The Dignity of a Dungeon Master
"Damn it, not even the Luna Cannon can wipe them all out. Just how many forces has that Vapula guy gathered?"
Luna’s Holy Power had completely run dry. Even though I was firing the Luna Cannon in short, rhythmic bursts—hip-hip-hoo, like a Lamaze breathing technique—the enemy monsters kept pouring out endlessly.
"There’s definitely something fishy going on. Something specific."
"What do you mean?"
"Where is the spawn point that keeps pumping out these turtles and centipedes like a bottomless pit?"
Crunch! I kicked the head of a turtle monster that had just popped out of the floor. The shape was so reminiscent of a glans that I felt a shiver of disgust. I knew the word 'glans' was originally derived from a turtle's head, but these monsters’ heads were truly, disturbingly accurate.
"These guys are driving me crazy. If I’d known it was going to be a war of attrition, I would’ve let you rest at home and brought all my other subordinates instead."
"Tell me about it."
The turtles and centipedes were easy enough to handle, but dozens of them would pop up every time we cleared a wave. I wanted to finish this quickly and leave, but this is a disaster.
I had thought the battle would end in an instant if we had Luna’s Holy Power laser. In fact, every time Luna took a breath and fired, the enemies were wiped out in one go.
"Master, enemies appearing in the front."
"I think I’ve recovered a little. Should I fire?"
"No. They’re just testing the waters right now. A pretty sharp bastard, that one."
The enemy wasn't completely stupid; they were throwing their troops at us with terrifying efficiency.
"If it comes down to it, we fire the Luna Cannon. For now, deal with them by hand."
There were too many for the other subordinates to handle alone, but the enemy was feeding them to us in waves that were just awkward enough to make using Luna’s Holy Cannon feel like a waste. Plus, they kept launching surprise attacks from behind, making it difficult to commit to a full-scale blast.
"I need to catch the enemy leader and crack his skull open."
"The path doesn't seem to be a maze, but it keeps going like this."
"It’s very similar to my sector. Isn't the first basement floor structured exactly like this?"
The winding path continued, and the troops blocking our way appeared in succession. We had considered letting the Dark Elves fight to buy time, but with enemies constantly popping out from under the ground, it was annoying—though admittedly, it was also kind of fun.
"We should arrange our troops like this when we get back."
"You want to recruit these guys? I’m not so sure about that."
"We have the Slime Dragons, don't we? If they trip and fall into a hole, they’d go straight into a Slime Dragon’s mouth and get kidnapped."
Seeing other dungeons really sparked a ton of ideas for how to decorate our own. Vapula was teaching me, through physical experience, exactly how to make an enemy lose their mind in a dungeon structured like this.
"Master, I think we’re almost there."
Ryun perked up her ears and focused on the enemy lines. We had beaten down a fair amount of turtles and centipedes, and at the end of the path, just as I expected, was the Hive that was spewing out the monsters.
"Ugh."
The mountain peak, covered in a wriggling, membrane-like substance, was plastered with two types of eggs. There looked to be at least hundreds of them, and they were constantly emerging from the volcanic crater at the summit.
"Galahad."
"Yes."
"Burn them."
Following my order, Galahad raised his sword and began to gently radiate Holy Power. The silvery energy spread toward the eggs, and as it touched them, the shells shattered and the eggs shriveled up instantly.
"Commander, I will help as well."
"Go ahead."
Guinevere swung his flail hard toward the eggs. A wave of Holy Power rippled out, bursting every single one of them.
Well, at least the EXP farming will be decent. Even if the individual amount was small, surely killing thousands of them would make the bar move. It wasn't exactly efficient, but it was better than nothing.
Pop, pop-pop, pop! The eggs were removed rapidly, sounding like fish roe bursting. Every time Galahad swung his sword left and right, dozens of eggs vanished, and every time Guinevere brought his flail down, an entire section was cleared.
"Huh?"
Ryun pointed to an egg that had rolled to her feet. It was quite vibrant in color; if hatched, it looked like it would be at least 3-star or higher.
