Chapter 86
The raiding party advanced with Marquis Daribus.
From Zone 1 to Zone 2.
From Zone 2 to Zone 3.
In the process, two men used escape scrolls and broke off, but
the results were sufficient.
"Please be mindful of your breathing sounds. It's fucking disgusting for the men hearing it."
"Haa, we did our best to be careful getting here, but this has already gone up by 20%."
"Looks like the allure is starting to get stronger."
The knights checked their condition through the mirrors and each other's eyes.
Clearing it is probably hopeless.
A dungeon is that kind of place to begin with.
Except for newly formed dungeons, clearing one is about as hard as plucking a star from the sky.
The real thing starts from Zone 4, though.
Judging by the current situation, many knights will probably drop out here.
"It can't be helped. It's impossible to tell every trap apart, and... didn't they say the structure makes the allure grow stronger just from breathing? We have to advance quickly and decisively."
Everyone nodded.
The only one in the party whose allure hadn't risen was Marquis Daribus.
Marquis Daribus was special.
At least on this night, he was more special than anyone else.
"That's really amazing."
"I wonder why?"
One of the marquis's escort knights
He swallowed the urge to say something like, "Do you think Marquis Daribus, who has conquered countless women, is some kind of joke?" and only coughed awkwardly.
"For now, let's keep moving."
"Right."
"I absolutely have to meet those beast girls. I want to grab that fluffy fur tight in both hands..."
"Huh?"
Everyone turned at once to look at the bastard who had made the indecent remark.
Spade, one of the marquis's escort knights, scratched his head.
"Haah...."
"So you're not a bear hunter, you're a bear maiden lover?"
"Please stop slandering me."
The knights pressed onward.
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They broke through Zone 3.
In the process, another deserter appeared.
As expected, this time the number was quite large.
There were only four left now.
The suspiciously beast-girl-obsessed Spade and Marquis Daribus.
And two knights who had been suppressing their urges as much as possible until now.
"Next is the forest."
"At last, at last, the forest."
"This man's eyes are weird."
They looked at the forest spread out before them.
Except for Marquis Daribus, everyone else was nearing their limit.
The two remaining knights were enduring it for the sake of the lord they served.
Spade was simply working diligently for his own desires.
Marquis Daribus stroked his chin.
The remaining zones were 4, 5, 6, and 7.
The furthest they had previously explored was Zone 4.
So Zones 5, 6, and 7 were unknown territory.
As for Zone 4, he could probably break through it with the knights' help.
If he was careful only about the traps in Zones 5, 6, and 7, he could handle the minions on his own.
'Well, if things go south, I can just use an escape scroll.'
The position shift had just ended anyway.
If it didn't work this time, he could aim for the next opportunity.
The marquis had plenty of time.
The problem was the number of people.
The reason Marquis Daribus had only brought twelve people at the start was simple.
Bringing any more than that would be pointless.
You could say the entrance to Zone 5 was a wall of tears.
That zone contained an unavoidable trap that couldn't be disarmed.
That trap spread a special gas throughout the entire dungeon.
Except for special cases like the marquis,
it exponentially deepened everyone's allure state.
The presence of companions only felt meaningful up through Zone 4.
That trap, which even a Blessed One couldn't break,
how could we possibly destroy it?
The fact that the marquis could endure it at all was a miracle.
The reason they probably didn't place gas traps from the start was
likely due to efficiency, or because there was some activation condition.
But since that hadn't been figured out yet,
"For now, just like before, secure a safe route. I'll follow after you."
"Understood."
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The knights carried out the marquis's orders perfectly.
When they finished, they used escape scrolls,
and the marquis, left alone, looked at the map
and began heading toward Zone 5.
'I never thought I'd be the one personally clearing a dungeon, and I'm not even a Blessed One.'
Honestly, he wasn't some noble ruling a tiny backwater territory,
so why would someone with the rank of marquis throw himself into a dungeon?
With the wealth and power he already had,
he was enjoying a life of value that ordinary people couldn't even dream of.
Even he knew it was a fool's choice.
The marquis's goal was one that involved risk.
It wasn't the stance of backing out at the right time like the knights,
because he really intended to keep charging straight until he could fuck the dungeon master.
