“Calypso!” It was my turn to curse at her.
As for Bernard, he was a bit surprised, but not particularly worried. He was acting like the situation was still entirely in his control. As for Calypso, I distinctly notice that she didn’t hand the sword to Roxford and kept it next to her. I also noticed she had put some distance between her and Roxford.
“Don’t get me wrong, you can get the sword from me, but I’ll need… a different kind of trade.”
“What are you saying?” Roxford finally started to look uneasy.
“What kind of trade?” Bernard asked cautiously.
“I want out.”
He blinked. “Out?”
“I want to escape this dungeon.”
Bernard and my expressions both turned to shock while Roxford gave a confused look. “Calypso, what are you talking about? What dungeon?”
He looked all around, all but gesturing to the sky as if to show what he meant. What she said must have sounded extremely ridiculous to someone like him. This was just the world. They weren’t underground or anything. However, she had spoken in front of two people who understood immediately. Dungeons could be left. Astria and Elaya were clear examples of that, not to mention the siren and the giant. They still needed a steady supply of miasma, but demons as a species were dungeon monsters who had managed to free themselves from the curse.
Calypso was a Dark Priest. She could only manipulate miasma. That must have been why she became self-aware. It was the same thing as Elaya. Although, while it took Elaya years as the dungeon master to become aware she was in a dungeon, Calypso’s story was reset over and over again. Or… was it? Maybe, Calypso avoided being reset and this was the same Calypso for the last 20 years. Did the bandits always raid the metal during each cycle, or was it Calypso’s influence that had them do it this cycle. There was no telling what she was capable of. She was truly a wild card that I didn’t think even Demon Lord Aberis had thought about.
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“You heard what I said. I’ve been searching for an exit for nearly a decade. I began to think it didn’t exist… but then I found a Dungeon Diver and he told me everything I needed to know before he died. The Demon Lord is holding open the exit for the next month and a half. If you help me leave, the sword is yours.
“I will even help you defeat your father. He is the Dungeon Master. Even with your sword, his connection to this dungeon makes him much too powerful. As a Dark Priest, I can interfere with his connection to the miasma, making him vulnerable. You kill the dungeon boss, and I’m allowed to exit this place.”
He licked his lips. “Can you make me the new Dungeon Master?”
She grinned. “If you help me leave, I can make you a Dungeon God! This world will be yours. I will even supply it with miasma so that it can continue to exist another thousand years!”
“Then, we have a deal.” He nodded.
“Calypso, I don’t get what you’re saying!” Roxford walked over to her. “We will not work to overthrow the King just to replace him with his son who has just as little concern for life!”
Calypso unhesitantly struck at him with her blade. He was skilled though and managed to lift his sword and block it. What he didn’t expect was for the blade to slice through his like it was butter, and then strike across his chest. He let out a cry and stumbled back. Only now, the other bandits raised their weapons, but Calypso held the lightly glowing blade as she backed away from them and me toward Bernard. The men were extremely wary of her blade.
Where it had struck Roxford, there was no blood. Instead, the sharp cut was dripping miasma. The Bandit Hero stared at it with a confused expression. He immediately grabbed a potion and downed it, but the wound didn’t start healing at all. It seemed to spread, cracks forming across his skin like he was starting to shatter. This caused his men to not just be wary of her, but to back away from him in fear.
“You will never understand, Roxford, but you are just a dungeon mob, nothing more.” Calypso snorted. “Something this weapon is very adept at hurting. No heal will save you now. With that strike, you are cut from this dungeon. In the next cycle, it will be like you were never here.”