Ch.242The One Who Laughs Last Is the True Victor

The Cunning Usurper.

He was a special entity of demon maggot born in this dungeon, naturally gifted with the special ability to evolve his own flesh by devouring other monsters.

The special giant entity that had been nailed to the eastern banquet hall of the inner fortress was both his birthplace and his first meal.

The maggot, which grew by feeding on the immortal giant, escaped from the banquet hall and began to prey on the demon tribes wandering inside the dungeon.

From Lesser Demons to Demon Hordes to Greater Demons.

After endless gluttony, the maggot reached the pinnacle of evolution, transforming itself into a Greater Demon and acquiring the appropriate strength, intelligence, and magical power.

Eventually, his ambition led him to target the dungeon boss, the Tyrant King, as his next prey.

However, no matter how evolved a special entity might be, it’s impossible to overcome the gap between a boss monster and a regular monster.

Moreover, the Tyrant King was a despot who had invested all the resources generated by the core solely into strengthening his own body.

In a direct confrontation, there wasn’t even a 1% chance of victory.

Therefore, the maggot became a trusted servant of the Tyrant King, serving him closely while exploring the secrets of his power.

What continuously strengthened the Tyrant King’s body was the enormous dungeon resources flowing through the crown, scepter, and medal.

In modern terms, these three treasures functioned to convert the dungeon’s resources into steroids and inject them into his body.

‘I want them.’

For the first time, he felt a desire stronger than hunger.

The Tyrant King’s mountain-like robust body was merely the result of those resources, so what he truly needed to obtain were those treasures.

Ironically, to seize those treasures, he had to defeat the Tyrant King who was being strengthened in real-time by those very treasures.

Although the Cunning Usurper had the ability to self-evolve, if the Tyrant King grew stronger at a faster rate, he could never catch up no matter how much time passed.

So the Cunning Usurper devised a scheme.

“Your Majesty. It is clear that no one in this world can compare to you, nor will anyone ever be able to. Wouldn’t it be fitting for you to possess a castle and army worthy of your authority?”

“You’re suggesting we build a castle on this field?”

“Yes. A true emperor should sit on a magnificent throne and display his power. I believe residing in a cave with the corpse of a filthy giant is unbecoming of Your Majesty’s glory.”

The Cunning Usurper encouraged the king’s vanity by suggesting the construction of a castle.

In fact, the Tyrant King also had the desire to flaunt his power but had been unable to do so due to lack of knowledge and skill.

Now that his trusted servant took the initiative to design the castle, build towers, and enhance its mystique with numerous magical devices, the Tyrant King had every reason to be satisfied.

However, this was the Usurper’s scheme to halt the king’s growth.

It was intended to squander the massive resources generated by the dungeon core, leaving nothing for strengthening the king’s body.

The epitome of waste: rebuilding completed structures with more beautiful bricks, re-carving supporting pillars into more artistic forms.

Moreover, by forcibly summoning and maintaining powerful monsters not native to this dungeon, such as Hell Hounds, Dullahans, and Abyss Tentacles, the dungeon’s resources were consumed like water through a bottomless barrel.

Yet even in such circumstances, the king did not rebuke his subordinate.

The castle and treasures created by his trusted servant satisfied the king’s aesthetic sense, and the taste of wine piling up in the storehouse added vitality to his monotonous life.

He thought he could continue strengthening his body after the castle was completed.

The Tyrant King, who thought this way, only realized he had been betrayed when his entire body was torn apart by the grand-scale sealing magic that filled the audience chamber.

“You! How dare you! Arghhhh!!!”

With a desperate scream, the Tyrant King was finally sealed.

But that did not signify the Cunning Usurper’s complete victory.

“So the position of dungeon master cannot be changed under any circumstances… I expected this, but it’s still disappointing.”

Originally, with the Tyrant King being so careless, he could have simply taken his life instead of resorting to the cumbersome method of sealing.

But unlike wild groups where the strongest becomes the leader, a dungeon boss is determined from the moment the dungeon is created.

In other words, the authority to control this dungeon’s resources was granted only to the ‘Tyrant King’ from beginning to end.

Having discovered this, the Usurper sealed the Tyrant King instead of killing him as the first step in his grand plan to steal the king’s body.

“It doesn’t matter. I still have time and the means.”

The Cunning Usurper’s summoning of three types of hell creatures wasn’t just to waste more of the dungeon’s resources.

Hell Hound.

Known merely as a large dog that breathes fire, its true terror lies in its ‘Soul Eater’ ability, which tears apart flesh and directly devours souls.

Dullahan.

With an undead body but a living head, it can redefine its identity by replacing its head, possessing an uncertain nature.

Abyss Tentacle.

Professionals of life modification who transform their prey into tentacles like themselves while keeping them alive.

The Usurper’s ultimate goal was to completely steal the king’s body using these monsters’ special abilities, and all plans for this proceeded perfectly without a single hitch.

Thanks to the intruders who could read Arcane Words and faithfully followed the instructions he had left, the three treasures symbolizing royal authority were transformed into fatal traps to bind the king.

After collecting the treasures in the castle and bursting into the audience chamber, he gave the intruders a bit of showmanship by ‘pretending to be surprised.’

When the freed Tyrant King, blinded by rage, tore off the Usurper’s neck, the Cunning Usurper used the Dullahan’s ability to fake his death while waiting for the decisive chance.

And when the Tyrant King unleashed the power of the three treasures, he activated the fatal trap hidden within them.

The powerful sealing magic hidden in the medal bound the king’s body inside and out, while the scepter in his hand, like a Dullahan’s head, gave the king’s body an ‘uncertain identity.’

