Chapter 77
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Curse Vessel
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'It's done! It's done!'
Belze let out an inner cheer. The gloomy sorcerer. That curse shaman bastard. She'd known he hated half-breeds, but she hadn't expected him to jump on board with the plan the moment he heard there was one in the newborn dungeon—without even asking for details.
She had no idea why he despised half-breeds so much... but she didn't really care. What happened to some half-breed was none of her concern.
'That beast brute is so simple-minded. If the curse shaman and I both persuade him, he'll agree...'
Once all the others were convinced, all that was left was to wipe out the newborn dungeon. The beast had jumped at the chance to seize the south right from the start, so if they just aligned their stories—claiming it was an obstacle to dominating the south—he'd bite without hesitation.
His brain was stuffed full of muscle, after all.
"The enemy who burned all my children to ashes... This time, I will kill you for sure..."
Belze shed bloody tears as she recalled the swarms she'd lost just days ago. Then, to assemble forces for eliminating the newborn dungeon, she pulled out every insect demon tribe member in her dungeon along with her dwindling supply of golems.
**********
"Shinmok-nim. Shinmok-nim. Where are you going?"
Lil chattered away today as always, trailing right behind Dray. Having strongly inherited high elf traits, she felt her vitality surging and some deep satisfaction just from being near Dray, so she refused to leave her side.
"Shoo."
But Dray just found Lil a nuisance. Her singing was nice, but otherwise, she was way too noisy.
Dray wandered the garden every day trying to shake off Lil, who stuck to her like glue, but Lil always tracked her down somehow. If she couldn't find her, she'd head straight to the main body and babble all day long.
And on top of that, Lil was more capable than the other elves, finishing the tasks Eugene assigned her in a flash, which made it hard to complain.
"Ugh...!!"
Finally unable to endure Lil's constant chatter, Dray scampered off to Eugene. Lately, Dad had seemed super busy, preparing something with the elves, so she'd tried not to bother him... but she just couldn't hold back anymore.
-Tap tap.
"Hm? Dray?"
Eugene had been deep in planning with the elves—placing traps and monsters, gathering intel on the alliance dungeons' locations and troop situations—when Dray came running up, clinging to his pant leg. He looked at her in surprise.
"Hungry? Dray. I feel bad saying this since it's about food, but even I can't keep handing out ten servings a day from the [Shop] every single day..."
"No..."
She'd eat it happily if he gave her food, of course, but that wasn't why she was here.
"Outside."
"...Outside?"
"Yeah. Outside. Wanna go."
No matter how much she wandered inside the ruins, Lil always found her and stuck on. So she figured she'd just head right outside the ruins altogether. Even aside from that, there was no sunlight inside, and she wanted to bask in it at least once.
"Sunlight, huh..."
Of course, she hadn't mentioned Lil to Dad. Because of Lil's abilities, Dad wanted her to stay glued to Dray as much as possible.
"Dray-nim is a plant at her core. We have artificial lighting in the dungeon, but it's no match for real sunlight. How about letting her get some rays for a bit?"
"Hmm..."
At first, Eugene panicked at the idea of Dray going outside and tried to dissuade her, but after hearing the elves, he fell into thought.
Come to think of it, Dray's true body was a massive tree. It might cause issues if she never got any sunlight.
"Will it work if her avatar soaks it up?"
"W-Well? Even we don't know that much."
The elves sweated as they conferred with Eugene; they could only speculate about the ecology of the legendary dryad handed down in myths. Their queen might know more, but...
"Tch..."
They were at odds with the alliance—or whatever it was now—so enemies could strike anytime. Eugene wanted to refuse Dray's outing, but he shut his mouth at her sparkling, expectant eyes.
She ate a ton, sure, but she'd never caused any real trouble (the forest incident was Lilith's fault), and she'd always done her tasks obediently. This was the first time she'd ever asked him for something.
"...Alright. Sure."
"Daddy too?"
After agonizing, Eugene permitted the outing, and Dray promptly invited him along. Lil was annoying, but being with Dad was nice.
"...Sorry, Dray. I can't go outside."
Dad suddenly made a terribly bitter face and apologized, saying he couldn't join. Shocked by his expression, Dray ended up apologizing to him instead.
"No! It's fine! I'll be back!"
"Ah, wait! Dray! It's dangerous, so at least take Erzsebet...!"
"If Drayad-nim is heading out, we elves should escort...!"
Just moments ago, Dad and the elves had been strategizing against enemies, but now they switched to debating who to send with Dray.
"...Should we send Lil?"
"...Hate to say it, but sending her together might cause some kind of incident..."
"Urgh..."
When talk of sending Lil along came up, Dray freaked out and bolted from the meeting room.
'Dad, seriously.'
