Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 192

Dungeon Journal – Episode 193

The threat had a significant impact. A childish threat coupled with a stern warning was enough to awaken the fear deeply ingrained within them.

“This is an unexpected outcome.”

But the problem was that the effect was too strong.

“It seems the master’s majesty is greater than I thought.”

Dominic, agreeing with Kim Jin-woo, also looked bewildered.

“Hoo.”

He eventually let out a long sigh.

Ariane, who was kneeling, trembled in surprise at the heavy sigh. Still filled with fear, she nevertheless expressed her thoughts.

“If you give me another chance, I will never disappoint you.”

Even though her voice trembled, her will was firm.

-To survive, I have no choice but to be loyal to him…….

The Eye of Truth also confirmed that there was no falsehood in her words.

“I can’t understand why you suddenly made this decision.”

Ariane hadn’t revealed all her secrets even when faced with terrible violence and the fear of death.

Her loyalty to Dinariyon was that strong. But now, he couldn’t understand why she had made such a decision.

Perhaps sensing the distrust in his expression, she revealed her true feelings for the first time.

“I just realized who is the greater lord.”

On the day she was threatened, Ariane heard the roar of a predator that seemed to devour the entire world.

She couldn’t have known that it was the power of greed manifested when devouring the captured barons, but she could tell who the energy belonged to.

In that moment, completely overwhelmed by the terrible energy, the evenly balanced scales tipped to one side.

But even so, she still couldn’t make a decision.

Because she knew how terrifying her cruel and evil master was. But the master’s appearance, which she had regained with the power of Mimong [a type of dream manipulation power], was neither as frightening nor as overwhelming as before.

My master cannot defeat the conqueror.

When she realized that fact, she finally made a decision.

Ariane’s thoughts were conveyed to Kim Jin-woo through the Eye of Truth. Among them were the despair and resignation she had not yet conveyed, abandoned by her master.

At this point, he had no choice but to believe her words.

“You disregarded the oath of vassalage with me without a second thought.”

“That’s……”

“I’m not trying to blame you. I’m just asking about any contracts or restrictions that may have been made between you and Dinariyon.”

He stopped her from making excuses, thinking it was a rebuke, and expressed concern about possible restrictions.

“I never made any contract with the Lord of Nightmares in the first place. I just had to follow him because his Nightmare power was superior to my Mimong power.”

She explained that succubi, who consider dreams as the foundation of life, inevitably had to follow the Lord of Nightmares.

“So that’s why the oath of vassalage was possible.”

He wondered if she had exploited a loophole in the underground system, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Hmm……”

He was lost in thought, looking at Dominic, who was asking with his eyes what to do.

Now that Ariane had expressed her conversion, the existing plan could not proceed as it was.

In the first place, all plans were based on the assumption that she would act for her master, so revision was inevitable.

Seeing him lost in thought, Ariane boldly stepped forward.

“I know more than the great lord thinks.”

When Kim Jin-woo showed interest in her words, she actively tried to demonstrate her usefulness.

“My power is Mimong.”

She glanced at him, cautiously raised her body, and created something like a misty fog at her fingertips.

“What is hidden in the fog, a meaningless gesture as if touching a mirage, governing the dreams of those who yearn for unattainable desires.”

The fog hanging from her fingertips scattered with her graceful gesture.

“Now that the great lord has awakened, his dream is nothing more than an unquenchable thirst.”

Her eyes, shining bewitchingly, were revealed behind her smile.

“And when he falls into desperate longing and cannot escape, the ruler of the succubi will be Mimong, not Nightmare.”

Perhaps there was a complex relationship among the succubi, she spoke quite confidently.

“This will be a long story.”

“The night in the underground is long.”

Ariane smiled enchantingly. But her smile didn’t last long, as his expression changed in an instant.

“Before that, you need to fix that arrogant attitude.”

Her face turned white again at the glint in his eyes.

***

“The Queen of Mimong is not ordinary, either.”

When the conversation with Ariane was over, Dominic looked at her empty seat and exclaimed with admiration.

Kim Jin-woo shared a similar sentiment.

“But does she really have the ability to do that?”

To be honest, he wasn’t sure how far Ariane, who hadn’t shown any outstanding performance so far, could carry out her ambitions.

“If Dinariyon doesn’t know her true nature, he’ll probably be the one to suffer.”

