Ch.150The Massive Gate Is Dangerous (6)

I was curious about what was going on, but one thing was clear: Serejia didn’t seem to be doing this of her own free will either.

“I’ll explain the details later, but please get me out of here first.”

“Hmm…”

“Is there a problem? Someone like you should be more than capable.”

As Serejia said, getting her out of the dungeon wouldn’t be difficult, but there was obviously an issue.

“This feels suspicious.”

And rightfully so.

While it could simply be coincidence, meeting again in this manner struck me as somewhat contrived.

And that meant…

“If someone who knows about our relationship orchestrated this situation, wouldn’t they have set some kind of trap?”

“I don’t recall being subjected to anything special.”

“Of course you wouldn’t remember. Is that supposed to be an explanation…”

As I muttered with an irritated expression, Serejia shrank back and hastily made excuses.

“I’m a demigod, after all. If my memories had been tampered with, I would certainly notice something off. Or do you perhaps have some safety measure in mind?”

“Well, leaving you here would solve all problems, wouldn’t it?”

At my nonchalant remark, Serejia’s expression froze as if imagining something ominous.

“Y-you can’t be serious, right?”

“I am.”

“No, we’re not just that kind of…”

“Then what kind are we?”

Ultimately at a loss for words, Serejia anxiously grabbed at my waist.

“You’re the great Lord of Death! You won’t die even if someone kills you, so what’s the harm in falling for one little trap?”

“L-let go! How do we know something terrible won’t happen?”

It wasn’t that I was particularly afraid, but honestly, there was some risk involved. Even I hadn’t yet fully grasped the power of whoever was behind all this.

“Do you know how hard I worked to send you back to your homeland? Just close your eyes and help me this once!”

Serejia was quite sincerely asking for help.

I had guessed as much from her appearance, but she clearly couldn’t escape the dungeon’s constraints on her own. This meant that whoever was behind this was someone even Serejia, a demigod, couldn’t handle.

However, I couldn’t ignore the favor she’d done by sending me back to Earth, so I finally sighed and summoned my power to draw out the Book of Death.

It was to forcibly separate Serejia from the dungeon to which she was bound by a compulsory contract.

“Anyone else and I would have just abandoned them. Be grateful.”

“Um, is there perhaps another medium? The Book of Death doesn’t really suit me well…”

I gave her a pointed look, and Serejia immediately bowed her head.

“Yes, I’ll just go in.”

“As you should.”

After forcibly breaking the contract and binding Serejia inside the Book of Death, I guided the hunter raid party out of the dungeon.

For now, at least, the immediate crisis was over.

#

“So, dungeons have appeared on Thebe as well?”

“Yes. Specifically, after Henesia and Astride followed you to this planet.”

After hearing more details, it seemed that what happened on Thebe wasn’t much different from Earth.

Dungeons of various ranks appeared all over the planet, growing stronger as time passed.

Serejia said she had already seen the massive gates now appearing on Earth several times before.

‘Well, it’s not strange.’

There’s about a tenfold difference in the flow of time between Earth and Thebe.

Considering that Henesia’s group first appeared about 7 months ago, about 6 years would have passed on Thebe by now.

‘Plus, Thebe originally had a high concentration of magical energy, so dungeons would have gained power quickly.’

But that wasn’t the important part. Counting the martial artists from before, there were already three planets experiencing the same situation.

And that was just what we’d confirmed; in reality, it was impossible to guess how many planets were facing the same issue.

No matter how you looked at it, this was far from ordinary.

“Yes, that’s right. There were probably many more cases than we imagine.”

Serejia seemed to have some insight.

Now it was time to hear the truth from her own lips.

After composing herself, Serejia began speaking with a somewhat gloomy expression.

“Thebe has been completely conquered.”

“…Is that really true?”

Henesia, who had joined us at my summons, asked in disbelief.

Of course, Thebe would have been intact when she was there, so it would be difficult for her to accept.

And the same was true for me.

‘…’

I had suspected as much from Serejia’s appearance, but hearing it directly was quite shocking.

Although not as powerful as me, Thebe was home to many formidable beings. The idea that it had been conquered in just a few years by some unknown entity was absurd.

“What were the others doing? How could they give up their homeland so easily?”

Though I had caused plenty of trouble on Thebe myself, I felt extremely displeased hearing that someone else had done the same.

But seeing my reaction, Serejia indignantly pounded her chest and exclaimed.

“What kind of feigned innocence is that? To be honest, more than half of it is your fault!”

“…Huh? Me?”

“You eliminated anyone who slightly annoyed you! And turned those you liked into undead! How could any talent remain?”

Is… is that how it was?

Honestly, thinking about it from that perspective, there were many points that made me uncomfortable, so I quietly turned my head away.

“Especially the absence of Lord Makarov, who served as a Regulator, was significant… If he had been there, we wouldn’t have fallen so pathetically.”

“Hey, you’re the one who told him to get the Goddess’s Tear.”

“What else could I do? It was a one-of-a-kind item. How was I supposed to know you’d slit his throat out of spite?”

I avoided Serejia’s gaze as I recalled the image of Makarov meeting his end at the hands of Charon, the ferryman of the underworld.

Including him, there were six Regulators on Thebe, but because they opposed me, every single one of them returned to dust.

At this point, it honestly does seem like my fault.

But what could I do? How was I supposed to know it would lead to this outcome?

“…Let’s forget the past. Having experienced all that, you must know the details.”

This was where the truly important conversation began. The situation wasn’t particularly positive, but we were finally approaching the secret behind all these events.

And honestly, with the information I’d gathered so far, I already had a pretty good idea of who was behind it.

“Don’t you have a general idea by now?”

“…Honestly, there aren’t many beings capable of causing something like this.”

Not half-breeds like Serejia, but true beings who had attained proper status and authority.

One of the rulers above the sky, commonly called gods, must be behind this situation.

“Yes. As you think, one of them is waging an indiscriminate war of conquest.”

The gods I’m referring to here aren’t the singular, all-governing entities that people commonly imagine.

From my perspective, having experienced both modern and otherworldly faiths, they are simply beings that exist on a higher plane than humans.

‘The problem is, the difference in status is unimaginably vast.’

Of course, there are differences in ability among them, and to be honest, there are occasionally some who aren’t all that impressive.

Probably the Silent God, master of Kelshpid who was the boss of the S-rank dungeon that appeared in Korea before, was about that level.

“But judging by the scale of this rampage…”

“Yes. The opponent likely possesses considerable divine power.”

“You speak as if you’ve never encountered them.”

Serejia said she was forcibly made into a dungeon boss and brought to Earth after Thebe fell.

If that’s the case, she must have had some kind of contact.

“No. That being didn’t even show themselves to me.”

Serejia trembled slightly, as if this was the ultimate humiliation.

“From their perspective, I wasn’t even worth that much.”

“…No, that’s a bit strange.”

Of course, Serejia’s words make sense. I would have thought the same if I had only heard her account.

But under my command, there was someone with a completely opposite experience.

Someone who claimed to have seen the being who made them a dungeon master, and even heard various things from them.

That was Lich Gordon, the boss of the hidden A-rank dungeon.