Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 181

Dungeon Journal-182

# 182

Dungeon Journal

Episode 183

Dinarion shook his head briefly, as if to rid himself of the terrible memory, and then resumed his story.

“That day’s battle ended in defeat. Parthenon lost his proud horns, and Anatolius had to prepare a new mask. And I, too, lost both wings and could never fly again.”

The moment he heard the name of the One-Eyed Monarch, his heart began to race uncontrollably.

He felt as if his heart would leap out of his chest if he opened his mouth right now. His eyes burned, his temples throbbed, and he even felt dizzy.

So, Kim Jin-woo couldn’t react to Dinarion’s words in any way.

The Nightmare Lord stared at him with eyes as clear as glass. His cool gaze lingered for a long time, as if searching for something.

“Why are you showing me this?”

Kim Jin-woo, having barely regained his composure, asked in a sharp voice. His heart was still pounding like crazy, but his expression was stern.

“If you’re going to spout nonsense about the Nightmare Authority, save it. The subject of the Authority is you; if you didn’t want it, I wouldn’t have been able to see it either.”

The Nightmare Lord, who was about to open his mouth, smacked his lips and looked thoughtful for a moment. But his hesitation didn’t last long.

“He is also a High Lord like you.”

Dinarion got straight to the point, unlike before.

“Is it so hard to pretend you don’t know anymore?”

“If I delay any longer, some other bastard will take the table [seize the opportunity].”

The impression, which had been somewhat ordinary for a Count of the Depths, instantly became that of a cold and violent monarch.

“You’ve revealed your true colors.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m trying to scheme against your power or the Great Labyrinth. I just want a more honest relationship than before.”

Dinarion’s eyes were sinister as he said that.

“Do we have anything to offer each other?”

Kim Jin-woo, who had already obtained the monstrous Great Labyrinth, had nothing to regret, unlike before.

There was nothing among the things the Counts of the Depths could give that he immediately needed.

No, there was something, but the Counts of the Depths would never give it up. What he needed was a fragment of the old Authority. In other words, the seal of the Underworld Aristocracy.

No one in their right mind would readily hand over the source of the Count’s immense power and the key to controlling numerous vassal labyrinths.

“Don’t you need the origin of the High Lords, a fragment of Authority?”

But it seemed like it was too early to judge. Dinarion knew exactly what he needed and offered it as a price for the deal.

“Of course, the seal you will take is not mine.”

“Then?”

“The Parthenon of Despair. The seal he possesses is the price I will give you.”

What on earth was he up to? Dinarion acted as if Parthenon’s seal was in his hands.

“Parthenon… That’s out of the blue [unexpected].”

It was a proposal not even worth answering. A gambler who joins the game without any stakes is either a con artist or a fool hoping for a lucky break.

But if the one making this absurd proposal was a Count of the Depths, the story would be different.

“However, it’s tempting.”

As Kim Jin-woo showed interest, Dinarion’s eyes gleamed with blatant greed.

“Shall we talk in detail? No, let’s hear what you want first.”

It was obvious what Dinarion wanted, but he wanted to be more certain. And the Nightmare Lord finally answered with his own mouth that he desired the power of the High Lord.

“Of course, I don’t want enough power to take yours away. I’m not that shameless or thoughtless.”

It wasn’t convincing, considering the cunning way he rolled his eyes. Knowing this himself, Dinarion quickly continued.

“There are still seats left for the succession of the High Lords.”

Dinarion, who started like that, sent a straight gaze.

“What I want is the succession right of the Fairy Monarch.”

“What?”

Kim Jin-woo frowned, wondering what this was all about.

“I heard that the descendants of the Fairy Monarch, the Under Elves, are under your command.”

“If it’s Under Elves, there should be quite a few staying in the Depths, right?”

The number of Under Elves who responded to Rickshasha’s call and entrusted themselves to him was not that large. Far more Under Elves resided in the Depths than those based in the Great Labyrinth. If Dinarion wanted Under Elves, he could just use one of those living like slaves.

But it seemed that Dinarion didn’t want ordinary Under Elves.

“What I want are real Under Elves, not those without pride.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kim Jin-woo pretended not to know, though he had a hunch. Seeing him like that, Dinarion grinned, revealing his white fangs.

“I want the Elf Runner under your command.”

***

The nightmare was over, but Dinarion still seemed to be in a nightmare. The Nightmare Lord, with eyes gleaming with pain, fear, and an unknown longing, barely opened his mouth after a long time.

“He has become stronger faster than I thought.”

After uttering just one word, he glared as if at someone.

“Thanks to you, I had a nightmare I didn’t need to have.”

Showing his weak self in the nightmare to the conqueror of the 9th floor was not in his plan. But swept away by the unexpectedly powerful aura of the High Lord, the ghost of the past revealed itself.