"Master, if we take this with us, couldn't we hatch it in our own dungeon?"
"What good would it do to bring along turtle and centipede monsters? The turtle might be good for a Yongbongtang soup, at least."
Of course, I wouldn't hesitate to cut off the head before boiling it. If I were to use them as troops, they’d fit well on the first basement floor, but unfortunately, neither I nor Luna were particularly interested.
"Commander!"
Guinevere, who had been smashing the right side, shouted while pointing inside.
"There is someone inside!"
"Oh?"
"It’s a woman!"
"Whoa!"
I immediately ran forward and thrust my hand through the membrane. Looking closely, it wasn't so much a mountain as it was a tent made of flesh.
"Excuse me-!"
Riiip, riiiip. I tore the entrance open. And inside—
"Whoa."
A blonde woman with angel wings was tied up in chains made of centipede monsters, completely naked. The angel woman’s belly was swollen as if she had been Seeded, and as soon as she saw me with her dazed eyes, she let out a scream.
"Kyaaaak! Don't look! Please!"
"Are you giving birth?"
"Ah, no, unngghhh!!"
The angel woman rolled her eyes back and drooled. At the same time, her bulging belly began to bubble, and she spilled dozens of small eggs out below.
"Haa, haa, haaa..."
The woman fainted with unfocused eyes. The centipedes waiting behind her began to pick up the eggs one by one and guard us.
"This is..."
"It seems she was captured and forced into this. ...And by centipedes, no less."
"It’s possible Magic Crystals were involved. Either way... the forced birth is the same."
"...That’s rough."
I looked at the angel woman buried in the midst of the centipedes and reflected once more. Following the Happy Las principle, our legion ensured that, aside from prisoners, everyone could engage in acts in a free atmosphere. We never made them into forced egg-laying machines like this.
"Luna."
"Yes."
Luna knelt in front of the angel woman. The angel woman was terrified of the Dark Elf sitting before her, but her eyes widened as she saw the faint holy mark rising on her lower abdomen.
"Ah, aaah..."
"Oh, Goddess."
Whoosh! The Holy Power that spread from her lower abdomen surged through Luna’s entire body. The centipede monsters holding the eggs in their mouths crumbled instantly, and as soon as the angel woman fell from the chains, she prostrated herself.
"Ah, aaaaah!"
"To your child, the grace of God."
Flash! The Holy Power erupting from Luna’s body engulfed the entire hive. I grabbed Ryun and quickly escaped outside, and the Holy Power, spreading in a wide circle centered on Luna, annihilated the hive, the nearby eggs, and the centipede monsters on the floor.
Hummm. After the light faded, I finally recovered my vision and looked ahead. There, only Luna, kneeling in prayer, and the prostrate angel woman remained.
"What is your name?"
"......."
The angel woman hesitated and didn't answer my question. Her eyes seemed to be gauging the relationship between me and Luna, so I stepped behind Luna, kissed her on the cheek, and asked again.
"What is your name?"
"...I am called Valak."
"The 62nd Legion. Nice to meet you. I am the master of the Legion of Wrath. This Dark Elf is the Elf Queen of our legion."
"Ah..."
The master of the legion. Although I had left my seal at the main base, it wouldn't be easy for anyone to impersonate the master of the legion. Valak shed tears as she looked at me.
"I, I have a favor to ask...!"
Valak shed tears of blood and pointed behind her back.
"Please... kill Vapula!"
Thud. Valak fainted. Perhaps the tension had finally snapped, as she showed no signs of waking up.
"Hey, wake up. I said wake up, didn't I?"
"Master, I think she’s completely relaxed and fainted. I don't think she’ll wake up."
"She seems to have been captured and forced to lay eggs. Maybe she feels safe now, thinking you came to save her?"
"Hmm..."
It wasn't that I had intended to save her—it was more of a coincidence—but since we had saved her, it couldn't be helped. I entrusted Valak to Guinevere, who had been the first to discover her.
