The Third Dungeon Battle: Battle (10)

# Team Demon King's Side #

 

Core 666 advanced through Team Sovereign's dungeon.

Using her trump card [Crimson Road] had been costly, but she had no regrets. Exposing herself to that iron ball head-on would have been rough, after all.

Then, a communication came in.

"Aidi, they broke through the boss room."

"I see. But they won't find the Dummy Core."

"Yeah. They won't find it."

Core 666's master responded with a voice full of confidence. It was a voice brimming with absolute certainty that the Dummy Core's hiding place would never be found.

"So, how's our dungeon?"

"As planned, it's shut down. After all… the Core is right here."

Inside the Black Armor. That was the Dummy Core's hiding place.

The Dummy Core was basketball-sized, but it fit perfectly inside the Black Armor's abdomen.

The enemy's dungeon should be attacked with the strongest forces.

The Dummy Core, the target to be protected, should be guarded by the strongest forces.

To fulfill both of these without contradiction, Core 666 and her master devised this strategy.

That was the audacious move of "loading the Dummy Core into the strongest fighter."

This was a strategy they had been considering for Dungeon Battles long before this one.

That's why they had this battle's rules changed to "destroying the Dummy Core" rather than "touching the Dummy Core." So that even if an enemy hand somehow got inside the armor, a mere touch wouldn't count as a loss. It was a perfect opportunity.

The dungeon itself was a rough five floors built with about 50,000 DP. Most of the traps were standalone ones that would function even if the dungeon shut down, and almost all the monsters came from [Summon Skeleton]. The final boss room was just for show.

They had to create a boss room midway to hold back the water attack and spend DP to summon a bone fish, but… well, it served its purpose as a delay.

And the remaining DP was poured almost entirely into strengthening Core 666 herself.

"Fufufu, Core 695 probably never imagined the Dummy Core would be here."

"Looks like they're even searching outside the dungeon… Let them crawl around the dungeon until it's over."

And Core 666 advanced further inside.

Up ahead was a room.

"Master, open it."

"Okay."

She had the Skeleton her master was controlling open the door. Then, from behind the door, a translucent tentacle slithered out and grabbed the Skeleton.

"Whoa?! Kuh, you…"

Since [Summon Skeleton] summons were bare-handed, equipped with at most a bone club, they couldn't deal any damage whatsoever to those tentacles. To the Tentacle Slime.

"Tch. Switching to another Skeleton."

"Master. Even though [Summon Skeleton] lets me summon unlimited Skeletons, outside a dungeon my magic runs out quickly, you know? Fight more carefully."

"That just now was a necessary expense."

Since there was a door, they knew there would be some trap or ambush behind it. That's why they had a Skeleton open it, so calling it a necessary expense wasn't wrong.

But that was beside the point. Core 666 smiled slightly.

"I'm adding to your punishment. Look forward to it."

"…"

"Oh my. No response?"

"Hah… understood."

"Good, Master. After all, you're nothing but my puppet."

She swung the flame-clad magic sword and burned the Tentacle Slime's tentacle.

With a hiss like evaporating water, the Tentacle Slime withdrew its tentacle… A slime's weakness was fire and magic attacks. This magic sword was precisely that weakness.

"Still, they brought out a rare slime. A boss, maybe? What do you think, Jii-sama?"

"A Tentacle Slime, is it. Physical nullification makes it somewhat troublesome, but… its weakness goes without saying. It could be a boss, though. However, I thought these cost quite a lot of DP… was it brought in?"

"Oh my, brought it in? Core 695 was that excited about the Dungeon Battle with me?"

When she entered the room, there was what could only be called an army assembled there. Golems, Gargoyles, Sahagins like those that had also been sent to their dungeon, the octopus from earlier, and even a flying squid along with other things she didn't recognize. And of course, the Tentacle Slime from before.

… There sure are a lot, Core 666 thought honestly.

"What a wonderful welcome. I won't be wanting for dance partners at this party."

"More than we can cut down."

"Fufu, I'm getting excited…"

Core 666 readied her red-burning magic sword and charged into the crowd of monsters.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

# Kehma's Side #

 

"So the boss room door was a decoy, huh."

I received Ichika's report.

"Yeah. In the end, I broke the door open, but there was just a dirt wall behind it. It was just a plain door."

"I see, there wasn't an 'Under Construction' sign?"

"'Under Construction' sign? Why?"

"No, never mind. Talking to myself… So, you can't find a path forward."

"Yeah. I think we must've missed something, so I'll search from the first floor again."

"No, that's fine."

I stopped Ichika. I had Niku search outside the dungeon entrance just in case, but all we learned was that the dungeon was located somewhere in territory under the Demon King's rule.

… I pondered what to do for a moment, but the conclusion came quickly.

"Well, whatever."

"Whatever…? What are you going to do? We can't win if we can't clear Core 666's dungeon."

"What are you talking about, Rokuko?"

I placed my hand on Rokuko's shoulder and spoke.

"The enemy Dungeon Core has entered our dungeon, right?"

"… Oh!"

Yes, no matter where the Dummy Core was. Even if they, say, hid it and brought it in with them.

If we defeated Core 666 who had invaded, that would become our victory all the same.

If we incapacitated her, the enemy would lose their invasion force. Or if we happened to destroy her, the enemy would be eliminated, making it a certain victory.

Yeah.

Core 666 is either extremely confident or a complete idiot.

I'd be happy if it's the latter.