Chapter 109 Demon Lord’s Dungeon ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The journey was peaceful.
Their boots pressed softly into the grass. A chill wind brushed past now and then, and the group’s chatter filled the air. Yet behind that calm, a storm of unease churned in Kanata’s chest.
(This is bad… If we keep going, we’ll really enter that place.)
The “Demon Lord’s Dungeon,” people called it—but in truth, it was nothing more than a trap the Demon Lord had built. Every trace of a seal, every ripple of mana, all of it was an illusion. What waited there was only bait, made to draw in foolish adventurers. And if their party happened to include a girl the Demon Lord found suitable, she would be taken—offered as a sacrifice.
That was why Kanata couldn’t let them go.
”Hey, Reis. Doesn’t this path lead to the ruins of that old temple?” he asked, pretending to sound casual.
”Hm? Yeah, but there are a lot of monsters that way. It’d be a long detour,” Reis replied, her voice steady.
”Still, maybe we could find some clues in the ruins—”
”But if the Demon Lord’s Dungeon is right in front of us, shouldn’t we check that first? We already have most of the info we need.”
(Tch…)
Kanata tried everything—different suggestions, delays, excuses—to steer them away. But every attempt failed.
Reis kept her eyes straight ahead. Lilim insisted that she had every reason to join the investigation. And Lurua was just… excited.
Then—
”Kanata.”
Mirei called his name as they walked.
”…What?”
”Why are you so against this? It’s not normal. You look… kinda desperate.”
Kanata stopped. The wind brushed his cheek.
”It’s nothing. I just don’t like seeing you all rush into danger,” he said quietly.
”Really?” Her gaze was sharp now, searching his face. Mirei, who usually joked her way through anything, looked deadly serious this time.
”Kanata… you know something, don’t you?”
His heart thumped hard.
(I can’t tell her. Not yet…)
He turned his eyes away and shrugged slightly.
”You’re sharp, Mirei. But don’t dig too deep. Some things are better left unknown.”
He said it as lightly as he could, though he already knew—there was no more room to dodge.
”…I see. But you know, that just makes me more curious.”
She didn’t press further, but she clearly wasn’t convinced.
And then—
”…I see it,” Reis said, her voice calm but firm.
Everyone looked ahead.
A black mountain split open before them—a jagged crack in the earth, like an ancient gate torn apart. Twisted streams of mana shimmered through the air, staining it faintly with a dark light.
It was too perfect, too sinister, too much like what the stories described.
The Demon Lord’s Dungeon—its false entrance—had finally appeared before them.
(Damn it… I’m too late.)
Kanata clenched his teeth.
The darkness yawned wide in front of them. Waiting inside could be a trap, or the truth—or something worse.
”…Let’s go,” Reis said softly, stepping forward with determination.
”Wait. Think again,” Kanata tried one last time. “Do you really want to risk Lilim and Lurua’s lives for this?”
”I’ll protect them,” Reis said simply, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
”You can’t protect them from everything.”
”We chose to follow Reis,” Lilim said firmly.
”Yeah! No matter what happens, it’s not Reis’s fault. Don’t underestimate our resolve!”
…He couldn’t stop them.
If it had been only Reis, maybe Kanata could’ve changed her mind by using the others’ safety as reason. But after hearing Lilim and Lurua’s words—
(…We can’t turn back now.)
That was his limit.
”Just don’t regret it later. I warned you!” he called after them as they entered the Dungeon.
(Please… let nothing happen inside. Though I know that’s impossible.)
Once adventurers entered the Dungeon, they were tested—”selected,” as the Demon Lord called it. It was meant to lighten Kanata’s burden; the Demon Lord didn’t want to be bothered with every weak intruder.
Parties that failed the selection would be driven out—or killed—by the monsters inside. Only those who survived could move on to the next level.
Three trials. Three layers.
Only after clearing all three could they reach the “Demon Lord’s Chamber,” where Kanata waited.
If a party included a girl, however, even failure didn’t guarantee escape. The girl alone would be captured and taken to a special room. Her fate would depend on her looks, her nature, even her reason for entering the Dungeon. Most ended up as breeding vessels for monsters—or as playthings for the soldiers who served the Dungeon.
Sometimes, a soldier might work hard enough to buy a captive’s freedom. And if the Demon Lord himself took notice, the girl might even be kept as his personal pet—or slave—treated with twisted affection.
Some called it cruel. But the warning had always been there. If they didn’t want such a fate, they simply shouldn’t enter the Dungeon.
The higher-ups of the Flora Kingdom had been informed. Notices had gone out to every guild. Anyone who still entered the Dungeon did so knowing the risk. It was their choice, and they had to accept the consequences.
