Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Side Story: The Puzzle Coming Together
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While Balak was suffering from the marriage compulsion,
the Lich and Alterion went to find Zarkan on the 100th floor.
"Lich, you've come."
"Zarkan, you felt it too?"
"Very clearly."
What they had sensed was the alien power of Arethia.
And since Arethia hadn't hidden her golden horn in Balak's boss room, the two instantly recognized her true nature.
"To think that the bloodline of the first Demon King from that war still survives..."
"After the Great War, the golden-horned demons were the top priority for extermination due to their brilliant war record, but I heard a tiny few survived. Or... we can't rule out the possibility of a 'bastard child.'"
"A bastard child... In any case, now that the Demon King has come here herself, those puzzle pieces that didn't fit are starting to fall into place."
"That's why I came."
Alterion spread out the information he had gathered using magic.
As Zarkan quickly pieced together the key details, he came across records about the Demon God.
"The Demon God appeared in the Middle Realm 'only once' after creating the Demon Realm? And that was nearly 30 years ago."
"Put differently, it means she revealed herself just 10 years after creating the Demon Realm. And keep this in mind—the Demon Realm is a world the Demon God hastily made on her own."
Forty years ago, right after the Great War ended, the Demon God created the Demon Realm to save her children.
But why had she left that place after about 10 years and come to the Middle Realm?
Here, the Lich added another puzzle piece.
"There's one particularly odd thing about this timeframe. The Champions are all 28 or 29 years old right now."
"Hmm?"
Back then, Alterion's disciple Karien had overheard the men's ages while partying with his sworn brothers under a peach tree.
Karien had immediately relayed that trivial bit of info to Alterion.
And that single detail had led Alterion closer to the 'truth.'
"So you're saying the timing of the Demon God's appearance in the Middle Realm... lines up with the Champions' birthdates?!"
"Moreover, the key point is that the Champions were raised in the Middle Realm by human hands. Quite the irony, isn't it?"
"Kh... So by coincidence, the Demon God appeared at that time, and by coincidence, the Champions lived their early childhood in the Middle Realm, and by coincidence, they weren't killed but raised by humans, and by coincidence, they ended up captured in this dungeon..."
If coincidences keep piling up, they become inevitability.
And there was one more strange point.
"I get the picture—that the Demon God sent the Champions to the Middle Realm right after they were born. But... why?"
"You can see that from how the Demon King who came here took the Champion with her. For now, Zarkan, as you saw—"
"...The Demon King was an administrator."
She was an outsider not bound to the dungeon, yet she held authority to manage the Abyss Pit.
Setting aside for now why the Demon King was an administrator.
Here, the conversation Karien had with Balak added another layer.
"You already know that 'prohibitions' don't work on the Champion right now."
"Why bring that up now... Ahem! Anyway, it was truly astonishing that the Champion spoke information even we can't divulge."
Back then, after getting info from Anima with Karien nearby, Balak had said this:
[Who would've thought this place was a '100-floor dungeon' before I arrived!]
Anyone could see this violated the prohibition against revealing the dungeon's structure, so he shouldn't have been able to say it.
Yet Balak had said it casually.
"Ah! I was wondering why you mentioned that, but if prohibitions don't apply to him, does that mean the Champion isn't fully bound like the rest of us?"
"Exactly. And in this situation, the administrator—who also happens to be the Demon King—came for the Champion."
"The Demon King said she had something to discuss about kin and took him somewhere. That must be the space where administrators reside... Don't tell me?!"
"The Demon King who came here clearly intends to extract the Champion from the dungeon."
"Hah, but since the Champion is still here, it looks like that didn't go as planned."
"Given the Champion's personality, which values loyalty above all, he must have refused."
"Hahaha... They say the first step is the most important when undertaking something, but I never realized it was this crucial."
"If we'd treated the Champion poorly when we first met him, he might have left this place by now. We really dodged a bullet there."
The two shuddered at the grim what-if: Balak leaving the dungeon after meeting the Demon King...!
Of course, he had already bought them a year, so they would've succeeded in holding off the outside forces.
But resources they hadn't touched until now would have started depleting, throwing their plans into chaos.
In any case, the Demon King's actions had become the puzzle piece connecting everything.
Alterion and Zarkan could now roughly guess the chain of causality up to the present.
"Let's summarize: whether in the past or now, the Demon Realm's situation isn't good."
"It was a world the Demon God hastily created from the start, so that's no surprise."
"Then the Demon Realm has clearly been short on resources since its inception, and yet the Demon God deliberately placed the Champion in the Middle Realm like us..."
"The Champion ended up captured in this dungeon, without perfect binding. Plus, the origins of his equipment, the Demon King being an administrator, and so on—putting it all together..."
Circumstantially, the Demon God had made a 'deal' with someone, using Balak as collateral.
That was the conclusion the two had reached.
"The deal was probably for resources the Demon Realm needs... Hm?"
They couldn't know the exact details of the Demon God's deal, but Zarkan spotted one possibility and spoke up.
