Chapter 155
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Seal
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I really couldn't believe it.
The very notion that a Dungeon Master would leave their dungeon unattended was exceedingly rare to begin with. And this wasn't just any ordinary dungeon—it was the domain of the one hailed as the ruler of the east, the mistress of the Demon Realm. There was no way she would abandon it.
"Right."
"......"
As the woman calmly answered my question, astonishment rippled across the faces of the minions locked in confrontation with her.
They had already sensed she was no ordinary being from the way she unilaterally massacred the demon horde from the west. But to think she was the Empress of the east?
It could be a lie, but her minions figured there had to be some reason their master was boldly asking if she was the 'Empress.' They all tensed up.
"What relation do you have to Erzsebet?"
Out of habit, I nearly called her Erze, but caught myself at the last second and mentioned Erze's true name. I watched the Empress react to 'Erzsebet.'
"You know Lady Erzsebet?"
"Yeah. So tell me straight. What's your relationship with her? Enemies?"
Even as I posed the question, something told me that wasn't the case.
Every time I brought up Erzsebet's name, the woman reacted strongly. Her tone carried intimacy and respect toward Erze.
"Lady Erzsebet...! Where is she!"
But the woman ignored further questions, fixating solely on the fact that I knew Erze. She took a step forward.
And in that instant.
-Whoooosh!!!
"....!!"
A little closer. Closer to where Eugene was staying in the Demon God's Ruins. The moment she stepped into its territory, Bathory felt a familiar, overwhelming aura so potent it begged the question why she hadn't sensed it before.
The blood coursing through her veins. Her memories. Her instincts—they all reacted. Her long-awaited master was here.
Was some kind of barrier in place? Even as she had scoured tirelessly, she hadn't felt it. Now, sensing her master's presence at last, euphoria washed over her. But simultaneously, she detected something amiss in the aura's waveform.
"You...! You all...! What have you done to her!!!!"
"What....?"
The Empress had suddenly sensed something and begun to smile, only to erupt in mad fury. Eugene panicked, utterly baffled.
But heedless of that, as her master's servant and bearer of her blood, the Empress deciphered the emotions woven into Erze's aura emanating from within—and rage consumed her.
Pain. Sorrow... Negative emotions saturating Lady Erzsebet's aura. And undoubtedly, something had gone wrong with her body. Exposing one's feelings to kin or bloodbound was a fundamental error, one committed only if one's body was compromised...!
Bathory recalled the sight of Erzsebet vanishing right before her eyes just as she was about to speak. She arbitrarily linked the two events in her mind.
"It was you... you all..! The ones who stole Lady Erzsebet from me all this time...! And stole her again....!"
"Hey. Calm down first....!"
"No.... I'll never lose her again.... She finally came back...! We finally met again....!!!!"
"Fucking... Everyone, battle stations!!!"
Staring at the Empress, who muttered ominous words to herself before baring terrifying killing intent, I issued combat orders to the quaking minions.
"Give her back...! Give her back!!!!"
-Kwaaaaa!!!!
I'd felt uneasy from the first moment I laid eyes on her, but sure enough, the woman who called herself the Empress was far from normal.
'She's gone mad.'
What the hell had Erze done in the east to drive her to this? Give her back? What did you do to Erze? That was my question.
Why was the Empress of the east calling out to Erze with such desperate longing? And why, upon seeing us, did she attack while ranting about us stealing Erze...?
Whatever the reason, I had no intention of just standing there and taking it.
"Frontline units, raise the [Robot Vacuums] I gave you!!"
The Empress's attack had mercilessly slaughtered the eastern demons.
No matter how well-equipped they were or how veteran—survivors of brutal clashes with heroes—their limbs would disintegrate the instant they touched that assault.
Seeing the Empress's attack pattern nearly identical to Erze's, I urgently commanded my minions.
"Y-Yes...? R-Right away!!"
The [Robot Vacuum] boasted invincible durability like all the other cleaning tools, but its size could barely cover a human face.
At their master's absurd order to block that colossal blood wave with something so small, the demons—who had been hoisting full-body tower shields—let out dazed noises. Still, ever the obedient minions, they dutifully raised their [Robot Vacuums] in place of shields at the Dungeon Master's command.
-Beep beep!!
The moment they raised the [Robot Vacuums], the sensors on the devices detected the massive incoming contaminant.
-Whirrrrr!!!
Lacking any will of their own, the [Robot Vacuums] existed solely to suck in pollutants upon detection. As they sprang to life, the enormous blood wave bearing down on the minions was drawn en masse into their innards.
'No clue why she suddenly attacked...'
The Empress's abilities looked similar to Erze's in every way. Countering her should be straightforward.
'Blood's one of the classic contaminants in the Cleaning Game.'
'Brings back memories.'
The scene evoked our first encounter, when Erze had attacked out of nowhere. Lost in that brief reminiscence, I hurriedly dispatched the rest of my [Employees] to the battlefield.
We'd barely blocked the initial strike, but judging by the old Erze, suppressing this Empress would require [Detergent (Blood)]. And only the [Employees] could wield the detergent.
"Aqua. You still have the [High-Pressure Cleaner] I gave you? Just in case—Mimic too... Lilith. You as well. Can you go handle that woman?"