Once you stepped in of your own will, the danger of defeat was part of the bargain.
That truth couldn’t be changed—not even by Kanata. Especially not by him.
Of course, Reis knew about the risks too. There were clear warnings carved at the entrance, and Lilim, Lurua, and Mirei had all agreed to them.
Kanata had tried to stop them one last time in front of that notice—but his words had fallen flat.
Worse, he had even lost some of Lilim and Lurua’s trust.
(…Sigh. We’ve come this far. There’s no stopping it now.)
There was almost nothing Kanata could still do. By the set rules, Lilim and Lurua ranked B-, and Mirei was an A. That meant all three would be invited to the Demon Lord’s Chamber without question.
Still—
As one final act of resistance, Kanata secretly reached out to El, giving instructions not to skip the selection process. He wanted it to proceed normally, by the book.
If he could somehow persuade Reis before they cleared all three floors—if he could make her turn back to the surface—then maybe…
It was almost impossible. But Kanata still prayed for a miracle.
* The Demon Lord’s Dungeon — First Floor.
Damp, heavy air filled the stone corridor. In the dim light, moss gleamed faintly, and the air reeked of rot.
”I thought something called the Demon Lord’s Dungeon would look scarier,” Lurua said casually. “It’s kinda… normal?”
The moment she spoke, a faint rustle echoed from the shadows ahead.
”They’re coming—!”
Lilim was the first to sense it.
From the far end of the corridor emerged a horde of goblins, followed by orcs, and even a towering troll.
”Tch, three types at once?”
Before Kanata could even draw his sword, Mirei had already stepped forward.
”Stay back. I’ll handle this.”
The twin blades at her hips clicked as she drew them. Her feet pressed lightly against the stone, and she sprang ahead.
”Dance of the Wind—Swift Blossom!”
She moved like a spirit of the air. In a blur, she rushed the front line, bending back just enough to let a goblin’s blade miss her by a hair.
”Too slow!”
Using that same motion, she dropped her weight and sliced upward from below. The sharp flash of steel cut clean through the goblin’s throat. Its small green body spun and fell.
Mirei didn’t pause.
Her twin blades flashed left and right, flowing from strike to strike like a dancer spinning through a storm. The sheer number of enemies only made her more graceful.
”There!”
She ducked under a charging orc’s club and countered with a flurry of blows to its gut. Two strikes, three, four—then a final upward slash that caught the weak point and sent the giant creature crashing down.
”Now for the troll… Looks tough. But try and stop me!”
She leapt aside, barely dodging the club that shattered the floor. With a twist, she cut behind the troll’s knee, slicing deep into the tendon and halting its movement.
Then she spun into the air—
”Twin Blossoms—Crimson Waltz!”
Her twin swords blazed with red afterimages as she unleashed a chain of slashes, tearing through flesh and muscle. The final strike cut across the troll’s throat, and the monster collapsed with a heavy thud.
When Mirei turned, wiping her blades clean, she looked like a performer taking her bow on stage.
”…Phew. And that’s that.”
”Wait—she took them all out by herself?” Lilim’s mouth hung open.
”No way… That level of movement’s like… art,” Reis muttered, half in disbelief, her hand still on her sword hilt.
Mirei twirled her blades playfully before sliding them back into their sheaths.
”See? I told you. Small fry like these are nothing for me.”
Her grin was cheerful, but behind it lay calm confidence born of real skill.
Kanata, however, looked uneasy.
(So far, everything’s gone according to plan…)
For a first floor, the battles seemed strangely tailored—each wave perfect for Mirei’s close-range, multi-enemy combat style. It was as if someone had designed it just for her.
(What’s waiting ahead…?)
Watching Mirei’s back, Kanata felt the tension coil inside him again as his eyes turned toward the dark ahead.
The Demon Lord’s Dungeon — Second Floor.
The air was thicker here, heavier, almost oppressive. The dimness deepened, and the static hum of mana crawled over their skin. Strange runes were carved into the stone walls, pulsing faintly with sickly light.
”The mana feels different,” Lilim murmured, stopping to glance around. “It’s like… when undead or dark magic are near.”
”So that means,” Mirei said with a small smile, glancing back, “this is your stage, Lilim—and yours too, Lurua.”
”Yes,” Lilim said with a calm smile. “This is our domain.”
She opened the grimoire at her waist. The pages fluttered on their own, and glowing runes floated into the air.
”They’re coming. Three… two… one—”
At her count, the shadows ahead began to crawl and twist. Out stepped mana-enhanced undead—skeleton soldiers, wraithlike shadows, and hollow-eyed zombies—all wordless, all advancing.
”Lurua, set the field!”
”Got it!”
Lurua raised her staff, light bursting around her in small, shining motes.
