held our breath and exchanged hand signals with Lime. Right. Lime shook her head as if to say no. I moved my hand to the left and took a step back.
Gureureureuk.
Lime, who had pulled her body out of the hole, spread her body to our left and started eating through the dirt again. Moving diagonally, Lime started drilling a straight hole again from a suitable position. I pressed my eye against a finger-sized hole where Lime had previously stopped.
"Hup."
There, an indescribable form of a tentacle monster was wriggling on the ceiling. It was a truly typical demon-type monster, with deep-sea fish-like tentacle protrusions all over its body, and several women were trapped underneath the monster.
Haa, haa.
'They're races belonging to the Human Alliance.' Most were human, but among them were beast-kin with cat ears, small-statured dwarves, and even a heavenly being. There was even a fallen dark elf. They were all tied up by tentacles, drooling and convulsing.
Uihit, save, please save me... Ah, an egg is coming out...!
'An automated spawning system by a tentacle monster, huh.' Gremory, I thought she was just a pervert obsessed with breasts, but she was a demon with a surprisingly sharp mind. As expected, she was a bit too precious to just eat and kill.
"Master, is there something interesting?"
"There's something you shouldn't see."
I covered Ryun's eyes so she wouldn't see, then slipped to the side. Ryun looked dissatisfied, but it was better than her screaming after seeing the sight inside.
"There's a terrifying monster inside. If you see it and scream, and the monster notices us, what will happen? The wall thickness is only about two finger-widths right now."
"...Is it that scary of a being?"
"Yes. At least, it's something I shouldn't show you."
At my exaggerated warning, Ryun tucked her tail. Curiosity kills the cat, but that was a place Ryun should never go. I confirmed the location of the room with the tentacle monster and walked along the tunnel Lime was making again.
"Lime is really good at digging paths."
"She's been practicing digging paths since her 1-star days."
Lime was a smart kid who, even when she was a slime, would do a shoddy job on my dungeon's ceiling construction. And using that intelligence, she was digging a new tunnel right next to the enemy dungeon's passage. The speed was very slow, but thanks to that, we could roughly grasp the structure of the dungeon, knowing what was around us from time to time.
"Um, Master, that place earlier..."
"Why? Did you feel something bothering you inside?"
"...No. It's just uncomfortable."
Ryun blinked and kept an eye on the rear again. I didn't know if the discomfort was because of the tentacle monster or the captured dark elf, and there was no need to know the reason.
'Just looking at it, if I touch it, it'll try to kidnap Ryun.'
I couldn't let some mere tentacle monster eat Ryun's virginity, which I hadn't even tasted yet. I comforted Ryun by gently grabbing her breasts.
"After the dungeon raid is over and I've confirmed it's a safe place, I'll take you there. Okay?"
"...Yes. I understand."
It was uncertain how Ryun would react. And so, for several hours. We moved very slowly along the tunnel Lime was digging. Veery slowly. At a pace of about one step every five seconds. I exercised superhuman patience and toured the outer areas of the dungeon. Moving without being caught was good, but the speed was so slow that it felt like the tide of battle would turn before I even found the enemy's heart.
"If we dig just a little faster..."
"No. We almost got caught by goblins earlier when we did that."
Ryun flatly rejected my opinion. In fact, at first, Lime dug the path at maximum speed, and we almost got caught by a group of goblins passing through the adjacent corridor. The dagger the guy stabbed toward the wall had narrowly grazed the front of my crotch.
Scrape. Scrape.
The sound of Lime eating through the dungeon wall wasn't non-existent. But there were many difficulties if we moved far away from the wall. If we just moved far away, we might end up in the wrong place. Our goal was the bedroom where Gremory would be writhing, surrounded by camels. To find it, Lime often drilled very small holes in the wall to spy on the inside. Like discovering the room with the tentacle monster, we succeeded in grasping the structure of the dungeon to some extent over several hours. And we arrived at our destination.
