Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 266

Dungeon Chronicle – Episode 267

# 267

Dungeon Chronicle

“It’s ripened nicely.”

It might not have been the most appropriate thing to say while looking at the ominously expanding and terrifying labyrinth, but Kim Jin-woo couldn’t find a more fitting phrase at the moment.

The counts, diligently sharpening their blades, oblivious to the daggers at their throats, were almost pitiable.

However, he wasn’t soft enough to ignore a well-prepared feast out of cheap sentimentality.

Moreover, what lay before him was clearly an enemy’s labyrinth, distinct even within the Underworld.

A replica of the Great Labyrinth, painstakingly cultivated by the Parthenon of Despair, the mastermind and culprit behind inciting the 10th floor nobles to war, awaited him.

“Time to make a move.”

He took a step forward, gazing at the entrance of the replica Great Labyrinth, which had gaped open.

***

Guarding the entrance were hideous priests.

Their bodies were wrapped in black cloth, but their ugliness couldn’t be fully concealed; their backs were hunched, and their shoulders were uneven.

The skin occasionally visible beneath their hoods was as unsightly as withered wood grain, and their long, short, and haphazard fingers were twisted and bent, making them grotesque.

Kim Jin-woo knew exactly who these repulsive beings were.

They were the elite soldiers of the Parthenon, spreading curses and diseases like a plague, known as the Priests of Despair.

“Halt!”

A phlegm-filled voice called out to him. But he strode forward as if he heard nothing.

The conversation ended with that brief warning. When the priests saw that he showed no sign of stopping, they immediately began chanting curses and spraying foul-smelling poison.

An ordinary enemy would have melted into a puddle of blood from that alone.

But, unfortunately for the priests, he was no ordinary opponent, and he passed through the deathly fog, saturated with curses and poison, without a scratch.

“Sorry, but even curses several times more terrible than this don’t work on me.”

Kim Jin-woo grinned. It was a chilling smile with a gleam of blue light.

“Kkeueooo.”

The Priests of Despair screamed. They thrashed their limbs like insects caught in an invisible web.

“Keureuk.”

The screams didn’t last long. They soon disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only their pathetically shrunken robes.

“Oops, should have kept one alive?”

Kim Jin-woo quipped, looking at the annihilated Priests of Despair. But, contrary to his words, there was no hint of regret on his face.

In fact, he devoured every priest he encountered afterward, leaving none alive.

Kim Jin-woo, having conspicuously annihilated the priests, spoke to the empty air.

“Try to stop me, then.”

The replica Great Labyrinth, in response to his words, instead lowered itself and gathered its energy.

Geueueueung.

A wind sound like a suppressed groan was heard. It was as if it had been frightened.

“How boring.”

Kim Jin-woo clicked his tongue at the overly docile reaction.

If the real Great Labyrinth, which had been constantly trying to devour its master, was an untamed wolf, the replica Great Labyrinth was like a well-behaved dog.

Sensing the ferocious predator’s aura dormant within him, the replica Great Labyrinth not only wagged its tail but also turned its belly up and fawned.

The blocked walls opened, and the twisted passages stretched out in a straight line. Beyond them, he could feel the heart of the labyrinth beating.

“Well, this isn’t bad either.”

Thanks to the replica Great Labyrinth’s quick display of obedience, he was able to avoid wasting time on unnecessary power struggles.

However, the owner of the replica Great Labyrinth apparently had no intention of letting him into the depths of the labyrinth so easily.

“Commander of the Inherited, what brings you here?”

The Parthenon of Despair, commanding hundreds of priests, blocked his path.

***

Was this what a Drakon [a type of dragon-like creature] would look like if corrupted by the Underworld’s evil? The Parthenon had a hideous and grotesque appearance, like the Priests of Despair.

With a hunched back, black leather dripping with viscous fluid, and three heads, each with a bizarre appearance that was neither dragon nor snake nor anything else.

Yet, its voice had a certain dignity.

“Ah, I have some business to take care of.”

But that dignity was lost on Kim Jin-woo. To him, who had already defeated the dukes, a mere count was insignificant.

That mindset was evident in his indifferent attitude, but the Parthenon did not move rashly.

With rumors spreading about the fate of the four dukes of the East, West, South, and North who had advanced to the 9th floor, the Parthenon was too seasoned to assert its petty pride.

“Tell me what that business is. Though you are an uninvited guest, I will help you with your affairs with the heart of valuing a guest.”

Kim Jin-woo scoffed at the Parthenon, who was hiding its seething insides and feigning composure.

“My business is not something you can help with.”

By now, the Parthenon must have realized that his purpose was not very amicable.

After all, unless it was a fool, it couldn’t be unaware that the visitor who had annihilated the labyrinth’s elite forces and entered this place had impure intentions.

“Speak plainly, and I will show as much sincerity as possible.”

