I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 273

The next day.

My party and I entered Area 7 of the dungeon.

Area 7 could be considered the commercial district of the inner castle area of this Lake Kingdom.

Before the Lake Kingdom fell 500 years ago, the people living in the inner castle area bought and sold goods, ate meals, and drank beverages here.

“I always feel this whenever I explore this dungeon.”

This time, I left Lily in the city and brought Junior.

I thought it was necessary because the risk level was different, and I needed Junior, a powerful awakened character.

Junior craned his neck, taking in the streetscape of Area 7.

“If it weren’t shrouded in darkness and monsters didn’t appear, it would look like a pretty city.”

As he said, the dungeon looks like a bustling and sophisticated city.

This is especially true after entering the inner castle area. The perfectly planned and constructed city streets are as beautiful as a painting.

Even though it’s covered in darkness and swarming with monsters.

“If those two things weren’t there, this place would have so much to research.”

Junior clicked his tongue softly.

“It’s a shame.”

“If there were no darkness and monsters, it wouldn’t be a dungeon in the first place, would it?”

It would just be ruins. We wouldn’t have needed to bring weapons like this.

The world would be peaceful. Crossroads wouldn’t be a monster frontline.

“…I want to see that someday. That form.”

Junior murmured, running his fingertips along the neat stone walls of the dark city.

“This Lake Kingdom without darkness or monsters.”

“……”

I thought so too.

The Crossroads where war machines have disappeared, and people are simply engaged in farming and commerce.

Could it be like that after a long time?

As we walked and chatted, we arrived at our destination.

Area 7, the Wolf Den.

It was a noticeably large building, so we were able to find it right away without getting lost. I looked up at the large dungeon in front of me.

The Wolf Den is a large tavern with three floors above ground and three floors below ground.

The atmosphere of the ground and underground floors is completely different. The three floors above ground are a luxurious tavern, while the three floors below ground are equipped with all sorts of dirty facilities.

There are places to smoke mysterious water pipes, places to watch dancers, and other full courses for enjoying the dark nightlife of the magic kingdom 500 years ago, waiting for customers.

It is a decadent and hedonistic black entertainment establishment that symbolizes the dark side of this Lake Kingdom. How embarrassing.

Even before entering, there were blatant promotional phrases and advertisements plastered all over the building’s walls.

Junior teased me as I examined the posters with a disgusted look.

“As expected, Your Highness must have frequented such entertainment establishments to the point of being sick of them?”

“……”

I shut my mouth for a moment. Hey, isn’t that a prejudice against the prince?

‘The fact that I, in my life on Earth, was a super-nerd who barely went to college bars, let alone clubs… there’s no way to reveal that here.’

Far from a glamorous nightlife, I was a semi-forced model student who kept a voluntary curfew…! I was a picture-perfect loner…!

But what can I do? It’s the karma that Kim Ash has built up.

I was shedding tears of blood inside, but on the outside, I calmly swept back my hair and smiled arrogantly.

“Haha. Such old taverns are child’s play compared to the pleasure districts of the imperial capital.”

“Ooooh! As expected of the Empire’s number one loafer!”

“The Night Prince who ruled the nights of the imperial capital…!”

“Decadent prince! Hedonistic prince! Such a bad boy! That’s why I admire you-!”

Quilan and the Punishment Unit guys were shouting, “Ooooh-!” and praising me(?).

I bit my lip and trembled.

Jeez! Kim Ash! Your past actions are causing my pure and pitiful soul to be misunderstood!

To relieve the tension, we talked about such trivial things and prepared to enter the dungeon.

“……”

Everyone was a little nervous, but their faces weren’t bad, except for Verdandi at the very back, whose face was dark.

I approached her and spoke.

“Verdandi, are you okay?”

“…Ah, yes. Ash.”

Verdandi gave a smile that emphasized her signature beauty mark.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“All our companions will be safe. We’ll make sure of it.”