"Whine. Whine."
"...You get it?"
"Whine."
I redirected the [Employees] I'd prepped for the western demons to deal with the Empress instead.
The Mimic, wriggling restlessly, posed a question.
"Kill. Fine?"
"......."
Kill her... I'd scoff at any other demon or human uttering 'kill the Empress.' But I couldn't laugh.
She'd lunged out of nowhere, and her power looked downright terrifying. Yet considering our ruins' full might right now, killing her seemed entirely feasible.
'[Detergent (Blood)] alone would give us an overwhelming edge...'
Several [Employees] who could wield [Detergent (Blood)], Aqua—who could restrain even a 5-star hero temporarily—Lilith, a mental cheat code unto herself, and Mimic, who could match virtually any foe by copying them...
By contrast, the Empress looked utterly spent from her trek east to here without proper rest. Exhaustion etched her face, her hair matted. She'd clearly fought recently; her power seemed drained.
...No way she'd tangled with Rene on the way. Still no word from Rene.
And on top of that, she'd clearly lost her cool—mentally unstable. If we went for the kill, we could do it.
"...Prioritize subduing her for now."
After a moment's deliberation, I ordered suppression first. My calculus: if the cleaning tools worked properly against blood, we could take her down without killing.
Straight-up killing her felt off with Erze in the picture.
Ah, of course.
"If it gets dicey, just kill her."
"Understood."
In the absolute worst case, we'd have no choice.
I watched the [Employees] exit the ruins with resolute confidence, then wiped my face.
'If only Erze would wake up now—the misunderstanding would clear, and we'd have solid firepower...'
Erze... what the hell's keeping you down?
The Blood Demon Tribe was a race forged of blood itself. Blood was their very essence.
For such a tribe to share blood with one of their own was tantamount to dividing one's core—and that blood carried not only the donor's power, but fragments of their memories as well.
In that sense, though it was blood she'd given long ago... Erzsebet, having received back the blood Bathory had cherished through centuries, was immersed in Bathory's memories within her dream.
"Lady Erzsebet..."
These were unmistakably centuries' worth of memories, yet their substance was hazily sparse.
Was it because so little blood had been shared? No—if so, no memories would have transferred at all.
This was simply... the result of Bathory's memories accumulated over endless centuries being so heartbreakingly barren.
"Cleaned the castle today... tidied the bedroom.... So you'll be ready whenever Lady Erzsebet returns..."
Centuries. A span even long-lived races would find burdensome. Through it all, Bathory lived as if trapped in that single day from centuries past, endlessly repeating the same routine.
Tidying the bedroom. Patrolling the castle, cleaning every corner. Reliving the memories of Erzsebet lingering in those places.
To preserve what little remained of Erzsebet's image, she grew out her hair, altered her speech—began imitating her.
Over centuries, her will and spirit eroded. She became a machine repeating the same days, occasionally dealing with disturbers around the castle.
Bathory's memories now encroached upon Erze.
"Bathory..."
Witnessing her loyal maidservant's past, Erze murmured Bathory's name in a trembling voice as it began to crystallize.
She fully grasped her situation. She was of the Blood Demon Tribe, master of blood—and at its pinnacle. If she willed it, she could block the influx and snap awake.
But she didn't. Instead, Erze chose to embrace Bathory's memories. Centuries' worth flashed by rapidly, seeping into her.
At last, Bathory's recollections rewound from recent events back to that day.
[No need to keep waiting for me like before. No need to stay in this castle...]
[I'm sorry, Bathory. I want to take you with me, but...]
The memory of abandoning her maidservant Bathory and departing. Unlike the other hazy recollections, this one surged vividly—and Bathory's despair hit with crystal clarity.
Feeling Bathory's raw anguish crash into her, Erze furrowed her brow.
"Why..."
I'd had no choice but to leave Bathory behind?
Absorbing Bathory's memories—reliving the ones she revisited endlessly—Erze recovered every recollection of her time with Bathory.
How she'd taken in the forsaken Blood Demon child. Accepted her as her sole maidservant. Their days together in the castle.
Yet the reason she'd been forced to leave Bathory eluded her.
So...
"A little deeper."
Erze sought to delve further into her core. The blood Bathory had returned—unlike her present self, it preserved past traces and memories intact.
Not Bathory's imprints from the interim ownership, but those of the true owner: Erzsebet herself.
And at last, the memories embedded in the blood stirred her origin...
"....Ugh!!!"
The instant she probed her core to summon those memories, Erze suffered excruciating pain—and felt herself repelled.
"What is this...?"
This made no sense. She, at the zenith of blood mastery, couldn't access memories in her own blood?
Stubbornly, Erze peered into her core, her inner depths. She contemplated the blood flowing through her body.
With fragments of her ancient blood restored, it should be possible. And there it was.
'A seal...?'
Deep within, an ironclad seal locking away her blood. And her memories.
'Why is my aura...'
The seal—so insidious she'd never noticed it till now, sending chills down her spine—entwined auras from myriad beings. Among them, one hauntingly familiar.
Erzsebet. Her own aura.
As if her past self had personally sealed it all away.