episode_0192

As I navigated the complex underground, relying only on a map drawn with magic, a problem quickly arose.

It wasn’t a problem that a powerful monster had appeared or that, unlike the map, there was a dead end.

The problem was that the magically drawn map only showed the route I needed.

Unlike the simple depiction of a few passages on the map, the actual underground was much more complicated.

However, because it was impossible to show all of the complex and winding underground passages on the map, only the necessary routes were briefly marked.

As I moved along that map, I lost any sense of where I was.

Since the map does not tell me my location in real time, I do not know where I am on the map.

If you don’t know your exact location, you won’t be able to look at the map and go to your desired destination.

“Ugh… Umm… … So here… … .”

There were many crossroads underground.

However, the unnecessary crossroads were not marked on the map.

I was contemplating the five-branched passageway ahead of me.

“Senior?”

“Hmm… So here… … .”

“It’s over there.”

While I was staring at the map and wondering where to go, Sylphy pointed to a passageway with her finger.

“What? Can you tell where we are?”

“Yes. I also memorized the map just in case.”

“You memorized the map?”

What kind of shocking statement is this?

Sylphy, aren’t you a genius after all?

“Focus on what you can do well, something I learned from watching my seniors. Because I can’t calm down if there’s an enemy nearby. So, in order to not allow the enemy to approach from the beginning, I trained and practiced anything that could be helpful. Navigation skills that utilize surrounding geography and geographical features are also helpful… … .”

“No, no matter what… … .”

“Senior, if it’s okay, shall I take the lead?”

Sylphy suggested to me with a cautious expression.

I had no reason to refuse.

No, rather, I would like to ask you first.

It was very difficult for me to find an underground path I had never been to with only a map.

“Yes, please do me a favor.”

I answered right away.

Then Sylphy immediately took the lead and started moving forward.

Sylphy’s small back, visible from behind, made her look like an incredibly strong and capable adventurer.

* * *

Sylphy checked the map I had from time to time and quickly found her way underground.

It seemed true that I had memorized the entire map.

She had an incredibly accurate sense of distance and was able to pinpoint where we were.

After Sylphy took the lead, she was able to move at almost the same speed as on the ground.

This was because there was no hesitation in choosing the path.

Moreover, there were strangely no monsters in the basement.

Normally, if we wandered underground like this, we would have encountered a few monsters that only live underground, such as worm dragons, but so far we haven’t encountered a single monster.

『All the monsters on the continent have now joined the monster army pushing down from the north.

The same was true for the monsters living underground. Thanks to this, Yunoa was able to avoid encountering other monsters underground.』

The narration briefly answered my questions.

Is that so, because all the monsters on the continent influenced by the Demon King’s Soul moved to the north, and the monsters underground also disappeared…? … .

The great invasion of monsters on the ground has attracted everyone’s attention, and he is heading to Kubel through the underground… … .

If you were influenced by the magic derivative, you would have rushed to Kubel without hesitation, but you used your brain well.

Is it true that there is a difference between a pseudo-demon soul and a real demon-lord soul?

Anyway, thanks to the disappearance of the monsters underground, it became easier for us to move.

“Senior, this way. We’re almost there.”

Sylphy, who was leading the way, spoke to me.

It seemed that we had almost reached our destination, the place where all the paths through which the Demon King’s soul was expected to enter were gathered in one place.

I don’t know at what speed it is approaching, but if it started from the Demon World, the distance is quite long and it would take some time.

“This is… … .”

The destination we arrived at following Sylphy’s guidance was a huge cave room.

It goes quite deep underground, so even if you go straight up to the ground, there would be a considerable distance.

It was surprising that there was an underground cave of this size deep underground, especially underground in the kingdom.

“What should I do, senior? First of all, there is nothing… … .”

“I never thought there would be a place this large underground, so let’s stop here for now. The Demon King’s soul will definitely pass by here.”

“Wait here? Will the demon king’s spirit really come here?”

“If the Demon King’s soul goes to Kubel through the underground, it has no choice but to go through here no matter which path it chooses.”

To be honest, deep down, I still wasn’t sure if the Demon Lord’s soul would really show up here.

But if I’m really making the wrong decision, the narration won’t stay still.

Remembering that there is always a narration behind me, I spoke to Sylphy with confidence.

So we ended up camping in this huge underground cave, waiting for the demon lord’s spirit to come at any moment.

* * *

Crackle crackle… … .

The soft sound of burning firewood calms the mind.

Sylphy had some firewood in her bag for a bonfire, so she started a very small fire with it.

I was sitting across from Sylphy across a small bonfire, waiting endlessly for the demon king spirit to come.