Sure, she looked like a child and her mind was a bit regressed, but she was a dryad thousands of years old. It felt nice being treated like a kid, but this overprotection was unnecessary.
'First, fill up the tummy!'
"Kraaaah!!"
Before heading out, Dray plunged her roots into her daily nutrient snack for one more big suck of energy. She also grabbed the "bento" Dad had given her for emergencies, back when the heroes had invaded.
"Yeah! Let's go!"
"Grooo... Evil thing. Don't mess with my head. Above me exists only one..."
The snack tried muttering something again, but she buried its head back in the dirt, checked that Dad wasn't watching, and snuck out of the ruins.
...Eugene thought Dray never caused trouble, unaware it was just a lack of opportunity until now.
**********
"This is our alliance's first chance to make our name known. Everyone, take care not to tarnish the alliance's reputation!"
"Yes!!!"
"You've probably heard already, but our Dungeon Master has promised to specially accept those who perform great feats in this battle as full members of the dungeon."
"Ooooh..."
"So give it your all."
In a southern mountain range, a man with a physique like half-tiger, half-human bellowed a rousing speech to the assembled demonkin of various races.
Behind him stood several insect demon tribe members with compound eyes, commanding swarms of bugs on standby. Arrayed beside him were more figures with similar beast-human hybrids.
"Kehheheh... How long has it been since our last fight!"
"My blood's boiling!"
The werebeasts—bearing strong beastly traits—puffed excitedly, recalling the orders from their master, lord of the Beast Plains, Tabula.
How thrilled they'd been when their bellicose master, born with predatory instincts, declared his ambition to rule the south. And now was the moment to take the first step.
"The enemy is a newborn dungeon. They repelled heroes recently but took heavy damage and haven't recovered—ripe for the taking!"
The weretiger giving the speech, Horang, parroted the false info Belze had fed the alliance members as if it were gospel.
"They refused to join our alliance and even attacked our members! They're demons of the south like us, but utterly unforgivable!"
Belze had struck first, but he twisted it as if they'd been the victims. He claimed they'd rejected an offer that had never even been made.
True or not, it didn't matter. The alliance's core was three dungeons, and two of them wanted the newborn wiped out.
..........
Amid the demonkin crowd, a particularly detached group listened in silence. Their cloudy eyes held not a shred of reason.
"Who're those guys? They give me the creeps..."
"Shh. Quiet. Those are from 'Curse Garden.'"
"Them?"
Allied demonkin scowled at the shadowy figures lurking in the corner, but none dared pick a fight.
Unlike them—alliance affiliates who weren't full dungeon members and thus lacked a Dungeon Master's power—these dungeon members wielded vastly superior strength.
"That woman in the center... isn't she a half-breed?"
"Y-Yeah? Doesn't the lord of Curse Garden kill half-breeds on sight indiscriminately?"
The demonkin eyed the dispatched troops from the eerie Curse Garden, whispering about the black-haired woman at their center.
A woman with long, straight black hair—the mark of a half-breed—dragging on the ground untended. Her pale skin was blotched black in places. Unlike the doll-like demonkin around her with vacant stares, her eyes gleamed with clear intelligence.
"........."
But those eyes were steeped in profound despair, radiating an aura even more ominous than the puppets.
"Let's... not mess with her."
"Yeah..."
The demonkin questioned why Curse Garden's half-breed-hating lord had sent a half-breed, but one look at her eyes made them swallow their doubts. She looked like she'd curse them just for breathing wrong.
'Fulfill your purpose.'
"........."
Ignoring the surrounding demonkin's reactions, the half-breed demonkin repeated in her mind the words her master—the lord of Curse Garden—had uttered while carving one final curse into her before departure.
'A human-demon half-breed... with a persecuted past... The perfect vessel for my curses.'
'Now. Kill your own kind with your own hands. Absorb their grudges into that body.'
'Tch. Filthy things. This is your one and only use.'
Images flickered of half-breeds dying under her master's horrific curses. And at his command to bear their grudges, she remembered the eyes of those she'd slain with her own hands.
'A half-breed who's even climbed to Dungeon Master... Finally. Time to complete the ultimate curse vessel.'
Her master, receiving some message, had promptly dispatched her here. He ordered her to kill the half-breed she'd find—not with help, but using only her own power from start to finish.
'With the knowledge I've imprinted in you, it should be plenty.'
Forcing unwanted magical knowledge, immense demonic energy, and a staff to wield it upon her.
'Go. Kill that half-breed and become complete.'
"...Ah... Uu..."
Unable to even think straight anymore, her mind filled only with dying half-breeds and her master's voice, she could barely speak as she commanded the incomplete curse vessels her master had provided.
"Alright. Let's move out!"
Horang finished his speech and led the troops forth. Their target: the newborn dungeon. To deliver iron punishment to those who spurned the alliance's hand.