WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Mistaken as the Dungeon Boss Monster ◈

Chapter 26: The Boss Does Everything in This Dungeon

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A shadow fell across Charlotte's face as she kept her eyes closed.

Her Soul Binding with Balm Monk had been severed. There was only one thing that could mean.

"He's completely dead."

"Kirik? Who are you talking about?"

"Balm Monk."

Even as a ghoul, Balm Monk still had a Hero's body. Naturally, he was a top-tier individual.

A ghoul capable of wiping out a decent Extermination Party alone had died in a single strike.

Considering their opponent was a Hero wielding an Awakened Solari Sun Holy Sword, it was to be expected, but the danger now looming before them chilled them to the bone.

"W-we're in serious trouble, aren't we...?"

Isabella trembled like an aspen leaf, her face full of despair.

She looked so pitiful that someone with even a little sympathy might have spared her.

Unfortunately, the Extermination Party was not the kind to be swayed by pity.

"We need a new plan."

The original plan had been to bury undead in the ground, then use guerrilla tactics to attack the Extermination Party from the front and rear.

The dungeon was vast and deep, with traps scattered throughout. Charlotte had thought they might manage it if they disrupted the enemy well enough.

That had been a massive mistake.

The Hero's Extermination Party had noticed the undead long ago.

What was worse, they treated the traps like stones in the road as they tore through the dungeon.

The Hero's strength was beyond anything they had imagined, to the point that even an improvised strategy would not have been able to buy time, let alone achieve the larger plan.

"...Everyone needs to go down to the tenth floor."

If they scattered their forces across each floor, they would inevitably be defeated one by one.

The three of them were currently on the eighth floor, ready to defend themselves depending on the enemy's movements.

Charlotte had thought they might have a chance if they took advantage of the fact that defense was several times more advantageous than offense.

Still, that only worked if they had enough strength to put up a fight.

"We can't match them."

The power Charlotte had felt through her Soul Binding with Balm Monk was beyond all expectations.

The three of them were no match for the Hero.

"We have no choice but to use the tenth floor as our base and block the narrow passage."

There was a final stronghold on the tenth floor for situations like this.

Its thick walls left no alternate route, so if they held out in the narrow passage, they could at least buy some time.

They had no choice but to hold their ground until the Boss returned.

'I won't be able to face the Boss when the Boss returns.'

Allowing the enemy to reach the tenth floor would be the worst possible outcome.

It was no different from putting the Dungeon Core in the Boss Room at risk. In the end, wouldn't that mean the Boss would have to step in personally?

Charlotte knew that, but she had no other choice.

As the adjutant, failing to fulfill her duty was naturally shameful.

Even so, this was the only option for the Boss and the dungeon.

She would have to put off paying for her incompetence until later.

"Isabella. If we're going down, evacuate the worker Insects and the Vampires to the Adjutant's Room."

"Y-yes."

They would only become moths drawn to the flame if they stayed.

Using them as expendable tools would buy at least a little time, but Charlotte was human, not a monster. She still had a shred of human compassion left in her, and that made her human through and through.

"Let's go."

They had to get down to the tenth floor and prepare their defenses as quickly as possible.

Charlotte repeated that to herself just as it happened.

Boom!

A tremendous crash rang out from the floor above, and the ceiling collapsed.

Chunks of debris rained down while clouds of dust filled the area.

The dust obscured everything so completely that they could barely open their eyes.

Ptui! Ptui!

The three spat out the grit in their mouths.

A silhouette emerged from the dust, where they could not see even a step ahead.

They could not fail to recognize that brilliant light in the darkness.

It wasn't as if the floors and ceilings had been made fragile.

No dwarf craftsman could have imagined the power of an Awakened Solari Sun Holy Sword.

Once the dust settled, Wilhelm stood there with his Holy Sword pointed at them.

"Kieeek!"

The moment Balutak spotted him, it flew forward.

It was the instinct of an Insect that recognized a clear enemy and leaped at him. What Balutak lacked was the instinct to recognize the gap in strength.

─!

Wilhelm, who had not moved an inch, suddenly vanished.

His form disappeared as a flash of light surged forward.

Only after a streak of light carved through the air did Wilhelm reappear.

Before Balutak could even register what had happened, the Holy Sword had pierced its chest.

Gush.

Dark green blood spilled from the wound.

Balutak did not understand what had happened. It did not even realize it had suffered a fatal wound, merely tilting its head.

Then the terrible pain hit, and a mouthful of blood spewed from its mouth.

"Kuugh, kuek! Ki... kirik... Kieeek..."

