"Alright! We're Dragging Him Along!"

"Alright! We're dragging him along!" Tae-hyun made a swift decision and veered off. Throwing another bomb as a bonus was just a little extra service!

Lalgrgal was absolutely furious, but he had no choice but to back off.

"Hey, if it was possible to attack like that, couldn't you have done it too?" Alcott asked, looking at Crawford.

The way Tae-hyun was keeping Lalgrgal in check was something Crawford was more than capable of doing. Launching a fire spell and then detonating it with a time delay! A mage of Crawford's caliber could easily pull that off.

"You crazy bastard. It only looks easy because he makes it look that way. Do you think timing a detonation like that is simple?!" Crawford was dumbfounded by Alcott's ignorant nonsense, typical of someone who wasn't a mage.

Just because Kim Tae-hyun was casually tossing them like toys, making it look like, Huh? Is it actually that easy? didn't mean it was simple at all.

Detonate it too early, and it wouldn't deal any damage. Detonate it too late, and Lalgrgal would completely swallow and digest it, making the explosion itself impossible.

To manage the detonation timing while dealing with a rampaging Lalgrgal! It was a feat that required twice the normal amount of eyes and brains.

Is that bastard Kim Tae-hyun completely fearless?

Lalgrgal was chasing Tae-hyun, snapping his jaws as if to devour the entire world, yet Tae-hyun was as relaxed as if he were training a pet.

"Lalgrgal! What are you doing! Run!"

—Graaaagh!

"Why are you so slow! No wonder you can't catch up! Sprint!"

The area around the Hunger Dungeon was completely cleared of players. The members of the Power Warrior Guild had already taken action before Tae-hyun's arrival.

"Everyone! A boss monster is coming! Evacuate!"

"No! We didn't say lay out a mat and watch, we said evacuate!"

"We know you want to watch, but it's dangerous, so please evacuate! You over there! Stop selling popcorn!"

We can't even sell ours right now, so who do you think you are trying to do business here!

Thanks to them, Tae-hyun was easily able to lead Lalgrgal to the newly constructed Aykisus's Dungeon of Hunger.

Lalgrgal hesitated. No matter how furious he was, it seemed the energy of Archisus forced him to control his anger.

That dungeon... something feels off about it!

Don't worry. When else would he use his Highest-grade Eloquence Skill if not now? Besides, provoking others suited Tae-hyun's personality much better than persuasion anyway.

"Listen, Lalgrgal!" Tae-hyun shouted, pulling out a thick stack of papers.

"I address Lalgrgal, whose intelligence is lower than 0.1 Cain..." And ten minutes later.

—I will trap you in my stomach for eternity...!!

Tae-hyun ran into the Hunger Dungeon, and Lalgrgal chased after him. Once the two monsters disappeared inside, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew. Finally, the monster is trapped inside."

"Hey. No matter how bad he is, calling Kim Tae-hyun a monster is a bit..."

"...I was talking about Lalgrgal. Who were you talking about, Cain?"

"...!!" Cain's face turned pale.

Whew. To think I'd end up back in a place like this.

It was similar to the one in the Asbian Empire, but with a different layout! The Hunger Dungeon in the Asbian Empire at least spawned low-level monsters to hunt and eat in the beginning...

But Aykisus's Dungeon of Hunger was a much spicier version. There weren't even any monsters!

Ah. Is that so?

That wasn't all. As they walked, a message window saying The path has disappeared would pop up, and the path they had just taken would vanish, teleporting them to some strange location.

A sheer wickedness that raised the difficulty of a labyrinth where one was already starving to death! He could see Lalgrgal growing flustered behind him.

The demon was devouring his surroundings, but it didn't fill his stomach. There was nothing edible in sight, and his speed was gradually dropping!

"...Wait a minute." Tae-hyun, who had been running forward, suddenly spun around and dashed toward Lalgrgal. That thing... was a punching bag!

Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack! Overflowing with energy from eating well and sleeping well, Tae-hyun drew his sword in an instant and swung it like a madman.

Archisus Swordsmanship activated, and critical hits exploded as he battered Lalgrgal's body.

—Kuh! Keu-u-ugh! Kuh... Graaaagh!

Whoa. Insane. A body that deflected and absorbed attacks when beaten! There was a reason why Alcott, Crawford, and the noble warriors couldn't even lay a finger on Lalgrgal despite being high-level rankers.

He's more annoying than a dragon!

On top of that, Lalgrgal possessed a far more threatening weapon. He couldn't cast flashy magic bombardments like a dragon, but...

Inhaaaaaale!

A simple, brute-force suction! It was a basic skill that just swallowed everything, but simple and powerful skills like that were always the most terrifying.

It ignored evasion and everything else to end things in a single blow, making it incredibly threatening.

Tae-hyun hastily pulled out bombs and detonated them at random.

As bombs exploded all around and inside his mouth, Lalgrgal writhed in pain and canceled the skill. Tae-hyun quickly widened the distance again!

Yeah, this isn't going to work.

