Chapter 55 - Today, We All Make A Choice
It was never mentioned explicitly where the Greed Dungeon was located within the Seronian capital, but with all the clues in mind, Jae felt confident in his idea of where it might be.
That door... If I want to get to that door from here, I need to pass through the throne room.
The very first place that popped into his mind whenever the Sinful God Reius informed him that Greed was in Seronia was, of course, the sealed door he had once stumbled across. If it turned out to not be the correct place, then all Jae would need to do after that is find someone who is bound to know its true location.
But, I don’t think that’ll be necessary. If I’m right, then they used that door and a room coated with crushed Demon horn to suppress the overflowing magic energy of the Dungeon. Considering the fact I still can’t sense it even though I’m in the middle of the palace, the chances I’m incorrect are slim.
Thankfully, despite years having passed since he had last stepped foot within the palace, the Charting skill was still as effective as always. For that reason, it didn’t take long to arrive at the throne room, the Royal Great Hall.
“Here we go... Wait.”
Pausing just as he was about to open the towering doors of the hall, Jae sensed something from within.
It’s very faint, but there’s definitely... Someone there. Are they using a concealment skill? Aura Sense isn’t picking anything up, so it definitely isn’t an ordinary person.
“Well. Too bad my magic detection isn’t anything ordinary, either.”
Without any further hesitation, Jae pushed the doors open, revealing the grand interior of the Royal Great Hall. Then, just as he thought, on the other side stood a man with long, dark hair, his face devoid of any emotion. Deciding not to unnecessarily postpone what he had come here from any longer, Jae opened his mouth. It would most likely result in a fight, but if there was a chance that that outcome could be avoided, Jae would take it.
“You were waiting for me?”
“......”
Instead of a verbal response, the unknown man―wearing a suit of battle-scarred, worn-out armour that looked as if it was made out of charcoal―only continued to stare listlessly at him.
Glancing at the man’s half-closed, languid and baggy eyes for a moment, Jae realised something.
His messy hair, scruffy face, and neglected armour.
The man’s entire character screamed unkempt, but was it truly as simple as mere laziness?
A bizarre, yet familiar energy was emanating from his body.
As if his aura itself was like sticky tar.
Examining this energy, it didn't take long for Jae to recognise its identity.
...It’s Sloth. Just like what had happened to Leila, but far more intense... Is this guy being overworked or something?
Jae knew he was only able to sense it thanks to the Ruler of Sloth title, and perhaps that strange thing the System once mentioned about ‘assimilation’, but it wasn’t something he could just ignore. If this would continue to happen the more Dungeons he clears in the future, it would be best to figure out what exactly it means as early as possible. Still, without any context or additional knowledge about the subject, there was nothing he could learn merely by looking at it.
On another note, Jae couldn't hold back from wondering.
And... Just who the hell is this guy, anyway?
Because, when he looked at the man’s Soul State...
Soul State - Human / Devil (Mixed)
Name : Leon Midas
Soul Level : 227 / 375
Title : Devil's Descendent
Age : 31 Years
Health : 12,890
Magic Energy : 37,450
Power : 13,128
Magical Ability : 1,029
Defence : 9,441
Resistance : 5,396
Karma : 99
Condition : [Soul Contract], [Exhausted], [Slightly Intrigued], [Hopeful]
Hah... A Devil, huh? And here I thought I was the one who seemed most sinister... He’s even higher level than me, but though his Defence and Power are great, it’s still nowhere close to the level of Ariel or Nazar, so I shouldn’t have a problem facing him. Well, compared to Nazar who's a full-fledged Devil, of course he'd be weaker. I don’t know what that 'Soul Contract' thing means, though, so I should still be careful.
It was almost impossible to prevent an amused smirk from emerging on Jae’s face, but at the realisation that the second person waiting in the room still wasn’t planning on showing themselves, he turned to face a corner of the ceiling above one of the hall’s supporting pillars.
“I said, you were waiting for me?”
A moment passed with nothing happening, but Jae showed no signs of lacking certainty that a third person was indeed present.
In other words, they were caught. The hidden one must have realised this, as at that moment, an inconspicuous shadow on the ceiling―one that would have ordinarily gone unnoticed―abruptly moved of its own will and descended to the floor, upon which a bundle of blonde hair began to emerge.
