Chapter 77
Dreamland, Area 3.
Mansion, 3rd Floor, 23:00.
There was an incident where a monster appeared, but.
It wasn't that threatening an enemy.
Since being brought down, it had never appeared again.
It would be best to assume it had been eliminated.
Dragred investigated the 2nd floor.
The food in the dining room is safe to eat.
Unlike odd-numbered floors, even-numbered floors have no forbidden hours at all.
He told them the results of his investigation and everything else.
The group immediately headed to the dining room to quench their thirst and hunger.
As he said, the Death Count did not rise.
"It's quite good."
"This is the sort of spread you'd expect at a banquet."
The food was truly a feast.
As if praising them for all their hard work so far.
It was the most valuable meal in this world.
"We have nothing left to fear now."
"So this is how Area 3 is conquered."
"Even if we can't clear it this time, we'll be able to start the next attempt at a much greater advantage."
"Right. Like the elevator the dwarves discovered."
They rested sufficiently.
Then they passed the information they'd acquired so far to the recording team.
The biggest problem, as always, was where they could use an 'escape scroll.'
They decided to place their hopes in the elevator on this point.
The area where they were currently located was Area 3.
Since the Dungeon Master wouldn't let them pass Areas 1 and 2 for free, they were certain an elevator had to exist at the end of this area.
"The recording team will be waiting at the entrance again, after all. We can just ask them to give it a try."
"I agree completely."
They resumed their exploration.
.
.
.
.
.
Mansion, 4th Floor.
Mansion, 5th Floor.
Mansion, 6th Floor.
Mansion, 7th Floor.
Mansion, 8th Floor.
...
...
The group pulled the lever and smoothly climbed the stairs.
On odd-numbered floors, they found the key, then unlocked the parlor door and went inside.
On even-numbered floors, they simply had to break down the master bedroom door, so there was nothing difficult about it.
Once they knew everything.
There was no more pointless dungeon.
Nevertheless, they couldn't let their guard down.
There might be some trick they hadn't accounted for.
They carefully watched the hallway's color as they advanced.
.
.
.
.
.
Things were going extremely smoothly.
Even so, Krok's expression was stony.
He couldn't shake the unease.
Because an unanswered question remained.
The first was the incident that had occurred on the 1st floor.
Hector, Olivia, Bitters, Comfort, Leo, Krok, Dragred.
There had definitely been seven people on the 1st floor.
But the Death Count had only risen by six then.
Right. Let's just chalk that up to that.
Someone might not have fulfilled a particular condition.
It doesn't mean much right now.
But why on earth did the Count rise when they killed the monster?
The rise in the Count meant that wasn't the answer.
If killing it with a longsword was out of the question, how were they supposed to deal with it?
Should they wait until the monster disappeared?
No. Absolutely not.
If they hadn't acted, Dragred would have been in serious trouble.
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
"I was thinking about the monster."
"The monster, huh? Well, since there's no guarantee it won't appear again, this is something we need to think about. Even if we can beat it down with a longsword, the count rises…."
"The monster appeared at 2 a.m., right? How about we stop investigating for a while before then and wait in a safe room like the study or guest room on an odd-numbered floor?"
Krok nodded.
When Krok first investigated the 1st floor, he had entered the guest room.
Dragred seemed to have spent quite a long time there.
The guest room, at least if not the study, had to be safe.
It was a reasonable thought.
.
.
.
.
.
Mansion, 9th Floor, 03:00.
Krok looked at the clock.
It was long past 2, but the monster showed no sign of appearing.
"Was that just needless worry……."
"Either way, that's a relief."
The group left the guest room to continue their exploration.
Krok also stood up from the floor and tried to follow them, but.
"Hm…?"
He stopped moving for a moment.
This place was the guest room.
A normal room with a bed, chairs and a table, and a suspiciously large wardrobe.
It definitely should have been.
Yet strangely, he felt something was out of place.
He felt like he was forgetting something important.
Was there something I'd forgotten?
"Krok. Hurry up."
"If you don't hurry, we'll leave you behind."
"Ah, yes……."
Krok looked at the guest room.
Eventually, he shook his head and followed the group.
.
.
.
.
.
Mansion, 10th Floor.
Mansion, 11th Floor.
Mansion, 12th Floor.