...find him! ...before S takes action!
A familiar voice came from beyond the wall. It was Gremory's angry voice, and Lime widened the hole very slowly. I watched Gremory through a hole as small as an awl.
"Damn it, how can you not find him even after 6 hours!"
"T-that, Kureuk, maybe they escaped with a scroll."
"There was no magic reaction at all! If they had escaped, there would have been a reaction from the System!"
"T-that, even if you say so, I haven't received the Demon King's grace..."
A goblin with a cowardly appearance bowed his head and trembled. It seemed Gremory was favorable toward the camel monster but looked down on the goblins. Gremory smacked the bearded goblin's head and threw a tantrum with her magic book.
"He's somewhere in this dungeon! I'm telling you to search everywhere! Do you think it's easy to find a High Elf subordinate?! If you look at the probability, it's a lower probability than 0.1%!"
"......."
Ryun poked my side and smiled brightly. I answered by giving a thumbs up toward Ryun. Just in time, Lime drilled a second hole that Ryun could also see, and Ryun and I examined Gremory's bedroom from the left and right.
'Her attire is quite free.'
'Right. Is she trying to sleep?'
Gremory was sprawled out on the bed in a black negligee dress, different from the moment I had encountered her. The bearded goblin was pretending not to, but was enjoying Gremory's see-through outfit.
"...Hmm? I feel a dirty gaze from somewhere."
"I-it's not me!"
"You're lying. Hmph, I can tell just by looking at your horny crotch. It's annoying, so go back."
Gremory ordered the goblin to leave. Gremory remained in the room, and she seemed to be taking some measures by holding her magic book and fiddling with the air.
'She's dealing with the System.'
'I can't see it, though.'
'Same here.'
It seemed that even between dungeon masters, the console wasn't shared. I was surprised that Gremory still hadn't noticed our existence, and I pondered how to crush Gremory.
'If we clash, it's 50/50...?'
At a glance, she felt like a powerhouse on Luna's level. Seeing her holding a magic book, she seemed to be a typical mage. Should I fight, or retreat and buy time? The moment I was agonizing over it.
"...!!"
Gremory stood up, startled. "This crazy?! You dug a new tunnel?! How?!"
It's moving to see her so startled. I sent a signal to Ryun and gave instructions to Lime.
Kwaduk!
Lime swallowed the entire wall. The bedroom wall collapsed with a crash, Lime spread out to the left and right, and Gremory looked this way with a surprised face. We broke through the wall and jumped into the bedroom.
"W-when did you...! Kut?!"
Gremory grabbed her magic book and raised her magic power. I ran through the hole Lime had created, and Gremory stretched her empty hand toward me and muttered something quickly.
"Foolish guy!"
It was magic. A giant crystal-like awl tried to pierce me. I took the gamble of a lifetime.
"Ryu——-un!!"
Along with a roar that filled the bedroom, Ryun's wind arrow was fired from behind me. The angle was in a completely wrong direction that didn't match Gremory at all, and it was fired toward my side instead.
"Hmph, stupid—"
"Huuup!"
I took a deep breath. The wind arrow grazed my side and ricocheted left and right. Ryun had fired arrows aiming precisely at both my sides, and the wind arrows that bounced off my side fat swept through the entire bedroom. Thanks to that, some of the awls were destroyed.
Kwa-gwa-gwang!
Dust rose. But even in the dust, Gremory aimed the remaining awls at me.
"Die!"
With a harsh sound, one of Gremory's awls flew precisely toward my stomach. I sensed victory.
"You made a mistake!"
Attacking a place on my body harder than a penis. Like the movement of a prisoner fighter swinging an iron ball, I bounced my stomach forward.
Ta—ang!
The awl couldn't even pierce my stomach and bounced off, and the spinning thing grazed Gremory's cheek.
"Wha—"
"You were careless, Hahaha!"
Puh——-uk.
In the posture of flying with a belly-bash, I crushed Gremory's face with my stomach.