Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 306

Dungeon Journal-Episode 306 (306/319)

# 306

Dungeon Journal

Episode 307

[Master, you need to come over here.]

Angela’s voice, devoid of any playfulness, snapped me back to reality.

[What’s going on?]

[The Red Giant has come looking for you.]

While mentally exchanging words, Kim Jin-woo helped Dominique to her feet. Even she, who had been happily clutching her stomach, saw his expression and her face hardened.

“Something’s come up. I think we need to go back.”

There was no reason to hesitate since the main event was already over. While Dominique was fixing her disheveled hair, Angela’s voice came again.

[Would it be alright if I came over there?]

Even in this urgent situation, she was being considerate, which meant she was quite concerned about Dominique. But, given the circumstances, Kim Jin-woo, having cast aside any embarrassment, answered without hesitation.

[Right now.]

Before he could even finish speaking, the shadows flickered and Angela suddenly appeared. She glanced at Dominique and immediately reported.

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t want to interrupt, but the problems with the Malignant Gods are beyond what I can handle on my own.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Then I’ll take you there right away.”

He felt the cold touch of a vampire’s unique temperature on his fingertips, and then the Reverse Side [a dimension or space accessible only to certain beings] flashed by, and the Underground was before him once more.

[Ooh! I’ve been waiting!]

Behind the Red Giant, who was shouting with delight, the Malignant Gods were lined up endlessly.

“I told you not to come looking for me until I called again, didn’t I?”

Kim Jin-woo didn’t hide his displeasure. More than the annoyance of having his time with Dominique interrupted, he was bothered that he hadn’t noticed them getting this close.

But that didn’t mean he had been negligent or careless.

From the start, the aura that the Nagas [serpentine beings] emitted wasn’t much different from theirs, so it would have been strange to immediately recognize their approach. Even now, the Nagas’ gloomy energy and the Malignant Gods’ fierce aura were mixed together, making it meaningless to distinguish between friend and foe.

[I am not your servant.]

The Red Giant shouted back, but Kim Jin-woo only pretended to pick at his ear.

“I suppose not.”

The Red Giant was about to say something again at his indifferent attitude, but he cut him off.

Clang.

At his gesture, Quantus and a few Nagas dragged the Ceiling Giant Lord forward. His once dignified appearance was nowhere to be seen, and his pathetic state was like that of a dog chained up. But either way, with even Catherine having lost her authority, the Ceiling Giant Lord was one of the few remaining High Lords in the Underground.

And as long as the Red Giant and the Malignant Gods held the High Lord’s body hostage, they couldn’t antagonize him.

[Ugh.]

Kim Jin-woo smirked as he watched the Red Giant tremble with humiliation.

He probably wanted to kill him instantly. But he couldn’t threaten him with force, and he couldn’t negotiate with him either, so all the ferocious giant could do was grit his teeth and bear it.

“Well, fine. I was planning to meet you on the way anyway.”

He coaxed the giant, as if the initiative had shifted to his side.

“Help me one more time. And I will hand over what you desire so much.”

The Ceiling Giant Lord, who had been listlessly slumped over as if he had given up on everything, suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with despair and fear as he looked at him.

“No, please…….”

His chained body twisted and turned, pathetically rolling on the ground. But even as he rolled in the dirty dirt, the Ceiling Giant Lord didn’t stop begging.

“I’ll do anything you ask, just please don’t hand me over to them…….”

It was futile. The Nagas and the Malignant Gods knew how empty his desperate cries were. Only the Ceiling Giant Lord didn’t know that fact, as his gaze showed no emotion whatsoever.

[I hope you keep that promise this time.]

“Alright. Deal.”

The will of the person involved was of no importance to them. All that mattered to them was whether they had what the other needed, and how much they could extract from the other party.

The Red Giant and the Malignant Gods left. They were already excited, as if they had the High Lord’s body they had longed for in their hands.

“They’re simple.”

Angela openly mocked the Malignant Gods. But Kim Jin-woo rebuked her instead.

“They may be simple, but they’re not stupid.”

They give what they have to give, and they receive what they agreed to receive. It’s a very simple yet sure way to get what you want. Of course, if we don’t keep our promise, it will be a meaningless deal, but they have no other way.

The only High Lords left in the Underground were four: the Lord of Depravity, the Beast King, Kim Jin-woo himself, and Angela, who had inherited the True Blood.

The Lord of Depravity was an opponent that the Malignant Gods couldn’t easily touch. Her power, having reigned as the sole queen of the Underground for many years, was by no means easy to deal with. And the Beast King was quick-witted and good at assessing situations, so much so that he could be called the King of Escape. Although he was said to be the weakest, he was sure to be a tricky opponent to hunt.

So the only remaining High Lords were him and Angela. This side was such a dangerous opponent that it would be better to target the other lords instead. If they messed with them carelessly, the Malignant Gods would be the ones to be eaten instead.

None of them were easy opponents. In that situation, it was more advantageous for the Red Giant to trade with him and take the Ceiling Giant Lord as a reward.

“Never underestimate them. If you’re careless, you’ll be bitten and have your heart eaten.”

At his warning, Angela pouted. Well, it was only natural that the Malignant Gods didn’t feel very dangerous to her, since she could always flee to the Red Castle if things got even slightly dangerous. In fact, even the old lords had judged that it was impossible to make the Lord of True Blood kneel and had made her one of their own.

“Still, I don’t like how arrogant they are.”

Unable to hold back her words, Kim Jin-woo smiled and comforted her.

