episode_0137

Iris was lost in a place called the “Dungeon.” However, it was different from the typical Elder’s Dungeon.

While the Elder’s Dungeon was a traditional one that had existed since ancient times, the dungeon Iris was wandering in was an evolved type known as the Enchantment Dungeon.

The Enchantment Dungeon lured prey into its depths by enchanting their minds. Once they regained consciousness, they found themselves standing in the middle of a path that stretched out before and behind them.

Divided into dozens of paths with monsters sporadically appearing, mental debuffs that clouded judgment, and a living maze where even if you retraced your steps, you couldn’t return to your starting point.

This place, the Enchantment Dungeon, allowed entry but no exit.

Typically, Enchantment Dungeons would ensnare all passing “humans,” but this dungeon was different. It was due to a condition change facilitated by a woman seeking the Elder’s help.

The altered condition was as follows:

Instead of “passing humans near the dungeon,” it became “virgin women of exceptional beauty who have experienced puberty.”

Since the standard of exceptional beauty followed that of women, unless one was as beautiful as Iris, they wouldn’t be drawn into the dungeon.

“The sight of someone lost in an exitless maze, struggling until they give up and despair, is truly exhilarating!”

She gazed at Iris, who had begun navigating the maze with a rapturous expression.

“Now… how long can you endure?”

Everything was progressing just as she had envisioned. No, it appeared to be progressing.

“Hm? Huh? I was definitely following Jwin-nim’s scent. Where am I?”

Alongside Iris, there was Soin Jess, possessing beauty as stunning as Iris herself.

“…? Where… am I? I was definitely looking for Pia.”

Noa, with hair tied up in a ponytail due to recent growth, entered the dungeon.

Given the rarity of encountering a woman as strikingly beautiful as Iris, let alone a virgin like her, in the village, she failed to notice Jess and Noa’s presence.

The woman chuckled to herself, fixated on Iris alone, unable to fathom what might unfold next.

***

Lost without a master in a strange maze, how will the trapped beings react?

1. Quietly wait for their master.

2. Rationally seek an exit.

“Jyun-nim!”

Kugugugung, Kwaaguak!

3. Ruthlessly destroy the walls around them, turning the maze into ruins.

Jess possessed exceptional intellectual abilities. However, having learned that wise beings die young, he either didn’t use his brain well or pretended not to, like a fox.

Due to this trait, using his intellect to see through the maze in front of him and find an escape route wasn’t particularly challenging. But it was time-consuming and inefficient.

Efficiently and quickly.

By adding two conditions and finding an immediately executable solution, the answer came easily.

Crash! Thud!

All he needed to do was smash down all visible walls. Stones about 1 meter thick began crumbling under Jess’s grip.

The Enchantment Dungeon moved as if alive. Breaking down its stone walls, as Jess did, was akin to destroying the organs of a living being from within.

As a result, the movements within the dungeon began to slow down over time.

In the middle of the dungeon, various magic circles such as protective and debuff circles hidden throughout were all destroyed by the wind, causing the dungeon to gradually lose its proper function.

The chaos did not end in Jest.

Crash… Clang!

Noah crossed over the cleanly sliced wall with a stern expression. Broken pieces of stone wall crushed beneath her feet. Then, she swiftly turned the wall blocking her path into rubble.

As time passed, the interior of the dungeon descended into chaos, resembling a malfunctioning Med Scientist’s robot with cogs jammed with stone fragments starting to creak.

“Pia! Answer if you can hear me!”

As a result, Iris ended up stepping into paths that should have remained hidden. She walked along the dimly lit path, her eyes gleaming dangerously. It was due to her patience wearing thin from being separated from her brother for an extended period.

Perhaps due to her mood, her hair seemed even more vividly dyed.

***

There was someone looking down with a bewildered expression just three seconds before the mess unfolded.

“What… What on earth is happening here!”

It was a middle-aged woman who had brought Iris into the dungeon. She nervously gnawed at her nails, pacing anxiously.

“Who are those girls! Why are the monsters so weakened! Why aren’t the spells working!?”

