The Virgin Queen and the Impending Siege

Charlotte shook her head as she watched Balutak and Isabella idling about.

"Kirik. Vampire, speak funny-dak. Say more-dak."

"Oh, not at all. It's just because you're such a good listener, Mr. Balutak."

"Kiririk. Vampire lived in forest-dak. Balutak also lived in forest-dak. We look different-dak. But we same-dak."

"Hehehe."

"Good mood-dak. Vampire, if want, can drink Balutak's blood-dak."

"Ah, well, that's a bit much..."

While the other insectoids worked and the vampires stood guard across the floors, these two were lazily slacking off. It was incredibly disheartening to see two supposed executives acting so utterly brainless. Though Charlotte herself was prone to mistakes and hardly in a position to judge, she still felt she was far better than those two.

Was this truly one of the 7 Abyssal Palaces? Despite its fearsome reputation, this dungeon would easily fall to a Hero's subjugation party if their Boss wasn't around.

'We have no choice but to wait for the Boss to return.'

It was embarrassing, but until they grew strong enough to pull their own weight, they had to rely entirely on him. With the Boss away, the dungeon was completely defenseless. While Charlotte alone could handle an ordinary subjugation force, a Hero's party would be a completely different story.

*Vrrr.*

It was then that a faint vibration rippled from her breast pocket. Charlotte froze. That vibration meant only one thing: an intruder had tripped the security mana thread she had set up at the entrance.

Pushing down her rising anxiety, Charlotte pulled out a crystal ball. *No, it can't be. It's probably just a wild beast or a scout.* How could anyone have known the Boss was away and timed their attack so perfectly? Logically, it made no sense.

"Ah..."

What appeared in the crystal ball was a marching column of holy knights. Sacred armor gleamed subtly beneath their cloaks. At the vanguard, an elderly man's sword emitted a brilliant radiance, illuminating the darkness. *Of all times, why now, when the Boss is away...?*

Despair was a useless waste of time and emotion. Charlotte maintained her composure and closely monitored the subjugation party's movements through the crystal ball.

"Quickly, everyone! This is no time to play. Get ready immediately!"

"Kirik?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"An invasion force has breached the entrance. And it is a Hero's subjugation party."

At those words, Isabella's face turned deathly pale. As Balutak scratched his head in confusion, Isabella began to panic and explain the situation to him. Leaving the explanation to her, Charlotte summoned Golgol and Valmonk, followed by every single undead under her command.

She briefly considered requesting reinforcements from the merchant guild, but that would mean taking on more debt. Having already borrowed 100 million Cells, she had exceeded her credit limit. Even though she had repaid it immediately, there was no way they would lend her such a massive sum again within less than a month. Even if they did, constantly relying on the guild would utterly ruin the reputation of the 7 Abyssal Palaces. This meant they had to defend the dungeon solely with their current forces.

'Boss. I will succeed in the trial I failed before.'

A crisis was also an opportunity. Since both Valmonk and Wilhelm were Heroes, this was the perfect chance to make up for her past mistake. Of course, the odds of success were slim, but they weren't zero. If she could prove her capability to the Boss with this, perhaps he would indulge her selfishness for a while.

'If I fail again...'

She would likely die at the hands of the Hero. Even if the Boss appeared to save her, she would have no right to remain here as a useless burden. Thus, Charlotte resolved that she must succeed this time, no matter what.

The Ecstatic Castle was situated in the Demonic Realm—specifically, within the Grand Duchy of Kalasutra in the 2nd Hell of Pandemonium. As was typical of the Demonic Realm, the environment itself was completely hostile to normal living creatures. A prime example was the Grand Duchy, where lava intermittently erupted from the earth. The very air was toxic, so little else needed to be said.

Among the grand duchies that divided the Demonic Realm, Kalasutra was often described as a sunless hell. Even now, thick black and gray storm clouds completely blanketed the sky, blocking out every single ray of sunlight. Atop the highest mountain peak of this ash-covered territory stood a majestic, solitary ancient castle. A castle of eternal night. It was a place where the Servants of the Night could roam freely all year round, which was why Rosesha was feared as the Queen of the Night.

