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] was painful, but she had no regrets. Exposing her body to that iron ball would have put her in a severe position, 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. A voice that showed absolute certainty the Dummy Core 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 forces].

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

That's why they had this battle's rules be [Destroying the Dummy Core] rather than [Touching the Dummy Core]. So that even if an enemy hand somehow got inside the armor, it wouldn't count as a loss. It was a good opportunity.

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

They had to create a boss room midway and summon a bone fish with DP to block the water attack, 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 searching outside the dungeon too… Let them crawl around the dungeon until it's over."

And Core 666 advanced further inside.

Ahead of her was a room.

"Master, open it."

"Okay."

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

"Whoa?! Kuh, this thing—"

Since [Summon Skeleton] summons were bare-handed, equipped with at most a bone club, it couldn't deal any damage at all to that tentacle—the Tentacle Slime.

"Tch. Switching to another Skeleton."

"Master. Even if I can summon unlimited Skeletons with [Summon Skeleton], outside a dungeon, even my magic power runs out quickly, you know? Please fight 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 that. 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 sound like evaporating water, the Tentacle Slime withdrew its tentacle… A slime's weakness was fire or magic attacks. This magic sword was precisely that weakness.

"Still, they brought out a rare slime. Is it a boss? What do you think, Jiji-sama?"

"A Tentacle Slime, hm. Physical nullification makes it somewhat troublesome, but… its weakness is obvious. It being a boss is possible. However, I thought these cost quite a lot of DP… did they bring it in?"

"Oh my, bringing it in? Did Core 695 look forward to the Dungeon Battle with me that much?"

When she entered the room—there was what could only be called an army of forces gathered. Golems, Gargoyles, the Sahagins 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 are so many, 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 fake, huh."

I received Ichika's report.

"Yeah. In the end, I broke the door open, but there was just an earthen wall. Just a door."

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

"'Under Construction' sign? Why?"

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

"Yeah. I think we must have missed something, so I'm going to 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 wondered what to do for a bit, but the conclusion came quickly.

"Well, whatever."

"Whatever…? What are we 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 is, even if they, say, hid it and brought it in with them—

If we defeat Core 666 who has invaded, that becomes our victory.

If we incapacitate her, the enemy loses their invasion force. Or if we happen to destroy her, the enemy is 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.