33. Dungeon Theme Park
33. Dungeon Theme Park
"Are you sure Emy's okay...?"
"I think I caught a cold... from sleeping a bit chilly last night. I'll be better after some rest..."
Liber was worrying outside the door.
The claim of having caught a cold was a lie, but her being unwell was the truth.
Her face was flushed bright red.
The bed was littered with the red coat and revolvers she'd worn the day before, strewn about messily.
Whether it was because of what Atlas had done to her, or her chaotic mental state manifesting physically, she had a slight headache and a low fever as if she'd actually caught a cold.
"...I'll come by again later."
Liber's footsteps faded into the distance.
Was he going to see Atlas just like that...
Not wanting to go outside today, she'd holed up in her room.
If she went to class, she'd see Atlas again...
She didn't know how she was supposed to face him.
Now that he'd turned into a demon-touched, Atlas was no longer human.
A demon-touched, corrupted after selling their soul to a demon, was no longer human—merely a demon pretending to be human.
But when she faced him again, could she kill him?
She didn't think she could treat him like normal, either.
But she also didn't want to openly antagonize him in front of everyone.
Liber and the others probably didn't even know Atlas had become a demon-touched.
She'd thought about informing the professors, but Companion had dissuaded her, saying the professors didn't know how to deal with demons and would only increase the number of victims.
He'd said she had to handle it herself.
"Atlas... why..."
-I told you, didn't I? That if that guy became a demon-touched, you wouldn't be able to handle him... damn it, if there's a demon-touched like that during the dungeon exploration practical training, there's no way to deal with it...
Companion's voice echoed inside her head.
Normally it was fine, but with her headache, having a voice resonate directly inside her skull made her so dizzy she felt like vomiting.
"I should have... done it beforehand like you said...?"
In the end, Companion had been right again this time.
His claim that Atlas would become a demon-touched had become reality.
She no longer knew what to do.
Since she knew he was a demon-touched, he would try to kill her.
But she couldn't leave the academy.
She had to graduate and help her territory... and according to Companion, she was apparently meant to prevent an unprecedented catastrophe that would occur at the academy.
'But... I already lost. How?'
She hadn't been able to stop the demon's descent, nor the demon-touched's rampage.
He would, as Companion had said, summon the demon in the dungeon.
Atlas... no, the demon-touched, had toyed with her.
She hadn't been any match for him.
She'd escaped using the hourglass, but he was so strong she had no idea how to deal with him.
-It's fine. You survived. As long as you survive, you can always win. Let's prepare something else.
Companion soothed her.
She was grateful for the words, but right now she just wanted him to be quiet.
As long as you survive, you can win...
The sole child who had survived that day in the territory—was she truly winning?
The clearest memory she had of that day was a light so bright it was dazzling.
She didn't particularly want to remember anything else.
When she'd been taken as a sacrifice and lost consciousness, all the other children besides her were already dead.
When her turn came, someone in a black robe dragged her to the altar.
She remembered her body being fixed onto the blood-splattered altar, and the flash of a sharp knife.
Above the altar, a pitch-black demon had watched, grinning, and she remembered everyone in robes rejoicing even as the sharp knife was about to pierce her body.
And then the hand holding the knife had been severed.
The one who cut off his hand was a knight in black armor.
Contrary to the color of his armor, even in the pitch-black darkness, he held a sword that shone as brightly as broad daylight.
In her drug-hazed, blurry memories, only that glittering sword remained.
When she woke up again, everything was already over, and she was able to rise again in her mansion.
She wanted to think it was just a bad nightmare.
But the wounds they left on the territory couldn't simply be dismissed as a dream.
All the children in the territory had died, leaving only middle-aged people.
Parents who lost their children all wailed, and many people left in shock.
The small but lively territory had lost its vitality in an instant.
As the only child left in the territory, she became an outcast in a single moment.
That was when Companion had appeared.
-This is... an unforeseen variable...
Those were the words he'd spoken the moment he appeared inside her head.
-The damage inflicted by the demon is severe. But you're fortunate. Everyone is wounded, but they survived, so they can see tomorrow.
-You must be very confused, but... I have come to help you.
-What are your thoughts on demons?
"...Scary."