“……”

“Now, let’s go rescue them quickly!”

The large tavern doors opened to the left and right. My party and I rushed into the dungeon.

***

[Area 7: Wolf Den]

– Clear Progress: Normal Room 0/12 Boss Room 0/2

– Acquired Treasure Chests: 0/5

As befitting a large building, the dungeon is also large in scale.

We first cleared the hall on the first floor.

The Punishment Unit took the lead in this large and splendid hall, like a palace, while the Shadow Unit poured out firepower, and Junior and Verdandi finished them off.

The monster composition is the skeletons, this season’s monsters. And…

Cackle!

Cackle!

Nightmares.

It’s easy to think of succubi and incubi when you hear the word nightmare, but those are high-level entities.

The majority of the Nightmare Legion is made up of these… whitish ghost-type monsters flying in front of us right now.

In short, they are ghosts.

“Waaaaaah! It’s a ghost!”

As expected, Quilan, who is weak against this kind of thing, screamed and fell backward.

In reality, he is a melee physical dealer, so he is at a disadvantage… but please act your size.

The Punishment Unit, which had been holding up well, panicked and scattered their ranks as soon as they saw the ghosts, and the ghosts flew around our party, laughing eerily.

After watching this for a while, I said to Junior.

“Junior. Clean up.”

“Yes.”

Junior lightly swung the staff in his hand, [Lord of Crimson].

As he consumed the stacks stored in the staff, blood magic poured out. Junior added his lightning magic to it.

Bang! Boom!

Kyaaaaak-

The ghosts hit by the magic exploded in an instant.

The first floor hall was quickly cleared, and the Punishment Unit members, who had been trembling in fear at the sight of the ghosts, got up, feeling embarrassed. I clicked my tongue.

“Isn’t it about time you got used to these kinds of monsters?”

“Well, it’s just that… how should I put it… it’s like I’m instinctively scared just by looking at them…”

Quilan, scratching the back of his head (mane?), led the Punishment Unit members to clean up the remaining skeleton group.

The Shadow Unit began to examine the stairs leading to the ground and underground floors.

I looked around the cleanly cleared hall and fell into thought.

‘I heard that the Plague Legion, the Nightmare Legion, and the Werewolf Legion have allied.’

We finished off the Werewolf Legion.

The Plague Legion and the Nightmare Legion, two legions, should be together.

‘I don’t see the Plague Legion… are they lurking deeper?’

That’s strange.

Due to their nature, the Plague Legion spreads their traces over a wide area. Those guys are very messy.

If they were in this building, their traces would have been found all over the first floor hall, along with a nauseating smell.

But somehow, I don’t see any of them.

‘No Plague Legion? Then this dungeon only has skeletons and nightmares?’

A smirk crept onto my lips without me realizing it.

This might be easier than I thought?

“Ash.”

It was then.

Verdandi, who had quietly approached me, whispered in my ear.

“When I infiltrated this place before to rescue my companions, I discovered a secret passage installed in the hall.”

“…!”

“It seems to be a path leading somewhere… but the passage is narrow, and the door closes automatically if more than two people enter.”

Verdandi hesitated and asked me.

“I think something important might be hidden there, but it might be dangerous. What should we do?”

“……”

I glanced at Verdandi. Verdandi was looking up at me with a nervous expression.

I stared at the elf’s clear eyes and the beauty mark below them, and then I smiled.

“Okay, shall we go take a peek by ourselves?”

Verdandi let out a soft sigh, whether it was relief or regret. Leaving Verdandi behind, I ordered the party members.

“Clear the rest of the rooms on the first floor! Verdandi and I will go explore that passage for a while.”

***

Perhaps because it is a seedy tavern in many ways, there are several secret passages in this Wolf Den.

The place Verdandi led me to was a narrow secret passage leading upwards from the first floor hall.

