五月丁香五月丁香激情

Once the break was over, we were finally ready to go to the last dungeon floor.

We’ve come a long way.

We hadn’t lost anyone but there were some whose injuries couldn’t be healed in such a short span of time using the potions so they were made to Transfer to the backlines. Moreover, our supplies of bullets and potions were stretched to the limit and our remaining stock of napalm bombs were used up along the way.

It was unavoidable for the ones that remained to suffer mental fatigue.

In this regard, among others, Marcho was truly amazing. Her forces had been continuously fighting like so for nearly a week, a feat I thought we couldn’t match.

We specialized in breaking through the enemy lines but our overall, comprehensive strength was still no match against any veteran Demon Lord.

Nevertheless, our goal was near.

As long as we could join up with Marcho, all else will follow. Like for example, once my monsters had gotten enough rest, they could team up with Marcho’s forces and annihilate the enemies.

<Patron, here’s my report on the details of the last floor. The first dungeon room is where the enemy encampment is. The second room is the current main battlefield between the enemies and the [Beast] Demon Lord’s forces. Meanwhile, the last room is where the [Beast] Demon Lord’s forces’ stronghold is. Enemies of the size of a platoon might be able to slip into the last room but for the vast majority, it seems like the enemies are confined only up to the second dungeon room. ...also, I have a message from the [Beast] Demon Lord. She says that she has made all of her monsters in the first room evacuate so we can now do whatever we want.>

A Demon Lord’s dungeon was composed of floors and each of these dungeon floors were in turn composed of up to three dungeon rooms.

For example, the first floor of my Avalon was composed of the city itself, a Plain room and a Mine room.

Knowing which room the enemy encampment was in was highly important in my plans so I made R’lyeh Diva search for it. While at it, I also had her, who was with Marcho’s forces, relay my intentions to Marcho.

"R’lyeh Diva, you can make contact with Marcho again, right? There’s something more I’d like you to say to her: ask her to tamper with the first room. Ask her to make it as small as possible and to remove all walls within. Emphasize the need to change the settings for the ceiling."

<Leave it to me, Patron. I’ll relay it to one of her [Monsters of the Covenant]. I’ll contact you again once the preparations are done.>

Confronting head on the enemy monsters that were on the first floor was out of the question; we would get squashed without a doubt. Especially after hearing R’lyeh Diva’s report on them. We were outmatched not only in quantity but also in quality. The ones sent to intercept us was but a small fraction of the ones on the next floor.

Perhaps the only reason that the enemy hadn’t intensified their assaults against us was that they were wary of Marcho.

Regardless, from this point on, tackling the enemy encampment was inevitable.

For that reason, I brought my trump card here.

Thanks to R’lyeh Diva and the information she had provided, I was able to make a sound decision. Truly, I was very grateful to her.

"I hope Marcho can apply the changes to her dungeon..."

Demon Lords were able to change the configurations of their dungeons but there were certain limitations such as not being able to tamper with anything that was occupied by a person or monster that wasn’t under that Demon Lord’s command.

So speaking of what she could do, it was limited to just taking out walls and removing the space that wasn’t occupied by any enemy monsters.

Considering the enemy’s formation probably wasn’t so spread out, she should be able to narrow down the first room quite a bit and also have everything that could be used as cover removed.

After all, my trump card grew more effective the narrower and more airtight the space was.

Encountering them might be inevitable but fighting head on was still preposterous. So, as a solution, I intended to turn everyone in that airtight room into ash. If it was with the trump card I had preserved all this time, it was possible.

To my knowledge, it was the strongest weapon of mass destruction among the conventional weapons made by mankind.

Its name was the MOAB. Or more formally, it was a Massive Ordnance Air Blast.

Its appearance was that of a gigantic missile.

It was the strongest conventional weapon developed by the US Air force. It weighed 9752 Kg, had an overall length of 9.14m, and a diameter of 1.03m.

Obviously, there was no way such an enormous thing was made in one go using my [Creation] which consumed MP proportional to the weight of the created object. Instead, I made it part by part and had it assembled by Rorono.

I started making it back when I still lived in Marcho’s dungeon.

But both my time and magic power back then were scarce so the construction was simplified and the bomb’s capacity was decreased, making it nothing more than a miniature of the real thing.

A long time had passed since then though and at present, the one I brought was at its top performance. Actually, it was better due to the improvements done by Rorono and the enchantments it was given.

