Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. – Chapter 165 – D-Rank Labyrinth: The Rainy Murder Manor (4)

Author: Cireng

Chapter 165 – D-Rank Labyrinth: The Rainy Murder Manor (4)

Shhhhhhh—!!

Rain poured down in torrents. The weeds that had grown wildly throughout the abandoned manor’s courtyard swayed happily as they were drenched by the downpour.

Slash!

The trident sliced through the rain… only to cut down an innocent weed instead of the Demon King. [Sin: Sloth] had bent its trajectory.

“…”

Before the Demon King’s fist could land, the Slayer immediately widened the distance between them.

Movement worthy of a Level 4 opponent. With the rain further enhancing his physical abilities, he became even faster.

“You’re improving more and more!”

Standing perfectly upright without moving from his spot, the Demon King shouted loudly.

“The essence of offense and defense is this: land all of your own attacks while dodging every attack from your opponent! Keep that firmly in mind as you fight!”

At some point, it had stopped being a battle and become something closer to practical training. A warm and friendly sparring session… taking place inside a labyrinth classified as Horror.

Crunch!

The cautiously advancing Slayer staggered after taking a punch to the face.

At first, the Demon King had been overwhelmingly outmatched. But after continuously consuming positive concepts, the gap had narrowed to a merely unfavorable position.

The Slayer still held the advantage, yet the difference in combat experience between them was immense.

Thrust!

The trident pierced the Demon King’s thigh.

Naturally… the next instant, it had merely struck the ground beside his leg.

The power of 10th-Tier [Sin: Sloth]. Considering that the Sin series advanced by accumulating an enormous amount of practical usage, reaching the Tenth Tier meant the Nameless Demon King had experienced countless real battles.

Smack!

Another punch struck the masked face. Repeated impacts had left faint cracks across the mask.

“Hoooo…”

Exhaling deeply, the Slayer spun his trident overhead.

Whoooosh!

Empowered by the rain, an enormous quantity of water transformed into flying blades, spears, and whirlpools. The rain blades spread across the air. The spears were prepared to charge straight ahead. Meanwhile, the whirlpool slowly encircled the Demon King, gradually tightening.

[This attack has clearly surpassed the level of a Fourth-Tier Mystery!]

I’d never seen anything like this. Then again, I’d never entered The Rainy Murder Manor alongside an overwhelmingly powerful being like the Nameless Demon King before.

‘Just what level is the Demon King…? At least Level 10… Could he actually be Level 11?’

From Level 6 onward, raising one’s Soul Rank became so painfully slow that it was known as the Wall of Hardship.

The required experience increased exponentially. By Level 10, it had become so absurdly difficult that most people believed nothing existed beyond it.

[I look forward to the moment the Demon King regains His true Rank!]

So did I. Exploring labyrinths alongside someone this absurdly powerful. At this rate… couldn’t we challenge an A-Rank labyrinth simply by trusting the Demon King?

BOOOOM!!

The battle had become so one-sided that I found myself drifting into idle thoughts. Meanwhile, the swirling waters continued closing around the Demon King.

“Now this is truly impressive!”

… Apparently, he wasn’t suffocating at all.

A moment later, the ever-increasing rain blades descended all at once like a torrential downpour. The water spears charged from the front.

“No matter how often one experiences pain, it remains difficult to regard it positively.”

The Demon King formed a massive, thick umbrella out of demonic energy, blocking every rain blade. At the same moment, He bent the incoming spears away with [Sin: Sloth]… and in that brief instant, the trident thrust through the whirlpool.

It was an attack that accurately targeted [Sin: Sloth’s] weakness: it could not twist causality against attacks. He failed to perceive with His own eyes.

“…Magnificent observation.”

The trident sank into the Demon King’s side. This time, He failed to rewrite the outcome.

Of course… the outcome in which the Slayer got punched remained equally unchanged.

“Everything was excellent. But one thing was lacking.”

Grabbing the shaft of the trident embedded in His side, the Demon King reached through the whirlpool… and seized the Slayer by the throat.

