Chapter 20: Chapter 19

19 – Dungeon Training – 7

Suddenly, he stretched out his body, fixing the part turning into roots firmly onto the ground, as his absurdly oversized upper half came flying at me.

His left arm, tightly armored with no visible weaknesses, swung sideways in an attempt to squash me into the ground. I held off his arm with the staff but couldn’t avoid being pushed back by the recoil.

There wasn’t a single scratch where he had hit the staff.

“Is that all you’ve got? That’s it?”

The Maker peered down at me, almost tauntingly, with its single eye. The only spot not armored, perfect for anyone without prior knowledge to assume it was a weakness and aim for.

That bastard was setting me up for it.

It seemed as though the uncovered eye was a weak spot, but as one could guess from the entirety covered in bones and only the eye exposed, it was nothing more than a decoy. That eye could be there, or not, it wouldn’t matter. The minute it was attacked up close, it would release a fatal poison gas. And of course, long-range attacks were irrespective as they were easily blocked.

In the original story, even the hero gets duped once. This is where Aria comes in to provide a cure, but it was never elaborated on how she did so, except for her blushing.

“Perhaps someone without any aesthetic sense like you wouldn’t know, but do you think I would fall for that?”

“You insolent retch!!”

Screaming and bellowing, he lunged at me. Catching or dodging his flailing limbs, I moved as if I was aiming for the glaring eye.

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If the weakness lies in plain sight, the enemy might find it suspicious. Therefore, he pretended to guard his eye. His acting was quite impressive. Without prior knowledge, it would have been hard to suspect anything.

Luckily, I had the knowledge passed on by Priscilla.

“I won’t let you get away with thisssssssss!!!!”

After a few exchanges of blows and continuous taunting about his sense of art, it seemed like the right time as the Maker stopped guarding and lunged in with full force.

‘So he wants me to stab him now, huh?’

I pretended to take the bait. Aiming Eternity at his eye, I threw it into the ground.

As the gap closed, the Maker suddenly made a gap to guard his eye. It was subtle enough to seem like he hadn’t had time to block due to urgency.

‘What a cheap trick.’

I pretended to stab his eye with Eternity, but instead, I created a spear made of pure mana and engraved a magic circle on it and hurled it. The spear made of mana aimed at the Maker’s mouth and flew off swiftly.

“Nooooooo-!”

The Maker gasped in genuine surprise. He tried to block it with his mouth, but the spear was too fast.

His actual weakness was located just below his eye, at the center of his head. Obviously, it was nearly impossible to strike it with ordinary means, and one had to aim through his unprotected mouth.

I had been waiting for him to grow larger. As his size increased, it was easier to aim at his mouth.

-‘Kwaang!’

The mana spear, penetrating through all of his teeth and into his throat, exploded. A blue and red light leaked from his mouth.

“Kuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaak!”

His elongated body shrunk back to its original size. The Maker, unable to bear the pain, let out a grotesque scream as his body started to glow while fluctuating in colors.

His feet touched the ground. His eyes, filled with pain, glared at me. I smirked in return.

“Aren’t the color and size changing a bit too often? Don’t you have any artistic sense?”

“I swear I’ll kill youuuuuuu……!”

He spoke with intense anger and came at me. However, he could only weaken me, not kill me. His true body, the core, was in the Demon Realm. Only by destroying that could he be killed.

His arm, fortified with bones, reached out to me, but there was no way it could touch me.

-Thump!

“Are you okay, Mira Crate?”

“What’s going on?!”

The reason was that the President had abruptly emerged, literally shattering a side of the dungeon. He was dressed in a skirt suit and white shirt, with long, jet-black hair flowing.

The President, who had shattered both the attack aimed at me and the dungeon wall at the same time, trudged over to the Maker with his long, black hair flapping. His vertical golden pupils shone ominously.

“Is it you who dared to enter here without fear, Maker?”

“Oh my, oh my! Isn’t it ‘Dark Dragon’ Meligor! Today must be my lucky day!”

The Maker, who had been simmering in fury, suddenly shifted his demeanor and greeted him with a sharp look, just like when we first met. It was such a dramatic change that it stunned me.

-Bang!

With the sound of something bursting, half of his upper body flew away. The eye on his head glanced at the shattered body and chuckled.

“You still have quite the harsh greeting!”

“Do not call me by that filthy name.”