It was the perfect fusion of science and magic.

Its downside was that it was the most expensive single-use weapon in this scarce world.

To prepare one, it would take more than a month’s time. That meant one was impossible to produce at a moment’s notice.

And yet, it was still worth it. Its power was so great that back when the humans first made it, it was often mistaken as a nuclear weapon.

Dropping one of those could produce an explosion so great, a mushroom cloud would form.

Aside from magic and Rorono’s skills, another thing that the humans from the previous world didn’t have was the addition of the user’s stats to the potential damage.

I wonder how much I can add with that power.

There was no doubt that with all the time, skill, and magic power poured into it, it was the strongest.

But even so... I felt anxious.

The ones I were challenging were veteran Demon Lords after all.

Is it possible to win without using that? Without not taking any risk? But then, if I was willing to take risks, I can draw out even more power.

"I have to man up here. There was never a way for my weak self to win in a perfectly safe way against such powerful enemies."

I resolved myself like so. To be specific, I resolved myself to use the power I’d rather never use if possible.

And so, power welled up within me.

My monsters had done so much for this campaign. R’lyeh Diva even used the power she similarly forbade herself from using.

If they were willing to go that far, how can I be so hesitant?

".........[Awakening]"

Those words spontaneously came to my mind.

Upon uttering it, wings grew on my back. Jet black ominous wings.

That wasn’t all: my eyes turned red and on my pupils were some kind of magic array.

I had first acquired this power during my war against the human city.

And just like back then, I felt strength well up within me but at the same time, I felt a darkness that clouded my mind. It felt like the cruel part of me was taking over.

I wanted to rule over everyone and everything.

"Wh-what is that? What’s with your form?"

Fel, who was taking a short break, looked at me, got surprised, and went near.

"Nothing. I do this get a bit more power."

"You look like someone up to no good. Return to your original form right away! Like, you look so creepy!"

So noisy and just when things were feeling good. From now on, I intend to feed on a lot of despair but it seems like that’s going to be hindered. Now that I think about it, this girl has been acting quite impertinent, hasn’t she?

"W-what? Even if you make that face, I’m not scared of you, okay?!"

I then silently got in front of her and roughly grabbed her tail.

"Hii! Again, with my tail."

As I thought, grabbing her tail turns her on.

Despite looking young, she’s capable of feeling like this.

It might be because I took on this form but for some reason, I can tell how pleased she is by touching her tail. Oh I get it, maybe this is because of [Evil] whom I killed some time ago. So, I guess I can use his power when I assume this form.

When I put pressure on the sensitive areas of her tail, her face became ecstatic and she leaned closer to me. And when I put my hand on her chin and stole a kiss, she didn’t have the strength to resist.

I then further teased her tail and her whole body trembled in reaction.

Unable to keep standing up, she dropped down to the ground.

"What a proper mess you are. Do you understand your place now?"

"Awful, so awful. Uuu, y-you!"

"You? Don’t you mean master?"

I grabbed her, murmured such close to her ear, and then lightly bit that ear.

In the eyes she looked at me with, there were no more signs of rebellion, only of submission.

"Haa, haa... Uuu... You, you, that’s enough... No, not again!"

I proceeded to tease her further but then decided to stop at the most tantalizing part: the part where her will was just about to give in to the pleasure. I then kissed her again and poured my Demon Lord power into her, causing her spine to tingle.

"If you say one more impertinent thing, I won’t pet you anymore."

"Master, Fel, Fel has misbehaved."

She said so while looking at me with puppy dog eyes. She seemed to have turned compliant but proper reflection was necessary.

"You’re currently under my custody. If you show me through your attitude that you have reflected, I will continue petting you."

"Tha-that’s awful. ...Please pet Fel."

This girl isn’t my daughter so even if I show my affection like I would to any other girl, there’s no problem.

I then shook off Fel who was clinging on to me and she dropped down to the ground.

Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to actually do my job.

I grabbed the ten-ton weapon of mass destruction from the Mithril Golems and carried it with one hand.

Next, I made my magic power act like a force field to protect myself since I intended to go to the next dungeon room alone while the others were still resting.

<Patron, all preparations are complete. The enemy monsters are bewildered by the sudden disappearance of all traps and hindrances. If you’re going to act, now is the best time.>

Nice timing. Like this, the MOAB will be able to cause maximum destruction.

