A Petty Revenge
"Sigh... There really is never a day of peace, is there?" Isabella whined.
"Indeed," Charlotte replied in her usual monotone.
"Kirik. Balutak likes this-dak. I will devour them and evolve-dak!"
While Isabella and Charlotte were on edge, Balutak was clicking his mandibles in excitement, thrilled by the prospect. I seriously felt like giving him a good smack on the head. Here I was, worried sick, and he was just enjoying himself.
The Empire had officially announced its raid on the Tomb of Faith. More specifically, they had assembled a massive subjugation force led by Cecilia. It would be easier to breathe if we could eliminate Cecilia before she reached her prime. But I knew that bastard Calandas was constantly watching the Empire, waiting for an opening. The headache wasn't just about whether to stop the subjugation force or not.
'...I really am the mastermind behind everything, aren't I?'
I had killed two Heroes, the Margrave, and the Grand Sage. If I ended up killing Cecilia too, I might actually have to consider negotiating with Calandas. After all, he would be taking over the Empire on a silver platter thanks to me, so we might as well scratch each other's backs. Of course, that was strictly a last resort; in truth, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with Calandas. But right now, securing the dungeon was a far more pressing concern than such worries.
"Charlotte. Is the trap placement on the upper floors complete?"
"Yes. I have finished it exactly as you commanded."
Over the past few days, Charlotte and Selina had completely overhauled the existing traps from the first to the third floors. To someone like Cecilia, ordinary traps were nothing more than loose pebbles in the road. But I knew exactly what kind of traps would be the most annoying to a subjugation force. Thus, I had personally directed the types and layouts of the traps—focusing not on dealing direct damage, but on slowing their advance and grinding down their momentum. That was the only thing I interfered with.
No matter how much of a thirty-thousand-hour veteran player I was, this was my first time actually being a dungeon boss. I had left all other dungeon preparations entirely to Charlotte, and looking at her now, her eyes were hollow and dark, as if consumed by worry. It was painfully obvious she had been working herself to the bone day and night. It was a miracle she wasn't showing it.
"You have worked hard."
"...Thank you."
While Charlotte handled the overall defense of the dungeon, I had entrusted Isabella with another crucial task. In dungeon warfare, the tide of battle is decided by who holds the informational advantage. Naturally, it was usually the subjugation forces that held the upper hand. Since any of the 72 Dungeons would be raided at least ten times, and sometimes dozens of times, information about the dungeon was bound to accumulate. On the other hand, the dungeon was always at a disadvantage because the raiding party changed every single time. The old adage that defense is ten times easier than offense simply did not apply to dungeons.
But the Tomb of Faith was different. Even among the Abyss Palaces, it was a newly established and completely mysterious dungeon. The informational advantage was actually ours.
"Scout all the way to the Imperial Capital, keeping an eye on the route passing through the city of Bernthehrk."
"Yessir!"
Since Isabella could transform into a bat, she was the perfect scout. Looking at the map of the Empire, any force taking the shortest route from the capital to this place had to pass through one specific city: Bernthehrk, located in the south-central region. The subjugation force would undoubtedly route through there. A force of hundreds moving in unison would be glaringly obvious even from a distance. I believed Isabella was more than capable of pulling this off.
Two days passed, and thankfully, Isabella returned in one piece.
"The subjugation force had about a hundred people. Um, and they were all on horseback. It'll probably take them at least two days to get here, maybe four at the most."
"Did you see a woman with short silver hair? What about her weapon?"
"Yes, I saw her! She had an incredibly exquisite sword. Just as you said, Boss, the guard was shaped like a crescent moon."
...Misfortune piled upon misfortune. I had suspected it in the back of my mind, but to hear it confirmed was another story.
"I don't have the best eye for these things, but they all seemed incredibly strong. It looked like they prepared a lot..."
That went without saying. If they were deploying a Holy Relic, the subjugation force would naturally consist of the absolute elite.
"You have worked hard."
"Yep! Just let me know if you need me to do anything else!"
If we had at least two days, completing our defenses within that timeframe was the bare minimum. It was a relief we had already prepared most of it beforehand; if we had been sluggish, we would have been in deep trouble.
"My Lord. We shall fight to the death, staking the honor of our Queen."
"Uwooo!"
"Kyaooo!"