-Hmm... yes, scary... But from now on, you will kill those very demons you fear.
When she said she was scared of demons, Companion had seemed slightly disappointed.
-You can stop demons from tormenting people any longer. You can stop them.
"Why... me?"
-Because if you don't, more people will die.
"More people..?"
-Right now... they are alive, but your parents too... all the other survivors will die. If you do not fight the demons, everyone will die.
"...Can't you... ask someone else?"
-And did those people come running when your friends were being made into sacrifices?
"....One."
-Instead, all your friends died.
"....."
-Trust me. I am your ally. I can understand you better than anyone.
She hadn't wanted to fight demons or anything like that...
But there hadn't been any choice.
Because from that day onward, she had become an existence without the power to choose.
He had informed her of death.
Made her confront the people who would lose their lives to demons.
Told her about the people nearby who would die because of demons.
And made her watch their deaths.
-You could have saved them.
As if their deaths were because she hadn't fought the demons.
There were advantages too.
In exchange for fighting demons, he told her exactly what she needed.
Like a dungeon where a mithril ingot slept, enough to pay off the territory's debts and have some left over... or when someone who could help with administrative work would arrive.
He always made the right choice.
Even if she didn't understand it right away, it always turned out to be the right decision later.
Before she knew it, she was being dragged along by his decisions.
-From now on, you will become a Devil Slayer who kills demons.
And so, she began to fight demons.
-----------------------------------------
I couldn't find Emy.
When she still hadn't shown up after a day, I slipped into the dormitory, but only traces of her remained.
But I wasn't particularly worried.
Because if she truly was the Devil Slayer... she wouldn't be able to leave the academy.
If she was born with that fate, she'd ultimately have no choice but to appear in the dungeon.
And so, the day of the dungeon exploration practical training arrived.
The dungeon wasn't inside the deep forest—it sat midway up a shallow hill.
The path wasn't rough and was well-paved; it looked like it would make a good hiking course.
The students who arrived at the dungeon all marveled.
"This is a dungeon?"
"Impressive, right?"
It was a space too strange to call a dungeon anymore.
The entrance of a dungeon, which should normally just be a cave, was reinforced with iron pillars, and the walls and floor were smoothly coated with concrete.
The interior was also reinforced with pillars to bear the load, and the space that should have been dark instead maintained an eerily dim light from mana lamps.
In the sections where monsters appeared, only the floor was coated with concrete to let you feel the dungeon's atmosphere... and the traps—all the original deadly traps had been entirely dismantled and replaced with new, safe, and easy-to-understand structures.
At this point, it was basically a large-scale escape room game.
A dungeon isn't normally something that gets 'fixed' just because people modify it like this.
A dungeon, an anthill formed around a boss room, was one massive monster that continuously spat out monsters and swallowed intruders as long as the boss was alive.
This was only possible because the Headmaster had sealed the boss room, seized control of the dungeon, and turned it into a canned supply that only siphoned power to keep the dungeon running.
Knowing that everything was already weakened, everyone was looking forward to entering the dungeon as if they were heading to an amusement park.
"Finally, the day has come to put this axe to use..!"
"That thing was a weapon?"
"I can split monsters in half just like chopping wood. Just watch."
The students were each sharpening and polishing their gear, busy cracking jokes.
There was even a graduate who tried to develop this into a regional tourism product after seeing it.
Though that venture failed and went bankrupt, apparently.
"Then I'll head in first."
"I'm... counting on you..!!"
While the students were lined up, I slipped past the senior and entered the dungeon.
The other students were in the middle of being randomly divided up front, so they didn't even notice I'd gone in.
It was something I'd arranged with Senior Andy beforehand.
'There might be more cultists inside, so I'll go in first and check it out. Any objections?'
'No, no, there's no way there would be. You can do three laps if you want.'
I had to eliminate any fanatics of the Demon Church and other threats that might be hiding inside the dungeon in advance.
No matter how much the boss room was sealed and screwed over in various ways, a dungeon was still a dungeon.
As long as the boss was alive, the dungeon could be modified freely.
The boss no longer held control, but according to my memories, the Demon Church bastards had hijacked that control and created a hidden room within the dungeon.
And there, they had performed the demon summoning ritual... offering everyone inside the dungeon as sacrifices, summoning a Great Demon.