"You dare bare your fangs at me, little insect?"

Balutak staggered, about to collapse, but Wilhelm did not let it go.

He grabbed Balutak by the neck with one hand and effortlessly lifted it into the air. It was superhuman strength. Balutak's legs dangled helplessly.

Slash!

With one swing, Wilhelm cut Balutak in half at the torso.

Dark green blood sprayed everywhere as Balutak's upper and lower halves fell to the ground. The cut was so clean that it formed a perfect line.

"Kirik..."

"You're persistent."

Wilhelm clicked his tongue as he looked at Balutak, which was still alive.

Whoosh!

With a furrowed brow, he flicked the blood from the Holy Sword.

"Y-you...!"

At Isabella's gesture, dark green blood rose into the air, sharpened like blades.

Before her Blood Arts could touch their target, Wilhelm vanished again as he had before.

By the time Isabella came to her senses, Wilhelm was already gripping her by the throat. His curved fingertips dug into her slender neck, and blood ran down it.

When had he moved?

That was Isabella's last thought.

Bang!

Wilhelm hurled her aside without hesitation, as though tossing aside a toy.

Isabella smashed through the wall and lost consciousness, her eyes rolled back.

"Have you finished casting?"

As though answering him, dozens of dark-gray arrows rushed at him from behind.

That was all they did. They bounced harmlessly off his Holy Armor.

Charlotte's Black Magic could never break through the Hero's Holy Armor. Scratching it would have been an achievement in itself.

Wilhelm had already rushed up to Charlotte and grabbed her by the throat.

"Ghk, ghk..."

Charlotte groaned as if desperately seeking air. Wilhelm's eyes, fixed on her, were ice-cold.

"So you're the necromancer. I never thought you were human. A Witch?"

As if demanding an answer, his grip loosened.

Charlotte drew in a small breath and gave a mocking smile.

"You seem very angry. What, did you like my gift?"

"...You bitch."

"Wasn't it deeply moving to reunite with an old friend? It was my own little gift, but I'm glad you enjoyed─"

Before Charlotte could finish, her body was lifted into the air.

Bang!

Even when she was slammed into the floor, Charlotte did not lose her smile.

Wilhelm ground his teeth.

"You won't die easily. I'll make it as painful as possible. I'll make you suffer dozens of times more than Balm Monk did."

"I'm looking forward to it. How will you do that?"

A sudden wave of pain made Charlotte squeeze her eyes shut.

When she opened them again, her gaze fell upon the severed stump where her right arm should have been.

"Like this."

"...You must be enjoying yourself. Make the most of it while you can."

Despite losing her right arm, Charlotte continued to sneer at him.

Contrary to her defiant attitude, her vision had grown blurry enough that she could barely keep her eyes open.

Through her fading hearing came the sound of many footsteps gathering.

"Captain, what is this?"

"I've taken care of it all."

"Is that woman the necromancer who defiled Hero Balm Monk...?"

"Yes. We can't let this one die easily."

"Did you do all of this yourself, Captain? From the looks of it, these are officers of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss."

"Those bastards and bitches were all weak. Compared to the Shadow of Pangu, this is enough to make me yawn. I could've cleaned this up alone."

"Pfft."

A laugh slipped out before Charlotte could stop it.

Even under the Holy Knight Order's hostile stares, Charlotte grinned.

"How foolish. You know one thing and nothing else."

"What are you talking about?"

"This is one of the New Seven Palaces of the Abyss, but you've missed one thing. This Abyssal Palace began with the Boss as its sole entity."

The relaxed expressions of the Holy Knight Order stiffened.

That meant the Boss alone could stand against the other Seven Palaces of the Abyss.

"Hero of Solari. You're right. Compared to our standing in the Seven Palaces of the Abyss, we're quite insignificant. But here, the Boss is the dungeon, and the dungeon is the Boss."

"...Your Boss will die by my hand as well."

"No. You won't be able to touch even a hair on the Boss. Like Balm Monk, you'll die helplessly."

Stab!

The Holy Sword pierced through Charlotte's shoulder, its blade stained with dark red blood.

Charlotte only frowned. She did not let out a single groan.

Yet blood poured freely from both her severed arm and shoulder.

Charlotte breathed heavily. Her eyes trembled as though they would close at any moment.

"You seem to bear pain well. Let's see if you can endure this too."

Clank. Clank.

That was when the sound of metal came rolling out of the darkness.

The knights of the Holy Knight Order who had been staring at Charlotte turned toward its source.

Wilhelm, the last to look, swallowed hard.

