Volume 5 - CH 2

Part 1

With the elevator, they quickly arrived at the 13th underground floor.

That sort of cheat didn’t exist in this other world.

In regards to travelling, it was austere no matter where they went, and was a pallid, unkind design like old Western video games.

──Really, there is reality even in another world.

What was written on the first underground floor’s inner door was 『This is not a Flag Battle, but an Elimination Battle』.

It was in Japanese in the game, but it seemed that it was written in this world’s language. With Diablo being unable to read it, Rem read it out loud.

Diablo explained.

「When all of the monsters on this floor are defeated, a staircase will appear in the back. Though I say monsters, they are all low leveled.」

Horun nodded several times.

「But, there are also some hidden monsters, so it was pretty difficult -ssu.」

Rem asked a question.

「……Um……As I thought, Diablo, you knew about it, didn’t you?」

「Mu?」

「……About this dungeon……But, why are you so well-informed about it? Even in regards to the former Demon King territory, it seemed that you knew many things about it. However, being from another world, Diablo, this should have been your first time visiting this land. Even with the dungeon’s location, without Horun’s guidance, it seemed as if you didn’t know where it was.」

It couldn’t be helped if she thought it was strange. To know about the mechanisms inside even though he didn’t know the dungeon’s location……

He pondered over what would be a clever excuse.

But if he could come up with something like that, his hardships with communication would……(rest omitted)

「It is because I am a Demon King.」

「……Is that so.」

Rem looked like she wasn’t fully satisfied. That was reasonable.

Diablo turned his gaze towards Lumachina’s direction. She didn’t have time.

「Right now, it would be best to hurry on ahead.」

「Yes……」

Rem is rational and wise. She immediately withdrew.

They stood at the maze’s entrance.

Several thin stone walls formed a complex maze.

On the first underground floor, only the monsters’ levels were low, but it had become a searching around quest to find out where in the complex maze the monsters were.

Since the location of the monsters were random, even Diablo didn’t know where they were.

Some would be camouflaged into the ground and walls, while there were some that stuck onto the ceiling and fell on top of Players that were passing by.

As the producer, he had a feeling of wanting to be upfront with it and enjoy it but……

──Unfortunately, we don’t have the time right now.

Diablo turned towards the darkness, and prepared his 《Staff of Tenma》.

Lumachina’s legs were slow, and they needed a few more days than they expected to reach the dungeon, but thanks to that, his MP had recovered.

Right now, it was at about 30%.

It wouldn’t be a problem even if he used a somewhat largish magic.

「《Virus Cloud》!!」

A curtain of wind sprung forth in front of his eyes. On the other side of it, dark clouds spread out. Black air spread out to the back of maze.

The presence of the monsters that wandered about in the dungeon vanished.

Rem asked a question with a frightened sounding voice.

「……Diablo, that is?」

「It is Poison Magic.」

It was level 110 Wind and Darkness Attribute Magic. It would annihilate the low level monsters in an enclosed space like the dungeon. It would have no effect on monsters that did not breath though.

「P, poison, is it.」

「It is because there is no need to fight fair and square against the hiding and lurking monsters.」

「……That is……But, will we be alright going through the path?」

「Be at ease, the effective time is short.」

In the game, it was 60 seconds, but in this world, there were many cases where the scale of distance and time were different. In the end, the dark cloud of poison lasted for about five minutes.

At the back of the dungeon, a *gakon* sound was made.

「So the staircase has appeared.」

It seems that the monsters were annihilated.

──As the producer, I don’t really like cheating like this though.

They continued onto the next floor.

Part 2

The stone staircase that looked like it was carved out of bedrock continued down in a spiral-shape.

This part was a part omitted in the game.

Rem’s eyes went round.

「……This is magnificent……I have never seen a structure this splendid.」

「I know rightー」

Shera was also impressed, and stroked the wall.

Horun nodded once again.

「I was also super surprised when I first saw it -ssu!」

「Even the grand chapel in the royal capital isn’t this well made. It might be possible that it isn’t a building made by the people of the Races.」

Rem and the others nodded at Lumachina’s words.