Mansion, 13th Floor.
Mansion, 14th Floor.
Mansion, 15th Floor.
Mansion, 16th Floor.
The group constantly climbed the stairs.
There were 64 floors left.
They were moving considerably faster than on the first day.
They had allowed plenty of time for rest.
If they only kept walking diligently.
In theory, they could climb about 27 floors a day.
They could escape Area 3 in three days.
"What will you do when we get out?"
"I'll start with a beer, then think about it."
"You'll forget you wanted a beer after all, so is this conversation meaningful?"
"It should be fine if we write it in the journal."
"I suppose you're right."
Although Olivia and Hector had been sacrificed.
And the academy exploration team's situation wasn't good either.
Even so, the fact that they could get out.
Gave the four knights a little comfort.
Dragred muttered while looking at the clock.
"Time to do it."
His voice was so quiet that no one heard him.
.
.
.
.
.
Mansion, 16th Floor, 07:30.
"Shall we rest here for a while?"
"Why am I still so tired even after sleeping and sleeping?"
"It's because everyone spent the night wide awake due to the Death Count."
The group rested in the hallway.
Despite having climbed this far in one go, the Death Count hadn't risen at all.
Everyone must have relaxed.
"Just in case… I'll stand watch for now."
"You've been doing it alone since last time… are you really all right?"
"We'll take turns this time. I'll go first, then sleep for the rest."
"Such a meticulous strategy……."
Dragred took the watch.
The others sprawled flat in the hallway.
It was too bothersome to go to a guest room on an odd-numbered floor.
Besides, they were the sort who could sleep just fine even on bare dirt.
Krok closed his eyes as well.
The accumulated fatigue ushered him into dreamland.
Dragred rummaged through his backpack.
Then, as if he had found something useful, he took out an item.
It was incense.
Depending on the amount, it was sometimes used to help people who normally suffered from insomnia.
It was also used by killers to put their targets to sleep.
He lit the incense.
So everyone could sleep peacefully.
.
.
.
Mansion, 16th Floor, 08:00.
「13」
One person disappeared from the hallway.
A scream rang out, but.
The others merely lay still.
.
.
.
Mansion, 16th Floor, 08:05.
「12」
One more person disappeared.
None of them showed any sign of waking up.
.
.
.
Mansion, 16th Floor, 08:10.
「9」
"Beer……."
As if he were having a pleasant dream.
Someone disappeared while mumbling in their sleep and scratching their stomach.
Now only two people remained in the hallway.
"Mmm…."
Dragred covered their ears.
Carefully—the ears of Krok, who tossed and turned in his sleep.
.
.
.
Mansion, 16th Floor, 08:25.
「8」
Krok woke up.
He grimaced and clutched his own throat.
'Huh…?'
The mansion gave him no time to react.
A formless collar fastened around him.
An unidentified force began dragging him toward the prison.
"Kgh……."
Even trying to speak was impossible.
He could barely breathe; no proper sound could escape.
What on earth had happened?
What about the others?
Had the Death Count accumulated?
Had Dragred been attacked?
Drag, drag-
Even as his body scraped across the floor, Krok looked around.
Then he saw.
Dragred was standing in place, looking down at him.
Krok understood.
What had happened to him.
What ending the others had met.
He understood everything.
So that's what it was.
So that's what it was.
Only then did all the puzzle pieces fit together.
The unease he had felt in the guest room on the 9th floor.
It was the full-length mirror.
The full-length mirror from the 1st floor had been missing.
The guest rooms on the other floors were the same.
The mirror existed only in the guest room on the 1st floor.
Leo and Krok had gone to the guest room.
Because Dragred's communication magic had been cut off.
At the time, their information had been limited.
Then, one event after another had erupted like a storm and buried the matter.
But that problem was not something they could simply overlook.
It had been a fake.
A fake Dragred.
-G…i…v…e… i…t… b…a…c…k.
Then.
The being we'd killed with our swords was…….
Krok's expression twisted even further.
Because the truth was too much for him to bear.
But.
Every negative emotion stems from thought.
Seen from that perspective.
Perhaps Krok was lucky.
Whiiiiiir-
A tool in a form he'd never seen before.
It would soon turn Krok into a helpless lump of flesh.
Krok couldn't relay the information to the recording team.