The Boss of the New Seven Palaces of the Abyss was an Irregular Death Knight.

"This is your grave."

Charlotte, who had already confirmed the figure's identity, smiled mockingly.

"The Boss has arrived."

A Death Knight stood there motionlessly, blue light glowing in its eyes.

* * *

"Then I'll see you again later."

"Give Rose Sha my regards."

"Yes."

After watching Dravule step through the portal, I turned around too.

Maybe because it was my home, even this dark, gloomy cave felt incredibly welcoming.

Of course, darkness was like a cozy bed to undead anyway.

"Hoo..."

I let out a breath of cold air like a sigh and moved my tired body.

Undead bodies don't accumulate fatigue, but the mind does.

Honestly, meeting Rose Sha had been more exhausting than meeting Kalandas.

At least Kalandas hadn't flirtatiously run his hands over my body.

"More importantly, it's awfully quiet."

It seemed the others weren't on the tenth floor.

Part of me wanted to see Charlotte right away.

The unsettling black book in my hand was the Necronomicon, a compendium of Necromancy.

Maybe this could finally crack that trademark impassive expression of hers.

That thought made my steps up the stairs quite light.

'The Castle Full of Lust's Ninth Legion will arrive in two days, too.'

Once the reinforcements arrived, Heroes and whoever else could come at us all they wanted. Those guys would handle them easily without me having to do anything.

I even had the Necronomicon in my hands. Things were going much better than I'd expected.

Thud.

The ceiling shook from a brief impact.

My head tipped back of its own accord, and I looked up.

"...What was that?"

The ninth floor or the eighth floor.

Either way, something was definitely happening upstairs.

Was Balutak throwing another wild fit? At first, I tried to think positively.

Boom!

The ceiling shook again and again with thunderous crashes.

Unease crept up my spine.

Boom, boom. I couldn't tell whether the continuing crashes came from the ceiling or my heart pounding.

It had to be the former. As undead, I didn't have a heart.

I swallowed hard and slowly climbed the stairs.

Boom!

There was no one on the ninth floor, but small bits of debris were falling from above.

The source had to be the eighth floor. What the hell was going on up there?

A bad feeling was never wrong.

An Extermination Party had invaded? Or had Kalandas attacked?

For a moment, I considered returning to the Boss Room and hiding alone, but that would only delay the crisis.

Tap. Tap.

I knocked on my skull and composed myself.

Whatever was happening above, I had to face it.

If the upper floors were breached, they would reach the Boss Room soon enough.

Whether it was an Extermination Party or Kalandas's forces, they were obviously after me.

I slowly climbed up to the eighth floor.

Ironically, the closer I got, the quieter it became. It seemed the situation had already ended.

Instead of the commotion that had echoed through the cavern, I heard groans. One voice sounded familiar.

Balutak's kirik-like groans. Behind them, I could faintly hear Charlotte speaking.

The moment I saw everything, my steps stopped on their own.

Dark green and red blood covered the floor. Balutak lay there, its upper body severed from its lower body. Isabella was unconscious, embedded in a wall. Charlotte had lost her right arm and was covered in blood. Dozens of holy knights stood around her.

Charlotte weakly turned her eyes toward me.

Her eyes widened at once, and the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

"This is your grave. The Boss has arrived."

What the fuck?

By the time I tried to step back, it was already too late.

The holy knights all turned their heads at once. More than twenty pairs of eyes focused on me.

Most of them faltered when they saw me, while the eyes of the rest shook.

"That's the Boss of this Abyssal Palace...?"

"C-Captain."

"Everyone stop. Don't move without my permission."

They stood still, carefully watching my every move.

I was different. The moment I saw Wilhelm, the old man standing at the front, my body froze.

The brilliant Holy Sword scattering light made even my thoughts stop.

Why was a Hero here? He came in less than a day?

All kinds of questions swirled wildly inside me. I wanted to believe it was a lie, but the unmistakable proof stood right before my eyes.

[Lv. 91]

Wilhelm, who had awakened the Holy Sword, was level 91.

His individual strength was on par with a Boss of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss. Against undead like Kalandas, he was even more dangerous.

The level indicators of the holy knights around him were orange. Wilhelm's, by far the most threatening, was dark red, and he radiated unmistakable killing intent.

I wanted to run. I wanted to scream and flee without looking back.

But even then, I would die in one step. To Wilhelm, I was nothing more than an ant he could crush beneath his foot.

I abruptly came to my senses and focused on Wilhelm's Holy Sword.

