The Lion's Den and the Baron's Obsession
Whoosh! As soon as I entered the portal, the stench of foul beasts assaulted my nose. The odor was so overwhelming that I had to pinch my nostrils shut immediately, and I gestured for my subordinates to do the same as they followed me in.
“Cover your noses right no—wait, what?”
“Is something wrong, Master?”
Ryun looked bewildered, while Gremory giggled and mocked me. “Don’t you smell something strange?”
“Smell? You mean the stench?”
“I can smell it, but it seems you’re much more sensitive to it than the others.”
Ryun couldn’t smell a thing, but Gremory and I could? “It seems the elves can’t detect it, so that must be it. Hey, don’t step there. That’s been marked.”
“Marked? You mean… ugh.”
Ryun realized what Gremory meant and scrambled up onto my shoulders. A lion marking its territory meant it had pissed or sprayed something, and the ground was damp and soggy enough that I didn’t want to step on it.
“I really hate this.”
“There’s enough room for one person to walk, isn’t there?”
“Then come here, Gremory. It’s not good to get your feet dirty.” I pulled Gremory into my arms, and she pressed something soaked in water against my nose. A thick, musky scent filled my nostrils, surprisingly fragrant.
“Use this to endure it.”
“Sniff, sniff. What is this?”
“It’s stocking fabric. I made a handkerchief out of it. It should dampen the smell a bit.”
“Thanks. *Sniff*.”
Thanks to the black handkerchief Gremory provided, I was able to keep my wits about me. But at the same time, I couldn’t understand why I was so sensitive to a stench that even Ryun couldn’t detect.
“Is Vapula spraying some kind of special pheromone… or just a scent?”
“I can’t smell anything at all, Master.”
“That’s to be expected. It’s not just anything; it’s a scent that only pure-blooded demons can perceive. It’s a mark of his territory. And to mark it… he sprays this.”
Gremory reached down, grabbed my cock, and shook it back and forth. The natural, warm stimulation didn’t make me cum, but it allowed me to instantly grasp the nature of the foul odor.
“He sprays his own stuff everywhere? Is he insane?”
“You do the same to your women, don’t you? You spray enough cum to soak their hair.”
“That’s true. Vapula, you crazy bastard.”
If he was spraying it as a sign of ownership over his own things, I could empathize. The only difference was that Vapula sprayed it on his ‘land,’ while I sprayed it on my women.
“By that same logic, Ryun, your body and Gremory’s must be heavily coated in my scent.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t know?”
“……What?”
I was shocked by this newfound fact. And at the same time, one worry crossed my mind.
“It’s not like I smell like sweat or rot, right?”
“Not at all!”
“It’s hard to call it ‘fragrant,’ but it’s not body odor or anything like that. It’s just a scent that lingers on the body, so it’s hard to describe.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I was worried for a second.”
I had been terrified that others might think I smelled bad because of it. Since they said that wasn’t the case, I relaxed a little and continued deeper into the Flame Lion sub-dungeon.
Not long after, a Flame Lion that looked exactly like Vapula was wandering around with its back to us.
“Is it a female?”
“How can you tell, Master?”
“The males have manes around their heads.”
Even if they were demons, there had to be common genetic traits for the lion species. Since there was no mane to be seen, it was clearly a female.
“They say the males sit still while the females go out to hunt. Ryun, get down. And snipe it.”
“May I?”
Ryun looked at Gremory instead of me. Given the situation, it was more urgent for Gremory to kill the Flame Lion than Ryun.
“Yes, go ahead. I’ll keep watch.”
Gremory gave her consent, and Ryun, gaining confidence, drew her bowstring toward the Flame Lion’s rear.
“Please, one shot…!”
*Whoosh!* The wind arrow flew like a beam of light and struck the Flame Lion’s backside. The beast twisted in surprise, but we were all shocked to see a cylindrical hole appear in its lower half.
“Ryun, you really are the best at sniping. You aimed for it, didn’t you?”