“With such a perfect attack… You should have taken my life. You should have aimed for my head… or my heart.”

Lifting the Slayer high with one hand, the Demon King slammed him into the ground.

Once. Twice. A third time. If I’d been the one hit, my spine probably would’ve shattered on the very first slam.

“…Urgh…”

The Slayer… who had acted as though he felt no pain whatsoever… finally let out a pained groan.

“You are angry with the world.”

Pinning the Slayer’s limbs so he couldn’t move, the Demon King spoke quietly.

“A king must embrace even His most pitiful subjects. Allow me to consume your wrath.”

Fsssshh…

A thick crimson aura flowed from the Slayer’s body, absorbed into the Demon King’s.

[Sin: Wrath]. A Sin-type Mystery that accepted the anger of others, transforming it into monsters or weapons.

The crimson energy continued pouring out in waves.

‘So much of it…’

“…Grrrgh!”

Even as his anger was extracted, the Slayer still raged furiously.

Naturally, [Sin: Wrath] merely extracted emotions. It couldn’t rewrite someone’s rotten nature.

“First… This should be removed. How dare you wear such a thing before Me.”

The Demon King grabbed the mask and began pulling.

Instead of coming off, the Slayer only struggled even more violently.

“Grand duke. How does one remove this?”

“It cannot be obtained until the Slayer dies.”

More precisely, it was the hidden reward earned by fulfilling the secret condition for killing him.

Normally, you had to exhaust the Slayer until he could no longer summon water, then lure him into a trap crafted from tools scattered throughout the manor.

However, for those blessed with a sturdy body, society unfairly allowed the brain to slack off while the muscles suffered.

“What a shame. I wished to speak face-to-face with such an exceptional warrior.”

As the Demon King shook His head regretfully, the extraction finished. An enormous mass of viscous crimson energy rested within His hand.

“Let us end this.”

Rumble…

The extracted Wrath violently twisted into shape. A spear made entirely of flesh. Its skin was covered in horrific lacerations, while veins writhed across it as though alive.

“Our battle was quite enjoyable. Farewell.”

The Demon King drove the spear of flesh downward.

CRUNCH!!

A clean thrust straight through the Slayer’s heart. After convulsing violently for a few moments, the Slayer finally went limp.

Soon afterward, a blue gate materialized in the center of the courtyard.

“Is it over?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

D-Rank Labyrinth – The Rainy Murder Manor.

Successfully experienced.

“Your Majesty. It’s time to collect the spoils.”

I removed the mask from the fallen Slayer’s face.

The instant the mask came off, his body violently twisted and transformed… from an ordinary human… into something resembling a fish-man straight out of some cosmic squid mythology.

A Merfolk… a race that normally lived near water.

“Hm. A Merfolk.”

“Would you like me to explain why he abandoned the sea, lived as a human inside this manor, and devoted himself to murder?”

“No.”

The Demon King brushed His rain-soaked hair back.

“No doubt it would simply be one tragic event after another. That belongs to the realm of negative concepts. I’d rather not hear it.”

True enough. Stories explaining villains’ pasts were often derisively called emotional manipulation or whitewashing.

Kneeling on one knee, I presented the mask.

[Masterpiece – Mask of Caprice (Incomplete)]

[While wearing it, one can alter the form of one’s body. Through magical or ritualistic means, the mask can even be rendered invisible to others… but due to a past one would rather not examine, it remains unfinished.]

Once completed, it would become an outstanding infiltration tool.

The Demon King already possessed a Mystery capable of freely altering His body, so He had no need for it. Still, as His subject, I asked.

“Would You like to keep it?”

“Grand Duke Karr. You may have it.”

“Thank You.”

I immediately stored it inside my subspace.

Next, I picked up the trident.

[Masterwork – Shower Trident]

[While held, it allows control over nearby water.]

In places without water, it was little more than a prop for pretending to be Poseidon. A somewhat disappointing weapon. Still, it possessed excellent durability.

Even after blocking the Demon King’s fists several times, it hadn’t suffered a single scratch.

“That… I shall take.”