'Still, it doesn't feel bad.'
If there was food he wanted, he could eat as much as he liked,
and if there was a woman he wanted to sleep with, he could sleep with her whenever he wanted.
Because everything was within easy reach,
the threshold for pleasure shot up in an instant.
But.
the reward to be gained from this dungeon called Night
was so immense he'd still want it even after that raised threshold.
Every time the marquis thought of her, he felt as if he had returned to his younger days.
Back to when he was tan from long days outdoors and had a full head of blond hair.
Of course.
the dungeon master was his main goal, but
the minions were also utterly beautiful,
so he might as well enjoy what he could.
Come to think of it now,
his true goal was
to enjoy this dungeon from beginning to end.
Along with the knights, while he was at it.
Step, step.
Step, step.
Footsteps came closer.
The marquis lifted his head.
And he looked toward the source of the sound.
"……."
At that moment.
The marquis held his breath for a moment.
He blinked.
What on earth am I looking at right now?
The scene before him was hard to believe.
There was a woman ahead of him.
He guessed she was a minion of this dungeon.
But.
Unlike the others, who felt doll-like,
she felt almost like a living person.
As if she were a being untouched by sunlight,
she had pale, pure-white skin.
She was wearing a dancer's outfit.
Her exposed skin was smooth like porcelain,
close to moonlight soaked in a faint glow.
It was like looking at a statue.
She didn't look particularly curvy overall,
but the way her figure emphasized clean, balanced proportions
was beyond beautiful and harmonious.
It was as if goddesses really did exist,
and if one appeared before me now, she might look like this.
Long black hair flowed over her shoulders.
A red mask covered the lower half of her face.
He couldn't see her expression clearly,
but it seemed as if she were smiling at him.
'Surely, easy women should have bored him by now.'
Her lips moved slightly.
The marquis, like a girl in the throes of first love,
stared at her in silence.
"……."
She slowly approached the marquis.
Slowly, unhurriedly.
It was something that could not tolerate frivolity,
an elegant bearing.
She stopped a hair's breadth from his nose.
The marquis gulped.
Where had he felt this kind of feeling before?
Right.
This was surely the feeling he had when he first encountered the dungeon master of the night.
Her fingers lightly brushed the marquis's wrist.
Even with her teasing motions, the marquis waited patiently.
She gently took his hand.
He felt a cool body temperature.
It was like an afternoon breeze cooling scorching heat.
It was a mysterious atmosphere.
A minion with a charm different from the dungeon master.
She slowly led the marquis onward.
The marquis did not resist.
She was beautiful enough to make him change his goal in an instant.
Because she was beautiful.
"……."
The place they arrived at was a cabin in the woods.
To the marquis, this place felt like a newlywed's home.
Meeting this woman alone made this raid worthwhile.
That thought suddenly crossed his mind.
There was a mirror inside the cabin.
When he looked into the mirror, the allure still hadn't risen much.
This wasn't a trap of the dungeon,
but the charm possessed by this minion.
At this moment, she was lovable.
This one woman was worth more than dozens of wives outside.
Even if this emotion would cool someday,
the feeling he held now was pure.
The marquis said in a trembling voice,
"Please take off your mask."
"……."
"I want to see your bare face."
She hesitated.
She held both cheeks in her hands,
and shook her head.
"Then will you let me hear your voice first? I want to hear your voice."
"Ah……."
"What a truly beautiful voice. I've never heard anything so clear in all my life. No music in this world could be worth more than your voice."
"Thank……."
He was the one who brought her to the cabin,
and now she was acting shy.
Could a woman this lewd really be allowed to exist in this world?
Plaything, female.
Holding back the crude words he would normally have used,
and Marquis Daribus maintained a kind, gentle demeanor.
"I know you're a minion of this dungeon."
"……."
"But stories of men and women from opposing sides falling in love are hardly rare. Please believe my feelings for you are real."
"I… feel the same…."
She was a genius.
A genius at getting his lower half worked up.
It was getting harder and harder for the marquis to hold back.
In the end, he threw her onto the bed.
"If you don't want to take it off yourself, then I'll have to do it."
"……."
"Now, your face…."
She placed her hand on the red mask.
Like peeling a fruit skin, she slowly moved her fingers.
