It's Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

* * *

After the battle ended and waiting for a while, there was a tall man approaching me.

He was the 'judge' said to have been dispatched from the Mammon Guild.

"It was an overwhelmingly impressive battle, Lady Libertas."

"I gratefully accept your praise. What's your name?"

"I'm Talaran Obersoz, head of the 1st Judgment Department of the Mammon Guild."

The man who introduced himself as Talaran Obersoz was a demon with two thick horns impressively protruding from his forehead.

Black hair and orange eyes, a burning magical pattern engraved in his pupils, muscles and grayish-brown skin visible between his suit.

Along with tattoos drawn up to the wrist extended for a handshake.

Although he's somewhat restrained in a suit, there's a strong macho feeling...

"A Bealrog, I see."

Bealrog. In human terms, Balrog.

A sub-species of demons with excellent capabilities in close combat.

They're not very good at magical abilities, but once they get close and stick to an opponent, they're berserkers who can display combat abilities beyond demons of the same rank.

"You recognize it at a glance."

"One becomes stagnant if one stops studying."

"An excellent mindset. Unlike those trash."

This 2.5-meter giant looking down at me with a smile in his eyes seemed to be quite impressed with me.

"Trash, you say..."

"Those who are neither strong nor cunning are indeed trash, Lady Libertas. Not worth associating with."

"I'm a necromancer, Talaran. There are few talents that are worthless to me."

"Ah, I see. My apologies for that."

Talaran, who burst into laughter while touching his head once, soon left first, saying he had to report on this battle.

Along with saying he'd like to meet again next time.

I turned my gaze towards the prospective corpses of the Dungeon Lords.

"Huk... huk..."

"Keurk..."

The bodies of Zarkra and Melzeros, who had become one and then split into two again, were not intact and each had lost half.

Zarkra's lower body, and Melzeros's half body split vertically.

Thwack! Thud thud...!

Among them, black eyeballs and tentacles were still growing from Zarkra's severed parts.

Anyone could see that it was impossible to save them by ordinary means.

The otherworldly creature was trying to increase its numbers using her remaining upper body, soul, and emotions as materials.

"Kill... I'll kill..."

Perhaps she had already lost her vision.

The troll queen, with eyes that reflected nothing, didn't forget to spew out her resentment while turning her head in all directions.

Thwack!

"Keuk...!"

Having received the sword from Evangeline, I swung it myself to cut off Zarkra's head.

Before even her head was consumed by the outside power, and before her pure resentment and anger were contaminated.

I felt more at ease decorating the end with my own hands.

Although it was something she brought upon herself, after all, that desperate love was real.

If you've seen something beautiful, don't you need to pay an admission fee?

I could save her too, but... she wouldn't want that.

'Even if there's nothing but suffering where you're going... may at least your journey be peaceful.'

It might not have been an appropriate prayer from the one who gave her such a miserable result, but originally, prayers for the dead are for the living.

Whether what's after death is heaven or hell, or purgatory.

There's probably nowhere for a Dungeon Lord to go but hell.

-「 」...!

Not some otherworldly place that an incomprehensible being would forcibly drag her to.

"Don't touch."

Tap.

-「 」!!!

Chureureu!

The black tentacle that grew from some unknown void towards the head trembled greatly when it touched my fingertip and then shrank back.

As if it had encountered something frightening.

Whoop!

It drooped towards the floor as if bowing, then disappeared.

Leaving behind a black, slimy substance.

It was a strange attitude.

I could see the appearance of the original world when it disappeared, but that world still had no effect on me.

I just felt the very natural emotion of seeing something aesthetically disgusting.

"It's just gross."

"You're truly amazing, Master."

"Don't give me such strange praise. This is nothing."

My other close aides and subordinates couldn't look beyond that either, all turning their heads away.

The only one looking in the same direction as me was Evangeline. Even she seemed to be straining herself, perhaps feeling some burden.

"I apologize, but has it closed now?"

"Yes. It's gone now."

I answered Ran's question and brought the tip of my staff to the slime left on the floor.

Whoosh!

Just by raising a little power, it burned and disappeared.

A clear phenomenon of power repulsion.