“......”
The short-statured girl, wearing not a Royal Academy uniform like the rest of her Otherworlder companions, instead appeared to be dressed in no more than regular adventurer garbs.
Oh? This is...
Despite this, Jae understood within an instance of seeing her blank, untelling face.
Amy Purello, hm? I didn’t expect to see her here. Was she not with the others outside? There were so many people that I don't remember most of the individual faces...
She, too, turned out to be someone Jae once knew; and upon realising the observing third party was none other than another one of his former classmates, Jae’s wariness subsided a little. Glancing between her and the mysterious man shrouded in the energy of Sloth, he couldn’t help but ask.
“So, are you two working together, or is this just a coincidence?”
After a few seconds of pause, Amy was the only one to respond.
“...We are acting separately.”
Amy Purello, an unassuming quiet girl who most often kept to herself. Jae had scarcely interacted with her in the past, but she always carried a certain "untouchable" air about her due to it being said that she originated from a rich family and never interacted with anyone else in the class.
Hm...
Judging solely by her flat, expressionless face, looking the same as Jae remembers it always being, it was impossible to definitively tell whether she was lying or telling the truth. Still, he wasn’t too concerned.
Her Condition is normal; she isn’t worried or anxious, so... I don’t think she’s lying. Or at least, it’s hard to be sure.
“Alright... Then, what do each of you need?”
Rather than Amy, who seemed to be stronger than the majority of her classmates and higher level than even Chris, Jae’s attention was more focused on Leon Midas. After all, he was the strongest one here if they were to go by raw Status values, and without a doubt the one to be most cautious of.
Still, the fact he hadn't attacked yet, was a good sign.
“...Invader of this royal ground.”
Perhaps the man himself was aware of all that, as he finally opened his mouth.
“My waiting here is for one reason.”
The words trailed out lethargically as his appearance and air both suggested, allowing each syllable to clearly pierce the ears of the others.
But, what he said was surprising.
“Kill the king of this palace.”
Neither Jae nor Amy gave a response. Whether the latter was as shocked as the former, her face didn’t show it, but he was certainly dumbfounded.
He wants me to what now? Kill the king?
Something like that―Jae couldn’t even begin to comprehend why he would be asked to commit such an act. Still, he tried to think about it rationally.
In the first place, I came here for the Greed Dungeon. Realistically speaking, the king is the person bound to know the most about it, and I was originally planning on confronting him about it afterwards if I couldn’t find it behind that sealed door... But killing him?
If it was ending the life of an 'objectively bad’ person, Jae had done it more than just once before. Nevertheless, to kill a king who ruled over an entire nation, someone who had not yet wronged him, and with his own hands, was a tough ask indeed.
Sure, you could make the argument that I was driven out of this place by him, and the only reason I’m in this world in the first place is because he summoned us... But is that really worth committing murder over? And besides, if I kill the king, what would happen to the country and its citizens? I know I don’t like this place, but to ruin the whole country just for that...
Jae spent a while in his thoughts deliberating over this and that, but in the end, there was no way he could come to a decision just like that. He determined there would be no end if he continued to contemplate and wrestle with his own morality; thus, something to sway his sense of judgment was necessary.
So, he asked.
“Why?”
A question that he perhaps should have asked before even beginning to think about an answer. As if expecting it, Leon Midas explained rather simply.
“My soul is bound via Spiritual Contract. I cannot defy him, else I would have sliced his neck years ago. I require the help of someone like you.”
Ah... So, that’s what that Condition means.
“Why are you bound by such a slave-like contract? I’ll listen to you fairly, so convince me why I should do something so absurd like kill the king of a country.”
What Jae needed more than anything at the current moment was a reason―an excuse―to kill the king. Of course, he could easily refuse, but it was obvious that refusing would result in a fight with Leon Midas himself.
Strength is something gained through action. No matter who he may be, a king is not someone who would have lived his life risking everything on the battlefield or against armies of monsters. Even if he possesses some crazy enchanted equipment or bizarre artefacts that only a king could buy, there’s no way he’s more powerful than this guy.
