The Underdog's Rebellion
The Solomon 72 Dungeons are like an arena for the demons. Some might complain that the measure of one's strength has shifted from individual prowess to dungeon management capability, but ultimately, to prove one's worth within the Demon King's Army, contribution to the war against the human alliance is what matters most. And those at the very bottom are the ones most passionate about that.
In truth, how many of them actually become dungeon owners to contribute to the Demon King's Army? Regardless, because they are the most active and passionate, the rankings fluctuate frequently.
"From 66th to 72nd place, these are the dungeons where the owners change the most often. The Andromalius dungeon you conquered, Master, is the same," Shaitan spoke first. Following her urgent report, we had gathered in the government conference hall in Las Vegas. Myself, Ryun, Shaitan, Gremory, Eila, and Meari. While the gender ratio was skewed, this group effectively constituted the executives of our dungeon.
"So, is it possible that Dantalion's dungeon, ranked 71st, has also disappeared?"
"That is correct. If the dungeon owner dies or is extinguished, the portal may not open. Of course, high-ranking dungeon owners could use illusion magic to conceal their dungeons, but..."
"Solomon's System is superior. No matter how much of a master of illusion magic one is, they cannot deceive the System." Gremory refuted Shaitan's answer to my question. Even setting aside the praise for Solomon, it was impossible to believe someone could deceive Solomon's System and pull off a trick. Especially not a 71st-ranked dungeon owner.
"Then, does this mean the 'Dantalion' dungeon definitively 'does not exist' right now?"
The portal won't open. That was effectively the same as saying connection through the System was impossible. In other words, a demon's dungeon by the name of 'Dantalion' currently did not exist.
"Couldn't someone have already conquered it and registered it as a sub-dungeon?"
"But I am currently registered as the Andras dungeon. And Gremory came to attack my dungeon, which was registered as the Andras dungeon. Shaitan, the Andromalius dungeon is the same, right?"
"That is correct. Unless a new, official Andromalius appears, if someone opens a portal to attack the 72nd-ranked dungeon, it will be here. The portal door will either become the entrance to a sub-dungeon or open somewhere within this dungeon."
"Right. The spot furthest from the entrance. ...Wait, that's connected to Gremory's dungeon via portal, isn't it?"
"I suspect the System will adjust it automatically. I heard that when the entrance to a sub-dungeon is too close to the summoning facility, the portal is summoned to the furthest possible location."
"From whom?"
"I heard it from Lord Solomon."
If it came straight from the horse's mouth, there was nothing to be done. Gremory, who had wanted to argue something, and Meari, who had been ruminating on the loopholes of the System, no longer had anything to say. The only thing that mattered right now was that the portal to the Dantalion dungeon would not open.
"Does anyone have any other opinions?"
"What about the case where another dungeon is currently raiding the Dantalion dungeon? For instance, completely blocking third-party intervention in a 1-on-1 between dungeon owners." Eila seemed to think it might be a sacred ritual of duel. But wouldn't the System have displayed a different message in that case? Shaitan, as if reading my thoughts, asked for my permission and answered Eila. During a struggle for supremacy, only one portal opens. That was the summary of Shaitan's explanation. And while Shaitan was talking about the dungeons, I was ruminating on the System's notification.
"Doesn't exist, doesn't exist..."
Dantalion, the 71st dungeon, does not exist. If so, what is the reason the portal won't open? Thinking about how the supremacy struggle system works, the conclusion leads to one point.
"I understand."
I came up with a hypothesis. And to confirm that hypothesis, I immediately stood up.
"Ryun. Tell Lime to gather all the Slime Dragons. I'm going out myself."
"Yes. Where will you set the portal?"
"The very center of the common area. I'm not going far, I'm going to raid it immediately."
Ryun ran to the portal without a single question. Ryun, who trusts me unconditionally without questioning my orders, was one thing, but the other four looked at me with puzzled faces.
"Did you figure out some other method?"
"Yeah. If I'm right, it's an immediate raid, and if not, I'll just watch... but it doesn't really matter. In any case, isn't the main goal to trample all the guys below me?"
If I wipe out every dungeon from 64th to 72nd, I don't have to worry about insubordination. I had already wiped out the 72nd, but it didn't seem necessary to defeat every single one of those dungeons individually.
"The war has already begun, and it seems I'm not the only one thinking of beating everyone up. If there's a thug like me trying to trample the guys below, there's bound to be an underdog trying to rip the throats of the guys at the top. And the latter are likely overwhelmingly more numerous."
"...Aha, that could be the case."
"I apologize, but I don't know what you mean."
Shaitan didn't understand at all. That was the same for Eila. Born into high and noble status, the two of them don't know the heart of an underdog. Because they are existences who have never had anything taken from them, and because they are existences who have never felt the need to take something from someone else, they wouldn't be able to think of it.
"It's simple."
I raised my palm, which had been lying flat at the bottom, up one level.
"If there's someone coming down from the top, it's natural that there's someone pushing up from the bottom. Shaitan. You say the 71st dungeon won't open? Then check the 70th and 69th dungeons. Don't open them yourself, just find out if they 'can be opened'."
"......Please wait a moment."
Shaitan also crossed over to the portal for a moment.
"Eila. I'll leave the Orcs to you. If an enemy attacks, you can lead the army yourself and smash them."
"...Master, are you really sure that's alright?"
"Your level has gone up significantly, and above all, isn't your troop composition better in quality and quantity than the humans? Use the three species—Orcs, Andras, and Harpies—well. From now on, the defense of this Las Vegas will be your exclusive responsibility."