“Are you denying your identity? Even though you may currently bear the form of a human female, you used to wreak havoc—”

This time, the other half of his body got blown away. But the Maker only chuckled.

“You’ve become weak, Meligor. Really weak. If you were still the you from the past, you would have buried me in the dungeon at once! Where did all that brutality go?”

The last remaining head twisted grotesquely. Like wringing a cloth, the skull and neck rotated in opposite directions. Instead of water, flesh, blood, and chunks of meat dripped down profusely.

His last voice echoed throughout the dungeon.

“I’ll see you soon, Mr. Meligor! You should know that the Devil King’s favor towards you hasn’t waned…!”

The President, looking both embarrassed and angry, stared at the place where the Maker disappeared, then smashed the dungeon core with a swipe of his arm.

The surroundings that had been demonized slowly began to return to their original state. It seemed that the demonization hadn’t gone on for long, so the change was temporary.

“…Are you injured anywhere?”

While asking about my condition, the President sneaked glances at me with a worried look. It seemed to be because of the conversation he had just had with the Maker.

Well, I didn’t care. It was all stuff I had heard from Priscilla anyway. And I was informed of how the President would rather meet his end fighting against the demonic army than ever betray mankind.

This was in contrast to the outcry from several nobles saying, “Can’t someone who has betrayed once betray twice?”

“You really are amazing, President. You killed him before he even had the chance to speak.”

“…”

“Still, you should have at least attempted a conversation. It seemed like he had something to say.”

Upon understanding the implication of my words, the President initially looked surprised, but soon, a compassionate smile arose on his face.

“Is there any worth in listening to what a guy like that has to say? I don’t think so.”

The President approached me. Then, looking me up and down, he released a sigh of relief when he saw that I was fine.

Up close, he was very tall. I’m over 180 cm tall myself, but even I had to look up to meet his gaze.

“First of all, I sincerely regret that my student was put in such a situation. Being confronted with the Division 3 Commander and the Demonization is too much for a student to bear.”

“I’m fine. It doesn’t bother me.”

I’d seen worse situations a few times before. Besides, it’s not like I got trapped here against my will. I had chances to escape, but chose to stay. So, it’s no one’s fault.

But the President gave a bitter smile, seeming to think I was trying to act tough.

“……You should head back now. I’ll escort you out safely.”

“Understood.”

As the wall was demolished, the view of Bellium forest appeared. Professors were spread out around the forest, purifying it of its demonization.

I immediately went in for a debrief, but after giving a brief testimonial, I was released.

Both Diana and Warden had given testimonies before me, and all the professors agreed with the President’s suggestion that I needed a break, given the shock I might have experienced.

“I’m really okay.”

Nonetheless, she felt somewhat relieved not to have to undertake psychological therapy and physical therapy simultaneously like the two who had escaped earlier. She would have had to rest for at least a week.

“It’s fine, right? It’s real, right?”

However, she couldn’t completely avoid it all. This was because Priscilla, who had run all the way to the entrance of the Bellium forest, wouldn’t let go of her tear-filled embrace.

“Yeah, what you told me helped. We’ve found his weakness. He won’t be able to come out for a while.”

“…I’m relieved. Really.”

As she was trying to calm the sobbing Priscilla, her eyes met with those of the Crown Prince, who was looking at her from quite close.

The Crown Prince showed a sticky smile after seeing her surprisingly startled expression then left after waving his hand a few times. Annoyingly uncomfortable, she hugged Priscilla more tightly, and Priscilla also put strength in her arms.

The next event was the arrival of a woman with a face she had never seen before.

“Our lovely baby nun, didn’t I clearly tell you not to get your clothes dirty, hmm?”

“Kyaaaak! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“So, you’re sorry? Then you should be punished, right? Where should we start? Tongue? Teeth? Eyes? Fingers?”

“I did wrong! I did wrong! Please forgive me just once! Please…!”

The woman, with her silver hair, was shocked when she met the gaze of the protagonist, as she was roughly pulling the nun’s hair and dragging her into the Bellium forest.

Due to this, the nun, who was being dragged by the hair, fell to the ground. But the silver-haired woman, not even bothering to look at the nun, was shocked as she alternately looked at her own hands and the protagonist.

Then she opened her mouth in a trembling voice.

“…Get lost.”

“…Excuse me?”@@novelbin@@

“Leave before I change my mind!”

