I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 342

“Haa… Haa…”

Mason was walking.

Blood poured from his gaping wounds as he dragged his body along, half-crawling.

Bubbling…

His upper body, which had been nearly split in two, was still trying to regenerate. But the wound was too severe, making it difficult.

“Damn it… this is one hell of a struggle…”

It was an injury that should have been instantly fatal.

The beastification serum he had been continuously injected with kept his life tethered to this world.

His regeneration and vitality, surpassing human limits, were forcibly healing his wounds and allowing him to endure.

He had pretended to be dead after taking the suspended animation drug he had hidden in his molars, and then slipped away when the surveillance had become lax.

And so, he entered.

The dungeon beneath the dark lake. The source of evil where monsters poured out.

Into the Lake Kingdom.

“Haa, cough…”

But he was already at his limit.

He had barely reached his mission destination, but his injuries were too severe. Mason could no longer walk and collapsed to the ground.

Holding his intestines that were spilling out of his wounds, Mason rummaged through his pockets with trembling hands.

A syringe filled with blue liquid was pulled out by his bloodied fingertips.

It was the last beastification serum he had.

‘Taking two doses a day is crazy enough, but three…’

But what could he do?

He had come this far, and there was no turning back.

“Haa!”

Mason raised the syringe and plunged it into his neck.

Thwack!

The serum instantly surged into his body, and its effects were immediate.

Crack, crackle…!

His muscles and bones twisted, his limbs grew larger, and at the same time, his wounds healed.

“Kuh, aah, aaaaah…!”

When the ‘transformation’ ended a moment later, what remained was no longer human… a hybrid beast.

Since the serum itself was a composite of various alien species, its final form was closer to a chimera [a creature made of different animal parts].

“At this rate, I’m not a beast…”

Mason clicked his tongue, looking down at his grotesquely grown claws.

“…I’m closer to a monster.”

His body was healed, but his consciousness was fading.

Everything was unclear, as if shrouded in fog. But Mason bit down on his own tongue, forcing himself to stand.

– Go and have an audience with the Demon King.

The mission given by his master, Fernandes.

He remembered only this.

Mason was not a man of loyalty, nor did he sympathize with Fernandes’ cause. But.

– Those who can sell only their souls to the devil to achieve their goals gather in this Special Ops unit.

Just as he had told Lucas.

He had to pay the price for the soul he had already sold.

“I’ve already… set things in motion…”

Muttering, Mason began to walk. His two legs, now with reversed joints, struggled to grip the ground as he moved forward.

Into the darkness.

Into the deeper darkness.

Into the deepest darkness where the Demon King lurked.

For the fate of the Empire, and for the future of all mankind.

***

The very center of the Lake Kingdom.

Here stood a towering skyscraper, emitting a black darkness like fog.

The Royal Castle.

Here, where gatekeeper demons stood guard without a single gap, the Nightmare Legion Commanders were arriving one by one.

The Royal Court Conference.

A meeting held by the masters of the hell beneath the Lake Kingdom, directly summoned and presided over by the Demon King.

Clatter!

The entrance to the palace was done in order of rank, from the lowest.

The first to appear and step inside was the 10th-ranked Nightmare Legion Commander, the Goblin God-King ‘Kali-Alexandre’.

Though quite tall for a goblin, he was clearly smaller than a typical human. He wore leather armor covering his entire body, a golden cloak, and a helmet.

This helmet was a bit unusual, with a mask and a crown attached together.

A mask covering the face was on the front of the helmet, and a pointed crown was smoothly attached to the top.

《Kali-Alexandre.》

《Thank you for responding to the summons. Please, go inside.》

The demon gatekeepers opened the way. The Goblin King nodded lightly and stepped onto the carpet, entering the castle.

Glancing at the back of the Goblin King, the demon gatekeepers whispered.

《Hmph, a goblin acting like a king…》

《Shhh! What if he hears you!》

《What if he hears? He’s just a goblin. And the lowest rank at that.》

Kali-Alexandre heard all of this clearly.

But he did not bother to point out their rudeness, and quietly moved inside.

The demon gatekeepers chuckled.

《See? He’s a goblin, so he’s used to insults.》

《Does he even know? That he doesn’t belong here? Heh heh…》

The gatekeepers, who had been sneering, stopped laughing and stood straight as the next Nightmare Legion Commanders appeared one by one.

Splish, splash.

With each step, seawater splashed from his waterlogged boots, dragging a fishy-smelling coat on the floor, and a ghost pirate with a liquor bottle in his mouth appeared next.

The 8th-ranked, Ghost Privateer Captain ‘Bernhardt Fokker’.

As the ruler of all ghost-type monsters and sea monsters appeared, the demon gatekeepers took a much more respectful stance than before.

《Lord Bernhardt Fokker.》

《Thank you for responding to the summons. Please, go inside.》

The ghost captain glanced at the gatekeepers and spat out in a sarcastic tone.

《Hey.》

《Yes?》

《Is there any booze inside?》

《…》

A moment of silence passed.

《What kind of meeting is it that they never have any booze, damn it…》

The ghost captain, acting like a drunkard, staggered inside. The demon gatekeepers were sweating bullets.

Next to appear were,

《No, no, no, no! I don’t want to attend the meeting today!》

《You foolish succubus! What reason do you have to refuse to attend a meeting personally summoned by the King of Kings!》

A succubus woman and a grotesque figure wearing a plague doctor’s mask.

The 7th-ranked, Great Harlot ‘Salome’.

