Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Shattering the Black Castle
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As Leyzon emerged from the Resonance World, reality came rushing back.
Since he hadn't spent much time there, the undead union was still in effect.
"Eden."
"Ah, Lord Leyzon."
Eden greeted him with a languid smile.
He had been waiting patiently alongside Syria, who was still in her bat form.
Cute little things.
"You can lift the curse now."
"Really?"
"Yeah. From here on out, we're tearing down the Black Castle."
At the mention of destroying the Black Castle, Syria and Eden's faces lit up with shock.
It was the kind of reaction that screamed, What the hell happened in the Resonance World?
"We're breaking the dungeon's conditions."
In the end, the foundation of this dungeon was the Black Castle itself.
Once the Black Castle was gone, the dungeon couldn't hold together.
"Ah, I get it!"
Syria flapped her wings excitedly, her face lighting up with understanding.
"Lord Leyzon, all curses lifted."
The curse Eden had layered on him vanished, and his body felt light as air.
Whatever ridiculous number of stacks she'd put on it, he felt like he could soar right now.
"Eden, gather everyone up."
Syria was stuck in bat form from the undead union.
So Eden was the only one who could handle transporting the whole group.
She caught on quick and immediately scattered shadows around them.
The darkness enveloped Hanok, Syria, and old man Lebon.
"Whoa, the floating platform's drifting away!"
"H-Hey, Elder, stay still! You're slipping!"
Lebon flailed a bit in the middle, but Hanok grabbed him tight.
Eden soon floated off into the distance.
Leyzon looked up at her, took a long, deep breath in... and out.
"Alright then."
Leyzon's hand touched down on the Black Castle's floor.
Sorry to Pauli, who'd worked so hard building this place.
But it was time to say goodbye to the Black Castle.
"Let's blow it up."
Right now, Leyzon was linked with Pauli's skills.
In other words, he had full control over Pauli's skill, Fortress Transformation [SS].
Black sparks crackled from Leyzon's grip.
The dark sparks shot out, burrowing into the Black Castle's floor in an instant.
Inside the Black Castle.
Silence reigned.
Leyzon stood there quietly as well.
Crack—
A single sound echoed from the edge of the Black Castle.
Here it comes.
The moment Leyzon anticipated it, the entire Black Castle began to shake.
Krummmble—crack-crack-CRASH!
With that, everything that made up the Black Castle started crumbling away.
The Black Castle was the size of a decent city.
Even destroying something that massive took time.
But Leyzon didn't stop there.
To accelerate the collapse, he had to erase the castle's core.
"Fortress Transformation."
Leyzon activated the skill and threw himself at the floor.
A small hole opened up, and he plummeted downward at high speed.
Ever since fusing with Pauli, he'd sensed the core's location.
So he plunged deeper, ignoring the crumbling Black Castle around him.
After a long drop, a plaza came into view.
At the center of the small plaza sat a sphere reminiscent of the sun.
It was the core that channeled all the Black Castle's energy.
Leyzon landed right in front of it.
He bared his teeth in a chilling grin.
As he'd said before, this core supplied energy to the entire Black Castle.
In other words, it was a massive concentration of power.
"Impressive."
What if he turned this into an explosion?
Leyzon's eyes gleamed.
The bulb of curiosity lit up bright.
His gaze locked onto the core like a man possessed.
"Might as well go out..."
Leyzon swallowed hard and stepped forward deliberately.
He raised his staff and pointed it squarely at the core.
"...with a bang."
Time to satisfy that explosive craving.
"Fierce Poison Emanation, Attribute Fusion."
Purple poison flowed from Leyzon's staff, injecting into the core.
The core fused with the poison, its color warping.
The energy inside amplified the power of Fierce Poison Emanation.
The energy clashed wildly with the poison, shaking violently.
The entire Black Castle was collapsing.
The core was affected too, its stability dropping.
But Leyzon welcomed the instability.
The moment the core's sphere belched out a full purple hue...
Leyzon aimed his staff with a laugh of pure ecstasy.
This was an explosion for the ages.
"Fierce Poison Cataclysm."
The activated spell seeped into the core.
All light around compressed and got sucked in.
Leyzon's vision flooded purple.
Soon after, the core bloomed like a purple flower bud unfurling.
Leyzon had already adapted Pauli's skill for self-protection.
―――――――――――!
A light that devoured even sound swept through the Black Castle grounds.
The rampage of immense energy pulverized everything.
The Black Castle's center vanished in a total wipeout.
Clouds tore apart, leaving the sky empty.
Even the night's signature darkness felt like daytime in that blinding flash.
Rumbbble-rummmble—
A massive mushroom cloud rose high.
