Preparing the Strategy
In the middle of a blood-red sea, a creature swam leisurely. Could it truly be called a simple creature? Well, it moved, so let’s go with that. The being was none other than Leviathan, the boss of the South Sea Dungeon.
Leviathan could stand on two legs like a human or walk on all fours. It was clearly a demon from Pandemonium. A red horn protruded from the center of its crocodile-like forehead, and sharp, blade-like fins ran along its back. Its tail split into two like a whale’s flukes.
This monstrous being served as a subordinate to Ira, the Demon King of Wrath among the Seven Deadly Sins. It had become the guardian of the South Sea Dungeon on her orders.
A few hours earlier, in the world of shadows—Pandemonium.
A colossal palace stood amid dense crimson pillars, its surroundings overgrown with black vines. From the sea of lava that surrounded the palace, Leviathan emerged.
With its incredibly resilient body, Leviathan could survive in any liquid. To it, lava was no different from water.
“Her Majesty has summoned me. Guard the gate while I am gone.”
Leviathan issued the command while magma dripped from its entire body, addressing the lesser demons waiting nearby. The gate it pointed to was, of course, the main entrance to Ira’s palace. There was no real threat of invasion, but appearances had to be maintained.
After tidying its appearance, Leviathan made its way to Ira’s palace.
Ira sat upon her throne inside, one arm resting on the armrest.
“You have come.”
Despite being called the Demon King of Wrath, she greeted him with surprising gentleness. Anyone else might have doubted whether she truly belonged among the Seven Deadly Sins. But one who wielded wrath could not remain in a constant state of rage. To master anger, one must also know how to calm it.
“This humble servant of wrath, Leviathan, stands before the almighty Lady Ira.”
Leviathan lowered itself deeply, choosing both posture and tone with extreme care not to offend her.
Ira waved her other hand twice, dismissing the formalities, and got straight to the point.
“The reason I called you is simple. An intruder has entered the dungeon entrusted to us by Lord Lucifer. Eliminate the intruder and protect the dungeon.”
Lucifer stood above all demons. Even among the Seven Deadly Sins, he was someone to be obeyed. Moreover, since their goal of corrupting Pangea with evil aligned, they walked the same path.
At Ira’s command, Leviathan simply nodded without adding any unnecessary words.
“If that is your wish, it shall be done. My Draugr Legion and I will never know defeat.”
Leviathan’s answer seemed to satisfy Ira. She went further and made him a promise.
“Good. We were planning to head to Pangea through that gate anyway. It is about time we made preparations. Leviathan, if you carry out your duties faithfully this time, I will grant you the opportunity to be the first to corrupt Pangea.”
Originally, Lucifer’s hounds would have been the ones to cross over, but she was saying she would use her authority to arrange otherwise. No matter how loyal he was to Lucifer, she was still one of the seven most powerful demons in Pandemonium. She would surely possess at least that much influence.
With that thought, Leviathan’s will burned fiercely. Because it had inherited the power of wrath, its entire body would flush bright red when excited. Its determination manifested exactly that way.
Shhhiii—!
White steam rose as its skin turned a vivid crimson.
“Enough.”
Chiiiik…
At her single word, the burning resolve cooled instantly. There was a time and place for showing one’s true nature. This was Ira’s palace—an inappropriate location to bare its soul.
“I shall obey your command.”
Leviathan answered cautiously and withdrew.
“Still so immature. I wonder if it can truly succeed.”
Ira could not help but worry about it. If Pandemonium were considered a nation, the demon race would be its citizens. Among them, those granted special power were called demons. The Seven Deadly Sins were naturally included, as were their subordinates.
The demon race was one that lived by instinct. Becoming a demon allowed some control over those urges, but Leviathan was different.
It was originally a beast, after all.
Its instincts had never truly subsided. If anything, becoming a demon and receiving the power of rage had made it even more faithful to those primal urges. That was why Ira could not help but worry.
“Please, just return without causing any incidents.”
If they lost the dungeon that Lucifer cherished so dearly, she could not even imagine the punishment that would follow. That anxiety was plain on her face, and the hand supporting her chin showed no sign of moving.
Back in the present.
Leviathan swam through the blood-red sea, guarding the Dungeon Stone. No matter what the intruder did inside the dungeon, as long as this object was protected, everything could regenerate. That was also why it had deployed unarmed Draugr soldiers to locate the enemy.
Judging by their level, this should be easy.
Knowing one’s enemy was crucial in battle. These intruders were struggling against mere unarmed Draugr. That meant there was no chance of Leviathan’s defeat. Protecting the Dungeon Stone this time would be child’s play.
That was the conclusion Leviathan had reached.
After reuniting with Selena and Arien, Bagan spent the brief time catching up on everything they had missed.
“Now do you understand why I thought you were out there playing pirate?”
At Bagan’s words, Selena replied with clear reluctance.