“No, that’s… you said it was a female, so I didn’t think…”
“It’s fine. I told you it was a female, so that’s on me. Besides, what does it matter if you hit that spot? Look at how much it’s suffering now.”
The Flame Lion was rolling on the ground, gasping in pain. The trace of the wind arrow was clearly visible on its lower body, and even from a distance, the sharp scent of blood began to waft over.
“Gremory, do you know what it feels like to be pierced there?”
“No. I don’t. More importantly, can’t you focus on the battle?”
*ROAR!* Before Gremory, who had stood up from my arms, could finish her sentence, the Flame Lion rolling on the floor spewed fire from its mouth and let out a blood-curdling scream.
“It’s making such a fuss about the pain.”
The maneless Flame Lion had no mane, and thanks to Ryun’s sniping, it now had a hole blown through its balls. It might be painful, but it was incredibly annoying to have a sub-dungeon monster making so much noise.
“Stop struggling for nothing. Just die already.”
Was this its final burst of life? The Flame Lion, as if unwilling to die like this, leaped up and lunged at us.
*KYYYAAAH!*
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I snapped my teeth and caught the beast’s maw, holding it shut.
“*Kik?!*”
“Where are you opening your shit-smelling mouth?”
The breath of the Flame Lion, which had stopped right in front of me, reeked like a boss who had just finished a cigarette and tried to wash it down with cheap vending machine coffee. I forced its mouth shut.
“Brush your teeth, you son of a bitch!”
“*Kkeureuk, kkeureureuk.*”
The Flame Lion tried to open its mouth repeatedly, but I pinned it down with brute force. It never imagined its mouth would be caught like this. Its downfall was lunging at us without a second thought, hoping to swallow us whole.
“Hold it there. I’ll finish it.”
Gremory pressed the tip of her staff against the Flame Lion’s neck. Whether it knew its fate or not, the beast struggled to escape my grip.
“Sever.”
*Crunch!* The blade of mana Gremory released sliced through the Flame Lion’s neck. The cross-section was so smooth it couldn’t have been cleaner. The Flame Lion twitched briefly and then went limp.
“What kind of magic was that?”
“It’s moving wind quickly to create a blade. I’m still not skilled enough to launch it from afar, but I can do it at close range like this.”
*Slice, slice!* Gremory began to cook the Flame Lion to her liking. The lion, with its neck and limbs severed, was chopped up so thoroughly it was hard to call it a lion anymore. Blood didn’t spray; it just slowly dripped from the cuts, soaking the floor.
“Amazing. Ryun, you try it next time. I’ll make sure it can’t open its mouth again. You just blow its balls off like you did now and finish it off.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose, but I can hit it if you tell me to… Master, should I really shoot? Those ones, too?”
Perhaps they had already smelled their comrade’s blood, but Flame Lions were roaring and charging from the other side of the tunnel.
*ROAR!!*
Ryun’s bowstring was already pointed at the newly appeared Flame Lions. I cracked my knuckles twice and spread my arms toward them.
“Ryun, Gremory! We’re starting the neutering surgery now, you overgrown kittens!!”
I took a deep breath and let out a roar at the charging lions.
“Come and get it!!”
With Gremory and Ryun supporting me from the sides, I began to take care of the Flame Lions one by one.
* * *
At the same time Pahuu was busy cracking lion eggs, a shabby building in Spica Castle, Virgo Territory, was packed with people as usual. The fairies were having a hard time kicking out one particular troublemaker among the many guests.
“When will Miss Meari return…?”
“That will be… soon…”
“You said that an hour ago.”
“Since she travels by magic, there might be some delays. Please understand.”
“You said that two hours ago.”
A troublemaker through and through. Baron Virgo, the woman who caused more stress than a general store selling goods, had arrived, and the fairies and Gei were at their wits’ end.
‘She must be completely obsessed.’
They knew exactly why the Baron was looking for Meari at the crack of dawn. And this was a problem that could only be solved if Meari returned.