The 4th-ranked, Plague Lord ‘Raven’.

Salome was trying to run away, while Raven was forcibly dragging the succubus queen along with him.

《My legion was annihilated, annihilated! How can I face the King of Kings in this situation! I know I’ll be scolded! Please, let me escape, Raven. Okay? I’ll attend the next meeting diligently!》

《Will your annihilated legion come back to life next time? It is said that it is better to be beaten first. It would be better to report honestly to the King of Kings and beg for mercy!》

《Waaaaah! I don’t want to! I don’t want to be scolded!》

Raven finally dragged Salome, who was acting like a child, into the castle.

The demon gatekeepers tried to avoid looking at this unsightly scene.

The next to appear was a magician dressed in strange attire, as if from a foreign land in the East.

The 3rd-ranked, Grand Magus ‘Byakuya’.

Wearing a wide-sleeved robe, a large ceremonial hat with small bead ornaments dangling from it, and his face covered by a large talisman attached to the hat.

The Grand Magus floated lightly in the air without touching the ground, arriving at the castle as if flowing.

《Lord Byakuya.》

《Thank you for responding to the summons. Please, go inside.》

The Grand Magus lightly bowed in response to the gatekeepers’ welcome and quietly entered.

The demon gatekeepers all swallowed hard, without realizing it, at the overwhelming aura of death emanating from him.

Tap, tap.

The next to appear was a familiar face to the demon gatekeepers.

Since she was their direct superior.

A woman wearing a fancy dress and a mask that covered only the area above her eyes, as if from a masquerade ball.

Her skin was the red color typical of demons, and she had magnificent deer-like horns sprouting from her cream-colored hair.

The commander of the demon legion, who served as the Demon King’s direct guard in this Lake Kingdom.

The 2nd-ranked, Demon Guard Commander ‘Cromwell’.

《We greet you, Commander!》

《We greet you, Commander!》

Clack!

As the gatekeepers saluted in unison, she smiled with satisfaction at her subordinates’ discipline and entered, making a tapping sound with her high heels.

《Do well today, you guys. You know?》

《Yes, Commander!》

The commander of the demon legion also disappeared inside, and now only one remained.

The faces of the gatekeepers waiting for the last Nightmare Legion Commander were filled with tension. And soon, the man appeared.

Thud, thud.

In a neat black and white suit, with long black hair hanging down haphazardly…

And a being with shining golden dragon eyes.

Taking the form of a human, but his essence was that of a dragon.

The 1st-ranked – Black Dragon ‘Night-Bringer’.

With a blank face that clearly expressed his boredom with everything in the world, he stretched his long limbs and entered the castle along the carpeted path.

The gatekeepers tried to greet him as they had the other commanders, but no words came out even when they opened their mouths.

《…》

《…》

The presence of the Dragon King was so overwhelming that their throats were choked.

Ignoring the gatekeepers, the Black Dragon strode into the castle and disappeared.

As his figure disappeared, the gatekeepers all sighed in relief.

《He’s really on a different level every time I see him…》

《Isn’t it disrespectful to put him in the same category as the other commanders…?》

《That Black Dragon is the same ‘Nightmare Legion Commander’ as that mere Goblin King. What standards does the King of Kings use?》

The gatekeepers, who had been murmuring, suddenly shut their mouths.

Their commander, the Demon Guard Commander Cromwell, who they thought had entered a while ago, was peeking her face out through the door.

As she made a ‘tsk’ sound, the gatekeepers immediately stood at attention and began guarding the outside.

《Do it right, you punks. Got it?》

《Yes, Commander!》

《You’re all talk… If you let the ‘Nameless One’ break through the front gate again and smear my face, I’ll kill you all.》

Sweat trickled down the backs of the gatekeepers.

It was sweat caused by the tension of a real threat, unlike before.

Cromwell, baring her fangs and running a finger across her throat, disappeared again, making the tapping sound of her heels.

The demon gatekeepers stood motionless, guarding.

It was something they had been doing for the past few hundred years.

***

The Royal Castle. The Audience Chamber.

Today, too, a shadowy figure sat on the throne, fiddling with the pieces on a chessboard.

The King of Kings of the monsters, the Demon King, opened his mouth with a welcome as all his subordinates gathered.

《You have come well, my nightmares.》

The Demon King, looking over the commanders gathered around the table, clicked his tongue briefly.

《Unfortunately, the numbers have decreased a bit.》

The 9th-ranked Lunared.

The 6th-ranked Oloop.

The 5th-ranked Selendion.

Three Nightmare Legion Commanders had fallen and died. All by one human.

The seven Nightmare Legion Commanders remaining in this place all knew the name of their opponent.

Ash-

The grandmaster who opposed the Demon King, and the guardian of the human world they had to destroy.

《Without further ado, let’s get to the point. The next ‘Great Flood’ is coming soon.》

The Demon King, crossing his legs and clasping his hands together, spoke in a leisurely voice.

《And this time, I want you to destroy the human world without fail.》

《…》

《So, I want to select someone I can trust to take charge. I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while.》

The Nightmare Legion Commanders quickly glanced at each other.

Someone the Demon King can trust to destroy the human world?

That was…

‘It’s me, isn’t it?’

…Everyone was thinking the same thing.

《The one who will participate in this Great Flood is…》

The Demon King slowly raised his hand, looked over the kings of monsters sitting at the table one by one, and then,

《It’s you.》

He pointed to one of them with his fingertip.