「……That is possible. It might have been created with powerful magic just like Zircon Tower.」

The Zircon Tower that was the symbol of Zircon Tower City was constructed with precious stone that had a sense of translucence. It couldn’t be cut with common methods, and it was said that the people of the Races didn’t even know how to create it.

It was judged as being created by the Demonic Beings.

Diablo’s group finally arrived at the second underground floor.

『Transforming Maze』

「This place is a maze that changes with the passage of time. Monsters also wander about.」

While talking and worrying about where to go, the wall at the back would open up and monsters would appear──That sort of pleasant event could also happen.

「……So the maze changes? It seems like memorizing it will be difficult.」

Rem pondered over it.

Shera raised an uneasy voice.

「If we get separated, it might be hard to return to the entrance.」

「……We might not even be able to join together again. You could be eaten by monsters, die from starvation, or get caught in a trap.」

「Hii!?」

「……It will be alright, Shera. You will be discovered by someone eventually. You might have turned into a skeleton corpse by then though.」

「That isn’t alright at all, you know!?」

Shera coiled herself around Diablo’s arm. Her large bulges pressed up against him.

「I don’t want to be left behind, Diablo!?」

Being hit with a surprise attack, he unintentionally winced.

Demon King-like words that would soothe a frightened young girl in front of a dungeon──He couldn’t come up with any in an instant.

At any rate, with his arm being held tightly, it would be hard to fight when monsters appeared.

「Separate from me.」

「Uu……」

She made a face that looked like she was about to cry.

──What should I do!?

At that time, Lumachina touched Shera’s shoulder.

「It is alright. Let us believe in Diablo-sama. With you like that, he will be troubled when danger approaches, you know?」

「Th, that’s true……Yeah……I’m sorry, Diablo.」

「Hmph.」

Although he felt a bit disappointed when she separated from him and the soft, warm feeling left as well, but Diablo was relieved in his mind.

If those were pressed up against him, he would be nervous, and he wouldn’t be able to capture the dungeon.

Horun spread out a parchment.

「This is a map of when we came here last time -ssu. I think that it has already changed though -ssu.」

「……Now that you mention it, Horun, you said that you’ve gone as far as the third floor, didn’t you?」

「That’s right -ssu. On the third underground floor, there is a room that monsters come out from in swarms, and was really troublesome -ssu.」

「About how long is the length of the maze?」

「It took us about half a day -ssu.」

──That long?

Diablo found that to be surprising.

In the game, they should have come out in about 5~10 minutes but……

Come to think of it, even going to Faltra City from the 《Starfall Tower》 should have taken 5~10 minutes in the game, but in this other world, it took about six hours.

It might be possible that it had become a far more vast and complex maze than Diablo thought it would be.

If they were to diligently capture it, there was a possibility that they would take more than half a day to do it.

What should they do?

Diablo looked at one of the walls. It was made from stone. Its thickness was about two bricks thick. Being able to move, they weren’t bulky.

──Come to think of it, although terrain can’t be changed with magic in the game, it’s possible in this other world, isn’t it. I guess I should try it out.

「《Flare Burst》!!」

A thunderous roar resounded.

Explosions that had their focus narrowed down happened consecutively and destroyed the target.

Several walls were broken, and holes that lead to the back appeared one after another.

They were holes that they could pass through.

If even the location of the staircase to the next floor had changed, he would have ended up opening holes in the wrong direction……but going by what they had experienced up until now, although the distance was different, the direction was surely the same.

「Yosh.」

When he turned around──

Rem and the others were flabbergasted with their mouths wide open.

Shera’s eyes were sparkling.

「That’s amazing! It’ll be easy if we go forward just like this!」

「This much is only natural, for I am a Demon King after all.」

He said that in a tone that wasn’t particularly proud, but even he was surprised in his mind.

To think that it would go this well!

Although the game’s magic had a visual effect of gouging out the ground, in actuality, it wouldn’t change it. It could happen since this was another world.

「As expected of you, Diablo-sama.」

Lumachina looked at the broken stone walls and was strongly impressed.

As usual, Horun was surprised and frightened. For an Adventurer, he was a timid fellow.

An earth tremor occurred, and several stone walls started moving.

「Do not stray too far from me. It is not my fault if you lose sight of me.」

When Diablo called out to them, Lumachina and Horun became flustered and went through the holes.

