Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 46 - C-Rank Dungeon: Nightmare World (4)

Chapter 46 – C-Rank Dungeon: Nightmare World (4)

 

The White Land that formed part of Nightmare World’s completion conditions was unmistakably out of place.

A pure white fragment dropped into the middle of endless darkness.

A tiny white speck that simply could not be hidden.

Its color stood apart from everything around it, naturally drawing our footsteps toward it.

“…We’re almost there.”

Limping along, Pendrick smiled faintly.

“Just a little farther.”

Even though he hadn’t rested for nearly two days, there was still composure in his voice.

He had already reached his own limit, yet he was still encouraging the rest of the expedition members.

His kindness, together with his ability, was exactly why Pendrick was the greatest companion.

I wanted to smile back at him.

But… That wasn’t easy.

“It hurts so much.”

Four members were marching in formation.

Myself, Rosalia, Pendrick, And…

A young child, covered from head to toe in blood.

“Why did you leave me all alone?”

She looked about thirteen years old.

Around the same age as Marlin and Abel.

“Why weren’t you there beside me?”

The child drifted through empty air at my side, asking again and again.

“The places where that bad person hit me still hurt.”

The accusing look in her eyes… Her lips… Her gestures…

All of it chipped away at my concentration.

I wanted to look away.

I wanted to ignore that wistful voice that kept reaching my ears.

But I didn’t turn away from the child.

I had no right to do that.

“I guess this happened because I was a bad child. Right?”

“…No.”

I forced the answer out.

There was nothing else I could do for her.

“Huh? Captain, what did you just say?”

“I wasn’t talking to all of you.”

Status Ailment: Hallucination.

A phenomenon that occurred once Sanity had completely run dry.

Nothing more.

“Now we’ve truly arrived.”

Dragging my body along despite the countless dark magic curses eating away at it, I kept walking.

“No one’s lowering their guard just because we’re almost there, I hope?”

I deliberately adopted a cheerful tone.

“I’m sorry to say this, but reaching the White Land doesn’t mean the dungeon is over. Everything we’ve endured until now was only the third stage of the expedition.”

“…Whoa. That’s kind of disappointing.”

“To balance it with some good news… The fourth stage won’t last nearly as long.”

Though…

It would be considerably harsher.

Tap.

Rosalia, who was clearly only moments away from collapsing from exhaustion, weakly touched my wrist while staring ahead.

There was no need to interpret what she meant.

“Yes. We’re here.”

The White Land.

A fragment of a dream embedded within a nightmare.

The place marking the end of the expedition’s third stage stood directly before us.

“It’s a lot smaller than I expected.”

It was roughly the size of an ordinary inn room.

Pendrick was right, It wasn’t large.

“That’s because a fragment of the dream that should’ve remained inside the metropolis the reverse-side space accidentally leaked into this place.”

The vast dream world wasn’t maintained by some incredible Artifact.

It was maintained through the labor of countless demon dark mages.

Naturally… Occasional mistakes were inevitable.

And now… We had to turn that tiny oversight into a catastrophic failure.

‘Seriously… Wasn’t this a bit too much?’

There existed a true method of clearing Nightmare World.

One that could only be deduced after uncovering every clue scattered throughout the metropolis.

I placed an iron ingot at the center of the White Land.

Then knelt before it.

“I humbly ask.”

Bringing my hands together… I sincerely began to pray.

“I offer this iron. Please drive away the sinister and malevolent force oppressing us.”

[The Wise One points out that They possess no divine power capable of helping you.]

Bzzzt.

The evil gods, having heard my prayer…

Reacted awkwardly.

“I wasn’t praying to either of you. Please stay quiet.”

After all…

Why would I pray to evil gods for salvation while suffering hardship?

They specialized in becoming the cause of intelligent beings’ suffering.

Extending a helping hand simply wasn’t their talent.

“I ask as well.”

Pendrick quickly caught on.

He knelt beside me and joined the prayer.

“We beg. Please extend your hand of salvation to these pitiful intelligent beings.”

A heartfelt prayer…

Would always reach the heavens.

It was an eternal truth passed down since ancient times.

Goooooo.

At some point…

As Pendrick and I continued offering our double prayer… A brilliant white light shone from somewhere.

Then… Space itself split open.

A divine beast emerged.

It possessed an elephant’s long trunk.

The sturdy body of a bear.

And the powerful legs of a tiger.

 

[Divine Beast — Maku]

[A divine beast raised by Artein, the Hypocrite of Wisdom and Protection. Why on earth has this creature appeared here?!]

 

Goooo?

“Greetings.”

Its motif was the mythical creature Mo.

Known as the Baku in Japan. The Mo was said to drive away evil influences.

Even in Japan, where it had degenerated into little more than a yokai, that much remained true.

“O Divine Beast blessed by the Protector of All… I humbly ask for your aid.”

Lifting the iron ingot respectfully with both hands…

I spoke.

“Please devour every nightmare in this place.”

Maku was a divine beast that consumed nightmares…

Helping those tormented by evil dreams.

“And as a bonus… If you could heal us as well, we’d be even more grateful.”

Gooo!

The divine beast swallowed the iron ingot whole in a single bite.

Then began dancing happily.

Moments later… A radiant light descended upon every member of our expedition.

A warm light imbued with protective power.

