episode_0015

I took Lili, who had become a temporary party member, and headed straight back to the dungeon.

Then I set the difficulty back to Torment and told the system that I wanted to enter.

[There are at least two party members of different genders.]

[Entry granted.]

[Dungeon reconstruction initiated.]

As I had clearly met the conditions this time, it seemed like the system had no more complaints.

The dungeon entry was permitted, and the Torment difficulty dungeon was ready.

“Hmm… Is this what a Hell dungeon looks like?”

Suddenly, the ground cracked open on the desolate plain, and lava began to spew out.

Along with that, the sky started to darken rapidly.

“So, this is the dungeon.”

The dungeon was transforming into a form reminiscent of Hell.

This must be the Torment difficulty dungeon of the Hell dungeon.

[Dungeon preparation complete. If you defeat the dungeon owner, the dungeon will be cleared.]

“Good luck.”

After the dungeon completely transformed, the system’s voice came to an end.

Now, we truly had to explore the dungeon.

“Wow…! It’s so fascinating. I’ve lived in the demon realm for almost 200 years, but I never knew such a place existed!”

As I silently gazed at the scene for a moment, Lili suddenly embraced my arm.

She looked quite excited.

“We’re not here to play around, so stop dawdling and follow me.”

“Yes…♡”

I warned Lili not to get too excited and detached her, then walked ahead towards the dungeon.

Lili continued to follow behind me with a cheerful expression.

“It’s definitely fascinating.”

Although I spoke somewhat bluntly to Lili, I couldn’t deny feeling amazed myself.

Discovering such a space, which I had never encountered in the game despite exploring every detail, naturally left me astonished.

‘Wasn’t this part of the game.’

Even if I claimed to have done everything in the game, it wasn’t an exaggeration.

I had searched through every detail, trying to make Ronan happy in any way possible.

However, I had never come across this dungeon. It was a location not implemented in the game.

Which raised the question, why would there be areas not implemented in the game?

‘I wonder if they were abandoned during development.’

Although I’m not a game developer, my guess is that this might be an unimplemented map.

It’s not uncommon to have data present in the game but not implemented in files.

Due to various reasons, some files might not have been included, and this dungeon could be one of them.

Or perhaps it could be released as future DLC.

There were quite a few possibilities.

Regardless of the reason, as someone who discovered an unknown aspect of the game, I couldn’t help but find the current situation quite enjoyable.

‘I wonder if all the unresolved plot points will be resolved.’

Will I learn more about things I didn’t know here? I’m looking forward to it a bit.

While I claim to know all the game’s stories, there’s a nuance to that statement.

I may be well aware of the numerous bad endings Ronan has experienced, but there are many unrevealed aspects of the story outside the game that I’m not familiar with.

‘Like the Emperor’s identity or the unseen Holy Sword.’

Plentiful unresolved plot points with no answers.

Certainly, there is an Emperor in the Empire, but this Emperor has never revealed their appearance.

I had no idea where they were or what they were doing.

Moreover, if there’s talk of a hero, the Holy Sword must be a weapon that should appear.

However, in this game, I had never seen the Holy Sword even once, nor did I have any memory of where the Holy Sword was.

I thought it must be somewhere, but I could only anticipate; I couldn’t find it.

“A childhood friend after Ronan’s death.”

Also, I was quite curious about what happened to the childhood friend after Ronan died at the final boss.

Ronan’s childhood friend Amy, what was she trying to do after Ronan died on the final route?

It was certain that she had an absolutely bad purpose, but it was unpredictable regarding that purpose.

“Ronan will definitely die then.”

I was very curious about the undisclosed truth, but sadly, there was no way to know it.

Because Ronan sacrificed himself to save his party members from the final boss’s attack during the battle.

Even if she became a childhood friend who betrayed him, Ronan couldn’t bear to see her die and sacrificed himself to block the final boss’s attack.

That’s why the story you can see in the game ends there.

Even though Ronan sacrificed himself to block the final boss’s attack, the appearance of the childhood friend who didn’t even give him a single glance ends the story.

“I wonder if the remaining party members defeated the final boss? If they did, how would the story unfold afterward?”

How would the story proceed after that?

Well, I don’t think it will be a good story, but I couldn’t help but be interested.

“Maybe some secrets will be revealed this time.”

So, I was very excited about the hidden story.

Because of Ronan’s childhood friend Amy, I was angry, but since I was deeply immersed in this game, I had enough affection for the game.

It was sad that the game ended without knowing the hidden story, but I considered it lucky that the opportunity to solve them had come.

