“Give me a second!” I leapt back as the other girls continued to fight on.
I reset Shao’s skills after sending her a warning by Slave Communication, she nodded and fell back while Terra took her place in the front line. Although she was too slow for a direct confrontation with the King, she was still like a rock wall between him and us. As soon as her skills disappeared, her adaptive camouflage disappeared, revealing the horns on her head, she hadn’t been bothering to hide.
“A demon!” The King seemed to notice this. “You dare keep a demon in your party!”
“How bold…” The Queen gasped.
The tattoos on my body began to glow as I accessed the store. This sight wasn’t lost on the King either. The second he saw my glowing lore, he faltered for a second, taking one of Lydia’s strikes. It was shallow though, and he had a regen not dissimilar to the General, so it healed far too quickly. Comparatively, if I didn’t constantly heal the girls, their wounds would build up quickly, and their performance would drop within about ten minutes of fighting.
“You… a True Dungeon Diver as well?” He froze for a moment and then shook his head. “No… even so, this isn’t the kind of lore that can be completed. Not unless you brought her here…”
I didn’t pay attention to his ponderings, instead of going through the store and dumping all five points of Shao’s ability into creating a weapon. It suddenly appeared in her hand, a small dagger.
“It’s called a spectral dagger!” I quickly explained. “Five points. Does massive damage to the spirit, and can even hold it in place.”
“Where did you get that spectral dagger from?” The King’s expression darkened before he shook his head. “So, it was your intention to destroy her, after all. Fool! I won’t allow you to kill her, and even if you could kill me, it would undo my restrictions, and she would return back to the monster she was. That’s the only reason she pleaded with you to kill her. At heart, she is still a curse with her own desires and intent. She really wants to be free, so she can consume your souls.
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“And as for any hope of completing this dungeon, I already figured out the way to do it a long time ago. She wishes to merge with us. Me, and her old companion. That’s why she lured me here only once she felt she was strong enough. She miscalculated, not realizing I also have grown stronger over the years, but her intent was clear. She wants to be in the harem I denied her, even if she has to kill us and corrupt our souls to do it!
“Don’t you get it? There is no happy ending here. Only with me can I keep the memory of my wife alive while preventing the growth of this dungeon. I’m the reason she died, so it is my duty to watch over this curse as well.”
“And what happens when you’re too weak? She’ll eventually take you!”
“When I’m too old to protect the dungeon anymore, then I’ll take her life, followed by my own!” He declared.
“I’m sorry…” I shook my head. “That’s just not good enough! Shao!”
She disappeared and then reappeared on the other side of the bed. She raised the dagger up to slam it into the Queen’s back.
“No!” The King screamed as all of the other girls attacked simultaneously.
His body suddenly glowed golden, and he moved like lightning. He slammed a fist forward. The dagger flew out of Shao’s hand and onto the bed as she flew back, slamming into a pillar with enough force that blood spurted out of her mouth. Pure fury was on his face now. His moves had tripled in speed. It was almost like he had activated a Limit Break. No! That was actually a high-leveled Hero ability. He had activated a Limit Break! As he had said, He could take us out at any point.
He knocked Lydia’s weapon from her hand and then sent her flying with a backhand. Even Terra, whose greatest strength was her defense, broke after three rapid punches to the gut. She crumpled to the ground. He held out his hand as Celeste sent a whirlwind of blades at him. A golden line shot from his hand, breaking through all the spells and then piercing her stomach. She collapsed to the ground. As for Miki, he only snorted, punching out with his palm and causing her to fly back against a wall. Then, his eyes fell on me.