'It's exactly as I remember.'

Upon arrival, I noticed that the castle had absolutely no windows, not just on the first floor, but across all its levels. Antique chandeliers cast only the faintest, courtesy flickers of light. A crimson carpet stretched endlessly down the corridors, flanked by towering, magnificent pillars. Though there was no practical need to intimidate visitors, the severed heads of house-sized demonic beasts were mounted along the walls.

'And those are Living Armors.'

Decorative suits of armor lined the halls, but in reality, they were Living Armors inhabited by disembodied souls. When newbies tried to raid this castle in the game, they always died to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠these Living Armors first. They looked like mere interior decor, but if you walked past them without suspicion, they would suddenly stab you in the back.

Finally, the fountain in the main hall that immediately caught the eye... was a fountain of blood. Its deep crimson color and the thick, metallic scent of blood clung to the tip of my nose. The first floor of the castle shared the same layout as the game, but the sheer scale of it in reality was on a completely different level. It would have been virtually impossible to render a scale like this with game graphics. Mixed with the scent of the blood fountain was a familiar, musky chestnut blossom fragrance. Why on earth did an undead corpse like me still have a sense of smell?

"Ahhh~!"

"..."

True to its name, the castle was filled with the sounds of passion. Moans leaked from every room on the first floor, and occasionally, human corpses could be seen. Their life force had been completely drained, leaving them looking like emaciated tuberculosis patients—clearly, they had died of sexual exhaustion. Since they hadn't been torn limb from limb like in other dungeons, I suppose one could call it a peaceful death.

'Hey, look. This guy is smiling.'

I couldn't bear to look at the smiling corpses any longer. Shifting my gaze, I followed behind Gerold, keeping my eyes fixed on the back of his head. Eventually, Gerold came to a halt.

"I greet the esteemed Lord."

A vampire, who had appeared out of nowhere, bowed deeply before me. Upon his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arrival, Gerold gave me a polite nod and departed, silently indicating that he was handing over escort duties to the vampire.

The vampire's level was significantly lower than Gerold's. Of course, that was only in terms of raw level. Only after I gave a slight nod did the vampire straighten his back.

"I am Valentine Drabule, the adjutant who serves Her Majesty the Queen. It is my absolute honor to guide the new Lord."

"If that is the case, you should have come to meet me from the beginning."

"I am bound to this ancient castle and cannot step outside its walls without Her Majesty's permission. I must humbly ask for your understanding; we had to rely on Gerold's assistance."

I knew that all too well. Count Drabule, Rosesha's masterpiece puppet. Even if he was weaker than the floor guardians, he was not an opponent to be underestimated. In the game, excluding Rosesha herself, he was the most troublesome foe to deal with. He was cunning, highly intelligent, and utilized traps to their absolute limit—a classic intellectual villain.

After that brief exchange, Drabule and I walked up the stairs in silence. While Drabule simply preferred quiet, I was too overwhelmed by the oppressive atmosphere to speak.

'This is one of the 7 Abyssal Palaces? Then what on earth is our dungeon...?'

The difference in quality was so embarrassing that I felt incredibly insignificant. The gap between the real deal and a fake was beyond words. I had worried about running into floor guardians as we ascended, but fortunately, we didn't encounter any. There was no grand reason for my worry; I was simply terrified. Standing before powerhouses who could crush me like a bug naturally made me tremble with fear.

"I greet the new master of the Abyss Palace."

We encountered our first floor guardian on the seventh floor. A face that brought to mind Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or Baron Ashura. If I recalled correctly, it was a fused entity of a succubus and an incubus. Remembering the lore that it was a hermaphrodite, I felt an instinctive wave of revulsion. I simply waved my hand dismissively and continued up to the next floor.

Just as we were passing through the ninth floor without any trouble, a voice called out.

"I greet the supreme Lord."