With just one gesture from Jest, it seemed like they had been hit by an area-of-effect spell, and seeing the monsters fall with a single swing of Noah’s blade made her seem on the verge of losing her mind.

A situation no different from veterans stumbling into a beginner’s dungeon!

As Iris ventured into what seemed like a situation on the brink of madness, invading even the secret chambers she shouldn’t enter, she appeared on the verge of fainting.

“No… Not there! There are important magical artifacts!”

Those whose minds had completely shattered were drawn like possessed to the “processing room.” It was the place Iris was walking into.

For the passage to open, the mind of the intruder within the dungeon had to be completely broken, and once inside, crucial magical artifacts were left defenseless. If even one of them were damaged, extracting the maiden’s blood to regain youth would be impossible.

‘Oh no! If that gets damaged, I won’t be able to return to my youthful appearance for a while!’

However, after all, they were just magical artifacts.

If she tried to save them again, it wasn’t entirely impossible. This was because the Demon King’s land existed where all sorts of cruel items were created daily.

It wasn’t the worst scenario, but humans tended to mistake even minor damages for the worst.

‘I can’t let this continue! I have to stop it right away!’

She began to move herself to prevent Iris from destroying the magical artifacts.

As all the actors took the stage, the comedy filter was sharpened.

‘Surely there was a Guardian Golem underground, right? If I control them, somehow it’ll work!’

…And thus began the hell of the woman destroying affection.

***

The pungent smell of blood seeped into the walls and floor of the “treatment room.” Iris furrowed her brow, scanning the room.

‘…Feeling nauseous. I need to get out of here quickly.’

To an Imperial person, it might be a scene terrifying enough to induce nightmares, but in the Demon King’s land, it was a common sight, so she wasn’t greatly shocked.

Various magical tools that bring to mind torture devices were quickly scanned through until something caught the eye. There was something resembling a round handle attached to the middle of the wall.

‘Is this an escape door?’

Creak.

Without any second thought, Iris turned the object that looked like a handle, only to shatter it into pieces. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a handle but a thick black ore resting on a pedestal-like base.

“Hmm…”

Iris nonchalantly discarded the broken ore on the floor. And just like that, the core that controlled the Guardian Golem was shattered. From there, Iris began destroying all sorts of items.

It wasn’t intentional.

Guests participating in the room escape game absentmindedly tampered with things, tearing apart the ceiling and fire extinguishers, wondering if they could help with the escape.

Touching things here and there, purely out of curiosity about whether it would be helpful for their escape.

“Ah, found it.”

After wrecking all magical tools in the room, Iris finally found the passage hidden behind the bookshelf.

…It was a passage that only appeared when furniture was moved in a specific way, but Iris had no idea how to do it.

‘Brother… He wouldn’t be with another woman, right?’

With a dangerously gleaming gaze, Iris quickened her pace towards the inside.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman was running as if her life depended on it, tears streaming down her face. Her body seemed quite young, but not entirely youthful, causing her joints to creak. Nevertheless, she couldn’t afford to slow down.

Thud! Thump!

Behind her, a group of golems with towering figures over 3 meters were chasing her.

“Aaah! I’m the owner of this dungeon!”

Despite screaming at the top of her lungs, the golems paid no heed. Due to the gem that allowed Iris to control the Guardian Golem being destroyed, the golems now perceived anyone approaching as enemies.

The unknown woman, realizing this, ran frantically with a tear-streaked face and disheveled makeup.

After running for another three minutes, she finally managed to enter the secret passage and catch her breath.

“Huff, huuu…!”

Exhausted, her face aged drastically, collapsing on the ground like damp laundry on a humid day.

“This can’t… this can’t be happening… It must all be a dream… all of it…”

She muttered helplessly, clutching her face in despair.

“Uh, uh?”

As she groped her face, she suddenly screamed. Swiftly, she pulled out a palm-sized mirror from her pocket.

“Aaaah!”

A shrill scream, akin to a death knell, echoed through the secret passage, even in the face of a situation where she might be chased and killed by the golems.

“No! No! My beauty! My youth…!”

The once taut face with faint traces of wrinkles now sagged, filled with loose, wrinkled skin and creases. To add to that, her hair was gradually turning white from the roots.