"Galahad and you, stay here and guard this woman. I’m going to take Ryun and Luna to crack Vapula’s skull open."
"Us?"
"Yes. I trust you won't force yourselves on a woman in this situation."
"Of course. Please leave it to us with peace of mind."
Galahad took off his jacket and put it on Valak. Guinevere also took off his priest’s robe and laid it on the floor so Valak could lie down comfortably. Indeed, Galahad’s gentlemanly genes must have been passed down from Guinevere.
"Then let’s go."
I placed my hand on the cave wall. I activated my tattoos, and my whole body glowed red as I pressed firmly against the wall Valak had pointed to.
Rumble. The cave wall slid open to the left and right. If it hadn't been for this struggle, ordinary intruders would have surely mistaken the hive from earlier as the end of the dungeon.
"Bad taste. To think you were watching from right behind."
"Heh-heh-heh, master of the legion. You were overconfident."
On the other side of the clearing, a lion the size of a house was baring its teeth at me. It had ivory-colored wings on its back, and around it, smaller lions similar to it were flapping their wings, watching me. There were only about 20 of them.
I checked the enemy Vapula forces and realized why Valak had been used as an egg factory.
"You, you absorbed Valak’s army as it was. And used it as a shield for your dungeon."
"That is so. The weak must follow the rules of the strong. Since you dared to invade our territory, how could we show mercy?"
"You staged a coup? Then that’s understandable."
I clenched my fists and loosened my hands.
"Whether you kill them, dismember them, or use them as slaves, I don't care. They dared to invade my territory, so it’s only natural. But!"
I pointed to the unconscious Valak behind me.
"I cannot forgive someone who performs a Las without happiness!"
"......What kind of crazy nonsense are you spouting?"
"Making her a machine that only lays eggs without any act or pleasure! You are disqualified as a dungeon master!"
Grind. Vapula gnashed his teeth at my criticism. But I could not forgive that bastard.
"You, didn't you know she was an angel? If so, that’s heresy! Apostasy! If a monster catches an angel, it’s only natural to take her! To not do that and just leave her as a factory to lay eggs is something I, as the master of Las, cannot forgive!"
"...So I have to be cursed at like this because I didn't mate with Valak?"
"Of course!"
"Crazy bastard."
Vapula haughtily tilted his head and looked down at me.
"A king should stand at the pinnacle! If so, the king should have a being of dignity befitting that status by his side! How could I take an angel who follows a goddess as my wife, when she has become a dungeon master who commands bugs!"
"Foolish one! An angel becoming a dungeon master already means she has decided to become a demon herself! A fallen angel, what a stimulating word that is! Do you not know that woman’s desperation!"
I stepped forward and shouted even louder.
"She was so desperate that she had to fall on her own and command the bugs you speak of! Why don't you know that the true dignity of a dungeon master is to defeat such a desperate woman, make her my subordinate, and then promise her survival to make her a woman who only looks at me! To sow seeds and create new subordinates, that is the true dungeon master!"
"You’re a madman. So, you’re saying you can stick your thing inside that girl?"
"Of course!"
"Hahahaha!"
Vapula arrogantly burst into laughter at me.
"She’s a former angel! There’s still plenty of Holy Power left inside her! And you’re going to put it in? You madman!"
"You’re afraid of Holy Power, so you can't put it in? You foolish bastard!"
I lifted Luna up. Luna let out a short sigh and, as if to show him, spread her legs left and right. Luna was in a position with her back to Vapula.
"Behold! One who sows seeds without yielding even to Holy Power, that shall be the true dungeon master!"
"W-what are you doing!!"
"It’s Las!"
As my reddened cock pierced through Luna, Holy Power began to flow from Luna’s body. My skin began to sting, and Vapula’s group lowered their eyes and backed away, but my cock dug even deeper into Luna’s heated interior.
"Witness this! This is the dignity of a dungeon master, the dignity of the master of the legion!"
Not yielding to any adversity. Not even mere Holy Power could stop my will.