“Senior… But did the demon king’s soul enter the body of a monster?”

“Looking at the current situation, probably yes.”

The narration also said something that at first glance seemed to imply that the demon king’s soul had possessed the body of a monster.

And a huge wave of monsters started from the north… … In that case, perhaps the current Demon King’s soul should be called ‘Demon King’ rather than the Demon King.

“Senior.”

Sylphy called to me, sitting with her knees hugged and looking at me.

“Huh?”

“Did I help my senior?”

“Why is this happening all of a sudden? Of course it was helpful. If it weren’t for you, I would have been lost in the basement.”

“Hehe… Thank goodness.”

Sylphy laughs at my answer and half buries her face between her knees.

I was honestly amazed at Sylphy’s progress as an adventurer.

Sylphy had a dazzling talent.

When we first met, he was a novice adventurer who had a hard time with Arachne, but now he is a great elite adventurer.

Although I didn’t do much with Sylphy, whenever I had the chance to work with her, she helped me with her brilliantly developed abilities.

Sylphy often says that she learned everything from watching me, but I thought it was purely her effort and talent that allowed her to grow so much as an adventurer.

“Senior, after subjugating the Demon Lord’s soul… Will you come back as an adventurer again?”

“Huh? Why all of a sudden… … .”

“That’s right, you are now the hero chosen by the goddess… After defeating the Demon King’s Spirit, you become a hero of the kingdom. Moreover, I am close to high-ranking people in various kingdoms. I think I will be able to hold a much higher position or become a guild master later.”

“I’ll go back to being an ordinary adventurer.”

I answered right away without hesitation.

This was not the adventurer life I wanted.

As I struggled to survive penniless by following the narration’s advice, I ended up like this.

When all is said and done, I will start being an adventurer again.

I don’t know how the kingdom’s adventurer guild will work, but I wasn’t interested even if they offered me a high position in the country.

“Is your senior a good adventurer?”

“Rather than good… I hate being a burden. I don’t like being in a position where I have to shoulder everyone’s expectations and have a heavy sense of responsibility. Well, I have no choice but to be a hero now.”

“As expected, the senior… It’s amazing.”

The way Sylphy looked at me changed strangely.

Are you under the illusion of showing some kind of humility?

I was just a little tired, so I just wanted to go back to the things I can do comfortably and relax.

The sight of Sylphy looking at me with sparkling eyes made me feel embarrassed for some reason.

I stared endlessly at the bonfire, which was already extinguished and almost turning to charcoal, and waited for the demon king’s spirit.

* * *

A whole day passed underground, waiting for the demon lord’s spirit.

Considering the time it took us to get here, the arrival of the Demon King’s Spirit was quite delayed.

The longer I spent underground, the more anxious I became that the demon king’s spirit might not appear.

“Anyway, is the ground okay? … .”

I muttered as I stared at the ceiling, which showed nothing but stone.

Sylphy seemed a little tired, so she sat down hugging a blanket and closed her eyes for a while.

If this amount of time had passed, the wave of demons would have hit the demon world and the kingdom at the same time.

How far has the defense line defended by Mileia and the kingdom’s army been pushed?

Are the demons holding up well?

Here, I become even more anxious because I don’t know what the above situation is like.

“Hmm?”

At that time, I started to feel something approaching.

Sylphy, who had been dozing off, suddenly opened her eyes, raised her head, and said.

“Senior, can you feel it? Something is coming.”

It wasn’t my mood.

Clearly something was approaching from across the underground passage.

When I opened my magical vision and looked in the direction of the presence, a jet-black, intense magical force was creeping through the passage.

“Has it finally arrived? … .”

That ominous-colored, powerful magic power was without a doubt the devil’s soul.

I immediately got up from my seat and prepared for battle with Sylphy.

What kind of monster is the demon possessed by the Demon King’s soul?

Will I be able to properly insert the holy sword into his body?

No, I have no choice but to plug it in.

So that the hard work of the people on earth who are desperately trying to stop the great invasion of monsters is not in vain.

After a while, a monster with a huge body slowly appeared on the other side of the wide passage.

“Ugh… … .”

The body of the monster chosen by the Demon King’s soul.

It was none other than a large dragon.

A wingless dragon covered in black scales as if its entire body were made of cast iron.

『The demon king’s soul, who thought it had been betrayed by the demons, chose as its new body a monster called the Amantium Dragon.

In a time when even demon gods did not exist, the demon king spirit revived a being that was sleeping like a fossil at the northern end of the demon world and made it his own body.

The Amantium Dragon was a forgotten monster that does not exist in the present era and is so old that even if you search all over the Demon World and the Kingdom, you can barely find a single line of short records.』

* * *