Chapter 418: Succubus Demon Lord

We headed to the dungeon in the Northwestern part of the Royal Capital.

A barricade was built around the dungeon but in addition to the letter of recommendation from the Adventurers Guild, we had a letter with the Robuti family crest prepared by Sebastan so we were allowed to pass.

They said that nobody was inside the dungeon but that Hero party could probably enter the dungeon through the gaps of the guards on duty.

“It is strange, he said it was full of monsters but it is too quiet.”

“I don’t sense any monster presences either.”

Haru took the lead as she remained vigilant of her surroundings.

“According to the information Carol received, it seemed that the monsters no longer appeared immediately after the Hero entered the dungeon.”

In other words, the Hero defeated all the monsters that spawned?

But I could not defeat all the monsters in the Florence dungeon even with Carol’s ability. Is it possible to defeat them all, even including the ones that will respawn?

That would be impossible unless he set up a base at the entrance of the first floor and defeat all the monsters that are about to leave.

In the end, we proceeded toward the underground stairs that seemed to lead further down and didn’t sense any sign of monsters throughout the entire first floor.

Was this some kind of a trap?

What about the information that monsters were overflowing just recently?

Just as I had that thought.

“Master, I smell monsters from below. An amazing number of them.”

Haru squinted and reported.

We proceeded down the shortest route to the basement by relying on her sense of smell.

When we reached the sixth floor, I doubted my eyes.

A large number of monsters were overflowing.

However, they didn’t aim to climb up the stairs or look at us but were all aiming for something.

“Tornado Slash!”

I drew White Wolf Fang and swung it.

The tornado that was generated was different in speed, power, size, and everything that I was familiar with.

The instant it swallowed the monsters, it cut through everything and left only drop items in the area it passed.

One of the factors may be that my raised stats from Demon Lord level but the power of the newly reborn White Wolf Fang was the main reason.

I used to treat it like my own arm but now it felt even more like a part of my body than before.

It was a good sword.

But where were the monsters aiming for?

As though they were affected by Carol’s Moon’s Captivating Fragrance … no way.

“Quince-sama!?”

Carol shouted.

That’s right, if it was Quince-san who has the same ability as Carol as the Succubus Queen, she would naturally have the skill from Temptress which is the precursor job of the Succubus Queen.

And if the time when monsters stopped appearing coincided with the time when the Hero entered the dungeon, it meant that Quince-san had been using the Moon’s Captivating Fragrance the entire time.

The Moon’s Captivating Fragrance is a passive skill that is always effective at night or in dungeons.

Carol could compensate for the weakness of the Moon’s Captivating Fragrance activation by switching jobs but that was a trick that only I or Carol can do as my Kin.

Monsters attracted by the Moon’s Captivating Fragrance would not attack the source. But that was only temporary. Eventually, the berserk monsters would attack the Temptress.

At this rate, Quince-san was in danger.

I ran in the direction the monsters were headed.

The flock of monsters never ceased along the way.

“Double Slash!”

The two sword waves released by Haru – – the flames from the Fire Dragon’s Fang and the wind from the Wind Blade, swallowed the monster herd like it was a real dragon’s breath.

“I will deal with the enemies that were missed.”

The arrows released by Malina’s bow did not miss even the smallest of monsters and shot down all our enemies.

“Master, I smell blood from the room ahead!”

“Is Quince-san there?”

In that case, I would hurt her if I released a big skill here.

There was still a large herd of monsters until the room but there was no choice but to defeat them one by one.

“Dark Thousand Swords.”

As soon as I had that plan, Miri created dark swords and cleared out the monsters blocking the path.

“You’ll hit Quince-san!”

“Don’t worry. She is a former executive of the Demon Lord Army. She can block an attack of this caliber.”

Beyond Miri’s squint, there was a particularly large stone monster.

A Stone Golem?

It died after receiving Miri’s attack and a black-haired little girl appeared from behind it.

She held a mace that was much larger than her height.

“That was quite a rough treatment. It would have been dangerous if I was late in manipulating a monster to become my shield. You’ve finally been reborn and become younger so I wanted you to be more mature. You’re always so unreasonable.”

The young girl said as she looked at Miri.

I checked that young girl’s job.

【Succubus Queen: Lv75】

As expected, that girl was – –

“Ara, aren’t you the one that turned younger? You sure are popular.”

Miri said sarcastically to the young girl – – Quince-san.

I heard that Mini-hume appear to be about five or six years old but I didn’t expect her to be so small.

“Quince-sama, are you all right?”

“Carol, are you asking if I am safe after seeing this situation?”

