Chapter 61
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Raid Party (4)
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-Thud.
"Kuh... Another one...!"
The raid party members heading out of the dungeon, leaving Fallen behind. Amid their collective suffering from oxygen deprivation, their conditions worsening by the minute, yet another hero finally collapsed.
At this point, aside from the heroes with survival or defensive abilities, all those ranked 2-star or below had fallen. No matter how superhumanly strong they were, there was nothing they could do about the sheer lack of oxygen itself.
Of course...
"...Something's off."
Pis, who had been carrying his collapsing comrades as they advanced, suddenly halted.
No matter how much toxic gas they inhaled, no matter how difficult breathing had become in this acrid smoke, they were heroes chosen by holy relics. They weren't the type to drop at this level.
And this strangely sweet scent mixed in with the increasingly thick, choking burnt smell...!
"Hehehe. Finally catching on?"
"...!! Who are you?!"
By the time only three 2-star heroes with protective holy relics and two 3-star heroes led by Pis remained conscious, a seductive woman's voice whispered directly into their ears, as if someone were murmuring right beside them.
Pis hurriedly drew his spear and scanned the direction of the voice. There stood a woman with pink hair, more beautiful than any he'd ever seen.
"Oh my. Pointing a weapon at a delicate lady like this..."
"Demon...! When did you slip in so close?!"
Even in their dazed state, they hadn't noticed a demon approaching so brazenly. Shocked, Pis urgently coated his spear in aura and thrust it at the pink-haired dream demon, but she lightly floated up, effortlessly dodging.
"I don't mind rough men, but this is a bit too violent, don't you think?"
"Kuh...! Take this!"
-Whoosh! Swoosh!
Enraged, Pis swung his spear repeatedly, but each time, the dream demon evaded like a mirage, gliding away effortlessly. Gritting his teeth, Pis ordered the raid members.
"Everyone still conscious, coordinate an attack with me! Roze, you circle around behind...!"
"P-Pis, sir...!"
But those receiving his orders all paled, slowly backing away from him.
"Everyone...! What are you doing?! We need to take down this demon quick and get our comrades out...!"
"Sir Pis! Who exactly are you attacking?!"
"...What?"
Far from obeying, they turned their weapons on Pis in horror, shouting at him. Slowly, Pis turned his head to look at his own spear.
And though his swings had clearly missed the demon entirely, the spear tip was somehow coated in sticky red liquid.
"Wh-what is this...?"
Before his eyes, priests lay butchered mercilessly, dying slowly from respiratory failure without even managing a proper scream. All bearing clear wounds from spear thrusts.
"Wow! Sister, you're amazing!"
"R-really...? Hehe..."
Lilith scratched her head sheepishly under Rio's sparkling gaze. Of course, white powder rained down as she did, but the ever-affable Rio kept smiling while subtly putting some distance between them.
'Her face is so pretty... Gotta invite her to bathe together later.'
Rio had hidden in the entrance passage under illusion, watched the heroes pass deeper into the dungeon, then used [Quick Movement] to slip back inside. While she set the fire, Lilith had spread her pink 'Mist of Delusion' amid the choking smoke.
Her ability could weave illusions so potent even Erzsebet couldn't escape—if properly applied. But it required preparation, like having targets inhale the mist.
She'd toyed with Erzsebet before by pre-applying it while they slept at night. She couldn't hit arriving humans with that intensity right away, so from the start, she'd been lacing the fire smoke with mist.
Inhaling the smoke, minds muddled by oxygen deprivation akin to drowsiness, they gradually fell into her hallucinations one by one.
"N-normally it's even stronger than this! It's weird they're holding out."
Of course, among heroes with varied holy relics, some resisted her power. The ones now facing the hallucination-struck hero swinging his spear wildly were such cases.
But now, even those were struggling with oxygen shortage. Those who withstood Lilith's illusions...
"Our turn now."
Fell to the kin.
All had buffs from [Meals] granting resistance to toxic fumes and oxygen deprivation.
Thanks to their Blood Kin trait with Erzse, when she [Quick Moved] to the entrance and handled the guards, they hid in her blood pool, slipped past undetected, blocked the retreat, and now advanced weapons drawn into the midst of heroes lost to infighting under hallucinations.
"What a ridiculous joke."
Fallen naturally ignored my words, not charging recklessly this time but cautiously assessing the situation. Not that it was a joke. I hadn't expected him to buy it anyway.
Having seen me appear and vanish from thin air twice already, he judged blind rushes futile.
Yet he kept glancing at the opposite passage. Planning to flee?