The Parthenon was not foolish. It was cunning. This raccoon-like count knew the disparity in power all too well and tried to avoid conflict at all costs.

It tried to appease him by offering to fulfill his wishes as much as possible.

“Even if what I want is your head?”

But that was only possible when the other party was willing to resolve things amicably.

Kim Jin-woo had nothing to gain from the Parthenon and hoped to settle old grudges on this occasion. So he tilted his head and provoked the Parthenon.

“Ugh……”

The Parthenon couldn’t open its mouth easily. It seemed to know that no good answer would come back no matter what it said.

It was best not to open its mouth if possible, but now Kim Jin-woo held the knife, and the Parthenon was in a position where it had to continue the conversation somehow.

“Enough with the jokes.”

But, cruelly, Kim Jin-woo had no intention of playing with the Parthenon any longer. It wasn’t bad to see the Count of Despair, who had once looked down on him and suppressed him with force, groveling, but he had many other places to go after this.

“Parthenon of Despair, I will take your life as retribution for instigating a war, attempting to conquer the 9th floor, and trying to destroy me and the Nagas [a race of serpent-like beings].”

The Parthenon distorted its hideous face at the cold voice, as if delivering a verdict.

“Why bring that up now……”

“Did you forget because the tables have turned?”

Blue light overflowed from Kim Jin-woo’s eyes.

“The reason doesn’t matter, does it? Do Underworld beings need a reason to kill each other? I’m just trying to kill you, just as you tried to kill me.”

“Back then, the Raven of the Battlefield……”

“If it’s hard to accept, think of it this way. That day, a cause and effect was created between you and me, and today I have come to finish that cause and effect.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the aura of the High Lord, which had been gathering, spread out, and the Priests of Despair all crawled on the floor. It was as if they were being crushed by something invisible.

“Ugh.”

The Parthenon tried to resist, but it couldn’t hold out any longer because the power it possessed from the beginning was different, and the level of existence was different.

The twisted legs broke and snapped with a grating sound, and before he knew it, he was crawling on the floor.

“But don’t feel too wronged. The other counts will soon be in the same boat.”

***

The Parthenon was annihilated. Countless priests met the same fate as their master, and the Great Labyrinth, which the Parthenon had painstakingly created, became entirely Kim Jin-woo’s.

Following that, the replica Great Labyrinths that the counts in the depths had cultivated fell into his hands one after another.

Among them, some counts, like the Parthenon, disappeared without a trace after acting arrogant, while others, like the Queen of Corruption, cleverly took the core of their labyrinth and hid.

Anatolius was a case that belonged to neither category. This Iron-Blooded Count came to him of his own accord and swore allegiance.

“If we were to talk about past grievances, I too had my own goals, so I am not entirely blameless. But even so, I cannot say that I have not bestowed anything upon you. If you are the true king of the wise Naga clan, I believe you will not refuse my loyalty.”

The hard knees of the iron giant, which seemed as if they would never bend, were bent.

As he said, he was not entirely without owing him, and it didn’t seem like there would be much benefit in devouring one more count now.

Besides, Anatolius was quite useful to just throw away. So, after much deliberation, he accepted Anatolius.

“I will watch you for a while.”

In this way, Kim Jin-woo completely dominated the 11th floor depths. From the beginning, the floors of other Underworlds that were in contact with the 11th floor were somewhere in the insignificant upper floors, so after annihilating the counts, there were no more significant forces left.

[Amazing. No one in the history of the Underworld has ever conquered not just one, but two floors.]

[Even the mysteries of the Underworld are impressed by your incredible feat.]

[The mysteries of the Underworld bestow a new title upon you for your amazing achievements, and the effects of the existing Conqueror title grow.]

[The Conqueror’s privilege, the operation of troops beyond the inter-floor penalty, has been further expanded. Now your troops will not lose their courage anywhere, regardless of the number of units.]

[Everywhere you go, the cores of the labyrinths are broken, and kings meet their deaths, so you are the most violent and savage conqueror.]

[The mysteries of the Underworld could not find a name more fitting for you than the title of Tyrant.]

[The Lord of Greed has gained the name ‘Tyrant’.]

[Before the name of the Tyrant, ordinary enemies give up resistance. Beings below the rank of count will be so terrified just by hearing your declaration of war that they will bring the core of their labyrinth to you.]

[Your troops no longer feel fatigue in winning battles. No matter how arduous and difficult the battle is, as long as victory continues and the Tyrant’s majesty does not disappear, your soldiers will not tire.]

***

On the day he dominated the 11th floor, Kim Jin-woo couldn’t even afford to enjoy his victory. As soon as he crossed the portal, the Underworld trembled madly.

“Could it be?”

He recalled the terrible disaster he had once experienced. There was only one earthquake strong enough to violently shake the firmly reinforced Great Labyrinth.

The restoration of the Underworld, the second of the four restoration processes, had begun.