Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 44 - C-Rank Dungeon: Nightmare World (2)

Chapter 44 – C-Rank Dungeon: Nightmare World (2)

 

Cultists and dark mages.

In the present era, they were merely unfortunate classes.

But in the future, a thousand years later, as depicted by Nightmare World, they were overwhelmingly powerful.

Enemies capable of wielding strength impossible in reality pursued us relentlessly.

“Solitary Silence!”

A serpent-shaped flame shot toward us.

[De·vo·ur·er].

A terrifying Fourth-Tier Mystery of Solitary Silence, whose official name even included the interpuncts.

FWOOOOSH—!

The flaming serpent swept across the ground, sending a scorching blast of hot wind through the area.

Hot.

It hadn’t even touched me, yet my skin already felt as though it were burning.

“Devour them!”

At the same time, rows of razor-sharp fangs materialized in midair.

Sixth-Tier Dark Magic… Demonic Fangs.

CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

The Mystery capable of chewing apart the fragile bodies of intelligent beings like pieces of meat surrounded us from every direction.

Minor curses were mixed in among them as well.

Every single attack flying at us was capable of effortlessly disabling one of my party members.

So… I ran forward and took every single one of them myself.

“…Hm.”

The flaming serpent set my head and shoulders ablaze.

The fangs ground away at my limbs.

The searing agony… The pain of being consumed like meat…

I endured all of it through the combination of Veil That Defers Wounds, Ghoul’s Mobility, and the transcendent patience I’d developed from constantly being chewed out by Manager Choi, that evil ghost.

Then I uncorked another recovery potion.

“This way!”

By absorbing the uninterrupted barrage with my own body…

A small opening finally appeared.

“……”

Without missing the opportunity, Rosalia immediately stepped on my shoulder, vaulted into the air, and hurled shimmering shuriken one after another.

An Assassin-class Mystery that briefly forced those struck by it to relive their most horrifying memories… Dream Shuriken.

“G-gh… GAAAH!”

“…Dad, please! Solitude is chewing my body to pieces…!”

Tearful screams… Shouts of utter despair…

Rose from every direction.

Blood sprayed into the air moments later.

Faced with an assassin fighting at full power, the enemy demons panicked.

Even so, they began preparing more powerful dark magic.

“Would you kindly look this way?!”

I transformed my right arm into lightning and fired it wildly in every direction.

At the same time, I continued taking every De·vo·ur·er and Demonic Fangs attack with my own body.

“You blasphemous rebel who dares reject death! Be swallowed by Silent Solitude!”

The Watcher of Solitary Silence governed inevitable death.

For His priests…

Simply refusing to die over and over again was more than enough to provoke them.

The dark mages were staring at me for an entirely different reason.

“Th-that bastard’s actually insane! How is he enduring that?!”

The furious priests.

The horrified dark mages.

Perhaps because my reckless struggle left such a strong impression…

Every enemy’s attention became focused on me.

“Asmi!”

As I deliberately drew aggro through exaggerated movements while blocking the encirclement attacks…

Pendrick, whose movements had been restricted until now, dashed past me.

Slash!

The famed sword wrapped in a starlight aura carved through the demons one after another.

With the warrior rampaging in the middle of the enemy ranks…

The battlefield had become perfect for an assassin who could become one with the shadows.

“…Beware the harvester of sudden death!”

Only after the two highest-level priests had already fallen did the others finally focus on defense.

But they were too late.

“Why… won’t my limbs…?”

Because Fresh Companion, the Crimson Death Rose, had already cut through the darkness…

Scattering paralysis poison only onto the enemies.

While the priests murmured in confusion… Pendrick swung his sword in one massive arc.

“Ghk!”

The head of a Level 4 dark mage who had been caught off guard flew clean off.

Pendrick’s current level was only 2.

But his absurdly overpowered Trait… Master of the Sword…

Turned the ordinary First-Tier Mystery Powerful Slash into an attack possessing the might of a Level 4 swordsman.

Furthermore… Mages had only one significant weakness.

Their fragile bodies.

As long as you struck a vital point in a surprise attack…

Even a low-level explorer could kill them.

 

[Remaining Vitality: 50/100]

[Remaining Sanity: 20/100]

 

I’d taken a ridiculous amount of punishment.

Yet I still had room to spare.

As I drank another Vitality Recovery Potion…

One of the few remaining priests shouted,

“Don’t think this is over!”

For a moment, I trembled, thinking they were about to perform the cultists’ ultimate trump card… A Self-Sacrifice Ritual.

But… It turned out to be nothing more than his final line before fleeing.

They ran away.

“…We did it.”

Pendrick sighed in relief before collapsing onto the spot.

He’d been caught in the dark mages’ counterattack and had injured his shoulder.

“……”

Rosalia, who emerged from behind me…

Wasn’t in much better shape. She smelled faintly of burnt flesh.

Apparently, she’d been caught in the flames.

“Good work, everyone.”

After giving both of them Vitality Recovery Potions…

I waited until my throat, partially melted by the heat, had recovered enough to speak again.

“We’re almost there now.”

Even after arriving…

We wouldn’t be able to rest comfortably for long.

Still… It would be a brief moment of relief.

I forced my battered legs to keep moving, leading my exhausted companions onward.

Just as I started feeling an overwhelming urge to simply throw myself onto the ground and roll around…

A small house appeared within my vision, which still hadn’t adjusted to the darkness.

“…A house?”

Pendrick spoke uncertainly.

Perhaps he thought exhaustion was making him hallucinate.

“It’s closer to a vacation home than a house.”

If time permitted…

I’d happily give a long explanation.

But this wasn’t the moment.

The priests and dark mages were still searching for us.

“I’ll go in first.”

