Chapter 210

Chapter 210

As soon as we passed through the magic gate, we found ourselves in an event dungeon: The Room of Slimes.

[Event Dungeon - The Room of Slimes]

- Fight off the incoming slimes to survive!

- A swarm of slimes is approaching!

- Lv.15 Normal Slimes: 30 in number

The dungeon room was an open plain, and slimes started pouring in from all sides.

"..."

"..."

"..."

However, the party members who had entered before me didnt even bother looking at the slimes.

Lucas, Evangeline, and Junior each had their weapons drawn, all surrounding Damien.

Whoooosh...

All the darkness within the event dungeon began to gather, swirling around Damien like a dense fog.

It was somewhat similar to the state Damien had been in yesterday morning when he acted out, as if possessed. However, the volume of darkness now swirling around him was incomparably greater.

"Whats going on?" I shouted frantically.

Lucas calmly reported, "As soon as we entered, the darkness within the dungeon started converging on Damien. Hes unresponsive at the moment, so were not sure if hes conscious."

"Damn it..."

If it were a mental status effect, my passive skill Unyielding Commander wouldve restored him just by standing next to him.

The fact that he was still like that meant this was something else entirely.

I shouldnt have brought him into the dungeon when hes not well!

I had thought it would be safer to keep him within my line of sight, but it appeared that I had miscalculated.

The dungeons in the Lake Kingdom are the strongholds of darkness and nightmares.

It would only worsen Damiens condition, not improve it...!

Gurgle...

From Damiens back, a more vivid and voluminous dark aura than usual poured forth from [Black Queen], completely enveloping him.

His once sparkling eyes were now cloudy and listless.

"Damien! Its me, Ash! Dont you recognize me?"

I yelled, hoping to get through to him.

His cloudy eyes rolled to the side to look at me, and then...

Heh.

A sinister smile unlike any I had ever seen before appeared on Damiens lips.

"Damien is currently dreaming a happy dream."

"...!"

"Do not interfere with his happiness, human."

I had a gut feeling.

That was not Damien.

"Damn it!"

I muttered under my breath and at that moment,

Clang!

Damiens arms, fully consumed by the dark aura, gripped the pistol-shaped magic gun, [Cerberos], at his waist.

In the blink of an eye, the muzzle was aimed at me,

Bang! Bang-!

Flames burst forth.

***

Wham!

The next moment, sparks flew off the shield that Evangeline had wrapped around me.

Wielding her shield, she deflected the magical bullets, then clenched her magical lance forward.

"Good heavens, hes completely lost it, hasnt he? I cant believe Damien would fire at you, senior?"

Tell me about it. We might have to rethink the rankings of whos most likely to lose their minds in our party.

Crack!

Just then, Lucas clenched his teeth so hard the sound echoed within the dungeon room. He looked really pissed.

"While I acknowledge your contributions, to aim your guns at your lord... You need some serious discipline, Damien."

"Right now, Damien is unconscious due to the influence of that magic gun."

I clenched my teeth and pulled out a staff from my inventory.

"We need to subdue him without hurting him."

I shouted at Junior, who was in the middle of casting a spell.

"Junior! Can you hold off the Slime Wave on your own?"

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Juniors magic was powerful, but that was part of the problem. If were not careful, Damien could get seriously hurt.

As Junior held back the oncoming slimes with her area-of-effect magic, Lucas, Evangeline, and I closed in on Damien for a physical confrontation. That was the strategy Id devised.

"Subdue without harm... not sure thats entirely possible, Senior."

These jelly-like monsters that Junior was currently clearing away with magic.

"...!"

An idea flashed through my mind like lightning, and I couldnt help but shout.

"This is it!"

I immediately yelled over to Junior, who was in the middle of slime disposal.

"Junior! Stop killing the slimes!"

"Huh?"

Confused, Junior looked at me, and I urgently commanded her.

"Group them all in one place!"

***

- Bang!

The last round from Hunters Retribution was fired.

"Argh!"

Evangeline, who had been blocking with her shield, couldnt bear the continuous impact any longer. Her gauntlet shattered into pieces, and she screamed in agony.

"Damn it..."

Lucas also gritted his teeth, letting out a groan.

Lucas and Evangeline were limited to suppressive attacks, whereas Damien was shooting to kill.

The difference in combat power was inevitable. Lucas clenched the hilt of his longsword, grinding his teeth.

Does this mean that only blood will end this?

- Thunk!

Damien, without hesitation, tossed aside his empty Hunters Retribution and drew the shotgun he had strapped to his back for the last time.

Black Queen.

A Nightmare Slayer, the most powerful equipment on the southern front, and the instigator of the current crisis.

Woosh!

As Damien grasped the Black Queen, the dark aura swirling around his body intensified.

Grrrrr...!

An evil energy emanated from the shotgun, making it hard to even breathe.

- Shing!

Lucas clenched his teeth and drew his longsword from its sheath.

If he fires that gun, I cant just swing my sword for suppression anymore. One of us will have to fight prepared to die.

Damien smoothly aimed the Black Queen at Lucass forehead.

Lucas widened his eyes, preparing for the shot aimed at him.

At that moment when the sniper and the knight were locking eyes, charging their magic and sword skill, something happened.

- Woosh!

Suddenly, dozens of slimes rolled and poured behind Damien. The colorful, jiggling slimes looked like an avalanche.

"?!"

Startled, Damien immediately turned around and fired the Black Queen. Bang!

A single shot penetrated and eliminated the cores of six slimes. But there were still plenty of slimes left.

Plop! Plop!

The clumps of jelly-like slimes gelled together and rained down upon Damien.

"Go, my slimes!"

Behind the wave of slimes stood Ash.

He had used his level-one skill, Gaze of Command, to simultaneously mind-control dozens of slimes and direct them to attack Damien.

Even though his nose was bleeding from excessive magic power usage and he was plugging it with tissue, the third prince of the empire looked rather pleased.

"Any of you who survives and successfully subdues Damien will be permanently on our side!"

Plop! Plop!

Woosh!

Whether or not they understood Ashs words, the slimes charged like a tidal wave.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In a frenzy, Damien fired the Black Queen repeatedly, eliminating dozens of slimes by piercing their cores, but ultimately he was overwhelmed by the remaining slimes and...

Plop!

"Cough...?!"

He was encapsulated in the wiggly jelly.

"Would you really forcibly rob this child of his happy dream...?!"

Damien distorted his face and shouted.

"Living in the dreams of the past is happier for him than this hellish reality...!"

"Sleeping when he shouldnt be? Obviously, he needs to be woken up. What are you talking about?"

Ash approached the struggling Damien and swiftly snatched the Black Queen from his hand.

"The teachers confiscating this. Pick it up after class."

When Ash gripped the shotgun, the dark aura emanating from it vanished as if it were a lie.

Ash finished his statement with a stern face.

"Serve your punishment until then. Damien... kneel and raise your hands inside that!"

Above the flailing Damien, the remaining slimes finally poured down.