[Awakened Solari Sun Holy Sword (EX)]

[Durability: ∞]

[Enhancement Chance: 1%]

[※Warning! Failure will automatically destroy the item!]

[If Enhancement fails, the cooldown will be reset.]

[Would you like to enhance the Awakened Solari Sun Holy Sword (EX)?]

[YES/NO]

...My only lifeline.

I looked around. Everyone, including Charlotte, was on the verge of death.

I was the only fighting force left in this dungeon.

Could I really survive even if I destroyed the Holy Sword? Aside from Wilhelm, there were over twenty elite holy knights.

What if I blew up the Holy Sword and bluffed my way through it? Could I win if I destroyed all their equipment too?

Even unarmed, a Hero was still a Hero.

I would probably die to one holy knight before I even reached Wilhelm.

The only plan I could think of was to destroy the Holy Sword, then bluff hard enough to make them run away on their own.

But would everyone really be frightened and flee just because the Holy Sword was destroyed?

'...No.'

Every one of them looked determined enough to face death.

The Extermination Party I had first encountered had been a disorganized rabble that fled with their tails between their legs.

[Lv. 68]

[Lv. 72]

[Lv. 74]

[Lv. 77]

The members of the Holy Knight Order before me were all elites without exception.

Not only was their strength on another level from an ordinary Extermination Party, but so was their resolve.

Hummm─

A sphere of light gathered around the Holy Sword in Wilhelm's hand.

Its already dazzling glow became even more brilliant. The space around it warped like a heat haze.

As the Holy Sword's light blazed, Wilhelm's killing intent burned with it.

"Great evil! I, Wilhelm, will avenge my old friend today!"

Wilhelm bent his knees and prepared to leap.

Seeing him like that, I had no options left and no room to choose.

I had to destroy the Holy Sword and bluff hard enough to crush their will to fight.

[Enhancing the Awakened Solari Sun Holy Sword (EX).]

I had no doubt the Holy Sword would explode.

After that, it would all depend on how well I bluffed.

Countless lines and actions ran through my head. I had to pick only the most intimidating words and behavior if I wanted to live.

[Congratulations! You have succeeded in Enhancement with a 1% chance! The Awakened Solari Sun Holy Sword has been enhanced!]

...What?

For a moment, I thought I had read it wrong. No, it had to be wrong.

The Holy Sword had been enhanced? With a 1% chance?

"Burn to death in the sunlight!!"

Ah.

One percent.

With that one percent chance, heaven had abandoned me.

I was dead now.

Undead couldn't close their eyes.

Even as the Holy Sword rushed toward me, I had to watch everything.

That was why my death would be clearer than ever.

Just as I humbly accepted death, the Holy Sword stopped dead in front of me. More precisely, it flew into my grasp on its own.

"...?"

I doubted my eyes even as I watched it happen. Yet the feel of the hilt in my hand was too clear.

Why was this in my hand?

Even when I clenched and opened my fingers, the Holy Sword remained snug in my grip. It felt as though it would never leave my hand.

As I tried to look around, a lengthy notification window appeared before my eyes.

[Awakened Solari Sun Holy Sword (EX) +1 Enhancement (Bound)]

[Durability: ∞]

[Enhancement Details: Enhancement has slightly increased all attributes. The item's classification has also changed from 'Eligibility' to 'Bound.']

[Bound Recipient: Enhancer]

[This item does not permit anyone other than its bound recipient to touch it.]

"...Hah."

The Holy Sword in my hand was now a bound item. Right. That was why it had come into my hand.

Solari's Holy Sword was in the hands of a Death Knight.

After the notification disappeared, I saw Wilhelm staring at me with a vacant expression.

He was not the only one. Everyone around him was expressing shock in their own way.

An undead who should have burned to death at the slightest touch was holding the Holy Sword without a single problem.

They didn't know it, but as its bound recipient, I was an exception. In fact, I was the only one who could wield this Holy Sword now.

Clank. Clank.

In the silence filled with dozens of different kinds of shock, I slowly walked toward Wilhelm.

Though I drew closer and closer, no one could move.

Here, time belonged to me alone.

Whoosh!

The enhanced Holy Sword's sunlight gave off an even brighter radiance. It shone more brilliantly than when Wilhelm held it.

The gaze of a man who had lost everything rested on my Holy Sword.

"G-God. H-how could this..."

Thump.

Wilhelm fell to his knees.

He had completely lost his will to fight. No, more than that, he had lost his will to live.

The Holy Sword was not the only thing taken from him. His faith, which could be called his entire life, had been ripped away.

"God has betrayed you."

To me, an undead and the enemy of faith.

Footnotes:

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