This time, it was a black knight holding his own severed head, with a faint, eerie light flickering from the stump of his neck. His level alone made it clear that he was far more powerful than the previous guardian. If Drabule was Rosesha's left hand, this Dullahan was her right hand. Officially, he was the dungeon's mid-boss. By his own definition, he was the Queen's most loyal sword. Interestingly, this Dullahan had once been one of the Empire's founding Four Heroes. Now, he lived an eternal existence as the Queen's blade.

'Of all the people to run into, it had to be him.'

The moment I saw him, I averted my eyes, pretending not to notice. If I got on his bad side, there wouldn't even be bones left of me.

"O new Lord. If it is not too rude to ask, might I test my blade against yours for a single clash?"

I had half-expected something like this, but actually facing it made me incredibly flustered. This guy was a sword-obsessed lunatic of a Dullahan who had walked the path of the blade in both life and death. And as luck would have it, my race was a Death Knight. If he had heard rumors about me, it was only natural for him to ask, even if it bordered on rudeness. As I frantically brainstormed a way to decline, I shot a desperate look at Drabule. The quick-witted Drabule immediately stepped in front of me.

"Sir Karleon. This esteemed guest is currently on his way to an audience with Her Majesty."

"Hmm... Surely a mere ten seconds would not hurt."

"It is not a matter of time. How could you think of sparring with Her Majesty's honored guest? If you truly have nothing better to do, go patrol the floors. The discipline of the guardians has grown terribly lax lately."

"Is that so? Then it seems I must take matters into my own hands."

Apparently, the Dullahan also served as the dungeon's disciplinarian. Fortunately, he waved his hand and headed down to the lower floors. We, on the other hand, ascended to the final floor. Midway there, Drabule stopped and bowed deeply.

"From this point onward, the Lord must proceed alone."

"Understood."

It seemed Rosesha was waiting beyond those doors. Leaving the bowing Drabule behind, I walked alone along the crimson carpet. The doors to the boss room came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into view, appearing distant. It looked like I would have to walk over a hundred paces to reach them. Perhaps due to the distance combined with my sheer nervousness, every single second felt like an entire minute.

My opponent was Valentia Rosesha, the Boss of one of the 7 Abyssal Palaces. Unlike before, I was going to have a private audience with her real body, not a puppet. The memory of my first meeting with Calandas was still vivid. The sheer tension sent a sudden shiver down my spine.

'Don't chicken out.'

As an undead, my face wouldn't betray my emotions, but my mind was in absolute turmoil. If I stuttered and failed to speak properly, my true weakness would be completely exposed. Even putting that aside, it would be a disaster if my goals for this visit fell through. A temporary alliance and full support. And if possible, I needed to subtly feel her out to see if I could obtain the Necronomicon. Reaching the doors at last, I reminded myself of my objectives and reached for the handle.

"...This is driving me crazy."

The hand gripping the doorknob was trembling violently. I had never known that even an undead's body could react this way to extreme mental agitation. To shake off this tension, I needed to flood my brain with completely different thoughts. Something unexpected that could distract me. Suddenly, a piece of lore about Rosesha crossed my mind—a setting that had once been a hot topic in the gaming community.

*Is Rosesha a virgin?*

It all started when pure-hearted "unicorn" players began arguing with other netizens over whether Rosesha was a virgin. While a virgin Succubus Queen was a complete contradiction in terms, she had a line of dialogue where she claimed to be one, which set the community ablaze for quite some time. It got so bad that the developers eventually had to release an official statement.

According to the strict "mind, body, and soul" purity theory, only her physical body was pure, while everything else was practically a harlot. Hardcore purists complained, asking how that could possibly count as a virgin, but the vast majority of players were more than happy with it. I, too, belonged to the latter group.

'Right. My opponent is a virgin succubus.'

Thinking of it that way actually worked. The trembling in my hand subsided and then stopped completely, and my mental agitation vanished. Exhaling a breath of icy air, I pushed the doors open.