“Yes, yes! I understand.”

Not even bothering to tidy up her messy hair or her dirt-covered clothes, the nun ran away as quickly as possible. When only the three of them were left, the silver-haired woman slowly approached me.

“What the heck is that crazy outfit?”

The woman was wearing something too miserable to even call it a dress.

She wore a white cloth triangle around her neck that barely covered her collarbones, and under that, something half-covered her chest.

The only thing connecting whatever was supporting her breasts was a thread that was connected to a star hanging above her breastbone.

The thread that was connected below the star went into the chest bone and came out from under the chest, where it widened like a string. A single string starting from below her breasts was all that covered her privates.

On her lower body, she wore something that looked like black stockings cut vertically. The only thing that could indeed be called clothing was the veil flipped onto her head.

The silver-haired woman in the strange clothes was muttering something endlessly between her lips. As her voice was too fast and low to understand, her blood-red compound eyes did not leave mine.

Priscilla whispered softly.

“That lady is the candidate for the Holy Lady I mentioned. Her name is Rosaria Leone de Michaela.”

“… I think the point about her being crazy is 100% right.”

It could be inferred just by seeing her clothes and the action she was about to commit. I was sure. That woman is definitely crazy.

“Hey, you… I need to see you. Right now.”

“Why me?”

Rosaria, with wide eyes, seemed to never expect that I would react this way.

“…Why? Seeing that, do you know who I am?”

“Of course. You’re the candidate for the Holy Lady.”

“Then you should know how important I am, so you respond like that? Are you prepared for the consequences?”

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“Why should I care whether you’re important or not?”

If I were to summarize my first impression of this woman, it would be the worst. I had no intention of obediently following what such a person said.

Rosaria, who was glaring at me as if about to devour me, took a step back first and let out a sigh.

“Alright, damn it. The one in a hurry should hold back. Okay, come to my room later in the evening. I’ll send someone to let you know where it is.”

“You don’t want that, either?”

“…What?”

“Is that how a person requesting would behave?”

I was the one in a commanding position here. If she continued like this, she’s the one that would be at a loss, not me. As expected, Rosaria could only tremble her fists, nothing more.

“…Alright. Then what should I do?”

“You should request. Of course, in a polite manner.”

”…”

Rosaria chewed her lips. But, as she had no other options, she eventually started talking.

“I’ll… request. Could you please come to my room… later?”

“Okay. I told you that I’d send someone to tell you the location, right? You can go now.”

I gestured for her to leave. Rosaria walked away, her eyes gleaming.

Priscilla’s explanation was spot on. That woman was indeed crazy. I playfully ruffled my hair in self-praise.

“Hm… “

Priscilla seemed confused but decided to enjoy the moment.

I spent the rest of the day with Priscilla and only went to see Rosaria at almost 9pm. After all, I only said I would visit later but didn’t specify an exact time.

Rosaria had rented out the entire top floor of the female dormitory.

“Are you here?”

Rosaria, wearing something hardly appropriate to be called clothes, greeted me while sitting on her bed, her face flushed.

I was taken aback. The murderous aura I saw in the forest and her current demeanor were polar opposites. It was as if a completely different person was in front of me.

But, remembering all the stories I’d heard and what I’d seen first-hand, I remained on guard.

“So, what’s the issue?”

Instead of replying, Rosaria slowly started approaching me, her bloodshot eyes gleaming sharply.

“Just one thing before we continue. Have you ever had sex?”

“…?”

What on earth is this woman saying? Seeing my stunned expression, Rosaria moved closer.

“What, you’ve never had it? That’s such a waste for your face and body. Well, never mind. It’s my first time, too. If it’s the first time for both of us, it’s better we start right away.”

“Start what-“

Before I could complete my question, Rosaria ripped off the star on her chest. As the thread barely holding her ample bosom broke, her breasts sprung forward violently.

Something pink that was concealed under a lone strap was revealed as if magic had stripped it away. I had felt that something was missing at the top, and it seemed magic had been involved.

“What else would we do in such a situation besides having sex? Well, first let me know your preferences. Do you want me to suck you off first? Or do you want to go straight to screwing and stuffing me?”

Listening to Rosaria’s brazen words, I squeezed my throbbing head, feeling wobbly.

“Priscilla…”

Yeah, she said she was crazy, but she didn’t say just how crazy.