I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 120

The Path of the Defeated seals all skills upon initial entry.

That means, apart from the initial curse zone, there are no significant threats.

However, when returning after conquering the Colosseum, the one-way restriction of the passage is lifted, and restrictions like skill sealing are also removed.

In other words… combat can occur inside the passage.

‘No, it’s possible for it to happen.’

I looked around at my party members, who had collapsed unconscious, and broke out in a cold sweat.

‘But for a lord-class monster to suddenly appear out of nowhere is a bit much, damn it!’

Standing calmly before me is the culprit of this situation.

The Vampire Lord, and the boss monster of the next stage, the No Life King, Selendion.

He looks like a child in his early teens, but you shouldn’t be fooled by his appearance. He’s actually a monster geezer who’s been around for hundreds of years.

《…….》

Selendion is quietly observing me with his clear, bright red eyes.

His gaze was so chilling, like a child observing a captured insect.

《Have you become more willing to talk to me, player?》

To the boy’s voice, I spat out a prickly reply.

“It’s Ash.”

《Hm?》

“Ash, my name is Ash. Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack.”

These bastards keep calling people ‘player’ instead of their names.

Do they think I won’t tell them if they ask? My name, Kim Ash, is cheap. I’ll just throw it around, you know?

Selendion blinked for a moment at my name, then clapped his hands.

《Ah, right. That’s true. You have names too.》

“What was that?”

《When you see an ant, you call it an ant, you don’t ask for the names of the ants, do you?》

Selendion bowed his head slightly.

《Anyway, I apologize. I was not considerate.》

“……”

《I repeat, I had no intention of upsetting you. Nor did I intend to harm you.》

“You didn’t? Then what’s this?”

I pointed to the party members who had collapsed around us, and Selendion lowered his gaze towards them.

《Understand, human. For me, subduing you without killing you is quite a troublesome task.》

“……”

《I simply wish to have a conversation.》

Looking at the guy apologizing and asking for understanding, I was certain.

‘This bastard didn’t come to kill us.’

If he had wanted to, we would all be dead already.

But the fact that he only subdued us, and that he’s trying to talk first.

Selendion’s goal isn’t to kill us. I could be sure of that.

However,

‘Why?’

Why would he bother to keep us alive, when he could crush us with a flick of his finger, like ants, as he said.

“……”

But, whatever. Fine.

If he’s going to be so low-key, there’s no reason not to have a conversation.

Thud!

I sat down on the floor of the corridor. Selendion’s gaze at me was puzzled.

《What are you doing?》

“Sitting. You sit too.”

《Hm?》

“Sit here. I don’t know what we’re going to talk about, but it’s a bit awkward to do it standing, right?”

《…….》

Selendion seemed confused (he probably hasn’t experienced the sitting culture), but he quietly sat down carefully in front of me.

We sat facing each other, staring at each other for a moment.

I was glaring openly, while Selendion had a calm face.

I wanted to punch him in the face, but if I did, my life would probably end there…

Anyway, I took a breath and asked.

“So, what do you want to talk about so badly? What’s your problem? School? Career? Puberty? Which one is it?”

《……? I don’t know what that means.》

Selendion carefully opened his mouth.

《There is one thing I wanted to ask you, one thing I am curious about.》

“Go ahead and ask. I’ll answer if I can.”

I’d probably get my head chopped off if I didn’t answer.

I wondered what kind of question he would ask to come all the way here, but the question that came next was completely unexpected.

《How did you kill Olop?》

“……What?”

I frowned and asked again.

“Olop?”

《The commander of the Black Spider Legion. The mother of all spiders. The Queen of Tarantulas—Olop, I mean.》

“What the hell is that, you weeb… no, wait a minute.”

The commander of the Black Spider Legion…

‘Are they talking about the Black Spider Queen I killed in the forward base battle?’

The Black Spider Queen we defeated in Stage 0, the tutorial.

So that individual’s name was Olop.

‘It wasn’t marked as a named entity back then… that thing was the Queen of Tarantulas?’

Queen of Tarantulas.

A title from the lore book, referring to the mother of all spider monsters.

It was only in the lore book and never appeared in the game, so I thought it was just a lore-only entity.

That thing from the tutorial was such a big deal?

‘No wonder it was so hard to kill. It was a legion commander.’

Selendion nodded back at me as I nodded to myself.

《It seems you remember.》

“Well, of course I remember. I almost died because of that thing.”

I literally almost died. I almost got a game over there.

《Olop doesn’t usually go to the front lines herself. But it was her spawning season then, and she must have needed to consume human flesh and despair.》

“Ugh.”

I made a disgusted face. There’s no need to go into such gruesome details.

《But, she died.》

Selendion stared intently at me.

《By you, I heard. You killed her with a cannon.》

“Well, yeah.”

Technically, it wasn’t me, but Damian. Anyway.

“So, what? I killed that spider, so what? Did you come for revenge now?”

《Revenge?》

Pfft.

A sneer formed on Selendion’s lips.

It was the first expression this vampire had shown on his face.