"So the Champion being there now is a very deliberate situation?"
"No clue. If such a powerful Champion was intentionally placed near the entrance, we wouldn't have ended up trapped here in the first place."
"Hmm... True enough."
"Also, the Demon King—who could extract him—didn't force him out. That's peculiar too."
"If the Demon God made additional deals beyond the Champion... Hah, another dead end."
The Demon God traded Balak away and received essential resources for the Demon Realm.
But it likely didn't end there.
The clues had run dry again, but this made their next steps clear.
"The Champion was trying to leave the dungeon on his own power from the start, so as time passes, the odds of him leaving grow higher. We need to prepare."
"Or we fully settle him on our side, or we move faster ourselves."
"Will the Champion leave the dungeon first, or will we drive out the administrators, negotiate, and make this place fully ours..."
"Don't worry too much, Zarkan. And we have a wild card."
"The three favors we can ask of the Champion—that's where it'll be decided."
Back then, Balak had punched nonstop for over 10 hours under the guise of basic training, wrecking the dungeon.
And unintentionally, as compensation for repairing everywhere Balak had been, they'd received three favor tokens.
If the dungeon bosses needed raw power to conquer this place, they could get their way at least three times guaranteed.
Boom!!
"Now that we have a time limit, we need to move faster."
"Others might slack off, but types like us clearly need to tighten our belts even more. So, Zarkan, are you heading out now?"
"Lich, I've just been reaping benefits and taking it easy. If I don't want regrets, I should jump into the thick of it myself, right?"
"If the Thunder Dragon Zarkan takes action... something amazing is about to happen."
"...Don't tease this old man."
Thus, the Ancient Dragon—who had been stockpiling power in his lair for potential emergencies—emerged alongside Alterion.
Likewise, in the Abyss Pit, thanks to the Demon King, they had pieced together some causality—and the gods could guess some too.
Moreover, unlike the dungeon bosses, the gods could move far more freely.
So how would they act?
Knock knock knock!
"Be~r~si~an~"
"Hahaha... Demon God Bersian, we don't have urgent business— we just came to chat for a bit."
"Sister, just for a moment... come out of the Demon Realm, won't you?"
The gods, fully aware of everything yet pretending ignorance, knocked on the Demon Realm's entrance— weapons in hand—to have a pleasant talk with Demon God Bersian.
***************
While Demon God Bersian was breaking a sweat at the entrance, blocking her very angry siblings,
Aretia—the Demon King who had been rejected by Balak and returned to the Demon Realm—was in a daze these days.
Her followers were worried enough to say—
"Even Lady Demon King Aretia has spring in her heart."
"Hahaha, it's springtime."
"Spring indeed."
"...Please stop teasing me."
—but nope!
Gazing at Aretia, who was showing her pure, girlish feelings, they wore pleased smiles.
Later, in the Demon Realm, she—who led a small but elite group of famed generals—reevaluated Balak.
First, he had loyalty.
Despite the enticing offer to rule the Demon Realm, Balak prioritized the friendships and bonds he'd formed in the dungeon and refused.
If they became true friends, he'd be the most reliable ally imaginable.
Second, he was incredibly powerful.
She—one of the Demon Realm's top powerhouses—hadn't been able to do a thing and lost.
Even Hero Sword Saint Beren had challenged Balak over 20 times and lost every one.
So no matter how she racked her brain, the only ones who could beat Balak now were the gods—making him the strongest outside the Heavenly Realm.
Third, he had a decent head on his shoulders.
Normally, that much power came with a muscle-bound brain, but his negotiation skills showed sharp wits.
And since it seemed he'd designed the dungeon's layout himself, her evaluation shot even higher.
Fourth, his personality perfectly matched her tastes, and his face...!
Slap!!
Smack!
"Ugh!! Get a grip, Aretia!!"
Even though the mood back then was utterly shattered!!
Even though he'd rejected all her proposals!!
Even though he'd tried to punch her!!
Because she'd blushed seeing Balak's bare face under the crescent moon, along with his innocent friend proposal—Aretia was disappointed in herself.
But as a demon, she liked strong men!
And Balak was the strongest, smart to boot, with great character!!
Plus, he followed his own convictions, the cherry on top of her ideal type!!!
At that moment, Aretia suddenly thought of the being she served—the Demon God.
[ Hahaha! Aretia! You'll definitely love this one! ]
"To think that's what she meant!!"
Remembering the Demon God giving her a thumbs-up, Aretia thrashed alone in her room.
Soon after calming down somewhat, her face burning red, she stealthily opened the box she'd sealed hundreds of layers deep in her room.
This box was a gift from the Demon God, prepared for the finale of the plan they'd devised together.
And inside... were outrageously provocative clothes....
['I have to seduce that iron-willed man wearing this?!']
Currently, the Demon God and Aretia had one plan.
To unite the ultimate warrior and mage, then produce the Demon God's successor as the fruit of their love.
Thus, spring had come for her too.