Perhaps the Lord of Nightmares doesn’t know what kind of woman the Queen of Mimong is. If he had known, he wouldn’t have sent her to him. Her acting was that perfect. Even the Eye of Truth couldn’t see the ambition she held in her heart.

“Even if she fails, we have nothing to lose.”

Kim Jin-woo didn’t entirely trust Ariane. In the first place, she had infiltrated the labyrinth as a spy, and even if she abandoned her master and swore allegiance now, the weight of that oath would not be heavy.

“It’s just that who we’re dealing with will be different.”

What he, who is never satisfied, means by a deal is somewhat different from what they think, but neither he nor Dominic cared.

“Still, I hope Ariane, who is easier to handle, wins.”

Ariane has already been bound to the Great Labyrinth and has become a part of it. And he is the High Lord who holds the rise and fall of the beings belonging to the Great Labyrinth in his hands. She could never escape him and the Great Labyrinth.

Kim Jin-woo, who knew this better than anyone else, immediately released the restraints that had been placed on her that day. The limited number of individuals was released, and succubi were summoned.

[The Knight of Mimong has been summoned.]

[The Priest of Mimong has been summoned.]

[The Sorcerer of Mimong has been summoned.]

In an instant, nearly three hundred succubi poured out.

“I will definitely repay the master’s expectations.”

Dominic made a disgusted face at her shamelessly uttering the word ‘master,’ but Kim Jin-woo didn’t care and asked.

“With only this much force, you won’t be able to plot against Dinariyon. Do you have any other ideas?”

The newly summoned succubi numbered less than three hundred. That alone cannot narrow the gap with the Count of the Deep. She knew that fact well, but she still had a rather satisfied look on her face.

“Their role is not combat.”

She said that the battle between succubi is not a simple battle of force against force, but something more subtle and conceptual.

“They are merely sacrifices to connect dreams with dreams.”

The faces of the succubi behind her, who were chattering on without a care, were gloomy.

“You could say it’s a kind of stake.”

Kim Jin-woo, recalling the fact that one succubus was sacrificed when he met Dinariyon through Ariane, nodded with a look of understanding.

“Well, the side with more stakes doesn’t always win in gambling.”

At his words, she smiled bewitchingly before returning to a serious expression. It seemed the memory of the brutal violence was too vivid for her to be arrogant in front of him.

“Tsk.”

Kim Jin-woo clicked his tongue as he looked at her.

***

If the war between Ariane and Dinariyon was a subtle and hidden battle, Valishus’s research was already an open war.

Bang!

How on earth could he make a Moai’s [large monolithic human figures on Easter Island] body explode? Explosions occurred several times a day in his workshop.

“The consumption of Down Gem is becoming extreme as the Naga wizards join the experiment.”

Dominic was usually calm, but he shuddered when he talked about the Naga wizards.

“Ugh.”

Kim Jin-woo’s expression was also not good, as if he didn’t welcome the return of the Naga wizards.

After all, the Naga wizards had previously blown up the core of the labyrinth while recklessly researching.

As a result, the King of Mirror Specters, who was born at that time, is playing a useful role, but the Naga wizards were originally a species who didn’t care about the results.

They quickly forgot what they had succeeded in and were always immersed in new research, and in the process, they suffered countless failures and severely damaged the labyrinth’s finances.

And now that they have returned, they are showing a reckless madness under the pretext of helping Valishus’s research.

“It’s important research, so we have no choice but to watch for the time being.”

He was known as a cold and ruthless conqueror, but the Naga wizards were still a headache that he couldn’t control, so he ended up spitting out a resigned word.

But as always, the madness of the Naga wizards was beyond his expectations, and they caused an accident before several days had passed.

Kim Jin-woo was surprised to find a Moai with crushed features, scorched skin, and staggering around the workshop.

“Oh, have you succeeded in bringing the Moai into the labyrinth?”

He asked with a happy face, remembering that Valishus had said he needed a living Moai, but the Naga wizards all shook their heads, screaming.

“Kyak! Kaaaak!”

It was always a rambling explanation, but he was barely able to understand what they were saying.

“You didn’t bring the Moai in, you created the Moai?”

When they couldn’t find a way to bring the Moai inside, they created it themselves. He sighed with a dumbfounded face at the genius-like idea, then asked seriously.

“But where is Valishus?”

At his question, the Naga wizards turned to the Moai staggering around the workshop.