Thanks to that, the old wounds that had completely healed and left no trace were throbbing again.

“I will take care of the rest, so please take care of yourself.”

Darius, the adjutant who had been standing right next to him in preparation for any situation, said as he supported the staggering Dinarion.

“No, we have to move right now.”

“But!”

He rarely argued, concerned about his pale-faced master.

“Brunhild, that whore, has started to move.”

“The Queen of Corruption, you mean?”

“She has already sent Tyrenon of Intrigue to contact him. If we dawdle, we might give her room to intervene.”

Dinarion seemed genuinely anxious, as if he was quite wary of Brunhild, the Queen of Corruption.

Darius, seeing his rarely seen impatient appearance, quietly stepped back without trying to stop him any further.

“I think I made a mistake.”

His expression was not good, as if he had other worries besides Brunhild.

“Is there something bothering you?”

“I must have been overwhelmed by the nightmare. I unknowingly told him the true name of the One-Eyed Monarch.”

“Isn’t the succession right of the High Lord, which the Commander of Transmission inherited, that of the Radiant Monarch anyway? What meaning does the true name of the One-Eyed Monarch have to him? And he has the Raven of the Battlefield under his command. It’s easy for him to know the true name if he wants to.”

Even with Darius’s words, Dinarion still didn’t ease his expression.

“No, the Raven is sealed in the summoning stone and can no longer call the name of the old master. This was clearly my mistake.”

He frowned even more, as if there was something related to the true name of the One-Eyed Monarch.

“And although it’s not certain, there’s a possibility that the High Lord’s seat he inherited is not just one.”

This time, even Darius was speechless, distorting his beautiful face into a mess.

“If what he inherited was not just the seat of the Radiant Monarch I sent, he might have even inherited the succession right of the One-Eyed Monarch.”

He tried not to show it, but he vividly remembered the face the Commander of Transmission had when he heard the name Votan.

“It’s impossible for one person to inherit the power of two High Lords!”

“Don’t forget, Darius.”

Despite Darius’s stubborn denial, Dinarion said without batting an eye.

“He is an Underworlder. Until the freed Underworlders were blinded by Down Jam and returned to the Underworld, no one in the Depths knew whether the power of the ancient monarchs we had not yet collected was absorbed by them.”

To this day, no one has clearly revealed how the Underworlders, the Dungeon Babies, came to possess mysterious abilities.

But Dinarion said that their power originated from the ancient monarchs.

“That’s because the resentment towards the nobles who dragged them from their thrones remained as residual thoughts and rejected the nobles……”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, Darius. We don’t know if it’s just because of resentment or if there was another arrangement.”

To be such a powerful Count of the Depths and to be so afraid of the ghosts of the past. He was almost ashamed of himself, but he was still afraid of the One-Eyed Monarch.

Not only himself, but all the Counts of the Depths were unable to shake off the ghosts of the past.

That’s why they might be even more obsessed with the power of the High Lords.

“Don’t forget that we must not jump to any conclusions, at least when it comes to the Underworlders and the old monarchs.”

Darius lowered his head and closed his mouth at the sharp words. Dinarion, looking at his subordinate with gloomy eyes, said heavily.

“And if he really inherited the power of the One-Eyed Monarch……”

Dinarion was staring into the darkness beyond, as if he had returned to the nightmare, with suppressed eyes.

“I would have revived a terrible ghost with my own hands.”

***

Kim Jin-woo, who woke up from the dream, immediately grabbed his chest.

“Kuhk.”

The groan that he had to endure in front of Dinarion finally came out. He trembled all over from the terrible pain, as if his heart would burst at any moment.

“L, Lord!”

The scream of a loyal Under Elf woman, he turned his head to find the source of the sound, but he couldn’t see in front of him as if there was a hazy film.

“You vixen! What have you done to the King!”

Heimdal’s roar erupted, and Ariane’s terrified voice was heard.

“Those treacherous lovers have finally caused trouble!”

“I, I didn’t do anything! Really! Please believe me!”

“Your Majesty! Open your eyes!”

The angry or worried voices that penetrated his ears beat against his ears and gradually faded away. And the malice of the Great Labyrinth began to invade his consciousness.

In a situation where he felt like he would be completely swallowed by the greedy Great Labyrinth if he stayed still, Kim Jin-woo barely moved his lips in extreme crisis.

“Portal.”

As soon as the portal opened, Kim Jin-woo squeezed out his last strength and threw himself beyond it.

“Kyaa! Master!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Jin-woo! Jin-woo!”

In the screams of Dominique, Morrigan, and Lee Jun-young, he finally lost consciousness.

[The true name of the High Lord is more than just existence.]

[High Lord Kim Jin-woo has learned the true name of the High Lord, which he did not know until now.]