Chapter 241: The cuckoo takes over the magpie's nest? Falling out on the spot!
Thanks to those mysterious monsters, the outskirts of the dungeon were eerily quiet, and Arthur and his group arrived at the entrance of Kiel Dungeon unimpeded.
The shelter under the mountain wall had long since collapsed, leaving only a few broken wooden planks creaking mournfully in the wind, narrating the anomaly that had occurred there.
"Please look, everyone, those are the mysterious monsters mentioned in the report."
Everyone looked in the direction Sena pointed, only to see dolls wearing black and white masks, less than knee-high, swaying and patrolling.
"What are those things?"
Megumin, the Crimson Demons's top genius, had her curiosity thoroughly piqued.
"I've looked through our clan's monster encyclopedia and have never seen this kind of monster."
"Ah~ a bunch of dolls that can't even walk steadily, they don't seem to have much combat power."
Fully armored Darkness withdrew her gaze, her interest waning, and shook her head listlessly.
Yunyun softly echoed: "Indeed... they're soft and don't look very threatening, quite cute actually."
"...I don't know why, but just looking at those masks makes an inexplicable fire well up in my stomach!"
Aqua, usually carefree, was inexplicably agitated at this moment. She even bent down to pick up a small stone from the ground, intending to throw it.
Just then, a rustling sound came from the nearby grass.
A doll opened its arms, took a few quick steps, and tightly hugged Aqua's calf.
"Eh? Is it trying to fawn over me?"
"Although this mask gets more irritating the more I look at it, being so clingy... it seems a little cu..."
Aqua's words were cut short.
Boom—!
Blinding fire and a loud bang instantly engulfed everything, and the doll hugging her calf exploded into thin air.
Only Aqua remained, sprawled on the ground from the shockwave, her face blackened, and stars swirling before her eyes.
Sena pushed up her glasses and calmly explained.
"As you can see, the habit of these monsters is to stick to anyone who moves and then self-destruct. The Adventurers' Guild currently has no counter-strategy."
Arthur glanced at the dusty Aqua, deep in thought.
"Dolls whose only attack method is self-destruction actually managed to drive out all the monsters originally inhabiting the dungeon, and even claim it as their territory?"
"The number of monsters is large, and the cause of their appearance is not yet clear. It's highly possible that a Demon Lord's Army Executives is casting a summoning spell."
With that, Sena pulled out a glowing talisman from her folder and, with a solemn expression, handed it over.
"If the battle turns unfavorable for us, please prioritize placing this on the magic circle if you cannot defeat the summoner."
Arthur took the talisman, and with a slight flick of his fingers, he sensed the pure magic power within it, his eyebrows raising slightly.
"A sealing rune?"
Sena's eyes showed surprise, and she nodded, continuing to explain.
"Precisely. Once the sealing talisman is applied, no matter how powerful the magic circle is, it will immediately lose its effect."
Arthur nodded noncommittally and then looked at Aqua, who was huddled in a ball, receiving comfort from Yunyun and Megumin.
"Then, just like last time, the less mobile mages will wait outside. Aqua... never mind, you stay outside too."
...
Under the dim yellow light of the oil lamp, explosions echoed continuously in the dungeon passage.
Amidst the smoke and dust, Darkness charged ahead.
Her armor was already covered in ash, but her face was beaming with unprecedented excitement.
Because these swaying dolls simply couldn't dodge her sword!
"Hahahaha! Look, everyone! I hit them! I hit them! My sword can finally hit monsters!"
This was the first time in her life she had truly slain a monster with her sword blade. This tangible sensation allowed this masochistic knight to taste a pleasure entirely different from before!
After all, the dolls used self-destruction as their attack method, so naturally, they wouldn't dodge; they would only rush forward one after another.
Kazuma watched Darkness happily charging forward and muttered softly.
"Boss, isn't this guy getting a bit too carried away?"
Arthur raised his hand to fan away the drifting smoke and dust, chuckling softly.
"Let her be, at least she's not causing trouble."
Perhaps because her attacks were hitting, the feeling of truly being useful made Darkness oblivious to everything else, and she advanced continuously through the dungeon like a tank.
Before long, Arthur and the other two arrived at the deepest part of the dungeon, near the room of the lich, Kiel.
The secret room entrance from last time had been resealed by Arthur and his group.
Currently, in the depths of the study, a figure sat cross-legged, molding clay, engrossed in making dolls.
He wore an expensive evening gown that was out of place in this cold dungeon, and even his hands, which were molding the clay, wore spotless white gloves.
The mask, which didn't cover his mouth, gave an ominous first impression and was the exact same style as the masks worn by the dolls occupying the dungeon.
Needless to say, the other party was certainly the culprit behind this riot.
Darkness, who had been fighting her way through, could no longer hold back. She rushed out from around the corner with her longsword in hand and sternly rebuked him.
"Hey! What are you doing? Since you're making those dolls, it means you're the mastermind behind this monster incident, right?"
Perhaps he was too focused on making dolls, for the masked man finally looked up, as if he had only noticed the outsiders when he heard Darkness speak.
"Oh my? I didn't expect anyone to be able to reach here. Adventurers, welcome to my dungeon! You are correct, I am indeed the root of all evil and the mastermind!"
The other party slowly stood up, blood-red light emanating from the eye-holes of his mask, and the corners of his mouth, visible beneath the mask, curved into a wide, malicious grin.
"Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Vanir, a Demon Lord's Army Executives, and a Hell Duke who leads demons! A clairvoyant demon capable of seeing all things in the world!"
Darkness cautiously adopted a fighting stance, and Kazuma drew his short sword, but he took small, quick steps and darted behind Arthur.
"Boss! That black-stockinged glasses girl was right! He's a Demon Lord's Army Executives! What should we do?"
Arthur didn't answer. He simply concentrated on sensing the power hidden within Vanir and slowly drew durandal from his waist.
With killing intent upon him, the demon's smile did not diminish in the slightest as he bowed.
"Please calm down, you all. I came to this place not to quarrel with you."
"It's just that the Demon Lord asked me to investigate who defeated Beldia."
At these words, Darkness and Kazuma both stiffened, their gazes involuntarily darting towards Arthur.
Their subtle actions naturally did not escape Vanir's perception, so the playful demon cast an even deeper gaze upon them.
"So that's it, was it you who defeated Beldia? Allow me to glimpse into your past expe—"
Crack!
A crisp sound, chillingly clear!
Vanir's black and white mask instantly became covered in cracks, and the upward curve of his mouth twisted into an incredibly distorted grin!
"Haha... Hahahaha! Is that so!?
The demon's previous composure vanished. His voice seemed to come from the deepest abyss, every word carrying a bone-chilling coldness, revealing his ferocious nature!
"As a demon who feeds on negative emotions, it is my iron rule not to kill humans. That's right, I will not harm humans... but only humans!"
As soon as his words fell, a terrifying killing intent, far exceeding that of a Demon Lord's Army Executives, erupted!
Moments later, Sena and the others waiting outside felt the ground beneath them tremble violently, causing them to fall.
A dazzling slash of light, tearing through the sky, burst through the dungeon and shot into the clouds, illuminating the night sky as if it were day!