In my new form, I was able to use the pinnacle of my [Creation] which was called [Create]. If the former gave form to objects of the past, the latter advanced objects to their future forms. In other words, it guided objects to their evolutions.

Like so, the MOAB evolved. The silver light of [Create] enveloped the weapon and it then turned into an even more fiendish thing.

Ahh, this feels good. I wonder how much despair and dread I can enjoy if I unleash this thing. These thoughts are making me hungry. Soon, I have to feed soon.

"Oto-san, Kuina’s also coming as your guard."

Kuina approached, looked at me, and got frightened.

What the? I thought this girl liked me but she’s behaving like she loathes me. Does Kuina also need some education?

When I thought of such, an unspeakable discomfort welled up from within me.

What is this feeling? Impertinent monsters are unnecessary... no, this girl is an important... I will absolutely not hurt Kuina.

"Kuina, there’s no need for that. It won’t take me long to go to the next floor, massacre them all, and return."

The darker-than-black emotion I felt became a little less dark. I might have even smiled when I said such things.

"Master, as a developer, I wish to gather some data. But to do so, I must come with you. May I?"

The next to approach was the silver-haired Rorono.

Data collection was indeed useful so I decided to bring her along but then I realized a problem: if I were to launch the MOAB and then return to the previous dungeon room right away, no data collection could be done. Moreover, to feed on the despair, I also had to be on the same room.

Ahhhhhh, it’s such a waste of despair and dread. It would have been a buffet but now, it’s gone unless I’m willing to die just for it. Something, there has to be something. Oh yeah, there is one convenient fellow.

I approached Fel, who was still on the ground with her ears and tail down, and carried her with my left hand.

"Fel, I have a task for you. When I give the signal, expand a time barrier."

Fel was the only one capable of erecting a time barrier which stopped the flow of time within a certain space. Theoretically, no matter how much attack power there was, nothing should be able to get pass her invincible barrier.

Moreover, it’s a transparent wall which means I will be able to watch as my meal is being cooked. She’s quite convenient, that Celestial Wolf.

"Huh? What?"

"Did you not hear my command?"

Is she still resisting? Is my teasing not enough?

"I-I heard. I understand so there’s no need to tease my tail in front of everyone! Please only do that when it’s just the two of us."

What a lovely thing to say. If it’s just the two of us, it might lead to something more than just the teasing of her tail.

"Good girl. If you do a proper job, I’ll make you feel better than earlier."

"Mo-more than earlier? If-if-if you do more than that..."

Fel looked troubled as I continued to carry her in my arm.

"If we have Fel-chan’s barrier, Kuina should come too. There might be enemy monsters with abilities like Fel-chan’s."

"Then, I’ll go too. I can use my defensive magic spells to help."

"If that’s how it’s going to be, then I would like to come as well, my lord. This is a chance for me to gain some precious experience points."

My monsters—namely Kuina, Aura, and Wight—each also expressed their desire to come along.

If Wight didn’t mention it, I would have totally forgotten about the matter of experience points. And so, I, who hated to waste things, had decided to form a party with them and even included R’lyeh Diva.

Carrying Fel with my left arm and the MOAB with my right, I took a step toward the next room.

◇

I had entered the first room of Marcho’s final floor.

Since this was the stronghold of the old Demon Lords attacking her dungeon, there were close to a thousand monsters here.

I was also able to confirm that there were Demon Lords here as well.

They’re old Demon Lords so I’m willing to bet they’re delicious. Maybe they even have nice fat.

It seemed like there were also Covenant monsters here that were comparable to even Kuina. Just by looking, I could sense their insane, overwhelming presence and magic power.

Ahhh, I think I’m drooling. How nice of them to prepare such a feast for me.

"Aura, continue to produce more flammable air."

"Leave it me."

I had ordered so to further strengthen the MOAB.

Preliminary preparations are all done. Now, time to feast.

When the enemy guards noticed us, they shouted their warnings. Soon after, magic spells and breath attacks from the enemy monsters were launched against us.

Haa, so annoying. Just shut up. You’re already dead anyway.

With my right arm, I threw the ten-ton and ten-meter missile and it flew at a speed that was faster than sound.

After flying for several hundred meters, it then descended and hit the ground.

"Fel, barrier, now"

"U-understood. ..Master."

