Chapter 74
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Trap
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A personal maid.
The first sword given to one of the Unlight bloodline, their second mind, their third hand, and their final shield.
Above all, they were a community of fate, bound to share life and death with their master.
In the succession war, rife with all manner of betrayal and conspiracy, a personal maid was no different from an Unlight’s own limbs.
But that all depended on the master.
He didn't even have the capacity to command a single maid.
Trusting the likes of an elf was his mistake.
Sirgal sneered, thinking this was why, no matter what power Dion had gained upon awakening, he was ultimately unfit to join the Unlight succession war.
And as he watched Parsha, who remained silent as always, her face impassive, not offering a single word of rebuttal.
Dion was not surprised.
Nor was he shaken.
He simply stared at them with his deep, blood-red eyes before speaking in a low voice.
“I don’t know. I think I’m better off than Brother Ren, who has a vassal that lets his comrades die just to hog all the credit.”
[A pity. To think you cannot comprehend the noble sacrifice made to ensure the mission's success.]
“I know enough to realize they never agreed to that sacrifice.”
Dion smirked.
If she had given him the information, he could have helped the excavation team.
But not only did he refuse to help, afraid of losing credit, he even withheld information, allowing them to be annihilated.
It was a truly demonic thing to do.
Even more so, considering he was likely planning to loot the ruins on this occasion, hoping to snatch an artifact behind Ren’s back.
[Enough of this pointless chatter. I shall ask you directly.]
Perhaps it was because he was disappointed that Dion showed little shock despite knowing of Parsha’s betrayal.
After clicking his tongue as if bored.
Sirgal asked quietly.
[Will you come along quietly? Or will you be dragged away, missing your arms and legs?]
“You say enough pointless chatter, yet you ask a pointless question.”
[…….]
“As if you had any intention of taking me peacefully.”
Sirgal did not deny Dion’s point.
Just because he wasn't enraged by Silan's death didn't mean he felt nothing toward Dion.
Not only had Dion killed his nephew and thrown his domain into chaos, bringing shame upon his family’s honor.
But even more so because Ren, whom he had so carefully supported as the next heir, had begun to doubt the capabilities of Soma Castle and had even reprimanded him.
[If you wish for punishment, I shall grant your desire.]
And so, Sirgal smiled.
He knew just how fearsome the Unlights were.
As their vassal, he knew this better than anyone, so he couldn't treat even Dion carelessly without a clear reason.
But now that Dion had stepped forward like this, he had a legitimate reason to tear him limb from limb.
For Sirgal, it was a truly welcome development.
“By the way, Uncle Alcan. Want me to tell you something interesting?”
[I believe I already said enough of this pointless chatter.]
“Even if it’s about these ruins?”
[You speak as if you know something about this place.]
“Yeah, I know it well.”
That was why.
He didn't stop Dion's sudden tangent, instead giving him time to spout whatever he wanted.
“Because we already cleared these ruins out last week.”
[……Are you saying the Seventh Young Master conquered ruins that even the excavation team was struggling with? And without them knowing?]
“I was lucky enough to find the real entrance to this place.”
[Heheheh. A fine jest.]
Sirgal let out a blatant scoff.
The ruins, corrupted over long years by tainted mana, were a labyrinth in and of themselves.
In that one couldn't know what dangers lay within, excavating ruins was actually more difficult than conquering a typical labyrinth.
And yet Dion claimed to have secretly conquered ruins that an excavation team of over a hundred had been working on for more than a month.
It was complete nonsense to anyone who heard it.
It sounded like nothing more than a bluff to escape the current crisis.
But…
“A shame if it sounded like a joke. Especially since I have proof.”
[……?!]
In that moment.
Sirgal froze.
Dion had pulled a scepter from his robes, shaped like three intertwined serpents.
He could feel an extraordinary aura begin to flow from it as the serpents writhed and moved.
An item.
An aura so powerful that it couldn't be a rare 2-star artifact, or even a 3-star treasure.
‘An artifact-grade item? How could the likes of the Seventh Young Master possess such a treasure!’
‘Don't tell me he really excavated these ruins?’
‘Then why bother with the excavation team now…?’
As Sirgal was momentarily plunged into confusion, Dion continued, a wide grin on his face.
“But to be honest, the haul was pretty small for clearing out ruins.”
[……?]
“—Because this place isn't a treasure vault, it’s just a defense facility from the era of the Old Kingdom.”
[……!!!]
A defense facility.
The scepter, radiating its aura.
And the cruel smile that formed on Dion’s face.
The moment all the pieces clicked into place and alarm bells rang in his head.
Sirgal found himself shouting.
[Stop—!]
*CRASH!*
…No, he tried to shout.
If only the palanquin hadn't been sent flying by a sudden impact.