If he were honest, Jae didn’t care if Seronia was ruined. He just didn’t want to be the one to blame if it happened to fall―to be held accountable.
“Justify it to me and I’ll consider it.”
He had no reason to care for the king personally, and he would in fact gain more by fulfilling this request. Even if he gained nothing directly, he would avoid an unnecessary fight with someone stronger than him, and on top of that, there would be hardly anyone remaining to prevent him from claiming Greed right there.
“...It is not a pleasant story, but if you wish.”
For Jae, who had long become something other than human, the burden of responsibility was far greater than the burden of ending a human life.
“My wife worked as head chef in the palace kitchen while I was the captain of a small, specialised squadron of knights. It was 7 years ago now that, following a long and exhausting birth, our daughter was born.”
The only thing stopping him at this point was that last little smidgen of resistance. That final wooden barricade standing in the way of the castle gates.
“It was an obstructed labour that left my wife in a weakened state for months. Still, both she and our daughter had persevered.”
Whether that was his remaining sense of humanity or something else entirely, Jae knew he only needed a single, good reason to break through.
“However, just as her constitution was beginning to recover a sense of normality, she passed away.”
A justification.
“The death was not a natural one, and as an experienced knight who had witnessed countless deaths even back then, I knew it well.”
Because then, as long as he could rationalise his action, that burden of responsibility will quickly go ‘poof’.
“...It was a knight of my own squadron who killed her. An up-and-coming star of the Seventh Special Squadron, the king’s private spearhead unit.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
And, as he listened to Leon Midas’ story.
“Dun Gustfry. I tortured him for four days and five nights before he eventually confessed to his crime. He bled out soon after.”
Jae gradually realised.
“The king condemned me for tormenting and killing a talented member of his personal unit, and was going to claim the life of my daughter in recompense...”
The reason he was searching for that would justify the king being murdered.
“But, he knew that me losing both a wife and a daughter would only lead me on a further rampage. Instead, he deprived me of my job, my role as a father, and my rights by having me become no more than a slave like you said, through this Spiritual Contract.”
He had completely forgotten why he even needed one to begin with.
“I want the king to die so that I can return to my family. That’s all. Does this sate your curiosity?”
A brief pause followed, after which Jae asked just one more thing.
“...When you say you lost your role as a father, can you elaborate?”
“I see what you’re asking. No, she is still alive. Under the care of my sister, far away from the capital.”
Without realising it, Jae released a slight breath of relief, but that wasn’t all.
“They are alive, her and my sister both, but they are by no means safe.”
Nothing in Leon Midas’ Condition indicated he was lying. He explained how he sent his daughter to live with her aunt in the Seronian countryside, where she would be safe whilst he planned to take his revenge even further upon being halted in his tracks by the king. But, just because they were far away, that didn’t mean they were untouchable, and unfortunately, things didn’t work out as Leon Midas had hoped.
“Ordinarily, the king would not have had the power to force me under this contract, but with the threat of my only remaining family’s life being whisked away at the snap of the bastard’s fingers, there was nothing I could do.”
The Spiritual Contract would automatically annul itself when either of the two parties perished, but of course, he couldn’t do that with solely his power.
He required the help of a strong outsider.
“......”
Jae recalled an old tale shared with him by Gadeun, the chief of Bahgwud Village.
A story of a man who had his innocent son cruelly taken away from him.
Back then, the king decided to take the son, Gabriel, as collateral for allowing the second princess' arm to be lopped off. Gadeun himself was too valuable to be punished as the one guarding the secret of the Great Sage's relic, so something dear to him was stolen instead.
This time, Leon Midas’ story invoked a similar feeling. The man himself was far too valuable of an asset to simply execute, but neither could the life of his daughter be taken.
“...Alright.”
Deciding not to delay things any further, Jae made a choice.
“Now that I think about it, there was a princess back then, wasn’t there? So, even if the king dies, it shouldn’t run the risk of the country falling apart.”
And for her, who Jae faintly recalled being the one to give the final order to ‘dispatch’ him when he fled the palace, there was no need to feel something like guilt.
"......"
Leon Midas understood what Jae was implying even without it being explicitly stated, and although no visible alteration in his dull expression occurred, it was apparent that at least a fraction of his inner resentment was beginning to cool as he closed his eyes.