“What on earth is going on?”
“Miss Meari!!”
“…I understand the situation now. Leave it to me.”
The savior, and the person in charge whom the troublemaker was looking for, had arrived at Avalon. Meari, covered in dust, straightened her clothes as much as possible and carefully opened the door to the basement where the Baron was waiting.
“I apologize for being late, Baron.”
“Welcome, Meari.”
The Baron was already lying on the bed, waiting for Meari. Judging by the scattered clothes and the Baron’s state, it seemed she hadn’t been able to wait for Meari and had done something naughty on her own.
‘I need to put her to sleep.’
Once she was asleep, the succubi would take care of the cleanup, but the problem was that the Baron showed absolutely no signs of wanting to sleep.
“Baron. Aren’t you tired? Why don’t you close your eyes for a moment…?”
“I’m still full of energy. Hehe. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Was she oblivious, or was she pretending not to know because she wanted to be with Meari?
“Actually, I’ve been waiting since dawn today. So I finished all my work and came here. Oh-ho-ho.”
‘Either way, I just wish you’d leave.’
There was a mountain of work to do, and the Baron’s behavior seemed so ridiculous and simple-minded.
“Then, Meari… would it be possible today as well?”
Meari looked at the Baron, who was brimming with anticipation, and carefully opened her mouth.
“Baron. Do you happen to know what a slime daughter is…?”
The Baron’s expression froze coldly.
* * *
“Wooooo!!” I blocked a maneless male lion that was lunging at me. It swung its sharp claws to slash me, but they just scraped against the iron shield I had brought and bounced off.
“Gremory!”
“Got it.”
Now that I had blocked the attack with the shield, it was time to counterattack. Gremory gathered her mana and struck the ground with her staff, causing sharp thorn-spears to erupt from the earth and pierce the Flame Lion’s heart.
*ROAR!* The Flame Lion, its heart pierced, screamed and collapsed. Then, the Flame Lion behind it stepped on the corpse of its dead comrade and leaped up, high enough to touch the ceiling.
*KYYYAAAH!*
“You crazy bastard!”
It was trying to slam its claws down with its full weight. I glanced at Ryun and Gremory’s status.
‘Intercept impossible.’
Gremory was recovering her mana, and Ryun’s hand was swollen, making it impossible for her to fire her bow for a while. Therefore, I had to intercept it.
‘There’s only one way.’
I tilted the iron shield slightly to the side and threw it at the Flame Lion.
“Captain LAS!”
*Whoosh—!!* The iron shield I threw with all my might flew like a boomerang and struck the Flame Lion’s face. It wasn’t a circular shield, but a style with a sharp bottom, and luckily, the pointed part embedded itself in the Flame Lion’s forehead.
*KYYYAAAH?!*
The Flame Lion began to fall toward me in the same position it had leaped. It was too late to dodge, so I spread my arms and caught the beast.
“Ugh?!”
I felt like I was going to be crushed to death by the immense weight, but I channeled the power of my tattoos and hugged the Flame Lion with all my might. The Flame Lion, with one side of its face caved in, tried to claw at me with dim eyes, but I finished it off faster than that.
*Snap!* The Flame Lion’s neck twisted 180 degrees. Its neck bone broken in an instant, the Flame Lion could no longer endure the pain and died, and I fell backward, catching its body.
*Thud!* It was an incredible weight, but I didn’t die. I caught my breath once and then crawled out from under the Flame Lion’s corpse.
“Heavy as hell. Phew.”
“…Is this the last one?”
“Yeah. This is the last one. Right before the boss.”
I sat down in front of the foul-smelling iron door. Gremory and Ryun gathered around and sat down together.
“We’ll rest a bit and then take down the boss. Even if it’s hard… we have to take it down. The two of you.”
I would be the tank, and Gremory and Ryun would fight as the dealers. There was only one reason I had excluded everyone else and brought these two.
“……We have to evolve, right?”
Gremory and Ryun. We were just 1 level away from the level required for evolution.