“You use weapons as well?”

“Indeed.”

I still knew almost nothing about the Nameless Demon King. I didn’t even know His Class.

“If I may ask… What is Your Class?”

Taking the trident, the Demon King examined it while answering,

“Enchanter.”

“…”

Enchanter. A Mage-class specializing in enchanting tools, equipment, and bodies.

“…You were a mage?”

No wonder He was absurdly overpowered.

“I do not identify as one.”

Spinning the trident gracefully, the Demon King rested it upon His shoulder.

“I am merely a single member of the Demon Race. The concept of ‘mage’ cannot presume to confine Me.”

“A truly admirable mindset. After all, mages are a negative concept.”

Rather than belonging to one of the game’s blatantly overpowered, developer-favored Classes, it was wiser to simply live as a member of the Demon Race.

“That doesn’t really sound negative… But it isn’t positive either, is it?”

“…True enough.”

“Then You should erase the concept of ‘magic’ the most negative category of Mysteries in existence, from Your mind.”

Having offered appropriate advice befitting a loyal retainer, I returned to where I’d previously been hanging upside down to collect the final reward.

The room was a complete mess. The only object left completely intact… still preserving its original form… was an antique painting hanging on the wall.

It depicted a raging sea caught within a violent whirlpool.

[Entrance to [Sea of Madness].]

[To think another labyrinth entrance was hidden in a place like this?!]

The hidden reward obtainable only by killing the Slayer… the true reason people explored The Rainy Murder Manor at all. Since entry was made by diving into the painting itself, it could be carried around safely.

“An entrance to another labyrinth. What rank?”

“B-Rank.”

Among B-Rank labyrinths, its difficulty stood near the absolute top.

Its rewards, however, were practically A-Rank quality.

“Let us explore it together someday. As a member of our Moonlight Expedition.”

“…”

The Demon King silently gazed at me, then smiled.

“Very well. However… I shall only accompany you from time to time.”

“May I ask why?”

“Because if I were present… every hardship would be overcome too easily.”

His still-damp hand thoroughly ruffled my hair.

“Grand Duke Karr…. You would not enjoy such a boring expedition, would you? I have no wish to steal My subject’s enjoyment. That would not be a positive thing.”

“…Your Majesty!”

Deeply moved, I immediately prostrated myself flat upon the ground.

“This Karr hereby swears, as Your Majesty’s hands and feet, to diligently produce positive concepts from this day forward!”

Grand Duke of the New Demon Realm. I’d found my lifelong career.

***

“And so… His Majesty has officially joined us.”

“…”

Odilon’s room. The sickly young master leisurely sipped wine while examining the Demon King’s flawless physique. Then he frowned.

“If he’s too strong, that’ll be troublesome. My older brother and older sister might join forces and start scheming against us.”

In truth, whenever Odilon recruited an explorer who was too exceptional, schemes such as sowing discord, slander, and spreading malicious rumors descended almost daily.

“That won’t be a problem. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”

“Naturally.”

Crack…

Bones and muscles twisted. The Demon King’s appearance changed. Hair that gleamed even while standing still. Pure white wings spread from His back.

“…A Celestial?”

A race that had opposed Demons since ancient times. Examining His transformed body, the Demon King spoke.

“Will this suffice? I’ve adjusted My Rank to approximately Level 2. More accurately, the aftereffects of the sealing ritual prevent Me from going any higher.”

The Ninth-Tier Mystery, [Sovereign’s Concealment]. It allowed Him to freely alter both His appearance and Soul Rank.

“That should be enough. But why choose a Celestial?”

“Because everyone admires those Celestial prudes. ‘Admiration’ is a positive concept.”

“…I suppose it is.”

Surprisingly, the notoriously picky Odilon accepted the explanation almost immediately.

“Your Majesty. What name shall You use?”

“Grand Duke Karr. You recommend one.”

It was an unexpectedly burdensome request.

Fortunately, I happened to possess a talent for naming things.

“Reficul.”

From Demon… to Celestial.

Reverse Lucifer… so I simply reversed the English spelling.