Ruin Exploration (5) - The Dungeon Lord is Dead!
The Dungeon Lord was dead. 'Envy' had originally been the 'guardian' of a certain dungeon. That dungeon belonged to 'Gluttony'.
Gluttony loved food. Its favorite food was humans. So Gluttony turned an entire village into its dungeon. It granted those foods a taste of hollow power. And then something astonishing happened. The foods began creating other foods to offer up to Gluttony. Since it was something the humans did of their own accord, they were even able to fend off the dispatches from their greatest nemesis, the Windsor Knights. Of course, it was more likely they simply hadn't noticed.
Terrified of losing their power, the foods desperately concealed the information. Thanks to that, 'Envy' enjoyed a bountiful childhood. As a guardian, she rarely had to risk her life, and Gluttony doted on her.
But eternal peace never lasted. One day, amid those happy days, a girl arrived in the village.
"What the hell is this? Not even Aztec-level."
Silver hair, silver eyes. Even to the eyes of demons who could only see in shades of gray, she was strikingly beautiful. The girl sighed as she looked at the 'foods' trying to offer her up as a sacrifice.
"The concept's fresh... but disgusting."
Envy's peaceful, comfortable village shattered to pieces. The girl was unbelievably strong. No, 'strong' wasn't enough to describe it. She was inhuman. The girl sliced through the foods with mechanical precision. There wasn't a shred of mercy in her strikes. How could someone do something so horrific? The livestock they'd been fattening for fifty years was ruined. Gluttony screamed and charged at her. But to Envy, the towering figure of Gluttony was torn to shreds.
The demons who followed him grieved deeply and raged. But Envy was different. She gnawed at her nails furiously, unable to tear her eyes away from Sisilia. The trajectory of her sword swings, her stance—everything was fluid and beautiful. The girl, who pronounced death without a hint of mercy, seemed like the goddess of legend. At the same time, Envy burned with envy. Why not me? Why wasn't I born like that?
"I'm jealous, so jealous, I'm going insane with jealousy."
Terror etched into her soul. But she admired her. She yearned for her. Deep down, Envy wanted to become like that herself. So she climbed up to Terezia. She made a suitable spot her base and, whenever the surrounding demons suffered 'devastating losses,' she headed there to read the memories of the corpses. And based on those memories—and her own—she created the 'Slaughterer.' Around that time, the Demon King's Castle sent a 'person' who bestowed upon her the epithet of Envy. The order came down to kill as many humans as possible. Envy ignored it. She had only one interest. Making the Slaughterer as close as possible to the 'original.' No—surpassing the original. Then, someday, when she faced the 'original,' she would be acknowledged.
"I see. That's really sad."
Sisilia said it with a face that wasn't sad at all. Envy, her face covered in purple bruises, forced her poorly swollen eyes open and spoke.
"Th-that's everything. I was so focused on my research, I never killed a single person! I swear!"
"But your speech pattern's changed a bit."
"Th-the Slaughterer didn't like it, so..."
"Slaughterer?"
"Eek! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Envy prostrated herself, trembling in terror. She'd become this obedient because Sisilia, finding it a hassle, had briefly revealed a sliver of her true presence. No one was watching anyway, and she wasn't in the mood to play around. It was a rational choice.
"The concept's weird from the start. That sucks."
"It, it does...? But I worked so hard on it."
"Yeah. The 'obsessed with envy' concept is good, but the lines are too long."
Sisilia narrowed her eyes. Why am I giving concept advice to a demon? Still, she pressed on.
"The problem is it lacks weight. You're one of the Seven Deadly Sins, 'Envy.' Rank 21 in the demon world—that should come with some gravitas. Give it impact."
Envy's eyes rolled around wildly. Sisilia's expression hardened. It was disgustingly ugly, beyond words.
"I don't really get it..."
Sisilia sighed and lightly stomped her foot. A chilling wind blew, scattering her silver hair in a dramatic arc.
"Something like this special effect."
"Whoa, whoaaa!"
Seeing Envy react like a delighted child brought a sudden wave of reality crashing down. Suddenly, Envy's eyes widened, and she prostrated again.
"H-he's awake!"
"He...? Oh, your object of admiration?"
"Gasp. H-how did you..."
Envy covered her mouth in shock.
"Anyway, we need to hurry back to the dungeon! I'm not lying, I swear! The dolls won't listen when I'm this far away!"
"No need to worry about that."
"Huh? B-but there are 20 humans inside. Twenty objects of admiration—that's insanely powerful..."
"Sigh."
Sisilia sighed again. She'd suspected it from their first encounter, but this demon... had low intelligence.
"Why do you think I hunted you down first? If you'd been stalking me, you'd know I never let anyone on a mission with me die. Didn't I take measures before leaving?"
"Ah...!"
"If even one of the Seven Deadly Sins doesn't know that, how do you survive in brutal demon society? Hopeless."
...But stupid demons are useful.
Sisilia blinked, pondering from every angle. The Demon King's Castle was showing unusual movements. She needed an informant, someone high-ranking enough to come and go from the castle. But trusting a high-ranking demon could backfire anytime. One mistake, and the Demon King subjugation difficulty would skyrocket.