Karleon and the 9th Legion of the Castle of Pleasure were assigned to defend the fifth floor. I had made a brief appearance to boost their morale, and now they were all burning with fighting spirit. While it would be great to throw everyone at them all at once on a single floor, doing so would create too much of a spatial constraint for us. Distributing our forces across the floors was an absolute necessity.
The fourth floor was Charlotte's undead floor. On the fifth floor, we would deploy the 9th Legion of the Castle of Pleasure, Charlotte, Isabella, Balutak, and myself. My plan was to concentrate almost our entire fighting force on the fifth floor. Other Abyss Palaces had massive armies, allowing them to clearly divide their forces floor by floor. But my dungeon, aside from the 9th Legion, consisted entirely of our core executives. Since I preferred quality over quantity, I believed this setup was for the best.
'Besides, I can't just use the 9th Legion as disposable pawns.'
If I lost Karleon and the entire 9th Legion, I wouldn't be able to look Rosesha in the eye. In any case, if the fifth floor fell, the dungeon was as good as conquered. If I detonated the Holy Relic right from the start, our chances of winning would easily be ninety percent, but I was still torn between three paths.
Should I detonate the Holy Relic the moment we met to seize the initiative? Should I keep Calandas in mind, letting Cecilia leave alive and letting her take the Holy Relic with her? Or finally, should I kill Cecilia and seize the Holy Relic for myself? Amidst this dizzying dilemma, I ultimately reached a compromise. If possible, I would merely subdue Cecilia and let her live, but I would keep the Holy Relic. It was a half-hearted decision that could either end in disaster or successfully catch two birds with one stone. Of course, this was just the plan. Depending on how things played out, I might have to kill Cecilia, or detonate the Holy Relic after all.
"Kirik. Great Chief, tell Balutak what to do as well-dak."
"Go stand in the corner and stare at the wall."
"Kiririk. Understood-dak."
I ordered Balutak to do some wall-gazing meditation. For a bug who was utterly useless at anything other than fighting, this was the perfect task.
"Um, Boss...? What should I do?"
"Go study."
"Okay..."
Since Estizel didn't have any practical way to help yet, I told her to focus on her growth. Though she couldn't be of much help right now, I had high expectations for her future. Selina's original role was a gardener, but growing man-eating plants in such a short amount of time was impossible. Nor was she suited to be mobilized as a direct combatant. Therefore, instead of participating in the battle, she would stay behind with Estizel to protect the children and Hellboki.
"Thank you for your consideration. I really wanted to be of help, but..." Selina said softly.
"That in itself is a great help."
"...This dungeon is truly peculiar. Normally, it is the subordinates who are supposed to protect the boss."
That was because if a boss died, the dungeon would collapse. But that didn't apply here, since we didn't have a Dungeon Core. Well, even if we did have one, protecting the children was only logical. I had brought them here under the promise of protection in the first place.
Two days passed once more.
"They have arrived."
The crystal ball in Charlotte's hand projected the image of the subjugation force slowly making their entry. Seeing the woman with the Moonlight Sword moving at the very front of the pack, I swallowed hard, a sudden wave of tension washing over me.
"...Are the preparations for the fourth floor complete?"
"Yes."
The fourth floor was the undead floor, featuring Wilhelm and Astoria. Rather than expecting them to mount a successful defense, their purpose was to crush the subjugation force's morale. Seeing Wilhelm and Astoria turned into Dullahans would undoubtedly shock them, and that shock would ripple through their ranks, leading to a devastating loss of morale.
'Expecting them to even buy us time on the fourth floor is probably asking too much.'
Even if she hadn't reached her prime, Cecilia was wielding the Moonlight Sword. I had to approach this with the mindset of fighting an actual Abyss Palace boss.
A subjugation force that marched forward in the face of certain death was often called a suicide squad. That was why the forces sent to raid the Mugan 7 Palaces were occasionally referred to as such. The citizens of the Empire were already clamoring about this force sent to the Tomb of Faith, calling them the "Suicide Squad of One Hundred." The Tomb of Faith was a newly established Abyss Palace where two Heroes had already met a pathetic end. The hundred-man suicide squad currently stepping into its entrance had fully prepared themselves to die.
Drip. Drip. Water droplets fell intermittently from the stalactites. Before them lay an endless, yawning darkness. The eerie atmosphere heightened their tension, sending a cold shiver down the spines of most of the soldiers. Though they had resolved to die, shaking off their primal fear was no easy task. They were still only on the first floor, which looked no different from any other dungeon. There was no logical reason to be this paralyzed with fear so early on. They were simply letting the psychological pressure get the better of them.