“I can see how you misunderstood. Who would have thought that the hell described in scriptures actually existed?”
“To be precise, it’s called Pandemonium. This place is a dungeon created by fusing Pandemonium with Pangea.”
“I understand that much. So what now?”
Selena’s expression made it obvious she wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible. Bagan felt the same. He wanted to deal with the evil emanating from this blood-red sea and breathe fresh air again.
“Since it’s a dungeon, we take down the boss and destroy the Dungeon Stone.”
“Thank goodness there’s a clear method. I was starting to think I’d die of exhaustion fighting things that just wouldn’t stay dead.”
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have come in here in the first place.”
Bagan spoke while observing how exhausted Selena looked.
“Still, if we delay any longer, the fatigue will become overwhelming.”
“Yeah. Let’s finish this quickly and get out.”
Selena waved her hand as if she had had enough. It seemed the effects of the medicine Arien had given her were starting to wear off.
“By the way, how exactly do you kill these things?”
She asked while looking at a Draugr whose head had been severed but was still moving. Bagan glanced at Selena and Arien and thought it made sense they wouldn’t know.
They wouldn’t realize these are demons.
After all, Selena still thought they were some kind of zombie.
“These are called Draugr. They belong to the demon race, which is fundamentally a type of undead with partial immunity to death. No matter how many times you cut them with ordinary physical force, they won’t die.”
“Then the boss must be the same. Is there another way?”
“The method is actually quite simple.”
“Simple? What could possibly—”
“Light-attribute magic and holy power.”
“That’s it?”
Selena muttered as she firmly stepped on the rolling arm of a Draugr, as if to say so that’s why they wouldn’t die. Then, as if something suddenly occurred to her, her eyes widened.
“That means you’re the only one who can deal with these things.”
“Right now, yes. But there’s another way.”
“Another way?”
That other way was Sally, now fully materialized.
“It is me.”
Whoosh!
Sally was the Spirit King of Condemnation. When she tested her flames of condemnation on the Draugr, the effect was identical to when she punished sinners. The blue flames had completely annihilated the Draugr’s body without leaving a single trace.
“Sally is the Spirit King of Condemnation. It seems the beings of Pandemonium are inherently sinful, so it works quite well on them.”
“Haah… At this point, I don’t even want to know what’s going on anymore. Dragon magic, a Spirit King, transforming into other creatures, and a slime that mass-produces items. It’s ridiculous.”
Selena grumbled but ultimately declared she would simply follow along.
I suppose that’s understandable.
Having lived her entire life in De Marinda, how could she have seen high-level magic before? How could she have encountered talking monsters? How could she have met a Spirit King? When things that defied common sense kept happening one after another, it was only natural to give up on trying to understand.
Bagan spoke to her gently.
“Well, there’s no need to understand everything. The important thing is that clearing this dungeon in advance will keep De Marinda safe.”
That was the logical truth. And for Selena, it was the most important factor. As a soldier, protecting De Marinda was her duty.
Selena gave a small nod and began preparing to follow.
“Our goal is to defeat the boss, Leviathan, and destroy the Dungeon Stone. The problem is that the blood-red sea is teeming with far more elite Draugr.”
Bagan had not yet encountered the Draugr Legion riding the demonic beasts known as Dark Rays. Only now did he realize that the forest filled with black trees and grass had contained only the weaker variants. The main force was in the sea.
Even so, Bagan did not feel nervous. When using Sally’s power against the sinful, his abilities would increase, and he trusted his own strength completely.
Arien and Sally felt the same lack of fear. The only one who needed to steady her heart with deep breaths was Selena.
However—
“Are you okay?”
“Hoo… I’m fine.”
Though Selena claimed she was fine, her expression told a different story.
“Heart rate rising rapidly. Preparing additional medication.”
Arien checked her pulse and immediately began manufacturing a new drug. It was a calming agent made from the properties of Miracho.
“Preparation complete.”
The moment it was finished, Arien handed it to Selena, who accepted it without hesitation.
Gulp. Gulp.
By now, Selena drank the medicine without any suspicion.
“Haah… This damn medicine. I’m going to get addicted. Let’s go.”
Whether she had steeled her resolve or simply taken a strong dose of the drug, her determination was clear. Once she was ready, Bagan’s party began to move.
They returned to the sandy shore that greedily sucked at their feet and stared out at the blood-red sea. There were no waves, but the way the water churned made them feel uneasy.
“Movement will be the same as before. After all, the blood sea is still a sea.”
Once again, Bagan created a mana barrier and cast flight magic. He did the same for Selena. The only differences from last time were that they would have to fight underwater and that her mind had been calmed.
Thanks to that, she was able to handle the flight magic with complete freedom.
“Impressive.”
While Bagan offered praise on the surface, his inner thoughts were different.
Just how effective is that medicine?
He couldn’t help but be curious about the efficacy of the drug Arien had produced.