'Can't have that.'
By now, Rio, Lilith, and the kin at the entrance should be cooking the stragglers. If this guy slipped in, it'd collapse the balance. How was he unscathed after that bomb right in his face? No scratches?
He wasn't using [Cleaning Mask] or [Meal] buffs like us, yet moving fine in this low-oxygen hell.
"You're the leader of these unwelcome guests, right?"
To buy time for the entrance crew, I stepped forward, addressing the wary hero Fallen. Contrary to his aged appearance, he exuded terrifying menace, glaring as he replied calmly.
"Then you must be this dungeon's master. A half-breed as dungeon master... Hah, it's true."
The now-familiar half-breed label. At this rate, even I'd question my identity—maybe I was a lunatic Earthling convinced he was human, actually a true half-demon.
Anyway, Fallen eyed my hair curiously before suddenly turning serious.
"Dungeon master. What's your name?"
"...Jin."
"Jin, then. You're a half-demon. Half your blood is demon... the other half human. So why oppose humans?"
...Why oppose humans?
Whether probing for info or some ploy, Fallen's words piqued my interest. Humans I'd met always tried killing me—no real talks.
"Because humans tried killing me first."
Needing to stall anyway, I played along.
"Humans tried first, eh."
"Yeah. They saw my hair color, called me filthy half-breed, tried to kill me. So I hit back the same."
I stated the plain facts. Humans struck first; I counterattacked. My first day here, triggered by Rio, but they attacked without listening.
Surprised at the dialogue working, I raised my own long-held question.
"Fallen. I have something to ask you."
"What?"
"Why do you hate demons so much?"
From the psycho sorceress toying with powerless child Rio to death, every human I'd met bore clear malice toward demons.
I knew from Rio about the ancient war between demon and human gods sparking endless racial strife...
'But that doesn't fully explain it.'
Ancient wars or long hostilities couldn't account for such visceral hatred. The cruelty of toying with a child under ten to kill.
Humans' demon hatred bordered on madness. Demons seemed less hostile by comparison.
The Red Demon village massacre was an exception... Kin who hid among humans said most demons found humans annoying or beneath notice, but rarely massacred them.
Strong dungeon masters didn't pick fights if humans left them alone.
Knowing this changed nothing, but since that hatred snarled my start here, I'd planned to ask a world native someday.
"...Why hate demons?"
Fallen stared blankly, then burst into mad laughter.
"...Ha... hahaha! Only a half-breed could ask that? Hilarious!"
"......"
I wondered what was so funny as he laughed long, then suddenly glared deadly serious.
'Killing intent...?'
Compared to prior hostility, this was chilling—even I, far from battle-hardened, felt it. Fallen's calm eyes crazed, manic gleam as he spoke.
"Because God wills it."
"God...?"
Even while conversing coolly like a seasoned veteran, scouting gaps and exits, his eyes transformed. Zealot fanaticism.
'This is... creepy.'
A queasy chill hit me; frowning at him, he noticed the opening and spun to flee.
"See you later, Jin."
"No later."
I stopped Erzse from blocking, stepping back instead...
"What can you do? Your necromancy, bombs, minions—none scratched me. I'm retreating not from fear, but to protect my precious subjects."
Fallen sneered, oozing confidence. In his tattered clothes from battling Erzse, his back bore a massive tattoo... and three more covering his body.
All holy relics. Ultimate combo: poison resistance, curse resistance, magic resistance.
Thus immune to fumes and Lilith's illusions—had to lure him separately.
Truly 'invincible'—four relics propping the ultimate physique.
But...
"Collect."
I intoned to Fallen—or rather, the fake floor Lilith 'illusioned' beneath him.
-Whoosh!!!
"?!?!"
In an instant, the ground vanished wholesale. Fallen plummeted, below him...
[Crusher (Lv. Max)]
Facility for processing tough waste!
-Grindgrindgrindgrrr!!!
"Wha...t!!"
Even mid-fall, Fallen reacted somehow, punching air. Wind pressure and blue mana surged, trying to propel him up. Even 'invincible skin' Fallen sensed something amiss.
"Extend."
[Ladder (Lv. Max)]
Folding ladder for high cleaning. Length adjustable!
-Clang!
I'd pulled the [Ladder] from [Inventory] unnoticed, extending it to crush Fallen from above.
"Kugh... Digging such traps is pointless. My body is invincible..."
"Tougher than holy relics?"
"?"
That thing. Which crushed relics too.
Let's see if it holds up.
-Whirrr! Grindgrrr!!