Part 3

On the third underground floor, 『F43』 was written.

It was written in this world’s letters, but when it was this short, Diablo could understand it.

──So it is written like this in this place.

It might be good if he learned the Lifelia Kingdom’s language eventually.

The third floor’s mechanism was a homage to a certain retro game but……since the retro game that was the source material wasn’t in this other world, it turned out to be a floor with no hints.

It was made so that when Slimes of differing color were defeated in order, the staircase going down would appear.

The fourth underground floor──

『Do you want to go to the next floorー!?』

The moment they went through the door, they were engulfed in hot air.

Rem’s expression distorted.

「……Wh, what is this?」

「Hyah!? Rem, isn’t that!?」

Looking down from the cliff that acted as their foothold, Rem raised a scream.

What was flaming and burning was, lava.

That heat had changed this floor’s air into a scorching heat.

Rem was suspicious.

「……There shouldn’t be, any volcanoes in this area. And we haven’t gone deep enough to see something like that. Isn’t this just an illusion created through magic?」

「This hot feeling……is an illusion?」

Maybe because she was weak to heat, Lumachina dripped sweat and asked that.

Rem also wiped the sweat from her own forehead.

「……Certainly, this does not appear to be an illusion. But I believe there is no mistake that it is lava created through magic.」

「In any case, let’s continue on ahead -ssu. If we stay here the whole time, it feels like we’ll dry up -ssu!」

Horun’s words were reasonable.

When they continued on ahead, the cliff that was their foothold was interrupted before long. Below was lava. A wire rope stretched out to the opposite side.

There was a gondola hooked onto that wire rope.

「……Are we supposed to go to the other side with this?」

「So hot!?」

Having touched the gondola that was made from iron, Shera made an uproar. Her fingertip turned red. It seemed that she was scalded.

Lumachina held one hand out.

「Ara ara, please show some modest mercy to the great and honorable God’s follower that lives on this blessed land……《Cure Light》.」

*Hou* Her hand shined.

Shera’s scald was cured in an instant. Going *waaー*, she let out a smile.

「Thank you, Lumachina-chan!」

「If you are going to give thanks, send them to Kami-sama.」

「Un! Thank you, Kami-sama!」

Rem breathed a sigh.

「……Even though you knew that things were heated up by the lava, why would you touch an iron gondola, you stupid Elf. I’m sure that even Kami-sama is bothered by you.」

「I mean, I was wondering about how to move it!」

「At the very least, wear some leather gloves.」

「Ah, I see.」

As for Rem, she had iron tekkou equipped.

She was a Summoner, but she could also manage close combat using her fists like a Fist Fighter. She possessed the tekkou as her weapon.

Lumachina asked a question.

「Rem-san, isn’t it hot?」

「……That is, well, it is hot, isn’t it.」

「I feel like I’m dying -ssu.」

The one that was the most exhausted was Horun.

To think that the Warrior-type man would be exhausted before the Healer woman, how pathetic! So not only was his outward appearance that of a child, even the inside was like that.

That being said, this heat was unexpected for Diablo as well.

Both the gondola and the lava were arranged by him, but in the game, there was only a graphic that made it look hot. In actuality, it felt as if they had turned into ingredients that were being cooked or something.

──If we don’t hurry up and clear this floor, we’ll be annihilated from dehydration.

Everyone got on board the gondola.

After pushing the lever forward, it started to slowly advance forward.

It rumbled and shook.

「It’s shaking! It’s shaking!」

When Shera made an uproar, Rem glared at her.

「……Keep silent. What will you do if there are monsters? Do you intend on calling them out?」

「Uguh.」

Diablo shrugged his shoulders.

「Be at ease. Monsters have not been deployed in this fourth underground floor. However, you are not only going to be shaken around in the gondola. In fact, you could say that the true terror of this dungeon is going to start from hereon out.」

「……Wh, what was that?」

The gondola came to a halt.

Horun raised an agitated voice.

「FuwaAah, it stopped -ssu! We’re done for -ssu! It’s so hot that we’re gonna die -ssu!」

「Shut it. If you find it hot, then take off that pointless equipment. Something like leather armor that hasn’t been endowed with magic, it is nothing but dead weight against the monsters we will be facing against beyond here.」

「Uu……」

「More importantly, concentrate on the incoming questions. They will come to you as well.」

「Eh?」

With a *kan kan kan kan!*, a chime resounded.