It might be quite fun, right?

“I should gather information step by step.”

I felt like I needed to find out whenever the opportunity arose.

Not only for my interest but also for living in this world, those would be very important pieces of information.

I had to have a somewhat serious time.

“Master, please help me.”

But despite my serious thoughts, the situation was not serious at all.

A rather high-pitched scream was heard.

“It’s about time for the monsters to come out, right?”

Looking ahead, a tentacle monster was blocking our path.

The wriggling tentacles on its massive body were quite repulsive as they approached.

“Help me. If this continues, I’ll… be in trouble!”

Lily screamed and begged me to help her, just before being grabbed by the tentacles and humiliated.

“… Sigh.”

Well, of course, that appearance was just an act, so I didn’t need to respond to each one.

Again, Lily was a demon on the level of the Four Kings. With the skills of a Four Kings-level individual, she wouldn’t have any trouble dealing with such a tentacle monster, right?

“You’re mean.”

I simply ignored Lily and continued on my way, and sure enough, I heard the sound of magic being cast behind me.

Even without turning around, I could imagine the dreadful fate of the tentacle monster.

“Master is really mischievous. Well, I quite like that about you. Hehe ♡”

For some reason, I gradually felt a growing sense of fondness… Why was that?

I couldn’t understand this situation at all, but I didn’t want to understand it either.

Ignoring Lily, I continued to move forward.

“The Tournament difficulty isn’t anything special.”

In the process, other tentacle monsters and monsters typical of night games kept blocking our path, but they weren’t much of a threat.

Lily and I easily dealt with them as we moved forward.

“I expected it, but it’s much easier than I thought.”

Even if it’s said to be the most difficult level in a hell dungeon, there wasn’t much difficulty.

Because this party had demons with the skills of heroes and Four Heavenly Kings.

It wouldn’t make sense for monsters overwhelming this kind of party to appear.

Liri and I continued forward, and before we knew it, we were nearing the end of the dungeon.

“Is that a cave?”

“It seems like it, right?”

At the end of the hell dungeon, there was a dark cave with no visible entrance.

Perhaps it was expected that the owner of the dungeon would reside here.

“Hmm… Monsters are gathering?”

As we tried to move towards the cave, we heard a sound of something approaching.

Where Liri pointed, over a hundred monsters were rushing towards us.

“You deal with them.”

Since we probably reached the end of the dungeon, it seemed like a final assault was imminent.

At times like this, it’s better to defeat the dungeon owner quickly rather than stalling.

“I’ll take care of it quickly.”

“Yes… I’ll make sure to perfectly handle the monsters and wait for the owner’s reward…♡”

After instructing Liri to deal with the monsters, I entered the cave alone.

Step by step.

I moved forward through the dark and silent cave until I finally found the Evil Sword.

“Is that the Evil Sword, Sekrifa?”

At the end of the cave, there was a giant altar.

And in the center, the Evil Sword glowed faintly, standing alone.

“Is this the dungeon boss?”

I wanted to immediately pull out the Evil Sword from the altar, but there was a certain order to things. There seemed to be something else to do first.

In a corner of the altar, something black blocked my path.

“Hmm… Something’s happening.”

The shadow gradually began to take on human skin, blocking me and revealing itself as a Doppelganger.

“What will it transform into?”

This Doppelganger could transform into anyone it had encountered, making it the boss of this Hell Dungeon Tournament difficulty.

I slowly drew my sword and prepared to fight.

However, I wasn’t worried or afraid.

No matter what it transformed into, there was nothing to fear.

“This is unexpected, though?”

Even someone like me couldn’t help but feel bewildered in this situation.

The transformed Doppelganger was an unexpectedly familiar figure.

“Why did it transform into her of all people?”

The Doppelganger transformed into a human, a woman with pink hair and a smile devoid of malice, yet behind that facade was a cruel woman who led a man to ruin.

“And she even has the Holy Sword?”

The dungeon boss, now in the form of the Doppelganger, had transformed into Amy, Ronan’s childhood friend.

Moreover, the Doppelganger held the Holy Sword in its hand, a sword that had never been wielded in the game’s data… a sword that had never been touched.

“What is this?”

Due to the completely unexpected opponent, it was natural for me to momentarily freeze.

What significance does this situation hold?

“…”

“Argh!!!”

Thud!!!!

Unfortunately, there was no time to ponder such thoughts.

As if not willing to wait any longer in the form of Amy, the Doppelganger rushed towards me.

Swords clashed.

The battle had begun.