In that regard, Envy was perfect. Too dumb to betray her without getting caught immediately, and she'd likely get executed by the Demon King soon enough anyway.
"What's your name?"
"F-Fern."
"...Sounds like a lame adventurer party healer."
Even the name sucks.
But Sisilia couldn't just offer a 'contract' right away. The problem was she really disliked Fern. She truly didn't like this demon.
"Plus, you're ugly as hell."
"...!"
Oh no. She'd only thought it, but it slipped out.
"Sob, waaah, sniff."
Fern covered her mouth and burst into sobs. Sisilia felt a pang of conscience—she was human, after all.
"That's too much! Waaah! I didn't choose to be born like this... sob!"
Sisilia crouched down, grabbed Fern's head, and lifted it. Her tear- and snot-streaked face wasn't pitiful—it was repulsive.
"..."
There was only one solution. Fix it.
"Let's do plastic surgery. You said your Authority mimics, so you can change your face shape, right?"
"Wh-what?! There's a way like that?!"
She's such an idiot...
Sisilia sighed and told her to try changing to the prettiest face she could think of.
"...You wanna die? Using my face?"
"S-sorry!"
There was a minor mishap, but Fern successfully changed her face. However...
"..."
Sisilia felt the sky collapsing. Her aesthetic sense was zero. The eyes were in completely different places. And the hair was a lumpy, shit-brown color.
"...Do exactly as I say. First, hair color pink. Brighter—no, even brighter. Hmm, nose a bit higher."
And so, Sisilia dove into customizing her.
**
"What..."
"Is this...?"
The rookie knights couldn't close their mouths at the sight. The countless 'objects of admiration' lay shattered on the ground. The culprit was Sisilia. Not the child Sisilia, but the statue Sisilia.
"Is she... helping us?"
"But those are demon creations. Why would she...?"
As the other objects of admiration moved to attack the rookies, the statue Sisilia began smashing them. Whether from the sudden ambush or Sisilia's strength, they shattered far too easily.
"As expected, Lady Sisilia's even different with clones."
"Lady Sisilia is invincible!"
This isn't the time!
Beatrice looked anxiously at the child Sisilia. The child Sisilia glared at the statue Sisilia with fierce hostility.
All that milk I drank...
M-milk? What does that mean?
The statue Sisilia, having finished cleaning up, walked toward them. At the same time, the child Sisilia toddled over cutely. They met in the middle. Both smirked faintly, then swung their swords in unison.
"Are they fighting?"
"Wait... what's going on? Which one's on our side?"
As the confused rookies spoke, the two Sisilias clashed in fierce combat. Their blades exchanged at speeds invisible to the eye—both mesmerizing. Most rookies couldn't even track the trajectories.
The baby Sisilia's at a disadvantage.
But Beatrice, who wielded light, could read the fight amid the speed. The child Sisilia fought valiantly, but the size difference was too much.
What if the statue wins?
The statue had smashed the objects of admiration, but that didn't prove she was friendly. The child, on the other hand, clearly was. Beatrice decided swiftly.
All mana into this.
Beatrice's golden eyes blazed. She pointed her sword precisely at the child Sisilia.
"Roar of Light—!"
A golden flash struck the child Sisilia dead-on. In that instant, Beatrice shouted.
"We have to help child Sisilia! Smash the statue Sisilia!"
"Follow Betty's lead! Everyone, charge!"
Rihaton's response cleared the rookies' confusion in a heartbeat. As 20 knights rushed in, the statue Sisilia looked troubled. The child Sisilia, now edged in gold, twisted her lips.
That's why you should've been nicer normally.
The statue Sisilia looked like she had a lot to say. But she couldn't speak.
"Hah—!"
The child Sisilia's sword, empowered by 20 knights and Beatrice's full buff, pierced the statue Sisilia. The statue gave Beatrice an incredibly aggrieved look before dissolving.
"Child Sisilia! A-are you okay?"
Beatrice said it with a confused expression, unsure if it was appropriate. The child Sisilia beamed innocently, standing on tiptoes and reaching for Beatrice. It seemed like she wanted pets, so Beatrice bent down.
Pat pat.
Then the child Sisilia went to each knight, patting their heads once.
Pat pat.
Finally, she hugged Beatrice once more before stepping back a distance.
Beatrice.
"Y-yes."
You're the Blessing of Light, right?
"Y-yes."
Why ask something so obvious? As the question swirled in Beatrice's mind, the child Sisilia smiled faintly.
Can you show it one more time?
Beatrice was puzzled but cast Roar of Light again. The child Sisilia's face turned bitter.
It's gray...
And quietly, she brought her sword to her own throat.
"L-Lady Sisilia?"
Beatrice panicked. The child Sisilia spoke with clear eyes.
Tell my original.
Sisilia's silver hair fell in clumps. The wind-infused blade sank slowly into the child Sisilia's throat.
Never forget your初心.
Slice—!
As her throat was severed, the child Sisilia crumbled into gray dust.