The belated shockwave blasted away all the sand from the sunset dunes.
Even Swordless Village, far off in the distance, felt the impact.
It was an absurdly powerful blast.
Thud, boom—
Chunks of the Black Castle's ruins crashed to the ground or shattered.
The Black Castle lay in unrecognizable ruins.
High above the swirling debris-filled sky.
Eden hovered, wrapped tightly in darkness.
"L-Lord Leyzon, weren't you having way too much fun?"
Hanok muttered blankly.
It was impossible to believe one person had wrought this devastation.
Leyzon had taken a shine to explosions at some point.
He'd kept ramping up their scale.
Now it was big enough to level a city.
Hanok's fur bristled as he shrank back.
His instincts quailed at a blast that size.
"Heh, as long as Lord Leyzon's enjoying himself, that's what matters."
Syria flitted about with tiny wingbeats.
Syria, ever the Leyzon fan, approved of anything he did.
"Lord Leyzon must have his reasons. He did it to destroy the Black Castle, for sure."
Eden respected Leyzon's intentions too.
Hanok, the only normal one here, muttered quietly.
"Nah, no matter how you slice it, he just wanted to blow something up."
In a way, Hanok understood Leyzon best.
The explosion's aftermath faded after a good while.
Leyzon clawed his way up through the debris.
"Phew."
Leyzon shook dust from his hair.
Paul's skill had let him survive the blast, but getting tangled in the collapsing ruins had been rough.
On top of that, the undead union broke while digging out.
"Would've been toast without that skill."
He'd nearly been buried alive.
Luckily, Pauli's evolution linked the skill and saved him.
Leyzon gained two skills this time.
Citadel Creation [C].
Insect Undead Production [C].
Two of Pauli's original skills had synced over.
Pauli probably got new skills from his evolution too.
He hadn't checked yet.
Anyway, Leyzon used Citadel Creation to carve a path through the rubble.
And slipped right out.
Leyzon surveyed his surroundings.
A wasteland stretched out.
Scattered ruins of the Black Castle dotted the distance.
He hadn't seen the blast with his own eyes, but the landscape gave him a sense of its power.
Leyzon clenched his fists tight.
Wanna do it again.
The more explosions, the stronger the urge.
Was this what romance felt like?
His heart raced at glimpsing the pinnacle of glass cannon builds.
"Urgh, Lord Leyzon. Mind letting me out of your pocket?"
A voice piped up from Leyzon's chest.
He quickly rummaged inside.
There sat a small ant with its crown dimmed.
Pauli.
"Pauli!"
Pauli had become the dungeon boss due to various factors.
Him calling out to Leyzon directly meant...
"The dungeon's chains are broken."
Pauli was free from being the dungeon boss.
Leyzon let out a relieved breath.
He'd figured smashing the Black Castle would break the conditions.
But that was just a hypothesis.
He'd even planned contingencies if it failed.
Luckily, it worked out fine.
"Welcome back."
Leyzon smiled warmly, and Pauli wriggled.
Then he promptly bowed his head before Leyzon.
"Lord Leyzon, I deeply apologize for the insolence I showed you!"
Pauli trembled.
In the Resonance World, he'd recalled everything—from his initial rudeness...
...to attacking Leyzon as the dungeon boss.
"What to do about my insolence!"
"It's fine."
Leyzon brushed it off casually.
"You were just trying to save my undead. You did what anyone would."
Pauli was Leyzon's creation.
When his own undead was in trouble, of course he'd rescue it.
"You've grown big and strong on your own. That's plenty."
In real time, ten years.
In game time, a century.
Leyzon hadn't managed his undead at all during that span.
Yet they'd grown to this point independently.
That alone was more than enough thanks.
Pauli's antennae quivered.
If he had tear glands, he'd be sobbing.
"Lord Leyzon, I am at a loss for your grace."
"Then help me out from now on."
"I shall do anything!"
Pauli answered with gusto.
Typical of Leyzon's undead, brightening up fast.
Leyzon chuckled briefly and looked up.
Eden and the others descended from the sky.
In the distance, the sun was slowly rising.
The morning sun cresting a cloudless sky post-explosion was a sight to behold.
With this, Leyzon had recovered his fourth undead.
"One left."
Only one remained.
The Ghost Bride, Tessa Miriji.
He had to find the fifth undead, shrouded in secrets.
"Before that."
Leyzon eyed old man Lebon, who had descended from the sky.
Perfect timing—Lebon was staring up at the same sight.
With the explosion gone, high in the now-clear sky.
A floating island.
An island drifting through the heavens.
The key to the Fourth Great Dungeon, the Heavenly Realm, lay there.