'I thought I might be an otherworldly being myself.'

Otherworldly beings are quite famous even on Earth, aren't they?

As a virtual faith.

I thought I might be one of them since I was so unaffected by seeing those things that have become real in this world.

Fortunately, it seems that's not the case.

I'm relieved that my original form isn't a friend of tentacles or eyeball masses.

However, the other friend who was alive beside me wasn't so lucky.

-You... what kind of being are you? The power of the otherworld fused with demons... so easily.

Melzeros's body, which initially had a grayish-white plaster-like feel, was now clearly in the form of a black slime.

"You've been contaminated too."

Not only that, but countless black bubbles were rising from his body, becoming eyeball shapes, looking around, and then bursting.

This indicated that his body was already broken.

'The circuit is breaking down too.'

The state of that circuit visible to magical sight was the same.

-That's right... it's the price.

"The price, you say."

-I thought it was... the last trump card. But to think... that you were such a being.

"Being?"

I was curious about the sound that seemed to know about my state, but he was already in no condition to answer my question.

-Me too... save me too. I don't want... to lose my existence to those things...

As he faced death and his senses were becoming numb, he just began to repeat his words endlessly.

"..."

-I thought... too lightly. Ah ah. I'm... degenerating... Kihi, ki-hihihi...

Anyway, to properly recover his legacy, it was essential to stop the 'contamination' at this point.

If left like this, even the dungeon core would be contaminated through his soul.

However, having learned of my new possibility, I just wanted to use a different method.

Squeeze...

I approached him and pressed the part thought to be the head and the connection to the body with the tip of my staff.

If my thoughts were correct, that alone should slow down the progress of the 'contamination'.

-「 」-!!

-Kuheurk...!

Unlike Zarkra, he seems to be in great pain.

In Zarkra's case, all her senses were already dead so there was no room to perceive pain, but perhaps his body didn't die so simply.

For a moment, an angry piece of the otherworld burrowed more violently into his body.

-Aaack... euheurk...!

To my eyes drawing on magic power, I could see Melzeros's body and soul screaming simultaneously.

The otherworldly creature kept trying to burrow in, disregarding his pain.

"「Retreat」."

But when I simply raised my power and said that.

Pause.

The contamination stopped.

-「 」!!

This foreign substance screamed with an indescribable sound, conveying its fear, and after a moment, half of Melzeros's remaining body disappeared again.

The otherworldly being had stopped its erosion and returned to its world.

It was a strange occurrence.

Whether its consumption of existence was out of gluttony or just instinct.

It shouldn't have been easy to stop.

-Thank... you. Thank you...

It was already impossible to save Melzeros's remaining body.

Through the cut body parts, a lump of magic power that was clearly his 'core' at a glance was leaking magic with more than half of it broken.

Even if I had saved him faster, it would have been difficult to save him completely.

'Hmm.'

It was just an effort for courtesy towards an enemy and for intact spoils of war.

As I had no particular impression of him, I felt no regret.

Cruelty is just a means to be employed when necessary.

Tok.

After preventing magic power from being recovered into the dungeon core from his body, which might still have otherworldly remnants, I fell into brief contemplation.

There was still a factor to consider.

'I'm curious about the talk of my 'existence', but...'

It wouldn't be difficult to dig through the memories of his soul.

However, I was reluctant because it was unclear how much of the memories of a soul contaminated by otherworldly power would be intact and how much would be distorted.

It wouldn't be bad to try it out...

'The origin of my existence... perhaps my parents...'

I wasn't interested in such things.

Not enough to risk danger and discomfort to dig through a soul twisted by otherworldly power.

In the end, I turned away and began giving instructions for the highlight of the war.

"Xue, Sonia. You go over with Mire's platoon and retrieve Melzeros's core."

"Okay..."

"Yes!"

"Ran and Jin Kyung, gather the surrendering forces here with the other platoons, and take oaths of secrecy from those who don't surrender."

"We'll take care of it."

"Eve. Axe. Follow me. I'd like to retrieve Zarkra's core myself."

"Yes."

That highlight was, of course, the recovery of the spoils held by the losers.