As Quince-san said that, a giant bear suddenly appeared from behind her and swung its claws down.

She dodged it and hit it with a blow from her mace.

She’s strong – – but where did that monster come from?

I didn’t sense its presence at all.

It was teleported, or rather, it spawned there directly.

“Onii, don’t approach any further. I told you. A Temptress not only attracts monsters but also miasma. In a normal dungeon that would not be an issue but I fear all the miasma in the world, not only from the war-torn Mallegory, is gathered here to eat at Tet. Quince is gathering a portion of that miasma in this room.”

“You have changed to yap about unnecessary matters. I recall you used to be a lot more reticent.”

Quince-san said and laughed in mockery.

“Miri-san, what will happen to Quince-sama!?”

“At this rate, she will soon exceed her capacity for miasma and become a Demon God. As the Hero’s party is aiming for.”

“Rest assured. I won’t give in to miasma that easily.”

“Lies. Quince, your hair color is originally a bright purple color. Your dark-dyed hair is evidence that you have been dyed by miasma. I won’t say more, leave the dungeon now and lock yourself up in some enclosed room.”

“And drag the dungeon monsters with me? That would lead to a lot of casualties. I can’t leave here.”

Was Quince-san planning to sacrifice herself to protect the townspeople?

Was this part of your plan, Hero Alesio?

“Don’t worry, until you all finish it, I will not – -”

While Quince-san was in mid-sentence, a giant tiger appeared behind her this time.

Quince-san’s reaction was delayed due to the sudden appearance.

I did not have time to draw my sword either.

In that instant, a wind arrow pierced through the monster.

“My quick draw is O. One second. It will scatter the moment you blink.”

I was glad to have Malina.

I think one second is too much. Are you O-ta-kun? (TN: 〇太君, O is the usual censor, not sure what reference this is.)

“There is a pitfall trap at the end of the passage there. It is a hole that drops to the 13th floor at once. It’s a shortcut if you jump down it. Stop the Hero and Demon Gods.”

As Quince was speaking.

A black mist appeared.

It was similar to the miasma that consumed Tet-sama’s space.

At this rate – –

“Onii, go. Don’t waste Quince’s resolve.”

Miri said to me.

Right, there was nothing I could do even if I stayed there.

Even if I forcibly bring Quince-san to the surface, it was nighttime right now – – her fragrance would draw the monsters into town. If I took Quince to My World, the miasma would return to the original flow and the monsters will overflow from the dungeon.

All I could do was to improve the situation as soon as possible.

Let’s go – – just as I had that thought.

“Ichino-sama, sorry, Carol will remain here too.”

“Carol, what are you saying!?”

Quince raised her voice.

“I have this ring Ichino-sama gave me. With this, I can resist the miasma a little.”

“I can tell just by looking. That ring certainly will keep miasma away but it does not have any effect of removing the miasma that enters your body and its effect is weak in a place full of miasma like this. You have no reason to sacrifice yourself.”

“No, I am not sacrificing myself. All I have to do is endure until Ichino-sama returns.”

Shit, is that really the correct choice?

Is there no way to help everyone?

【Skill: According to XXXX’s effect, Kin Strengthening II effect has been activated.】

What? Kin Strengthening II?

Kin Strengthening was the skill to raise the stats of my kin.

No, wait.

I did see the skill description for Kin Strengthening and while Kin Strengthening II is probably an upgrade, I had not seen it yet.

Increases the stats of Kin.

The stat increase depends on the ability of the skill owner and the distance between the Kin and the master.

In addition, the master can lend any skill to his Kin.

There was an additional line.

Lend a skill?

What kind of skill – – I had too many skills to organize and could not find it immediately.

“Carol, check your status! Is there any additional skill!?”

“Ye-yes! Status Open!”

Carol quickly verified her skills.

“Barrier Magic has been added!”

“ — ! Use 『Holy Barrier』! If you do that, the miasma will not enter the barrier!”

“Understood! 『Holy Barrier』!”

After Carol cast the spell, the black mist could not enter the barrier.

“Quince-sama, quickly come over here.”

“Ah … but what about the monsters!?”

Quince-san entered the barrier but the newly spawned monsters could slip through the barrier. The barrier only prevented miasma but not monsters.

At this rate, it didn’t change the fact that Carol would be in danger.

Who should stay behind?

Not only that, even though I had defeated the monsters earlier, monsters were approaching us from behind.

Just what should I do – – as I was deep in thought.

Something ran through the horde of monsters.

“Jo~! I’m here to help!”

“Jo~! I’m here to help!”

Jofre and Elize appeared on top of Centaur, with a carrot hanging in front of it, kicking down the monsters.