It was a passage that had been opened next to the large chimney in the first floor hall, and there was an elevator that operated by magic inside.

The elevator moved to the third floor in an instant.

When we got out of the elevator, a narrow passage continued forward, and a magnificent stone door was tightly closed.

Kugugugu…

As I approached, the stone door slowly opened to the left and right.

A small and elegant room, slightly different in feel from the scale of this dungeon, unfolded.

On the red carpet of the room, which was decorated like a luxury hotel room,

《I’ve been waiting for you, Ash.》

There was a beautiful woman.

Her voluptuous figure was clearly visible under her shabby monk’s robe.

Shiny pink hair flowing down, snow-white skin. A seductive smile.

And the horns that sprouted from her hair, and the devil’s tail swaying around her buttocks.

She was the very image of what one might imagine when they hear the word ‘succubus’.

I entered the room and muttered softly, recognizing the identity of the other party.

“Salome…”

《Oh? You know my name? That’s delightful?》

The Succubus Queen Salome covered her mouth and giggled. I smiled bitterly inside.

Of course, I know.

Out of my 742 games, you blew up 200 of them. You damn Nightmare Legion Commander.

《Shall we have our sincere conversation in a dream? Now!》

Salome stretched out her index finger and shouted at me.

《I’ll give you a good dream… ‘Fall Asleep’!》

A vivid pink current swirled and swept over my body.

“……”

Immediately, I let my arms and legs droop, opened my eyes hazily, and stopped in my place.

《Good, good. Everything is going according to plan! Yay~ Salome is a happy succubus!》

With her hands on her hips, swaying her body from side to side, Salome began to hum a tune.

《Good job, Elf! I didn’t think you’d bring him so easily?》

“…Just keep your promise, Nightmare.”

Verdandi, who was standing at the entrance of the room, lowered her voice.

“Where are my companions?”

《All the prisoners are gathered on the first basement floor. I’ll order my subordinates to release them now, so take good care of them?》

Verdandi quickly turned around and left the room. Salome laughed and waved her hand.

《Let’s make another good deal next time, friend~!》

Kugugugung…

The door closed.

《Ahaha, it’s just the two of us now~?》

Salome moved slowly and came next to me.

Her white, long fingers touched my cheek. Salome poked my face here and there with her pink fingernails, admiring me.

《Your face is quite handsome… and your body is, well, acceptable.》

“……”

《More than anything, that power that defeated three Nightmare Legion Commanders… hmmm.》

Salome put her hand on her chin and groaned, then widened her eyes and shouted.

《You know what? You might be my type?!》

“……”

《But to fall for such a cheap trick, you’re disqualified, disqualified!》

Salome jumped around me, shouting like a child.

《Stupid~! Weak~! Weakling~!》

“……”

《Ah, is that not it? Maybe it’s my charm that’s so fatal that mortals can’t even dare to resist~?》

After grumbling for a while longer, she finally came and stood in front of me.

Salome spread her arms wide.

《Well, whatever, then, bon appétit~!》

Salome was about to hug me.

It was the basic feeding posture of the nightmares, where they stick close to their victims and suck their life force by trapping them in a dream.

《Uuum~》

…It seems she’s about to start feeding in earnest, with her eyes closed and her lips pouted forward.

The nightmare’s kiss is also a pretty effective life-drain skill.

But.

Thud.

I stretched out my left hand and blocked Salome’s lips.

《…?》

“Hey.”

With the lower half of her face completely covered by my hand, I spoke coldly to Salome, who was blinking her eyes, not understanding the situation.

“Is the show over?”

《Eh?》

Salome’s red eyes widened.

《W-what? How did you break my mind control…?》

“Well, that’s.”

Crack. Crack.

After slowly loosening my right hand, I clenched my fist tightly and gave a smile.

“You can think about it while you’re getting hit.”

Whack-!

Immediately after, my right straight shot cleanly hit the Succubus Queen’s jaw.