“Oh, also.”
Suddenly speaking out again, Jae continued. An idea had sprouted, and with it, he spotted a gleaming opportunity.
“If you need a secure residence after reuniting with your family, come to the Demon Queen’s Castle. I’m sure someone of your calibre would have no problems getting hired, even if your history is working for these guys. If you do go, say you’re an acquaintance of Jae and you should be welcomed.”
Leon Midas stared at him in silence for a moment before silently nodding. After that, as if he was but an illusion, he vanished.
Oh... Teleportation? I don’t sense him anywhere near here. It’s like Sloth, but not at the same time...?
In any case, now that one of the two matters was dealt with, Jae turned to Amy, who had been quietly observing the entire scene until now. Her expression was the same as before, though something about the glint in her eyes seemed unsettling.
“So, what do you want?”
“...I want to come with you.”
Pausing for a moment at the strange request, Jae questioned her.
“What do you mean?”
“I want to leave this country. Take me.”
The girl’s exceedingly blunt answers were not at all helpful, causing Jae to stare at her, speechless. While she gazed back with rounded eyes, he sighed internally.
“Can’t you just leave normally? You're not a kid, why do you need me to look after you?”
“I was going to go alone, but then you came. I want to go with you, so take me.”
“Why should I?”
“Does that mean you’ll take me if I prove my usefulness?”
Judging by her outfit, Amy was prepared to go right at this very moment. Although she carried nothing like a bag with her, Jae knew that it didn’t necessarily mean she was empty-handed, and just like he thought, as Amy reached her hand out, a rare magic bag with spatial storage enchantments popped out of the shadow at her feet.
“Will this persuade you?”
Amy’s Class was Shadow Master, and it was displayed as a Title on her Soul State. From her Level alone, Jae guessed she was one of the strongest people in the class, probably because those at the academy didn’t go out to hunt many monsters. Still, if what she wanted was to convince Jae to let her join his party...
“Sorry. I can already do that.”
She would need a bit more than something shallow like that.
“......”
When Jae pulled a random item from out of the Inventory to counter Amy’s attempt, she wordlessly returned the bag to her shadow. Still, she didn’t seem disparaged.
“If that doesn’t work, I can gather intel for you.”
“I already saw your stealth technique.”
He thought back to before the discussion when Amy was hiding as a shadow on the ceiling. Although a method like that would undoubtedly work for ordinary people, if Jae wanted to spy on someone, it would be a person with the ability to detect such a cheap trick.
Unexpectedly, however, Amy shook her head.
“Not like that. If I inject my mana into a shadow, any other shadows it interacts with become my eyes and ears. That’s why I know you’re travelling to the Southern Continent for a while.”
Hearing that, Jae’s eyes widened.
That was a conversation I only had with Ashley just a short while ago. At that time, the rain was so loud there’s no way anyone else could’ve heard. I definitely made sure there was nobody hiding around us, either. Everything was dark because of the weather... Wouldn’t it mean that everything was a shadow?
Using shadows to gather information―it was something he had once seen in fantasy media years ago, but to think it was something real was frightening. If it was like that, then would there be anywhere that was safe? Was it the ultimate reconnaissance technique?
“I also know about Ryan’s group, but since he left the city, the shadow I used to monitor them isn’t in range anymore. Before he left, he was amassing resources for a magic ritual. Once he obtained everything he needed, they left.”
Jae didn’t need to be told what magic ritual that was as Ashley had already filled him in about the Summoning Ritual magic blueprint. Of course, Amy knew this, which is why she felt no need to elaborate. In any case, he measured the benefits and disadvantages, but it wasn’t a very complicated matter. There was nothing to lose by taking her along with him; Amy was strong in her own right, so Jae wouldn’t be burdened by protecting her in most situations, and she also seemed to have prepared her own portion of survival supplies ahead of time.
On the other hand, what he could potentially gain from having her on his side was immeasurable. It was an exceptional deal, but one could also argue that it was too good. So, just to be cautious, Jae asked.
“What’s your end goal here? Sure, you’ve proven you might be useful, but can you prove your sincerity? I need to be convinced that I can trust you instead of just taking your word for it that you’re on my side.”