* * *

Zarkra's dungeon was a jungle type filled with greenery like her skin color.

With numerous trees lining the cave walls.

The sky was covered with thick vines, and the ground was full of unknown grasses and flowers hindering steps.

You could tell it was a dungeon because each tree was filled with magic power; otherwise, I would have suspected the gate had connected to a strange place.

"This woman..."

As we reached the end, treading on the shadows of the forest while floating in the air.

There, along with the light green dungeon core, was Zarkra's legacy that I hadn't thought of.

"...Who are you?"

Her child.

A troll woman with wise shining eyes, about the size and build of a human adult woman.

She had a pretty human-like appearance that resembled her mother more than her presumed father.

Only her hair color was red, but otherwise, she had a seductive atmosphere exactly like Zarkra.

Also, despite being presumed young, the level and density of magic power residing in her body was high, clearly indicating she was a 'child of a Dungeon Lord'.

"I wonder if they were really married."

"That's probably not the case. If Zarkra had formally married, she wouldn't have kept her husband as just a summon."

"...So she had a male lover."

"There's a high probability she was genuinely falling in love in the process."

Nodding in agreement with Evangeline's speculation, I swallowed a bitter feeling.

I never imagined that a Dungeon Lord could really become a parent.

Even though I had already confirmed that Serica was someone's child, and even though I had confirmed that I myself might have parents.

I just couldn't imagine the reverse.

'I could have children in the future, huh.'

Unconsciously rubbing my belly, I inwardly shook my head at the chills running down my spine.

The image of me smiling while holding a child among my people came to mind, but.

Before whether that's possible or impossible.

'It's disgusting.'

Me, with my twisted love, who can't even separate affection from possessiveness right now.

Even if it's my child, there's no way I could give wholehearted love.

'A child growing up under such a person couldn't possibly grow up whole.'

That was a different dimension from me accepting my possessiveness.

I had no intention of bringing another being into this world to grow up unhappily.

'What should I do.'

I stood at a crossroads of choice.

Although their parents' relationship wasn't ordinary, I had killed both this woman's mother and father.

"I am the one who killed your parents."

"Ah..."

Bitter truth and sweet lies.

Among them, what I chose was the former.

Because she is not someone I need to protect, and she may not even need protection.

If so, lies would only hinder her survival ability.

"...I see. As expected."

As expected, she was very calm.

Of course she would be.

'With this level of magic power, her cognitive abilities would be no different from an adult's.'

The magic power she possesses is at a high level even by normal standards. For a Dungeon Lord, it's at the average or formal level.

Children born with such strong talent for magic power develop faster than other children of the same age.

Because they can do more than ordinary children.

'Rather than a genius, it's just like that.'

Literally, it's no different from being born with one more invisible hand or foot from babyhood, so they perceive and manipulate things much faster.

Although her actual age might be younger, in human terms, she should be considered much older.

Both her body and mind.

"I have no intention of passing down the grudge between your parents and me to you. However..."

There were three options given to Zarkra's child.

If she doesn't know who I am yet, she could leave here unharmed.

If she says she knows who I am.

'Either die or live as if dead.'

"..."

Although I didn't explain everything, she seemed to understand what I had in mind.

Looking up at me with eyes that didn't reflect light, she.

"Please..."

Bowed her body in a posture of submission that anyone could recognize.

"...Allow me to retrieve at least my parents' bodies."

"Don't you resent me?"

"For demons and monsters, power and struggle are like life itself. I have no intention of directing resentment for parents lost in a war we started towards you, Lady, who are the victim."

"How mature."

A child having an adult's cognition and truly 'becoming an adult' are completely different stories.

Was her mother excellent?

Or is it her outstanding nature?

In my eyes, her appearance was sufficiently valuable.

Whether she was sharpening a knife of resentment or was sincere.

"What is your name?"

"It's Piera."

That was the moment when what had been mere assumption until then turned into certainty.

It was a name that reminded me of 'Whira Juul', who I thought might be her father.

But there will be no need to use that name from now on.

"From now on, I'll call you Berghrisa."

"I accept the new name."

Berghrisa, or Berghrisar.

'Mountain giant'.

It was her new name.