Neither the surrounding knights nor Sirgal himself could react in time.
Because the kick from a steel-toed boot that landed right next to the palanquin was just that sudden and unexpected.
[You, you lowborn thing!!!]
“To expect sincere loyalty from the likes of a lowly elf, you must be the world’s biggest fool.”
An unexpected betrayal and attack.
Followed by merciless, scathing words.
The dark elf maid’s actions and speech instantly incinerated his patience, and Sirgal roared in fury.
The knights, belatedly, moved to capture her.
But they were too late.
As if she had been waiting for this very moment.
Parsha had already launched herself away the instant she sent the palanquin flying, escaping their encirclement.
And so, as everyone’s attention was drawn to Parsha, an opening was revealed.
Just as the aura flowing from the scepter reached its peak, Dion raised it high.
“Ii, aD.”
*RUMBLE!*
The labyrinth shuddered.
The ground collapsed.
And a massive hole appeared.
An architectural structure, originally buried underground with only its top slightly exposed.
But now, as Dion used the [Scepter of the Defense Commander], it finally awakened after more than a thousand years.
In the first and second timelines.
The excavation had been delayed.
As various factions gathered their excavation teams and disputes broke out.
It had suddenly gone berserk, swallowing whole hundreds of excavators, including some twenty high-ranking Awakened Ones, earning it the name ‘Tomb of the Grave Robbers.’
The [Fortress of the Crucible] had swallowed Sirgal and his knights whole.
***
The hero who would save the world.
The supreme ruler who held hegemony over the continent.
Or the genius of phenomenal talent.
Great figures who wrote legends and epics, revered by all on the continent.
But in the Vault Keeper’s eyes.
Even they were ultimately mere mortals.
Foolish, greedy people who didn't know their own place.
The King of the Dark Grotto was a being so great he couldn't be compared to such people, and his legacy was far too precious.
That was why.
The Vault Keeper hadn't acknowledged Dion as her master and had been biding her time, looking for a chance to replace him.
Dion lacked both the qualifications and the ability to become the successor to the King of the Dark Grotto.
That included him treating her, the Vault Keeper of the King of the Dark Grotto, like a common slave without even taking the trials.
But…
“……How on earth did you find this place?”
“I don’t know, talent and intuition?”
“Don't be ridiculous. Do you think the [Fortress of the Crucible] is a place one can just stumble into?”
About a week ago.
While Ren’s excavation team was diligently digging away on the surface.
The Vault Keeper, who had entered the ruins buried in the middle of the labyrinth through a remote cave, was dumbfounded.
The [Fortress of the Crucible] was a fortress that had withstood the great demonic front for over a hundred years during the Old Kingdom era, earning a fearsome reputation.
Now that it was encroached upon by the labyrinth, even the fortress's original master would likely die trying to enter.
And yet, not only had he found a hidden path into the [Fortress of the Crucible].
He had also easily dismantled several layers of traps and security systems to obtain the artifact hidden deep within this fortress, the [Scepter of the Defense Commander].
Was this an excavation?
Or a stroll in the park?
It was something she couldn't believe even seeing it with her own eyes.
“Well, if I had to say, it’s thanks to having a good friend.”
“What kind of friend makes something like this possible?”
“A friend like the Voice, who nags me endlessly, saying there’s nothing wrong with knowing everything.”
“Am I the strange one for not understanding what I’m hearing…?”
Though she was still bewildered.
She had no choice but to admit it.
This strange boy certainly had an extraordinary side to him.
Of course, that was merely a minimal acknowledgment that she had underestimated Dion.
No matter how extraordinary he was, the fact remained that he was unfit to be her master…
‘…I must admit, in terms of being absurdly cunning, he is certainly a master I should acknowledge.’
Even to her, who looked down on heroes and great men as insignificant, Sirgal was a monster they could never have defeated in a direct confrontation.
But the Vault Keeper was left speechless by the boy’s scheme, which had lured Sirgal and his pursuit team here.
And ultimately used the [Fortress of the Crucible] to annihilate them all.
Of course, it wasn't that she had no complaints.
“I wondered why you only brought me along to explore the ruins, but it was for this, wasn’t it?”
“Parsha and the braggart were busy with intelligence operations.”
“You still could have told me!”
“Then the surprise show wouldn't be any fun, would it?”
“What are you trying to achieve by surprising me?!?!”
The Vault Keeper snapped.
She couldn't seem to accept that she was the only one kept in the dark and manipulated.
Of course, the others weren't exactly pleased with the situation either.
“Seriously, I thought my heart was going to stop…”
“You were good at the deception and acting, so what’s the problem now?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Luring an entire knight order into a trap… what would have happened if it failed?”