Once again, Amy didn’t appear at all downcast at the blatant distrust, and on the contrary, even seemed relieved at Jae’s demand.
However, what he never expected―
“I want... To be cool.”
“...Huh?”
―Was how childish her request would sound.
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Parents who demanded this.
Teachers who demanded that.
For a pair of adults who claimed to wish only for the best, they sure intruded where they pleased and sent her where they liked.
For a private school that claimed to provide student autonomy, her life never seemed to fall off their radar or out of the public eye.
Even if she was never in any physical harm.
Even if there were no threats to her life.
Amy Purello always found her life to be suffocating. In such a way that she, herself, failed to even realise it.
Not enough so that she did something drastic to escape, but just enough that she couldn’t find it in herself to resist.
She lived a childhood of no desire, only achieving what was expected of her and only gazing forward at goals set out by others.
Everything was planned to perfection, and of course, there were no surprises or unpredictable obstacles that might hinder her future.
However, that all suddenly changed when one day, her father passed away in a traffic collision. It was an incident no one could have possibly foreseen, and as a result of various properties and assets being inherited by elder brothers and sisters, Amy, the youngest child, was left with close to nothing.
Amy’s mother, taking a break from work out of grief for her husband, could no longer handle the burden of sending her to such an expensive school with no income. Thus, at 14, she transferred to a public school.
Despite what happened being no less than a tragedy, it couldn’t be denied―this was the most exciting series of events that had happened in her entire life.
Following the transfer, although she was no longer trapped by the expectations of her father or the standards of the strict private school, Amy was bound by these chains for too long to have learnt how to socialise. Even here, it seemed, there was no room for friends.
Nonetheless, even if she couldn’t become one of them herself, the girl could still observe her peers, seemingly unconstrained by the expectations of others.
They were ‘free’, and because of that, they appeared admirable in her eyes.
For two years, she watched them from the sidelines with awe, these ‘cool kids’ who were somehow able to just do whatever they wanted as if they had no one to tell them what to do.
One day, she thought. If it’s at all possible.
An earnest wish.
I want to be cool like them.
The first of its kind to emerge in her heart.
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For some reason, Amy felt her heart racing. It was to be expected; after all, she had never talked at length with someone for as long a duration as this, and not only that, but all to disclose her own secrets and past.
Still, the words continued to flow out of her mouth like never before, and she couldn’t help herself.
Because this was the first time she had ever wanted something for herself.
“So... Please.”
For that reason, she would be damned if she let this opportunity slip.
Man, what the hell...
Feeling awkward after listening to Amy’s entire backstory, Jae slowly scratched the back of his neck. By this point, it was practically impossible to reject her wish. Even just glancing at her eyes, bursting with intense passion, was enough to evoke a sense of sympathy.
“Haa... I get it. Sure, you can tag along. But, if you wanted to leave the city and be free, you could have left at any time, couldn’t you? I’m sure Ryan would’ve let you join his crew, even.”
“...Ryan is different. From what I’ve observed, he appears as the freest on the outside, but in reality, it’s just an act. Just like how he presents a mask of being intimidating, I think he might even be more wrapped up in expectations than I was... Well, anyway, he’s still scary. I don’t like talking to him.”
Jae contemplated Amy’s words for a moment.
A mask... I mean, I’ve seen how he acts with my own two eyes. He’s never done anything to me personally, but I’ve heard stories about various “victims”... Is it really all just an act? I haven’t seen him in a long time, so I can’t say for sure. But, as someone whose favourite thing to do was people-watch for the last few years, I’m sure Amy knows more about it than me. At the very least, she has more insight into it.
“I haven’t left because I don’t know where to go. I’ve never lived without some sort of direction laid in front of me first, so it’s been hard... Also, Jae, after you left on that day, I realised you were the freest among all of us.”
“I was? What, just because I ran away?”
“Yes. Even if you thought you had no choice, in a situation where someone we all trusted was killed right in front of us, you were the only one with the will to act. I thought that kind of independence was really cool...”
Glancing at Amy, who appeared uncharacteristically abashed after muttering such a thing to his face, he began to understand just how strange her upbringing must have been.