Finally, the Hell Hound’s flames sleeping within the crown would burn the king’s head and devour his soul, leaving only an ownerless body that retained the qualifications of a king.

All that remained was to combine the ‘head of the Cunning Usurper{Dullahan}’ with the ‘body of the Tyrant King{Dullahan}.’

The Abyss Tentacle’s life modification ability would fuse the bodies of two different life forms as if ‘they had always been one’…

“Hehehe… Hahahahaha!!”

Finally, the Cunning Usurper{Demon Maggot} succeeded in seizing the position of the Tyrant King{Dungeon Boss}.

In just 10 seconds—a time far too brief compared to the long years of waiting.

~ ~ ~ Protagonist’s Perspective ~ ~ ~

“Hahaha… ha…?”

The Cunning Usurper, who had bound the Tyrant King at the critical moment and stolen his body.

However, his jubilant laughter didn’t last even 10 seconds.

He must have realized that the situation wasn’t unfolding as planned.

“Ugh! What is this…! Why can’t I move…?”

“Too bad, Mr. Cunning Usurper. The con is over.”

The one who answered the Usurper’s question was the red-haired sorceress Jessica.

She had surrounded the body of the Tyrant King—now the Cunning Usurper’s—with fragments of omniscience, taking control of all magical flows moving above it.

Thanks to her, the Usurper’s plan to usurp the king’s body was halted before completing its final stage.

“How’s the status, Jessica?”

“Our prediction was right. The magic hidden in the medal was meant to bind the Tyrant King, and the crown and scepter contained magic to cause some change to the king’s body… probably intending to steal this body intact.”

“Y-you, how did you know that…”

“My, would anyone activate an artifact containing a sealed boss-level monster without any investigation? Especially when there’s a magic item analysis expert in the party.”

According to Jessica and Mina’s investigation, the weakening magic bestowed on the three treasures wasn’t simply meant to reduce physical abilities.

This suggested a more sophisticated plan—likely the Cunning Usurper’s groundwork for completely stealing the royal authority.

Thinking this, we didn’t let our guard down even after the Usurper’s neck was severed by the king’s strike, and we succeeded in preventing the Usurper from stealing the king’s body when he revived at the critical moment.

“If you had truly succeeded in usurping the throne, you wouldn’t have sealed the Tyrant King alive. Besides, what kind of traitor would hide all three treasures symbolizing royal authority underground?”

“Unlike in the past when you failed to meet some condition and could only seal the king, this time you prepared thoroughly to revive the king and perfectly steal his authority. You had your reasons for making us help with those preparations.”

Can monsters not activate Arcane Words, or was there some magical reason requiring outside intervention?

We can’t know the answer now, but what matters is that the Cunning Usurper’s plot was halted in its final stage.

And all the magic used in that plot is now under Jessica’s control.

“Scepter’s dominance, release.”

*Swoosh…*

Following Jessica’s command, the light emanating from the scepter’s jewel disappeared, and the mysterious force that had been interfering with our magic use vanished.

“Crown’s influence, release.”

*Whoosh*

Soon after, as the crown’s light disappeared, our bodies, which had felt as heavy as water-soaked cotton, became light.

“The medal’s…”

“S-stop! The internal fusion of the body isn’t complete yet! If you cut off the medal’s power now, I’ll…”

“…Medal’s binding force, release.”

“Nooooo!!!”

*Crack…*

Finally, as the magical light flowing from the golden medal extinguished, the glass thorns embedded in the king’s body and the surrounding chains began to crumble like sand.

And the king’s body and the Usurper’s head, which should have been firmly sewn together by the thorns and chains, ultimately failed to become one and met a regretful parting.

“No! This can’t be! My plan of over 200 years… to mere humans!!!”

*Splurt-*

Red and blue blood gushed like a fountain from the gap between the head and body.

As the blood drained, the king’s body and the Usurper’s head began to shrink rapidly.

The once mighty body of the Tyrant King withered like firewood before turning to dust and scattering, while the Cunning Usurper’s head transformed into a pale, wrinkled worm.

It looked similar to the maggot we had seen in the banquet hall.

“…Is it over?”

“Hey, saying that at this timing is taboo.”

“No, it’s fine. Both the Tyrant King and the Cunning Usurper are completely gone. Look at this.”

The adventurers sighed in relief upon seeing two magic stones, one red and one blue, rolling on the ground where Jessica pointed.

The red one must be the Tyrant King’s magic stone, and the blue one the Cunning Usurper’s.

“Now that the boss is down, the dungeon core should be found soon. If anyone needs healing, this is the time to…”

“Huh? Jessica! Look at that!”

“The three treasures are glowing! Is there something else left?”

The crown, scepter, and medal, which had lost their light and fallen to the floor when the ritual was interrupted, are once again floating in the air, shining brilliantly.

Everyone’s faces show tension, wondering if the Tyrant King might resurrect again.

However, in the next moment, they merged into a single bright light and slowly descended to the floor like a feather…

“That’s…!?”

In place of the dazzling light was a cube-shaped object with a mirror-like surface reflecting the sunlight coming through the window.

The moment the adventurers realized that the texture and form of this cube was very similar to a “certain item” they had encountered recently, voices of joy began to echo throughout the audience chamber.

“It’s a magic core! And a record-breaking one at that!”

“I’ve never seen one so clean and large!!”

“Wooooow!”

*Rumble…*

While everyone was hugging each other and jumping with joy, unable to contain their excitement over this great discovery, the large throne moved backward, revealing stairs leading underground.

But it wasn’t until 10 minutes later that this passage began to draw people’s attention.