Chapter 226: The Wish
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/
Author: Hirukuma
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
“Kuahahahaha! To think everything would go exactly according to plan! How amusing!”
Before we could locate the source of the voice, Sulrim’s arm suddenly swelled and writhed, tearing through the sleeve of her fluffy white coat.
Something silver shot out from her sleeves, taking everyone by surprising and piercing through the Dungeon Master’s forehead.
“Gaahhh!! So you were hiding there!”
The Dungeon Master ripped the thing out of his head, blood poured down his face as he dropped to one knee, glaring at the attacker.
It was a bone lance. The bone came from the skull bracelet coiled around Sulrim’s arm.
“Sulrim, you—!”
Hyurumi roared, but Sulrim herself stood frozen, her eyes wide with shock.
So… this wasn’t her doing?
The others immediately moved to shield the Dungeon Master, weapons raised against Sulrim, whose face had gone deathly pale as she trembled uncontrollably.
“I, I don’t know! I truly don’t know!”
I could not take my eyes off Sulrim, who was screaming like a crazed woman with her hair dishevelled. However, the thing that truly irritated me were the bones extending from the bracelet, which were swaying back and forth slowly, as if mocking us.
『Do not blame the woman, Sulrim truly knows nothing.』
The voice eminated from Sulrim’s right arm. To be precise, it came from the bone bracelet that she had cherished so much.
“King of the… Netherworld…”
『I have been waiting for this very moment. The moment you lose your power granting wishes, is the moment I can bury you with ease!』
The bone bracelet loosened itself from Sulrim’s arm, unravelling and rising overhead, twisting together until it formed a silver sphere before dissolving and changing form into a skeleton.
Its final form was a massive skeleton with four arms and a bony tail extending from its hips. It was clad in an intricately embroidered robe floating in the air, in place of eyes, darkness stared out from the hollow sockets.
Yet, the pressure from those void was enough to cause my whole body to want to shrink away.
So it had been hiding as a bracelet. Of course, the real final boss just had to now, at the most inconvenient of time.
“King of the Netherworld!” Leader Keyroil roared.
『It’s been a long time, Keyroil. I must commend you for having the guts to betray me. In recognition of that courage I shall allow your corpse to join my forces.』
“I have no interest in rotting under your rule!”
Leader Keyroil’s family all had their weapons out, ready to fight. I felt a little ashamed of the remaining suspicion I had against them.
『I should really thank you for taking the trouble of carrying me me all the way here. That monster-repelling barrier your little pawns set up was a real pain. I really could never had gotten here otherwise.』
『To think that the monster-repelling barrier on this floor could be circumvented through such a method,』 the Dungeon Master said grimly.
Well, that explained why not a single monster on this floor. Now I finally understood just how the King of the Netherworld had made use of Leader Keyroil’s party.
All this while, I thought the King was the type to pull strings in the shadows without getting his hands dirty, but perhaps it was also because he could not get on this floor at all.
『I gained great strength from that single attack just now, Dungeon Master. Nearly all of this dungeon’s power belongs to me now. Sulrim, because you have contributed greatly to this result, I shall forgive you for your little tantrum. Come, return to my side.』
The King of the Netherworld hovered over to Sulrim, descending until he was in front of her, one skeletal hand extended.
I looked at my companions. All seemed to have frozen in place, unable to move. However, all of them had taken a ready stance, knees bent, ready to spring into action at any moment.
Sulrim stared at her own hand, then at the skeletal arm extended to her. Then, she turned to us. No, towards Ash.
Then, she turned and reached for the King of the Netherworld’s hand.
So, she was really going to betray us… No, it would be unfair to call it a betrayal; she was returning to where she started. It was disappointing, after all the time we had spent together, but also well within expectations. Best to just move on…
As I was running various desperate scenarios of how we could get out of this, a blast of cold air flowed over us, and ice enveloped the King of the Netherworld just before Sulrim touched the King’s hand.
『What is the meaning of this, Sulrim?』
“You used me… King of the Netherworld.”
『Used you? You were something I picked up. What is wrong with using my possessions?』
Woah, not even a hint of shame. Honestly, it was almost impressive.
“Big Sis isn’t an object!” Ash shouted at him without the slightest hint of fear.
Sulrim’s expression softened, barely. Then, as if to make up for the show of weakness, she looked straight at the King of the Netherworld with a hard expression.
“There was a time when I was happy to be yours, but not anymore. I have found something far more precious to me, something dazzling.”
『For a thing to develop its own will and defy me… how laughable. Very well, I shall personally dispose of this defective good.』
The King of the Netherworld thrust out one of its right arms, and a giant black vortex appeared. Even I, who possessed no magic, could tell that evil energy was being collected.
Sulrim immediately summoned five slabs of ice, layering one over the other to create an extra-thick wall, but the instant the black vortex touched the ice slabs, the wall evaporated. She could only watch as the last barrier protecting her disappeared. As she was too far from me, all I could do was watch in horror as the black vortex approached… Just before she was swallowed up, a shadow cut in, and the vortex disappeared.