"Understood. ...I will do my best to protect it."
Eila knelt on one knee and bowed her head to me. Her expression was so solemn that I almost became serious myself.
"Eila Aries, I will lay down my life to protect this city in accordance with Master's command."
"Are you crazy? Lay down your life to protect it?"
I immediately pulled Eila up and spanked her. Eila was startled by the sudden palm to her buttocks, and I stood my palm up and struck Eila's chest left and right instead of her cheek. It didn't hurt, just enough to make it flush slightly.
"Ahk...!"
Eila trembled her lips at my punishment that wasn't quite a punishment. She had a face that didn't understand why, and for what reason, she was being punished in this way, even though she was indeed being hit. However, there was one mindset that the lord of Las Vegas, of all places, should rightly possess.
"What did I tell you to do if this city looks like it's going to fall?"
"......Are you saying I should run away through the portal?"
"Obviously. If it looks like you're going to die, run. Don't try to act all heavy and say things like 'Kuh, kill me' like in the old days. You only say things like that when we're playing those kinds of games in bed. You understand?"
"...Understood. I apologize."
Eila bowed her head deeply. I stroked her perky breasts to comfort her.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll assume it came from excessive loyalty to me."
"Master."
Shaitan returned quickly after checking in the meantime.
"The portal to the 70th, Seere's dungeon, also won't open. Likewise, the portal to the 69th, Decarabia's dungeon, didn't open either. However..."
"The 68th is possible, right?"
"...Yes. It is possible to open a portal to the 68th, Belial's dungeon. As a result of checking just in case, it is possible to open portals to all dungeons from 64th to 67th."
The 72nd dungeon I had ambushed had been extinguished. And the dungeons from 71st to 69th had also been extinguished.
"Heh, I see. As expected of a demon who lives up to his name."
"Pardon?"
"It's just nonsense. If I were to continue the nonsense... I wonder what it would have been like if he had kept that name, but since he changed his name himself, it can't be helped. Eila! I leave the rest to you."
I pointed beyond the portal to Gremory and Shaitan. Eila ran to my side with a flustered look in her eyes.
"Ma, Master...?"
Eila rubbed her thighs and rolled her eyes left and right. Because I had touched her, Eila seemed to have flushed slightly. I slowly pushed the hand that had been touching Eila's breasts and buttocks into Eila's underwear. Squish. It was very wet. I pulled my finger out and pointed the government building out to Eila.
"Spend tonight alone. It's punishment for saying you'd die as you pleased."
"......."
For those addicted to Las, what punishment could be more effective than sleeping alone? Eila was blankly staring with a face that looked like the world had collapsed, and I took Shaitan and Gremory and crossed the portal.
"You are mischievous."
"You'll just ravage Eila as soon as it hits midnight and the date changes."
"Obviously."
Sleeping alone tonight. Since it will be tomorrow night once midnight passes, if I take her to bed at exactly 12:00, she'll be embarrassed but will come in gladly. The timing was just right.
"Master, the preparations are finished."
Ryun was waiting in the middle of the dungeon's common area, leading the Slime Dragons. From the Slime Dragon No. 1 to No. 3 that I had evolved previously, and the newly summoned Slime Dragon No. 4 and No. 5. A total of five Slime Dragons were waiting for my instructions.
"Then let's get ready to attack. You've rested well, haven't you? We have to go raid the next dungeon immediately."
"The preparations to open the portal are complete."
Shaitan unbuttoned the shirt covering her lower abdomen. A red heart-shaped light was twinkling as a tattoo, and she could launch a surprise attack by opening a portal to the desired location at any time according to my instructions.
"Since the preparations are done, I'll explain. To put it bluntly, the owner of the 71st dungeon, Dantalion, broke the 70th and 69th and took their names. He started as Dantalion and became Seere and Decarabia."
In other words, Dantalion had smashed the heads of the two above him and taken their spots. That was my hypothesis and conclusion. Just like how I, who was an existence outside the list, had snapped Andras's neck and taken the Andras dungeon.
"Ryun was there at that time. Ryun, do you remember? Do you remember the conditions when you plunder someone else's dungeon? There were three."
"'The one where you said you'd register it as Andras'?"
"Right. That's also the path to climbing to a higher rank. Of course, a new Andromalius and Dantalion will appear in the empty seats, but..."
How much activity can a new monster really have if it enters the arena as a newbie after being smashed once? The veterans would have already adjusted their grades to 5-star or 6-star and evolved their subordinates into all sorts of high-grade, high-level entities.
"There's no need to worry. We can block it sufficiently if we just plug one speed bump at the bottom. In that sense, the dungeon we will attack is this one."
I drew a number on the floor. The executives heard the number and what I had said and immediately grasped the meaning.
"Indeed. It will certainly act as a speed bump."
"Right. Originally, blocking the entrance is the basic of basics when you take a multi-dungeon."
The number 64 was written on the floor. The rank immediately below Andras, a dungeon with the name <Flauros>.
"Our dungeon's speed bump is here. And once we completely remove the danger below..."
"Then we can just remove from 57th to 62nd. Don't worry. Both 57th Ose and 58th Amy are idiots who have been raided by me several times and returned crying."
"That's great news. Then let's go. Shaitan, open the portal."
"Yes."
A portal opened right in front of the common area. The reason I don't bother installing it far away is because I am confident in the victory of myself and my legion against Flauros.
"Let's go."
Ryun, Lime, and five Slime Dragons. The winning team that had raided the Gremory dungeon in the past, plus the Slime Dragons. And me. It was a combination that couldn't lose even if it tried.