Ah... Something like that did happen, didn’t it? I completely forgot that a teacher had even been transferred alongside us. What was his name again...?
Belatedly realising that he was spending too much time here, he moved his feet and talked at the same time.
“If you want to come with me, just follow and do as I say. We should end things cleanly before anyone else comes. If you managed to see what was going on outside the academy from all the way over here, you shouldn’t have any trouble letting me know if someone comes, right?”
Walking briskly through the hall to hasten their progress, Amy’s small steps were forced to break into a miniature jog in order to keep up.
“Ah, yes. I’ve already had monitoring shadows placed throughout the entire palace for months. Currently, knights patrol the halls due to the incident in the Noble Sector, but we can take these routes to avoid them.”
Oh... That’s good. This might be more useful than I thought.
His previous stern look slowly cracking a smirk, Jae listened to the directions Amy gave him and overlapped them with the map in his head. Following a very specific path to avoid any collisions with patrols in this way, they soon managed to arrive at the sealed door without any obstacles.
“Here we are.”
Like I thought, it’s made of the same stuff as the others. Magic energy super-absorbant, Demon horns, huh...
“This is... A place I discovered a long time ago. No one ever entered it, and I wasn’t able to send a shadow through to the other side, so I never figured out what lies beyond.”
“Well, you’re about to find out.”
Unlike the past couple of magic sealing doors, this one had many white talismans and even black chains covering it, too. Alas, for someone at Jae’s level, all he needed to do was tear the thing off its hinges to invalidate all of it.
“Oh...? It goes deeper.”
Behind the door, a staircase was revealed, leading downwards. More than that, though, Jae took note that he still wasn’t sensing any unusual energy like he did from the Sloth Dungeon.
Let’s just have a look first.
Descending the spiral staircase, it took a few minutes before the scene changed, and a second sealed door appeared just like the first.
“Ahah.”
Double-layered, huh?
Breaking it off as he did with the first, a wild surge of magic energy washed over them. Then, without saying a word, Jae entered the room on the other side.
“......”
Standing beside him, Amy gazed in awe at the great portal of twisting space revealed behind the door. Its intensity was more similar to Pride than Sloth, but unlike the both of them, it bore a sickening yellow hue.
With an overbearing sense of something unnatural, even ominous, it sat there, swirling endlessly like a black hole of magic energy.
Just like I remember it being. Although, isn’t this one a lot more impressive than Sloth? What, did that guy not even try or something? While it’s on brand, was it too much to even put this amount of effort in?
[Hey. It’s not like that.]
Oh, what, you’re here? I thought you were sleeping.
[I was. Until Greed’s energy woke me up. The others are watching too.]
Really? Why don’t they say hi? It’s not like them to be quiet when I want them to.
[That’s because Greed is... Not normal.]
No way. Are you trying to claim that any of you are normal?
[You will soon understand when you meet him. Anyway, go quickly. This place makes me sick.]
Yeah, yeah. Just go back to sleep, it’ll be over soon.
At that moment, Jae turned to face Amy.
“Amy. If you follow me, I can’t guarantee your safety. I don’t know how dangerous this place will be, but the risk to your life if you come will not be slim. I won’t be responsible if you make a mistake. With that in mind, are you coming? You can choose to stay out here if you’d like.”
As Jae looked her in the eyes and said all this, she only stared back.
To her, the fact she even had a choice was baffling, as she only ever knew how to mindlessly follow along from the beginning.
Even if she knew how to critically think, it was difficult to pair that skill with independent thinking.
He was the only person she shared her story with.
...Is it really my choice?
Amy thought to herself.
If I back out now, where will that leave me? Nothing would have changed from before, and even if I continued to follow Jae after that, I would only ever remain that way.
Her wish.
Would she be able to achieve it by doing that? By acting the same way she always had?
So long as the answer to these questions was clear, or at least something she could deduce on her own, then Amy would argue that there never was a decision to be made.
“I will come with you.”
Because it was that obvious.
“Alright. Then, stay cautious.”
Without hesitation, Jae stepped into the portal; just a few, short steps behind him, Amy followed.
You have entered the 『Greed Dungeon』
Current Dungeon Clear Status: 【98.87%】
And as they did, the world around them distorted.