Like planned, Fel erected a Time barrier. Almost right after, the MOAB exploded.

Red... The entire dungeon room was covered in red.

Rather, almost entirely: the red had failed to reach the one-millimeter area around us.

All that overwhelming power, stopped before our eyes.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

I laughed, I only laughed.

Such violence. Such beauty. Such art.

Nearly a thousand monster lives were extinguished and all of those became my nourishment.

All of their fear and dread have made my belly so full. So delicious! Oh I’m so full, I don’t think I can breathe.

The wings on my back trembled, became even larger, and from two, they increased to four. Moreover, a black horn grew out of my head. After such things, I felt myself become even stronger.

And then, that scene of mayhem vanished completely. Finally, my vision turned back to normal. But what I saw in place of the chaos was just... emptiness. Only traces of the Demon Lord and the thousand monsters remained in the walls and floor of the room.

This... this... this is my power? What, old Demon Lords? Pfft. What a joke. They’re nothing but small fries.

"AHAHAHAHAHA"

What did I have to fear for all this time? I’m strong. I’m [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, the strongest Demon Lord there is. AAAAHHHH. Such a taste. Fully leveled monsters are delicious but Demon Lords are on a whole other level. After knowing of such taste, just how can I not want more? Gaining abilities just like I did with [Evil]’s is quite the welcome bonus too.

Hihihi, I wonder who I’ll eat next? Now that I think about it, there is one convenient person whose ability I do want to get my hands on. Plus that person shows their back to me so much, not stabbing it makes less sense.

<Say Patron, I was able to revert back to normal when I transformed but, well, how do I say this, wouldn’t it be embarrassing if you couldn’t do the same?>

A voice came from the water in the earring I wore.

"Oto-san, you’re making a scary face again. Even though you said you’ll be able to revert back to normal?"

"Mhm, I agree with Kuina. That certainly is an amazing power but the usual Father is even more amazing for me. As Father is right now, I can’t say I love you."

"I love master no matter which kind but I much prefer you be the cool master if possible."

"Yes. I adore you, my lord, but you were much cooler before. We were not worthy of such grace."

My monsters’ voices reached my ears and I felt warmth.

The black part of myself, the part dying my soul with desires, faded and I remembered who I truly was little by little until my real self finally emerged.

Instead of feeding on despair and sacrificing my beloved monsters, I had decided to build my city.

It was slow but my dreams were finally taking shape thanks to everyone. And even though there was still a lot of work ahead, we had built something that could definitely be called a city.

Then, can I just throw away that place? No. Absolutely not. There was no way I could dispose of a place where the people I loved lived.

I am [Creation] Demon Lord Procell and I am not a tyrannous Demon Lord that only fed on despair.

I thought that and then smiled. Afterwards, my black wings and horn vanished and my mind became clear.

"Fuu. Sorry, everyone. I went a little overboard. I thought I can handle it this time but it seems I still need some practice."

"Oto-san, it can’t be helped. But no matter what, we will bring you back again so don’t worry so much."

After saying so, Kuina gave a triumphal smile and struck her chest. She also swung her fluffy fox tail and it was adorable.

My other monsters smiled toward me as well.

I see. They are my happiness. I’m such a fool to only realize this now. I will do everything I can to not part with them.

As I thought of such, I realized something warm and soft was in my left hand. I looked at it and then to Fel who averted looking in my direction, had a red, entranced face, and was speaking to herself.

"Gufufu. Fel contributed too. Master, caress my tail more. More, the tip, oooh. A wicked Demon Lord, huh? I might just get used to being enthralled."

I don’t know why but Fel’s acting all serious. My memories during [Awakening] isn’t all that clear. Did something happen? Ugh, I feel a chill down my spine. It’s like I’ve done something I can’t recover from. ...must be my imagination.

At any rate, the enemy stronghold had been crushed. By my reckoning, that was 90% of the campaign won. All that was left was to strike the remaining enemy soldiers that were fighting with Marcho’s forces from behind and crush them.

Nevertheless, we could not afford to get careless until the very end.

And so, I braced myself.

Also, I intended to indirectly confirm later with Wight about what happened. Just to be sure.

TL notes

[Creation]=[創造] and [Create]=[創成]. They pretty much mean the same. I considered using Production or some other synonyms but it just didn’t feel right/cool enough.