Because if anyone endured torture like this.
They would become a fool capable of doing nothing but screaming.
"Aaaah, aaah, aaah!"
A scream echoed through the 16th floor of the mansion.
It didn't seem likely to stop anytime soon.
.
.
.
.
.
The only survivor on the mansion's 16th floor looked up at the ceiling.
The wave wasn't over yet.
She quietly waited for someone.
.
.
.
.
.
Mansion, 16th Floor, 09:00.
Step, step.
Step, step.
Someone appeared on the 16th floor.
She looked like a woman melting like mud, but.
That was the real Dragred.
Exactly as Dragred had looked before the knights slaughtered them yesterday.
The real Dragred fell to their knees and begged.
"Give it back… give it back… give it back…."
"Should I give it back?"
Dragred repeated the same words like a parrot.
They looked pitifully foolish.
"Give it back… give it back… give it back…."
"I'll give it back."
She smiled.
She intended to keep her promise.
Whoever was currently occupying Dragred's body.
To return the body, she had to go through an essential process.
Crack, crack.
Dragred's expression twisted.
She began to mutilate herself.
First, she cut off the wings Dragred was most proud of.
Next, she cut off the legs, so they could no longer walk freely.
Finally, she cut off the last remaining arm.
"Aaaah… Aaaaaah… Aaaaaah."
The bleeding should have killed her soon.
But each time she tore off a body part, she drank a superior healing potion.
Once each wound had sealed completely.
She began the work again.
The body Dragred ended up with.
Looked like a roly-poly doll.
"Take it."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…."
She had denied Dragred freedom.
She looked satisfied.
Dragred got their body back.
Even though they had returned to the body they had wanted so badly.
They didn't look happy at all.
"Uuuuuugh, uuuuuugh… uuugh…."
Dragred no longer spoke in normal language.
They merely began crying like a newborn baby right there.
"……."
Then.
She blinked.
Her eyes looked different from before.
She tried to approach the crying Dragred.
But.
At some point, she stopped advancing any farther.
She merely stared at them endlessly from where she stood.
She tilted her head.
"Why?"
After a while.
She moved her legs again.
.
.
.
"Good child. Good child."
"……."
"Shh, shh, shh, that's it."
Dragred returned to their mother's arms.
She held them in her arms and whispered softly.
From that moment on, Dragred did not cry.
She smiled as she looked at the now-quiet Dragred.
She sang a lullaby.
So they could sleep peacefully and have good dreams.
Just as when they had been born in the dungeon as a hatchling.
Peacefully.
"Our baby sleeps so well. Doggie, don't bark…."
Though it was merely a woman with a melting body.
Holding someone with all four limbs amputated in her arms.
Singing alone.
The scene looked incredibly warm.
Like a scene from the past.
It looked somehow familiar to them.
.
.
.
And.
There was no one left.
***
*This is an old comment.
Yongyonggari: Honestly, I can't help but hate them.
Yongyonggari: If I didn't resent them, that would be a lie.
Yongyonggari: But you know what.
Yongyonggari: I'm dying here, but...
Yongyonggari: Still...
.
.
.
.
.
This wave had been successfully defended against as well.
I stretched.
"Nngh…."
The reactions of the veterans who used to spend time with Yongyonggari, too.
And me, currently skimming through the old posts from the past.
How should I put it.
I didn't feel like that was the kind of revenge the real Yongyonggari would have taken.
"That's kind of ironic."
It was only a hypothesis, but.
If Dragred hadn't betrayed Yongyonggari.
Wouldn't Dragred have appeared in Yongyonggari's posts too?
Like the Ant Queen showing off her offspring.
"Ah, I'm tired."
Of course, the past is the past.
The dead are simply dead.
The living have to think about the future.
That's an undeniable fact.
"Euk."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go collect it soon."
I looked away from the monitor and stood up.
I petted Malang vigorously.
More energetically than usual today.
"Malang, let's stay together for a long, long time."
"Euk?"
I spoke softly to Malang as it rubbed against me.
How should I put it.
Maybe Malang knew about my bitter feelings.
It stretched out part of itself and traced the back of my hand.
"Are you comforting me?"
"Euk."
It looked just like someone holding out a hand.
The corners of my mouth rose before I knew it.
I took Malang's hand.
And I walked on.