”Resonance—Acceleration Mode! Lilim, output up thirty percent!”
The glow of Lilim’s sigils flickered, and in the next instant—
”Banshee Chain!”
A chain of black-violet light shot silently from the magic circle at her feet, wrapping around a skeleton soldier and linking from one enemy to another in a tightening web.
”Wha— I can’t move!”
The zombies flailed, the shadow creatures froze mid-air.
”Now—Fang of the Void!”
Dark spears fired without sound, piercing through each bound monster’s weak point one after another.
”Alright, next! I’m twisting space—watch your footing.”
”Leave it to me!”
Lurua’s magic flared again, strengthening Lilim’s chants, speeding them up. Purifying light swept through the undead ranks, and the ones that slipped through were consumed by Lilim’s fireballs. Their timing was perfect—sisters working in flawless harmony.
”Wow… were Lilim and Lurua always this strong?” Mirei whispered, momentarily forgetting to draw her blades.
”Uh… hey, what about my turn?” Reis muttered, stepping forward, her sword still sheathed.
But by the time she lifted her weapon, most of the enemies had already dissolved into black smoke.
”…Great. Guess I’m just baggage now.”
No one heard her quiet complaint. The fading mana shimmered, swallowing her words.
”Alright, let’s move. The path ahead’s still long,” Lilim said coolly, already walking on.
Reis watched her back with a faintly defeated look.
”W-well… next time it’ll be my moment to shine!” she told herself, slinging her sword over her shoulder and following after the others.
The Demon Lord’s Dungeon — Third Floor.
”…Full of traps,” Kanata murmured as soon as his foot touched the corridor.
The stones beneath them, the patterns on the wall, even the faint lines along the ceiling—everything screamed trap. He crouched, pressed a hand lightly on one of the floor tiles.
”—Release.”
With a soft click, a cluster of spears that had been ready to spring upward shifted, then stopped.
”Stay sharp. There are still traps active.”
Most of the snares here were meant to capture women—silent enchantments that reacted only to female presence. Kanata disarmed those he could, leaving the rest untouched.
If he removed every danger, they’d learn nothing.
At least that’s what he told himself.
(If Reis gets hurt enough to turn back… maybe that’ll be for the best.)
He clenched his jaw.
Ahead, Reis pumped a fist. “Alright! My turn starts now!”
She charged forward—and barely made it a few steps before a projectile shot from the wall, grazing her shoulder and sending her spinning.
”Gwah!?”
”Whoa, that was fast!” Lurua said, half-impressed.
Reis, however, was not.
”That— that was definitely dangerous!”
”No,” Kanata said evenly. “That one just knocks you back. Nothing lethal.”
Reis still looked pale, but they kept moving.
Pitfalls that crumbled beneath their feet. Illusions that clouded their vision. Sticky floors that slowed their steps.
Together, with Kanata’s warnings and the others’ quick reactions, they cleared each one.
At one point, Lilim charged into a wall chasing a mirage, and another time Lurua got stuck to the floor, crying, “I can’t moveee!” until Reis pulled her free. Bit by bit, they learned the patterns, moving faster through each test.
Then—
”…There,” Lilim said, pointing ahead.
From the darkness, a massive stone door emerged. Carved with monstrous wings, its heavy surface glowed faintly with black runes that pulsed—like something alive, almost welcoming them.
”…The deepest chamber. The boss room,” Mirei said, gripping her twin blades.
”Are you ready?” Kanata asked quietly. “Once we open this door, there’s no turning back. If anyone wants to retreat, now’s the time.”
No one did. They all nodded.
Reis rolled her shoulders, smiling faintly. “Heh. My real turn starts here.”
She reached out, and the door began to open—slowly, silently.
Cold air spilled out, carrying with it a strange, almost nostalgic scent.
Kanata narrowed his eyes.
The end was near.
Beyond that door waited the truth—
and the Demon Lord himself.
Notes:
• Reis – A stoic swordsman and Kanata’s comrade. Prominent in dungeon arc, leads combat. Reliable fighter trusted by the team. Female.
• Lilim – A magic user in Kanata’s party. Appears during dungeon exploration casting lightning and dark spells. Loyal teammate, thoughtful in battle. Female.
• Lurua – A healer in Kanata’s dungeon party. Supports allies with healing spells. Calm, dependable, close companion to Lilim. Female.
• Mirei – An energetic adventurer joining Kanata’s party in Chapter 108. Appears in dungeon prep. Brave, impulsive, admires Kanata’s leadership. Female.
• Flora Kingdom – A small demi-human majority realm, politically fragile and reliant on trade, undone when Leticia’s capture and contract ceded it to Kanata. Reminder: the kingdom that fell with its regent’s collar.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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