“Now, now, I can’t let my son’s future love interest die!” Leader Keyroil said as he pushed up the brim of his hat with one finger, his eyes glowing red as he stared the King of the Netherworld down.
Had he dispelled the magic with <Shattering Eye>?
“This is for my son’s sake, of course. However, I expect your relationship to remain pure until he’s grown up,” Vice- Leader Felmina as she pointed her staff at the King of the Netherworld.
A torrent of water slammed into the King, only to be repelled by black mist spilling from his body.
“My brother had just woken up, but already has a girlfriend. What about us?!”
“Discrimination! Class inequality!”
Red and White complained loudly as they slid into position in front of Sulrim, weapons raised.
“Elder sis, we’ll always be together, right? So, you can’t do anything reckless like go running off alone, hm?” Ash said as he poked Sulrim in the forehead with his finger, an angelic smile on his face.
He absolutely knew what he was doing.
Sulrim blinked, still stunned, “Everyone… thank you. Yes, I swear I won’t do anything reckless.”
It was a heart-warming moment, but I do wish they would stop provoking the enemy.
The King of the Netherworld raised all four arms and four black vortexes opened overhead. All four were then hurled towards Leader Keyroil’s group.
Leader Keyroil snuffed out one of the vortexes, but the remaining three were still bearing down on them.
“Careful!” Ramis lunged forward just in time, and with my <Barrier> covering everyone, the attack was stopped.
I lost three thousand points, but staying alive comes first.
『Do not keep getting in my way, magic tool inhabited by a soul from another world.』
Excuse me, can you please not glare at me like that? It’s so frightening that even my hot drinks are turning cold.
Right, now what should I do?
The King of the Netherworld’s appearance was unexpected. However, I have confirmed something important, I can block his attacks. If we play this right, I feel like we can actually defeat him.
I kept my eyes on the King even as I ran calculations in my head. A beam of light shot from the side and struck his skeletal side directly, resulting in a thunderous roar and a powerful shockwave.
However, I kept up the <Barrier> and did not look away.
The one who had shot the beam of light was the Dungeon Master, who had gotten to one knee, one arm extended.
『What a shame, I had hoped to finish you off with that strike.』
『You’ve already lost most of your powers, yet you still intend to struggle?』
Smoke rose from the King of the Netherworld’s body as he glared down at the Dungeon Master.
『This chamber is designed to suppress monster magic. That thing should not be able to unleash its full strength here.』
If that’s the case, that means we have a real shot at taking that skeletal monstrosity down. However, the King of the Netherworld did not look worried about this potential debuff. He floated above us, literally and figuratively looking down on us all.
『I don’t mind indulging you all, it is only fair for me to have a little fun, no?』
He snapped his bony fingers, and suddenly, the ground shook.
“W-What’s this? A spell that shakes the earth?!” Hyurumi gasped.
“Hakkon, calm down! It’s— it’s okay!” Ramis stammered.
Really, the ones panicking are you two.
This felt like a magnitude 3 earthquake. Minor earthquakes like these were nothing to a Japanese person, but my comrades were clearly shaken.
『King of the Netherworld! Are you trying to destroy this dungeon?!』
The Dungeon Master roared.
『But of course, Dungeon Master. My goal is to seize the forces within. I have intention of maintaining such a pointless space. Once I move all the monsters to the surface, I shall have you all killed. No, that would be doing you a kindness. I shall have you witness the residents die!』
He raised one of his left arms and an image spread across the ceiling like a massive screen.
It showed Clearflow Lake Floor, and its panicked residents descending into chaos.
『Come, let us enjoy this hellish spectacle together!』
The little town that had finally regained some peace after two reconstructions was breaking apart again.
Director Bear and the others were desperately guiding the residents. The Big Eaters Brigade were running away with children on their backs while guiding grim-faced mothers to safety. Everyone was desperately doing their best to survive.
“Enough! What’s the point of doing this?” Ramis screamed.
『Girl who carries the magic tool, understand this. Monsters are creatures that exist to torment humans. Negative emotions are delicious. Is there anything more exquisite than faces stained with despair or cries of anguish? And yet, the Demon King fails to grasp this and seeks coexistence. How pathetic.』
Woah, he’s criticising his boss. I had assumed that Demon King meant an even greater evil than the King of the Netherworld, but if this idiot is calling his boss ‘pathetic’, it’s possible that the Demon King was actually more humane?
“You’re the pathetic one! Ugh, I won’t let you get away with this!” [1] Ramis screamed, shaking her fist impotently at the floating creature.
I summoned a concrete slab and delivered it to Ramis’s hands via <Telekinesis>. Without hesitation, she grabbed the slab and threw it at the King of the Netherworld.
It shattered easily against the black mist surrounding the King, did exactly what I wanted.
It got his attention.
『So, you wish to throw away your life, hm? Very well, I shall oblige and crush your limbs. You think my power is weakened? Do not presume to think your little tricks will work on me, who had absorbed the dungeon’s power.』
Even if that’s true, we can’t back down.
If we want to stop the dungeon from collapsing, we have to cut him down right here.
[Gumihou: Ahhh!!!]
[1] Added detail
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