『Do you want to go on aheadー!? O～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～!!』

That voice could be heard from nowhere in particular.

Diablo wiped the sweat from his forehead.

To think that he himself, moreover in a party, would participate in this……it was the worst.

『From here on, the questions of a quiz will be asked! If you get it correct, the gondola will advance! If you get it incorrect, the wire rope will slacken! Heaven, or hell! The Lava Crossing Ultra Super Miracle Quiz!』

──When I made this, a quiz show was on TV. Moreover, since I had sleepless nights for about three days, I had a strange high tension going on.

Experiencing this objectively like this……

How embarassing.

It was a dark history.

If it was possible, he would first construct this floor over again.

The reasons why he couldn’t say that he himself had created this dungeon increased by one more.

『All party members will answer in the quiz in turns!』

Diablo gritted his teeth.

He himself made the setting for the quiz. No matter what maniac subject was brought up, he would be able answer all of the questions correctly.

However, there was a rule that all members of the party had to answer. If there was someone that was ignorant, they would end up dragging everyone down.

It was a friendship breaking type of rule.

Winners and losers would come out in the party, and this rule that made the losers become a bother to the others would produce criticism from their companions.

It was something like doing a large jump rope with the entire class. When even one person missed the timing for the jump, it would be treated as if everyone failed.

Revealing the party’s excess baggage──It was that sort of devilish rule.

──Well, if they are members that got along well and were able to consult each other on online chats or in real life, this wouldn’t be much of a problem though. This floor at least……

The problem was whether or not Rem and the others could clear the cult-like quiz related to Cross Reverie. This was another world, and there were no online chats, telephones, or people inside of them.

『Question! Is the thing that is not effective on Cyclops Crocodiles, magic? Or swords?』

Rem raised her hand.

「……It is magic.」

To think that she would answer herself without any timidity in spite of the quiz having started quite abruptly. She had a comprehensive faculty and assertiveness that wasn’t common.

There was a momentary pause.

『The correct answer is……Magic has no effectー!! Splendid!』

The gondola shook, and advanced several meters.

Rem nodded.

「……Like this, it looks like we’ll be able to arrive on the other side if we answer correctly five times.」

「Umu」

「An easy victory -ssu ne! I will answer the next one -ssu!」

Horun rolled up his sleeves.

『Question! Is the habitat that the Madara Snake lives in, in water? In the trees? Or in a hole?』

「Erm……In, in a hole -ssu!」

『Bubuー!! The correct answer is, in waterー!!』

「Wahー!?」

Horun held his head in his arms. Rem and Shera also screamed.

Diablo breathed a sigh.

Even without having to say it, criticism from the party would gather. This was the fearsomeness of the friendship breaking rule.

『The gondola, goes down!!』

The stretched out wire rope loosened, and with a *gakuh*, the gondola’s position lowered.

「Kyah!?」

Diablo supported Lumachina who had her balance broken.

「You had best be careful.」

「Th, thank you very much.」

In the event that the others got scalded, they could be cured by Lumachina’s miracles, but miracles couldn’t be used on her herself. It could be cured if there were HP Recovery Potions but……

When he had a substantial amount of HP shaved off in the fight against the Head of the Holy Knights, he used up all of the ones he had on hand.

*Fuwah* The heat increased.

It must have been because they got closer to the lava.

Rem took off her tekkou. And then, she took off the belt that she stored her Summoned Beast crystals in, and turned it into hand luggage.

「……Fuu」

「It’s so hot!」

Shera took off her shoulder cape. On top of that, she grabbed the hem of her skirt, and flapped and fanned it. That released some heat.

Even Lumachina took off the mantle that was put on her.

「It certainly is hot, isn’t it……It is dizzying.」

「UUuー」

While only Horun was dripping sweat, he didn’t take off any clothes. Was it a manly show of endurance?

Even Diablo wanted to take off his mantle but……

Due to his habit, since it “wasn’t Demon King-like”, he stubbornly stuck through it.

Shera raised one hand.