'Is this woman even human...?'
Leon, the veteran Hero, clicked his tongue as he stared at Cecilia's back. She was marching at the very front, using the Moonlight Sword as a makeshift torch. Leon possessed exceptionally sharp, superhuman senses. Normally, at a time like this, he would easily detect the slightest tremor of a body, a change in complexion, or the rapid pounding of a heartbeat. Even other Heroes would show such signs... yet Cecilia did not exhibit a single speck of emotional fluctuation. This was one of the Mugan 7 Palaces, a place that had already claimed the lives of two Heroes. How could she remain so utterly detached, knowing full well what lay ahead?
"..."
Leon gave up trying to understand her. In his mind, he simply categorized her as a transcendent being far beyond human comprehension. Their descent to the third floor was incredibly smooth, entirely thanks to Cecilia disarming and bypassing every single trap on her own. Throughout the process, she bypassed the obstacles without a moment's hesitation, treating them as if they were nothing more than loose pebbles in her path.
"Unbelievable..."
"The more I look at her, the more she seems like a monster."
"If Dame Cecilia were our enemy... ugh, just thinking about it gives me goosebumps."
Perhaps because it was a newly formed dungeon, the traps were rather weak for one of the Mugan 7 Palaces. But even taking that into account, Cecilia's solo performance defied all common sense. They managed to break through to the third floor without suffering any casualties, and they hadn't encountered a single monster along the way. Even after descending to the fourth floor, they were greeted by nothing but a vast, dark cavern. At least, that was how it seemed at first.
Thud! Cecilia drove her sword into the ground.
Screeech! An immediate response echoed through the cavern. As if signaled by the sound, undead began crawling out from beneath the earth. At a glance, their numbers easily exceeded a hundred, but the sheer quantity wasn't the issue.
Clank, clank. The heavy sound of armor echoed as a Dullahan clad in holy plate armor approached from the distance.
"...Wilhelm?"
Leon's pupils shook violently as if struck by an earthquake. When he saw the other Dullahan raising his sword right beside Wilhelm, he gasped in horror.
"Margrave Astoria! Heavens...! Why are you here as well?!"
The missing Margrave had reappeared here in the Tomb of Faith, reduced to a mere minion of the dungeon.
"...Then, does that mean the Grand Sage is also...?"
"No, that can't be... There's no way..."
Despair spread across the soldiers' faces. Only Cecilia remained unperturbed, her half-closed eyes calmly scanning the two undead.
"Do we need to recover the bodies?"
"Of course! How can you even ask that?!"
Cecilia let out a soft sigh. Whether they had been Heroes or of noble blood in life, did any of that really matter now that they were undead? ...Wait. If that was Astoria, then he was the Margrave?
"That undead over there... you said he was the Margrave of the Northwest, right?"
"Yes! Try to keep him as intact as—"
Whoosh! Before Leon could even finish his sentence, Cecilia leaped forward. In the blink of an eye, she closed the distance, appearing right in front of Astoria.
Thrust! Slash! The Moonlight Sword pierced, sliced, and tore through Astoria's body. Wilhelm's intervening blade swung uselessly through the empty air. As if she could only see a single target, Cecilia relentlessly focused all her attacks on Astoria, brushing off Wilhelm's strikes as if swatting away a fly.
"W-Why on earth...?"
At this rate, there would be no body left to recover. Leon knew this, but the sheer terror of the scene kept him from uttering another word. A vivid, chilling bloodlust emanated from Cecilia's half-closed eyes. Even as she tore her opponent to shreds, that murderous intent did not fade. It was a fiery, terrifying wrath that suggested she would instantly slaughter anyone who dared to step in and stop her.
Squish! With a final, sickening sound of tearing flesh, Astoria was completely hacked to pieces. His remains scattered like shattered glass, leaving him entirely unrecognizable. Only then did Cecilia leap backward, putting some distance between herself and Wilhelm. Leon, carefully reading her expression, asked in a cautious tone.
"Dame Cecilia? W-Why did you... just do that?"
It was the first time he had ever felt such a vivid emotion from her. Why had this woman, who was always so utterly detached, suddenly acted like a maniac?
Cecilia spoke in a low, quiet voice.
"He was the bastard who insulted my Master."