No matter how much damage he dealt, it barely made a dent, and one wrong move could get him instantly killed. That skill completely bypassed control and mechanics!

The only way to take him out in one shot... is to turn Lalgrgal into a bomb...

But there were two problems. First, could he even turn him into a bomb? It would be one thing if Lalgrgal stood still, but even now, the demon was desperately trying to swallow him whenever he got close...

And the more important second problem.

If I detonate him... Wouldn't the dungeon blow up? Not just the dungeon, but even the capital city right next to it would probably suffer collateral damage!

...I guess the best option is to just render him immobile and lock him up.

Was this why the Archdemon Esla had been sealed in the past? Sometimes, sealing was better than killing.

How long had they wandered? As Tae-hyun lured him deep into the Hunger Dungeon while the demon gnawed on the ground and walls, Lalgrgal finally stopped, unable to move any further.

"Hey. Aren't you coming?"

—...

"Hmm..." Tae-hyun cautiously stepped closer. Instantly, Lalgrgal opened his mouth, trying to swallow him.

"So you still have the energy for that."

Even if he couldn't move, he was still capable of trying to eat anyone who approached. Tae-hyun nodded.

"I'm leaving now."

—...

"Stay there, and let me know if you change your mind."

—...

"I might not look like it, but I'm actually quite confident in my cooking..."

Lalgrgal did not answer.

He had the pride of an Archdemon! He wouldn't just roll over for food, even with a high Eloquence skill. His pride was on a completely different level compared to the demon Gusion.

No. I just need to starve him more. If he kept starving him and came back later, wouldn't persuasion work then?

Before I go, I have to do this.

"Curse Transfer!"

The curse that Emperor Uipoatl had placed on Tae-hyun. It was a curse meant to say, I am watching you, so don't pull any tricks and bring back my crown quickly.

Of course, Tae-hyun had absolutely no intention of looking for the crown. After all, he was the one who had broken the perfectly fine crown in the first place.

If Uipoatl sends a pursuit force, they'll get trapped here, right?

Pure evil! If Uipoatl sent pursuers to kill or capture Tae-hyun, they would have no choice but to enter this dungeon.

And what they would encounter was an overwhelming dungeon and a starving Lalgrgal trapped inside! They would either starve to death or be eaten alive.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction and headed out of the dungeon.

"Lalgrgal won't come out, right?"

"Since he's not coming out, it seems fine."

The party stared at the dungeon with tense faces. Surely Lalgrgal wouldn't burst out, right? Only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after waiting for a long time could they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Phew..."

"Seriously, what a nightmare all because of a single demon!"

"I think that was the scariest thing I've ever experienced in Pan-On."

A crazy demon that kept chasing them no matter how much distance they put between them! It felt like they were filming a horror movie.

"Now that we can catch our breath, let's go collect the remaining rewards."

In the Erance Kingdom, there were still poisoned noble NPCs.

And if the King is still out of it, I might be able to squeeze another fortune out of him!

Tae-hyun prayed that the King of Erance was still in a dazed state. He might hand over the entire royal treasury!

"Your Majesty." The waiting noble warriors approached and spoke to him.

"What is it? Ah. Do you have to return?" Tae-hyun asked, thinking what was bound to happen had finally come. Indeed, he had made good use of them.

Since Uipoatl might be monitoring us, it's not a bad idea to send them back soon.

It was a pity, but Tae-hyun had plenty of military power even without the noble warriors. He had his newly acquired knighthood! (Though he had them all along.) And on top of that, the increasingly powerful Archisus Artillery!

"Pardon? No, it's not that. The King of Erance seems to be in a bad state, so if Your Majesty were to occupy the royal palace..."

"..."

Ever consistent, these noble warriors! It seemed they had nothing but rebellion on their minds.

"The Erance Kingdom needs a king like Your Majesty!"

"Indeed. We have no need for a weak king who gets easily poisoned like that!"

"Doesn't your Emperor say anything to you guys?" Tae-hyun asked out of curiosity.

He expected the Emperor to send someone soon, demanding, What happened to my crown! Get to work! but the noble warriors showed no such reaction.

"His Imperial Majesty has said nothing."

"He must surely trust Your Majesty!"

"Is it not because noble rulers share a mutual understanding?"

"..."

I was thinking the exact same thing. Hearing that he and Uipoatl had a mutual understanding felt strangely offensive. I'm still better than Uipoatl!

"Well, if he hasn't said anything..." Tae-hyun nodded, albeit reluctantly. The noble warriors were, after all, very useful NPCs.

But why is he silent? It should be about time for him to send someone. Well, it didn't matter anymore. If he did send them... they would just end up in Aykisus's Dungeon of Hunger!

Uipoatl spoke in a displeased voice.

"The capability of the King of the Atali Kingdom is far more lacking than I thought. To keep Us waiting like this!"

"He is indeed a lacking individual! He was unworthy of receiving Your Imperial Majesty's grace."

"I shall bestow a sword upon you. Go and verify if that fellow is working properly! If there are no results, you may strike him down!"