“It succeeded, so it’s fine, right?”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Ahaha, I know everyone worked hard.”
Naru let out a sigh.
He had to use the Guild’s intelligence network to gather information on their attackers.
While simultaneously covering their tracks to delay the pursuit until they were ready, and then subtly leaving traces to lure them here when the time was right.
The hardships Naru endured to pull off such a difficult task were truly beyond words.
But the one Dion actually gave credit to was someone else.
“Parsha, especially, you did a great job.”
“Praising your personal maid after making her pretend to be a traitor… you have quite the nerve.”
“What was I supposed to do? We had to do at least this much to bait Brother Ren.”
“That’s what having a nerve means.”
Throughout the long history of the Unlights, Dion was probably the only madman to use his personal maid as a spy.
Watching Parsha speak with a deadpan expression, Dion chuckled.
“Don’t be so angry. Thanks to you, we were able to pay Brother Ren back properly, weren’t we?”
“Yes, you paid him back very properly indeed.”
No matter how powerful Ren’s faction was.
While common low-ranking Awakened Ones were one thing.
High-ranking Awakened Ones, whether noble or not, were each a precious asset.
The losses so far were already at a level that would require subjugating an entire noble family or spending a vast amount of money to replenish…
But losing an entire knight order was a problem on a different level.
The Soma Knight Order was the core military force of Soma Castle.
Along with the power of the Lord of Soma, they were one of the twin pillars that allowed the Alcan family to reign as the lords of Soma Castle.
The void left by them, who possessed both loyalty and skill, could not be filled in a day or two.
This incident could even shake the Alcan family’s control over Soma Castle.
It was a painful loss for Ren as well.
A blow more fatal than losing dozens of high-ranking Awakened Ones.
However…
“—That is, if everything ends here.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, do you really think the captain of the Soma Knight Order would die just from falling into a trap in some ruins?”
“Ha! Now that’s a ridiculous thing to say.”
At Parsha’s cool observation.
The Vault Keeper scoffed.
“The Fortress of the Crucible is a fortress that held off a demonic army of over ten thousand. There’s no way they can escape after being swallowed up in there…”
A Master-class transcendent.
Or perhaps a high-ranking demon might manage it.
But for a lesser demon to escape was impossible.
As someone who knew the glory of the [Fortress of the Crucible] in the Old Kingdom era, the Vault Keeper declared it with certainty.
*Thud.*
“……?”
*THUD!*
“H-How…!?”
*RUMBLE!*
…No, she was about to declare it.
Until the ground suddenly began to tremble violently.
And cracks started to form in the rift in the ruins that had closed up again after swallowing the Soma Knight Order.
As if she had just seen the sun rise in the west.
Dion casually asked the wide-eyed Vault Keeper a question.
“Shuttle, that story about holding off an army of over ten thousand. How many troops were on the defending side?”
“You don't even know such common sense? Of course…!”
“Of course?”
“Of course, of course…”
“Yes, of course?”
“……A coalition of 30,000 troops was defending the Fortress of the Crucible.”
“I see.”
That a mere 30,000 troops could hold off 10,000 demons was a miraculous feat in itself.
The Fortress of the Crucible was undoubtedly a great fortress.
And for an individual to break through it was an infinitely difficult task.
Watching the truly dense girl, who couldn't hide her trembling pupils even as she said this herself.
Dion nodded his head.
“I guess a fortress is only useful on a battlefield, not so much for dealing with a few demons.”
“You’re only realizing that now?!”
*RUUUUMBLE!!!*
*Screech*, and.
The moment the Vault Keeper unwittingly shrieked.
What erupted from the gaping hole as the cracking ground finally collapsed was a writhing mass of flesh.
No, it was a horde of demonic soldiers, so numerous and bizarrely twisted that they looked like a single mass of flesh.
And among the originally twelve members of the order.
With only six knights remaining.
Stood a figure at the forefront of the hundreds of demonic soldiers, covered in blood.
The lesser demon, a 【Warlock】 and 【Transmuter】 with a withered body and a vicious face, his face flushed a dark, murky color, roared.
[I’ll kill you, Seventh Young Master!!!]
It wasn’t just killing intent; it was pure, overflowing madness.
To hell with capturing him alive.
Seeing the captain of the Soma Knight Order, whose eyes had gone completely mad with the thought of tearing him to shreds right now, Naru asked in a trembling voice.
“W-What do we do now?”
“What do you think?”
“By that, you don't mean…?”
“We fight.”
“……”
As if asking why he’d ask something so obvious.
Hearing Dion’s reply, a wide smile still on his face even in this situation, Naru’s mind went blank, and the Vault Keeper froze.
Parsha, her face as expressionless as ever, spoke.
“……I’m the fool for trusting a foolish plan, devised by a foolish young master.”