「Then, I’ll answer the next one.」

『Question! In the Fortress City Faltra, how many gates are there? Four? Eight? More than that?』

「Ah……」

Rem raised her voice. Diablo could understand the feeling but……

『Whoa there, in the event that there is an act that seems like giving a hint, it will be unconditionally counted as incorrect!』

In a rush, Rem shut her mouth.

『The correct answer is……”More than that”ー!! There are a lot of “gates”! “Castle gates” wasn’t said in the question!』

「Eh～～～!? No way, that’s sneaky!」

It was a stereotypical trick question. The guy that created this quiz has a terrible personality.

──Well, it’s me though.

The gondola fell once more.

It drew even closer to the lava.

「So ho～t!」

Finally, Shera started to take off her clothes.

Rem opened her eyes wide.

「Wha, what are you planning to do!?」

「I mean, when it’s this hot, I get dazed, and it gets impossible to do riddlesー.」

「……Certainly, that might be true. This is for the sake of capturing the dungeon.」

Consenting to that strange reasoning, amazingly, even Rem started to strip.

Lumachina’s face went red.

「H, how shameless.」

「……If you’re an Adventurer, it’s life over shame. The capturing. It’s the same as bathing it cold water. Thinking that it’s shameless is more shameless.」

When she was seriously remonstrated by Rem, Lumachina also consented, going “so that’s how it is”.

She also started taking off her hot-looking clothes.

Horun, who was still dressed in his lightweight armor,──went *unyu*, raising a strange voice, and collapsed to the middle of the gondola. It seems that he went down from the heat.

Lumachina, who was now dressed in her underwear, tightly clenched her fists.

「Is my turn next?」

『Question! Which among these is the biggest monster? The Sand Whale, the Green Behemoth, the Legend Dragon!』

Diablo was flustered.

Of all things, she was hit with a question aimed towards the considerably high leveled people.

If it were game’s Players, they might have participated battles that were group battle events but……

Most likely, Lumachina has probably never even seen any of them. She should have seen only the Sand Whale in Zircon Tower City though.

She answered.

「According to the books in the royal capital library, it is the Legend Dragon.」

『The correct answer is……The Legend Dragon! You got the right answerー!!』

「Yoorayー!! Lumachina-chan, that was great!」

Shera hugged her.

After that, the two of them went *hot～* and made strained laughs.

As expected of the High Chief Priest. She had extensive knowledge. It seemed that her power of miracles wasn’t the only thing strong about her.

The gondola moved forward.

Beads of sweat surfaced on the girls’ skin. The drops went along the top of their smooth skin and fell.

Going *Haa……Haa……*, they panted.

They had flushed faces, and moist eyes.

While gazing at them, Diablo felt like he was starting to have a strange feeling.

Even though it should have only been hot, he had become somewhat embarrassed.

──Has even my head suffered damage due to the heat?

He felt like he was about to involuntarily extend his hand out.

No, no, that was ridiculous.

The girls were party members, they were in the middle of capturing the dungeon right now, and they were stripping because it was hot due to the lava’s heat.

Thinking that it was shameless was more shameless.

Shera let out a sigh.

「Nnu……Diablo……Next, is your turn, you know?」

Rem wiped the sweat on her chest.

「……Please get it right……If it becomes, any hotter than this, then it feels like we will have to take off even our underwear.」

「That is true. My underwear is already soaking wet.」

Even though Lumachina was blushing, she pinched her wet underwear.

──If I get it wrong, they’ll be nude!?

Diablo’s heart pounded. A large bead of sweat fell from his forehead.

『Question! Cross Reverie’s start is in, January? April? September?』

A meta type question had come.

Rem and the others didn’t even understand the meaning of the question and tilted their heads.

Naturally, Diablo knew the answer.

──Nude.

Going *no no no*, he shook his head side-to-side.

Don’t look down on me! I am a Demon King. The Demon King Diablo! MMORPGs are not just a game! I will not deny my own way of life!

「It is September. The pre-opening was planned to be in April but it was postponed to September, and the true opening was in January of the following year.」

『That is correctー!!』

Once all of the members had a turn, they had more leeway. The remaining questions were answered by Diablo and Rem, and they arrived at the opposite cliff.

When they passed through the door leading to the lower floor, the heat of the lava disappeared and felt as if it were all a lie.