《For that mere spider? There’s no way.》

“……”

《I did tell the King that I would go out to avenge her. But that was just a superficial reason… I’ve never had any pity for such a filthy spider.》

“Then why?”

What connection is there between me killing that Black Spider Queen and this guy coming to find me?

The answer was soon revealed.

《I.》

Because Selendion spoke it clearly with his own mouth.

《I want to die.》

“……?”

Wait, I didn’t understand, so my thoughts froze.

“What?”

《I said I want to die, human. I… want to meet death.》

Selendion slowly looked at his palm.

《It’s been five hundred years since I was resurrected here… I’ve been searching for someone who can kill me again.》

Resurrected?

Wants to die again?

What the hell is he talking about? Selendion continued to mutter to himself as I blinked, unable to understand.

《But no one… no one could even inflict a proper wound on me, let alone kill me.》

“……”

《But, Olop.》

Selendion looked at me again.

This time, it was a gaze that seemed to scan something inside me, not my appearance.

《I heard that Olop, who was a legion commander like me, was caught in an unexpected situation and died. By a mere human cannon.》

“……”

《I had a hunch then. If someone could kill Olop, they might be able to kill me too.》

Desperation filled Selendion’s red eyes.

《Can you… can you kill me?》

“……”

《Can you free me from this endless dream… can you return me to the darkness of eternal sleep?》

After listening blankly for a while,

“I thought you were talking nonsense…”

I opened my mouth and began to growl.

“You’re asking if I can kill you? Is that even a question, monster?”

《What?》

“From the beginning, I came here to kill you bastards.”

I slowly rose from my seat.

“To rip off the necks of you monster bastards, to tear your bodies apart and burn them to ashes. That’s why I’m here.”

I remember.

The people who fell, bleeding from the claws and teeth of monsters.

“Of course I’ll kill you! And not just you, but your subordinates! Your families! And even that king of yours!”

I remember.

The border count who was broken after a lifetime of fighting monsters, dying in my arms.

“All of them! Every single one! I’ll wipe them out! I won’t leave a single one alive!”

I remember.

The more than three thousand corpses laid out on the field.

The blue flames burning among them.

“That’s what I do on this front line, and that’s the only goal I have to achieve, even if it means risking my life!”

The sound of cannons at the funeral. The dirge of the choir. The silence that followed the moment of silence.

Ken, Tain, Ron, Jia, Peke… and countless other fallen warriors who didn’t even leave their names.

I remember.

I remember it all.

That’s why it’s my duty as the commander of this front line to hate you so much.

“I’ll kill you even if you don’t ask, so don’t worry, Vampire King! You better start thinking about the screams you’ll make when you die by my sword soon!”

Selendion, who had been listening quietly to my booming voice,

《……Indeed, is that so.》

Smiled faintly.

It was different from the sneer from before. It was a quiet, even shy, small smile.

《Even if your attitude is just bravado, I’m glad. At least your hostility seems genuine.》

Selendion slowly rose from his seat.

《But, I still don’t understand. How will you, mere insects, kill me? Does such a method even exist?》

“Of course it exists.”

How many times do you think I’ve cut your head off in the game, you vampire bastard.

I shouted confidently.

“Clean your neck and crawl up to my fortress. Then I’ll take responsibility and end your pathetic life!”

《…….》

Smirk.

The smile on Selendion’s lips deepened.

For a moment, he looked like an old man in his eighties or nineties, not a teenager.

But the next moment, he was expressionless again, and his face had returned to that of a teenager.

《I will come to see you soon. I hope that your words just now were not empty.》

Step. Step.

The end of Selendion’s body, which had passed me, began to turn into mist.

《And. Your subordinates, they seem to have regained consciousness and are trying to ambush me.》

“Huh?”

《It would be best to stop them. I want you to be in perfect condition on the day of our final battle.》

I was surprised and looked at the party members who had fallen on the floor.

They had woken up at some point, and were holding their secondary weapons, preparing to ambush Selendion while holding their breath.

I quickly waved my hands. No, no! You can’t do proper damage right now anyway!

《Then, player… no, Ash.》

Selendion whispered softly as he completely turned into black mist and disappeared.

《I look forward to it. I hope that you can truly kill me that day.》

Swish.

A swarm of bats-like mist swirled, and he completely disappeared.

I stared at the spot where the Vampire King had left and muttered quietly.

“If you want to die so badly, just kill yourself, what a…”

Why go through all the trouble of asking someone else to kill you.

Just kill yourself! Write my name in your will! Then we’ll both be happy!

‘But he can’t, so he’s asking someone else to kill him.’

There’s no need to understand a monster’s circumstances.

I looked down at my party members, grumbling. They were all getting up one by one, with painful expressions.

“There’s no need to be frustrated by the difference in power. Our fangs will surely reach that bastard’s neck.”

I helped each of my groaning party members up.

“I will make it happen, and you will make it happen.”

I nodded quietly to my party members, who were looking at me with faces that had a lot to say.

“Let’s go back.”

There’s a lot to do.