Walking over to a window…

I transformed my right eye into the Blind Raven.

Caw.

“I’m counting on you.”

The raven nodded.

Then pecked through the lower portion of the window with its beak.

I slipped my arm through the opening and unlocked it from inside.

Once again… I found myself grateful to Kato Roger, the creator of those MiTube videos.

He’d gone so far as to explain the structure of windows inside Nightmare World.

That man really had been meticulous in every conceivable way.

Caw.

“Good work.”

When I stroked its head…

The Blind Raven happily tilted it before returning to my empty eye socket.

I stepped inside.

The interior… Like the outside…

Was wrapped in absolute silence.

“Rosalia.”

The moment I quietly called her name…

The assassin, quieter than anyone else, immediately appeared beside me.

“There’s a room upstairs. The owner should be living there. He probably has no idea we’ve entered. If possible… I’d prefer him alive.”

At this point… Further explanation was unnecessary.

“……”

When it came to matters within her specialty…

No one moved faster than the elf Rosalia.

She immediately vanished into the darkness.

Meanwhile… I led Pendrick to a nearby sofa and sat down heavily.

“Let’s rest for a bit.”

“…Alright.”

Even the normally energetic genius swordsman found this difficult.

He immediately stretched himself out.

“How much longer can we rest?”

Astrimia sounded tired as well after being swung around so fiercely.

Ignoring the curses permeating my entire body…

I answered,

“At most… About fifteen minutes.”

“So we can’t rest for very long…”

“Even so… I’ll gladly take what we can get.”

Inside Nightmare World…

This qualified as a luxurious hideout.

We were just beginning to enjoy our brief, precious rest… When Rosalia returned.

Dragging behind her a bound figure whose entire body had been tied up.

She held him by the hair with one hand.

 

[Dream Tourist Kyriaka (Demon, 37 years old). A high-ranking demon who came here on vacation through dreams. Hobby: locking an entire human family together, pretending he’ll spare the sole survivor, then killing everyone anyway.]

 

“He’s not a cultist or a dark mage…”

Just an ordinary demon?

“Exactly.”

Creatures like him were scattered throughout the vast Nightmare World.

“Demons survive by feeding upon the negative emotions emitted by intelligent beings. City of Pleasure exists as a human ranch inside dreams, created so they can periodically feast upon ‘base desires.'”

That was why…

If someone stayed inside the guest room doing absolutely nothing…

They would eventually be dragged into the Nightmare World hidden beneath the great city.

To put it another way… It was no different from a fish farmer pulling a diseased fish out of the water to dispose of it.

“Fortunately, the demons in reality aren’t wealthy enough to create and maintain a place like this. So you don’t need to worry.”

“Yes…That’s very reassuring…!”

“I’m about to perform a ritual. We don’t have much time. So I’d appreciate everyone’s help.”

Following my instructions…

Rosalia removed all of the demon’s clothing.

Pendrick arranged stones in a circle.

Then placed candles around them.

Together, they completed a simple shrine and altar.

Meanwhile… I carefully prepared the offering.

‘Perhaps I’ll do it this way today.’

First… I laid the demon flat on his back.

Then I crossed both hands behind his head…

And rested his left leg casually atop his bent right knee.

The posture of someone reclining comfortably.

Today’s preparation ended there.

The evil god receiving today’s sacrifice preferred meals served raw.

“O sovereign who twists the earth with pitch-black lightning, and bestows dark dignity and authority… The offering prepared for You awaits.”

Recipe: Relaxed Raw Demon.

An offering that took advantage of a demon’s naturally attractive appearance, though not quite rivaling elves, and their gloomy disposition, which loved dark surroundings.

“Sue’je. Your meal is ready.”

CRACKLE!!

Black lightning burst from the tattoo across my collarbone… Instantly swallowing the offering.

The demon’s body blackened from head to toe in a single instant.

Violent electricity coursed through my own body as well.

Fortunately…

I had already controlled it using Black Lightning Bloom.

So I avoided the unfortunate fate of being roasted alive alongside the sacrifice.

【Delicious again, Pretty One!】

When the offering had burned beyond recognition into ash…

The Exalted One began delivering a revelation.

【You’re the best after all. Why don’t you abandon that old fossil and come completely into My embrace even now?】

Even though he chattered away enthusiastically…

Unlike before… I felt no dizziness.

No splitting headache.

The golden stole… Radiant Faith…

Allowed smooth communication with divine beings.

【Come here! Mwah!】

The raging lightning returned after finishing its meal…

Brushing against my right cheek.

A true cultist should always take the initiative to do whatever pleases their god.

“Would you mind doing the other side as well? This time… A little longer.”

Somewhere unimaginably distant within my mind… A creepy old man’s laugh…

“‘Hehehehehe…'”

… Echoed faintly.

【Hoo… Karr, Pretty One. Don’t tease me any further. It makes me want to hug you tightly!】

The moment an insignificant intelligent being was directly embraced by an Exalted One…

They would transform into something akin to a monster.

And it wasn’t just Sue’je.

If any evil god loved a cultist too excessively…

That cultist would quickly lose their sanity and become a mindless abomination.

That was why the Trait that earned the affection of all evil gods… [True Believer]

Wasn’t actually considered particularly desirable.

【I’d love to spend the whole night talking with you like this… but that would cause problems, wouldn’t it?】

The lightning that had flowed across my left cheek finally returned…

Being absorbed back into the tattoo on my collarbone.

【Now then… what shall I give you this time? Do you want a Mystery?】

“Not this time.”

The key to conquering Nightmare World… Wasn’t another Mystery.

“I wish for a Divine Relic.”

A Divine Relic.

A miraculous object imbued with divine power.

Simply put… The item equivalent of a Mystery.

“Please grant me…”

Sky Invader.