Published: January 24, 2026
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Quite some time had passed since I received a telepathic message from Sophie saying they were starting the dungeon conquest.
My disciples had grown a lot over the past year, and even Luna was with them, so there was no way they couldn’t clear the dungeon.
However, dungeon conquest takes a considerable amount of time.
Even if it takes a while, I want everyone to return safely.
Thinking such things in the back of my mind, I reduced the number of demonic beasts emerging on the surface.
“Orun, the demonic beasts on this side are gone, so we’re heading to join you now.”
As I continued subduing demonic beasts, I received a telepathic message from Fuuka, who was acting separately.
“Got it. — Mr. Haruto, how’s the overall situation?”
“The number of demonic beasts has dropped significantly. The third wave is also settling down. The forces near Darane are properly protecting the city; so far, everything’s going smoothly. Now it’s just a matter of when the dungeon will be cleared — ah, just as I say that, the Twilight Moonbow group has come out of the dungeon. That was unexpectedly fast.”
Mr. Haruto, who was monitoring the battle situation, informed me that my disciples had returned to the surface.
I thought it would take more time. Could something have gone wrong, making them retreat?
“Got it! I’m heading to the dungeon entrance right away! Fuuka, we’ll meet at the entrance.”
“Understood.”
Clearing only the minimum necessary demonic beasts around me, I made my way to the dungeon entrance by the shortest route, where I saw my disciples and Luna.
I was briefly relieved that everyone was safe, but then I noticed that their expressions were all grim.
“Are you all okay? What happened?”
“Ah, Master…”
Carole was the first to notice me, and as everyone looked at me, they seemed relieved, but a heavy atmosphere still hung around them.
There was a strong sense of confusion as well.
Amidst this, the calmest Luna spoke up.
“Mr. Orun, the dungeon’s function has been lost. However, this is also a precarious situation. We should leave this place first —”
While listening to Luna, suddenly the ground rumbled with a roar.
Soon after, the ground beneath the dungeon began to collapse, and a massive black figure burst into the sky.
The demonic beast looking down at us from above was the floor boss of the Great Labyrinth’s 92nd floor—a black dragon I had seen many times over the past year.
“It’s already come out!?”
Sophie let out a scream of shock upon seeing the black dragon.
From Sophie’s reaction, I deduced the trouble the Twilight Moonbow group encountered was the black dragon’s presence. I was about to kick off the ground to crush the black dragon at once, but,
“Wait, Mr. Orun!”
Luna called out to stop me.
“...You want the Twilight Moonbow to slay the black dragon?”
The black dragon was a clear “wall to overcome” for my disciples.
I asked if they intended to fight the black dragon on the surface, where they could receive support from me and Fuuka if anything happened, but Luna shook her head.
“—Oh, Orun Dura, you’re here too?”
Before I could gauge Luna’s true intentions, a male voice—or rather, three overlapping voices—came from above.
Looking back up, I saw that besides the black dragon, a monster was also hovering in the sky.
At first glance, its silhouette resembled a human, but its form was too far removed from anything human to truly call it that.
“...A demonic beast that can speak?”
“Hey, hey, did you forget my voice? We met half a year ago, in the Reglyph Territory of this country.”
The Reglyph Territory was where I had visited on Count Edington’s request half a year ago, right before the empire’s first invasion.
If this was the person we met then...
“...No way, Oswell MacLeod?”
“Correct! You have quite the memory.”
The monster—no, Oswell—responded to my question with satisfaction.
“I see. So, another cult member tried to interfere with my disciples.”
Finally understanding why my disciples who came out of the dungeon were so confused, I suppressed my boiling anger and spoke up.