"Am… I pretty…?"
"……."
He took off the mask and peered at the bare face,
but all that was there was disappointment.
The marquis thought.
Honestly, he had to say it was below expectations.
And for good reason.
A woman whose mouth stretched to her ears,
could hardly be called pretty by any objective standard.
If it weren't for that flaw,
she would have had truly heavenly looks.
What a pity.
But.
One way or another, what did it matter?
Even with the scar, she was still beautiful.
His love for her never cooled.
It seemed he had fallen in love at first sight.
"You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen."
Marquis Daribus nodded.
Then,
she said, blushing,
"Th-then I'll make you… look just like me…."
She grabbed the marquis's cheeks with both hands.
"Huh?"
The marquis's expression was filled with bewilderment.
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Meanwhile.
The knights who had escaped the dungeon first waited for the marquis.
"I wonder if we'll be able to enter this dungeon again."
"No matter how great the marquis is, could he really prepare that many escape scrolls?"
"I want to meet the succubus sister again."
"I want to grab that fur once more."
They wasted away the camp's food while exchanging their impressions.
For them, this dungeon raid had been a success.
They had experienced the most valuable thing in their lives.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
Four days passed.
The marquis still did not return.
"I'm worried about the marquis."
"Leave him be. He must be having his fun."
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.
Ten days had passed.
"Nothing bad happened, right?"
"Maybe he's fucking the Succubus Queen?"
"Let's wait a little longer."
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Fifteen days had passed.
"Hmm."
"For now, everyone gather here."
The knights began a serious discussion about the matter.
Someone suggested, 'Maybe the marquis really got drained of all his energy inside and died.'
At first everyone denied it,
but after 20 days had passed since the marquis entered the dungeon,
that hypothesis won the most agreement.
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.
.
Twenty-five days had passed.
Marquis Daribus was dead.
Cause of death: sexual exhaustion.
That was the conclusion they reached.
"Shouldn't we at least bring back the body?"
"A slime probably already ate it, so it's gone."
"I never thought the marquis would die like this."
"As expected, a dungeon is a dungeon…."
The mood grew gloomy.
There was nothing they could do.
"Still, isn't it a decent way to go?"
"A good death?"
"At least he didn't die from being stabbed…."
"...I guess that's true."
In the end, the knights decided not to investigate further.
And so they returned to their territory.
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When a full thirty days had passed,
a man with a split mouth appeared at the dungeon entrance.
It was Marquis Daribus.
He looked gaunt.
He was much thinner than when he first entered.
"……."
His eyes had changed from how they were at first.
Kind and serene.
Like an ascetic who had attained enlightenment.
It seemed as though enlightenment was real.
He tossed away one luxury item after another onto the ground.
Even the treasured sword marking him as Marquis Daribus.
What on earth had happened inside?
Like someone who had returned alive from the boundary between life and death,
his attitude looked far more unrestrained than before.
"It was truly a valuable experience."
In the marquis's hand was the red mask.
He clenched it and sniffed it.
"Meeting you was truly……."
He put it on.
And then.
He turned his steps toward another place, not the Daribus marquisate.
***
Cowhead : Newbie, I got a question
Cowhead : Can I ask you something?
ㄴNewbie : Sure, go ahead.
ㄴCowhead : If I say you're pretty, you'll tear my face off
ㄴCowhead : and if I say you're ugly, you'll hack me to pieces, right?
ㄴCowhead : So what's the proper answer?
ㄴNewbie : "So-so" is the correct answer, bro.
ㄴCowhead : Ohh...
ㄴCowhead : Then what the hell did that crazy bastard do??
ㄴCowhead : Is it okay to do that??
ㄴNewbie : I don't know either, fuck...
Somehow, the Kongkong wave ended successfully.
This was only a hunch, but.
the marquis, the only variable, also didn't seem likely to ever enter the Night again.
But, you know.
This wave was shocking in many ways.
The outcome was quite a bit different from what I had imagined.
I definitely thought he'd die halfway through.
Even I, the master of a bizarre-phenomenon-themed dungeon,
never would have guessed there'd be a hidden answer I didn't know.
"So even pure love was a way to beat it……."
Bizarre phenomena really are,
impossible to understand.