Its effects became apparent immediately.

“…Goodbye.”

The child who had remained beside me all this time slowly faded away.

“Goodbye. See you again someday, Yoonji.”

 

[Your Vitality and Sanity have both been completely restored!]

[All illnesses, mental abnormalities, and dark magic affecting your body and mind have been completely cured!]

 

Complete restoration.

Including the removal of all status ailments.

Maku was basically a flying living Pokémon Center.

The entire reason I’d brought Pendrick into this labyrinth…

Had been for this very moment.

“…Huh?”

Astrimia spoke in a clear, astonished voice.

“The Curse of Forgetfulness… It’s gone!”

No matter how advanced the dark magic… A curse was ultimately nothing more than a status ailment.

“Astrimia…!”

“Pendrick!”

While the lovers shared an emotional almost-embrace…

Rosalia tapped my back.

Then quietly examined my complexion.

“Thank you for worrying about me. The twenty-two different curses affecting my body have all been removed. My mental abnormalities, too.”

The divine curse Fertilizer Sprout remained…

But fortunately… That one wasn’t removed.

“……”

The assassin, who cared surprisingly much about her companions’ well-being, finally nodded slightly in relief.

GOOOOO!

Then…

Maku inhaled deeply through its long trunk.

ROOOOOAR—!

A tremendous vortex erupted from the divine beast’s breath.

The nightmares themselves began being sucked into it.

The oppressive darkness… And the heavy silence blanketing everything… Vanished in an instant.

“This is the final stage.”

The dungeon wasn’t over yet.

“For the next fifteen minutes… We must hold off every enemy converging upon us from throughout Nightmare World. Until the Divine Beast finishes consuming every nightmare.”

Expedition Stage Four.

Survive until the end.

“For the record… It won’t be easy. It may prove even harder than surviving these last two days.”

“…So now it truly begins.”

Pendrick, tears still welling in his eyes from joy, assumed his stance and pointed Astrimia forward.

“Captain. May I save my thanks until after the expedition is completely over?”

“Of course.”

Rosalia gripped her daggers.

Crimson Death Roses bloomed all over her body.

“…Strength.”

“I understand. I’ll do my best. Hearing even a single word from you somehow fills me with energy, Sis.”

I, too, raised my fighting spirit.

In other words…

I prepared to draw aggro.

“They’re coming!”

As everyone steeled themselves… Enemies appeared in the distance, advancing toward us.

This battle would differ somewhat from the previous ones.

“They don’t look healthy. Their arms and legs seem to be dangling strangely.”

“They’re not living people.”

Astrimia’s voice sounded noticeably brighter now that her curse had been lifted.

She gently shook her blade.

“They’re dead.”

The Priests of Solitary Silence revived everyone we’ve defeated so far using their Mysteries.

A flawless answer.

The fourth stage of Nightmare World… Was essentially a tower defense game against an endless army of the dead.

GOOOOO!

Maku glared unpleasantly at the undead.

Then looked toward us and bellowed.

“Uh… Captain, what do you think it said?”

“It’s encouraging us. It said it’ll support us with the Light of Protection, so we should endure until the very end.”

Maku’s radiance also functioned as a powerful buff.

Without it… Removing Astrimia’s curse would’ve required a much more difficult method.

“Let’s go. Moonlight Expedition Team.”

I charged toward the undead that had already drawn near.

Crackle!

Using Black Lightning Bloom, I transformed my entire body into lightning…

Burning the priest and dark mage zombies.

The Artifact Ember of Glory, which had seen few opportunities to shine against enemies wielding fire… Now unleashed flames one after another.

“Astrimia! Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

The wave of starlight released by the lovers swept through the undead.

A technique that allowed Aura to flow like waves…

Normally only knights or martial artists above Level 6 could perform it.

It perfectly demonstrated why the Emotion Series Artifacts were coveted by every explorer.

“Solitary Silence shall descend!”

“Kill that crazy blond bastard first!”

Among the undead…

Many living demon priests and dark mages remained.

Fifth-Tier and higher dark magic… Along with Mysteries of Solitary Silence… Continually tore into my body.

Burned me, pierced me, even so… I simply laughed.

The agonizing pain coursing through my body…

Was nothing more than seasoning that made this expedition all the more brilliant.

“……”

While I absorbed every attack with my own body… Rosalia, merged into the shadows, silently carried out her work.

Slash.

On this battlefield…

There wasn’t a single enemy capable of stopping the silent assassinations of a Level 6 assassin empowered by Maku’s blessing.

The demon priests, The dark mages, Those formidable enemies that had relentlessly tormented us all this time…

Saw their heads tumble helplessly onto the ground.

“Ahahahaha!”

Perhaps because I wore the Divine Relic priestly robes… Bestowed after Sue’je exhausted His entire reserve of faith… His thunderous laughter naturally escaped my own lips.

I didn’t bother holding it back.

Shouting joyfully… I burned my enemies with lightning and flames.

“…That monster!”

“How lamentable!”

No matter what the enemies shouted… I continued advancing.

My body was pierced by dark magic.

Roasted by priestly Mysteries.

Yet I healed continuously as I moved forward.

Wasn’t it the philosopher Nietzsche who said… ‘What does not kill me makes me stronger?’

He was right.

“Ahaha… Ahahahahaha!”

I was… Growing stronger without end.