But this time, things wouldn't go that way.
Firstly, the majority of the people meant to participate in the ritual had died by my hand the night before.
Secondly, even if a few remaining stragglers were preparing the ritual in that hidden room right now, they were about to die by my hand.
—————————————————————
About an hour later.
"Hoo..."
I exited the dungeon.
Outside, the professors in charge and the students who had finished early were gathered, talking about what had been inside.
My body was drenched in blood again, but fortunately, no one thought it was human blood.
The goblins that appeared inside the dungeon also bled red, so the other students' weapons and gear were smeared with red blood as well.
"Hey, hey, Atlas..."
Confirming I had come out, Senior Andy sidled up to me.
He seemed curious whether things had been handled well.
"Senior, have they all gone in and this many come out?"
"Yeah, about half have come out... So, did it go well inside?"
"There were about four still alive. Killed them all."
When I moved as described in the novel, there really was a hidden room.
There were some traps inside, but I smashed them all. After killing everyone preparing the ritual, I checked thoroughly for anyone else hiding and verified, like last time, whether it was a ritual that triggered upon death.
Fortunately, it wasn't.
Then I checked the boss room, and the seal was intact... It should be fine now.
"Is it really okay now?"
"There's only one dangerous element left now."
"Which is?"
"If some idiot suddenly opens the boss room, that'd be dangerous. But you said the Headmaster did the sealing, Senior."
"Right... So it should be fine."
The area in front of the dungeon grew bustling again.
Liber still wasn't in sight.
He seemed to be in the middle of exploring the dungeon.
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen Emy inside either.
Was she genuinely not coming out because she didn't know?
With the two people bearing the most important fates nowhere to be seen, I started getting anxious.
Had I missed something...?
No. At the very least, the dungeon had been safe at that time.
...I was still anxious.
"....I'll go back in."
No matter how I thought about it, it felt like there was something more inside.
"Now? It's almost over... It's such a relief it ended without incident thanks to you..."
"Oh, come on! Don't jinx it by saying stupid shit like that!!"
I was already dying of anxiety, and the instant Senior Andy spouted that bullshit, a massive earthquake started.
"Uwaaah?! What is this?!"
"It's an earthquake!!"
Fortunately, the dungeon had been reinforced sturdily and didn't collapse, but an immense wave of demonic energy erupted from within.
'Demonic energy..?! A demon is being summoned??'
The dungeon didn't collapse from the earthquake, but a heap of rocks surged up from the entrance, completely blocking it.
With the entrance blocked, the students began to fall into chaos.
"You all get out fast and call the other professors!! Guide the Woodville kids!!"
"Y-yes!! Everyone, let's all descend quickly with the dignity befitting academy students, shall we?"
Andy swiftly sent the students down the mountain.
The less prying eyes, the better.
I raised my sword and brought it down.
-Clang!!!
The sword bounced off.
It was a blade without a trace of aura, but I'd used a secret swordsmanship technique.
If it were normal rock, it should have been cut. The fact that it was intact meant this was no ordinary rock.
My grip tightened on the sword.
I had no idea how they'd managed to crawl out again from inside.
They were truly cockroach-like bastards.
No matter how many you catch, they just keep crawling out from somewhere, making it utterly infuriating.
I confirmed once more that all the students had descended, leaving only me and Senior Andy.
"Hey... What are you planning to do?"
"We have to break through. There are people inside."
I channeled mana into the sword gripped with both hands and momentarily manifested an Aura Blade.
Mana erupted, centered around the sturdy steel sword.
-Kwakwakwang!!!
The boulder blocking my path vanished in the shape of the sword strike.
It was definitely not the sound of a sword cleaving rock.
-Paseuseut...
The steel long sword I'd been holding crumbled to ash, leaving only the hilt.
Senior Andy broke out in a cold sweat staring at the long sword reduced to just the hilt.
Whether he did or not, the dungeon was already trying to raise new rocks from the floor to reseal the breached entrance.
I had to go in now.
"Senior, what are you doing? Not going in? We have to save the students inside."
"No... I mean, yeah, I'm going in..!!!"
I dragged the dumbfounded Senior Andy in with me and re-entered the dungeon.