“I don’t intend to be with them until the end anyway.”

He was the Incarnation of the Night, and although he was reluctant to use his powers, he was, in fact, the true ruler of the Malignant Gods. The Red Giant and his clan, who knew this fact well, must have had other intentions for not bowing their heads.

“Their role is just to be a shield for us.”

He didn’t trust those who hid their true intentions, and he had no intention of keeping them by his side.

If his hunch was correct, what he would do in the future would be something the Lord of Depravity would never want. In the worst case, he would have to avoid a battle with her, who had built up her power over many years, and when that time came, they would fulfill their roles admirably.

Kim Jin-woo smiled coldly and looked in the direction where the Underground Waterway and the Malignant Gods had disappeared.

“But…….”

Angela spoke to him again.

“Should we, perhaps, start off on our own again?”

At her playful tone, he frowned. For some reason, her expression seemed unnecessarily sly.

“You, don’t tell me…….”

He looked at her, wondering if that was the case, and then frowned. He belatedly remembered that it was Angela’s hobby to monitor his every move from the Red Castle.

“Ugh.”

Dominique blushed at his sigh.

A voyeuristic vampire, indeed.

He grumbled inwardly, but his face wasn’t very embarrassed, as if he had already gotten used to it.

After devouring every labyrinth they encountered and traveling for a long time, Kim Jin-woo sensed a familiar energy from a labyrinth in the distance and stopped the Nagas, who were panting as if they would rush towards it immediately.

“It’s the Dragon Emperor’s labyrinth.”

He pondered for a moment. The Dragon Emperor Agrippus was a rare being of integrity in the Underground. Moreover, he seemed to sense the energy of the Earth Dragon that he, or rather, the Night, had swallowed, and was friendly towards them. He didn’t feel like annihilating the Dragon Emperor’s labyrinth as he would other labyrinths.

“It doesn’t look like it’s in very good condition, does it?”

Could it have been attacked by the Malignant Gods? As Dominique said, the Dragon Emperor’s labyrinth was in shambles. The collapsed entrance was one thing, but there were still plenty of Drakan [dragon-human hybrid] corpses that hadn’t been cleaned up.

“It seems the Malignant Gods have already been here.”

The fact that they were able to reduce the Drakan clan, which was small in number but one of the most powerful among the dukes, to this state meant that only the Malignant Gods could have done it in the current Underground.

“What should we do? It doesn’t look like it will last long if we leave it as it is.”

The meaning behind Dominique’s words was not much different from saying that it would be better for them to devour it rather than give it to the Malignant Gods. Kim Jin-woo shook his head at her words, which were so aggressive that he couldn’t have imagined them in the past.

“Let’s talk first.”

Dominique quickly accepted his words, though she smacked her lips in disappointment.

“No, there’s no need for that.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Drakans poured out from beyond the collapsed and ruined entrance of the labyrinth.

“To think you’d come back here after getting such a taste of it, I’d like to pay my respects to your stupidity…….”

The golden scales were broken in places, and there was no longer any radiance, and the mouth that spewed sulfurous fire was only emitting dull smoke. They looked exhausted, but the eyes of the descendants of the Golden Dragon, who belatedly discovered him, widened.

“How did you……?”

It seemed they had been thoroughly beaten by the Malignant Gods, and the Dragon Emperor’s eyes sharpened again at the sight of the Nagas, who were emitting a similar aura.

“Well, would you believe me if I said I was just passing by?”

He spoke in a tone that suggested he was in trouble, but unlike his words, his expression was calm.

“Hmm…….”

The Dragon Emperor couldn’t answer easily. The fact that his presence was completely different from before, even though not much time had passed, seemed to be quite disconcerting.

“You’re in a terrible state. It seems you’ve had a hard time.”

Kim Jin-woo’s voice cut through the confusion. The Dragon Emperor replied in a heavy voice to his clicking tongue.

“Are you trying to make fun of me?”

“Of course not.”

“Then are you also aiming for me and the heart of my fortress!”

His tense appearance was like that of a wounded beast.

“That’s not it either. I just thought I might be able to help you.”

There is no such thing as a free favor in the Underground. The Dragon Emperor knew this fact all too well, and so he didn’t easily believe his words.

“Of course, it’s not free. I intend to receive sufficient compensation in exchange for helping you.”

The Dragon Emperor had already taken a great loss for his clan, the Ortea family. His heart, which thought so much of his clan, was still the same as it was then, and his eyes flashed at his proposal.

“I will make sure that the Malignant Gods who made you and your labyrinth like this will never covet this place again. If you want, I can even help you take revenge.”

“What price must I pay?”

As expected. The Dragon Emperor was not so stubborn as to assert his pride even in this situation. He seemed reluctant, but he clearly indicated that he might accept his proposal depending on the circumstances.

“Loyalty, that’s all.”

With the Drakans bound by the Geas [magical compulsion] of the Dragon Tongue, there was no need to worry about betrayal. No, even if that wasn’t the case, he liked the Dragon Emperor.

“I refuse. The proud descendants of the Golden Dragon will never bow their heads to anyone.”

But unfortunately, the Dragon Emperor rejected his proposal outright.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Although my blood swore allegiance to you, the Ortea family is still a young clan that has not yet reached adulthood. And a fully grown Drakan will never put another above himself.”

It was a firm answer that didn’t give him even a shred of room, but Kim Jin-woo didn’t disappoint, but rather smiled deeply.

“What if it were the Earth Dragon that you have longed to return to so much?”